Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 31. Storm is coming
A few days later, in the palace, Liu Bei looked at the memorial in front of him calmly, as if nothing had happened. But the more he was like this, the more worried Zhuge Liang became.

Liu Bei had no reaction in the past few days, as if he was not the one who was angry before. This was incredible to Zhuge Liang. If Liu Bei had just slammed the table and asked Zhuge Liang to prepare for the Eastern Expedition, Zhuge Liang would not be surprised.

But now... Zhuge Liang could only sigh that his lord was becoming more and more cunning.

"Hmm? Secret report from Yecheng?"

Liu Bei took out an urgent report written on cloth from the memorials, opened it and looked at it for a few seconds. Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes and he slammed the table.

“Your Majesty…?”

Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei with a probing look. He didn't know what news Liu Bei had seen that caused him to be so startled.

"Kong Ming, wait and see."

Liu Bei directly handed the secret report written on the white cloth to Zhuge Liang. It was densely written and recorded the open and secret struggles among several descendants of the Cao family after Cao Cao's body was transported back to Yecheng.

"Alas, it seems that the lord feels that the time has come..."

Zhuge Liang knew what Liu Bei was planning without having to read the whole thing.

When Cao Cao passed away a few days ago, Liu Bei did not react because he had two concerns. The first was whether Cao Cao was really dead. If he was faking his death, wouldn't he have been fooled by him again?

The second is the issue of Cao Cao's successor. If Cao Cao has secretly designated a successor, then the transfer of power in Cao Wei will not cause too much turmoil, and even if Liu Bei makes any moves, Cao Wei will be able to deal with it.

But now this secret report has made Liu Bei dispel all his worries. Cao Pi and his brothers were fighting in Yecheng, and it was clear that no one would submit to the other. Liu Bei's two worries disappeared in an instant.

So the question is, now Liu Bei’s worries are gone, but it is Zhuge Liang’s turn to have a headache.

"Kong Ming, we will hold a meeting tomorrow morning. All military officers and civil officials above the rank of Lieutenant General in Chengdu must attend."

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang with burning eyes.

"Yes, my lord."

Zhuge Liang felt somewhat helpless and could only hope that tomorrow's meeting would make Liu Bei change his mind.

……

"Meeting?"

Feng Xi looked at the clerk in front of him with some surprise. Zhuge Liang was quite efficient and had already asked the clerk of the county government in Chengdu to pass the message to each household.

"Yes, General Feng, Military Advisor Zhuge asked me to inform you in this way. I don't know the specific reason."

The clerk in front of him also looked embarrassed. After all, he was just a messenger and knew nothing.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Feng Xi nodded and sent the clerk away.

"Why so sudden?"

In the courtyard, Zhang Nan and Fu Rong were eating delicious food and drinking good wine on the stone table and chairs. Ever since the three of them were transferred to the same team by Liu Bei, they had the opportunity to eat and drink together.

The military drills had long been taught by Feng Xi to the various troop leaders, lieutenants, and military marquises, who led the drills and training on weekdays. As for Wu Ban, he was just like them, usually elusive, and could only be seen during major events.

"The king will ask generals above the rank of lieutenant general to discuss matters tomorrow."

Feng Xi sat back in his seat, poured a bowl of wine that Zhang Fei had sent, took a sip, and the taste was as light as plain water.

"Hey, it looks like something big has happened. Usually, only those in the position of generals of the four directions are qualified to go to the palace for meetings." Fu Yu took a big sip of wine and said while being a little drunk.

"Xiu Yuan, could it be..."

Zhang Nan looked at Feng Xi with some worry. He remembered what Feng Xi said a few days ago.

Feng Xi thought about it and thought that if Liu Bei was waiting for Cao Cao to die, he would have launched the attack long ago and would not have delayed for a few days without reason. The only possible scenario during this period was that Cao Pi went on a killing spree in Yecheng.

"It seems that the story of the three sons of the Yuan family is happening again."

Feng Xi shook his head and also took a gulp of the drink.

"What is the third son of the Yuan family? Could it be that Xiu Yuan knows something?"

Fu Rong had never heard what they said before, so he was quite curious. Zhang Nan picked out some things to say and told Fu Rong, who was also stunned for a moment.

"I didn't realize it, Xiu Yuan, you've really come to your senses now. Just like our military advisor, you have a lot of thoughts."

Fu Zhu seemed to be more surprised at his friend's sudden improvement in his brain than at Feng Xi's speculations.

"Yi Zhong, don't talk nonsense. Xiu Yuan, do you think the military advisor can persuade the king not to send troops?"

Zhang Nan still had a worried look on his face. He knew that if Shu and Wu fought each other, the North would definitely intervene, so it would be unwise to send troops now.

"Persuade? The military advisor will definitely not be able to persuade the king. Although the king looks like a kind person, when it comes to the king's bottom line, no one can do anything."

Feng Xi shrugged and said, this is Liu Bei.

"Don't drink too much, both of you. Go to the army tomorrow and train the new recruits well. Use the experienced veterans in the Shenwu Camp as the core and have them lead the nearly 10,000 soldiers who have never been trained."

Feng Xi looked at the two men and urged them to intensify their training. After all, they knew nothing about the future, but Feng Xi already knew that Liu Bei would announce the news of sending troops tomorrow.

Zhang Nan nodded. He knew that Feng Xi's brain was working very well now. He must have sensed something, so he asked the other two to intensify their training.

Early the next morning, the palace hall in Chengdu was filled with civil and military officials. Even so, the palace was not completely filled and there were still considerable gaps.

The civil servants in the front row were greeting each other as usual, and the military generals in the back were also gathered together with acquaintances, talking in low voices in groups of three or five.

As an unknown person who seldom attended court, Feng Xi naturally found a secluded spot, stood there, and began to observe other people.

The leaders of the civil officials were Zhuge Liang and Grand Tutor Xu Jing. The two of them were whispering to the people around them. It seemed that the civil officials knew what was going to happen today.

Compared with others, some civil servants had calm expressions, and even had a hint of gloating in their smiles.

After a little thought, Feng Xi understood the reason.

Even Liu Bei's Ji Han had different factions. The Elders, Jingzhou, Dongzhou, and Yizhou factions. The political stance of the Elders was almost irrelevant, because they generally did not express their views, but stood with Liu Bei.

The Jingzhou faction was naturally headed by Zhuge Liang, with Ma Liang and other Jingzhou scholars as assistants. Strictly speaking, he himself was also a member of the Jingzhou faction.

The Dongzhou faction is not as powerful now. The main reason is that the leader of the Dongzhou faction, Fa Zheng Fa Xiao Zhi, died of a serious illness not long ago.

Now the Dongzhou faction is leaderless, and people like Li Yan are also from Jingzhou, so now the Dongzhou faction is almost merging with the Jingzhou faction.

As for those who just stood by and watched, they were naturally the Yizhou faction. They didn't care about Jingzhou, and even if Jingzhou was lost, Liu Bei would rely more on the Yizhou faction, which was also a good thing for them.

(End of this chapter)