Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 163 157. Summoning important officials
"Brother, you..."

Zhang Fei looked at Liu Bei with some concern. Liu Bei had just been choking and coughing non-stop, which made Zhang Fei feel frightened.

When Zhang Fei was young in Zhuo County, he had heard that some elderly people died after coughing twice due to joy or sadness. Zhang Fei was naturally worried that his elder brother would be like that.

"It's okay, Yide. Xiu Yuan and Cao Ren fought a great battle in Fancheng and almost wiped out the main force of the Wei army in Nanyang. In this way, Cao Wei will definitely send reinforcements to Nanyang, and the pressure in other directions will inevitably be reduced."

On the one hand, Liu Bei was happy about the gains of this war, and on the other hand, he was also happy about the advantages of the grand strategy. Whether it was the Three-Part Theory or the North-South confrontation, the Nanyang area was the top priority. Nanyang must be used to contain the Cao Wei army, so that other places would have a chance.

"Let me see...Brother, Brother Feng is quite capable, but this trick...uh..."

Feng Xi naturally did not dare to hide it, and he specifically explained his ingenious plan, but Zhang Fei was still a little bit unbelievable.

"Yide, tell me, what trick did Xiu Yuan use to deceive Cao Ren, a cautious veteran general?"

Liu Bei didn't take it seriously and asked Zhang Fei.

"Uh...Brother, according to what Feng said in the battle report, he used kerosene, sawdust...in short, he made Fancheng look like it was baptized by thunder and fire, and almost all of the 50,000 Wei troops in the city were wiped out. He also told his soldiers that God blesses the Han people, and that a master has summoned thunder and fire to help him defeat the enemy."

Zhang Fei considered his words for a long time, and finally could only tell the truth, but Liu Bei didn't care. Since last year, Liu Bei knew that Feng Xi seemed to have become a different person, with all kinds of tricks emerging one after another. Even now, Liu Bei didn't feel too surprised.

"Yide, let the eunuch come in. I want to draft an edict."

Liu Bei was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhang Fei with burning eyes. Zhang Fei nodded and asked the guard who was responsible for writing the edict for Liu Bei to come in.

"...Send Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, Grand Commander Feng Xi, Auxiliary General Zhao Yun... and others to come."

Liu Bei issued an edict, asking many important officials from all over the country to come, which surprised Zhang Fei. After all, these people were all important officials in the court. If they left easily, the place might be unstable. However, thinking of his eldest brother's current situation, Zhang Fei moved his mouth silently twice, but finally said nothing.

After listening to Liu Bei's words, the eunuch wrote them down and went down to get the imperial edict himself without mentioning it.

"Big brother..."

Zhang Fei opened his mouth with difficulty, not knowing what to say.

"Yide, I suddenly want to see the military advisor and Zilong. Help me go out for a walk."

Liu Bei smiled calmly. Zhang Fei's throat seemed to be choked by something. After a long while, he could only nod his head, walked forward to help Liu Bei up, and walked out with him, just like a few days ago.

……

"… Specially summon the Grand Commander and General of the Eastern Expedition Feng Xi to come to Yong'an for an audience."

After the messenger finished reading Liu Bei's order, Feng Xi bowed and accepted the order, feeling somewhat puzzled. Didn't he just report the battle to Old Liu, so why did he ask him to go see Old Liu in person two days later? Did he not trust him?
"Sir, please don't leave. Do you know why His Majesty summoned me?"

Feng Xi took a few steps forward, gently stopped the envoy and asked in a low voice.

"This... Grand Commander, I don't know either. I am only responsible for conveying your orders, but I heard that Prime Minister Zhuge and General Zhao also received the same order. In addition, General Zhang San seems to have returned to Yong'an from Jiaozhou a long time ago. Grand Commander, don't you know?"

When the envoy told Feng Xi what he knew, Feng Xi immediately changed his mind. If he summoned only himself, he might be punished, but if he summoned everyone, wouldn't that be the same as the Baidi entrusting his son to the care of others?

After all, in history, Lao Liu's death from illness can be said to be caused by a mixture of grief and anger, as well as old age, physical weakness, and mental exhaustion.

In Feng Xi's opinion, in the current world line, he has killed Lu Xun for Lao Liu. Even if Lao Liu doesn't live to be a hundred years old, he can at least live a few more years, right?

I didn’t expect that history has such a strong power of revision. Old Liu is still in trouble now.

Feng Xi thanked the envoy, let the man go, sat in the first seat and began to think carefully.

"Liu Chan is only 14 years old now, which means he is only 15 in lunar age. Although people would have been considered adults at this age in ancient times, with Liu Chan's mental state, it probably makes no difference whether he is an adult or not..."

Feng Xi suddenly felt a headache. If Lao Liu died now, it would be unknown how his development and planning would be.

Xiao Liu now has basically no ability to distinguish right from wrong, so the real power is definitely still managed by Prime Minister Zhuge. It is hard to say what Zhuge Liang's attitude is towards the confrontation between the North and the South. It is also unknown whether he will be constrained by Zhuge Liang in the future.

"Alas... my good lord, the timing of your illness is so delicate..."

Feng Xi is in a bigger trouble now. Jingzhou is in a state of disrepair. If Lao Liu were still alive, with his strong support, he could recuperate for a year or two and restore or even improve the combat effectiveness of the Jingzhou army. Then destroying Wu would be a piece of cake.

"Forget it, let's go and see what's going on first. Someone, please ask Ma Shizhong, Wang Sima, and Liao Zhubu to come!"

Since Old Liu summoned him, Feng Xi had no choice but to go, but the affairs of Jingzhou still had to be assigned before he left.

Soon, all the important officials of Jingzhou came to the conference room and saw Feng Xi sitting at the top.

"My Lords, I have received an order from His Majesty. His Majesty has summoned me, the Prime Minister and other important officials to Yong'an for an audience. So after I leave, I will have to trouble you to take care of the affairs of Jingzhou."

Feng Xi had no need to be polite with them and just went straight to the point and told them the current situation.

"Grand Commander, did His Majesty tell me what the important matter is? Jingzhou is at a critical moment. If the Grand Commander leaves rashly, I'm afraid Cao Wei, Dongwu and other villains will have some ideas."

Wang Fu was the first to advise. After all, the Eastern Expedition Army led by Feng Xi had really given a heavy blow to the Eastern Wu and Cao Wei. Even the children in Jiangdong would retreat when they saw the people in white robes. It was quite like "The famous generals of the royal army should not be arrogant, and thousands of troops should avoid the people in white robes."

If those two families get wind of this, they might have some inappropriate thoughts.

"I know that. But if Your Majesty summons me, there must be something important to discuss, so I have to go. After I leave, please ask Minister Ma to rectify the administration and restore production in various places; Secretary Liao to check the inventory in various places and determine the situation of military equipment, granaries and taxes in each place; Sima Wang to count the weapons and horses of our Jingzhou army and supervise the craftsmen to replenish weapons.

He also ordered a messenger to deliver a message to Governor Zhao and Wen Jin, asking them to guard Jiangxia and guard against the desperate Dongwu.

After the Battle of Dongting Lake that day, Feng Xi ordered Zhang Nan and Zhao Lei to lead the remaining navy down the river to overcome Jiangxia, the easternmost barrier of Jingzhou.

Without much resistance, the Eastern Wu gave up Jiangxia and retreated to Yangzhou, pretending to defend the city to the death, leaving Changsha and Guiyang counties in constant fear.

(End of this chapter)