Chapter 313 Breaking into Chengdu
Zhang Lu originally thought that he was in good health, but Qiao Yan spoke ill of him in this sentence.
How are you?
If he said that he was quite capable and could develop many followers in this Guanghan vassal state, he would always feel that he would be targeted by Qiao Yan in the next moment.
Why on earth did she appear here!
Zhang Lu lamented in his heart.
This is really weird.
Obviously, Sili still had drought and locust disasters, and she, the Grand Marshal, was needed to take charge to prevent the disaster from causing civil unrest. And it was also clear that the governor of Yuzhou had just been killed and Runan had lost land, so she was needed to monitor the enemy situation in Yuzhou and Yanzhou at any time. Moreover, he, the master of the Heavenly Master Dao, was keeping his tail between his legs in the vassal state of Guanghan, and it seemed that he could not do anything earth-shattering.
Why was he the one being targeted by Qiao Yan, to the point that the other party came to him in person?
How could he have such virtue?
Shouldn't someone who could receive such treatment be a figure of Dong Zhuo's level?
Thinking of the time in Hanzhong when he was deceived by Qiao Yan and even nearly lost his life, Zhang Lu touched his head. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that this lump was not much harder than it was back then, and his situation was obviously not much better than it was back then.
He walked out from among his followers, stood on the city wall of the camp at Huyiba, and asked Qiao Yan an especially sincere question: "May I ask, Grand Marshal, why are you visiting here?"
He is not completely without temper.
He has been used as a target time and again, as the "chicken" to scare the monkeys. Even if he is really a rabbit, he should have come to bite people by now!
If Qiao Yan had said that she wanted to kill him here and there to ensure that the cult would not spread wantonly under her nose, Zhang Lu would have fought for himself and fought to the death with the other party even if he knew that he was no match for her.
These followers under his command had been selected through the Battle of Hanzhong in his early years. Many of them had abandoned their families and followed him here because of their devotion to Tianshi Dao. In terms of willpower to fight to the death, they would never lose much to the people of Liangzhou, and would always be able to inflict some losses on the other side.
But he heard Qiao Yan's unhurried answer at this time:
"I'm here to borrow the passage."
Zhang Lu was confused for a moment, thinking he was hallucinating.
But he soon realized that he was not wrong.
What Qiao Yan said was indeed the word "borrowing a path".
She added another sentence to those five words: "Besides borrowing the road, I would also like to ask Master Zhang to go with me to watch a good show in Shu."
Zhang Lu turned around and glanced at the mountains behind him.
When Qiao Yan said the word "borrow a road", he, who had been here for several years, would not make a wrong judgment as to which road Qiao Yan wanted to borrow.
The Yizhou governed by Liu Yan was actually more accurately located in the Chengdu Plain. Just as the Hanzhong Plain was sandwiched between the Qinling Mountains, the Migang Mountains and the Daba Mountains, the Chengdu Plain was also surrounded by mountains. One of the barriers was the Motianling Mountains behind Huyiba where he was.
Motianling extends eastward to Micang Mountain south of the Hanzhong Plain.
So at that time he could escape from the Hanzhong Plain to the territory of Guanghan vassal state. After all, such migration did not cross the giant geographical barrier that blocked the north and the south.
If Qiao Yan wanted to borrow a road, the only possibility was to take the Yinping Road over the Motianling Mountains and enter the Chengdu area in Shuzhong from a road different from the one that passed through the Migang Mountain and Daba Mountain Pass.
She wants to attack Liu Yan!
Zhang Lu looked at Qiao Yan in disbelief.
She told him this amazing plan in such a nonchalant tone, as if she was also saying another thing to him invisibly: If he agreed to borrow the road, or even contribute to the plan of crossing the Yinping Road, then he could really go to Shuzhong to watch a good show as she said.
But what if he disagrees?
Before he meets this surprising force in Chengdu, Zhang Lu will probably become a joke!
Faced with such a threat, Zhang Lu thought he might be crazy, so he didn't consider at all that Qiao Yan might abandon him after he had done his job. He simply opened the gate of the camp and welcomed him in.
Even when he sat down in the same room with Qiao Yan and looked at the face at the top, Zhang Lu still felt a little dazed.
"Master Zhang, why do you have to act like you are about to do something righteous?" Qiao Yan smiled. "In the past, you and I had different positions. In addition, you could not be used by me, so I naturally wanted to teach you a lesson. But have you ever seen me do anything to kill your mother and brother?"
That’s not really the case.
According to the news Zhang Lu received, his mother Lu and his brother Zhang Wei were still alive and well in Hanzhong. It was just that the Tianshi Dao had become a special means for Xu Shu and Qiao Yan behind him to govern the people of Hanzhong County.
If Qiao Yan wanted to destroy Taoism in one fell swoop, he wouldn't have to spend so much effort.
While he was thinking, he heard Qiao Yan ask, "I have already told you directly about the matter of borrowing the road, so I might as well ask you more directly about the other questions. Master Zhang must rely on the person who truly holds the power in Yizhou to consolidate the position of Tianshi Dao in Yizhou, but Liu Junlang obviously regarded you as a discarded pawn during my hunting party that year, which is why he has ignored Guanghan's vassal state in the past few years. If you want to rise again, it is useless to rely on him."
"Then, is it useful to pin your hopes on Liu Junlang's successor? If I remember correctly, your relationship with Liu Zhang's son is not very good, because your mother used the ghost way to win Liu Yan's trust. Although you are a native of Yizhou, you took a completely different path from the Yizhou scholars, and parted ways with the Yizhou scholars behind Liu Zhang."
As soon as Qiao Yan finished speaking, Zhang Lu blurted out: "What does this have to do with Liu Zhang?"
Liu Yan clearly has four sons!
But as soon as he asked this question, he met Qiao Yan's half-smiley gaze, "Isn't this the good show I want to invite you to watch?"
This sentence made Zhang Lu suddenly realize that although he was only separated from the Chengdu Plain by a mountain, he might be even less aware of the current situation in Chengdu than Qiao Yan.
The reason why Qiao Yan suddenly changed his route and sent troops to Yizhou was obviously not because he wanted to break with Liu Yan for no reason, but because the transfer of power over the governor of Yizhou was already taking place in Chengdu at that time.
When Zhang Lu was caught off guard by this news, he heard Qiao Yan ask: "Master Zhang, you can now accurately answer my question. Are you willing to borrow this path and are you willing to accompany me?"
Zhang Lu felt that he probably had no other choice.
If Liu Yan had the upper hand in the battle with Hanzhong, Zhang Lu might have had a chance to regain his trust and continue his missionary work with the support of the governor of Yizhou. But now Liu Yan not only has no chance of counterattack, he is also very likely to die soon.
If it is true as Qiao Yan said that the next successor of Yizhou is Liu Zhang, when thinking of the delicate relationship between him and the Yizhou scholars, Zhang Lu can be sure that if Qiao Yan does not intervene here, he may not be able to survive in the territory of Guanghan vassal state.
In this case, why didn't he accept the olive branch extended by Qiao Yan and transform himself from a remote situation to a promising future?
Done!
He asked tentatively: "Besides letting me lead the way, is there anything else that Da Sima needs me to do?"
Qiao Yan replied: "It's very simple. I tell you what the teachings of the Heavenly Master are, and you join in as a master."
If Qiao Yan had said this two years ago, it would undoubtedly be a blasphemy to Zhang Lu. However, after experiencing the difficulties in establishing the Pope in Guanghan, Zhang Lu has deeply realized a fact.
The so-called unity of politics and religion, if there is no politics, in the current situation, religion will only be empty talk.
Zhang Lu's mind raced, realizing that there was no better way out.
He stood up and bowed to Qiao Yan, "I am willing to obey your orders."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "It's not really an assignment, so please lead the way for me first."
This road is really difficult to walk on.
If the Ziwu Valley, Luogu Road and Xiegu Road from Chang'an to Hanzhong are difficult to travel because they pass through the Qinling Mountains, then the Yinping Road is just as difficult.
Locals from Yizhou often pass through the former to reach Guanzhong, but the latter is truly a place where few people go.
It must be said that expelling Zhang Lu to this place and forcing him to build a road in order to occasionally exchange materials with the Chengdu Plain and to have a channel that complies with the principle of atonement in the doctrine was indeed the most correct decision she made.
Even though Zhang Lu did not have enough manpower to build a new and stable road across the 700-li area of Yinping Road, he was still able to "carve passages through the mountains and construct bridges and pavilions" where necessary.
With these crucial connecting hubs and the hundreds of soldiers brought by Zhang Lu to clear the way, the efficiency of the march across Motianling was more than doubled.
Although in some places where the roads are narrow, soldiers can only move forward in a line, but on the most accessible areas of the opened mountain roads, people can even ride horses at a gallop.
Zhang Lu looked at the grain carts in Qiao Yan's army with envy. These wheelbarrows were obviously used for soldiers to transport supplies on such mountain roads.
If he had such a thing, why would he need to rely on people to carry the supplies for his survival in Guanghan State time and time again?
He looked at the soldiers who seemed to be particularly relaxed on the journey over the mountains, and gained a new understanding of these brave soldiers from Liangzhou under Qiao Yan's command. He felt that he did not choose to go against her, but to take advantage of the opportunity to borrow her road to cooperate with her. This might be the most correct decision he had ever made.
So now, enjoying the transportation of the wheelbarrow and not lacking for food and drink along the way over the mountains, he has become one.
I don't know if it's because Qiao Yan's march into Shu is considered the arrival of a royal army, the snakes and insects commonly seen on the Yinping Road did not appear on the mountain road to launch an attack. The only remaining problems were the marching speed being hindered by the narrow road and the fatigue caused by climbing the mountain.
But these difficulties are still within the tolerable range for the well-trained soldiers.
When Zhang Lu was chatting with them about why they had such high morale, Yao Chang glanced at him and said, "Do you think the Bingzhou army is much inferior to us in terms of hard work and perseverance? Many of them are training with the Xianbei in the northern frontier. This time, the people you chose to send out the troops are almost all from Liangzhou, which is actually giving us a chance to make achievements."
"This is a rare opportunity to make a contribution. It determines whether we can hold our heads up high among the other teams of the Lord. We must fight with all our might."
"That's right," Ma Chao said, "Besides, we have been stationed in Hanzhong. We are going to use the elite soldiers of Liang Province to fight against the southern barbarians. We have been preparing for this for two years and have been holding our breath for a long time."
"Your Majesty's prestige has spread far and wide, and many generals have come to join you. Whether Xinzhou and Xinjun can allow veterans like me to participate in the war depends entirely on your Majesty's mood. We can't run away from this kind of mission."
Ma Chao was extremely envious of Zhao Yun for following Qiao Yan to fight and now stationing troops in Luoyang, ready to send troops to support Yingchuan at any time.
But he also knew that Zhao Yun had followed the prince for a longer time, and had always been in charge of the central military affairs, so it was only natural that this responsibility should be given to him.
He was only hoping for one thing: that the responsibilities originally assigned to him would not be given to others, and it would be best if Liu Yan would not surrender directly because he was afraid of the power of Chang'an.
It was precisely because of this idea that when Ma Chao received the news asking him and Yao Chang to lead troops to Wudu County to secretly meet with the Lord, he immediately rubbed his hands, ready to fight a good enough battle.
"It's a joke that a mere Motianling wants to stop us."
Zhang Lu was speechless for a while as he was surprised that a man of Ma Chao's age actually called him an "old general". However, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of their competitive and upward-looking mentality.
This situation seemed to have never appeared among Liu Yan's subordinates.
After all, such competition is only possible in the presence of fair treatment.
Fair enough...
Rewarding meritorious service rather than doing things based on personal preference is actually a luxury in Yizhou.
When Zhang Lu thought about this, he felt that his choice was not only correct, but might be very correct!
"What are you standing there for? The command to assemble has already sounded." Zhang Lu was still immersed in his thoughts when Ma Chao pulled him up and gently pushed him forward. "Five Dou Mi, it's your turn to lead the way."
Zhang Lu's followers immediately glared at Ma Chao, "How dare you talk to our master!"
How can you call someone by a nickname like that?
Zhang Lu waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright. I heard that General Ma Mengqi once wanted to assassinate the Grand Marshal, but ended up going after Lü Fengxian. His thinking is different from that of ordinary people. There is no need to blame him."
Ma Chao: “……?”
Upon hearing this, Yao Chang couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing Ma Chao looking at her, she quickly replied: "I didn't tell him that, don't blame me. The Lord called me, I'm leaving now."
Qiao Yan saw Yao Chang running towards her from afar, leaving Ma Chao standing there in a daze for a moment before he followed the team out of spite. He couldn't help but feel helpless and amused by such a noisy scene.
But what can I say? Since Zhang Lu made a choice in the face of the sudden arrival of this surprise army and the changing situation in Yizhou, he will be considered her subordinate from now on.
Subordinates still have to get along well with each other, right?
She touched the horse Zhu Tan was riding, and saw Zhu Tan pawed the horse's hooves twice to show his agreement, which made the smile on her face deepen.
It has been almost ten years since the horse came into her hands in the second year of Zhongping.
War horses between the ages of four and thirteen can be considered in their golden service age. By this calculation, Zhu Tan is actually already in the late service period of a war horse.
Although since Zhu Tan is her mount, there will naturally be someone to maintain it and extend its service life, birth, aging, sickness and death are not only common to humans, but also to horses.
From this perspective, she should really end these wars within the next five or six years.
"I have to let you see the prosperity of the unified world..."
When Yao Chang walked in front of her, the tail end of Qiao Yan's words had become so low that it was almost inaudible.
"What are you talking about, my lord?"
"Nothing." Qiao Yan raised his eyes and looked forward. From Yao Chang's perspective, he could see a golden glow in her eyes. "I'm saying, we should give Chengdu Plain a surprise!"
"Walk!"
If Qiao Yan didn't have a guide like Zhang Lu by his side, he wouldn't dare to walk along the Yinping Road.
Take a mountain on the Yinping Road in Motianling as an example. Its altitude is over 2,000 meters. Its northern slope is relatively gentle, but its southern slope is almost a steep cliff. It was because the followers of Tianshi Dao had the courage to build a road here in order to achieve their master's goal.
Fortunately, when they crossed the Yinping Mountain of Motianling and the Minjiang River, they reached Mazhuanguan after walking a little further.
The last section of the journey was not difficult.
And further ahead is Jiangyou Pass.
Surrounded by mountains, with the Fu River flowing in the middle, and the Fu River rushing past dangerous peaks, this is the end of the Yinping Road. 1
Once they passed Jiangyou Pass, the Chengdu Plain appeared before them.
The endless Chengdu Plain!
Qiao Yan looked at the scenery which was quite different from the Guanzhong Plain and the Hanzhong Plain. His face, which had been tense for many days due to walking through dangerous passes, finally relaxed slightly and he revealed a smile.
Even though they were still hundreds of miles away from Chengdu and other places, once they got here, they could already head towards the Yizhou provincial capital at full speed.
In just over two days at most, they will be able to reach the city of Chengdu!
Zhang Lu, the person in charge of leading the way, even had the foresight to tell Qiao Yan where there was a horse farm near Jiangyou Pass, where they could plunder a batch of horses first and reach Chengdu faster.
"Yancai, ask someone to go with Master Zhang." Qiao Yan ordered.
Seeing that Ma Chao was also eager to try, Qiao Yan waved his hand and simply let him go along.
But when she turned to face the smooth road leading to Chengdu, she did not intend to rush into Chengdu as Zhang Lu had guessed, but instead showed a look of deep thought.
She instructed the remaining men, "Organize the army, and send the infantry ahead to take Fu County first. I want to talk to one of the county's men about his path."
The place of Fu County became Mianyang in later generations. Today, it is the only way from Jiangyou Pass to Chengdu.
She had to attack Fu County not only because she couldn't leave her back to those cities while conquering them.
But because——
The person stationed here at the moment is Liu Yan's capable subordinate Wu Yi.
The brother-in-law of Liu Mao, the third son of Liu Yan, was from Chenliu, Yanzhou, named Wu Yi.
At this time in Chengdu, perhaps because Liu Yan, the supreme commander, has rarely appeared recently, the place still has a somewhat tense atmosphere in addition to its usual operation.
Among the Dongzhou scholars who were highly valued by Liu Yan, Wu Yi was transferred to garrison Fu County at an early stage. As a barrier to Chengdu, it is not surprising that he did not appear in Chengdu.
However, Pang Xi, another person who was always highly valued by Liu Yan, had not appeared for several days.
Could it be that Liu Yan asked him to carry out some special mission?
It is precisely because of Pang Xi's disappearance that people have to turn their attention to the capital of Yizhou and speculate what happened here.
At this time, a man who was at the center of the storm paced in the room for a long time. With cold sweat on his forehead due to anxiety, he rushed straight to another person standing aside, "Mr. Zhao, are we really going to do this? After all, they are my future in-laws!"
Zhao Wei replied nonchalantly, "Relative-in-law? You treat him as your relative, and plan to marry him as assigned by the governor when your eldest son is old enough to get married, but does he treat you as your relative? I think you have already gotten an answer from him. If you and your brother appear in front of him at the same time, who will he choose to be the future ruler of Yizhou?"
There was a hint of disdain in Zhao Wei's eyes, but thinking that the other party's easy-to-control temperament was exactly in their favor, allowing them, the people of Yizhou, to inherit Liu Yan's reputation and overshadow the people of Dongzhou, he only had some kind words to say when he continued to speak.
"Fourth Young Master, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. You have already won over your mother's family, and you have the support of us, the powerful men of Yizhou. If the governor can recover from his illness, there may be a chance to retreat. The worst that can happen is that you can apologize to the governor. But do you have that now?"
Liu Zhang hesitated and gritted his teeth, thinking of his father who was already on the verge of death. According to the medical officer, he could only live for a few more days at most. He really had no chance of recovery.
Once their father passed away, the eldest brother would take over as the governor of Yizhou, and there was no possibility that he would let his younger brother, who had done a lot of bad things, go.
He didn't kill his father, and he... he didn't delay the other party's opportunity to receive medical treatment. What on earth does he have to feel guilty about?
Even though he thought so, he still whispered to Zhao Wei, "But General Pang was appointed as the governor of Ba County by my father last year, and he was ordered to supervise the movements of Hanzhong. If we rashly arrest him when he returns to Shu to report on his work, will it undermine my father's garrison plan in Shu?"
Zhao Wei said calmly, "What you said is wrong, sir. Aren't people from Yizhou the ones who know Yizhou's defense best? General Pang was initially a counselor, and later a subordinate of the governor. He came to Shu from Sili and switched from civil to military. During the year he served as the governor of Ba County, he used his power to recruit talents in Baxi, but we have never heard of his success in striking at the reputation of the governor of Hanzhong!"
"Pang Xi may not be a barrier to Yizhou's defense, but he may be a disaster for us. If your father dies, the scheming Grand Marshal and the governor of Hanzhong directly try to win over Pang Xi, there is no guarantee that he will not be used by them and offer the gates of Yizhou to them. Instead of doing that, it is better to replace him directly with General Yan, as we are doing now."
Liu Zhang hesitated, "Yes... Mr. Zhao is right."
General Yan Yan, who was recommended by Zhao Wei to replace Pang Xi, was indeed a rare military talent, and was more talented in commanding troops than Pang Xi.
It was precisely because of Yan Yan's performance that Liu Zhang was convinced by Zhao Wei, and felt that Liu Yan's suppression of Yizhou's forces was more out of selfishness rather than because of the lack of ability of Yizhou people.
According to Zhao Wei, there was another skilled spearman among the Yizhou generals named Zhang Ren. Unfortunately, before Liu Zhang could recognize his talent and promote him from his position, he was sent by Liu Yan to the teachers and students of Leping Academy who were passing by, and was made a bodyguard to escort the other party on their journey eastward. This action sounds ridiculous.
The answer to the second question eased the tension on Liu Zhang's face a little.
He reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.
He has not had a good night's sleep since he decided to seize power while his father was seriously ill.
In his early years, his father said that he was not as capable as his three older brothers, which almost cut off his possibility of inheriting the position of Governor of Yizhou. However, Zhao Wei and others assured him that he was more suitable for the position than his earlier brothers, which made him regain a lot of confidence.
Yizhou's wealth has led to the prevalence of various forces in Yizhou being intertwined and abusing power to make money. He is more or less aware of this, and no matter how he thinks about it, he feels that he does not have the ability to change this situation. But perhaps turning a blind eye is the most appropriate state for Yizhou at the moment.
It will not be too late to initiate reforms after he has adapted to the position of Mu of Yizhou in the future.
He thought about it and asked a third question to dispel the last doubts in his heart: "In Mr. Zhao's opinion, if Chang'an sends another governor of Yizhou because of my father's death, how should we respond?"
It’s really not Liu Zhang’s fault that he was afraid of Chang’an.
His father was able to come up with the idea of restoring the provincial governor system, occupying Yizhou, an independent land of abundance, and repeatedly leading troops to suppress and divide people. He could be considered a heroic figure, but didn't he still have great awe for the Grand Marshal?
His father is much more capable than his son, but he is still no exception.
Zhao Wei just sneered, "Fourth Master, don't worry about it. If Chang'an is unwilling to give you the position of governor, there are others who will. As long as you have a legitimate title, you can compete with the north. Besides, aren't you a relative of the Han Dynasty? Qiao Yeshu's power is growing day by day. If she can't tolerate you, a quasi-governor of Han descent, there will be many people who oppose her attack on Yizhou."
Liu Zhang's eyes lit up.
What Zhao Wei meant was to use Yuan Shao in Yecheng and those who opposed Qiao Yan in Chang'an to restrict her actions.
Is this feasible? sure!
Zhao Wei clearly saw the change in Liu Zhang's expression and knew that Liu Yan's fourth son had been completely used by him.
He patted Liu Zhang on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Fourth Master, you can put aside all these concerns for now. The only thing we need to do now is to silence those opposing voices and let the governor legitimately appoint you as the heir. We must make it a done deal before Chang'an notices anything!"
He suddenly smiled again, "No, I was a little wrong."
When Liu Zhang was at a loss as to what he had said wrong, Zhao Wei bowed to Liu Zhang and said, "I should call you governor of the state."
"Sir... Sir, there is no need to perform such a great ceremony." When Liu Zhang helped Zhao Wei up, it was no longer possible to see any nervousness on his face. Instead, there was only the excitement of having great power in his hands.
Thinking that the title of governor and the title of lord of the prefecture would be transferred from his father to him, and that there were mountains like Migang Mountain and Daba Mountain and the buffer zone of Ba County to the south of Hanzhong as barriers, Liu Zhang now just wanted time to go as fast as two days later.
That was the auspicious day chosen for him to take the throne by Zhao Wei and other Yizhou scholars!
It is true that the governor of a province was appointed by the imperial court and developed from the provincial governor. According to common sense, there was no such thing as Liu Yan inheriting the position of governor of Yizhou to Liu Zhang.
But Liu Yan was a relative of the Han royal family, which gave Zhao Wei and others room to maneuver.
If Liu Yan designated his youngest son as the heir to his family business among his four sons, then once Liu Yan died, his subordinates would first obey Liu Zhang's orders.
If at this time there was still a confrontation between the Yizhou scholars and the Dongzhou scholars, and Liu Zhang suppressed this confrontation like he did when he put down the rebellion of Xie Jian, and he had a share of credit for putting down the rebellion for Yizhou, and then these Yizhou tyrants showed their support for him, then -
Just as Zhao Wei and Liu Zhang said, even if the Chang'an court did not want him to be the next governor of Yizhou, it could only accept this fact.
Now is the time for them to complete the first step.
Announce to the public the successor chosen by Liu Yan.
In order to prevent people from criticizing them for usurping power while Liu Yan was ill, and even for possibly playing a role in Liu Yan's death, Zhao Wei and Liu Zhang discussed it and decided to let Liu Yan "personally" announce the result to the public.
Liu Zhang was somewhat worried about this overly risky move, but Zhao Wei said that it would not be difficult to achieve this goal as long as Liu Yan was allowed to appear in public "alive".
Anyway, by keeping Liu Yan far enough away from those who heard the reading, it would prevent others from noticing that Liu Yan was sleeping instead of awake.
As long as they could find someone whose voice was very similar to Liu Yan's, to outsiders, it would appear that it was Liu Yan himself who was reading out the decree.
As for Liu Yan's other sons, as long as they appear in such occasions, no matter whether they are escorted here or appear normally, just like Liu Yan's physical condition can fool people, these can all be used to create a trick.
During the final two days of preparation, Liu Zhang closely watched his father's breathing, fearing that he would suddenly die and all his previous preparations would go to waste.
Fortunately, God seemed to be kind to him.
Zhao Wei told him that this series of changes in Shuzhong and the replacement of the prefect of Ba County did not attract the attention of Xu Shu, the prefect of Hanzhong.
The other party is too young, and perhaps he is just Qiao Yan's mouthpiece in Hanzhong. There is no need to take him seriously.
Thanks to the medical officer's treatment, Liu Yan was still alive and did not die directly from the sudden illness.
He even woke up once in the middle of the night and heard Liu Zhang, who was guarding the bed, tell him that the four brothers took turns guarding the bed. He fell asleep again with a relieved look on his face without any suspicion.
How could Liu Yan have any doubts about his fourth son when his three older sons were still alive and his fourth son's abilities were far inferior to those of his three older brothers?
But it was this son who, when this "auspicious day" arrived, brought him to the platform, placed him on a somewhat wide couch, and then secured him to a backrest so that he seemed to still be able to move.
However, under this couch, in the hollow space below covered by brocade, there was actually a person whose voice was extremely similar to Liu Yan's.
At the other end of the platform, among the seats for ministers which were slightly lower than this side, Liu Yan’s first three sons were helped to take their seats, looking somewhat dazed.
Pang Xi, who had disappeared for a long time, also sat down, but did not say anything at this time.
Although this situation is a bit strange, think about it, it has been several months since Liu Yan fell ill. During such a long period of treatment, Liu Yan's subordinates and son felt that they were suffering from long-term pressure and pain, which is also understandable for people who have sick people in their families.
Next to take their seats were Liu Yan's youngest son Liu Zhang and Liu Yan's other ministers.
No matter what the situation is, everyone is here.
"It's just an announcement of succession, why does it have to be such a scene?" The people who were attracted here couldn't help but marvel at the unclear figure above.
"He's the governor of the state. He's nothing like you, who only has farmland at home." Another person replied immediately.
"That's true, and it's exactly what our governor does."
Everyone knew that Liu Yan loved show and face.
Last time, someone from the Chang'an court came to appoint him as the general of the dynasty, and he made quite a fuss, gathering people around him. Today he created a similar scene again, which can only be said that he has not changed his original intention.
But what no one present expected, except those Yizhou scholars who had already been informed, was that the name of the heir that Liu Yan read out at this moment was not his nominal eldest son Liu Fan, nor his second son Liu Dan who once served as the Imperial Censor in the court, nor his third son Liu Mao who married Wu Yi's sister under the arrangement of his father, but his fourth son Liu Zhang who had never had much presence.
Liu Zhang is the heir!
When this arrangement was announced, the whole audience was shocked.
Even if we don't necessarily have to follow the rule of primogeniture, it's still necessary to follow the rule of selecting the best heirs!
No matter how Liu Zhang, who has nothing to do with any of these things, suddenly ascended to this position, anyone with a sound mind would know that something was wrong!
If Liu Yan was a person who did things based on his own preferences, such an arrangement might be understandable. However, the impression Liu Yan left on the people of Yizhou in his early years was that he was good at the art of checks and balances and was definitely not a person who acted on impulse. So how could he do such an incredible thing?
Someone immediately stood up from his seat and questioned Liu Yan who was sitting at the top, "May I ask, Lord, you just said that your young son is trustworthy, and you want us to believe that he is the one who will inherit your business. Isn't that too much of a joke?"
Why did Liu Zhang become the heir? He doesn't even look as good as his older brothers!
But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Zhao Wei's word "how outrageous".
Zhao Wei looked at him unkindly and said in a cold voice: "From what standpoint do you raise this question? The Lord has made it clear, and the four gentlemen have no doubts about this arrangement. But you think this is a joke and intend to stir up conflicts in Yizhou. You are really disregarding the Lord's majesty!"
"Do you want you to name a successor and have the Lord of the Mansion acknowledge him?"
The man shook his head, "That's not what I meant."
He just felt that all these arrangements happened too suddenly.
But if he only had three points of doubt before, then when Zhao Wei made such an extreme behavior, this doubt almost reached ten points.
However, before he could continue speaking, he suddenly heard a loud crash coming from a distance, interrupting his continued questioning.
It's not just the crash!
Along with the sound of collision came the tread of galloping horses and the shouts of killing that broke out in an instant.
Most of those present had experience in combat and would definitely be able to tell what the sound was.
But why does this sound appear here?
The moment everyone realized the current situation from the shocking sound, they all looked at each other, but they saw confusion, or rather, uncertainty, on everyone's face.
Even Zhao Wei, who had previously seemed confident of victory, was no exception.
Obviously, he didn't know what was happening at this time.
The shouting and screaming did not last long, as the sound of horse hooves was approaching this place without giving them any time to react.
They subconsciously looked in the direction where the sound came from, and suddenly saw that in the direction where the fleeing crowd had avoided, a row of elite cavalrymen were rushing towards this place accompanied by flying dust.
The ones who cleared the way for them were actually two familiar faces to them——
Wu Yi and Zhang Lu!
Anyone standing on a high place could clearly see that there were traces of blood on the swords in their hands, clearly indicating that they had just experienced a battle that started and ended quickly.
After all, following behind them was an unstoppable torrent of steel.
"How dare you..." Zhao Wei's expression changed, and he took two steps towards the direction of the attacking cavalry.
If Wu Yi's appearance was unexpected enough for him, because after he transferred Wu Yi away, he had people block the news and strictly prohibited it from reaching the other party's ears, then Zhang Lu's appearance was even more unexpected to him.
This guy should continue to work as a road builder and preacher in the vassal state of Guanghan. Why did he come to Chengdu? Are you asking for trouble?
But when the real cavalry team behind the man who opened the way appeared in front of him, the look of accusation on his face suddenly froze.
This row of cavalrymen were actually drawing their bows and crossbows while riding, maintaining a steady aim while riding. The tips of the bows and crossbows illuminated by the sunlight reflected a chilling glow that pierced straight into people's eyes.
At a glance among this group of people, there are many who look like the brave soldiers from Liangzhou, and even a considerable number of Qiang people.
But excellent riding skills are probably not their only advantage.
Zhao Wei's lips trembled as he spotted the most eye-catching person in the crowd!
The enemy did not act hastily like the other cavalrymen. They simply allowed the team she led to split into two columns behind her and flow towards the high platform in front, forming an encirclement of cavalry and crossbows below.
But when the other party turned his horse and stopped at the stage, slowly pushed aside his cloak that was blown by the wind, and looked towards the stage, Zhao Wei felt that he was not looking at the stage from the stage, but was clearly overlooking the farce on the stage from a higher position.
At this moment, she didn't need to speak, it was enough for people to guess her identity.
Even if the other party should not be here at this time, as if she had flown directly across a thousand miles from Hanzhong to Chengdu, her identity would never be misjudged.
Grand Marshal, Qiao Yan.
She is Qiao Yan!
The moment they recognized her identity, everyone's eyes were focused on her, and then, following the direction her gaze was looking, everyone looked towards Liu Yan.
They were shocked to realize that from the time when the collision sounded at the city gate to when Qiao Yan appeared on the stage, Liu Yan not only did not say a word but also did not make any movement.
No matter how calm a person is, it seems that this is not the way he should behave...
Just when they were full of doubts, Qiao Yan suddenly spoke up: "Liu Yizhou remained unmoved in the face of turmoil. What a demeanor."
She clapped her hands twice, but no one saw any respect on her face. "It's just that, since you have a distinguished guest coming from afar, why don't you personally greet him and say a few words to show your hospitality?"
The man hiding under Liu Yan's couch had cold sweat soaking his back in just a few breaths.
How should he answer this!
There was no such scene at all in the script that Zhao Wei had arranged for him!
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