Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 359 It’s all Liu Tietou’s fault
In the Yucheng City Guard's Mansion, candlelight flickered in the hall.

"Oh?" After hearing what Liu Mazi said, Ren Yuan showed an expression that said 'I want to hear the details'.

"I'm not trying to shirk responsibility. Did you see me drinking alone here? It's because of him that I'm worried." Liu Mazi said with a bitter smile:
"To be honest, the True King urged him to attack Hulao Pass several times, but he always refused or pretended to attack. In the end, he would definitely come back and ask me to lead the troops to support him."

"How the hell can I go? It's obvious that he has bad intentions. If I go with my brothers, he will definitely send us to attack and fill in the gaps, and we will be buried with a clear conscience!"

"There is a risk." Ren Yuan said softly, "But I think he is a good person and he won't necessarily kill his brothers."

"That's because you didn't threaten him, so he's happy to play the hero." Liu Mazi spat, "I've been appreciated by the True King over the years, and I'm ranked third in the army. He's long wanted to get rid of me and consolidate his position."

"Then we really need to be on guard against him." Ren Yuan nodded.

"More than a little, we have to be extremely alert. Don't be fooled by his big size, he is a sissy and sinister." Liu Mazi cursed and said helplessly, "So I can only make things worse. Maybe he could have let him go, but he will never do that once I ask him to do so."

"I understand." Ren Yuan nodded, looking worried, "But if we don't catch the person back, we won't be able to report to the emperor, and the emperor will chop off our heads."

"Is Monk Xiao so cruel?" Liu Mazi couldn't help but gasp. He looked at Ren Yuan with sympathy and said, "Alas, I can't save myself either... The True King has issued me an ultimatum, ordering me to lead the army to Xingyang this month, otherwise he will chop off my head."

"Then we are in the same boat." Ren Yuan smiled bitterly and clinked glasses with Liu Mazi.

"Yeah, it's all Feng Tietou's fault!" Liu Mazi and Ren Yuan drank it all in one gulp, and suddenly they felt that their relationship had become much closer.

"It's not enough to just sympathize with each other, we also have to share the same hatred for the enemy." Ren Yuan poured another glass of wine for Liu Mazi. "How about we cooperate?"

"How to cooperate?" Liu Mazi asked without comment.

"I'll help you get rid of Feng Tietou, and you help me get Xiao Zong." Ren Yuan shook his hands and said, "Let's help each other and get what we need."

"Hmm..." Liu Mazi's expression changed, but he shook his head and said, "That won't work. Our Zhenwang Army is in a precarious situation. We have Ge Rong in the north, the government troops in the west, and Yuan Faseng and Daliang in the south. We are the weakest party. If there is another fight, we might as well give up."

"If we cooperate, Daliang will no longer be an enemy, but your strongest backing." Ren Yuan smiled and said, "Do you know how the emperor rewarded Yuan Faseng for surrendering to Pengcheng?"

"How was the reward given?"

"Shizhong, Sikong, the founding duke of Shi'an County, with a fief of 5,000 households." Ren Yuan said: "This is just the initial reward. When he meets the emperor in the future, there will definitely be more rewards."

"Your emperor is so generous." Liu Mazi swallowed his saliva.

"He Yuan Faseng has Pengcheng, and you also have Yucheng, you can sell it for a good price as well." Ren Yuan said leisurely.

"How is that possible? Pengcheng is much more important than Yucheng. I can't even get half of his reward." Liu Mazi shook his head, still relatively sober.

"Half is also pretty good." Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"That's right." Liu Mazi nodded, unable to deny it. He wiped his saliva and sobered up, saying, "These are too far-fetched. For now, I have to live with him, otherwise the True King will not forgive me."

"Feng Tietou has no intention of letting you go, otherwise why would he urge you to go to Xingyang?" Ren Yuan sneered, "You said it yourself, it's the Hongmen Banquet and the Yellow Spring Road." "That's true." Liu Mazi nodded slowly and said, "He really wants to kill me."

But he was worried and said, "But Feng Tietou is not so easy to deal with. He has a huge influence on the business of Xingyang. We can't do anything to him."

"But no one can do anything to him." Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"Who?" Liu Mazi looked at Ren Yuan expectantly.

"True King." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice.

"Hey..." Liu Mazi was disappointed when he heard this: "Brother, don't let your imagination run wild. I just said that I am now in the second place and looking forward to the third place. He is the second one."

"Speaking of which, the True King should rely on him more, and he is now shouldering the important task of attacking Hulao Pass and opening up the road to the west for the True King's army. I am only responsible for defense. I can't deceive myself." Liu Mazi said soberly:
"If I report him now, not only will my case be in vain, but I will also be scolded by the True King."

"Hey, General, you can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you are in it." Ren Yuan shook his head and said with a firm look:

"You only saw that the True King tolerated him in every way, but you didn't see that he had violated the True King's taboo."

"What do you mean?" Liu Mazi asked with a frown.

"You said that the True King ordered the attack on Hulao Pass several times, but he always made excuses and refused. You still ordered the True King to send you to waste time. What would you think if you were the True King?"

"Hiss..." Liu Mazi took a breath and finally became serious.

He realized that he had only been thinking from his own perspective - if he were to look at things from the perspective of the True King, wouldn't Feng Tietou be ignoring military orders, being afraid to fight, preserving his strength, and only focusing on internal fighting?
If I were the real king, I would be furious.

"Then the True King rewards him?" Liu Mazi asked. "Every few days, he sends messengers to give him wine, meat, money, and various elixirs. He is given a string of free titles."

"That's the problem. If the King really treated him as his own, how could he possibly spoil him? He would have scolded him and slapped him to death." Then he let Yuan say calmly:

"But the result was exactly the opposite. Not only did they not beat or scold him, they even coaxed him carefully. What do you think they wanted?"

"I'm afraid he'll quit or even rebel." Liu Mazi suddenly realized, "We've seen this happen too many times. The True King will definitely be worried."

"You said that at this time, if we collect some dirty information about him colluding with the Wei army and intending to rebel and hand it over to him, will the King still be able to tolerate it?" Ren Yuan asked again.

"I definitely can't tolerate that. The real king coaxes him because he's afraid he'll rebel. If he really wants to rebel, how could he coax him? He must be eliminated as soon as possible." Liu Mazi sighed and said:
"I'm just afraid the true king won't believe it..."

"Don't worry. The most terrible thing about the alienation plan is that it makes both parties lose trust in each other - not only will the True King no longer trust Feng Tietou, but Feng Tietou will also not trust the True King. Even if the True King tells him that he will not pursue the matter, he may not believe it. What if he turns around and defects? Therefore, the True King would probably rather believe it than not believe it." Ren Yuan said firmly:
"Besides, they are suspicious of each other to begin with. As long as both sides know the existence of this black material, their relationship will most likely break down."

"Yeah." Liu Mazi nodded slowly and said, "We happen to have some such materials."

(End of this chapter)