Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 222 216. Hongmen Banquet?
"Since the Grand Commander has an idea, how can I cooperate with the whole state?"

Seeing Feng Xi so confident, Li Hui simply changed the way he asked the question, saying that he was serving Feng Xi, but in fact he was just asking what Feng Xi was up to.

Li Hui politely gave up his seat, and Feng Xi pushed and shoved before he sat on the mat. Feng Xi was used to sitting on the chairs in Jingzhou, so he was a little uncomfortable sitting on the floor again.

"Are there any powerful Cham people in Cangwu County who have been confirmed to have participated in the riots but for whom there is no evidence?"

After everyone sat down, Feng Xi began to ask Li Hui.

"Yes, there is a Weng family in the city. After investigation, it was definitely the culprit who secretly instigated two or three riots in Cangwu. But the Weng family hid it too well. After executing some Cham clan leaders who did not do things in a discreet manner, they sent out some small minions to contact them. Those small minions later died on the streets during the riots. It is estimated that they took advantage of the opportunity to do it.

They also claimed they didn't know about it, so even if we knew they did it, we didn't have a good excuse to do it. The Weng family is also quite influential in the local area, and if we don't handle it well, there might be another riot."

Li Hui felt helpless. The other party almost told Li Hui clearly that he was the one who instigated the incident, but he didn't care about these minions. What can you do?

"Oh, in that case, Lord Li, please set up a banquet in the city tomorrow to entertain the head of the Weng family. I would like to have a detailed talk with him."

Feng Xi nodded, his expression unchanged.

"Grand Commander, the Cham people have always bullied the weak and feared the strong, but the soft approach may..."

Li Hui thought that Feng Xi wanted to win over these people, but Li Hui had tried it before. These people took all the benefits and then did nothing. After being comforted by the big man, they continued to riot. Li Hui was worried that Feng Xi was going to use the trick of throwing meat buns at a dog again, so he hurried to persuade him.

"That's fine. Lord Li, go ahead and do it. We'll find out the result at the banquet tomorrow."

Feng Xi waved his hand to stop Li Hui from saying anything. A higher rank can crush a lower rank. Although the two were equal in rank, as long as Feng Xi didn't do anything stupid, his actual power was still higher than those governors. Now that Feng Xi had said this, Li Hui could only nod helplessly and ordered his servant to deliver the invitation without saying anything.

The 3,000 soldiers and horses brought by Feng Xi naturally entered the military camp in the city. Three thousand people were not too many, and there were still many empty places in the military camp, so there was no problem. Li Hui also prepared a residence for Feng Xi and his men, and he was considered a qualified host.

At dusk, Feng Xi sat at his desk and read a military book. Anyway, there were no mobile phones or other things now, so he could only read more books or recall the future memories in his mind to pass the time.

"dong dong dong"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Since the guards didn't try to stop him, it seemed to be someone I knew.

"come in."

Feng Xi put down the military book in his hand and looked towards the door. The person coming was Ma Su.

"Why did Ji Chang come to visit me instead of taking a good rest to relieve his fatigue from the march?"

Feng Xi asked with a smile, while Ma Su bowed with a serious expression, acting like a counselor.

"Grand Commander, Su thinks we should not be soft-hearted about the Jiaozhou issue. There must be someone behind the Zhan tribe's rebellion. Dongwu has occupied Jiaozhou for a long time, and has even won over the former governor Shi Xie. It is inevitable that they have their hand behind these Zhan tribe tyrants. If we blindly win them over, I am afraid that our Han will be at a disadvantage.

It would be better to cut the Gordian knot quickly and hold a Hongmen Feast during tomorrow's banquet, then issue a notice to reassure the people. If there is any unrest again, treat them as rioters."

Feng Xi was a little surprised that this guy didn't tell him "attacking the city is inferior, attacking the heart is superior". But think about it, it's a different time now, the Nanman Rebellion was instigated by someone with ulterior motives, and Zhuge Liang didn't have enough time and troops to manage Nanzhong at that time. Now, to put it bluntly, even if the Cham tribe rebelled, it would be nothing more than a minor problem for the Han army, and it would be completely dealt with with some time.

But the risk of doing so is too great, and it should not be done unless it is absolutely necessary.

Under such circumstances, Ma Su's proposal was relatively radical. From the perspective of that era, if these leaders were killed, those scattered mobs would be just a mob, and if they dared to oppose the Han army again, they would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.

"You Chang's words make some sense, but if you use the butcher's knife without authorization, I'm afraid it will have a negative impact on our Han army. I have other ideas. You Chang, please be patient and we will discuss it tomorrow."

Feng Xi smiled and politely declined Ma Su's proposal, so Ma Su could only bow and leave. When Ma Su retreated to the door, he saw Deng Ai who was about to come here, and the two of them looked at each other and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Ma...Ma Zhubu."

Deng Ai stammered and saluted. Recently, because Ma Su had conquered Changsha, although there were some losses, the result was still good, so Feng Xi recruited him as the chief clerk of the General's Office of the Eastern Expedition, and he and Deng Ai became colleagues.

"General Deng wants to see the Grand Commander?"

Ma Su was still quite dissatisfied with Deng Ai. He still could not accept that such a stutterer was on equal footing with him. However, due to his good family education and Feng Xi's repeated orders, Ma Su could not get angry and just greeted Deng Ai indifferently.

"That's right. Ma... Ma Zhubu has met the Grand... Grand Commander?"

When Deng Ai saw Ma Su coming out of Feng Xi's room, he knew that Ma Su must have noticed that there was something wrong with Feng Xi's plan.

"Yes. The Grand Admiral just said that we will see the result at the banquet tomorrow. Let us have a good rest first."

Deng Ai suddenly realized that there was no need for him to go in and repeat Ma Su's words, so he turned around and left.

"Alas, General Deng will no longer meet with the Grand Commander?"

Ma Su originally thought that Deng Ai would go in to flatter him and show off his presence in front of Feng Xi, but he did not expect that Deng Ai would just leave so easily.

"Since Ma... Ma Zhubu has already advised, then... then why should I repeat it again? Why not follow the advice of the Grand Commander-in-Chief and conserve your energy?"

"Humph……"

Ma Su snorted indifferently, and his opinion of Deng Ai changed slightly. In his mind, a man with a stutter must have gotten to the top by scheming and currying favor with the Grand Commander, but Deng Ai now did not seem to have such an idea.

However, Ma Su still couldn't compromise with his pride. As a member of the Jingxiang Ma family, known as one of the "Five Constant Virtues of the Ma Family", how could he lower himself and get along with Deng Ai? If it were other prominent families, it would be fine, but Ma Su really couldn't accept Deng Ai, a peasant like him.

"In that case, General Deng can go on his own."

Ma Su bowed casually and prepared to leave.

Although Deng Ai noticed that Ma Su seemed to have a somewhat unfriendly attitude towards him, his many years of experience in Cao's camp had made his mind stronger. Besides, it was the Grand Commander, not Ma Su, who appreciated him, so Deng Ai just politely returned the salute without saying much.

(End of this chapter)