Yuan Shang got the better of the situation near the water and occupied most of the troops and territory. Jizhou and Bingzhou were in his hands. He was very powerful, but the current situation was very dangerous. Facing the powerful enemies of Jing and Wei, if he was not careful, he would be killed. There is a danger of destruction.
Shen Pei said: "Young Master, Cao Cao is a traitor to the Han Dynasty and an enemy of the First Lord. We must stop him with all our strength. King Jing Zhang Xiu has no hatred, so he can send people to Chang'an to persuade King Jing to buy enough weapons for our army." As long as the food and grass can last until the summer harvest, our army will have room to turn around."
Yuan Shang frowned: "Previously, my father sent Xin Pi to Chang'an, but there was no news. How can I succeed if I go now?"
"This is the moment, the other is the moment!" Shen Pei said, "Now that the late king has passed away, our power in the Jin Dynasty has been weakened and we no longer pose a threat to Zhang Xiu. He has no reason to bite us. After all, his mortal enemy is Cao Cao, not us. .”
Yuan Shang slightly nodded: "Who will we send there?"
Shen Pei smiled slightly: "As long as you send an envoy to Chang'an with your letter, Xinpi will naturally be able to meet King Jing. Then it will depend on King Jing's conditions."
"Okay, I'll write a letter right now!"
So Yuan Shang wrote a personal letter and sent someone to Chang'an.
A series of changes occurred in the Jin Kingdom, and Yingwei passed all the information to Zhang Xiu in every detail. Yuan Shao's death had been expected for a long time, but he didn't expect that with his help, he still did not escape the cycle of history and died in the Battle of Guandu.
Looking at the Jin Kingdom that was about to be divided into three parts, Zhang Xiu clearly saw the horrific consequences of abolishing the eldest son and establishing a young one, and he also deeply felt that he had made the decision to be the heir apparent early. In this way, future generations will no longer have extravagant hopes and unrealistic ideas.
Jin's three points cannot be changed.
According to later records, Yuan Shang inherited most of Yuan Shao's strength. His two elder brothers, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi, were no match for Yuan Shang. As a last resort, Yuan Tan defected to Cao Cao. Yuan Xi sent mercenaries to Youzhou, but was later killed by Gongsun Kang. .
But now, Yuan Shang had one more choice, and that was Prince Jing Zhang Xiu.
Compared with Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shang is more accepting of Zhang Xiu. After all, there is not much hatred between the two parties. Although Zhang Xiu is partially responsible for Yuan Shao's death, it is still acceptable under such a situation.
So when Zhang Xiu got Yuan Shang's letter, he wasn't too surprised.
The three prime ministers from Shang Cheng Pavilion were summoned to the palace.
"Take a look first. This is a handwritten letter from Yuan Shang," Zhang Xiu said with a look as he placed the letter on the table. A eunuch next to him hurriedly picked up the letter and passed it on.
In fact, Zhang Xiu was very disgusted with the status of eunuch.
But he couldn't change it. After all, the palace couldn't do without the power of men, and he was afraid that these men would mess up and ruin the reputation of the palace, so he had no choice but to do this.
The first batch of eunuchs were carefully selected by Shang Chengge. Among them, the personal eunuch who followed Zhang Xiu was in his thirties and was quite knowledgeable. His name was Su Jin.
After Jia Xu and others read the letter, they silently and rapidly thought about countermeasures. Yuan Shang showed a keen desire to get Jingguo's help, which could be exploited.
After everyone read the letter, Jia Xu coughed dryly and said: "Your Majesty, Yuan Shao was defeated and died. His three sons were dissatisfied with each other in their respective prefectures and counties. Such a good opportunity cannot be missed."
Liu Ye said: "Since Yuan Shang wants food and grass, we might as well give it to him, but there are conditions."
Jia Xu nodded: "Needless to say, the price is three times the usual price. At the same time, Xihe County must be assigned to our Jingguo. Otherwise, there is no need to discuss this matter."
Li Ru nodded: "Shangjun and Yunzhong counties are already in our territory. If we get Xihe County, half of the Bingzhou is already in the hands of our army."
I have to say that these three old guys are unusually dark.
For the Jin State, it was simply adding insult to injury. It was obvious that they could rob directly, but they had to gain a good reputation under the guise of rescue.
Zhang Xiu expressed his approval with both hands: "Jin is short of food but not short of money. If you want food, come and buy it. My uncle is too gentle. Three times is not enough, it must be five times!" He said, holding out five fingers.
Jia Xu twitched the corners of his mouth.
Really cruel.
Li Ru said: "Your Majesty, Xinpi has been imprisoned for several months. Since the letters from Jin have arrived, there is no need to imprison him."
"It's natural," Zhang Xiu said, "It's a waste of food and grass to lock him up, Su Jin!"
"Here!" Su Jin bowed.
"Go and ask Qi Zhu to release Xin Pi into the palace," Zhang Xiu said. "Our decision-making depends on him bringing him back to Jin. Your Shang Cheng Pavilion will handle this matter. Tell Yuan Shang that he has no choice. Either accept our conditions, or lead the army alone."
"Here!" The three of them stood up quickly.
Zhang Xiu: "Liu Zhang has been sent from Shuzhong for two months, and we can't let it go anymore. Zhang Ren and Lu Xun are holding on hard in Longxi. It's a lot of money. We can't go on like this anymore. In any case, Zhang Ren Senior brother Ren is still alone, so he can only ask Liu Zhang to write a letter, Su Jin, please invite the King of Shu to the palace!"
"Here!" Su Jin agreed and called the other young eunuchs out early to go to Liu Zhang's residence.
After Liu Zhang surrendered, he was sent to Chang'an by Gan Ning.
After arriving in Chang'an, Zhang Xiu just made a simple statement, naming him the Duke of Shu in name only, and enjoying treatment at the level of prime minister. Of course, this was purely for others to see, and if he surrendered, he would be rewarded. A comfortable life.
I thought my life would plummet and be ridiculed. He never expected to receive such good treatment, so Liu Zhang accepted this life comfortably and gained a lot of weight. Today, Liu Zhang was suddenly invited to the palace by King Jing, and Liu Zhang was so frightened that he became panicked.
After being frightened all the way, we finally arrived at the study pavilion.
The study pavilion is where Zhang Xiu usually practices martial arts and reads. The courtyard covers a large area. In the middle of the courtyard is a place dedicated to martial arts training. There are weapon racks on both sides and a pavilion for resting on the right.
When Liu Zhang entered the door, he saw Su Jin waiting with a towel in her hand.
"Eunuch Su!" Liu Zhang smiled with a smile on his face, trying to understand Zhang Xiu's purpose of calling him here, and at the same time talk about Zhang Xiu's mood at the moment.
Liu Zhang was incapable of doing big things, but he definitely knew how to behave.
Especially the people around Zhang Xiu spent all their money to win over and give him good gifts.
However, Zhang Xiu had extremely strict requirements for eunuchs. They were not allowed to buy property outside, and all expenses were handled by the palace. Eunuchs were not allowed to enter the palace without the king's order. Fundamentally put an end to eunuchs collecting money.
Although Su Jin did not have the money of Liu Zhang, Su Jin liked his personality very much, so she said: "Don't worry, Lord Duke, there is good news from the Kingdom of Jin. The master is in a good mood. He came to see you for the sake of Longxi." By the way, it’s about your old subordinate Zhang Ren.”
"That's it!" Liu Zhang finally felt relieved and said gratefully: "Thank you, Eunuch Su, for the tip. I have brought some small items from Shu to my house. Eunuch, you have time, come and take a look."
Su Jin smiled and shook her head. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Zhang Xiu stop practicing and immediately ran over and handed over a towel: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Shu is here."
Having seen Liu Zhang a long time ago, Zhang Xiu walked towards the pavilion after washing up.
Liu Zhang followed immediately.
