Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Gu Wei's eyes narrowed, he snorted coldly, and replied, "These are the prime minister's original words, I dare not change a word."

Despite such a contemptuous attitude, Zhang Lu believed it without a doubt and seemed to be hesitant.

Although Gu Wei had forced him to this point with his words, he was in no hurry to continue speaking.

What was just said was indeed the evaluation that Gu Wei heard from Li Ji.

Hanzhong is a place with natural advantages, and is a battleground for Sili, Liangzhou, and Yizhou.

However, Li Ji did not think highly of Hanzhong, a place with few soldiers and little land. Besides the fact that Zhang Lu was not easy to win over, the more important thing was that the Northern Expedition would not need to pass through Hanzhong.

Once the Northern Expedition is completed, Hanzhong can be conquered by just sending an order without spending a single soldier.

Therefore, before Liu Zhang completely turned to Liu Bei, Zhang Lu tactfully retreated to Hanzhong. Li Ji sent an envoy to Hanzhong in the name of the court to test Zhang Lu's attitude, but Zhang Lu always acted ambiguous and waited for a good price.

Li Ji did not spend much time on Zhang Lu. Moreover, with Liu Zhang of Yizhou threatening Zhang Lu in the south, he was not afraid that Zhang Lu would send troops from Nanyang County to attack the rear.

Now, Gu Wei, who had originally gone to Xiliang to ask Ma Teng to send troops, wanted to take advantage of the situation to solve the minor problem in Hanzhong for the Prime Minister.

Moreover, once Zhang Lu completely sided with the Han Dynasty at this moment, he would not only be able to form an alliance with Ma Teng to advance on Sili, but also completely open up the passage from Yizhou to Sili.

More importantly, when Zhang Lu went to Yangping Pass in person, Gu Wei had already figured out Zhang Lu's attitude, which was why he threatened to kill him.

At this point, Zhang Lu, who wanted to remain neutral, had only two choices: either bear the blame for murdering the Han envoy, or send troops to Sili to attack Lu.

Zhang Lu, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing into his sleeves, and his back also felt cold. Then he realized that it was getting dark and his whole body seemed to be covered with a layer of sweat.

And Gu Wei also looked at him and asked at the right time.

"Will you send troops?"

Zhang Lu opened his mouth. He was extremely reluctant to send troops, but he also knew that there was no room for refusal for him.

Previously, he could have used illness as an excuse to shirk the imperial court's temptation, but now Gu Wei was right in front of him. No matter whether Gu Wei really intended to commit suicide or was just pretending, once he refused, Hanzhong would no longer be able to remain unscathed.

More importantly, Zhang Lu learned that the Prime Minister was somewhat unhappy with the integration of politics and religion, but quite appreciated the benevolent policies he had implemented over the years. This was also the reason why Zhang Lu was willing to return to the embrace of the Han Dynasty.

But as long as he had the prime minister's favor, it would be enough to ensure that he would not be liquidated because of the conflict with Liu Yan and his son.

"I am willing to help the Han Dynasty fight against the enemy, but I have three unreasonable requests..."

Without giving Zhang Lu a chance to finish, Gu Wei suddenly stood up and interrupted him. "When you have made achievements, the Prime Minister will see it, and the King will see it too. You can report any requests you have at that time."

This contemptuous attitude made generals such as Yang Ren feel quite angry, but Zhang Lu felt relieved instead.

If Gu Wei really discussed various conditions with him right now, Zhang Lu would not only worry about whether Gu Wei could make the decision, but also worry about whether he would be held accountable later.

After all, in the eyes of Zhang Lu, who disliked the Han Dynasty, playing word games was also a tradition of the Liu family.

In the past, Emperor Gaozu once made a promise to Marquis Huaiyin that "three no kills, five no lethality", but the great military genius was stabbed to death by a palace maid with a bamboo pole.

Gu Wei didn't make any promises on the spot, and Zhang Lu felt that this at least showed that he had no intention of perfunctorily deceiving him. "Yes."

Zhang Lu's heart sank slightly, and he agreed, saying, "I will order the army to be assembled right away, but I don't know how the Han envoy intends to use the troops?"

"Just dispatch troops to Xiegu first. After I go to Liangzhou to convey the order to General Ma Teng and agree on it, I will send someone to convey it to you." Gu Wei replied.

Zhang Lu gradually adjusted his mindset and responded with an increasingly humble and careful attitude. He then wanted to invite Gu Wei to the banquet and try his best to establish a better relationship with Gu Wei.

However, Gu Wei was blocked at Yangping Pass and wasted several days. He had no intention of attending any banquet and wanted to leave Yangping Pass and continue to rush to Liangzhou.

Zhang Lu tried to persuade them sincerely again and again, but seeing that Gu Wei was determined, he did not want to force him. He had to prepare horses for Gu Wei and others, while at the same time ordering his general Yang Ang to lead a hundred cavalrymen to escort them along the way.

Gu Wei knew that Zhang Lu was still a little nervous, and he also understood that Liangzhou was even more chaotic, so he did not refuse and allowed Yang Ang to lead the army to accompany him. The group took advantage of the night to continue out of Yangping Pass and head towards Xiliang.

Zhang Lu watched Gu Wei and his party leave at Yangping Pass, and he was still in a daze for a long time.

Seeing this, Yang Ren stepped forward and asked, "Master, do you really want to believe what the Han envoy said and prepare the army for battle?"

"In the midst of chaos, relying on the geographical advantages of Hanzhong to barely survive for a few years, how can this be a long-term solution?"

Zhang Lu sighed and then continued.

"Hanzhong's temporary peace was only because Liu Zhang was incompetent and Liang Province was in turmoil. Lu Bu had no time to take care of it, and Liu Bei just didn't take it seriously."

"If I could, I would naturally not want to get involved in this great war between the North and the South, but now that the Han envoys have come here, do we have any way to retreat?"

Diplomacy, this word is often used in conjunction with equality.

Facing Liu Bei directly with the size of Hanzhong is not called diplomacy, but notification.

Even Zhang Lu realized belatedly that Gu Wei's mission must have nothing to do with Hanzhong, but since Hanzhong was involved and Gu Wei took the opportunity to force Zhang Lu to make a choice, Hanzhong had no chance to refuse.

The only thing that comforted Zhang Lubei was that he learned from the Han envoy that the Prime Minister had a relatively good impression of him. With this in mind, Hanzhong's timely dispatch of troops to provide timely assistance would surely win the Prime Minister's favor.

But when Zhang Lu told him this cruel reality, Yang Ren felt ashamed.

"I am incompetent, please punish me, Master."

"It has nothing to do with you. I just lament that I don't have the luck of the King of Han." Zhang Lu couldn't help but sigh.

These words stunned the others who followed Zhang Lu. Yan Pu, Yang Song, Yang Bai and others could not help but lower their heads in shame.

Even though Zhang Lu was not deliberately picking on them, everyone present knew that the luck Zhang Lu was referring to was the story of the King of Han meeting the Prime Minister.

And as Liu Bei's hegemony began to take shape, this became a wonderful thing that people all over the world could not help but talk about with relish.

In the past, King Wu went to the Wei River to seek talents, and Duke Tai prospered the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years; today, King Han met a talent in Zhuo County, and he treated the state scholar with respect and extended the Han Dynasty for countless years...

In terms of origin, among the current princes, who was not better than Liu Bei, a mat weaver and shoe seller, a few decades ago?
Looking at Liu Bei's hegemony, in addition to winning the hearts of the people, all military and political affairs depended on the word "decentralization", which made all the princes jealous and envious, and felt that I could do the same. (End of this chapter)