Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

With the arrival of Yan Pu, Yang Song and Yang Bai, three counselors relied on by Zhang Lu, and after reading the urgent report sent back by Yang Ren, their faces became more solemn.

If this hot potato is not handled properly, it may cause huge trouble.

Zhang Lu also asked with a frown.

"How do you think we should deal with Gu Wei?"

Yan Pu thought for a moment and then stepped forward to answer, "Master, since the Han envoy passed through Hanzhong and was captured at Yangping Pass, he must be heading to Liangzhou."

"Now that Ma Teng is powerful in Liang Province and secretly respects the Han Dynasty, it is very likely that Li Ji sent an envoy to Ma Teng to ask him to send troops to attack Lu Bu."

(PS: According to the information, Zhang Lu, who combined politics and religion, did not have officials, but called himself "Master". The people who managed local affairs were called "Jijiu" and "Zhitou Dajiu" with religious titles.)
Zhang Lu, who was a little upset, suddenly felt enlightened after hearing this and understood why the Han envoys passed through Hanzhong.

"So this is the envoy sent by Li Ji to Xiliang to ask for help. Could it be that the Northern Expedition is not going well?" Zhang Lu guessed.

Unlike those great princes fighting for hegemony over the world, a small prince like Zhang Lu who barely controlled a region naturally did not have the energy to constantly investigate the direction of the Battle of Guandu.

"Why would Li Ji do this if he wasn't blocked?"

After a pause, Yan Pu came to a conclusion and continued.

"So, this is really a great opportunity for Master?"

"What time?" Zhang Lu asked again.

Yan Pu analyzed in a deep voice and said.

"If the Han envoy goes to Ma Teng and persuades him to send troops to attack Lü Bu, once the unguarded Luoyang is captured, Lü Bu will be on the verge of defeat, and the Wei-Zhao coalition will also collapse, and Li Ji's northern expedition will be unstoppable."

"Therefore, if Master detained this Han envoy and gave him to Lu Bu, Lu Bu would definitely feel Master's favor, and Ma Teng would no longer be able to send troops. It is possible that Li Ji's Northern Expedition would be frustrated, or even seriously damaged."

"In this way, Master no longer needs to be afraid of Liu Zhang, the arrogant boy who relies on Liu Bei's power, and can take the opportunity to continue attacking Shu for revenge."

Zhang Lu heard this, and felt a little nervous, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be tempted.

In order to create the illusion of being critically ill, Liu Yan killed Zhang Lu's mother and abandoned Hanzhong to cut off the passage to the north of Sili, which also led to a deep feud between Zhang Lu and Liu Yan.

Although Liu Yan has passed away for many years, Zhang Lu still has some hatred in his heart. He has repeatedly wanted to conquer Sichuan and Shu and kill all the descendants of Liu Yan.

Previously, when Liu Zhang and his brothers were fighting for power, Zhang Lu took the opportunity to capture a lot of Ba County's territory, but after Liu Zhang successfully seized power, he clearly supported Liu Bei.

Forced by the situation, Zhang Lu had to give up part of the captured land in Ba County and retreat to Hanzhong again.

Zhang Lu acted in this way because he was not afraid of Liu Zhang, the young boy, but Liu Bei who was standing behind Liu Zhang.

This is also the reason why Zhang Lu was quite moved by what Yan Pu said.

If Liu Bei fails in his Northern Expedition, he will inevitably be seriously damaged and may even be counterattacked by Wei and Zhao, and he will have no time to worry about Sichuan and Shu.

By then, we won't have to worry about Liu Bei's threat when we attack Sichuan and Shu again...

However, before Zhang Lu could continue to imagine the future, Yang Song and Yang Bai were frightened by Yan Pu's extremely bold remarks.

Yang Bai blurted out anxiously.

"Yan Pu must have accepted bribes from Lu Bu, he should be executed." Yang Song continued.

"Liu Bei has annexed the six states of Yu, Xu, You, Jing, Yang and Jiao. He has more than tens of millions of people under his rule, millions of soldiers in armor, and an immeasurable amount of money and food. Even if he is defeated for a while, it will not cause any serious damage."

"And if we harm the Han envoy, we will certainly offend Liu Bei. If a large army comes from Nanyang County one day, they will attack Hanzhong from both sides together with the army from Shu."

"Although Hanzhong is governed and educated by our master, and the people live in peace, there are only less than 60,000 households and less than 50,000 soldiers. How can we fight against the enemy? If Liu Bei gets angry, Hanzhong will be pulverized and no one will be spared."

These words, especially the figures Yang Song stated so bluntly, made Zhang Lu's eyes instantly clearer.

Hanzhong is not a populous county, and its remote location is largely due to its geographical advantages.

Let Zhang Lu deal with that idiot Liu Zhang, Zhang Lu would naturally have confidence.

But facing the current overlord Liu Bei, Zhang Lu did not have the slightest confidence, otherwise after Liu Zhang slipped to his knees before Liu Bei, Zhang Lu would not have been so scared that he even spit out the land he had obtained in Ba County.

Seeing this, Yan Pu could not help but scolded angrily. "The world is still undecided, and the outcome is still unknown. You two are so cowardly. You are really rats."

Yang Song asked back. "That's ridiculous. Then, Yan Pu, tell me what we should do if Li Ji leads a million-strong army to call us to task? How should we protect our territory and the people? How should we make our sect prosper?"

Yang Bai followed suit and said, "In my opinion, I'm afraid that you, Yan Pu, want to put Master at a disadvantage for your own fame."

Yan Pu's face changed slightly with anger, but he suppressed his anger and bowed to Zhang Lu to continue to persuade him. "A rat like you is qualified to discuss matters? Master, the current opportunity is rare..."

However, before Yan Pu could finish speaking, Zhang Lu stood up and interrupted him.

"I have made up my mind. I will apologize to the Han envoy and respectfully ask to leave the country, so that the people of Hanzhong and the believers can be spared from the wrath of thunder."

Suddenly, the brothers Yang Song and Yang Bai showed joy on their faces, but Yan Pu's face was a little gloomy. He watched Zhang Lu leave quickly and couldn't help but sigh.

In Yan Pu's view, Hanzhong has the foundation for achieving hegemony. As long as Sichuan and Shu are seized as granaries in time, there is a great possibility of going north to dominate the world.

But Zhang Lu was ultimately a little hesitant. He had a desire to defend himself and seek revenge, but no ambition to dominate.

Soon, a group of fast horses left Nanzheng and headed straight for Yangping Pass almost without stopping. When dusk was approaching, Zhang Lu had arrived at Yangping Pass in person.

Since it had been decided to respectfully escort the Han envoy out of the country, in order to avoid offending Liu Bei, Zhang Lu did not hesitate to come to Yangping Pass in person to apologize to Gu Wei.

When Zhang Lu arrived at the small courtyard where Gu Wei was imprisoned, he saw Gu Wei reading a book leisurely.

"Is this the Han envoy? So young?" Zhang Lu was slightly surprised, but even more amazed at Gu Wei's calmness and composure.

Immediately, Zhang Lu walked in quickly and bowed humbly.

"Hanzhong County Governor Zhang Lu is paying his respects to the Han envoy. I did not recognize the envoy's identity before, which caused some misunderstandings. I hope the envoy will forgive me and not blame me."

To Zhang Lu's surprise, Gu Wei was still sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard. Not only did he not move his butt, he didn't even sidestep his eyes. This made Zhang Lu very puzzled.

After several breaths, Zhang Lu, who was still bowing, felt a little angry in his heart, and spoke again with a little more awe.

"Hanzhong County Governor Zhang Lu pays homage to the Han envoy. I have come to apologize for my crime. I have ordered people to prepare a few cups of light wine to welcome the Han envoy. I hope the Han envoy will do me the honor." (End of this chapter)