Jinting Han people

Chapter 207 Sun Xiushi's Surrender (4k)

"Say it again, Sun Changshi wants to reconcile with me?"

When Liu Xian heard this, he was checking the newly revised household register with Xi Zheng and Li Sheng. No one had expected that such a statement would suddenly come out while they were busy. For a moment, they looked at each other in confusion, and then laughed out loud, as if they had heard some great joke.

Xue Xing also felt extremely helpless and absurd about this. Obviously, he had never thought that one day he would be able to become Sun Xiu's messenger.

But when Sun Xiu suddenly stepped into his house last night and revealed his identity, Xue Xing had no other choice.

When Sun Xiu met Xue Xing, he said three sentences.

The first sentence was very direct. Sun Xiu said with a smile: "Oh, sorry, County Magistrate Xue, Mingji was sent by me."

This naturally aroused Xue Xing's anger. He punched Sun Xiu in the nose, causing a bloody nose. But before the second punch landed, Sun Xiu bent over and covered his nose and said, "All the people in Fenyin are mine too."

Xue Xing lost his temper. He remembered that Sun Xiu was the top official in Guanzhong, and Fenyin was his hometown. The lives of dozens of members of the Xue family depended on Sun Xiu's words. He was a minor figure in the officialdom and had no right to speak with Sun Xiu. After his anger faded, he was once again overwhelmed by panic and fear.

Sun Xiu raised his head for a moment, and after the nosebleed stopped, he wiped the blood with his sleeve and said leisurely, "Ah, but this is all in the past. From today on, we are a team."

"Please tell County Lord Liu that I surrender!"

There was something humorous about Sun Xiu, the dignified Chief Secretary of King Zhao and a high-ranking official in charge of the entire Western Expedition Army, saying he was surrendering to a minor official, Liu Xian, the sixth-rank official of Xiayang. But Sun Xiu's performance was sincere. He stripped off his shirt, tied some brambles around his back, and wrapped a piece of cloth around his face. Then, he followed Xue Xing to the Xiayang County government and knelt in front of Liu Xian's courtyard.

Liu Xian followed Xue Xing out to see what was happening. Seeing Sun Xiu's skinny upper body and the pretentious attire, it was difficult for him to maintain a serious expression. He approached Sun Xiu and asked:

"Sun Changshi is not in Chang'an, but came to Xiayang. Why is he dressed like this? I don't understand."

Sun Xiu said solemnly, "This is the attire for someone who is asking for forgiveness while carrying a thorn stick on his back! How could Huai Chong not see it?"

"What crime did Sun Changshi commit? Who did he apologize to? Why don't I understand?"

Liu Xian's words were, of course, sarcastic, and Sun Xiu could hear it. Since Sun Xiu and Liu Xian arrived in Guanzhong, they had fought no fewer than three times, each time with Sun Xiu determined to send Liu Xian to hell, a place where he would never recover. For someone like him to suddenly offer surrender and an apology, Liu Xian would simply see it as another trap set by Sun Xiu.

Sun Xiu also knew this, so this time, he did not play any tricks. Although his words were frivolous, his tone was still relatively sincere. He said:
"Sun has five sins and must confess them to Huai Chong."

"Five? Which five?"

"The first is that Sun is using the measurement issue to try to accuse Huai Chong of corruption and dereliction of duty."

"Ah, is that true? Why don't I remember it?" Liu Xian laughed. He really had never taken this matter to heart.

"Secondly, Sun had ill intentions and tricked Huai Chong into trying to persuade the Tiefu people to surrender. In reality, he was setting an ambush along the way and attempting to murder Huai Chong."

"I don't remember that either. I was on my way to Shuofang, and everything went smoothly." Liu Xian laughed again. In fact, this was his masterpiece. He had perfectly predicted Sun Xiu's plan and managed to divert his attention and escape.

"The third thing is that Sun was bewildered and listened to rumors about a stunning beauty in Xiayang. So he led his troops to surround Xiayang and almost caused a major incident."

"..." After hearing this, Liu Xian did not respond. In fact, this was the thing that Liu Xian was most afraid of about Sun Xiu so far.

"The fourth is that Sun, with a curious eye, saw that County Lieutenant Xue was a handsome man, so he arranged for one of his female followers to marry him. He also arranged for hundreds of followers in the county to spy on Xia Yang."

Liu Xian was shocked when he heard this. Xue Xing had just told him about Ming Ji, and Liu Xian wasn't surprised. But he hadn't expected Sun Xiu to have so many spies in Xiayang without him even knowing about it. Was this true or false?
If this were true, where were these people in Xiayang now? What were they doing? If they wanted to cause unrest, how large a scale of unrest could they stir up in Xiayang? Liu Xian pondered in his heart, wondering if this was an exaggeration or the truth.

"The fifth thing, and the one I'm most ashamed of, is that I bribed Cai Fang, the military commander of Fengyi Commandery, and instructed him to take advantage of a victory to shoot Huai Chong with an arrow and pin the blame on the Xiongnu."

Liu Xian was startled again. He looked up and exchanged glances with Xue Xing, trying to confirm whether it was true. But Xue Xing was also bewildered. After the battle, everyone was exhausted. How could he care about anyone else? He just had to force himself to send Liu Xian back to Xiayang.

Although he didn't get an answer, Liu Xian was 70% convinced in his heart. He had originally only planned to lead the Xiayang County soldiers to Hedong for reconnaissance. Ouyang Jian's transfer of the Cai army was actually a pleasant surprise.

Cai Fang and Liu Xian didn't interact much on a daily basis, and their relationship was always distant. However, during battle, no matter what orders Liu Xian gave, Cai Fang would do his best to carry them out. Liu Xian had always believed that Cai Fang was loyal to his duty. But now it seemed that no matter how loyal he was, he wouldn't refuse his kindness, right? If Cai Fang accepted Sun Xiu's orders, then that made sense.

Thinking of this, Liu Xian broke out in a cold sweat, and his understanding of Sun Xiu was completely different from before.

In the previous few battles, he thought he had the upper hand and had gradually begun to look down on Sun Xiu. However, he had not expected that he had only won the three obvious battles, and that Sun Xiu had hidden so many tricks up his sleeve. If this was true, he was indeed a genius at political intrigue, and he was no match for him.

But this also made Liu Xian disgusted and hostile to Sun Xiu in his heart.

He stared at Sun Xiu coldly and asked, "I don't understand what Sun Changshi said."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. As long as Huai Chong knows, Sun is indeed here to reconcile with Huai Chong."

"Why would such a prominent figure like Sun Changshi want to make peace with me?"

"That's of course because I have turned over a new leaf and become a princeling just like Huai Chong." This answer was beyond Liu Xian's expectations, causing him to lose his composure in a rare way, revealing an expression of disbelief.

In Liu Xian's eyes, compared with the humor of Sun Xiu saying that he wanted to reconcile with him, Sun Xiu's change of allegiance to Sima Yi was an even more unsurpassable joke.

Who was Sun Xiu? He was Empress Jia's trusted confidant. To protect him and the Prince of Zhao, Empress Jia was able to withstand political pressure and dismiss Sima Rong, Prince of Liang, and Zhang Gui, commander of the Western Expedition Army. Furthermore, for the past four years, Sun Xiu and Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao, had run rampant in Guanzhong, doing whatever they pleased and amassing countless treasures. It can be said that Sun Xiu's meteoric rise to power was inseparable from the unwavering support of Empress Jia's entourage.

Now Sun Xiu actually told him that he had abandoned the Queen's party and switched to the Crown Prince's camp? Liu Xian almost thought that Sun Xiu was going to use this topic as an excuse to ask him questions, just like their first meeting.

Sun Xiu also saw Liu Xian's disbelief, but facts speak louder than words, so he chose to use the simplest method to prove himself, which was to take out a letter from his arms.

Liu Xian took the letter, reluctant to read it but compelled to do so. The usually light paper felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. He unfolded the scroll and saw the familiar handwriting. Although it lacked the crown prince's seal, Liu Xian, a former official in the Eastern Palace, instantly recognized it as Sima Yi's own.

Sima Yi's letter was simple, simply trying to appease Sun Xiu, claiming that the Prince of Zhao had a close relationship with the Crown Prince, and asking him to focus on managing the Western Expedition Army. He also stated that the Eastern Palace had no intention of intervening in the political struggle between Sun Xiu and the Jie clique. Besides maintaining a close relationship, he also made two demands of Sun Xiu: first, to secretly report the latest movements of the Hou Clan to the Eastern Palace, and second, to stop harassing Liu Xian, the prefect of Xiayang, and to reconcile with him.

After Liu Xian finished reading, he fell silent. Xie Xi thought his strategy of aligning the Crown Prince and putting pressure on Empress Jia was brilliant, but he hadn't expected Sun Xiu to have already prepared a way out for him.

From the perspective of political self-preservation, Sun Xiu has reached the level of anticipating the enemy's moves. Both Jie Xi and himself are far behind Sun Xiu in this regard.

Even so, Liu Xian was deeply disappointed with Sima Yi's choice: although Sima Yi was known for his intelligence, he still operated from a self-centered perspective. This indifference might not offend Empress Jia, but it would disappoint those who still had hopes for him.

Especially choosing to accept a scum like Sun Xiu into the sect was definitely a completely wrong choice.

In their previous exchange, Liu Xian had come to a deeper understanding of Sun Xiu's complete scumbag nature. He wasn't thrilled by anyone's charity, instead considering it a gift of his own. Regardless of how harsh and heartless Empress Jia and Jia Mi were to others, they at least did their best with Sun Xiu. If Sun Xiu could easily abandon such a favor, how much more so Sima Yi, who had shown him little kindness in the past?

In order to confirm his guess, Liu Xian said to Sun Xiu:
"Sun Changshi should know that Duke Lu hates me very much."

Sun Xiu said frankly:
"Yes, I hate it to the core. Every year, Duke Lu urges me to cause trouble for Huai Chong."

"Now that Sun Changshi has switched his allegiance to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, how does he plan to serve Lu Gong?"

"Haha!" Sun Xiu said with a nonchalant smile, "I have bribed Duke Lu's people a long time ago, and they speak well of me every day. Don't worry, Huai Chong, it won't be long before Duke Lu forgets about you."

Faced with this confident statement, Liu Xian became even more wary of Sun Xiu:
It's true! This Taoist who loves to tout the "Three Officials" and "Immortal Hall" is actually a completely heartless and ruthless person! In his eyes, all living beings are probably just pawns in his pursuit of power. Although he never claims this, in reality, his desires are endless, and his insatiable desires make it easy for him to betray everyone.

Liu Xian looked at Sun Xiu for a moment and said slowly, "Sun Changshi is truly a resourceful man."

Sun Xiuze laughed playfully again and replied with praise: "No, no, without Huai Chong's help, I don't know how much trouble I would have been in if I had won the battle of Fenyin!"

After that, he asked again: "Does Huai Chong have any more doubts?"

Liu Xian was silent for a moment, then said, "Come to think of it, I've never understood why Sun Changshi, while carrying a thorny branch to apologize, also had a piece of cloth wrapped around his face."

"Alas, my joining the Crown Prince's sect is a top secret after all. If I don't wrap it in a piece of cloth and someone sees it, and reports it to the Demon Queen and Duke Lu, what will happen then?"

"I see." Liu Xian nodded and quickly replied, "But unfortunately, I have always been open and honest in making friends. I never make friends with people who cover their faces. I hope Sun Changshi will forgive me."

After saying that, Liu Xian pulled Xue Xing aside and turned around and left, leaving Sun Xiu alone in front of the door, letting him continue to be a shameful clown.

Shortly after returning to the room, Liu Xian sent someone to check the door again and found that Sun Xiu had disappeared.

Liu Xian laughed and looked down on him. What an impatient person. He was not able to accomplish anything but always caused trouble. How could he really win the trust of others?
Xue Xing had overheard the entire incident and couldn't help but feel worried about Liu Xian's decision: "County Master, do you disagree with the Crown Prince's decision?"

Liu Xian had already sat down, spread out the paper, and began to grind ink. As he did so, he said, "It's not just the Crown Prince's decision. I disagree with any of the decisions made by the current emperor. He should abdicate and let someone more capable take over!"

"County Lord, be careful with your words!"

"It was just a momentary outburst of anger!" Liu Xian's anger lasted only a short quarter of an hour before it dissipated. If he were in Luoyang five years ago, he would probably be so angry about this that he couldn't eat for several days and would argue with his friends for a long time.

But by now, Liu Xian had grown somewhat accustomed to this situation. While there were loyal subordinates and sworn brothers here, there were still few friends he could truly confide in, a fact that often left him feeling lonely. In this situation, what was the point of getting angry? It was completely useless. The only correct approach was to calm down and think of a solution.

Liu Xian spent the rest of the day sitting at his desk, thinking about how to write another letter to Sima Yi, hoping to convince him to remove Sun Xiu. After getting to know Sun Xiu again today, Liu Xian had a premonition that this man's destructive power would far exceed his imagination. He might destroy the Jin Dynasty, and perhaps even himself. He must be expelled from the political arena!
As he was carefully considering his words, dusk soon arrived. At this moment, the guard outside the door announced that someone wanted to see the county lady.

Liu Xian was a little annoyed, thinking, could it be that Sun Xiu had come up with another way to annoy him? But he still asked, "Who is coming? If you don't know them, then don't meet them!"

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang out from outside the door, saying, "Huai Chong, I haven't seen you for four years. When did your temper become so bad?"

Liu Xian was stunned at first, but he immediately realized what was happening and smiled sincerely. He put down the pen and ink in his hand, walked out quickly, and said to the visitor with a smile:
"Haha, Shiheng, why are you here?"

The person who came was Lu Ji.

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(End of this chapter)