The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 418 The situation is over
In Chengdu city, Liu Zhang looked panicked. He received the news of the fall of Jiangyou early in the morning. Tens of thousands of troops attacked Jiangyou. Jiangyou was captured by Wei Yan in less than an hour. In the afternoon of the same day, they headed towards Mianzhu.

"Everyone, there are only a thousand soldiers in Mianzhu. How can they resist the cavalry? Can you think of a plan to retreat?" Liu Zhang asked impatiently.

When Qin Shou led the army to Zitong that day, he was already very panicked. Now that Wei Yan's troops had already reached Mianzhu, he was even more panicked.

Zhang Song was about to go up to persuade them to surrender when he found his sleeve being pulled by someone. Looking back, he saw Fa Zheng shaking his head at him. Curious, he gave up trying to persuade them and just sat aside obediently.

"My lord, the enemy is now at the gates of the city. We are outnumbered and cannot defeat the imperial court. I think it would be better for you to surrender. The prime minister is kind and righteous, and he will surely give you a high position and generous salary."

Zhang Song looked and saw that it was a minor official under Liu Zhang, who was quite trusted by Liu Zhang.

"My lord, please kill this villain. How can we surrender before the war breaks out?" Wang Lei scolded loudly.

"My lord, please kill this thief to restore the morale of the army." Huang Quan also said loudly. Zhang Song also found that many people spoke up, even Fa Zheng.
"Damn it, I'm not dead yet? And now you're thinking of surrendering to Qin Shou? You deserve to die! Come, drag him away and beat him to death with sticks." Liu Zhang was furious and shouted loudly.

Zhang Song was frightened when he heard the man's scream. If Fa Zheng hadn't reminded him, he would have also tried to persuade him, and death might have been waiting for him.

"My lord, Mianzhu does not have many soldiers and horses, and I am afraid they cannot withstand Wei Yan's attack. In this case, we might as well set our sights on Luocheng or Chengdu. As long as we hold on for a dozen days, reinforcements from General Zhang Ren and General Wu Yi will arrive." Wang Lei suggested.

Liu Zhang nodded and asked again: "Who can be the general?"

After years of recuperation, the population of Bashu has increased significantly. These young and strong people may not be able to fight, but they should be able to defend.

But the biggest problem now is the lack of generals and no one to lead the troops.

"How about Li Yan?" Huang Quan recommended someone.

"Li Yan, Li Zhengfang?" Liu Zhang thought for a long time before he realized the other party's background. He nodded and said, "In that case, let him be the guard, and Fei Guan as the assistant, to stay in Luocheng. I will allocate 10,000 elite soldiers to him and let him lead the army to defeat Wei Yan."

"My lord, if this is the case, I'm afraid we will really have no soldiers to defend Chengdu." Wang Lei advised.

"If Mianzhu and Luocheng are lost, how can we continue to defend them?" Liu Zhang said with a wry smile.

After hearing this, Wang Lei immediately understood what Liu Zhang was thinking. He just wanted to fight to the death. Victory would be a good thing, but if he failed, there would be other ways to escape.

Immediately, everyone discussed the issue of food, fodder, and equipment, and Liu Zhang withdrew the military discussion. But everyone's faces showed that they were not in a good mood.

After all, the Cavalry Army is much closer to Chengdu, and everyone knows the strengths and weaknesses of the city. If things go wrong, everyone will become prisoners.

"Xiaozhi, this Li Zhengfang?" Zhang Song called out to Fa Zheng, looking a little worried.

"Hehe, Ziqiao, this Li Zhengfang is a smart man." Fa Zheng comforted.

He believed that apart from a few people like Huang Quan and Wang Lei, few people would be willing to be buried with Liu Zhang.

"Zhang Ziqiao, Fa Xiaozhi, you two are so brave."

A deep voice came, frightening the two men. They turned around and saw who else but Li Yan? Liu Zhang made him the magistrate of Chengdu and now the guard, but he made Fei Guan a military officer, which actually meant that he did not trust him.

"Zheng Fang, are you planning to report us?"

Fa Zheng saw this, rolled his eyes and said in a low voice.

"If I report you two, I'm afraid that when the prime minister enters the city, my entire family will be executed." Li Yan sneered, "You two are very patient and defected to the prime minister early, but you didn't persuade Liu Zhang to surrender." The two looked at each other and immediately realized that Li Yan was a smart man, so he made the right choice under such circumstances.

"Before the Prime Minister's troops reach Chengdu, Liu Zhang thinks he still has a chance of survival and he will never surrender." Fa Zheng explained: "If you persuade him to surrender at this time, you will be killed."

Li Yan nodded after listening. That was exactly the case. If Zhang Song had persuaded Liu Zhang to surrender, it would have been Liu Zhang who was killed. The same went for Fa Zheng.

"Anyone who tries to persuade him will die. However, after Zheng Fang surrenders to the Prime Minister, everything will be different." Fa Zheng chuckled.

"What about Fei Guan?" Li Yan asked hesitantly.

"I'll go and tell them." Zhang Song sneered, "The situation has come to this point. Does the Fei family have any other options? Only Liu Zhang and a few others have other ideas in their minds. Wei Yan's troops appeared in Jiangyou, which means that the natural barrier in Shuzhong has long been lost. Liu Zhang has no hope at all."

Li Yan nodded. The reason why he did not report Fa Zheng and Zhang Song was also because of this reason. They all had families to support, and it was impossible for them to give up their family members' lives for Liu Zhang's personal wealth and life.

After all, there are very few people like Huang Quan, Wang Lei and Zhang Su. What's more, Li Yan considers himself a talented person and he cannot display his talents by following Liu Zhang.

"My family is counting on you two."

Li Yan said seriously.

"Don't worry, I will make proper arrangements."

Zhang Song said solemnly.

Zhang Song thought that he could easily accomplish this small matter, as the Zhang family still had some capabilities in Chengdu.

The next day, Li Yan led his army to set off. When he just arrived at Luocheng, he received news that Wu Yi of Mianzhu was defeated and captured by Wei Yan. Mianzhu was broken and Wei Yan's army was heading towards Luocheng.

On the wall of Luo City, Li Yan and Fei Guan stood on the enemy tower, looking at the cavalry troops rushing towards them. Although they were all infantry, with crooked armor and looking very embarrassed, their spirit and energy could be seen.

"Joining the army, what do you think?"

Li Yan glanced around and asked calmly.

Fei Guan's background is not simple. He was born into a prominent family in Jiangxia. His aunt was Liu Zhang's mother, and Liu Zhang married his daughter to him. Therefore, Liu Zhang trusted him very much and asked him to be Li Yan's military officer. In fact, he was sent to monitor Li Yan.

"General, do you think the Prime Minister will spare my father-in-law's life?"

Fei Guan suddenly asked.

"The Prime Minister loves the people like his own children. As long as your father-in-law opens the city gate, I believe the Prime Minister will definitely spare his life."

Li Yan felt relieved immediately.

In the face of the general trend, even one's own son-in-law is unreliable.

"The situation is over, surrender!"

Fei Guan decided to surrender.

(End of this chapter)