Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 203 Lu Meng’s quick wit
Seeing that Zhang Xiu was becoming more and more attracted to Cao Cao, Zhu Zhi also understood that it would be better to do this sooner rather than later, so the next day he took Lu Meng and the woodcutter to see Zhang Xiu.

At the door of the central hall, Zhu Zhi noticed that there were other people's shoes, so he asked the waiter: "Does General Zhang have any other guests?"

"Mr. Liu from Xudu is also here." The waiter did not keep it a secret either.

Lu Meng's face darkened slightly when he heard this. Although Zhu Zhi was very experienced, he could still see that he felt unnatural for a moment...

When he received the envoys from the General's Palace, he actually allowed people from the Prime Minister's Palace to be present. Could it be that... Zhang Xiu had already made up his mind?
Sure enough, when Zhu Zhi and the other three came in, they were first threatened - Zhang Xiu, Jia Xuzheng and Liu Ye had a great time chatting!
Zhu Zhi had also met Liu Ye. When he was on a mission to Jiangdong before, he had visited talkers from various aristocratic families, and the Zhu family was naturally among them.

As for the other two, while Liu Ye was a little disappointed, he was relieved at the same time—Liu Ye was expecting to see some "acquaintances" and get back what he ate when he went to Jiangdong!
Who would have thought that two young men who didn't look like scribes would actually come, and one of them...is this a woodcutter suit?Are the woodcutters also sneaking in?
At the same time, Liu Ye also breathed a sigh of relief. Wanting to "find a place" was just an emotional and subconscious move. Intellectually, Liu Ye still hoped that nothing would happen.

"Master Zhu, who are these two?" Zhang Xiu looked over in confusion.

"My assistant." Zhu Zhi smiled confidently, as if these two people were really strong support.

However... Zhu Zhi actually doesn't understand what these two people are here for!

Lu Meng already knew him, but why would Bai Tu send a young soldier from the army to Wancheng?The other woodcutter...he vaguely guessed that it should be the one from Shouchun. In other words, he should be considered a master, but would it be of any help to the negotiations?Should it be changed to assassination?

Lu Meng also followed suit, and through the "unexplained" hint, Zhu Zhizhen thought that he was specially sent by Bai Tu to assist him.

Of course, no matter how confused he was in his heart, Zhu Zhi would not show any timidity on the surface.

At this time, Lu Meng observed Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu respectively. The former was a rugged man who had just started to grow a beard and was a bit embarrassed even when he was young or middle-aged.

Compared with the Woodcutter, Zhang Xiu's facial features are rough, but actually he is quite attractive after watching it for a long time.

As for the woodcutter... Lu Meng had to admit that if that guy was willing to clean up his appearance, his facial features were actually very handsome.

The other one is a middle-aged scribe who looks a little sleepy. His pupils are occasionally exposed, but he doesn't show much energy. His high cheekbones ruin his beauty. If he were wearing woodcutter's clothes, he would look like a bad old man.

In Cheng Ji's world, she still wears a scholar's robe and has her hair tied up in a bun. She looks very "honest", and her clothes are a bit starchy after being washed...

However, Lu Meng did not dare to underestimate these two people. When he was in Jinling before, he had also seen the information of these two people.

Zhang Xiu was the nephew of Xiliang general Zhang Ji. When Zhang Ji followed Dong Zhuo to the Central Plains, he was ranked second to Li Jue and Guo Si.

After Dong Zhuo's defeat, Wang Yun took charge of the government. Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji wanted to surrender but were not pardoned. Jia Xu, a fellow villager of Zhang Ji, appeared in front of the four generals of Xiliang and analyzed the pros and cons for them. In the end, the four of them made a plan - instead of waiting to die, it would be better to fight!
So... Li Jue and Guo Si's miraculous counterattack on Chang'an was successful, not only forcing Wang Yun to death, but also taking control of Chang'an and the court again.

Under the series of plots, the Han Dynasty's last hope of a comeback and revival was ruined.

After Dong Zhuo was gone, all Xiliang generals also wanted to fight on their own. Because Zhang Ji's tribe was weak, he failed to get the chance to take over the government. Instead, he stationed troops outside in the Hongnong area...

Later, because Guanzhong was under the scourge of the Xiliang princes who were fishing in the dry lake, the farmland was deserted, the population was low, and the Xiliang army, which was not engaged in production, could not be self-sufficient. Zhang Ji decided to send troops to Nanyang to grab food, and ended up taking himself in. After that... Zhang Xiu emerged as a prince in the early [-]th century.

However, the Wind Guards also had some confidential information, such as...the "Zhang Xiu" mentioned by Lu Bu. When Lu Bu was under Dong Zhuo's command, he also met Zhang Ji, a nephew with strong martial arts skills!

Although Zhang Xiu was still young at the time, Zhang Ji did not want him to lead the army alone, let alone let him be a vanguard, but... Zhang Xiu secretly asked Lu Bu for advice.

This is probably "confidential information" that Zhang Ji doesn't even know about...

Before Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo, his relationship with the Xiliang generals had always been average. Lu Bu would not have done such things as giving advice to the other party's juniors, but Zhang Xiu used his own potential to prove to Lu Bu that he had the ability to give advice. value.

Therefore, Lu Bu also knew some details about Zhang Xiu, but that was already nine years ago. Lu Bu's evaluation of Zhang Xiu at that time was "if you don't consider the armor, he is not weaker than Ji Ling", and the current Zhang Xiu should be even better. powerful!

More intuitively speaking, in terms of personal bravery, Zhang Xiu can break into the top five in Cheqi General's Mansion.

As for Jia Xu, this person is very interesting...

From the perspective of reviving the Han Dynasty, Jia Xu's sins are too numerous to list, but it is undeniable that Jia Xu is indeed very talented. One move... broke Wang Yun's hundreds of moves, which directly changed the direction of history in a strategic sense.

However, Jia Xu remained unknown before offering advice to the generals of Xiliang. Li Jue and Guo Bang were even a little dissatisfied at first when he offered advice. How could a minor official in the army come to cause trouble... Fortunately, Jia Xu was a fellow countryman of Zhang Ji. Because of this relationship, Jia Xu successfully met Li Jue and Guo Si and persuaded them to counterattack Chang'an!

You know, even during the Chang'an Rebellion, Jia Xu was already nearly forty years old. Considering his age, his appearance is now very "young".

Lu Meng simply couldn't understand why a capable person, almost 40 years old, didn't show it. Even...if he hadn't been forced to do so at that time, I'm afraid Jia Xu would have continued to be unknown?
When Zhang Ji died, he entrusted Jia Xu to take care of his nephew, and Jia Xu was also Zhang Xiu's most important schemer. It can be said that whether he could convince Zhang Xiu mainly depended on Jia Xu, and Liu Ye... was to conquer Cao Cao first. Jia Xu.

"Mr. Zhu, why are you here on behalf of Duke Bai this time?" Liu Ye asked knowingly.

"Gong Bai heard that General Zhang from Wancheng was known to be brave and proficient in military matters, so he ordered me to come here, hoping to recommend General Zhang as the prefect of Wan County." Zhu Zhi said calmly.

"Haha, this is a coincidence, but there is no need for Bai Gong's recommendation. The Prime Minister already knows General Zhang's talents, and specially named General Zhang as 'General Yangwu'. At that time... If Bai Gong suggested analyzing the northern part of Nanyang County and turning it into Wan County If so, the Prime Minister and the princes in the court will also consider it," Liu Ye said.

It is nothing more than to say that the imperial court is the court of the prime minister after all, and what Baitu can give, Cao Cao can give.

Zhang Xiu seemed not to hear him at this time, or rather... he pretended not to hear him. In fact, he tried to talk to her several times, but was stopped by Jia Xu's secret look.

Obviously the reason why Liu Ye is here today is because Jia Xu wanted Liu Ye to be a "shield". While accepting Cao Cao's suggestion, he also wanted to prevent Zhang Xiu from being hated by Bai Tu!
"That's the best. Mr. Bai just cherishes his talent and has no other thoughts... General Zhang? Mr. Bai also said that if General Zhang wants to continue to be a general, he can also say goodbye to him in the residence of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. In the future, like Marquis Wucheng, we will have the opportunity to make contributions."

Zhu Zhi secretly pointed out two points - compared to Cao Cao, Bai Tu may not have given Zhang Xiu the highest standard of treatment, but... Bai Tu Wu is not as eager for quick success and instant gain as Cao Cao. Which of the two is more trustworthy can be seen at a glance. .

The title of Marquis of Wucheng is now inherited by Sun Ce.

"Now that the world is in turmoil, the Prime Minister's Mansion also has opportunities to make contributions." Liu Ye said lightly.

"But there seems to be some misunderstanding between Prime Minister Cao and General Zhang, right?" Zhu Zhi narrowed his eyes, stopped beating around the bush, and said straight to the red star.

Zhang Xiu was a little embarrassed when he heard this - it wasn't that he felt guilty for killing Cao Cao's son, but... he was a little embarrassed that Cao Cao had had that kind of thing with his aunt, but he still chose Cao Cao.

However, what Jia Xu and Liu Ye were thinking about at this time was not Zhang Xiu's aunt, but Cao Ang's death.

"Hey, Mr. Bai has a good saying. When soldiers fight on the battlefield, you and I will die. There is no right or wrong... And according to Mr. Bai, only trust can change the world. Naturally, the Prime Minister is willing to trust General Zhang. I hope General Zhang will trust the Prime Minister." Liu Ye would also say that.

Moreover, Cao Cao has promised to betroth one of his daughters to Zhang Xiu's underage son, which shows his sincerity.

Zhang Xiu also thought about this and nodded slowly. When Zhu Zhi saw this, he also understood that Zhang Xiu really believed in his evil deeds. In fact, from a historical perspective, Cao Cao did indeed appoint Zhang Xiu later. There is neither idleness nor revenge.

Lu Meng was so anxious that he didn't care about anything else... He rolled his eyes and immediately asked: "Forgiving the revenge of killing one's son may be a good talk, but I wonder if the same is true for the revenge of killing one's brother? How noble is Prime Minister Cao this year?"

Seeing the young man directly speaking out about this matter, both Liu Ye and Zhang Xiu's expressions darkened, and Zhu Zhi also looked over with some reproach - Zhang Xiu and Liu Ye were only embarrassed by revealing this matter, but... it would lower their morale. Zhang Xiu has a good impression of them!
Instead, he pondered over Lu Meng's words later...

Cao Cao's ability to ignore the revenge of killing his son and reuse Zhang Xiu will be a good word in the future. Naturally...Cao Cao will also abide by his promise to Zhang Xiu, and will not break it compared to others.

This is what Jia Xu said to convince Zhang Xiu before, but...

Lu Meng suddenly mentioned the "revenge of killing his brother", which made several people stunned. They turned around for a while to understand what he was talking about - Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao had a feud for killing their son, but... with Cao Cao's other sons, not Is there also a "brother-killing revenge"?
Even if Cao Cao marries him, it won't change this.

In mainstream values, the meanings of revenge for killing a son and revenge for killing a brother are completely different.

Just like when a son reports that his father has broken the law, it is a great act of unfilial piety, and the government will punish the son as well. But when a father reports that his son has broken the law, it is a righteous act of extermination, and the government will reward him!

yes!If Cao Cao wants to take revenge on Zhang Xiu in the future, everyone in the world will definitely stab him in the back. Other generals who have grudges against Cao Cao's army will also feel scared and distracted...

But Cao Cao's son will avenge his brother in the future. According to mainstream public opinion, no one will condemn this behavior, and no one except Cao Cao will stop it.

Even... having Zhang Xiu here, for Cao Cao's heirs, is a "fame" gained in vain. The more they step on it, the greater the benefit to themselves!
That's it for other heirs. For Cao Cao's heirs, or heirs who want to be heirs, I am afraid that Zhang Xiu will not remember Zhang Xiu's kindness in helping them kill his predecessor's eldest son, and will only use him as a prop to increase his reputation.

How old is Cao Cao this year?

Zhang Xiu also wants to ask this question now... I feel that if I die behind Cao Cao, my life will be miserable!

Lu Meng's words in desperation directly broke into Zhang Xiu's heart, creating a deep rift between him and Cao Cao...

(End of this chapter)