The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 17 Persuasion
"Do you have a good plan?"

Mi Fang gripped Mi Wei's hand tightly.

It was like grasping at a straw.

"Uncle, don't be anxious."

Mi Wei helped the other person sit down again and slowly said:

"The key to this matter is whether General Sun or General Guan can arrive in Jiangling first."

"So please tell me the truth, Uncle, where are Sun's troops now?"

Mi Fang was slightly taken aback, but did not say anything.

"What, Uncle Zhong, are you afraid I'll turn around and tell Guan Xing?"

"It's not that bad... Actually, I don't know either." Mi Fang shook her head.

“Sun Chariot Cavalry’s letter only said that once his army arrived, I would be rewarded if I surrendered the city.”

Miwei: "Such an important matter can only be resolved with such a hasty agreement. Isn't that too frivolous?"

“You don’t understand,” Mi Fang sighed softly.

"The more important the matter, the simpler it should be; otherwise, when things become complicated, oversights are inevitable."

"Once the main force arrives, the situation will be stabilized, and everything else will fall into place naturally!"

It seems that Sun Quan and Lü Meng are very cautious.

Mi Wei pondered for a moment, but did not hesitate:
"That's true. But in that case, wouldn't we just be left waiting, like fish on a chopping board?"

Mi Fang smiled bitterly: "Sun and Guan are like tigers and wolves fighting; we are just fish and meat to them!"

Upon hearing this, Mi Wei abruptly shook off the other person's hand, his face filled with indignation, and said:

"Uncle, how can a true man entrust his life and death to the whim of another?"

"The more unfavorable the situation, the more proactive we should be in turning the tables and taking the initiative!"

Mi Fang: "There are tigers in front and wolves behind, what should we do?"

Mi Wei: "I have a plan that can help my uncle turn the tide!"

As he spoke, he stepped forward and whispered something in his ear.

Mi Fang's expression changed several times upon hearing this.

Finally, he hesitated and asked, "Is this really feasible?"

"If you don't trust me, why don't you gather your trusted confidants to discuss this important matter?"

"By discussing it together, we can definitely identify and fill in any gaps in our knowledge and make some progress!"

Miwei offered his advice with a frank expression.

……

That night.

The county government held a closed-door meeting.

Mi Fang sat at the head of the table in the due north direction, with the Chief Clerk, the Registrar, the Chief Secretary, the Supervisor of the Gate, and the Clerk of the Thieves on either side of him.

Also known as the "Five Officials Under the Gate," they were the most core assistants under the prefecture government.

If the governor travels by carriage to inspect the counties, these five men are required to follow and clear the way, and to guard and protect him.

Of the five officials, only a portion of the chief clerks from each department came.

For example, the clerks in charge of grain transport and the clerks in charge of law, whom Miwei had dealt with before, did not come.

Both inspectors were present.

These people were nominally Mi Fangzheng's private subordinates.

It is different in nature from the imperial officials such as the Prefectural Assistant, the Commandant, and the Chief Secretary.

However, Mi Wei has gained more experience in the past few days and knows that everyone present is a prominent figure from the local gentry of Jingzhou.

Rather than saying they were recruited by Mi Fang, it would be more accurate to say they were the result of a political exchange between the two sides.

After some thought, everyone finished exchanging greetings.

Mi Fang got straight to the point:

"I summoned you all late at night because I received news that Guan Yu has probably learned of our contact with Sun Quan!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

The county clerk leaned forward and said:
"Guan Yu is four hundred miles away in Xiangyang. We have been acting with extreme caution. How could we possibly leak his secret?"

Mi Fang sighed, "I don't know how the secret was leaked; it was my nephew who told me about it."

He then looked at Mi Wei:

“Awei, repeat what you told me during the day to everyone again.”

Mi Wei responded immediately and told half the truth about Guan Xing clearing out the garrison soldiers around Jiangling and secretly sending Fei Shi to persuade Guan Yu.

It is indeed true.

The false means to exclude oneself.

However, some people did not readily believe it.

The older of the two inspectors reminded Mi Fang:
"That night, the Prefect's nephew also left his seat to change clothes and never returned!" Mi Wei, who had already prepared his answer, smiled shyly and said:

"Now that things have come to this, I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you all. That night, I actually went to meet the Guan family's daughter in secret."

"Unexpectedly, I stumbled upon Guan and Fei having a secret conversation. At that time, in order to save my life, I had no choice but to pretend to be friendly with them."

"These past few days, the two inspectors must have seen me associating with Guan Xing, right? That's the reason."

"However, thanks to this, I was able to keep my uncle and the other gentlemen informed in time!"

The two inspectors exchanged a glance, their suspicions still lingering.

Seeing that Mi Fang did not express her opinion, they all kept quiet for the time being.

At this moment, the clerk slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly:

"No wonder that scoundrel Guan Xing suddenly said the other day that he wanted to conscript able-bodied men from all the households to defend the city!"

"Later, when the conscription failed, they went to the governor's office to ask Pan Zhizhong for help."

"Fortunately, Pan Zhizhong upheld justice and did not yield!"

The county clerk standing nearby also seemed to understand upon hearing this, but became even more excited:
"That scoundrel suddenly led troops to besiege Lord Pan today; he's utterly depraved!"

Thanks to these two witnesses, Mi Wei didn't need to say much.

Gong Cao then said to Mi Fang:
"Your Majesty! Disaster is imminent, how should we respond?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Mi Fang, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Mi Fang, however, looked down at Mi Wei.

All eyes immediately fell on Mi Wei.

Mi Wei simply stood up, walked to the center of the arena, and bowed to the crowd, saying:

"Gentlemen, please hear what I have to say."

"Guan Yu has always been disrespectful to scholars. My uncle has rendered meritorious service in following the emperor's rise to power, and has devoted himself to the king's affairs all these years, yet he still cannot escape being scolded by him."

"You gentlemen have already been despised by Guan Yu, and now he has seized on this weakness. The day his army returns will be the day your families are wiped out!"

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed deeply, filled with worry and embarrassment.

Mi Wei: "Therefore, our only way out is to assist Sun Quan in taking Jingzhou as soon as possible!"

These words struck a chord with everyone, and they readily nodded in agreement.

"Then, young sir, what do you think is the best way for us to assist General Sun?"

This time, it was the head of the sect who spoke.

The supervisor of the gate is also called the supervisor of thieves.

Like the bandit clerk next to him, he was responsible for maintaining order in the prefecture and thus had actual command of troops (prefecture soldiers).

However, the military officer, who was ranked below the five officials, was only responsible for the recruitment, training, provisions, and equipment of the county soldiers, despite having the word "soldier" in his name.

It falls under the category of logistics management.

In other words, this supervisor was none other than Mi Fang's "number one general".

"Cross the river, take Gong'an to the south, and secure the first city for General Sun!"

"How...how can we rashly cross the river to attack the city?" The gatekeeper was dumbfounded. "This is childish thinking!"

Those who had initially held some hope shook their heads and chuckled upon hearing this.

“Awei, you don’t know this!” Mi Fang quickly explained.

General Fu Shiren did not respond to Sun Chariot Cavalry's offer of recruitment. He only did not explicitly refuse due to pressure from his subordinates.

In other words, they want to surrender but are too proud to do so directly.

Having witnessed the slippery nature of a seasoned veteran like Poon Chun, Mi Wei instantly understood Fu Shih-jen's mindset.

sidewalk:

"Don't you gentlemen understand yet? This is a golden opportunity!"

"As you, Uncle, have said, General Shiren has been isolated by his own forces. Once your armies arrive, we can take this city without bloodshed by coordinating from both sides... This will be the military achievement that will allow you to establish yourselves under General Sun in the future!"

"Of course."

“I know that your primary concern is preserving your clan, and you may not be interested in this credit.”

"But even for the sake of preserving the clan, I believe that you gentlemen should set off for Gong'an City as soon as possible!"

Mi Wei paused briefly, waiting for everyone's attention to focus on him again, before speaking:
"As we all know, Jiangling and Gong'an are separated by a river, one upstream and the other downstream."

"From a military perspective, the two cities form a strategic triangle; if one prospers, the other prospers; if one suffers, the other suffers."

"Now that Sun Cheqi is going upstream from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, he must first take down Gong'an and eliminate any worries about his rear before he can plan to go north to Jiangling."

"If things go smoothly, we don't need to do anything more. We can just wait for the right moment and let things take their natural course."

"But isn't Guan Yu almost here now?"

“If Sun Quan first takes Gong’an and then Jiangling, it will inevitably take a considerable amount of time.”

"I fear that before Sun Quan could even head north, Guan Yu's army would have already arrived!"

"By then, it will be too late to escape!"

(End of this chapter)