Ji Han Liu Zhang

Liu Zhang was not surprised to see Xun You agree to the proposal to annex Shangyong, because the world was in chaos and there was unrest everywhere. Apart from the basic moral principles that needed to be followed, as for other matters, it all depended on how strong one's own fist was and whether it was bigger than that of friends or enemies.

Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, looks good but is useless. He is very old and just sits there to guard the place. To put it bluntly, he is just a guard dog who has no long-term plans and no ability to make any progress.

Therefore, Liu Zhang did not have to worry about Liu Biao's attitude and could directly lead his troops to annex the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling, and swallow the land of Shangyong into his mouth.

Of course, as an ally, Liu Zhang's annexation of Xiashangyong did not mean that he had any plans for the Jingxiang area. In any case, he would never stab his ally in the back.

Too despicable!!!

The plan was finalized, and Liu Zhang handed over the specific matters of annexing Shangyong to Xun You, asking him to draw up a plan and ordering General Zhenbei and Hanzhong Prefect Huang Quan to implement it.

In the second month of the sixth year of Jian'an, Nanzheng.

In February, when the grass is green and the birds are singing, most of the ice and snow that fell last winter have melted, turning into tiny drops of water that moisten the earth. Only the snow piled up in the corners has not melted completely yet, and it still needs time and the scorching sun to melt it away bit by bit.

After receiving a document from Chang'an, Huang Quan, the prefect of Hanzhong, summoned the civil and military officials of Hanzhong and accurately read out the order from Chang'an.

Soon, Cheng Gongying, Yan Xing, Yin Pu, Li Xiu and others gathered in the county temple in Nanzheng. They took their seats according to their status and position, and then waited for everyone to arrive.

After waiting for the civil and military personnel to be ready, Huang Quan read out the order from Chang'an: "The King of Qin has ordered us to go down the Han River and take over the Shangyong area from Zhang Lu... As for Zhang Lu, he will go to Chang'an to live and work for the King of Qin's palace."

"It should have been done a long time ago." Yin Pu sighed. He had long believed that Shangyong, which was very close to Hanzhong, should be taken over and Zhang Lu should not be allowed to occupy Shangyong.

It's just that before, Zhang Lu had no intention of surrendering, and Yin Pu's idea required the use of swords and guns. It would be better if Zhang Lu was willing to surrender now, so they only needed to lead troops to receive him, without the need for swords and guns.

Li Xiu, who was present at the meeting, looked happy when he heard this. He had served as a military commander under Zhang Lu in his previous years. Although he surrendered to Qin King Liu Zhang for some reason, he was still grateful to Zhang Lu for his recognition.

Now that Zhang Lu was willing to surrender to the King of Qin, Li Xiu would not have to fight with Zhang Lu as his old minister. Naturally, this made Li Xiu happy. Moreover, Zhang Lu was under the King of Qin's command and could live in peace. He was sincerely happy for his old master Zhang Lu.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing simply nodded to show that they understood. As ministers under the traitor Han Sui, they had been taciturn and worked diligently since they joined the Qin King's army. They would carry out whatever they were told to do.

The next step was to march towards Shangyong to take over the affairs of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling.

Huang Quan had already prepared to invade Shangyong in Hanzhong, with ships, armor, and weapons. As for food and supplies, Hanzhong, which had rarely suffered from war, had a large population and was not short of food and supplies. So, on the third day after receiving the order from Chang'an, Li Xiu, the vanguard, led his troops to Shangyong.

As for why Li Xiu was appointed as the vanguard, it was because Huang Quan took into consideration that Li Xiu had served Zhang Lu before and had a close confidant who could speak to both sides. So the matter of taking over Shangyong from Zhang Lu would be smooth sailing, without any setbacks due to poor communication between the two sides.

While Hanzhong was sending troops, Zhang Lu on the Shangyong side sorted out the number of households, population, money and grain in the treasury, number of registered soldiers, etc. in the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling, and made preparations to be taken over by Huang Quan, the prefect of Hanzhong.

"Brother, do you really want to abandon Shangyong and go to Chang'an?" Zhang Wei, Zhang Lu's younger brother, was somewhat reluctant to surrender to Liu Zhang. After all, they were expelled from Hanzhong by Liu Zhang and ended up in Shangyong.

But now his brother Zhang Lu was going to surrender to Liu Zhang, which made Zhang Wei reluctant emotionally and unwilling to accept it physically.

Zhang Lu, who was counting and sorting out the treasures in the treasury, looked relaxed, as if he had unloaded a heavy burden. In response to Zhang Wei's question, he smiled and said, "Of course I am serious. Now that Huang Quan, the governor of Hanzhong, will arrive soon, and we have packed up all our belongings, how can I be false?"

"But..." Zhang Wei was a little anxious. He looked at Zhang Lu's calm face and asked, "If we abandon Shangyong and live in Chang'an, you and I will have to follow Liu Zhang's orders in the future. It's better to live a happy life in Shangyong."

Zhang Lu shook his head. He looked at Zhang Wei who was somewhat indignant and asked, "Can the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling with only 10,000 men and horses stop the Shu army? With our talents, can we be a match for the King of Qin? Can the civil and military officers under my command be compared with those under the King of Qin?"

Zhang Lu asked one question after another, and Zhang Wei gradually fell silent. He wanted to argue, but what Zhang Lu said was the fact, and facts are facts, and he could not afford to argue with them. There was no point in succeeding in his argument.

"So." Looking at the silent Zhang Wei, Zhang Lu smiled: "Even if you are defeated, surrendering early or late is still surrendering, and those who surrender early can get more rewards, while those who surrender late may get less rewards."

"For the sake of my family, for the sake of the Heavenly Master..." Zhang Lu paused, and then continued: "For the sake of my mother, it is better to surrender to the King of Qin as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the Shu army attacks Shangyong, if you surrender on the battlefield, you and I will not be treated with courtesy."

"But..." Zhang Wei was silent for a while, then suddenly thought of something, and said, "Brother, why did you submit to Liu Zhang? There are heroes in the world today, such as Yuan Shao from Hebei and Cao Cao from the Central Plains, who all respect wise men and admire people from afar. Why didn't you submit to others, but instead surrender to Qin Wang Liu Zhang, who has an old grudge against us?"

Zhang Lu smiled slyly when he heard this, and his thick eyebrows became longer and thinner: "It is because you and I have an old grudge against the King of Qin that we should serve the King of Qin even more."

"Huh?" Zhang Wei didn't understand and looked bewildered.

"We have an old grudge against the King of Qin, and everyone in the world knows it." Zhang Lu explained to his foolish brother Zhang Wei, "Now that we have submitted to the King of Qin, we have given him a chance to set an example and clearly tell the world that he is not a person who holds grudges, but a magnanimous and benevolent monarch."

"Even if we surrender early, we will have contributed the three counties of Shangyong, and it will also serve as a signboard to add glory to the King of Qin. The King of Qin will definitely treat you and me with courtesy and reward us generously. You and I will enjoy great wealth and honor in this life." (End of this chapter)