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

Chapter 159 Please, Your Excellency, Use Your Lu (a type of lottery ticket)

Another plate of Chupu?
You Chu's request was somewhat unexpected.

Miwei: "What are we betting on this time? The same as before?"

You Chu shook his head:
“You cannot trust me, just as I cannot trust you.”

"Let's just put ourselves in the game, with heaven and earth as the cup and ourselves as the five pieces of wood. We'll decide the winner and loser, and also decide life and death."

"In this way, there is no need to swear an oath to anyone."

"That's an interesting remark," Mi Wei chuckled.

How to throw it?

You Chu clasped his hands and said:
"Among the five woods arranged, the royal wood is superior, while the mixed woods are inferior."

"Among the Wang Cai, 'Lu' is the best, and 'Zhi' is the second best."

"Before witnessing your skill, I thought I had thrown out 'Lu' (a winning hand in Chinese astrology)."

"Now I realize that I only had one 'pheasant', which is why I lost the first game."

After a slight pause, You Chu raised his head and said in a clear voice:
"However, 'Lu' is extremely rare, and once it is obtained, it cannot be repeated."

"I want to gamble on whether you can roll another 'Lu'."

Mi Wei pondered for a moment, then said:

"So you were betting that I wouldn't dare kill you."

You Chu did not deny it:

"I am but a hundred riders before you, a mere egg striking a rock; yet you are no different before a hundred thousand Wei troops in Guanzhong."

"I am trapped here, just as you are trapped in this predicament in Guanzhong."

"We are all prisoners, only differing in degree."

Mi Wei nodded: "That makes sense."

You Chu continued:
"In my humble opinion, your only way out is as I have said before: cross the Wei River to the south, abandon your horse and go into the mountains, and take the small path to Xiegu."

Mi Wei: "In that case, the lives of these hundred or so of us are in your hands."

"good."

You Chu readily admitted it.

"This is the 'pheasant' I threw."

Mi Wei suddenly realized what was happening:

“If I cannot find a better way to return south, then I will lose to you, this 'pheasant,' and be at your mercy.”

You Chu raised his hand:

"Please, sir, call for a lucky draw."

Miwei looked around.

His gaze fell on Meng Da:

"Will Lord Meng play the Lu game?"

Meng Da sneered:
"A trivial skill, how could I not know it?"

He immediately ordered You Chu to write a letter requesting grain to be transferred from Sanguan.

Without saying a word, You Chu wrote it down in one stroke.

However, Meng Da did not use the letter directly.

Instead, he imitated the handwriting and wrote another letter.

The wording was based on those burnt official documents.

This was to guard against You Chu secretly hiding coded messages to warn the enemy troops in Chencang.

He copied it several times to confirm that the handwriting was largely correct, and then took You Chu's official seal and sealed it with clay.

Only then did he order someone to impersonate a messenger sent by You Chu and go to Chencang to borrow grain ships.

The general idea was to use the pretext of transporting grain to travel south to the vicinity of Sanguan, and then seize an opportunity to escape.

In any case, Mi Wei only had a hundred or so riders left. Although they were not in a good position to fight, they were also less likely to attract attention.

however.

a few days later.

"Yang Qiu doesn't acknowledge You Chu as the Superintendent of Grain Supply?"

Meng Da stared in astonishment at the returning "messenger".

Then he glanced at You Chu, who looked completely calm.

It's still unbelievable:

"With Cao Zhen in power within Guanzhong, how dare this surrendered general from Guanzhong be so arrogant?"

The messenger said:

"That's not all. Yang Qiu has declared that if theft is discovered recently, even grain officials appointed by the imperial court can be killed."

"He then appointed a trusted confidant as the new grain official, who was sent to various counties surrounding Chencang. The grain will arrive in Yumi soon."

Now everyone looked at You Chu.

The latter, quite the bachelor, said:

"Yang Yishan disobeyed the military governor's orders and sent troops to Longyou. If I don't intercept some of his military rations, how can I support his march?"

Now everyone was speechless.

Because it sounded so perfectly reasonable. In fact, they should even thank You Chu for it.

If it weren't for You Chu, Yu Mi's stored grain would have been emptied by Yang Qiu.

Then it would have been a wasted trip.

A moment of silence.

Meng Da, partly trying to save face and partly making a suggestion, said:

"We can no longer stay here."

"The enemy forces are gathering in Weinan, so it is not advisable to go there for the time being."

"The best course of action now is to first hide among the trees and rocks in the northern mountains, observe the situation in Guanzhong, and then decide whether to stay or leave."

The so-called "Beishan" refers to a series of mountain ranges in the northwestern part of the Guanzhong Basin, north of Fufeng.

It is also called "Qishan".

Mi Wei remembers that the area was crisscrossed with ravines, similar to the terrain of Longyou.

It is indeed a good place to hide.

Then he pointed at You Chu and said:
"Although the evidence against this Imperial Censor You for stealing military rations is conclusive, we have received a favor from him and must repay it."

"Let's just take him with us to prevent him from being slaughtered by Yang Qiu."

"Imperial Censor You, what do you think?"

You Chu's body trembled, and he clasped his hands together, saying:
"The outcome is still undecided, so feel free to bet as you please."

……

According to historical records, the area below Mount Qi was the origin of the Zhou Dynasty.

Because it was located west of the Yin and Shang dynasties, later novelists called it "Xiqi".

Legend has it that the Western Zhou Dynasty was frequently invaded by the Quanrong.

The Quanrong people lived in the Jing River basin behind Qishan Mountain.

This is the area where the Lushui Hu people of Anding now roam.

From this perspective, this moment is just like that moment back then.

After entering the North Mountain, Mi Wei and his group went into complete hiding.

Only a small number of scouts were sent south to gather intelligence on the military situation in the San Pass and Xie Valley areas.

They lay low from mid-spring until late spring, and summer was just around the corner.

However, the Wei troops from both directions showed no signs of withdrawing.

Even Miwei was a little unsettled.

Logically, Yang Qiu and Zhang He's refusal to withdraw their troops must be because Zhang Fei and Wei Yan, who were confronting them, had not withdrawn their troops either.

However, both Wudu and Hanzhong are undeveloped areas that urgently need to resume production.

Aren't the two generals worried about delaying the spring planting season in both regions by refusing to withdraw their troops?

It should be noted that Zhuge Liang had previously waited until after the busy spring planting season before sending troops to support Zhao Yun.

Could it be... that something has happened to Liu Bei in Liangzhou?
However, just as the grain reserves were about to run out, the scouts brought back unexpected news.

When Lu Shuihu of Anding and Zheng Gan of Fengyi heard that Wei Yan's army was in Weinan, they sent envoys to meet with him, intending to submit to him.

However, just as Miwei could not reach Xiegu, so too could the envoys from both sides.

Instead, they eventually made contact with Miwei's scouts.

Mi Wei was unfamiliar with local customs, so he entrusted the matter to Meng Da to verify.

A definitive answer was soon reached.

Meng Da: "The Lu Shui Hu tribes say they wish to remotely honor Your Majesty as the legitimate ruler of the Han Dynasty."

"However, after spring warms up, the mares will give birth, and they are eager to return to the northern pastures, so they cannot come to rescue us. We hope you understand."

Mi Wei: "It's good that they withdrew. If they hadn't withdrawn, the Wei army wouldn't have left, and we wouldn't have been able to leave either."

Meng Da agreed wholeheartedly and continued:
“Fengyi Zheng Gan also wishes to respectfully acknowledge Your Majesty. However, he hopes that Your Majesty will confer upon him the title of Prince of Fengyi.”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

As is well known, when Zheng Gan surrendered last year, Cao Pi only granted him the title of Marquis.

Now, they come up seeking to be granted the title of king, and even a large prefecture like Fengyi.

Can he sit securely on this throne?
Miwei thought for a moment and said:
"Tell him that His Majesty is benevolent and never stingy with rewards for those who have made contributions."

"If he believes his achievements are worthy of a prince, then he should first demonstrate his military exploits."

Meng Da accepted the order and went to carry it out.

Soon after, Zheng Gan replied, saying that he had deliberately used the offer of a royal title to test the sincerity of the Han envoy.

If you agree directly, he won't believe you.

Miwei ignored this completely.

The key point is that Zheng Gan provided an important piece of information this time:
It is said that Cao Zhen secretly promised to make him the King of Fengyi in exchange for him surrendering to Wei again.

He sensed something was amiss and, after some investigation, learned that Cao Pi would be entering the pass through Tongguan.

Cao Zhen was eager to greet the imperial carriage, which is why he was willing to offer a generous reward.

Based on this, Zheng Gan put forward a bold idea: he planned to outwardly agree to Cao Zhen's request, and then take advantage of Cao Zhen's withdrawal to go north to Pubanjin, cross the river to Hedong, and then go south to disturb Cao Pi's carriage, thereby seeking the title of King of the Han Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar once again!
(End of this chapter)