Chapter 216: Intimidate Hanzhong

In March, Nanzheng City on the Han River is shrouded in a mist. Such fog is common to the people living here. Due to the obstacles of the north and south mountains, the water vapor gathered on the Han River cannot dissipate horizontally. Their only direction is to climb upwards along the mountain.

Everything will become hazy in the morning when blocked by the fog, which makes the Maharaja Zhang Lu, who has just woken up, feel even more uneasy.

The Yellow Turbans raged up and occupied Hanzhong with troops, and the sects fought to kill the boss Zhang Xiu. In the early years, Zhang Lu was so energetic, showing courage and wisdom that he could not be compared with. However, just like Liu Biao and Yuan Shao when he was young, when he was old and his spirit was gone, Zhang Lu also lost the opportunity to compete for the world.

The best opportunity came when Liu Zhang was defeated. Liu Zhang, who was plotted by Liu Bei, sent envoys to ask Zhang Lu for help. Although he knew the truth that his lips were dead, Zhang Lu was stubborn to the revenge of killing his mother and gave up the correct opinion of raising troops to enter Shu.

Now, all the heroes are in decline for the time being. Liu Zhang and Liu Bei are gone one after another, and only Zhang Lu is left to survive the end of the game. Even if he has the ability to confuse the world, he can no longer gather people's hearts to keep this foundation for him.

Taking a shower and changing clothes, instructing the maid to light up the good sandalwood. Zhang Lu, who had already become rich, struggled to move his legs that were slightly swollen, and then closed his eyes to prepare for morning class. Morning class is the top priority of daily practice. Although Zhang Lu has been abandoning his Taoism in recent years, he still needs to do it.

Just as Zhang Lu was thinking about it, the adviser Yang Song hurriedly ran in, and he brought shocking news that Sima Fu, the envoy of Cao Cao in the Dongcheng Inn, was killed.

"Master Master, Sima Fu suddenly encountered an unexpected accident. It is very likely that it has something to do with the newly arrived envoy of Jiangdong, Yu Fan. According to his subordinates' opinions, we should immediately send troops to capture Yu Fan so that we can explain it to Prime Minister Cao." Yang Song looked panicked. Yu Fan's thunderous methods made Yang Song and others who were eager for the puppet court of Xu Du suddenly lose their support.

Hearing this news, Zhang Lu's body shook slightly. He frowned slightly, but his eyes did not look at Yang Song's expression. Yang Song, who had been fighting with Xu Du in the morning, rushed over. His purpose was very clear, and he wanted to take advantage of the problem to exert the relationship between the deterioration and Gao Chong, so as to prompt himself to move closer to Cao Cao. Zhang Lu knew these small calculations of his subordinates very well.

"Yang Song, do you say that Yu Fan carried out the assassination? Is there any definite evidence or just based on guesses?" Zhang Lu pondered for a long time and slowly said this sentence.

"Master, Yang Song is rude to deceive the crowd. Please kill him quickly!" Before Yang Song could come forward to answer, there was a sound of footsteps, and Yan Pu rushed in with sweat and screaming.

"Yan Pu, what do you mean?" Yang Song stopped Yan Pu and asked angrily.

Among the ministers in Hanzhong, Yan Pu and Yang Song were incompatible with each other in order to fight for who was the first strategist, and their positions were contrary to each other. They also chose different destinations in the major events that determine their future and destiny.

"Hmph, I want to ask you what it means. Jun Shi Mingjian, there are Gao Chong's army on the east, west and south sides of Hanzhong, now. Yu Fan is the special envoy of Gao Chong, the Xia King. What will happen if we arrest him casually?" Yan Pu ignored Yang Song's entanglement and said in a deep voice to Zhang Lu.

"Master Master, Yan Pu has been hooking up with people from Jiangdong. Last night, the ghost soldiers of his subordinates patroled the night. Maybe Sima Fu's assassination was related to him." Yang Ang did not show any weakness and counterattacked.

It should be said that Yang Song’s news was quite correct. Yan Pu did know in advance that Yu Fan was going to assassinate Sima Fu. In this process, Yan Pu also promptly transferred the night patrol ghosts in the inn to another place. Unfortunately, in terms of eloquence, there was a clear gap between Yang Song and Yan Pu.

In response to Yang Song's reprimand, Yan Pu turned to Zhang Lu, took his crown and knelt down on his knees and said, "Master Jun, Yang Song's words are completely slandered. In order to avoid suspicion and maintain his innocence, his subordinates first resigned from the position of the head-court priest. As for what Yang Song said about hookups, Pu dared to guarantee the whole clan's life and life, and never did anything to sorry for the priest. But Yang Jijiu, I have evidence to confirm that he has received many benefits from Sima Fu."

Taking retreat as advance, Yan Pu seemed to retreat step by step, but he secretly showed his edge in his words. Yang Song slandered Yan Pu without any warning and let himself fall into the trap. When Yang Song came back to realize it, Zhang Lu had already opened his eyes and cast a powerful and suspicious look at him.

Yang Song was so scared that he knelt down quickly, kowtowed repeatedly and defended himself: "Master, Master, don't listen to Yan Pu's lies!"

Just as the monarch and ministers were suspicious of each other and were in a mess, suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside, and a servant ran in to report to the Jiangdong envoy Yu Fan for a visit.

"Come here, please wait for the oil pan, please!" Zhang Lu ordered.

The boiling oil pan was immediately placed in the center of the conference hall. The heat burned, and the oil kept rolling and steaming. No matter what it was, it would immediately turn into a pile of oil residue.

Yang Song's words made Zhang Lu skeptical. Since Yu Fan came uninvited, he could just try his courage and background. This is Zhang Lu's intention.

"Yu Fan, the envoy of Xia Kingdom, paid a visit to the master!" The voice was clear and Yu Fan, who had not been asleep all night, was in good spirits. He was holding a wooden box with red lacquer carved dragons in his hand.

When he saw the whistling oil pan in front of him, Yu Fei showed a sarcastic smile on his face. He calmly stopped in front of the oil pan and said, "It turns out that the etiquette of Master Jun entertaining envoys is so unique!"

"Yu Fan, you dare to come to see Master Jun alone?" Yan Pu was dumbfounded. Yu Fan's actions within this day made Yan Pu, who was very steady and unpredictable.

"Hmph, Yu Fan, you dare to be stubborn until you die?" Seeing Yu Fan's words sarcastic, Yang Song, who had been determined to attack, burst out and shouted.

"Diet - it's not easy, but Feng didn't come alone. Now there is a gift to be seen by Master Jun!" After Yu Fan said that, he stretched out his right hand and opened the box.

There was a bloody head inside.

——The head of the envoy of Cao Cao, Sima Fu.

Yu Fan did not say anything about panic. This time he asked for a visit, he was not alone. There was another person accompanying him, but this person was left with a fluffy head. When he first arrived in Nanzheng, he killed his rival Sima Fu at night, and then offered his head as if no one else was around. Just when Yan Pu tried his best to get out of Yu Fan, Yu Fan unexpectedly did not make any move and presented Sima Fu's head directly.

"Yu Fan, this is not Jinling. Do you know the result of Miao Ping's view of me Zhang Lu?" Yu Fan's reckless behavior in Nanzheng City made Zhang Lu, whose authority was challenged, feel embarrassed and angry.

In a rage, Zhang Lu's eyes immediately appeared in murderous intent, and the ghost soldiers standing on both sides drew their swords and waited for Zhang Lu to give an order. Seeing this, even Yan Pu did not dare to advise anything again, while Yang Song had a gloating expression on his face.

On the contrary, Yu Fan seemed very calm. He met Zhang Lu's gaze without fear and said, "Why did Master Maharaja say this? Feng removed a piece of harm for you last night. Should you thank me?"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Lu, who felt that his dignity was damaged, looked ashen and pressed his chest and asked angrily.

Yu Fan said calmly: "From going to Hanzhong, every time I pass by, I will see the displaced people gathering in front of Yicang. I think if it weren't for the benevolence, righteousness and kindness of the king, these people would probably have been exposed to the wilderness. Now my lord sent me here because he was willing to favor the people, so as to avoid the suffering of military disasters in Hanzhong. Unfortunately, some people do not know the current affairs and try to deceive the king and my lord. Once the war starts, the deceived will be the king and tens of thousands of people in Hanzhong. The benefit is those villains who take advantage of the chaos. This is the purpose of the king and the king."

Yu Fan talked with emotion, first complimenting Zhang Lu for a few words, then showed his sharpness, pointing directly at Yang Song and others who were trying to storm the war.

"This-!" Zhang Lu's face cleared a little and hesitated.

Seeing that Zhang Lu's attitude was slow, Yu Fan took a step forward and said loudly: "If Master Jun still has doubts, he still has another question: I wonder if Master Jun thinks his reputation in the world. Which one is more famous than Liu Biao, the emperor's uncle Liu Bei, and the general Sun Ce who was fighting against rebellion?"

"It's true that I'm not as good as it is."

Yu Fan asked again: "I wonder if there are many capitals in Hanzhong, whether the weapons are superb, and whether the soldiers are brave. If they are used to compare with Jingzhou and Yangzhou, which side is more powerful?"

Hanzhong was originally just a county under Yizhou. It was only after Zhang Lu occupied this place that he gradually broke away from the control of Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou. Compared with the large population and the economically developed Jingyang states, the difference was that it was in heaven and earth.

"Hmph, you Yu Fan, aren't qualified to humiliate me yet?" Zhang Lu could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He stood up in anger with his robe. The servants on both sides immediately rushed forward, and he was about to raise Yu Fan and throw him into the oil pan.

Faced with the threat of death, Yu Fan was not afraid and laughed: "I didn't expect that the great leader of the sect, Mr. Zhang Jun, was afraid of me, Yu Fan?"

"Just, where am I afraid of you?" Zhang Lu said.

Yu Fan clapped his clothes and said in a deep voice: "Then Master, please wait a moment, and listen to me. After the question was just now, it was not intentional humiliation. Instead, I hope that Master, and the knowledgeable people in Hanzhong could see the current situation clearly. From the objective situation, compared with our master who occupied the four states of Jing, Yang, Jiao and Yi, Hanzhong is only a small place. It is difficult to gain the upper hand in terms of population, economy, and talent. The only thing that can be maintained is just a favorable terrain. My king of Daxia is Gao Chong, with a broad wisdom and a great military force. In front of him, there was a feat of sweeping Jingxiang and then a plan to settle Bashu in the west. Both of these were heard by the Lord. Now Ma Chao of Xiliang has formed an alliance with my master. Three armies have been forced to Xicheng, Chencang and Yangpingguan. The king wants to guard the orphan county. He has found his own resources. He knows that he has insufficient resources. If he didn't make plans earlier, he would regret it."

After these words were said, the hall was silent, and Zhang Lu's expression changed. It was obvious that Yu Fanzhi's words hit him the key point, and Yan Pu and others who were interested in returning south heard it secretly cheered.

After a long time, Zhang Lu waved his hand dejectedly and said, "The nobles are working hard all the way, so it must be hard. Why not take a few days off and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Nanzheng." After that, Zhang Lu turned around without waiting for everyone to speak, and helped the servants to sleep.

Yu Fan was not in a hurry to these excuses. He knew that Zhang Lu was still hesitating. To strengthen his confidence, he needed to add another or two fires.

This fire came from Lu Xun in Shu and Zhao Yun and Ma Chao in Xiliang.

On March 17, the tenth year of Jian'an, Lu Xun, who was ordered by Gao Chong, led 10,000 elite troops out of Jiange to attack Yangping Pass, the gateway to Hanzhong. Yang Ren, the general Zhang Lu who guarded the pass, came out of the pass to fight, but was defeated by Lu Xun's trick of defeat and luring the enemy. What's more serious is that Yang Ang was knocked down by Yan Yan's sword, and Yang Ren was seriously injured and finally escaped back to the pass. If it weren't for the steep terrain of Yangping Pass and the one man blocked the pass, he would not have opened up, Lu Xun's army would have already entered the Hanzhong Valley.

The disaster never came alone. Just when Zhang Lu was in a panic, on March 25th, another news came. The cavalry of Xiliang followed the post road to the hinterland of Yongzhou. Even the Chang'an area was in a panic. The Ziwu Valley, the last road to Guanzhong, was cut off. At this point, Hanzhong and the outside world were completely cut off.

On April 1, the tenth year of Jian'an, Zhang Lu, who was desperate, finally accepted the conditions proposed by Gao Chong. After that, although he would still be the "King of Hanzhong", he could only enjoy his old age without any authority. Such an ending may not be the best result for Zhang Lu.

On April 7, Lu Xun led his troops into Nanzheng City. When Yang Song and others heard that the troops had arrived, they fled in a hurry, but were caught up by Zhang Yi and escorted back to Nanzheng.

The capture of Hanzhong without bloodshed was of great significance to Gao Chong. Strategically, gaining the rule of Hanzhong means that Gao Chong officially connected the two battlefields of the south and northwest; politically, Zhang Lu's surrender also greatly shook the Han Dynasty's position in the minds of the vast majority of knowledgeable people.

In addition, Yu Fan, who was brave and courageous and extremely courageous, also made Gao Chong's eyes lit up. With his performance in this trip to Hanzhong, Yu Fan won unanimous praise from all the ministers in Jiangdong.

With Guangling-Shouchun as the eastern front, Jingbei-Hanzhong as the central front, and Liangzhou as the western front, Gao Chong successfully unified the southern states that had belonged to various power groups through continuous expansion. From the perspective of regional scope, Gao Chong's power has surpassed Cao Cao, and what awaits them will soon be a life-and-death battle.

This is the hero's killing field.

It is also the destination that heroes yearn for.
Chapter completed!