Chapter 1401

"Summoning you to come so late is because there is an extremely important matter to discuss with you."

Liu Yan lowered his head and glanced at the letter placed in front of him, then said in a deep voice:

"Just this afternoon, someone informed this official that a secret letter was intercepted in Hanzhong."

"This letter was sent by Fa Yan, the son of Fa Zhen of the Fufeng Fa clan, to the Administrator of Hanzhong Commandery, Su Gu."

"As for the content of this letter..."

Speaking of this, Liu Yan's brows furrowed.

And Jia Long, Dong Fu, and Zhao Wei, who were standing in the hall, all had their expressions change.

The news of Duan Yu supporting the eldest imperial prince, Shi Hou Liu Bian, to succeed to the throne in Chang'an last October, and the great battle at Hangu Pass against Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and others, had already spread to Shu Commandery.

It could not be said that it spread to Shu Commandery; it should be said that the Luoyang imperial court notified them.

Besides notifying them that Duan Yu was a rebel, the Luoyang imperial court also required Yizhou to send troops from Yizhou through Hanzhong Commandery to harass Duan Yu after the spring of this year.

At that time, upon learning this news, Shu Commandery was shaken.

Liangzhou was adjacent to Hanzhong Commandery in Yizhou.

And Hanzhong Commandery was the gateway from Guanzhong to Yizhou.

It could be said that if Liangzhou occupied Hanzhong Commandery, it would be equivalent to possessing a forward fortress for attacking Yizhou, and it could send troops at any time.

Conversely, if Yizhou occupied Hanzhong Commandery, it could pose a threat to Guanzhong at any time and send troops to attack the north.

But hindered by the strong combat power of Duan Yu's Liangzhou soldiers, and also wanting to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, Liu Yan did not listen to the imperial court's edict and prepare to send troops to attack Duan Yu.

Instead, he ordered to defend the passes of Hanzhong Commandery to the death, absolutely not giving Duan Yu a chance to invade Yizhou.

The sudden betrayal of the Hongnong Yang clan, the leader of the Guanzhong gentry, not only caused Duan Yu to defeat the 200,000-strong army of the Luoyang imperial court outside Hangu Pass.

It also caused Duan Yu to fully collect the Guanzhong gentry.

The Fufeng Fa clan was the number one gentry clan in Fufeng.

Even Liu Yan had heard of Fa Zhen's great name.

Jia Long and Dong Fu, who were standing in the hall, also knew Fa Zhen's great name.

"Fa Yan of the Fufeng Fa clan wrote a letter to Su Gu; the content of the letter is hoping that Su Gu can surrender to Duan Yu and offer Hanzhong Commandery..."

Hiss!

As soon as Liu Yan's voice fell, the people in the hall gasped.

"Su Gu himself is a man from Fufeng and is a fellow countryman and old friend of Fa Yan. Although this letter was intercepted, this official is worried that Fa Yan might send someone to deliver a letter again. By then... Hanzhong will be in danger." Liu Yan's tone was gloomy.

Although Jia Long was an attendant of Liangzhou, he did not know the relationship between Fa Yan and Su Gu, so he did not speak but looked at Dong Fu.

Compared to Jia Long, Dong Fu clearly knew the two better.

So he took the initiative to step forward and said, "My Lord, Su Gu has been the Administrator of Hanzhong Commandery for many years, and this person has upright conduct and a fierce personality."

"This subordinate thinks that although Su Gu has a close relationship with Fa Yan, it does not necessarily mean he will surrender to Duan Yu."

Liu Yan listened to Dong Fu's comforting words, but the suspicion in his heart had not been reduced by half.

"Lord Dong, this statement is wrong..." Zhao Wei shook his head and said, "Su Gu's conduct can certainly be checked, but Hanzhong Commandery is of the utmost importance and cannot afford the slightest loss."

"If you want to defend Yizhou, you must defend Hanzhong; if you want to leave Yizhou, you must have Hanzhong."

"The land of Hanzhong is rich in grain. If you lose Hanzhong, half of Yizhou's grain will be cut off. Even if you can defend Yizhou in the future, without the grain and grass of Hanzhong, Yizhou will never be able to get out."

"So..."

Zhao Wei turned to Liu Yan and said, "My Lord, in this subordinate's view, this matter must be handled with extreme caution."

Liu Yan, sitting in the main seat, took a deep breath after listening to the words of Dong Fu and Zhao Wei.

"Not bad, this official also thinks that the land of Hanzhong is of the utmost importance to Yizhou and cannot afford the slightest loss." Liu Yan said.

Well then, since it must be handled seriously, the problem arises.

"My Lord." Dong Fu frowned tightly and said, "If My Lord orders the removal of Su Gu at this time, what if the letter in Fa Yan's hand has already been delivered to Su Gu?"

"If Su Gu originally had no intention of rebelling, but because of My Lord's order, he harbors resentment, wouldn't that be fulfilling Duan Yu's wish?"

Liu Yan felt embarrassed.

What Dong Fu said was not without reason.

If it really were like this, it would be lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet.

"If this official sends someone to first test Su Gu's attitude, and then quickly take Su Gu down?"

"What does Mao'an think?"

Dong Fu, who was over fifty years old, stroked his beard, which was already somewhat gray, and the wrinkles on his face squeezed together.

"Only this method can be a bit more stable." Dong Fu took a deep breath and said, "Who does My Lord plan to send to Hanzhong Commandery?"

Liu Yan thought for a while.

Since it was this kind of matter, it naturally required sending someone with absolute trust.

After thinking about it, a person appeared in Liu Yan's mind.

The Supervisor of Righteousness Sima mansion.

Zhang Lu was sitting in the hall drinking.

Several dancing girls with graceful figures were dancing to the music.

But even though the dancing girls were sweating profusely, Zhang Lu, who was raising his cup to drink, still could not raise any interest.

Instead, a beautiful face appeared repeatedly in his mind.

After seven parts of wine, Zhang Lu's face became darker and redder, and in his drunken haze, the face of the leading dancing girl wearing a white long dress gradually changed.

Zhang Lu rubbed his sleepy, drunken eyes, as if seeing it clearly.

"Qing'er..."

"Qing'er..."

Zhang Lu held the wine cup in one hand, his footsteps staggering as he walked down the steps, and then grabbed the wrist of the leading dancing girl.

"Qing'er, you just... hic... you just submit to me, what is wrong with being my concubine."

"No need... no need... isn't it better than you being a maid..."

"My Lord..."

The dancing girl let out a cry and knelt on the ground.

This cry of "My Lord" seemed to wake Zhang Lu up. He lowered his head to look at the dancing girl kneeling before him and realized it was not Duan Liuqing.

The angry Zhang Lu frowned and drained the wine in the cup.

Just when Zhang Lu was about to smash the wine cup in his hand to the ground, an attendant suddenly ran in hurriedly from outside the hall.

"My Lord, the Governor requests your presence, saying that you should go quickly, there is an important matter."

When he heard the words "Governor," Zhang Lu's wine was already half sober.

It was already so late; at this time, Liu Yan sent someone to find him and also asked him to go quickly; it must be an extremely urgent matter.

After a brief loss of focus, Zhang Lu immediately had someone bring hangover soup, changed his clothes, lit incense, and placed it in the carriage to drive away the smell of wine on his body while heading toward Liu Yan's mansion.

Just not long after Zhang Lu left the mansion.

Duan Liuqing, who was serving Zhang Lu's mother to sleep in the rear residence, was walking toward her residence in the rear residence when a special bird call suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

Upon hearing this bird call, Duan Liuqing's eyes immediately brightened.

There is a bird in Liangzhou called the Blue Eared Pheasant, although it is called a pheasant.

During the spring breeding season, the male bird makes a low and long "Gu—Gu—" sound.

And the sound can be heard from several miles away, echoing in the mountains like an ancient horn.

When encountering danger, this cooing sound will turn into a clucking sound.

Many Qiang people use this Blue Eared Pheasant as the tribe's totem, engraved on pottery jars.

And on important festivals, the Qiang people will imitate this sound to hold a singing competition.

After hearing the familiar sound, Duan Liuqing looked around.

After confirming that there was no one around, Duan Liuqing stepped on the courtyard wall with agility, and then her body lightly leaped over to arrive outside the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, a person wearing a black robe was squatting in the corner of the wall.

Under the pitch-black night sky, it was difficult to discover if one did not look carefully.

Even if one saw it, one would think it was a stone or something similar.

When seeing Duan Liuqing, who had leaped over from the courtyard wall, Liu Bai Tu, wrapped in a black robe, stood up and then revealed a shy smile.

And Duan Liuqing looked at Liu Bai Tu with great excitement: "Master..." ===== CHAPTER 1403 =====