Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 567: Zhang Lu Surrenders to Chu
Zhang Lu was escorted by the Chu army all the way to Hanchang, but the heaviness in his heart did not ease at all - as expected, the city of Hanchang had already been occupied by the Chu army!
Although the Chu army came as allies in name, there was no violent conflict. There was only a small accident when they wanted to enter the city at the beginning. But now the defender has been persuaded by Zhao Yun (physically). After that, the Chu army did come in the name of allies to help away from home, but... in actual affairs, the Chu army had almost completely taken over Hanchang.
After all, there were only a few thousand defenders in the entire Hanchang, and they were second-line troops.
Zhao Yun is leading an army of over 10,000. Wouldn’t it be easy for him to take control of Hanchang?
And... nominally Zhao Yun insisted that this was "support", but it's hard to say whether the defenders of Hanchang believed it or not.
After all, they had only heard that the Western Liang army attacked Hanzhong , and they didn't even know that Yangping Pass had been broken.
But now they have to believe it even if they don’t want to. Seeing that this “Heavenly Master” himself has retreated to Hanchang under the protection of the Chu army, what else can they say?
After Zhang Lu arrived in Hanchang, he felt more and more that he was being detained here by the Chu army. In order to better play his role, Zhang Lu "asked to see" Zhao Yun many times, urging him to attack Hanzhong.
When facing Chen Dao, Zhang Lu was still a little arrogant. After all, he was the nominal ally of the King of Chu and the Marquis of Hanning who was granted the Nine Gifts...
Although Chen Dao was also a great general, he was not well-known in the State of Chu.
However, when facing Zhao Yun, it was difficult for Zhang Lu to be so tough - the commander of the Wangjing War Zone, one of the top leaders of the Chu military!
However, Zhao Yun was always polite to Zhang Lu. Although he "pressed" him into Hanchang and had no intention of returning the power of Hanchang to him, he always treated him with the courtesy of a prince.
However, in response to Zhang Lu's request, Zhao Yun just said that he was investigating the situation in Hanzhong and needed to make a long-term plan...
During this period, Yan Pu also secretly persuaded Zhang Lu many times not to hesitate any longer and not to be so cautious - Yan Pu actually wanted to directly advise Zhang Lu to hug Zhao Yun's thigh and shout: General, I don't want to work hard anymore!
Unfortunately, I have to consider Zhang Lu's face and can't say it so bluntly.
After days of persuasion, Zhang Lu's attitude did soften. After Zhang Lu stayed in Hanchang for half a month, Zhao Yun took the initiative to send someone to find him...
"General Zhao, you came to see me. Are you planning to retake Hanzhong?" Zhang Lu asked as soon as they met.
"Hahaha, don't worry, Marquis Hanning, the people of Hanzhong have been saved!" Zhao Yun laughed when he heard that.
Zhang Lu was stunned when he heard this. He had just mentioned it instinctively, but now he was sure that Zhao Yun really had news about Hanzhong. At the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief - it turned out that the Chu people still cared about Hanzhong. They were not just perfunctorily trying to get information from him before, but were really trying to get information.
"Yes, as long as this Heavenly Master personally takes action, and the Chu army is strong, the Western Liang army will not be able to occupy Hanzhong for long..."
However, before Zhang Lu could finish, Zhao Yun said solemnly: "Marquis Hanning is so concerned about the people, and his sincere heart is really touching. However... Marquis Hanning can rest assured. On the day of sending this letter, Nanzheng, Baozhong, Chenggu and other counties have been recaptured by our colleagues in the Jinghu North Road War Zone. The danger in Xicheng should have been resolved by now. We only need to completely break through Yangping Pass and force the Xiliang Army to retreat to Longyou!
Zhao was born in Hanzhong, and I would like to thank Marquis Hanning for his concern..."
As Zhao Yun spoke, he stood up and saluted Zhang Lu.
At this time, Zhang Lu was stunned and didn't even care about Zhao Yun 's "salute" - Nanzheng had actually been "taken back"?
There was no use for Zhang Lu to do anything, the Chu army took it back directly?
How long has it been?
and……
Chu troops in the north of Jinghu? Could it be that they are following the Han River...
Zhang Lu had naturally had his own selfish motives as he had been urging the Chu army to recapture Hanzhong as soon as possible while Hanzhong was still unsettled, in order to prevent the Western Liang army from gaining a foothold.
If we use his reputation to recapture Hanzhong, then even if we cannot become a local emperor like before, at least we will have to respect him more and we can have many bargaining chips to join us.
After all, Zhang Lu was not a prince who was only interested in power. If he really wanted to surrender, no one would be willing to risk the people's hearts and minds in Hanzhong and then destroy the bridge after crossing it...especially since the person he surrendered to was the King of Chu, whose reputation was more reliable in this regard!
However, the current situation is somewhat "slightly" different from what he imagined.
The Chu army did take advantage of the Xiliang army's unstable foothold to pacify Hanzhong, but... it has little to do with his Heavenly Master?
And if you think about it a little more deeply, you will know that since the Chu army did not use the Heavenly Master's reputation at all , it is impossible for them to speak up for him afterwards. In fact... nine out of ten times, they will even publicize his act of fleeing without fighting in Hanzhong!
In addition, he was detained in Bazhong by the Chu people. In other words, the Chu State was able to deal with it calmly, whether it was the diehards of Tianshi Dao or the disappointed generals and officials who learned that he had abandoned his people and fled.
After all, even if he is a die-hard fan of Tianshi Dao, what can he do now that Zhang Lu is under the control ?
In less than a month or two, the entire Hanzhong would be wiped out by the Chu army.
Zhao Yun's courteous manner now further confirmed Zhang Lu's idea - others were thanking him on behalf of the people of Hanzhong, which obviously meant that they treated the people of Hanzhong as their own people and him, Zhang Lu, as an outsider!
After Zhao Yun paid his respects, Zhang Lu just stood there in a daze and ignored him, but he did not feel awkward and continued talking to Zhang Lu about the customs and culture of Hanzhong.
Zhang Lu finally reacted, gritted his teeth... returned the greeting and said: "I dare not accept the general's courtesy. Lu... has neither the wisdom to benefit the people nor the courage to protect the people. I am incapable of taking on the position of Marquis of Hanning. Every time I think of this, I wake up early and sleep late, tossing and turning... Fortunately, the King of Chu did not abandon me and rushed to help Hanzhong, so I didn't cause a disaster. Lu is willing to follow the King of Chu..."
He gritted his teeth and continued, "Recover Hanzhong for the King of Chu!"
Zhao Yun then laughed and said, "Hahaha, Mr. Zhang, you are too polite! Your Majesty will be very happy to know that Mr. Zhang has such intentions!"
Zhang Lu grinned when he heard this.
Zhao Yun is really not polite at all and now he has become "Mr. Zhang".
But it makes sense... Marquis of Hanning was a title conferred by the Han Dynasty court. When Zhang Lu surrendered to Chu, he would most likely be granted a title of marquis, or even as a commendation, and it is very likely that he would be "hereditary". However, he would never be "Marquis of Hanning" again!
After Zhang Lu finally made this decision, he seemed a little frustrated and said, "General Zhao, please send my family to a safe place first. I can cooperate with you to calm the people in Hanzhong."
Zhang Lu's intention was to show that he would completely surrender to the State of Chu and use his status as a Heavenly Master to do something for the State of Chu...
However, Zhao Yun still declined and said that he would send Zhang Lu to a "safe place" as well.
Where is safe?
Naturally, Jinling is the safest place...
