My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 469 Two Envoys
Currently, the most forward transit bases are still located in Shaxian and Xiakou, but these two places are nearly a thousand miles away from the actual front lines, which is really not suitable from the perspective of material allocation or military intelligence transmission.

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was heavy. Lu Xun frowned slightly, and after a moment's thought, he suggested, "How about we transfer a brigade commander from the Cuifeng Army to reinforce the city of Ruo? In this way, the troop deployment around Ruo will be strengthened, and the siege will progress faster."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng did not immediately reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought. He weighed the pros and cons repeatedly in his mind. After a moment of consideration, he slowly shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "There's no need. The Cui Feng Army will remain stationary. We can simply draw one battalion each from Yicheng and Qiguo to reinforce the defenses of Ruoguo. Who is in charge of Ruoguo now?"

Lu Xun reacted quickly and immediately replied, "It is Zhou Ting who is truly responsible."

Zhou Bin, courtesy name Tingshi, came from a wealthy family in Yangxian. He was loyal, brave and fearless in battle, and possessed considerable military strategy. He fought in many battles in Liu Feng's army, achieving numerous merits and had long been noticed by Liu Feng. Now he had become a mid-to-high-ranking general in the Yangzhou army and was currently serving as a brigade commander in Jia Kui's army.

"Oh, it's Ting Shi."

Liu Feng nodded. He was well aware of Zhou Bin's abilities and had no doubt about them: "Tell him that I expect him to be able to take Ruoguo City within seven days, and I want the intact Ruoguo City, with no major damage to the people or facilities within the city."

"Here!"

Lu Xun immediately accepted the order, his voice loud and resolute.

**
Just as Liu Feng was carrying out his military adjustments in an orderly manner, news of an emergency on Liu Biao's side was spreading rapidly, and the situation was extremely urgent. Deng Yi traveled from Xiangyang to Shang County in just three days, moving at lightning speed.

The rapid journey was made possible entirely by the waterways. The Dan River connects Xiangyang and Shangcheng, and it was currently the high-water season, making the waterways unobstructed. Even at night, there was no need to worry about running aground or hitting reefs.

This stretch of road is seven or eight hundred li long. If traveling by land, even traveling day and night and constantly changing horses, it would be difficult to achieve such an amazing speed. Not to mention that this is the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the post station system has long since collapsed.

When Deng Yi's ship arrived at the city, Zhang Ji was still in the inner quarters, chatting leisurely with Madam Zou.

Upon suddenly hearing that an envoy from Jingzhou had arrived outside the city, Zhang Ji was greatly surprised and nearly dropped his teacup.

"My lord, an envoy from Jingzhou has come; something significant must be about to happen."

Lady Zou was gentle and elegant by nature, extremely beautiful and charming, and quite sensible. At this moment, she gently reminded Zhang Ji, her voice soft but with a touch of composure: "For such an important matter, why don't you invite Mr. Jia to discuss it? Mr. Jia is wise and resourceful, and he will surely be able to offer advice to my husband."

Zhang Ji slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing his mistake, and exclaimed with delight, "What you say is very true, Madam. It was my oversight!"

After he finished speaking, he prepared to leave in a hurry, but after taking two steps, he seemed to remember something important. He turned back to Madam Zou and said with a hint of apology on his face, "I had already promised to stay with you today, but in this way, I will have to trouble you again, Madam."

Madam Zou smiled gently, shook her head softly, and said in a gentle voice, "Husband, important matters come first. Don't let me ruin things. Go ahead with peace of mind."

Zhang Ji felt a surge of warmth and was deeply moved. He nodded, turned, and went out.

As soon as he stepped outside, Zhang Ji seemed to have changed his face. Although his chubby face still looked somewhat comical, the coldness and sharpness in his eyes revealed his true character, a ruthlessness honed by years of fighting on the battlefield.

"Someone, go and invite Mr. Jia and Youwei to the main hall for a meeting."

His voice was low and powerful, with undeniable authority.

Mr. Jia was naturally the Northwest strategist who came to join Zhang Ji, Jia Xu, also known as Jia Wenhe, who was known for "harming Heaven but not Wenhe" (meaning he would rather harm Heaven than Wenhe). Youwei was the courtesy name of Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji's nephew.

Jia Xu and Zhang Ji were Zhang Xiu's right-hand men and his most trusted confidants.

Soon, the three met in the main hall.

Zhang Ji, with a solemn expression, informed the two men of the news from the envoy from Jingzhou, receiving completely different reactions.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu's face lit up with joy, his expression smug. He said smugly, "Uncle, it seems that the bandits of Jingzhou already know the strength of our army. Could it be that they know we will march out of Wuguan after the autumn harvest and have come to ask us to cease hostilities in advance? They must be afraid, which is why they sent envoys to sue for peace. You must not agree to their request so easily."

In stark contrast to Zhang Xiu's elation, Jia Xu was lost in deep thought. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were profound, as if he were trying to discern the hidden secrets behind this news.

Zhang Ji glanced at his nephew, then slowly turned his gaze to Jia Xu. However, seeing that the other was deep in thought, he dared not interrupt him.

Among the entire group of warriors in Xiliang, Zhang Ji was not the most valiant. When charging into battle, his martial prowess was inferior to that of the fierce generals. Nor was he the most skilled in battle. When commanding troops, his military talent was slightly inferior. In terms of interpersonal relationships, he was not the most intelligent. In terms of strategy, he was also inferior to others.

In terms of kindness and righteousness, he was not as good as Duan Wei, who was kind and generous and well-liked. In terms of military strategy, he was not as good as Fan Chou, who was excellent in strategy and command on the battlefield. In terms of bravery and martial prowess, he was not as good as Li Jue and Guo Si, who were both fierce generals on the battlefield, extremely brave, and even able to fight Lü Bu one-on-one.

However, there is one thing that Zhang Ji is unparalleled among generals.

That is, his trust in and reliance on Jia Xu reached an extremely high level.

This is why, after leaving Li Jue and Guo Si, Jia Xu chose to serve Zhang Ji instead of the kind-hearted Duan Wei.

In Zhang Ji's mind, Jia Xu was his strategist and an important support for him to survive in the chaotic world. So much so that when Jia Xu was thinking about things, he would not interrupt him, for fear of breaking his train of thought.

"Something has happened in Jingnan!"

After a moment, Jia Xu finally raised his head and met Zhang Ji's gaze, who was staring intently at him. He said with great certainty, "The Jingzhou army is likely to suffer a defeat in Jingnan."

"oh!?"

Zhang Ji and his nephew Zhang Xiu immediately became interested, their eyes filled with curiosity, and asked in unison, "How did you know that, sir?"

"wrong."

Before Jia Xu could answer Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu's questions, he suddenly shook his head, giving an irrelevant answer, "I'm afraid it's not just a defeat; there might be an even more astonishing turn of events behind it all." Zhang Xiu, impatient by nature, was already full of doubts about Jia Xu's words. He could no longer hold back and opened his mouth to ask further, but suddenly received a stern glare from his uncle. He had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue and could only helplessly close his wide-open mouth.

After a long while, Jia Xu spoke again, bowing to Zhang Ji and saying, "Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations! The envoy from Jing has come to deliver gifts to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu were overjoyed. In their eyes, Jia Xu was like a god, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and his words were always accurate. Now that Jia Xu was congratulating Zhang Ji on his impending fortune, Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu naturally believed it without a doubt, as if they could already see the generous gifts laid out before them.

"oh!?"

Zhang Ji asked excitedly, his face full of anticipation, "Sir, why do you say this? Could you please clear up my doubts and let me understand the reason behind it?"

Jia Xu replied seriously, "The people of Jingzhou and I have been fighting each other repeatedly along the Rangcheng line for two or three years. Our army is outnumbered and outgunned. General, you have repeatedly asked Li Jue and Guo Si for help but to no avail. In this protracted war, we are at a disadvantage. This is an indisputable fact. Our troops and resources are limited, and it is difficult for us to resist the Jingzhou army for a long time."

Although Jia Xu's words were blunt and unpleasant to hear, they were the undeniable truth. Even Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu couldn't help but nod in agreement, as they were well aware of the predicament their armies faced, enduring immense pressure in terms of both manpower and supplies.

In fact, if it weren't for Liu Feng's help, Zhang Ji would have died in battle at Rangcheng last year.

It was only because of Liu Feng that Cao Cao stationed a large army in Luoyang, forcing Zhang Ji, Li Jue, and Guo Si to band together for safety and not dare to easily go south, thus narrowly escaping disaster.

"The fact that the Jing envoy has suddenly arrived in such a hurry is certainly not due to self-interest; there must be some unavoidable reason behind it."

Jia Xu confidently asserted, his eyes gleaming with wisdom: "In my opinion, I initially thought it was a failure of Jingbei's campaign against Jingnan. However, upon closer examination, if that were all, how could Liu Biao, with his arrogance, be so easily humbled? Liu Biao is proud and has never been willing to compromise easily. The fact that he has suddenly sent an envoy must have some hidden reason."

As Zhang Ji listened to Jia Xu's analysis, he nodded slowly, secretly admiring Jia Xu's insight. Just as Jia Xu had said, since Liu Biao seized real power in Jingzhou, he had begun to vigorously suppress the local gentry and powerful clans, introducing gentry from Nanyang and the Central Plains, and creating a system of factional checks and balances.

His actions were highly successful and indeed brought him many benefits, allowing him to establish a firm foothold in Jingzhou. However, this also fueled Liu Biao's arrogance. The two armies had been at war for almost three years, and when had Liu Biao ever taken the initiative to negotiate with Zhang Ji?

Liu Biao always regarded Zhang Ji as a minor threat and always tried to resolve the issue by force rather than through negotiation.

"I'm afraid something big is about to happen in Jingnan."

Jia Xu asserted firmly, "My lord, you should quickly send men south to investigate. I imagine this matter must be of great importance, and such a significant matter will not be difficult to investigate. As long as we investigate diligently, we will surely be able to find out the truth."

Zhang Ji immediately replied, "Don't worry, sir, I will arrange for men to head south right away. I will select the most astute and capable scouts and have them find out the situation in Jingnan as soon as possible."

After responding, Zhang Ji then asked, "Sir, what should we do with this envoy from Jing? Should we receive him immediately, or leave him to his own devices for now?"

Jia Xu calmly replied, "No rush. Let them rest at the post station for a few days and wait for news from the south before discussing it further. We should first understand the situation before deciding how to respond, so that we can take the initiative."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Ji felt that Jia Xu's words were absolutely right, and immediately nodded in agreement.

**
Deng Yi carried an important mission in Jingzhou, and his journey was incredibly fast. Although it only took him three days, he arrived at Shangcheng without stopping, eagerly anticipating meeting Zhang Ji and completing his task.

However, reality dealt him a heavy blow. Not long after arriving at the mall, he was placed under house arrest by Zhang Ji without making a sound.

Every day, he could only pace in the cramped space of the post station, gazing at the sky outside the window, filled with anxiety but helpless, unable to even see Zhang Ji.

With each passing day, his worries grew, and the situation in Jingzhou became increasingly urgent. Yet, he was trapped here, like a bird trapped in a cage, powerless to do anything.

In contrast, Fu Xun's itinerary was completely different. He first traveled along the Yu River, and after arriving at Zhi County in the northwest of Nanyang Prefecture, he switched to the imperial road.

This imperial road was no ordinary road; it was equivalent to a top-tier highway in later times. It was wide and flat, with a surface paved with solid bluestone, making it easy for even large groups of people to travel.

Although only one-third of the journey was by water and the rest was mostly by land, we were fortunate to have this imperial road to help us.

Fu Xun and his group rode on tall horses, their wheels rolling and kicking up dust. They endured wind and rain, traveling day and night. Despite the arduous journey, everyone knew the importance of their trip.

And so, after a full half-month, Fu Xun and his party finally arrived in Luoyang, weary from their journey.

In stark contrast to Deng Yi's arduous journey, Fu Xun was treated with great courtesy throughout his trip.

When Xiahou Dun, the governor of Henan, heard the news of Fu Xun's arrival, he personally went out of the city to welcome him.

Five miles from the city, Xiahou Dun, dressed in official robes and standing tall, had been waiting for some time. He wore a warm smile and his eyes shone with enthusiasm.

When Fu Xun's group came into view, Xiahou Dun immediately went to meet them.

Xiahou Dun's performance on the battlefield may not have been particularly outstanding, but as a politician, he possessed exceptional interpersonal skills and keen political insight.

Upon meeting Fu Xun, Xiahou Dun spoke with impeccable manners, every word perfectly chosen, his approachable attitude as warm as a spring breeze. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, when he learned of Fu Xun's purpose, a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of surprise flashed in his single eye.

This subtle change in expression was noticed by the perceptive Fu Xun.

Xiahou Dun immediately patted his chest and pledged that he would do his utmost to accurately convey Fu Xun's request for Jingzhou to the Emperor, the Grand General, and all the ministers in the court. He was well aware of the importance of this matter and understood its profound impact on the relationship between Jingzhou and the court, so his tone was full of determination and responsibility.

Fu Xun was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "This matter concerns the survival of Jingzhou. I entrust everything to Lord Xiahou."

Xiahou Dun immediately left his seat and helped the other man up, saying, "Gongti, rest assured, I will definitely report this matter to the Emperor and the court officials when I attend court the day after tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)