Chapter 40 Success or failure

Liu Xun supported his hands on the table, leaned forward, staring at Liu Chan with disdain, "Ziming, do you say it again?"

Liu Chan snorted gently with his nose and asked back, "Brother, have I not said it clearly enough just now?"

Liu Xun glared at Liu Chan for a while, suddenly exhaled his energy, sat back on his original position with a thud, his face changed for a while, and he shook his head and grinned: "What a strange thing, 30,000 people surrendered without fighting. Are these Yizhou soldiers all made of paper? 30,000 people, 30,000 people, 30,000 people in his hand, there is no problem in Yizhou. You... you surrendered without fighting. How can I believe this?"

Liu Chan smiled silently, looking at Liu Xun who was unwilling to accept his grumble for a while, and then smiled relaxedly: "The brother thinks that his father should be fighting for death, and let the 20,000 tired army fight against the 20,000 Brazilian army, 10,000 Banjian, and 4,000 Hanzhong army, and then die bravely, so that his brother can have an excuse to occupy Chengdu, and send an edict to Yizhou to join the counties and fight Cao Zhennan again?"

Without waiting for Liu Xun to answer, he smiled disdainfully: "Brother, do you think you are Cao Zhennan's opponent? Are you more capable than your father and can you control generals like Li Yi in Badong smoothly?"

Liu Xun wanted to speak but stopped, looked at Liu Chan with dissatisfaction, thinking to himself, how did you know that I couldn't control Li Yi? When I sent a letter of persuasion to Badong, Li Yi immediately sent a letter of loyalty. Although the lion spoke loudly and asked for a lot of things, this shows that he is a greedy person. As long as I give him enough benefits, it would be expected that he would surrender to me. You nerd, just like a person with no temper like your father.

"Okay, my father is worried about your safety, so I will rush back to pass on a message to you, telling you not to get along with Liu Yu, there is no benefit." Liu Chan said lightly: "My father has surrendered, and all the officials in Yizhou have surrendered to General Cao now. Our Liu family has no ability to resist. He doesn't want you to resist stubbornly and die in vain. You should clean up and follow me to go out of the city to welcome General Cao and his father."

Liu Xun gave him a blank look, blinked and said, "You ask me to think about it. Anyway, they are still early from Chengdu, so don't be so anxious." He stood up, patted Yijia and said, "I am in military affairs and will not chat with you anymore. You can rest, and I will talk to you again in the evening."

After saying that, he strode out and ran away in a flash. Liu Chan was stunned and stood up to follow him. As soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by two guards: "The general has given him an order, please rest with peace of mind. When he finishes military affairs, he will come to find the young master."

Liu Chan was furious. He talked about feelings for a long time. Liu Xun was just a frightened person. In order to prevent him from disturbing people's hearts, he simply put him in house arrest. He couldn't help but regret that his father had taken care of him before leaving. Seeing that Liu Xun had gone to find Zhang Song and Xu Jing before, then contacted the prefect of Shu County Wang Shang and Chengdu Ling Li Yan, and not to look for Liu Xun directly. He felt that his brother should not be so stupid, he would not even listen to his father and brother's words and insisted on his own. Unexpectedly, Liu Xun was really brainwashed and actually put him under house arrest after staying with Liu Yu these days.

"It's outrageous." Liu Chan was furious and slapped his hand: "Do you dare to stop me?"

Five red fingerprints were added to the guard's face, but he still stopped in front of Liu Chan, his face as usual and he didn't say a word. Liu Chan was so angry that he kicked him a few times. Seeing that he was still indifferent, he stood in front of him like a wooden stake. He was even more annoyed and reached out to snatch the long knife on the guard's waist. But the guard was holding the handle of the knife with one hand, and Liu Chan couldn't pull it out even if he used his strength to use his breasts.

Liu Chan was out of strength. The two guards couldn't fight back and scolded him. Even if they didn't let him go out, he really didn't have any tricks. He walked around the house like a trapped beast. He said to the guard: "I won't go out, please find me some things, right?"

The guard nodded and replied, "The general has given the order. As long as the young master doesn't go out, everything else can be accepted."

Liu Chan snorted and said in disappointment: "I want to drink tea, find me some new tea, and I want new tea for this year."

The two guards looked at each other and said in a little embarrassed manner: "Young Master, there is only wine and no tea in the mansion."

"If you don't have it, go find it. Why are you standing stupidly?" Liu Chan said angrily, and kicked the guard on the body. The guard scratched his head, but he still didn't know, "I really don't know what new tea is. Please give me some advice."

"Go and find Xu Wenxiu, there will be one in their house." Liu Chan waved his hand impatiently, "Go and find it quickly, young master, I'm waiting to drink."

When the guard heard this, he did not dare to neglect it. He went out to find someone and hurried to find Xu Jing for new tea.

Because Xu Jing said a few good words for Cao Chong, Liu Zhang didn't like him, so he didn't take him to Langzhong and left him in Chengdu. He had nothing to do and played chess and bragging with Zhang Song and others who were under house arrest every day. He just came back from the Zhang family this year. As soon as he entered the door, he heard that Liu Chan sent someone to ask for new tea from him. He couldn't help but frowned and said to the guard: "You go back and tell the second young master, just say that the new tea here has just been finished. When I go find some, I will send it to him immediately."

The guards left without knowing each other and thanked him. Xu Jing didn't even enter the house, so he turned around and got on the carriage, turning around to the Zhang family.

Liu Xun went out and came straight to find Liu Yu. When Liu Yu heard that Liu Zhang surrendered without a fight, he now brought Cao Chong back to Chengdu, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He thought that Liu Zhang was equal to Pang Xi, and Cao Chong had only 4,000 troops. Even if he arrived in Langzhong, even if he had a strong combat power, he could not decide the final situation of losing both sides. After a fierce battle, they could seize several passes and force Chengdu. He could use the pretext of the remnants of Chengdu to stir up trouble, but he never expected that Langzhong would have no casualties and all became Cao Chong's troops.

"Brother, what should I do?" Liu Xun was a little panicked when he saw Liu Yu's face was not good and asked nervously.

Liu Yu calmed down and smiled relaxedly: "Zi Jing, you handled it well. The situation is not so bad now. Li Yi from Badong has arrived outside the city. You should send someone to inform him as soon as possible, saying that his uncle was held hostage by Cao Chong to seize Chengdu, and asked him to send a group of people to the city for defense. The others camped in Jintangling outside the city, forming a support with Chengdu, waiting for the counties to come to help. We immediately went to find Li Zhengfang from Chengdu, and asked him to arrest Zhang Song and kill them, and forced him to stand completely on our side..."

Liu Xun heard Liu Yu's arrangements in an orderly manner and remembered them carefully with his fingers. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Liu Yu and said, "We said that his father was held hostage by Cao Chong. Can they believe it?"

Liu Yu smiled and looked at Liu Xun with a profound meaning: "Do you believe you can defeat Cao Chong?"

Liu Xun was stunned and looked at Liu Yu without saying anything for a long time.

"If you don't have the confidence to defeat Cao Chong, now go out of the city to surrender, and then go to Yecheng to be a hostage, just like Zhang Xiu and his son." Liu Yu smiled. When Liu Xun heard him talk about Zhang Xiu, he couldn't help but burst into cold sweat, shook his head and said, "I don't want to be like them father and son, but now my father is in Cao Chong's hands, it seems that it's not easy to deal with me if I raise an army. Wang Shang, Li Yan and others may not believe that their father was hostage."

"So I ask if you have the confidence to defeat Cao Chong." Liu Yu smiled.

"Li Yi has a 10,000 army outside the city, and there are 10,000 people in the city. Cao Chong has only more than 20,000 people. It should be possible for us to defend Chengdu. At least there will be no problem for those who have been there for a year or two." Liu Xun said a little unconfidently.

Liu Yu shook his head and smiled disapprovingly, "Zi Jing, you were shocked by Cao Chong. Cao Chong has more than 20,000 people, but think about it, why did he dismiss the troops from all counties of Yizhou? He didn't think that there were too many soldiers, but because he had only 10,000 troops in his headquarters, his uncle brought 30,000 troops, and Pang Taishou brought 10,000 troops, which was more than his. He was afraid that he could not control himself, so he found an excuse to weaken his uncle's strength. Don't forget that Pang Taishou is your father-in-law, and his uncle's people are also from Yizhou. If you really want to fight, only Cao Chong's own 10,000 people can do his own efforts. He also has to guard against his uncle and Pang Taishou taking action behind him. Those who can really invest in the attack will be at most 5,000 people. If five thousand people want to capture Chengdu, it is a joke. This is not Cheng Gu, and you and I are not the two fools Zhang Wei and Yang Ang."

When Liu Xun heard this, he sighed and said with a smile: "According to brother's view, isn't it possible that we will win?"

Liu Yu sneered and pointed at Liu Xun and said, "You are such a coward. We are not just a coward. It's simply unreasonable to win. As long as we fight here, it's hard to say whether Cao Chong can save his life. There's no chance of winning." He shook his head and sighed, "It's not impossible to say that the difficulty is not lacking. Now it depends on how you deal with it. If you do well, you will be the next Yizhou governor, and you will defeat the young and famous Cao Chong in one battle. He is not the Yizhou governor who enjoys his achievements like his uncle. His prestige among the Yizhou people is incomparable. In the future, he will go east along the river and unify the south of the Yangtze River. At least he can rule the Cao family across the river. Even if he doesn't succeed, he can join forces with Liu Bei and Sun Quan to defend Yizhou and become the king of Chengdu. But if you don't do well now, you can only go to Yecheng to be a hostage?"

Liu Xun smiled and asked in a pleasing way: "What else is there to do if you think?"

Liu Yu stared into his eyes and said word by word: "What if they don't believe that their uncle was held hostage by Cao Chong?"

Liu Xun was stunned, the smile on his face suddenly stopped, and then said, "What do you think you should do?"

Liu Yu looked at him for a long time and suddenly grinned: "You, you should surrender. Your heart is too soft and you can't be a great hero. Forget it. I think it's better to follow my uncle to Yecheng and be a rich man. However, I'm afraid that even if I'm a marquis, you won't have anything to do. I'll have to be given a marquis. I'll have to be given a lord." He said, stood up and left easily, and smiled while walking, "As for me, I'll go into the mountains with my hair, why should I do it if I want to do it?"

Liu Xun stared at Liu Yu's back in a daze and said to himself, "Zi Ming?" He sat blankly for a while, gritted his teeth, shook his head and sighed, lowered his head, rubbed his face with both hands and pondered. After a long struggle, he suddenly stood up, tightened the long knife around his waist, and strode out of the door.

Liu Yu flashed from the side and chuckled to a thin man beside him: "Zi Jing is like his father, with soft ears. I'm afraid that even though he has made up his mind now, Zi Ming will not be able to do anything after saying a few words. You can help him."

The thin-faced man heard this, nodded slightly, responded with a sharp voice like an owl. His figure flashed, rushed up to the eaves, and soon disappeared from Liu Yu's sight. Liu Yu narrowed his eyes, blocked the sunlight in his eyes, looked up, smiled silently, turned around and said to a follower, "Notify Mr. Wu outside the city to prepare for action."

Liu Xun held the knife tightly and went straight to the room where Liu Chan was placed under house arrest. Liu Chan was sitting there with a faint face, looking at Liu Xun who was stroking without saying a word.

Liu Xun waved his hand, and several guards immediately retreated and closed the door tightly. He slowly pulled out the long sword and pointed at Liu Chan with the trembling tip of the knife: "Zi Ming, don't blame me, just blame you for not being able to save your father, causing your father to be held hostage and counterattack Chengdu. The efforts of my Liu family for more than 20 years were ruined. I can't watch the father and son become prisoners like this, so I have to..."

"What's the matter?" Liu Chan's face changed and his body froze. He looked at Liu Xun in disbelief, looking at the tip of the knife with a dazzling cold light in front of him, and said in a trembling voice: "Do you want to borrow my head and deceive the officials in the city to say that his father was held hostage by Cao Chong?"

Liu Xun blushed and immediately gritted his teeth and said, "Since you know, I won't say much to you. Only your head will make people believe what I said, and there is no other way. Don't worry, I will take care of your wife and children after you leave."

Liu Chan stood up slowly, looked at Liu Xun without a trace of expression, and narrowed his eyes: "You only mentioned my wife and children, but not the word father. It seems that he is ready to let his father beheaded by Cao Chong. Good brother, he is indeed cruel enough. No wonder Zhang Yongnian said that people who are blindfolded by power cannot often argue."

"Zhang Yongnian?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, "When did you see him?"

"Just shortly after you went out." Liu Chan curled his lips and smiled, "He told me that you might have a murderous intention toward me and use my head to seduce people. I don't believe it yet. I always thought we were brothers and you wouldn't be so cruel, but he didn't expect to hit it."

"How could you go to see Zhang Yongnian?" Liu Xun was shocked and turned around and was about to call the guards. Suddenly, a short crossbow flew out from a gap on the roof. The black arrow flashed with blue light and arrived in front of Liu Chan in an instant. Liu Xun screamed and collided with Liu Chan, who had not yet discovered it, knocking Liu Chan to the ground. At the same time, a trained sword light suddenly appeared in front of him, accurately chopping the short crossbow to the ground. A tall man stood with a knife, calm as a mountain, and bowed to Liu Xun with a smile: "Under the General Zhennan, the first team of Tigers will be selected to lead Li Wei and Li Yuanji to pay homage to Mr. Liu."

Liu Xun was shocked. He looked at the short crossbow on the ground, looked at Li Wei again, looked up at the roof that was ringing loudly, and asked nervously: "Who are you? Why did you appear here?"

"Hahaha..." A hearty laughter came from the side, Zhang Song led the way, and Xu Jing then walked out of the side room with a swaying sway. Then the door opened, and a big man walked to Liu Xun with a thin man in one hand, threw the thin man who was soft on the ground, turned around and smiled at Zhang Song: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission."

"General Deng is naturally very good at dealing with these villains." Zhang Song smiled, then closed his smile and said to Liu Xun, who had just gotten up from the ground and had not figured out the situation, "Although the eldest son is fascinated, he can still find his conscience at the critical moment, and he is still a little conscience. Young Master, since you haven't heard it clearly just now, I'll introduce it to you. These two are the special tiger leaders under General Zhennan's tent. This is the tiger soldiers' teaching, the tiger soldiers' Marquis Deng Zhan and Deng Ziyi, this is the tiger soldiers' team leading Li Wei and Li Yuanji. You should listen this time?"

"You...you..." Liu Xun was stunned, watching them retreat repeatedly, with a long sword in their hands standing in front of them, looking at Li Wei and Deng Zhan with caution. Deng Zhan smiled, kicked the thin man on the ground, and said to Liu Xun: "The eldest son must know this person, right?"

Liu Xun looked at him and said in confusion: "Aren't you a guard beside your brother? Why did you run to me?" He glanced at the short crossbow on the ground, then became furious, rushed up and grabbed the man's collar, shouting loudly: "You shot Ziming with a poison crossbow, are you trying to have his life, and then framed my head?"

The man glanced at Liu Xun and closed his eyes disdainfully.

Liu Xun was furious and raised his hand and was about to slash. Deng Zhan grabbed his hand and smiled, "Young Master, he doesn't want to frame you. I see that he still has a few arrows on his body. I want to shoot you to death together." As he said that, he pulled out a slender bamboo tube from the man's waist, which contained three identical short crossbows.

Liu Xun struggled desperately for a few times, but Deng Zhan held it firmly, unable to move at all, but instead struggled to sweat. Li Wei bent down and picked up the short crossbow, leaned forward to his nose and sniffed it, and smiled and said, "What a strong poison. A physique like the young master, it only takes three or five breaths to be separated from the world."

The thin man opened his eyes when he heard this, curled his lips and said, "Don't swear."

Li Wei laughed and squatted down to look at the man: "How about we try it, use this crossbow to see how long you can support it. If it exceeds five breaths, I will lose." As he said that, he pulled the man's clothes apart, compared the position, and made a gesture to stab. The man's face turned pale, shook his head repeatedly, and shouted: "Give up your life, spare your life..."

Zhang Song came over and kicked him coldly: "If you want to survive, just bring Liu Yu's conspiracy one by one."

Liu Yu led his men to the official party of Chengdu, who ordered Li Yan. Li Yan was sitting on the chess flag opposite Jiang Gan. The two fought back and forth between the chessboards, and it was difficult to distinguish. Li Yan held a cup of new tea in his left hand to deliver it to his mouth. He held a snow-white chess piece with his right fingers, and made a move in the air, but did not fall. His narrowed eyes passed through the misty tea atmosphere and glanced at the chessboard with complex situations, as if it was difficult for the chess to fall.

When Liu Yu saw that Jiang Gan was Li Yan's guest, his face changed suddenly. He turned around and left. Li Yan did not move, and seemed to have not seen Liu Yu. There were more than ten guards rushing out from the side of the door, holding a long sword and stopping Liu Yu and others.

"Young Master, since you come, you can rest assured, why do you need to leave?" Li Yanchang took a while to take a test and finally fell a son. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he sighed: "Ziyi, you have done everything, but you have lost Qingqing's life. This general's words are just right for Ziyi at this time."

Jiang Gan laughed, and admitted defeat, clapped his hands and said, "Life is like chess, life is not as good as chess. If you lose chess, you can still review the game and come back. But life is only once, and if you make a mistake, you will lose all the game. Although the adults are not very happy in front of you, this move is a clever trick, which can soar to 90,000 miles."

Li Yan laughed to the sky, reached out to brush the chessboard, wiped the chess game, and sighed and said, "I, Li Yanchu, don't believe in the reputation of a general, left my hometown, and was in panic all day long. Fortunately, Liu Yizhou gave me a bite of food. Unexpectedly, I was regarded as a rat who had milk and was a mother. I dared to use a little bit of flies to buy me. It was really a hero's end of the world."

He stood up, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face and walked to Liu Yu: "Young Master Liu, do you really think that there is no one in Yizhou and there are no heroes in the world? This trick is so clumsy to play with Li in this trick. Do you really think that Guiguzi can be considered a complete plan by reading a few books on the Warring States Policy. Do you have to play with sentient beings in your hands?"

Liu Yu looked pale and did not dare to look at Li Yan like a needle. He dodged timidly and said with a forced smile: "I just saw Lord Li having a guest here, so it is inconvenient to disturb him, but I don't know what Lord Li said these words mean."

Jiang Gan stood up with a teacup, walked to Liu Yu and looked at him with a smile, took a sip of tea with great pleasure, and said with a pleasant smile: "I heard for a long time that Qin Zijie lived in seclusion in Yizhou and was very careful in studying the Warring States policy. I didn't expect that the young master would be so good. He was not talented and knew the Warring States policy. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to discuss with the young master. I am here to ask Lord Li to deliver the military power in Chengdu and let you lead troops to fight against General Cao?"

He laughed to the sky and pointed his finger at Liu Yu, who was ashamed: "The two children, I don't know how to adapt to the times. Liu Yizhou bowed to the general's foot. You two want to play tricks too. Lord Li was partly like a stream, and he was stubborn and knew everything about the world. Winning and defeat were calculated by your heart. How could he be moved by your clumsy arrangement?"

Liu Yu was embarrassed by his words and said with a quack smile: "Jiang Ziyi, don't be too proud. Li Zhengfang, you can't be considered a hero if you go back on your word. Without you, a thousand people, I can still control Chengdu. The army of Badong Prefect Li Yi has arrived outside the city, and three thousand of them have entered the city. Can you control the situation in Chengdu by your thousand people?"

Li Yan snorted coldly: "Aren't you just expecting someone to kill the second young master, to blame General Cao, to arouse the anger of Chengdu people, and to find an opportunity to kill the eldest young master, and then you will control the military power? Is this too much a joke? I might as well tell you that Badong has long been taken down by General Cao's subordinate General Le, General Liu and Xu. Now the ones stationed outside the city are Xu and Li Yi. The three thousand people who entered the city are Liu Pan and Liu Ziju. He is on the way to me, and you will see it immediately."

"Who is talking about me?" Liu Pan laughed and stepped in, walked to Liu Yu and took a look, turned his head to Jiang Gan and Li Yan and smiled, "Zheng Fang, Ziyi, is this the ignorant prince who knows the height of the sky and the earth?"

Li Yan and Liu Pan are old acquaintances, and he laughed: "No, I took the official position of Guanghan Prefect to bribe me, as if I had never been an official."

Liu Pan laughed and patted Li Yan on the shoulder: "That's right, Li Zhengfang must be the governor of Yizhou, at least he must be the governor of Guanghan. This Guanghan prefect is too young."

Jiang Gan shook his head and smiled, "Zi Ju, you are wrong. I bribed Li Zhengfang, but I only used a pack of new tea and a handwritten letter from General."

Liu Pan was surprised: "When did the Zhengfang be bought so easily?"

The three of them looked at each other and laughed, looking at Liu Yu as if nothing had happened. Liu Yu sighed to the sky, silently.

In early June of the 15th year of Jian'an, Cao Chong came to Chengdu with Liu Zhang. Liu Xun knelt down in front of Liu Zhang and cried bitterly, and the father and son cried to each other. Liu Zhang no longer had the concern for the position of governor of Yizhou here. Instead, he remembered Liu Mao's grievances and asked Cao Chong to pardon Liu Yu. However, Liu Yu was bored and had already died of hunger strikes in prison. Liu Zhang was sad for a long time and loaded Liu Yu and Liu Mao's coffin on a large ship and transported him back to his hometown in Jiangxia for burial.

In August, the emperor issued an edict, conferring Cao Chong as General Zhennan and governor of Yizhou, exempting him from the prefect of Nanjun, who was appointed as the leader, and Liu Ba took over. At the same time, he rewarded the military personnel and agreed to all the new policies and measures that Cao Chong wrote to request the imperial edict in Jingyi.

The emperor issued another edict to grant Liu Zhang the title of Zongzheng and immediately went to Xu County to take office. All the officials in Yizhou were awarded the rewards.
Chapter completed!