Upon learning that Zhang Wei had been arrested, Zhang Lu was ready to accept Liu Mang's blackmail and redeem his brother.
As Zhang Lu's confidant, Yan Pu went to Yangping Pass to temporarily supervise all military affairs.
Until he saw Zhang and Wei come back unscathed and seemed to have gained a lot of weight.
"General Zhang..."
"Master Yan, don't say anything! I want to go back to Hanzhong to see my elder brother!"
Zhang Wei was so angry that he ignored him and went to Hanzhong to see Zhang Lu.
Yan Pu looked confused. No matter how powerful he was, in Zhang Lu's heart, he was still not as good as his brother Zhang Wei.
"Two Generals Yang... May I ask how you escaped from Liu Mang's clutches?"
Yan Pu smiled apologetically and said, "My lord, we have even decided to send Yang Song to redeem you!"
Yang Ren was nostalgic for yesterday's fine wine and Liu Mang's righteousness.
Yang Ang sighed: "It was Mr. Liu Mang who let the three of us come back!"
"From now on, with five buckets of rice, we can spread the teachings across the land of Jiaozhou!"
Spread the doctrine in Jiaozhou?
Yan Pu was shocked. Rather than follow Zhang Lu and become a magician, he wanted to become a member of the scholar-bureaucrat class.
It was Yan Pu's idea to persuade Zhang Lu to surrender to Cao Cao many times before.
"Oh? But I heard that Jiaozhou is now in the hands of Liu Bei!"
"What the military advisor said is true. Young Master Liu Mang wants to take our place and resist Cao Cao in Hanzhong!"
Yang Ang sighed: "Cao Cao's generals, how can we be opponents? We can't protect our lord's foundation!"
"My lord, if your ambition is not here, why not go to Jiaozhou to preach! Wouldn't it be nice for us to be able to follow Mr. Liu Mang?"
Yan Pu rolled his eyes, then smiled and said: "Thank you, General Yang Ang, for clearing up the confusion!"
Having said that, Yan Pu hurriedly followed Zhang Wei. He wanted to wait for the price between Cao Cao and Liu Mang!
…
Hanzhong.
Seeing that Zhang Wei was safe and sound, the big man and little loving father finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother! Liu Bei and his son are not weak and incompetent people like Liu Zhang!"
Zhang Wei said directly: "Master Liu Mang treated me very politely, and even promised that Uncle Liu will revive the Han Dynasty in the future, and our Five Pecks of Rice will become the state religion!"
State religion?
Zhang Lu was a little tempted, but he had seen too many political struggles and did not dare to agree easily.
Yan Pu on the side remained calm.
"We can go to Jiaozhou to preach! The imperial court will recognize the status of our Five Pecks of Rice Sect!"
"Brother, I know you don't want to be a separatist warlord! You want to spread the Five Pecks of Rice to every corner of the Han Dynasty!"
Zhang Lu waved his hand and said with a smile: "I return to the Tao and have no intention of fighting in the world!"
"Yan Pu, you have been asking me to seek refuge with Cao Cao before. Tell me what you think!"
Yan Pu bowed in salute and said with a smile: "My lord, now I have 300,000 people in Hanzhong, 80,000 soldiers, and plenty of food and grass!"
"Whether you join Cao Cao or Liu Bei, my lord's status will never be too low!"
"Please, my lord, be a businessman for a while, observe the market situation, and wait for the price to sell!"
Zhang Wei was furious and cursed loudly: "My surname is Yan, I promised the young master, but you are making me break my promise!"
Yan Pu was unmoved, Zhang Lu said softly: "How do you wait for the price and sell?"
"Back to my lord, Cao Cao is now fighting Ma Chao at Tongguan!"
"Liu Bei also has the intention to enter Sichuan!"
"It depends on the two of them, who can complete the goal first!"
Yan Pu smiled and said: "Since we are all taking refuge, why not choose someone with stronger strength?"
Zhang Wei wanted to speak for Liu Mang, but Zhang Lu waved his hand to signal him not to say anything.
"Go back and tell Liu Mang that if he is willing to let Wu Dou Mi Dao preach to Jiaozhou and capture Yizhou before Cao Cao, I will make him the lord of Hanzhong!"
Yan Pu laughed loudly: "My lord is making a big gamble! My subordinates must obey!"
"Let's see who will win between Cao and Liu!"
…
Jiameng Pass.
Xing Daorong looked confused and confirmed again: "Sir, you said you want to go directly to Liangzhou via Hanzhong?"
As the mastermind, Fa Zheng was very supportive. In his eyes, Liu Zhang was not something to be afraid of, but Hanzhong was more important!
Lu Xun nodded. With Zhuge Liang's assistance, Guan Yu's army was more than enough to attack Yizhou.
If Liu Bei didn't care about reputation, Liu Zhang would have no chance to fight back.
"Ma Chao is no match for Cao Cao."
"The Qiang people have always been disloyal and only interested in profit!"
"Han Sui and Ma Chao are not of the same mind again! He wants to avenge his father, but Han Sui is taking advantage of the situation."
Liu Mang analyzed: "If I hadn't gone to Liangzhou, Ma Chao would have been easily beaten to death by Cao Cao!"
Of course, Liu Mang would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the local customs and customs of Liangzhou.
Liangzhou has always been looked down upon by the imperial court, and the wealthy families have long been dissatisfied.
If we can build a good relationship with these people, and then take Hanzhong into our pocket, as long as we guard Chencang Road, Liangzhou will become a safe rear area!
The Hanzhong defense line was able to resist Cao Wei for more than forty years, which shows the power of Wei Yan's methods.
"Sir, in my opinion, Zhang Lu would not agree to it so happily."
Fazheng said: "The counselor Yan Pu under his command is known for his strategy! He has always been interested in the Central Plains gentry. He has repeatedly advised Zhang Lu to join Cao Cao!"
Lu Xun smiled and said: "Don't forget to be a filial piety, Zhang Wei is now the son of the young master! He will only advise Zhang Lu and join us!"
"So, Zhang Lu will put forward conditions to see who has the strength to take over Hanzhong!"
Just as Lu Xun and Fazheng said, Zhang Lu's people soon came to pay their respects.
"It depends on us and Thief Cao, who can finish off their respective opponents first?"
Fazheng frowned and said: "Ma Chao has more than 100,000 soldiers. It is impossible for Cao's thieves to be defeated in one fell swoop!"
No!
Liu Mang laughed and said: "Ma Chao's troops are not of the same mind! The Qiang people are only interested in profit, and it is very likely that the trees will kill the hozens!"
"Tell my second uncle to let my father enter Shu as soon as possible!"
"Write a letter to Zhang Wei and ask him to hold on to Yangping Pass so that our army can gain the upper hand!"
Liu Zhang, who was far away in Chengdu, was overjoyed to learn that Guan Yu had led his army to capture Zhang Wei, Yang Ang and Yang Ren alive.
All he had to do was slide the rails to celebrate on the spot. After all, Zhang Lu had always been a thorn in his side.
Later, Guan Yu wrote a letter stating that Zhang Lu and his family were the bastards who were hiding in Yangping Pass. He was only good at field battles, but not good at attacking cities!
Only Liu Xuande, the uncle of the Han Dynasty Emperor, was the one who could truly pacify Zhang Lu!
I also hope that Liu Zhang will write a letter asking Liu Bei to go to Shu to deal with Zhang Lu!
Zhang Ren and Huang Quan have already seen something wrong!
"My lord, why don't you let Guan Yu sacrifice the heads of Zhang and Wei?"
"My lord, what General Zhang said is true! Don't believe Guan Yu's words!"
Seeing the two of them sabotaging their plan, Zhang Song was the one who was eloquent and argued with reason.
"My lord, how can Guan Yun Changyi and Bo Yuntian lie?"
"You can ask Gao Pei and Yang Huai!"
"If Duke Xuande can annihilate Zhang Lu in one fell swoop, then my lord can take control of Hanzhong and the land of Yizhou. Wouldn't it be wonderful?"
Liu Zhang's eyes were blinded by greed, "Xuande is my younger brother! You will never let me down!"
"Yongnian, please quickly write a letter and let Xuande enter Shu as soon as possible to eliminate Zhang Lu!"
Zhang Ren kowtowed and said: "My lord, you cannot let Liu Bei enter Shu!"
Liu Zhang cursed angrily: "Everyone! You, Huang Quan and others, all go to reward General Guan, don't hang around in front of me!"