I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 926: Feigning Illness
Zhang Su sat in the carriage, looking at the butler who left after receiving the order, his heart was in a turmoil and he could not calm down for a long time.

The prosperity of Luoyang City and the various measures of Su Yao's new policy were constantly intertwined in his mind, outlining a picture that was both magnificent and terrifying.

Before he knew it, his carriage finally arrived at the post station. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw officials from the Ministry of Rites waiting inside the door.

The man was nearly thirty years old, with a solemn face. He saluted and said, "I am Chen Changwen, the Minister of Personnel. I am here on orders from my superiors to welcome the envoy from Yizhou."

Zhang Su hurriedly got out of the car to return the greeting, but he was startled in his heart - Chen Qun?
Isn't he a famous scholar from Yingchuan with rare talent? How could he be working under Su Yao?

"Thank you for your courtesy, Minister Chen. I am Zhang Junjiao, the deputy governor of Yizhou. I have come here on the orders of Liu Yizhou to congratulate the emperor and offer gifts." Zhang Su said respectfully, secretly sizing up Chen Qun's expression.

But obviously, Chen Qun did not take the envoy from Yizhou seriously and just read out the script:
"Zhang Biejia has been exhausted from the journey, so please rest at the post house first. I will let you know if there are any plans later."

Zhang Su responded and followed the postmaster to the guesthouse.

Along the way, Zhang Su suppressed the turmoil in his heart, maintained a decent smile on his face, and chatted with the postmaster about the customs and people of Luoyang. However, his thoughts had already drifted back to Yizhou, thinking about how to tell Liu Yan what he had seen and heard today, and how to deal with the upcoming changes.

After settling down, Zhang Su paced back and forth in the room, anxiously waiting for Liu Fan's arrival.

Finally, about an hour later, footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by a report: "General Zuo Zhonglang has arrived!"

Zhang Su walked quickly forward, opened the door, and saw Liu Fan, dressed in a plain long gown, walking in hurriedly.

"Biejia Zhang, you called me here urgently. But what happened to my father?" Liu Fan asked anxiously as soon as he entered the door.

Zhang Su calmed himself down, looked around, and saw that no one was watching. He quickly welcomed Liu Fan into the house and locked the door. "This is what happened."

Next, Zhang Su quickly recounted what had happened in Yizhou recently and what he had seen and heard during his visit to Beijing.

Before Zhang Su finished speaking, Liu Fan was already shocked: "This, blocking traffic and killing two county governors without authorization is really true. Does father really want to rebel?!"

That’s right, Liu Fan in the capital had no idea that Liu Yan of Yizhou had become more ambitious and had long been planning to establish his own regime.

Before, although he had always heard rumors accusing his father from time to time in the court, he had never taken them seriously. Now, after hearing Zhang Su say with his own ears that those accusations were not groundless, he was really shocked:
"Confused, confused!"

"General Su Yao swept across the world, conquering every battle and winning every battle. In just two years, he wiped out Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shu, and all the princes in the world dared not disobey."

"As a subject, you did not persuade my father to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but instead helped him to rebel. This is to bring my family to an irreparable end!"

Liu Fan was so angry that he was shaking all over and pointed at Zhang Su's nose and scolded him.

Zhang Su's face turned pale from being scolded, but he didn't dare to refute, and could only explain palely: "Master, please listen to my explanation."

Obviously, in Zhang Su's opinion, it was definitely not his fault:
"You should know in the capital that back then, the world was saying that Su Yao was plotting rebellion and supporting a puppet empress, and even wanted to uproot the foundation of the family."

"First, Han Fu, Ma Teng and others rebelled against the tyranny, then Yuan Gonglu and Liu Jingsheng sent envoys to form an alliance with us, saying that dozens of prefectures and counties in Jingyang responded to the anti-Su cause. But who could have expected that the general would have such a thundering method..."

"Enough!" Liu Fan slammed the table. "What's the point of saying all this now? You don't think that with just the little wealth of Yizhou, you can fight against the hundreds of thousands of troops of the imperial court?"

"Once what you did is discovered, I'm afraid that the entire Liu family will be buried with you!"

"Don't worry, young master." Zhang Su took a deep breath:

"Things haven't reached the point where they can't be reversed yet. That's why Envoy Liu sent me to the capital to pay tribute, to show my loyalty, to stabilize Su Yao, and at the same time to find out the truth and contact the other lords to plot a grand plan together!"

"Grand plan? What grand plan can there be now?"

Liu Fan looked frustrated:
"It is true that Yizhou is a long way from home, but there is no such thing as an impenetrable wall. The censor has already reported what you have done."

"By then, if the truth is revealed, with the general's temper, we will be destroyed overnight!"

Seeing Liu Fan depressed, Zhang Su hurried to comfort him, saying that he had already thought of a way to excuse himself on the way, but he was worried that if they temporarily bowed their heads and the court's new policies and money entered Yizhou, they might never be able to turn things around.

"But for now, we should still take the lives of all the young masters as the most important thing. The capital is a dangerous place and we cannot stay there for long. All the young masters should retreat to Yizhou as soon as possible, so that we can take the initiative."

Liu Fan frowned upon hearing this. After a long silence, he whispered, "What Zhang Biejia said is not without reason, but now Yizhou has been under the attention of the imperial court. If we act rashly again, I am afraid that..."

Zhang Su took a step closer and lowered his voice, "My Lord, I have a plan. Why don't you take this opportunity to write a petition with the Second and Third Lords, requesting to return to Yizhou to visit your relatives. As long as the three Lords can return safely, Envoy Liu will no longer have to worry."

Liu Fan raised his head suddenly: "Will he let us go so easily?"

Zhang Su's eyes gleamed: "Of course it's impossible under normal circumstances, so a special reason is needed."

"Oh? Liu Yan is seriously ill and asks his third son to return home to show his filial piety?"

Three days later, at the General’s Mansion.

Seeing that he had not been summoned by Su Yao for a long time, Zhang Su used his connections to ask someone to submit such a memorial.

Su Yao put down the memorial and raised a playful smile: "What do you think about this?"

Yuan Shao thought for a moment and said, "Liu Yizhou is over sixty years old, so it is not necessarily true that he is seriously ill. But..."

As he spoke, Yuan Shao glanced at Su Yao meaningfully: "This timing is too coincidental, I'm afraid it's not simple."

Guo Jia took over the conversation: "Liu Yan's eldest son Liu Fan has been an official in the court for many years and has always been respectful. Now he suddenly asks all three sons to return with him. I'm afraid there is a change in Yizhou."

Su Yao tapped the table with his fingers: "What do you think, Wenhe?"

Jia Xu pondered and said, "Although Yizhou is strategically located, it has been in turmoil in recent years. If Liu Yan is really seriously ill, he may have recalled his three sons to stabilize the situation. If he is faking illness, he wants to rescue his sons from the 'cage' of the capital so that they can fight against the court in the future."

"As for the specifics, we still don't know the details, but no matter what, the court must be on guard."

Su Yao nodded: "In that case, I will come to meet the envoy in person."

"Summon the Yizhou envoy Zhang Su to meet him at the general's residence tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)