Chapter 130

Under Gu Yi's orders, Huang Zhong did not mistreat Liu Zhang and the others.

On the contrary, he even prepared some food for them.

However.

Liu Zhang and Huang Quan ate with great relish, while Wang Lei remained completely unmoved.

Seeing Gu Yi enter from outside, the three of them turned their gazes toward him in unison.

…….

"You lawless villain!"

"Invading my Yizhou, your heart deserves to be punished!"

Seeing Gu Yi walking toward them.

Wang Lei immediately seemed as if he had been injected with adrenaline, instantly firing on all cylinders.

To this, Gu Yi smiled slightly.

He raised his hand and slapped him across the face twice.

"Isn't the lawless rebel your own master?"

"Did your master's position as Inspector of Yizhou receive a mandate from the imperial court?"

"Self-appointing as Inspector of Yizhou, who gave your master the nerve?"

Struck by Gu Yi's two heavy slaps, Wang Lei was instantly stunned on the spot.

He had just wanted to retort, but upon second thought, what Gu Yi said was indeed correct.

If one were to rank the level of harm done to the Han dynasty's foundation, Liu Yan would definitely be in the top five.

The system of abolishing inspectors to establish regional governors came precisely from the hands of Liu Yan.

This system allowed warlords everywhere to rise rapidly.

And Liu Yan himself had even privately crafted many carriages and horse trappings that only an emperor could use.

His desire to become emperor had long been clear to all.

Liu Zhang's position as Inspector of Yizhou was passed down precisely from Liu Yan.

And Liu Yan himself, while still alive, had already been defined as a rebel against the court.

It was equivalent to an "old rebel" passing his position to a "young rebel."

Although the Han court was a puppet in the hands of Dong Zhuo, this fact was known to everyone under heaven.

But no matter how pathetic this Han court was, it was still the legitimate Han court.

Holding this banner, Dong Zhuo's side always occupied the moral high ground.

Of course, because the real controllers of the Guandong region were the Guandong aristocratic groups, the influence of imperial power there was greatly weakened.

But in Guanxi...

Sorry, but the current definition of you and your father, Liu Yan, is indeed that of court rebels!

"Gu Linzhi, are... are you going to kill me?"

Compared to Wang Lei's stubbornness, Liu Zhang could be said to be frightened to his very bones.

In all honesty, he did not want to die.

If the master of Yizhou were still Liu Yan.

It is estimated that people like Zhang Song, Wu Yi, Pang Xi, and Yan Yan would not have defected so thoroughly.

Even if Liu Zhang were replaced by his deceased third brother, Liu Mao, it would not have come to this state.

But the crux of the problem was.

Liu Zhang was not the heir Liu Yan had originally envisioned.

Therefore, Liu Yan did not deliberately cultivate a persona for Liu Zhang.

This led to the fact that when Liu Zhang first succeeded to the position, before his seat was even warm, Zhao Chi, Gan Ning, and others dared to launch a rebellion against him.

Within Yizhou, people like Wu Yi, Zhang Song, and Yan Yan also held Liu Zhang in contempt.

Poor Liu Zhang.

He was never cut out to be a master.

But because his eldest and second brothers were hostages in Chang'an, and his third brother died of illness, the foundation of Yizhou had to fall upon his head.

If not for Gu Yi's butterfly effect, Liu Zhang could have continued to sit in the position of master of Yizhou for another twenty years.

But now, he could only be reduced to a prisoner.

Facing Liu Zhang's inquiry, Gu Yi replied:

"Liu Jiyu, your father was a hero among men."

"Even now, there are still five loyal subjects willing to follow you regardless of life or death."

Hearing this, Liu Zhang looked puzzled.

He only had Huang Quan and Wang Lei beside him.

Where would five loyal subjects come from?

Subsequently, Gu Yi clapped his hands.

Several personal guards brought in Zhang Ren, Yang Huai, and Gao Pei from outside.

Seeing that Yang Huai and Gao Pei had not yet surrendered to Gu Yi, Liu Zhang was filled with regret!

It was precisely because he listened to Zhang Song's nonsense and replaced Yang Huai and Gao Pei as the defenders of Baishui Pass that Gu Yi was able to occupy it so easily.

If he had been firm in his conviction and continued to employ these two loyal subjects, they could surely have held out for a while longer.

"Liu Jiyu, whether you can survive depends on whether you can persuade these five to submit to the court."

Gu Yi smiled slightly.

He had no intention of killing Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang was just one man; it would suffice to imprison him in Chang'an and let him live as a wealthy man.

There was absolutely no need to kill him and miss out on talents like Zhang Ren and Huang Quan.

He did not disappoint.

Liu Zhang quickly persuaded the five and expressed his willingness to follow all of Gu Yi's arrangements.

This was equivalent to.

If anything went wrong with any of these five in the future, Liu Zhang would be held accountable.

Among the five.

Besides Zhang Ren.

Huang Quan was the most capable.

He could lead troops in battle, serve as a combat advisor, and possessed quite good administrative skills.

He could be considered a versatile talent.

And after resolving the issues with these five and Liu Zhang.

Gu Yi returned to the Inspector's Mansion.

He planned to wait for Dong Zhuo to send someone to take over before officially returning to Chang'an.

It is worth mentioning that.

That evening, Wu Yi personally sent Wu Mi over.

This Wu Mi was truly worthy of being the greatest beauty in the Shu region.

Compared to Zhang Lu's sister, Zhang Mei, her beauty was even more outstanding.

Moreover, Wu Mi was understanding.

Her service to Gu Yi was quite impeccable.

Facing such a woman, how could Gu Yi not take her into his chambers?

Furthermore.

Only after accepting Wu Mi would the surrendered generals from the Shu region, such as Wu Yi, Wu Ban, Yan Yan, and Lei Tong, feel completely at ease.

……

A month and a half passed quietly.

Dong Zhuo had already sent many administrative talents to govern the Shu region.

And Gu Yi, taking Wu Mi and Zhang Mei with him, officially embarked on the road back to Chang'an.