Chapter 6: The Wine Cup Releases Military Power

  Liu Zhang read out the names one by one: "County Lieutenant Zhang Mo, Prefectural Treasury Director Jin Xiang, County Captain Hong Bai, East City Magistrate Wang Yuan..." Liu Zhang read out over a dozen names, then said to Gong Zhi: "These people are all quite good, summon them all here. The official will reward them at tonight's banquet."

  As soon as Gong Zhi heard this, he knew that these were all people planted by Zhao Wei'an. Each and every one of them was a threat to his department. If it could be said that the great governance of Fu City was their achievement, then so be it. In his heart, Gong Zhi secretly lamented, for he had already been almost completely marginalized by these followers of Zhao Wei'an. If Liu Zhang were to promote them again, then he would truly have nothing left to do as county magistrate. However, seeing the resolute attitude with which Liu Zhang rewarded them, Gong Zhi could only obey orders.

  At the banquet in the evening, Liu Zhang raised his wine glass to the civil and military officials of Fucheng: "Fucheng is greatly governed, everyone has worked hard and made great contributions. I would like to offer a toast to all of you."

  "Thank you, sir." Zhang Mo and Hong Bo stood up together with others.

  Liu Zhang finished a cup of wine and sighed to the crowd: "This official has always stayed in Chengdu, never visiting the counties for inspection. Today, I arrived at Fucheng and only now realize that I have overlooked all of you great talents. With your abilities confined to this small Fucheng, it is my fault. Now, I will repay your loyalty. County Lieutenant Zhang Mo, who governed Fucheng well, with rich and prosperous citizens, will be promoted to Chengdu County Lieutenant. The defense of Fucheng is as solid as gold soup, the merits of County General Hong Bai cannot be ignored, he will be promoted to Assistant General...

  Liu Zhang continuously promoted and rewarded, some of them jumped several ranks at once. These people had already received notice from Zhao Wei to act as insiders the next day, but now hearing Liu Zhang's generous rewards, they somewhat regretted following Zhao Wei. However, this thought was fleeting, and Liu Zhang's unclear reward and punishment system made Zhang Mo and others look down on him.

  Hong Bo took a step forward and said: "Thank you, Your Excellency, for the reward. These are all within my duties as an official. I am not good at drinking and tonight I still need to patrol the city walls, please forgive me."

  "Ah?" Liu Zhang stood up and sighed, "County Lieutenant Hong is truly dedicated to his duty, he's a model for the officials of Yi Province. I, as the governor, cannot neglect County Lieutenant Hong. Today, you can enjoy the feast with peace of mind, don't worry about the city defense. Tomorrow, when General Zhao arrives, I will praise your selfless spirit in front of the army and the people."

  Liu Zhang said to this point, turned to Zhang Ren beside him: "General Zhang, do you see? You and the others should learn from the military officers of Fu City, don't be blindly arrogant. Tonight's city defense is handed over to you, first let Hong Xianwei and others relax a bit, secondly, you can also take a good look at Fu City's defense and learn from experience, do you understand?"

  Zhang Ren took a step forward and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will definitely study hard and not be blindly arrogant." After finishing speaking, he beckoned to several trusted generals and left. Hong Bai was about to say something when Liu Zhang pulled him by the hand towards the main seat, and again praised him profusely. Fa Zheng, who was accompanying the banquet on the side, took a sip of wine, smiled lightly and said, "A good cup of wine can release military power."

  At this point, Fa Zheng was certain that Liu Zhang was going to take drastic action against Zhao Wei. At the same time, a surge of passion rose in his heart. If the lord had grand ambitions, as a subordinate, he would definitely have something to do.

  Zhang Ren and several generals walked out of the gate, immediately saying seriously: "Gao Pei, lead 100 soldiers to the south gate to take over the city defense, Leng Xiao leads 100 soldiers to the north gate, Deng Xian goes to the west gate, Yang Huai goes to the east gate."

  "Yes." The four of them took their orders and left.

  "Liu Huan." Zhang Ren called out.

  "The last one will be in." A young commander stepped forward.

  "Lead a thousand soldiers to take over the city's garrison, before dawn all the guards must be replaced with our people. The original soldiers of Fu City were dispersed and reorganized, but those who resisted were killed."

  "Yes." Liu Huan took his orders and left.

  Zhang Ren finished giving the order, regained his composure and entered the main hall, as if nothing had happened, standing beside Liu Zhang with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Liu Zhang was still drinking merrily with Hong Bo, Zhang Mo and others, while Wang Chong had already led soldiers to take control of the Fu Cheng treasury.

  On the second day, Liu Zhang led a group of civil and military officials to the east city to welcome Zhao Wei into the city. Liu Zhang placed a chair on the city wall and sat upright, as was the custom at that time. Only the county magistrate had a large chair in the city, and Liu Zhang sitting on it looked quite majestic.

  Zhang Ren stood beside Liu Zhang, behind him were Yu An and other Chengdu officials, as well as Gong Zhi, Zhang Mo and other Fucheng officials. Zhang Mo, Hong Bo and others had dry mouths and tongues, waiting for Zhao Wei's great flag to appear in their field of vision.

  Hong Bai had a slight tension in his heart, the military power of Fu City was no longer in his hands, and internal response was impossible. However, looking at the more than 100 carts placed at the city gate to reward the army, Hong Bai felt slightly relieved. At least Liu Zhang had not detected anything, and when Zhao Wei's army entered the city, it would be the same whether there was an internal response or not.

  The sun was high in the sky, and Liu Zhang waited patiently for Zhao Wei. Yan An was almost asleep from the warmth of the sun when he saw a large banner with the character "Zhao" appear in the distance, followed by a dense cavalry army. Zhao Wei's troops had finally arrived.

  Several swift horses galloped in, and a general at the front shouted towards the city wall: "General Zhao Wei's great army has returned, quickly open the city gate."

  The defender of the east city, Yang Huai, stepped forward and said: "Don't you see that the governor is on the city wall? Tell General Zhao to come and meet him in person."

  The general hesitated for a moment, then turned his horse's head and galloped back. Before long, Zhao Wei arrived with three thousand cavalrymen at the foot of the city wall and shouted loudly: "Zhao Wei pays respects to Your Excellency, our army is exhausted, please order the opening of the city gate."

  Liu Zhang sat in a chair, closed his eyes and said to Yang Huai: "Let Zhao Wei's army retreat five miles back, and let Zhao Wei enter the city alone to pay respects."

  "Yes." Yang Huai turned around and walked to the wall, shouting at Zhao Wei: "The lord has an order, General Zhao's troops will retreat five miles to rest, the lord will send supplies to comfort the army, General Zhao will immediately enter the city to meet the lord."

  Zhang Mo and Hong Boyi were taken aback, exchanging whispers with each other. Yu An's heart was racing with anxiety, never expecting Liu Zhang to make such a move at the last minute.

  "What?" Zhao Wei, who was under the city, was also surprised. In order to remove Liu Zhang's defensive heart, he only brought three thousand elite cavalry, and the tens of thousands of troops behind were five miles away. He did not expect that Liu Zhang still did not believe him.

  Zhao Wei shouted loudly: "The defenders on the city wall, listen! The army has been fighting against the barbarian troops for days and is exhausted. We have also marched at night, if we cannot enter the city, I fear that the morale of the soldiers will be unstable. Please, my lord, issue an order to open the gate, do not chill the hearts of the soldiers, and avoid unexpected changes."

  Zhao Yun's words carried a threatening tone, and if it were the old Liu Zhang, he would have been intimidated already. Yu An took advantage of the opportunity to step forward and say: "My lord, General Zhao is right. If we don't let the soldiers enter the city, they will surely complain. These arrogant and unruly soldiers may cause trouble, and if a mutiny breaks out, it will be difficult to quell."

  "Yes, yes." Zhang Mo and Hong Bo echoed in unison.

  Liu Zhang nodded slightly and calmly said: "Is there anyone else who agrees with General Zhao's army entering the city to comfort the soldiers' hearts?"

  The officials of the Fu City Treasury and the East City Commander came forward to express their agreement. Liu Zhang asked Gong Zhi again, and Gong Zhi hesitated for a moment before saying: "Your Excellency, I think it's not a big deal to retreat five miles later. As long as our military supplies are delivered on time, there shouldn't be any mutiny. On the contrary, with so many people entering the city together, it would be difficult to arrange."

  Gong was delighted in his heart with Zhao Wei's promotion of officials, but he was somewhat dissatisfied and did not speak along with Zhao Wei's party.

  Liu Zhang nodded to Zhang Ren after listening to the officials, and Zhang Ren immediately shouted loudly: "Come on, arrest all officials who agree with Zhao Wei's rebel army entering the city."