Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 611: Sincere Fa Zheng
The Chu State relied on its advantage of being a well-informed intelligence agency to spread the news that Liu Bei was still alive to Qingzhou and Xuzhou as quickly as possible...
However, it was still a step too late - mainly because the two sides divided the Huai River and were wary of each other. After Fa Zheng of Chu received Hua Xin and Liu Bei, it took only half a day for the envoy of Chu to deliver the message that needed to be conveyed to Guangling. However, it took several days before the envoy of Chu entered Xia Pi.
The reason why I entered Xia Pi...
This was because Pengcheng, the seat of Xuzhou, had been occupied by the Xuzhou gentry headed by the Chen and Cao families. Even Zhang Fei, the families of Liu Bei and Guan Yu, including the ignorant Liu Chan, and a large number of civil servants who accepted Liu Chan's succession, were unable to escape and were all detained!
Zhang Fei was able to escape, half due to luck, and the other half... was because his divine general was a good fighter!
Originally, Zhang Fei was in Pengcheng. Because Liu Bei was dead, his thinking ability dropped sharply. He had lost his usual rough but delicate nature, and was left with only rough but tough nature...
In order to suppress his opponents and guard against a counterattack by the local gentry in Xuzhou, he mobilized a large number of grassroots generals into the city to monitor the actions of each family, and he was particularly impatient with his subordinates.
He couldn't wait to launch an expedition against the Han Dynasty the next day, and kept urging his soldiers to prepare for various matters related to the expedition.
As a result, they were "taken advantage of", the local gentry colluded with the defenders outside the city, and their trusted generals were dispatched into the city, while outside the city... there was a rebellion!
Moreover, Zhang Fei wanted to kidnap the nobles in the city as hostages, but he couldn't do it, because although the rebels in the city were small, they hit the vital points...
Zhang Fei never expected that Mi Fang, who had always been "trustworthy", actually sided with other nobles and detained Liu Chan and Mrs. Mi!
The Mi family was Liu Bei's wife's family, and if Liu Bei had stayed in Xuzhou, then naturally Mrs. Mi would have been his legal wife. After Liu Chan's biological mother died of childbirth, Liu Chan was also raised by Mrs. Mi, so he was considered the eldest son...
Zhang Fei had never thought that Mi Fang would get involved with the "opposite side".
Even... two of Zhang Fei's deputy generals were instigated to rebel and almost took his life while he was resting!
In history without the white rabbit effect, Zhang Fei knelt like this. Fortunately, it was Liu Bei who died "this time", so Zhang Fei thought of his eldest brother especially, and then... he thought of his eldest brother's advice to him that he should not drink when he was extremely angry, extremely sad, or extremely happy.
So I drank a few less glasses and was only half drunk...
It’s not that Zhang Fei was so disobedient. In fact, before the news of Liu Bei’s death was passed back, Zhang Fei, who was entrusted with the rear, had never drunk a drop of alcohol. It was just because he was depressed about Liu Bei’s death that he had to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
Because he was only half drunk, Zhang Fei sobered up at the critical moment, and the god general did not need a military token and directly transformed to kill two people.
After discovering the chaos in the city, he followed Jian Yong's advice and led his trusted aides to fight their way out and rushed to Xia Pi to station his troops.
The person originally in charge of Xia Pi was Mi Zhu, Mi Fang's brother. Zhang Fei used to trust this "old minister" who had followed Liu Bei in his early years, but now... he definitely couldn't trust him.
However, Jian Yong supported Mi Zhu, and he had strong evidence - if Mi Zhu was also unreliable, they would have faced attacks from the Xia Pi garrison when they were in Pengcheng!
Zhang Fei then went to Xia Pi with doubts.
The fact was just as Jian Yong expected. Mi Zhu had no idea what was going on. After learning about the situation, he also beat his chest and stamped his feet at Mi Fang's behavior, and welcomed Zhang Fei into the city without any precautions...
Fortunately for the State of Chu, the misunderstanding in Xuzhou was different from the situation in Chencang.
Although Zhang Fei was sad and angry after the Pengcheng Incident, not long after that, the envoy of Chu State came to Xia Pi and wanted to go to Pengcheng. However, when Zhang Fei learned that something had happened in Pengcheng, Fei Yi, who was the envoy, chose to meet Zhang Fei directly when he was in Xia Pi.
Then he informed Zhang Fei in person that Liu Bei was still alive and had surrendered to Chu with awe-inspiring righteousness...
Zhang Fei didn't believe a word about the latter part about surrendering to Chu, but the first half was the best news for him!
It’s not that Fei Yi was not as flexible as Deng Zhi, but the situation was different - Fei Yi even had to go to Pengcheng in person to inform Chen and Cao of the "good news".
If Liu Ji knew that Liu Bei was still alive, he would be so ashamed and angry that he would probably surrender to the Han Dynasty. However, the Xuzhou gentry did not have such concerns!
Since Liu Bei is already in the State of Chu, does he still need to worry about the "Marquis of Qi" coming back for revenge?
They could just surrender to Chu together. There would be no emotional barriers. Even next time they met the Duke of Qi, they could accuse Zhang Fei with a clear conscience.
For the King of Chu , the Xuzhou gentry were obviously more trustworthy. It was impossible for him to have any negative views of them just because they rebelled against Zhang Fei and Liu Chan once.
I even feel that they are not Qi Hou's diehards, so it will be easier to use them in the future...
The only thing is that Mi Fang might feel a little emotionally embarrassed , but it is not his turn to have the final say in Pengcheng now!
As for Qingzhou, Guan Yu was in charge before. After Guan Yu led his army away, Guan Ping was in charge.
Unfortunately, the two ports of Donglai County were not in the mainland of Chu State and were not within the coverage of Huang Tianji’s signal, so they could not receive the news in the first time. Chu State only immediately dispatched an additional fleet to Donglai!
After all, Qingzhou was closer to Wei, and Sima Yi must have had contact with Wei before, so the news was already in advance. Neither Bai Tu nor other think tanks of Chu believed that Chu could be faster than Wei in Qingzhou.
The reason why the fleet and troop transport ships were sent forward was that they were prepared to seize Qingzhou by force!
Even if Wei had intervened earlier, it would have been easier for Chu to "take it back" given its unstable foundation. It would have been better if Guan Ping could hold on a little bit, but... after Liu Bei's death and the changes in Pengcheng, it would be better for Qingzhou to prepare for the worst.
However, when the latest news from Pengcheng and Xiapi reached Hanzhong, Fa Zheng's face became sincere...
In fact, Fa Zheng wanted to smile more, but he put on a sincere look in front of Liu Bei.
"I didn't sleep last night, and after thinking for a while, I realized that... Lord Qi Hou is extremely loyal and righteous, and he is also a good friend of our king. He has already sworn to heaven and earth, so how could he break his promise to our king? Why not let General Wei Yan escort the Lord Qi to Chencang today!"
Liu Bei felt a pang in his heart when he saw Fa Zheng's sincerity.
Originally, Fa Zheng didn't want to take any risks in this regard, but after a few days, he agreed to go to Chencang under Wei Yan's supervision?
In other words... my danger level has decreased?
Liu Bei understood something in an instant, and asked with a trembling voice: "But what happened to my third brother?"
"Don't worry, the envoys from our Chu State have arrived and have mediated between the various parties in Xuzhou. There are no major casualties for the time being." Fa Zheng was very kind, as if asking: Are you touched?
