The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 151 Let's start with a game of dice.
Deep in the Wei River valley, Mi Wei kept carving on the ground with a tree branch.

As a native of Fufeng, Meng Da recognized what the painting depicted at a glance.

It's a map of Guanzhong.

Moreover, going east along the Wei River, not far past Linwei, one arrives at the location of Fufeng Prefecture.

This is the traditional "Guanzhong".

Even if you can't recognize it, you can still guess.

I hesitated to speak several times.

To be fair.

Meng Da did not consider himself a particularly loyal person.

My motivation for following Mi Wei on this desperate raid was partly driven by ambition to achieve merit, and partly by being dragged along.

However, given the current situation, even if I don't want to be a loyal subject, I have no choice but to be one.

if not?
In front of the Wei army in Linwei, they killed one of their governors and kidnapped another prefect.

Even if I turn back now and say I've repented, no one will believe me!

of course.

The most important reason is...

Meng Da still had some expectations for the young man in front of him.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the other side rushed headlong into Guanzhong, seemingly without any sense of direction.

But as a true "scholar of Guanzhong".

Meng Da knew very well that entering the pass was the only way to survive.

Because there is the "Shu Road" in Guanzhong.

To be precise, south of the Wei River, along the Qinling Mountains which stretch for thousands of miles, there are several roads that lead to Hanzhong.

Some of these roads are wide, and some are narrow.

From the perspective of a large-scale military expedition, only the Baoxie Road is probably usable.

The problem is, they are neither a large army nor about to go on an expedition.

There's no need to consider how tens of thousands of people will advance in sequence.

There's no need to consider how to allocate supplies for tens of thousands of people.

They were nothing more than a few hundred desperate criminals.

From the perspective of shaking off pursuers, narrow and difficult roads are not necessarily a bad thing.

Thinking about it this way, the future is actually relatively optimistic.

That is the only one.

As Meng Da watched Mi Wei draw, he not only marked the entrances to all the Shu Roads in Weinan.

They even roughly marked out all the counties and prefectures north of the Wei River.

The most outrageous thing is that they even circled Chang'an City!
It even circled three times!
Surely it can't be just a few hundred people attacking Chang'an, right?

At least Ma Chao and Han Sui knew that the allied forces numbered 100,000!

After muttering these thoughts to himself for a moment, Miwei seemed to have made up his mind. He threw away the branch and clapped his hands, saying:

"Is You Chu still on a hunger strike?"

Meng Da: "He said that in the Great Wei, there were people who starved to death, but no ministers who lost their integrity."

Miwei curled his lip and said:
"I never intended to persuade him to surrender, so how did I become disloyal?"

"That's fine."

"Please ask him again for me, Lord Meng: if he's not eating, will he still play dice?"

After a while.

You Chu watched as Mi Wei fiddled with five black and white wooden pieces.

I feel a little sorry for her for some reason.

These are his gaming devices that he always carries with him.

I usually treasure it and keep it as a precious item.

Snapped.

As soon as Miwei tossed up a piece of wood, he quickly picked up a second one.

Then catch the first piece that falls with your backhand.

He failed to catch it.

But he didn't take it to heart and said to You Chu:

"Are you skilled in gambling?"

You Chu nodded.

Miwei then said:

"I've heard that Chupu originated in the Western Regions, and many scholars in Yongliang are skilled at this game. I wonder if you could teach me?"

You Chu's gaze sharpened slightly.

I can't figure out what they're up to.

He spoke after a moment:
"You ride your horse into a death trap, not thinking about how to survive, but instead want to learn gambling from me?"

Mi Wei laughed:

"If you don't eat or drink, you will die soon. If I don't learn today, I'm afraid I won't have the chance tomorrow."

You Chu scoffed inwardly; as expected, they still wanted to persuade him to surrender.

So, without showing any emotion, he said:

"This play can be either elaborate or simple. Which version would you like to learn?"

Miwei: "Let's all talk about it."

So You Chuzai carefully explained the rules of the game of Chupu.

Miwei listened attentively to the entire piece.

In conclusion, the simplest version is simply rolling dice.

A more complex version, similar to Ludo.

Mi Wei: "Since it's a game, there must be a prize. What would you like?"

"All I ask for is to return home," You Chu said hoarsely.

"However, everything I possess was obtained by you, so I fear I have nothing left to weigh down."

Mi Wei ordered someone to give You Chu a bag of water, regardless of whether he drank it or not.

Pointing to the map of Guanzhong on the ground, he said:

"You still have Chen Cang."

“This city was once the seat of Hanxing Commandery. You have been gone for less than half a year, so there should still be some former officials in the city.”

In terms of familiarity with Guanzhong, You Chu believed he was better than anyone else present.

He instantly guessed what Mi Wei was thinking.

Chencang faces the old road to Sanguan to the south.

It is precisely a route into Sichuan.

In the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, famously used this very route to openly repair the plank roads while secretly crossing Chencang.

In the twentieth year of Jian'an (219 AD), the late emperor (Cao Cao) led his army to conquer Zhang Lu, taking the same route.

It's just going in the opposite direction.

This perfectly aligns with the direction Miwei is currently fleeing.

With a thought swirling in his mind, You Chu finally took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and said loudly:
"Chencang is a strategically important location. If you expect me to open the city gates with just a few words, you are overestimating me and underestimating the soldiers of my Great Wei."

Mi Wei waved his hand and said, "It's alright."

"When you were guarding Jicheng for that Magistrate Zhang in Longyou, weren't you also responsible for coordinating the transport of grain from Guanzhong to the west?"

“Write a letter to the city and tell them that my troops have come here to ask for grain.”

"I won't be greedy. Just take enough for your return journey, and I'll let you go once we reach Sanguan Pass."

You Chu thought for a moment.

Surprisingly, I felt that the other party's request wasn't unreasonable.

But he was no longer the same person who had first entered Longyou.

How could he not know that the person before him was a wise man who could rival Zhang Ji?
He immediately asked cautiously, "What if I win?"

"Then I'll just let you go."

As he spoke, Miwei pointed to the thawed, muddy spring water below the valley:
"If you don't believe me, why don't you swear an oath by the Wei River?"

You Chu thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright."

After taking the oath, the two began the game.

The more complex version requires a chessboard, pieces, and other auxiliary equipment.

This condition is clearly not met at this time.

Therefore, the only option is to roll dice.

The winner will be determined by a best-of-three series.

In the first round, both players threw "mixed colors".

However, You Chu's combination scores higher, so You Chu wins.

In the second round, the two players still used a mixed approach.

But when it was Miwei's turn to score higher, Miwei won.

The third game has begun.

Miwei threw first, but the result was still "mixed colors".

When it was You Chu's turn, he hesitated a little.

Occasionally, I would glance at the deer.

I would occasionally glance at the location of Chencang on the map.

But Miwei remained calm and waited for him quietly.

But You Chu knew he couldn't wait.

So he took a slight breath and finally threw.

Snapped.

The results have been announced.

Four black and one white.

One of the white sides is painted with a pheasant.

"It's actually Wang Cai, the second-highest-ranking pheasant!"

Mi Wei and Meng Da, who was watching, both exclaimed in surprise.

On the contrary, You Chu, who had won, felt a sudden tremor in his heart.

I have a bad feeling.

Regardless, he did win.

Mi Weidao:
"It seems this is the will of Heaven!"

"Very well, then you may leave now!"

"However, you may only travel east, not west, lest Guo Huai discover my whereabouts. I hope you understand!"

Upon hearing this, You Chu felt somewhat relieved.

Afterwards, Miwei kept his word and opened the road to the east, allowing him to leave.

They even gave him a nag and a bag of dry rations.

Although You Chu was full of doubts, he was unwilling to miss this opportunity to escape.

After walking a little further away, he looked back and saw that there were no pursuers, so he did not hesitate any longer and immediately spurred his horse to gallop.

(End of this chapter)