The Mythical Version of the Three Kingdoms: The Evil God Arrives

Chapter 518: Trivial Matters Before Departure
"Are you just going to waste all those people like this?" Jia Xu looked at Li You, who had an expressionless face, and rarely showed a little worry. As for what he was thinking in his heart, only he knew it.

Li You glanced at Jia Xu, who was really and falsely, and said expressionlessly: "They are fighting for the country, not for consumption."

"Moreover, if there had not been this war against the Qiang people, who knows whether the Southern Xiongnu would have done something outrageous to the people along the way to Chang'an."

Jia Xu didn't say anything. Li You's words were just what he said, but only he knew what he was thinking in his heart.

"Is Zhang Boyuan also going to participate in this war against the Qiang people?" Jia Xu changed the subject. "I didn't expect that Zhang Boyuan is actually a martial arts general with internal energy. Zhang Ji is a very good fighter. I heard that Zhang Boyuan is Zilong's senior brother."

"Among the four, Zhang Ji's brain is the best. It's nothing for him to do this for his nephew." Li You didn't care about Zhang Ji's concealment. After all, even without Zhang Xiu's military force, they had reached the last step.

"What Bo Yuan said..." Li You pondered for a moment. He was wondering whether he should get involved in Zhang Ji's arrangement for Zhang Xiu. After all, Zhang Ji's arrangement for Zhang Xiu was not very good. Since he wanted to surrender to Liu Bei, he must have made some achievements. Otherwise, even if he was watching, there would be people muttering behind his back.

Li You quickly made a decision on Zhang Xiu: "Let him fight a battle between Han and Qiang with the main force, and then bring the surviving cavalry into our army. At the same time, allow him to retain his own unit."

Jia Xu sneered, "Still retaining the headquarters? Zhang Boyuan is already qualified to form his own army."

Li You glanced at Jia Xu. Is this guy Jia Xu becoming more and more jumpy recently?
After being looked at by Li You, Jia Xu stopped talking. After all, Zhang Xiu really needed a big battle to prove himself now.

At the same time, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and Zhang Ji had gathered all the Xiliang cavalry scattered in Guanzhong.

Li Jue stood on a high platform, facing the black mass of cavalry below, and shouted loudly: "The Qiang people have crossed the border and invaded our Han territory!
Today, I have gathered two or three of you here, and I will lead you to the west to fight against the Qiang people who have invaded our Han territory without reason!"

Even without the aid of the secret broadcasting technique, Li Jue's loud and powerful voice still reached the ears of every cavalryman.

The soldiers of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry did not show much surprise or fear when they heard the news. For these veterans of the Iron Cavalry who came from Liangzhou, beating the Qiang people or being beaten by them was already commonplace.

The rise of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was based on repeated battles with the Qiang people. Now, it is just a return to its old roots.

Li Jue continued, "After this battle, those who do not want to go to the Western Regions with us can follow Zhang Xiu to Luoyang and join Liu Bei. With the merits of this battle, Lord Xuande's rule will be open to you."

The Iron Cavalry were not afraid of the coming of war. To them, war was just a common occurrence. To most of the Iron Cavalry, their future had already been determined.

Die in battle!

Anyway, it won’t be death of old age.

Even those corrupt cavalrymen would not be afraid of the coming war, because their opponents were the Qiang people, a defeated people whom they had already conquered.

The officials in Chang'an were initially frightened by Li Jue's large-scale mobilization of cavalry. They thought that Li Jue was dissatisfied with Liu Xie's promotion and wanted to raise an army to intimidate them.

The anxious ministers wrote to Liu Xie, asking them to give the four men higher official titles, such as the position of Protector General of the Western Regions, and allow them to establish their own government.

In fact, there were well-informed people in the court. After all, the rapid degeneration of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was inevitably due to their involvement.

But no one announced this news in the court. After all, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry had not left yet. God knew what Li Jue and his people would do before they left.

It is not impossible that if they go crazy and clean out some guys who have offended them, they will also get rid of the guys who are monitoring the movements of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

The frightened Liu Xie didn't know what to do and could only look for help to Dong Cheng, Fu Wan, Zhong Ji and other true loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty. There was no trace of Liu Yu, Liu Ye and other relatives of the Han Dynasty in his eyes.

Although Liu Yu and others were angry at Liu Xie's arrogance, now was not the time to pursue these issues. The important thing to do was to find out what the Xiliang Four wanted to do by gathering the army.

Fortunately, Liu Ye was not irritated by Liu Xie's stupid behavior and stayed in the Chang'an Zongzheng Mansion, but he just didn't attend the court without even an excuse.

However, although Liu Ye ignored Liu Xie, he dared not disobey Liu Yu's words. After all, Liu Yu was the chief of the clan and was in charge of the Han royal family.

Although Liu Ye could ignore Liu Yu, the chief minister, if Liu Yu picked up the cane, Liu Ye would have no choice but to bear it.

Through Liu Ye's relationship, Liu Yu also knew why Li Jue wanted to gather troops. It turned out that it was to fight against the Qiang people who dared to invade the territory of the Han Dynasty.

After hearing the news that Li Jue and others wanted to send troops against the Qiang people, Liu Yu couldn't help but think of Gongsun Zan. This guy would also send troops when he heard any news about the Hu people. He didn't know how he was doing in Youzhou. Was he still the same as before, unable to bear any news or sight of the Hu people?

Liu Yu informed the people in the court of the news that Li Jue and others wanted to send troops to attack the Qiang people, and then pretended to be a clay sculpture or a wooden sculpture and did not participate in any arguments in the court.

In fact, if possible, Liu Yu wanted to say a good word for Li Jue and others, but what Li Jue and others did in Luoyang to rob the imperial tombs was too bad. For this reason alone, it was already a good thing that Liu Yu did not join the team to attack the Xiliang faction.

Although Dong Zhuo was the mastermind behind the tomb robbery, they were the executors. This is a mark that cannot be washed away unless these guys can accomplish something to cover up the matter, such as defeating the Huns.

After receiving the news from Liu Yu about Li Jue's rebellion, there was a moment of silence in the court. After all, Li Jue and other rebels knew to raise an army and launch a war of anti-aggression when they received the news of foreign invasion of the Han territory.

As a result, these ministers who were high up in the temple were still arguing about the purpose of the righteous men's uprising and whether they wanted to kill them.

How ashamed... What a joke! The ministers were still discussing the purpose of Li Jue's uprising. They were wondering if they could gain any benefit from this war, or if they could unite with the Qiang people to destroy the Western Liang Iron Cavalry, or if they could urge the Southern Xiongnu to move southwards and unite with the Qiang people to kill the Western Liang Iron Cavalry.

In short, traitors are traitors. If you offend them, you still want to turn things around? You wish!
The Qiang people are just politically correct like the Northern Huns. The military merit of eliminating the Qiang people who invaded the Han territory is not enough for the Han Dynasty to ignore or neglect the traces of them.

However, the officials in the court were just talking big. After all, Li Jue and his men were fighting for the country. It would be fine if they did not help, but if they joined forces with foreign tribes to harm them, then they could not blame others for cleaning out some of them first.

In the end, the Chang'an court ignored the actions of Li Jue, Zhang Ji and others. Not only did they not give any support, but they also stepped up manpower to take over the Zhengguo Canal after the Xiliang Iron Cavalry withdrew.

If it were a normal situation, after the Xiliang Iron Cavalry withdrew from the management of the Zhengguo Canal, those guys who had long coveted the Zhengguo Canal would definitely restore the taxation to a level of more than 70%, and would even impose more exorbitant taxes on the local people.

Li Jue and others have not yet officially withdrawn from Yongliang, so those people have been relatively restrained and have not changed the tax rate originally set by the Western Liang Iron Cavalry. However, once the Western Liang Iron Cavalry officially withdraws from Yongliang, no one will be able to stop this from happening.

Therefore, Li Jue, who led his men to reopen the Zhengguo Canal and was recognized by the local people, found Sima Lang and Zhuge Jin and asked them to give some advice.

"Marquis Chiyang can go to the clan member Liu Ziyang, he will help you solve this problem." Sima Lang told Li Jue in a spring breeze.

"Boda, how could I not know the name of Liu Ziyang? But it is precisely because he is a member of the royal family that I cannot ask him for help." Li Jue smiled bitterly. Of course he knew that he should find Liu Ye to contact Liu Bei behind the scenes, but Liu Ye was a member of the royal family, and they could not live in peace with the royal family at all.

"Is that so..." Sima Lang tapped the table with his fingertips, "Why didn't Marquis Chiyang go find Minister Zhong? Didn't you get along very well when you reopened the Zhengguo Canal?"

"Zhong Yuanchang?" Li Jue frowned. Zhong Yao was indeed capable of helping solve the problem of aristocratic families encroaching on Zhengguo Canal, but the problem was that Zhong Yao was a very greedy guy. All of Cai Yong's calligraphy in his hands had been taken away by Zhong Yao.

"Huh? The relationship between Marquis Chiyang and Minister Zhong broke down?" Sima Lang asked curiously, as these two were clearly hooking up together not long ago.

"That's not the case..." Li Jue smiled awkwardly, "It's mainly because Zhong Yuanchang and I don't have much of a relationship. The reason I was able to get his help before was all thanks to Cai Zhonglang's calligraphy, and I don't have Cai Zhonglang's calligraphy anymore."

"..." Sima Lang blinked stiffly. He really didn't expect that the relationship between Zhong Yao and Li Jue would be like this. Moreover, the relationship between the two was very strange. They actually relied on Cai Yong's calligraphy to maintain their relationship.

"Marquis Chiyang, why don't you ask General Hua to visit Cai Zhonglang?" Zhuge Jin said to Li Jue using his spiritual talent.

"Yes! There is such a solution." Li Jue clapped his hands with his fist as if he had suddenly realized something, and looked at the young man who had been following Sima Lang.

Although he had met Sima Lang before, Li Jue had no interest in Zhuge Jin. After all, Zhuge Jin was different from Sima Lang, and the Sima family of Henei had some relationship with Dong Zhuo in Liangzhou.

"Boy, do you need me to ask the emperor to get you an official position? The starting salary should be no less than two thousand stones~" Li Jue slapped Zhuge Jin's shoulder, and Zhuge Jin's shoulders instantly shrank.

"Jin would like to thank Marquis Chiyang for his kindness, but Jin is now working under the rule of Lord Xuande." Zhuge Jin said with a wry smile. Li Jue's palm just now was really fatal. If he had not practiced a few times with the people from the Fenggao Government Affairs Office, Li Jue's hand would at least have been broken.

"You are in good health." Li Jue looked Zhuge Jin up and down, and patted Zhuge Jin's shoulders a few times, "Since you want to stay under Lord Xuande's rule, I won't force you."

Li Jue looked at Sima Lang and said, "Boda, come with me to the Western Regions. The emperor has ordered us to go to the Western Regions and rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate. He has also allowed us to establish a government and set up a system. When the time comes, you will be the chief officer of the Protectorate, or the deputy chief officer."

Li Jue looked at Sima Lang very seriously. He really wanted to bring a civil official with him to go to the Western Regions. Although people in the Western Regions could rule the country with their fists, these reckless men were not good at production and construction.

By extorting local small countries, they might be able to guarantee the logistics of 20,000 cavalrymen in a short period of time, but extortion certainly would not last long. After all, they would be stationed in the Western Regions for a long time, and always extorting the locals was not a long-term solution. At this time, they needed a civil official who understood production and construction.

Sima Lang was Li Jue's first choice. After all, the relationship between their two families was good, and Sima Lang was very capable, which had been verified when the Zhengguo Canal was reopened.

"This..." Sima Lang looked at Li Jue in surprise. He did not expect that Li Jue would actually invite him to the Western Regions. However, even if Li Jue gave him the official position of Protector-General, Sima Lang would not go to the Western Regions unless sent by the central government.

Perhaps seeing Sima Lang's refusal, Li Jue waved his hand and said, "Forget it. At worst, I can extort money from the local small countries to make a living."

"Okay, I'll go find that guy Zhong Yuanchang right now. If you change your mind at any time, you can come to the Western Regions to find me at any time." Li Jue said somewhat listlessly.

"Thank you for Marquis Chiyang's kindness. Please forgive me for not being interested in this." Sima Lang stood up and saluted Li Jue, formally rejecting Li Jue's invitation.

"Tsk." Li Jue looked at Sima Lang who was very formal, and did not care about Sima Lang's behavior. Although they had a relationship, it was not to the extent that he could allow someone to follow him to the Western Regions.

"Forget it, let's go ask the military advisor if there is any solution." Li Jue turned around and muttered, "The military advisor is still reliable."

Sima Lang and Zhuge Jin looked at each other. It seemed that they had heard something extraordinary from Li Jue.

It is hard to say whether Li Jue did it on purpose or was ordered by someone to do it.

Zhuge Jin shook his head. Li Jue didn't say anything just now. After Sima Lang refused to recruit him, he left here directly without saying anything else.

"Boda, why didn't you agree to Marquis Chiyang's request just now? If you go to the Western Regions, you will be in charge of all the political affairs of the Western Regions Protectorate." Zhuge Jin asked curiously.

"Isn't the Central Plains good enough? Why do you have to go to the Western Regions?" Sima Lang rolled his eyes at Zhuge Jin. Liu Bei would soon march into Chang'an. Was he really crazy to go to the Western Regions at this time?

(End of this chapter)