Chapter 44: Xun Yu's Intention

  "I didn't expect to meet Mr. Gongda today, I'm overjoyed and lost my composure, please forgive me."

  Facing Li Zhong's sincere flattery, even Xun You, who had a deep and profound mind, couldn't help but feel delighted. For a moment, his feelings towards Li Zhong became much more intimate.

  "Wrong praise is wrong praise."

  Xun Yu swept his sleeves and smiled humbly, his clear eyes looking at Li Jing's upright face. "General Li is a hero among men! With less than a hundred soldiers, he charged into the enemy formation, beheaded their general, won battle after battle, defeated tens of thousands of rebels, and safely rescued Lord Nan Gong. I ask you, what young man can match such achievements? Xun Yu is just a humble scholar with no accomplishments to speak of, and compared to General Li, he is truly insignificant."

  The two of them complimented each other, suddenly looked at each other and burst out laughing together.

  "Gong Da, how did you come from afar to this spiritual state border? I had previously thought that the court would arbitrarily dispatch a Huangmen to proclaim the edict."

  Li Zheng's mood was relaxed and happy, smiling and saying.

  Just as he said, it never occurred to him that a great god like Xun Yu would come to Liangzhou at this time and in such circumstances to read the imperial edict specifically for him.

  Although the main job of Huangmen Shilang includes reading imperial edicts, apart from this official position, there are also Xiao Huangmen and Huangmen Ling eunuchs affiliated with the inner palace who undertake this responsibility.

  Xun Yu didn't need to, in the midst of chaos in Liangzhou, he shouldn't have meddled. Moreover, Li Jing, a mere Protector of the Qiang, probably wasn't worth Xun Yu's attention.

  Xun Yu heard this and smiled, "This time when Nan Gong brother returned to Luoyang and had a drink with me, he mentioned Li Xiaowei and highly praised his achievements, which made me very curious. After carefully understanding Li Xiaowei's military exploits, I couldn't help but feel astonished."

  Xun Yu smiled leisurely and continued, "I have been friends with Nan Yong since our early years. Moreover, Nan Yong had a letter for Li Xiaowei. As I was serving as the Huangmen Shilang for several years, I felt somewhat tired. After some quiet contemplation, I decided to take on this task and help Nan Yong deliver his letter. Firstly, I wanted to meet Li Xiaowei in person; secondly, I wanted to clear my mind; thirdly, I wanted to observe the situation in Liangzhou."

  Li Zhong listened to Xun Yu's words and suddenly had an epiphany.

  Xun Yu's trip to Lingzhou this time is most important, not for delivering the imperial edict to Li Jing, nor for sending a message, but rather it concerns the situation in Liangzhou.

  Perhaps it was Li Zuo's appearance that caused some changes in the current situation of Liangzhou. Perhaps it was Fu Shuo's request, or perhaps it was Xun Yu's own desire, that led to Xun Yu's trip to Liangzhou.

  After exchanging pleasantries for a moment, they entered the formal proclamation stage.

  This era's tone is not like the extremely servile tone of later Qing dynasty palace dramas, but rather very relaxed and natural.

  Xun Yu did not open the imperial edict, but only roughly stated its contents. Then Li Jing bowed to the edict and accepted it with both hands, showing respect, and that was all.

  Then Xun You took out the letter that Fu Jia had given to Li Zong and handed it over to him.

  Then the two chatted for a while longer, and Xun Yu, feeling tired from his long journey, went to rest.

  After Xun Yu left the main hall, Li Zong sat silently for a while before opening the bamboo slips on his desk - Fu Shuo's letter.

  Li Zhuo my younger brother

  I arrived in Luoyang in July and had an audience with the Emperor... I entrusted my good friend Xun Gongda to deliver this letter to you... As for the matters of Liangzhou, it would be best to consult with Xun Gongda frequently... I hope that my younger brother will carefully guard his original heart and not disappoint my expectations.

  Your brother Fu Nanyong

  A line of elegant small seal script flowed before his eyes, and a surge of warmth rose in Li Zhēng's heart.

  No matter what Li Zhong's thoughts were, he deeply knew that Fu Xie was really concerned about him.

  In this world, he is the first person to show concern for Li Zhuang as an elder brother. Without discrimination, without contempt, a kind of intimacy fills Li Zhuang's heart.

  It seemed as if he felt his isolation from this world was becoming more and more faint.

  Collecting his thoughts, Li Zhong filtered the information in the letter in his mind.

  Fu Xi told him that due to the defeat of Liangzhou, although the main responsibility lay with Geng Bi and others, after Fu Xi returned to Luoyang, he was also held accountable, stripped of all his official positions, and was idle in his residence in Luoyang.

  Therefore, Fu Shuo will not be able to lead the army to attack Liangzhou again in a short period of time. According to Fu Shuo's estimate, if there were no eunuchs obstructing him, he should have made progress by next year.

  Fu Xie instructed Li Quan to be careful and guard against Han Sui's rebel army. At the same time, Fu Xie entrusted his good friend Xun Yu to go to Liangzhou. Firstly, Xun Yu was indeed tired of the struggles in Luoyang and wanted to travel around. Secondly, he hoped that Xun Yu could help Li Quan stabilize the situation in the rear of Liangzhou.

  As for Li Zhong's official position, it also came easily.

  Fu Shuo only presented Li Zhen's memorial to the Emperor as a tribute, which sparked the Emperor's interest. Moreover, since Li Zhen was stationed in Liangzhou, it was beneficial for the Han Dynasty with no drawbacks. The position of Protector of the Qiang had long been nominal and nobody was interested in it, so the Emperor immediately approved Fu Shuo's request and granted this military post.

  He closed the book and Li Zhēng slightly closed his eyes.

  As expected, Xun You's visit to Lingzhou was indeed related to the situation. It was not only because of Fu Jia's request, but also because of the imperial court's needs - presumably many people in the court did not quite trust Li Zong, not that they were afraid he would follow Han Sui's rebellion, but rather that they feared Li Zong lacked the ability to stabilize the situation.

  That's why Xun Yu had his trip to Liangzhou.

  Li Zhong was overjoyed at this.

  With Xun Yu's planning, Li Jing not only became much more relaxed, but also felt a great deal of pressure lifted off his shoulders.

  Li Zheng stood up, let out a long sigh, and returned to the back hall. He carefully stored Fu Xie's letter away, then turned around and had someone summon Zhou Fei to the study in the mansion.

  Zhou Fei also happened to have something to ask Li Zhuo, and as soon as they met, he said: "Your Majesty, this time the heavenly envoy has come to Lingzhou, I don't know how long it will stay? Should the wonderful places related to Lingzhou be kept secret from him?"

  "I'm looking for you precisely because of this matter."

  Li Zhong made Zhou Fei sit down and said, "From Brother Fu's letter, I learned that the main purpose of this trip to Lingzhou is to help me stabilize the situation in Liangzhou. The heavenly envoy will not leave for a short time. This heavenly envoy is a great talent from Xunshi, Yingchuan, Xun Yu, and Xun Gongda. Be more respectful when you meet him later."

  Zhou Fei hastily nodded his head in agreement.

  "As for the secrets in Lingzhou City, there's actually nothing that important. Besides, even if we try to keep it a secret, it'll eventually come out anyway. It's better to just let him take a look. Of course, the Divine State Grassland will definitely not be open to him, you need to pay attention to this." Li Zheng said cautiously.

  Although Li Jing admired Xun Yu's talent, Li Jing had self-awareness.

  Now he is just a humble Protector of the Qiang, although he has gained some reputation, but he will definitely not be valued by someone like Xun Yu, so Li Zhen didn't plan to recruit Xun Yu from the very beginning, it would have been a laughable act.

  Since Xun Yu cannot be won over, then the secret about Shen Zhou Caochang must not be let him know.

  As for the Green Armor Cavalry or the Mountain Wolf Cavalry, along with various excellent first-class armor, and even the mysterious crop of San Mai, it's basically impossible to keep them hidden - perhaps at some point there will be war, these powers will definitely be deployed, and San Mai will also need to be promoted throughout the entire Ling State. It's not like anyone is blind, everyone can see, so why not just openly reveal it? Perhaps, it might even have some exciting effects.

  Zhou Fei nodded and took her leave.

  The next day, Li Jing met with Xun Yu again.

  This time, the two of them were discussing a major event related to the situation in Liangzhou.

  Xun Yu first inquired about the strength of Li Zong's forces. Li Zong did not conceal anything, saying that he had more than a hundred elite cavalrymen, nearly a thousand elite infantrymen, and three thousand ordinary soldiers.

  Xun Yu then inquired about the news of Han Sui's rebellion.

  Li Zhong didn't know much either, most of it was pieced together from rumors and hearsay collected by the merchant group, vague and unclear.

  Xun Yu also expressed his helplessness in this regard.

  Two men discussed for a whole morning, Xun Yu made a suggestion about the current situation.

  Borrowing momentum!

  Borrow whose power?

  Huns!

  However, when Xun Yu set out from Luoyang and arrived in Chang'an, he received news that Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, from Yuyang, Youzhou, had rebelled. At the time, the Emperor issued an edict ordering the Southern Xiongnu to send troops to attack Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju.

  Xun Yu thought it was possible to make something of this.

  The Southern Xiongnu have always been a dog raised by the imperial court, and when the emperor issues an edict, they naturally follow. In this way, it can confuse the ears and eyes, and people will only say that the Southern Xiongnu are sending troops to attack the rebels in Youzhou, and at the same time, they will also send a branch of troops to Liangzhou to attack Han Sui!

  So Han will definitely send a spy to investigate, but the Southern Xiongnu has indeed mobilized troops. In any case, it will make Han suspicious and dare not take action.

  So Xun You suggested that Li Zuo secretly release the news, let Han Shou know, and make him fearful, to gain time for the growth of Lingzhou's power.

  But Li Zong gained another understanding from Xun You's suggestion!

  It seems to borrow the power of Xiongnu, intimidating Han Sui, but at the same time, it also completely attracted Han Sui's attention to the northern part of Liangzhou, which is the Beidi County bordering with Xiongnu!

  The purpose of doing so is to shift Han Sui's attention, making him dare not use troops in the three auxiliary for a short time, so as not to make enemies on both sides and give the Han court time to mobilize troops!

  Li Zhen, who was open-minded, did not oppose Xun Yu's suggestion and even asked him to take charge of the matter personally.

  In Li Zuo's view, Han Sui had an inherent fear of the Southern Xiongnu in Hexi. Otherwise, after ruling over half of Liangzhou, why didn't he immediately send troops to attack Lingzhou?

  Han Sui's attention had actually been drawn by a considerable part of the Xiongnu people.

  Doing so now would merely strengthen its vigilance against the Xiongnu and its attention to Lingzhou.

  In addition, Han's main purpose, no matter what, was actually to attack the three auxiliary roads of Chang'an. The Beidi Commandery, which is both dangerous and unprofitable, would certainly not be taken seriously by him.

  Even if Han Xi sends troops to attack, Li Zhong is not afraid. Can't Han Xi still come out with all his might!? Absolutely not, his main force will definitely be placed on the Sanfu line, guarding against a greater enemy - the Han court. At most, he will send a branch of the army to attack Lingzhou.

  It's unlikely that Li Zhong would be afraid!

  Currently working with Xun Yu is also a way to leave a good impression on him.

  Secondly, he is now a Han minister and naturally has to consider the interests of the Han court.

  Moreover, in such a situation, he did not want Fu Xi to be disappointed.

  That's all.

  Moreover, after Li Jing learned of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju's rebellion and the Emperor's edict to have the Xiongnu attack them, his thoughts had already turned to the northern region of the Yellow River loop.

  The territory of the Xiongnu, what a piece of fat land it is.