Chapter 988: The Tyrant's Revival

  Huang Yue's message never arrived, and Liu Zhang handed over all state affairs to Huang Quan and Wang Fu. Yan Yan and Deng Xian were left to guard Chengdu. On the seventh night, he personally led 500 light cavalry to arrive at Mianzhu, while Zhang Ren had already prepared 10,000 elite soldiers to wait in courtesy.

  Liu Zhang arrived at the military camp without disturbing anyone and went straight into his tent to sleep.

  Zhang Ren assembled 30,000 troops from Mianzhu, and held a grand feast for the three armies. At the same time, 10,000 elite soldiers dispersed in batches and exited the pass, hiding in the dark mountains and forests. An hour later, Liu Zhang led this army of 10,000 to rapidly advance towards Bazhou, without anyone knowing their whereabouts.

  On an autumn morning, a woman wearing a white dress with wavy patterns appeared on the streets of Chengdu, holding a sword in her hand and gazing quietly ahead. Her pale face was slightly flushed due to the chill of the morning. In front of her stood the examination hall for imperial scholars, cold and deserted, while the martial arts arena had been taken over by a fabric workshop drying cotton.

  The girl's name was Qu Lingchen, from the Shu North aristocratic family of Qu, who had been following a world-renowned martial artist since childhood and had just returned after completing her studies.

  Hei Yan's eyes scanned around, and Qu Lingchen walked up to an old man sweeping the floor with a bamboo broom.

  "Uncle, isn't this where the four arts are held? Why is there no one here?"

  The old man looked at Qu Lingchen and said loudly: "Girl, why did you come so late? The exam has been over for many days."

  Qu Lingchen silently walked out of the long street, sighing in his heart. He had spent ten years studying in the deep mountains, but there was no place to use his skills. Fortunately, he saw a notice for the four arts examination in Jialing, which allowed both men and women to participate. Without even returning home, he rushed here, only to find that he was still one step too late.

  The dawn light shone on the rapidly marching troops, Liu Zhang was somewhat fatigued, and could hardly open his eyes. He called over Zhang Ren, who was urging them to march faster, "Where have we arrived?"

  "We report back to our lord, we traveled through the night and passed by Fucheng, rushing for over 80 miles, bypassing Zitong, and should now be east of Zitong"

  "Zi Tong?" Liu Zhang jumped off his horse, let out a long breath, and walked towards the riverbank while saying to Zhang Ren: "The front is Pang Xi's territory, we can't march during the day, pass on the order for the whole army to set up camp."

  "Yes."

  Zhang Ren took his leave and departed. Liu Zhong scooped up some river water to wash his face, while Fa Zheng tottered over, trembling with fear. Liu Zhong gazed at his reflection in the river and smiled: "You must be tired, hurry off to the meeting."

  "It's exhausting, but I couldn't sleep." Fa Zheng collapsed onto the grassy ground with a soft thud, gazing at the distant mountains and saying: "That side is the border of Balin. Balin is the gateway to Bashu, and the guardian general of Balin is Peng Xi's younger brother, Peng Ming. If we can't take it down after a long siege, Peng Xi will definitely quickly join forces with Zhang Lu once he receives news."

  "If we can't take it by storm, then let's work together from inside and out."

  "Does the lord have an internal response in Balin?"

  "No."

  Liu Zhang stood up, waved his hand at Hao Lie, and Hao Lie ran over with the two large hammers that Liu Zhang had ordered the craftsmen to make for him.

  "Great General, there is a very dangerous mission now that requires you to risk your life to complete it. Do you dare to go?"

  He's so fierce, he slung the big hammer over his shoulder and said with a grin: "What are you afraid of? I told you to call me to kill whoever you want."

  At this time, Zhang Ren walked over and said, "Your Excellency, the central army tent has been set up. Your Excellency should go rest for a while."

  Liu Zhang patted a very powerful shoulder and turned to Zhang Ren: "General Zhang, the defender of Balin is Pang Huang, the heart of Pang Xi, who leads 5,000 troops to defend Balin. Balin is easy to defend but hard to attack, it's absolutely impossible to take in a short time, let alone we don't have siege engines. My intention is to send an officer disguised as a civil official with an imperial edict into Balin, behead him and capture the defenders of Balin. General Zhang, who do you think can go?"

  Fa Zheng and Zhang Ren were both shocked, not expecting Liu Zhang to be so direct. But after careful consideration, they also felt that it was reasonable. Pacifying Pang Xi was an internal conflict in Yi Province, and the army of Bazhou was also the army of Yi Province. As long as the main general died, the subordinates would surrender eight or nine out of ten times.

  It was also eight or nine out of ten that the general who went to deliver the edict would die, which was indeed a dangerous task, and still had to be calm and maintain the demeanor of a civil official, the conditions were really harsh.

  Zhang Ren considered for half a moment before responding loudly: "This general is willing to go."

  Liu Zhang waved his hand: "You can't do it, I've told you before. You are a general in the army, how can you show off your bravery as a lone warrior? Is there no other capable and wise general in the army besides you, Zhang Ren?"

  "This..." Zhang Ren thought carefully, his subordinates, Lei Tong and Leng Xiao had rough faces, Yang Huai and Liu Fu had too much killing intent, Gao Pei was prone to anger, not to mention they were all familiar faces, none of them met Liu Zhang's requirements. After a moment, he said: "My lord, I do have one person to recommend, but this person has limited military experience and is from a noble family..."

  "It doesn't matter, General Zhang thinks it's good, just say what you have to say."

  "Wu Ban Wu Yuanxiong, this man is General Wu Yi's younger brother, Wu Kuang's son. He came to join the army a month ago. In my humble opinion, he is well-versed in strategy and handles matters calmly, making him a capable general. My lord may consider using him."

  "In that case, there's no problem. Pang Xi recently submitted a memorial saying that this year Brazil will have favorable winds and rains, and the tax revenue will be more than three times that of previous years. Go tell Wu Ban to wear official attire, bring my personal guard with the excuse of granting him a title, approach Pang Ming, and kill him on the spot, then capture the defenders of Ba Ling."

  "Yes."

  Very impressive, following Zhang Ren's departure, Wei Yan walked over from a distance with his treasured sword, bowed to Liu Zhang and said in a rough tone: "My lord has an important task, why only discuss it with the senior general? Although Wei Yan is a newly surrendered general, he also hopes to establish merit for my lord. I think this small Ba Ling can be handed over to me, Wei Yan."

  Liu Zhang wiped the water droplets from his face with his large sleeve and asked Wei Yan, "General Wei, you were originally a general of Jingzhou, why did you surrender to me?"

  Wei Yan was taken aback, and loudly said: "A good minister chooses his lord to serve. Liu Biao sent Liu Pi to attack Changsha, and I followed the army, repeatedly offering strategies that were not accepted, resulting in Changsha not being conquered for two years. Such a mediocre lord, why should I wait any longer?"

  "A good minister chooses his lord and serves?" Liu Zhang smiled slightly, looking into the distance and letting out a long sigh: "General Wei, in this case, I think Yizhou is not suitable for you either. General Wei is a man of great talent, and he himself also firmly believes in this point. I'm afraid that among the many generals of Yizhou, except for Zhang Ren, there isn't one who can be taken seriously by General Wei, and perhaps General Wei doesn't even take Zhang Ren seriously."

  But this official cannot seal a higher official position than Zhang Ren, and it is impossible to let General Wei take the lead in everything. General Wei is eager to make achievements, can other generals just hold their positions? In this way, General Wei will also feel aggrieved in my Sichuan army, and it's better to serve a good master early on, so as not to waste his precious time."

  "Wei Yan dare not." Wei Yan felt the sharpness in Liu Zhang's calm tone, and immediately bowed down, his eyes rolled up, but he could only see Liu Zhang's cold profile.

  "How dare you?" Liu Zhang sneered, "What does General Wei not dare to do? General Zhang is the commander-in-chief of Yi Province, and it's perfectly fine for him to discuss important military matters with me privately. Must General Wei be present every time? Ridiculous."

  You, Wei Yan, also know that you are a newly appointed general, and as a newly appointed general, you should have the integrity of a newly appointed general. Are you going to hand over Baling just like that? What do you think your position is? Relying on your talent, being arrogant and looking down on others, not to mention Jingzhou, but the whole world cannot tolerate you."

  Insist on no pollution of the page ++++++++++++++ Plus sign prominent