March 3rd Conspiracy

  Gao Fei heard the newcomer call himself Jia Xun, and once again sized him up. He felt a hint of surprise in his heart, never expecting that someone known as "Poison Master" would appear in Beigong Boyu's camp. Despite his astonishment, he didn't forget the proper etiquette, slightly raising his hand to gesture for Jia Xun to sit down, and inviting him: "So it's Mr. Jia, please take a seat, sir. It's truly an honor to meet you in person."

  Jia Xun smiled and sat down opposite Gao Fei, who was being very polite to him. As for famous scholars, Jia Xun was not well-known at this time, and his reputation was not even as great as that of Bian Zhang and Han Sui. Although he had once held an official position, it had not been a successful one, and after resigning, he had not taken office again, instead waiting quietly at home for an opportunity.

  Gao Feng saw Jia Yu had just sat down, and he gave Zhao Yun a signal with his eyes. Zhao Yun then poured a cup of wine for Jia Yu and pushed it in front of him.

  Jia Xu first sized up Gao Feng, seeing that he was not very old, but with a refined and elegant demeanor in his every move, which did not match the war-torn general who had heard of conquering the battlefield and pacifying the Yellow Turbans. He also had a good impression in his heart. Then, looking at Gao Feng's rough face, he subtly hid an extremely awe-inspiring majesty, and he secretly made up his mind.

  Gao Fei saw Jia Yu standing still, sizing him up without speaking. He also saw that the governor had stroked his beard and slightly raised the corners of his eyes, seemingly very satisfied. Not knowing what Jia Yu's intentions were, he took the initiative to ask: "Sir, you visit at midnight, there must be something important, I don't know if sir has any instructions?"

  Jia Xu glanced sideways at Zhao Yun, seemingly feeling that someone was present and it was extremely inconvenient to speak, so he didn't make a sound.

  Gao Fei nodded in agreement and said: "Zilong is my trusted friend, we are as close as brothers. If you have something to say, please speak freely, there's no need to worry."

  Jia Xun smiled and said, "Master Hou misunderstood my intention. Those who can be brought along by Master Hou are naturally his trusted confidants. However, I fear that there may be prying ears behind the wall, so I'd like to ask this strong man to keep watch outside the door."

  Gao Feng faintly felt that Jia Xu seemed to have some secret matter to discuss with him, and he was also delighted to see Jia Xu. He hoped to have such a strategist by his side, so he softly called out to Zhao Yun: "Zi Long."

  No need for words, just one name Zhao Yun and he immediately understood, stood up, walked straight to the outside of the stone house, standing upright outside the stone house.

  Jia Xu saw Zhao Yun go out to guard the gate, and then said in a low voice: "The lord's pacification of the Yellow Turbans in Hebei has spread throughout Liangzhou. I have already heard about it, but I don't know what the lord is doing this time."

  Gao Fei said: "Oh, I came to visit a good friend and passed by this place. Seeing the master of the valley treating me with great hospitality, I stayed for one or two days."

  Jia Yu uttered an "oh" and lowered his voice, saying slowly: "Does the Marquis know that he has already fallen into a dangerous situation?"

  Gao Fei exclaimed: "What do you mean by this?"

  Jia Yu said: "Master Hou, you just think that you are a guest here, but the host is not treating you as such. He has other plans for you. Now that you are already in a precarious situation, even if you want to leave, it's too late to escape. I'm afraid from now on, your reputation will be ruined."

  "Excuse me, sir," asked Gaofei hastily, "could you tell us in detail?"

  Jia Xun said: "Lord Hou's reputation is now widespread, which is exactly what Bei Gong Bo Yu is taking advantage of. Bei Gong Bo Yu has long had the intention to rebel, and over the past year, he has been colluding with the Qiang people. However, since the Qiang people are not yet fully prepared, and his own reputation is not enough to intimidate the entire Liangzhou, he did not dare to openly rebel. Lord Hou's arrival has made him a scapegoat for Bei Gong Bo Yu, it's truly like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth!"

  Gao Fei was also puzzled, no wonder Li Wenhou had been so respectful to him all along, it turned out that he had planned ahead of time. He had originally intended to take this opportunity to persuade Li Wenhou and Bei Gong Bo Yu to work for him, but instead he found himself trapped in the tiger's mouth. Seeing Jia Xiang sitting in front of him, very calm and composed, with a tone that was neither hurried nor slow, and knowing that Jia Xiang was a famous strategist, he asked: "Sir, since you are willing to share confidential matters with me, aren't you also being held captive by Bei Gong Bo Yu?"

  Jia Xun shook his head and said, "No, I am doing this out of necessity, forced by circumstances."

  Jia Yu then told Gao Fei about his difficulties. It turned out that Jia Yu's reputation was not very good, and after resigning from office, he had no salary. His family needed to eat, and he couldn't let his wife and children starve or freeze, so he came out to find a job. Coincidentally, Bei Gong Bo Yu was secretly recruiting soldiers and needed someone who could read and write, and the pay was not bad, so he temporarily humbled himself in this position. Later, when he found out that Bei Gong Bo Yu was preparing for a rebellion, it was too late to regret it, so he pretended to agree on the surface but thought about how to escape secretly.

  Gao Feng, after hearing Jia Yu's story, felt that with the current situation, it wouldn't be difficult to subdue him. Whether he was a famous general or a strategist, he needed someone like Bole to discover him. Gao Feng thought that Beigong Boyu's rebellion was inevitable, and it was only a matter of time. He then asked Jia Yu: "Sir, you've shared this important secret with me, aren't you afraid that Beigong Boyu will become suspicious?"

  Jia Xuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, milord. I'm quite trusted by Beigong Boyu, but today I heard that you've arrived, and I thought that as a seasoned warrior, you must have the ability to escape from here. So I took the risk of coming to see you, hoping to get your help, and together we can escape this place."

  Gao Fei finally understood after listening, it turned out that Jia Yu didn't want to be a traitor, but wanted to use his bravery to help him escape, and was using him. He chuckled and asked: "Mr. and I have only met once today, yet you trust me with your innermost thoughts, aren't you afraid that I will collude with Bei Gong Bo Yu?"

  Jia Yu smiled and said: "If I didn't have this confidence, how would I dare to tell His Excellency these things?"

  Gao Fei listened and didn't care if Jia Xun was using him as a pawn, he had made up his mind to use the rebellion of Beigong Boyu as a stepping stone, then leave this godforsaken place far behind and head to his ideal holy land in the northeast.

  "Since you're so confident, I suppose you've already thought of a strategy to escape from this place?"

  Jia Xun nodded and said, "Lord Hou is right, I have already thought of this, but my ability is limited, compared to these Qiang barbarians and Han Chinese, it's impossible for me to escape. If Lord Hou is willing to help me escape from the bandits' lair and reunite with my family, I am willing to serve Lord Hou."

  When luck is on his side, nothing can stop him. Gao Fei felt that he had been lucky for days, and except for the fact that he had entered the bandit's lair, he heard Jia Yu say this, of course, he was delighted to accept it, no matter whether Jia Yu was being expedient or truly surrendering, both were a great joy to him.

  Gao Fei immediately asked: "I don't know what clever plan you have, sir?"

  Jia Yu said, "This is a wonderful opportunity. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to visit you in the middle of the night. I've already gathered information that tomorrow Bei Gong Bo Yu will be going to Xi Qiang, and only Li Wen Hou will be left guarding the mountain valley. Since Li Wen Hou and Master Hou are from the same hometown, Master Hou can use this as an excuse to invite Li Wen Hou for a banquet, and then capture him during the feast. By holding Li Wen Hou hostage, we can at least intimidate the others and prevent them from making any rash moves, allowing us to escape from here."

  Gao Fei said: "Good, then let's follow Mr.'s plan and do everything relying on Mr."

  The two men had made up their minds, and Jia Yu was also afraid that waiting too long would arouse the suspicion of the barbarians, so he immediately took his leave.

  After Jia Xu left, Zhao Yun came in and asked: "Milord, can this man be trusted?"

  Gao Fei said, "Trustworthy, not only trustworthy, but also a wise strategist under my command in the future. Tomorrow, you secretly observe when Beigong Boyu leaves, and then go invite Li Wenhoul to come and meet with me."

  Zhao Yun nodded and said: "What about those scholars who were imprisoned?"

  "When the time comes, we'll escape together; staying here will only bring disaster."

  "I understand, I'll go and instruct Xia Houlan and Pei Yuanshao to be careful in their response. Master, please rest early, I bid farewell!"

  Gao Fei blew out the candle after Zhao Yun left, then got on the stone bed covered with sheepskin and thought slowly: "It seems that the rebellion in Liangzhou is going to happen ahead of time. Once I escape, I must hurry back to Xiangwu, move all my clansmen to Chen Cang, gather some young soldiers, go to the governor's mansion of Liangzhou, inform the governor about this matter, and let him take precautions early, so as to alleviate the pressure on Chen Cang."

  On the second day, Beigong Boyu indeed led a team of horses out, and Zhao Yun immediately invited Li Wenhao to drink with Gao Fei.

  At noon, Li Wenhao arrived at Gao Fei's stone house in high spirits. The two exchanged a few pleasantries before sitting down, and then Pei Yuanshao personally brought out wine and meat.

  Gao Fei and Li Wenhou clinked their cups together, then heard Li Wenhou say: "Lord Hou is in a good mood today, but I have something to say that I don't know if I should say or not."

  Gao Fei said: "You and I are from the same place, what can't be said? Speak up!"

  Li Wenhao first sighed, then slowly said: "Now the Ten Eunuchs are in power, the people of the world are miserable, and the people of Liangzhou are even more unbearable. Lord Hou killed Huangjin, with outstanding merit, but only got a marquis title of 1,000 households in Du County, I feel sorry for Lord Hou!"

  Gao Fei naturally heard Li Wenhou's tone and guessed that Beigong Boyu was trying to use Li Wenhou to persuade him to join the rebellion. After listening, he also let out a deep sigh and said loudly: "This is also unavoidable, I Gao Fei am loyal to the great Han with all my heart, but in the end... never mind, never mind, come on, let's drink!"

  Li Wenhao smiled and said, "Lord Hou, please wait. With your current reputation, all the people of Liangzhou know you. If you can make a loud call to arms, they will surely respond in unison. The Han Dynasty is declining, this is our chance to make achievements. Now that the Yellow Turbans have not been pacified in the Central Plains, if Lord Hou can lead us from Liangzhou and unite with the Qianghu people, we will surely be able to occupy Liangzhou for ourselves. Then, taking advantage of the momentum, we can attack and capture the Three Auxiliaries, occupy Guanzhong, and becoming an emperor would not be excessive!"

  Gao Fei deliberately showed great excitement, and immediately shouted: "Good, well said! We Liangzhou people should be like this. However... I rarely interact with the Qiang Hu, will they listen to me?"

  Li Wenhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, General. Beigong Boyu has already made contact with the Qiang and Hu tribes. However, as a non-Han Chinese himself, I'm also half-Hu, so if we were to start something, I fear the aristocratic families of Liangzhou might not follow us. That's why we'd like to recommend you, General, as our leader, to lead us in conquering the world. At that time..."

  Li Wenhao pointed to the mountains and rivers, with a happy face telling Gao Fei about his grand ambitions in his heart. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yun had already quietly walked over, a cold light flashed across his face, and a curved knife was placed on Li Wenhao's neck, causing Li Wenhao's words to stop abruptly.

  Gao Fei saw the astonished expression on Li Wenhou's face and laughed: "I've troubled you, Brother Li. Please send us out of the valley, and once we reach a safe place, I will certainly let you go."