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

Chapter 331 Seemingly Changing, Yet Not Changing
For the people of Wu, Hefei has always been a place they both love and hate.

Love is because this place is an important springboard for the Jiangdong regime to advance into Huaihe River Basin, and its gains or losses are related to the fate of the nation.

Hatred stemmed from the desire to acquire this springboard city, for which the Wu Kingdom had already paid a heavy price.

Sun Quan, the first King of Wu.

Veteran players Zhou Tai, Sun Shao, and Han Dang.

The middle generation includes Zhu Huan, He Qi, Liu Shao, and Xianyu Dan.

Young generals from the imperial clan, such as Sun Huan.

They were all lost in this battle.

It directly shattered the fate of the Eastern Wu state.

As a result, they became completely subservient to the Han and Wei dynasties, losing their qualification to contend for the Central Plains.

Times have changed.

The old city of Hefei that once stood beside Xiaoyaojin was also destroyed by fire long ago.

Looking at the new city of Hefei, which is closer to Shouchun in the north, Zhuge Ke couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

If it weren't for that crushing defeat, I should be a general of a great nation by now, right?
Why should Eastern Wu rely on someone like Yu Fan, who is good at talking nonsense, to prolong its reign?

With a sigh, the group finally arrived at the city gate.

Someone was already waiting here.

However, he was not a subordinate of Cao Hong or Jia Kui.

Instead, he was a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, and had clearly just tied his hair up.

Although the people of Wu never expected the two important officials of Cao Wei to be received with the honors due to envoys from a superior state.

But such neglect, coupled with the fact that Hefei is a place of sorrow for the people of Wu.

Some emotions inevitably arose.

They then threatened to storm the city and demand an explanation.

Even Zhuge Ke, who claimed to have come to watch the show, couldn't help but get angry.

However, Yu Fan, as the leader of the delegation, had probably experienced even more humiliating moments, and at this moment he appeared calm and composed.

He solemnly stepped forward to inquire about the boy's background.

Upon learning that the other party was Jia Chong, Jia Kui's adopted son, he showed an expression of being flattered and surprised.

Zhuge Ke and the others couldn't stand it, but they didn't want to offend him, so they all covered their faces with their sleeves.

Jia Chong, seeing this, darted around and said loudly:
"Please do not be impatient, dear guests."

"There is a reason why the General of the Cavalry and my master did not personally come out of the city to welcome them."

Upon hearing this, Yu Fan hurriedly replied:

"How dare an old woodcutter from the mountains trouble such an important official of the capital to greet me outside the city? Your words are too much for me!"

Zhuge Ke and the others could not bear to look and continued to cover their faces.

Jia Chong continued unhurriedly:

"The matter proposed by the guest is of great importance and must be considered carefully and discreetly."

"Given Cao Cao's rank and status, it would be too ostentatious for him to show himself in person."

"Therefore, this trip to Huainan is a public display of force to reward the emperor's troops."

Upon hearing this, Yu Fan seized the opportunity to say, "General, you've worked hard."

"As for my master..." Jia Chong paused slightly, his face darkening.

"Since coming to Huai River, the gentleman has suddenly fallen ill and is bedridden and unable to get up."

"The doctor told me privately that there might be an imminent danger... In this haste, I didn't know how to deal with it, so I could only come to greet you distinguished guests in person to avoid any misunderstandings."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people from Eastern Wu, except for Yu Fan, eased slightly.

After all, a son wouldn't curse his own father like that.

As for Yu Fan, upon hearing that Jia Kui was seriously ill, he became anxious instead.

But it's too late to rush things now.

The group could only settle in the post station first.

The next few days.

Cao Hong and Jia Kui never showed up.

No legitimate Wei official ever came to take over the duties.

They went to inquire privately, but couldn't find even a trace of Cao and Jia.

All that is known is that Jia Kui is indeed very ill, to the point that he has petitioned to retire.

With Jia Kui gone, Eastern Wu would inevitably lose a high-ranking official to rely on. Fortunately, about twelve or thirteen days later, Jia Chong reappeared, bringing good news:

Cao Hong will soon send his trusted confidant to discuss the alliance with Yu Fan.

It wasn't just Cao Hong.

The envoys of Zhu Ling, Wang Ling, and Zang Ba have also set off for Hefei.

As for Jia Kui, his adopted son can represent him.

It can be said that Zhang Zhao and Yu Fan's plan has finally taken a substantial step forward at this moment.

Apart from Zhuge Ke, everyone in the Eastern Wu delegation was encouraged and deeply admired Yu Fan's methods.

Zhuge Ke, however, reminded everyone:
"If the Wei people had this intention from the beginning, why would they have deliberately delayed us here for almost half a month?"

"Who knows what they're secretly plotting?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Chong offered his explanation:
"To be honest, the reason for this delay is due to a major personnel change in Huainan..."

original.

Just as Jia Kui was about to resign due to old age and illness, Cao Rui suddenly made adjustments to the personnel appointments in Huainan.

Specifically, Wang Lingping, the governor of Yanzhou, was transferred to be the governor of Yuzhou.

Zang Ba of Xuzhou then took over as the governor of Yangzhou, a post that had been vacant for many years.

As for Zhu Ling, the General of the Rear who had been stationed in Yangzhou, which belonged to Wei, he was transferred east to Xuzhou to take over Zang Ba's original duties.

General Cao Hong of the Flying Cavalry was given additional authority to control the generals in Huainan.

They were too busy to pay attention to Yu Fan and his group.

"Then who succeeded as the governor of Yanzhou?"

Yu Fan couldn't help but press for more information.

Jia Chong: "Guanqiu Jian, courtesy name Zhonggong, was a trusted confidant of the emperor."

Now everyone understood completely.

The emperor of the Great Wei, who was far away in Ye City, was clearly not very at ease with the various foreign armies south of the Yellow River.

Taking advantage of Jia Kui's retirement due to illness, he carried out a major reshuffle and, following Wang Su, once again planted his own spies in Nan'an.

how to say?

Everyone was both surprised and unsurprised.

Surprisingly, Jia Kui fell ill at a very inopportune time.

Unsurprisingly, Cao Wei gradually lost ground in recent years.

But Cao Rui clearly possessed some of the ambition and strategic vision of his father and grandfather.

How could such a powerful ruler not be wary of his generals?
Once Yu Fan understood the cause and effect, he immediately felt relieved.

A confident smile returned to his face as he addressed the crowd:

"Although the Wei emperor was brilliant and resourceful, the circumstances of the time meant that the generals were already thinking of preserving their lives."

"Aside from installing a confidant like Guanqiu Jian, none of his reshuffling has truly shaken the overall situation."

"I am actually grateful for his vigilance, which made the generals feel insecure and inadvertently facilitated my and Zhang Gong's plan... The great undertaking has been accomplished!"

When everyone thought about how those envoys had arrived all at once, they all felt that this was indeed the case.

So, the anxiety that had been hanging over me for more than half a month finally subsided.

They all praised Yu Fan's forbearance and scheming, and were also happy that he was about to make a contribution.

Only Zhuge Ke harbored deep-seated doubts about the Wei people's attitude.

Seeing his companions celebrating their victory, he couldn't help but feel disgusted.

It's just empty talk without any evidence, and there's no solid basis for rebuttal.

With that thought in mind, he lost all interest in watching the play.

Speaking of which, I think they received the two letters I sent to the north earlier, right?

To avoid being too conspicuous, he advised the recipients not to send the two letters directly to him, but rather to send them as ordinary family letters to his father, Zhuge Jin, who was in Jiangxia (under the jurisdiction of Wu).

So the next day he bid farewell to Yu Fan, Zhang Xiu and others and returned south.

People already had little affection for this spoiled brat who only knew how to make sarcastic remarks.

Apart from Zhang Xiu symbolically seeing his friend off, everyone else was eager for him to leave as soon as possible.

In short, Zhuge Ke slunk back to Ruxukou on the riverbank, found a small boat, and prepared to sail west to Jiangxia to see his father in E County.

But after only two or three days of sailing, he unexpectedly met Zhuge Jin near Wankou upstream.

(End of this chapter)