The time goes back to half a month ago.

Jingzhou, the seat of Hanshou County, Liling.

Prince An received the tenth letter sent back from Yuzhou and snorted coldly: "The clue is broken again. The person moved away half a month before he was found and his whereabouts are unknown."

This is about investigating Yang Ze's identity.

The in-depth investigation lasted for several months. No matter how well Qing Zhaiwei covered up the truth, it could no longer hold out. Prince An's men began to discover clues. At this point, all we can do is destroy the physical evidence that cannot be disguised, take the witnesses away by force, and roughly erase the evidence.

Qing Zhaiwei has been here for a year and a half, and his investigation is much more thorough than that of King An. Therefore, Prince An's men always took great pains to sort out the threads buried in the tangled mess, but when they rushed to the destination, they found that there was no physical evidence and the place was deserted.

"No need to doubt, this Yang Ze must be fake."

There was no doubt that the case was a case of trying to cover up one's own guilt. Prince An threw the letter down.

Sitting in front of a low table, Wei Xu, wearing a snow-white long robe with wide sleeves, slowly picked up the pot and poured the slightly green tea into two white cups. He pushed one cup to the other side, picked up the other cup himself, sniffed it, and said, "Yang Ze's move is a decisive one."

He was decisive enough and did not try to hide anything. He directly destroyed the real evidence completely, so that no evidence would fall into Prince An's hands.

What if King An knew he was fake? What if the emperor believed it? If there is no evidence, he will deny it to the death. Once the emperor issues an order to convict him, he will simply rebel out of "sadness and anger".

The status quo cannot be changed, and the other party has not been completely disadvantaged in terms of righteousness. If Prince An submits a petition, he can at least help the other party solve the problem of "temporarily taking over" the position of governor.

You know he is fake, what can you do about it?

It was crystal clear, and the anger in Prince An's chest only grew more intense. He couldn't vent it, and it made his ribs ache.

"What a nasty thief!"

Prince An hit the low table hard. With a dull "clang" sound, another small white jade cup jumped and most of the light green tea spilled out.

He had no intention of drinking tea at all, and his face was gloomy: "Who on earth is this thief?"

Wei Xu did not respond to Prince An's words. He lowered his head and took a sip of tea. After savoring it for a while, he raised his eyelids and casually glanced at the entire map of the Great Chu region hanging on the wall in front of him.

"It has been nearly half a year since Yang Ze took Yizhou, and the internal affairs should be sorted out."

He smiled slightly and said, "If I were him, I would definitely plan to leave Yizhou as soon as possible."

With just one sentence, Prince An was shocked: "That's right!"

That's right, there is no doubt that Yang Ze must have confidants in Yuzhou who are secretly monitoring our progress so as to find out the loopholes and fill in the gaps. We can't hide it and the other party will definitely know it.

Only by leaving Yizhou as soon as possible and seizing a place as a stronghold can we eliminate the disadvantage of being trapped.

He stood up with a bang: "Pass the order, call everyone to the meeting hall!"

At King An's command, all his ministers and officials quickly gathered together. The hot discussion in the afternoon focused on Shi Zhuo of Pingyang County, and Yang Ze’s way of leaving Yizhou would most likely be to send envoys to form an alliance.

King An immediately ordered his trusted adviser Guo Chun to lead his men to Pingyang: "Tell Shi Zhuo that if he is willing to join forces with me to defend Yizhou, I will not attack Pingyang in the future; if he is willing to submit to me, he will still be the governor of Pingyang County, and all the military achievements of the Pingyang army will be recorded in his account."

Guo Chun took the order, hurriedly selected the men, and headed northwest overnight.

Because the road was easier to travel and the distance was shorter, he, who started later, actually got ahead of Dai Guang and others.

…

As for Dai Guang, after learning this shocking news, he immediately sent a letter to Gucheng and ordered it to be sent back overnight.

But no matter how urgent the letter is, the time it takes to go back and forth will not be short. The strange delegation had been approaching the county governor's mansion for two days and could not wait for Wei Jing's instructions. Dai Guang and Zhuang Yan had a brief discussion and decided not to wait until tomorrow. They set out to the county governor's mansion shortly after nightfall to deliver a visiting card.

Shi Zhuo immediately met Dai Guang and his party, and ordered his eldest son Shi Jun to personally greet them and lead them into the main hall.

Dai Guang and Zhuang Yan exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief. The current situation seemed to be okay.

Shi Zhuo was a middle-aged man in his forties, slightly short and plump, with deep nasolabial folds and slight wrinkles between his brows. Even though he was smiling as he came forward, Dai Guang still judged that he was actually a serious and thoughtful person.

"Oh, this is Dai Zhonglian? I heard that the Anfeng Dai family is a century-old family in Yizhou. Dai Zhonglian is a real celebrity. Today I see that his reputation is well-deserved."

Shi Zhuo looked at the man calmly. He was about thirty years old, with a refined face and a graceful demeanor. He really lived up to the title of a famous scholar. His eyes flickered slightly and he smiled and said, "I am honored that Zhong Lian came to visit me in the middle of the night."

Dai Guang bowed deeply and said with a smile: "My little reputation has made me a laughing stock. But now it has spread to Yizhou. I am so ashamed."

The two sides exchanged greetings warmly and sat down as host and guest. As the night deepened, Dai Guang asked for a favor, but he didn't waste any words.

"General Yang abandoned the enemy to save the dike, and was willing to risk defeat rather than abandon the hundreds of thousands of people on the north and south banks of the river. I respect and admire him, and I surrendered to him a few months ago, hoping to serve him."

Turning the topic to Wei Jing, Dai Guang stood up and saluted: "My lord, who cares about the people of the world, now wants to help and do his best to suppress the Zhenquan rebels. Lord Yang heard that Lord Shi was upright and upright, and was willing to form an alliance with him and work together, so he specially sent me here."

The Zhenquan Army gathered from all over the country, and the imperial court was unable to cope with it, so it issued an edict to local officials early on to suppress it with all its strength. Wei Jing used this ready-made excuse to leave Yi. Of course, no matter how nice Dai Guang's words sounded, it was just a fig leaf, and both parties knew what was going on.

Shi Zhuo's polite smile disappeared, his brows furrowed, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "Although Pingyang is adjacent to Yuzhou, it has not been affected by the war. The local bandit problem has not been eliminated, how can there be spare energy..."

Following Dai Guang's words, he was obviously very hesitant, and he fell silent halfway through his words.

"Mr. Shi, please listen to what I have to say!"

After finishing his opening remarks, Dai Guang simply broke the window paper. He stood up and strode out of the line, saying loudly: "I think that the peace in Pingyang County will not last long. The Lord has a powerful enemy in front of him."

"Prince An!"

"Prince An started his army from Qiejia and marched northward, saying that he was acting in the name of Your Majesty to wipe out the Zhenquan Army, but Lord Shi must know exactly what was going on. Now Nanling has been captured by them, and the battle line has been pushed to Pingyang."

Dai Guang raised his voice and shouted, "Mr. Shi should make plans early!"

Shi Zhuo was told directly what he feared the most. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked.

"My Lord, I am a righteous and benevolent ruler. I wish to sign an alliance with you, Lord. We can fight together, resist the enemy together, and join in the great cause!"

Dai Guang bowed deeply and said, "Please think twice, my lord."

The speech was clear and logical, and the relationship of interest was analyzed clearly. Shi Zhuo frowned and breathed heavily. Finally, he stood up and said, "This is a serious matter. Zhong Lian, please allow me two days to think about it."

It was a normal process. Dai Guangming knew that there was another delegation in the county governor's mansion, but what he had done so far was just the right thing to do. It would be bad to expose it, so he bowed and agreed with a smile.

"Wait for good news from the Lord."

…

After watching Dai Guang and others being led out of the main hall, Shi Zhuo immediately reminded his eldest son that the two delegations must not be allowed to meet, and neither side must be aware of each other's existence.

Thinking that Dai Guang came overnight, he must have heard the news, so he ordered to immediately erase all traces of the other party's arrival in the city and never let Guo Chun know about it again.

No matter what decision he made, he must never let King An know that someone from Yizhou had arrived.

"It's not difficult. Dai Zhonglian and his entourage dressed up as a caravan and kept a low profile. I think they had this concern."

Shi Jun agreed, and hurried out to do it himself. He repeatedly emphasized the matter to ensure that there would be no mistakes, and then quickly returned.

It was already late at night, but the lights in the outer study were still on. Shi Zhuo, who had called all his staff to discuss matters, sat behind his desk with a frown on his face.

"Father, how should we choose?"

Either there is no escape from the enemy, or two solutions suddenly appear, and both seem quite bright on the surface.

It would be better if Prince An did not fight. Yang Ze of Yizhou is very powerful and is also a good choice. But the big question now is, are both parties sincere? Could this be a fraud?

"My lord, I think that King An has ulterior motives and will not change his mind after the alliance."

With the appearance of Dai Guang, everyone understood that the reason why Prince An did not attack but formed an alliance to solicit surrender was definitely to block Yang Ze in Yizhou.

If we just block Yang Ze, can the other party really refrain from interfering in Pingyang’s military affairs?

Definitely not.

Of course, it can also be said that after blocking Yang Ze, the troops were withdrawn. But the question is, do you believe it? Does Shi Zhuo believe it?

Shi Jun also said: "Whenever the Prince of An conquers a county, he will send his trusted aides to it so that he can keep a firm grip on it. Now he says that he will not interfere in Pingyang's internal affairs, but I don't believe it."

Shi Zhuo didn't believe it either, but since they had come to him, he could only refuse if he didn't agree. If you refuse, there is a high chance that Prince An's army will arrive soon.

Prince An had an army of more than 200,000 soldiers under his command, while Pingyang had only 50,000. It was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Without strong support, it was only a matter of time before the city was captured and the territory was lost.

But they were not familiar with Yang Ze of Yizhou.

Shi Jun said: "Father, why not delay it for a while? I am willing to go to Yizhou as an envoy to see what kind of person Yang Ze is."

Shi Zhuo nodded: "Okay, you will set off tomorrow and send a message to your father after you meet Yang Ze."

…

Shi Jun packed up overnight and followed Dai Guang, disguised as a caravan, quietly heading west through the narrow Tanggu Road and heading straight for Gucheng.

Therefore, the day after Wei Jing judged that King An had sent an envoy, he received a new letter stating that Shi Zhuo had sent his eldest son Shi Jun as an envoy, who had already come to Yizhou overnight.

Shao Qing was delighted: "It seems that Shi Zhuo is also inclined to form an alliance with us."

Wei Jing patted her hands: "Yeah."

This great news cheered up everyone. Wei Jing sent a special message to Lu Jian and other former confidants of He Hong, asking them to come immediately so that they could attend the meeting.

He could guess the intention of Shi Zhuo's envoy, and the Yizhou side would do its best to dispel the other party's doubts. It is extremely difficult to leave Yizhou, so it would be best if the problem can be solved smoothly.

Shi Jun and his team arrived very quickly. On the seventh day after receiving the message, the other party arrived in Gucheng.

Wei Jing met him in the front hall and Ji Huan came out to greet him.

Ji Huan had an extraordinary demeanor and high emotional intelligence, and his constant laughter and chatter gave Shi Jun a very good first impression of the governor's mansion.

He was even more curious about Yang Ze, who was able to control Ji Huan and Dai Guang.

After turning the door, Shi Jun looked over immediately and saw a tall man in his twenties with thick black eyebrows and a protruding nose. His appearance was already extraordinary, but his majesty was even more formidable. His two sharp eyes like cold lightning swept over, immediately making people hold their breath.

What a powerful and imposing Lord of Yizhou! He actually makes people feel like they can't even look up to him. His youth is also extremely surprising.

The Pingyang group was stunned for several breaths, and finally Shi Jun was the first to come back to his senses. He stepped forward quickly and said, "I am Shi Jun from Pingyang, nice to meet Envoy Yang."

Wei Jing smiled slightly and helped the other person up himself: "I am honored to have you, Master Shi."