Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 246 Zhang Lu surrenders! (Thanks to Brother Kong Cheng for the small reward~)

Hanzhong County, Shangyong County.

Yi Ji entered the city and went straight to Yan Pu's mansion and presented a visiting card.

Soon, the guards invited Yi Ji and his servants in.

In the central courtyard, Yi Ji saw Yan Pu writing on bamboo slips.

The other person had regular facial features and clear contours, giving people a solemn and stable feeling.

Yi Ji bowed with both hands in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:
"Yi Ji, the envoy of Lü Bu, meets with Yan Gongcao of Yan Pu."

Yan Pu raised his head, glanced at Yi Ji, frowned slightly and said:
"I wonder why the Iranian envoy came here?"

Yi Ji looked at the bamboo slips in front of the other person calmly.

He turned around and took a brocade box from a servant and handed it to Yan Pu:
"A mere gift is not respectful."

Yan Pu frowned and refused immediately:

"I am not a despicable person like Yang Song, so don't bribe me!"

Facing the angry Yan Pu, Yi Ji smiled calmly.

Before he came, he had already investigated Yan Pu's preferences.

The other party did not like money, but liked reading and writing, so Yi Ji naturally prepared some things that would interest him:
“This is not a bribe, just a gift for meeting.

"Cao Yan, you can open it and take a look first. If you don't like it, it's not too late to return it."

After hearing what Yi Ji said, Yan Pu took the brocade box and opened it to take a look.

There was nothing fancy inside, just a stack of clean white paper.

However, the moment he saw these white papers, Yan Pu was immediately surprised.

He stroked the paper gently, and said with great joy:

“These papers are so fine and lustrous, just like a young woman’s skin!
"If you write on this, the pen must feel great!"

As he spoke, Yan Pu carefully took out a piece of white paper from the brocade box, spread it on the stone table, picked up a pen and wrote the words "avoid disaster" on it.

After finishing writing, Yan Pu felt more and more satisfied!
He put down the brush and turned over the written paper.

I found that although the written words were clearly visible, when I touched it with my hand, there was no trace of ink seeping through.

A trace of surprise flashed across Yan Pu's eyes, and he quickly looked at Yi Ji:

"This paper...how is it made?"

Yi Ji smiled in a secretive manner:

"This is the handmade paper that my master improved on the Caihou paper. We all call it Wenhou paper!"

"Wenhou Paper?"

Although Yan Pu felt that this naming was a bit arrogant.

But it is undeniable that this kind of handmade paper is indeed a great improvement compared to the previous Cai Hou paper!
Seeing that Yan Pu was very interested, Yi Ji took the opportunity to say:
"If Lord Yan needs it, wait for me to return to Jingzhou and send more people over."

Yan Pu was overjoyed and immediately invited Yi Ji to sit down at the table. His attitude was obviously much better than before.

Yan Pu dismissed the others and poured a cup of tea for Yi Ji himself, saying:
"The envoy came to me to ask me to persuade my master to surrender Hanzhong, right?"

Yi Ji's face changed slightly, but he soon admitted generously:
"Mr. Yan is indeed extremely smart!

"If you can lend us a helping hand, my master can teach you the method of making Wenhou paper.

"From now on, you can send someone to make it yourself, and you don't need to ask my master for it anymore."

Hearing that Yi Ji had offered such a great temptation, Yan Pu was immediately moved, but he still hadn't made up his mind.

Seeing this, Yi Ji continued to persuade calmly:

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang occupied Hanzhong, led an army of 100,000 soldiers, slept on straw and tasted gall, and finally achieved imperial hegemony.

"But Zhang Lu, the Heavenly Master, do you think he has the ability to be king or emperor?"

Yan Pu remained silent.

Yiji continued:

“You have great talent, but you can only hide in Hanzhong with Zhang Lu, unable to display your talent.

"If you can persuade Zhang Lu to surrender to our army, not only can you achieve a great feat." You can also go to the side of Wen Hou to offer advice, achieve unprecedented merits, and give full play to your own talents!
"Only in this way can you live up to what you have learned in your life!

"Also, I just noticed that you wrote the words 'avoid disaster' on the paper.

"I think you also know that Hanzhong is a place that military strategists must fight for.

“If our army takes Yizhou, we will sooner or later attack Hanzhong.

"When the two armies engage in battle, there will be chaos and you won't be able to hide in Hanzhong anymore..."

After Yi Ji's earnest persuasion, Yan Pu finally made up his mind:
"You are absolutely right! In this case, I will set out for Nanzheng immediately and will certainly persuade my master to surrender!"

Yi Ji immediately stood up and thanked him:

"If it succeeds, you will be the first to take the credit!"

Yan Pu helped Yi Ji up and asked him to wait for news in the city, while he drove the carriage straight to Nanzheng.

The next day.

Yi Ji saw Deng Zhi coming from Fangling County. He was wearing a yellow Taoist robe, just like a Taoist priest!
Yi Ji was shocked and said:
"Bo Miao? Have you really entered the Dao?"

Deng Zhi smiled calmly and said:

“Brother Ji Bo, don’t be surprised. Although I have joined the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, I will still serve my lord.

“According to my in-depth understanding, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect is generally good.

“Although there are some people with bad intentions, most people are simple and honest.

“Moreover, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect is quite popular in Hanzhong. If you can take advantage of this and take control of Hanzhong, you can easily control the entire county.

"In addition, the followers of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect are not good at fighting and have mature religious rules and regulations.

"They will not start a riot like the Yellow Turbans did back then, but will focus on self-cultivation. It is indeed a religion worth promoting."

Hearing Deng Zhi say this, Yi Ji looked at him suspiciously:

"Bo Miao, you couldn't have been brainwashed by them, right?"

Deng Zhi laughed:
“People who haven’t read books may be easily misled by these things.

“But I have some knowledge and can see that Zhengyi Sect is not a religion that deceives people.

“Moreover, in such a chaotic time, they were able to persist in coming down the mountain to help the people, which is something that other religions find difficult to do.

"Take Buddhism for example. Have you ever seen them helping the people on the street?"

After hearing this, Yi Ji felt that the other party was right, so he stopped discussing the matter and said:
"I have persuaded Yan Pu to persuade Zhang Lu. I believe there will be good news in the next two days."

As Yi Ji expected, after meeting Zhang Lu, Yan Pu also persuaded him to surrender to Lu Bu, otherwise they would be the only ones to suffer in the future if they fought.

In addition to Yan Pu, Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei also came to persuade his brother under Yang Song's persuasion.

Seeing that everyone thought that joining Lu Bu was the most suitable plan, Zhang Lu, who had already been tempted, finally made up his mind.

In order to show his sincerity, he directly gave 10,000 soldiers to Yi Ji and Deng Zhi to take back to Jingzhou.

When Lu Bu heard the news, he was overjoyed!
He immediately asked Yi Ji to give Zhang Lu 10,000 shi of grain and some weapons and equipment.

At the same time, the manufacturing method of Wenhou paper was secretly passed on to Yan Pu.

When Yi Ji came back, he brought back hundreds of followers of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. Lu Bu allowed them to spread the doctrine in his territory.

At this point, Hanzhong was officially under Lu Bu's jurisdiction!
As promised, Lu Bu did not deprive Zhang Lu of his military power and other management rights.

As long as the other party can allow his army to pass through Hanzhong and provide military support when necessary, it will be enough.

As for completely taking back the rights, we will talk about it when there is an opportunity in the future.

Lu Bu also witnessed Yi Ji's diplomatic talents, and according to the agreement, he appointed him as his assistant.

Deng Zhi, who had made equal contributions, was promoted to be the chief clerk.

After Yi Ji received his official position, he reminded Lü Bu:
"Then Yang Song can accept our bribe today and persuade Zhang Lu.

“Tomorrow, the enemy may do something detrimental to our army because of bribes.

"In my opinion, my lord should find an opportunity to quietly wipe it out!"

(End of this chapter)