Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 610: Chaos in Qi
"This... Does General Guan have any counter-plan?" Fa Zheng received Deng Zhi's report very quickly, but was still caught off guard.
Obviously, Fa Zheng did not understand the deeper meaning of Guan Yu's behavior .
After Deng Zhi discovered that something was wrong in Chen Cang, he did not inform Liu Ji that Liu Bei was alive and had surrendered to Chu. He simply said that he had surrendered to Chen Cang!
Given the current situation of the Qi army, it is only natural that the Chu State would consider surrendering.
Although Liu Ji did not agree immediately, he was obviously moved, so he did not want the State of Chu to have any negative views of him. Taking advantage of the banquet, he cried to Deng Zhi about Guan Yu's behavior...
"Alas, my second brother is born arrogant, but he is also a very passionate person. I think... he really wants to persuade Cheng Zhi." Liu Bei's tone was helpless, and... he seemed to have suddenly aged a lot.
Chengzhi is Liu Ji's courtesy name, given by Liu Bei.
It is not known whether Liu Bei felt helpless and worried because of Guan Yu, or whether he felt tired because of Liu Ji's reaction.
Fa Zheng had no intention of comforting Liu Bei, and instead asked, "Is there any possibility that Liu Ji would defect to the Pseudo-Han?"
Because the court was completely controlled by Marquis Zheng and the new emperor was also supported by Marquis Zheng, Liu Bei did not refute the term "pseudo-Han", but shook his head and said: "Based on my understanding of Cheng Zhi... I believe he will not surrender to those traitors who 'killed me'! However... if I am not dead..."
Before Liu Bei finished speaking, Fa Zheng already understood what he meant and asked a different question: "Among the generals in Chencang, is there anyone who can immediately control Liu Ji after hearing the news about the Marquis of Qi?"
Liu Bei shook his head, but then said: "If I go there in person, I can persuade Cheng Zhi to surrender."
"No, that would be too dangerous for the Marquis of Qi." Fa Zheng said, and stopped discussing this possibility.
Regardless of whether it is dangerous to Liu Bei or not, letting Liu Bei go will also be somewhat dangerous to the State of Chu!
Even though Liu Bei looked very depressed after learning the news about Liu Ji and Guan Yu, Fa Zheng did not dare to treat him as a toothless tiger!
"Then, Lord Qi, do you think that if General Guan learned that Liu Ji had surrendered to Chu but didn't know that you were still alive, would he withdraw?" Fa Zheng continued to ask.
In terms of battlefield command and tactical decision-making, Fa Zheng was confident that "I, Fa Xiaozhi, am no worse than anyone else in my life", but he was a little worse when it came to guessing people's hearts.
Especially for people like Guan Yu and Liu Ji, Fa Zheng's understanding of them was based only on insignificant intelligence and their past great deeds.
So I need to ask Liu Bei who knows them...
"No, if that were the case, my second brother and Kong Ming would have chosen to continue moving eastward and plan to temporarily settle down in Guanzhong." Liu Bei shook his head again.
Judging from Deng Zhi's report, Liu Ji has already shown his intention to surrender to Chu - after all, he is in Chencang at this time and it is difficult for him to do anything.
No matter what consensus Ma Chao in Longyou had reached with Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang before, he would probably not be very trustworthy now, after all, Liu Bei was "dead".
Even if Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang had used their magical powers to make Ma Chao willing to submit to them or even to serve them, this agreement must have expired now.
At most, it was because Ma Chao had just seized military power and Longyou was also in chaos, so Liu Ji did not have to worry about being targeted by the Western Liang army.
As for his desire to subdue Ma Chao or encroach on Longyou, that was absolutely absurd.
Hanzhong is not something he can get his hands on, and he even has to worry about being stuck between Hanzhong and Longyou, a very important position. If a conflict breaks out between the two next time, he might be crushed to pieces!
In general, Liu Ji's brazen mutiny at this time, cutting off Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang's retreat, was quite reckless...
No, it should not be said that it is "courage", it should be said that it is "courage"!
This has nothing to do with "courage", it's more like being angry and doing it first...
Of course, surrendering to the Marquis of Zheng, or surrendering to the Pseudo-Han, is actually also an idea. After all, although Chencang is connected to Hanzhong through the Chencang Road, it is actually within the Guanzhong Plain and there is no geographical obstacle.
Even Sima Yi's official statement was that the imperial court had killed the Marquis of Qi without authorization, and that their Zheng army was only there to rescue him.
If at this time, Liu Ji was willing to use the title of successor to the Marquis of Qi, and it was in line with Sima Yi's wishes, Sima Yi would be happy to accept it.
However, Liu Ji obviously did not have such an idea. In this case ... Chu's surrender was actually a timely help to Liu Ji!
However, if Deng Zhi told Liu Ji the truth directly, Liu Ji would most likely defect...and if he hid it from him and tried to bring back Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang only in the name of surrender, Guan Yu would definitely not accept it!
Moreover, if the State of Chu pressed Liu Ji too hard, such as sending troops directly, Liu Ji might even defect to the Pseudo-Han.
Liu Ji had strong resistance to the fake Han who killed Liu Bei, and his character was also "very brave". In this situation, he would not simply succumb to the rational choice of interests.
However...this kind of "resistance" obviously cannot be tested!
So Deng Zhi was careful not to provoke him...
But this situation cannot continue forever, because the Qi army will be in great danger if they march to Fufeng and their retreat is cut off. If they are not careful, they will be wiped out by Sima Yi in one fell swoop.
Of course, for the State of Chu, this is just the difference between a small profit and a huge profit.
Just as Fa Zheng was constantly calculating the strategy to preserve the Qi army to the greatest extent possible through Liu Bei's understanding of Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji, news came from Qingxu, the native land of Qi.
This is actually what Liu Bei was more worried about before he learned about Guan Yu's amazing move...
After all, Zhang Fei's temperament, although rough but meticulous, was more violent than Guan Yu, and he did not have a think tank like Zhuge Liang to watch over him. Once he believed the news of Liu Bei's death, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong and others would definitely not be able to stop him.
Liu Bei was impressed by the speed at which the news came from the State of Chu - from Qingxu to Hanzhong, the news was delayed by less than half a day!
After Zhang Fei learned the official news of "Liu Bei's death" from the court, he was furious and immediately marched west to fight a decisive battle with the pseudo-Han.
Fortunately, Jian Yong temporarily persuaded them to calm down in the name of "supporting the young master and stabilizing the people's hearts. Since General Guan and the military advisor are not here, we cannot do without you, our third uncle."
However, there was indeed considerable resistance to Liu Chan becoming the Marquis of Qi, after all, Liu Chan was less than three years old...
As a result, Zhang Fei, who was too irritable because of the news of Liu Bei's death, chose the most rigid means when he found that some people were dissatisfied and even uneasy. He suppressed all the dissenting voices with iron blood, and no one's persuasion was effective. Even the Chen and Cao families, who had been getting along relatively harmoniously in the past, turned against him and were now forcibly suppressed...
After Fa Zheng learned the news, he looked at Liu Bei with disgust - You are already an adult, have you ever thought about what you would do after you really die?
