Chapter 243

"You lawless villain!"

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

Seeing Gu Yi walking toward them.

Wang Lei instantly seemed as if he had been injected with adrenaline, his firepower fully unleashed in an instant.

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 Yizhou Inspector title ever receive a mandate from the imperial court?"

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

Struck by Gu Yi's two heavy slaps, Wang Lei was instantly stunned in place.

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

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

The system of abolishing inspectors and establishing regional governors originated precisely from Liu Yan's hands.

This system allowed warlords across the land to rise rapidly one after another.

And Liu Yan himself, in private, had even crafted quite a few carriages and horse trappings that only an emperor could use.

The desire in his heart to become emperor had long since been laid bare.

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

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

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

Although the Han imperial court was a puppet in Dong Zhuo's hands—a fact known to everyone under heaven.

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

Possessing this banner in hand, Dong Zhuo's side always occupied the moral high ground.

Of course, because the true controllers of the Guandong region were the Guandong aristocratic groups, the influence of imperial power there would be significantly weakened.

But in Guanxi...

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

"Gu Linzhi, you... 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 third brother, Liu Mao, who had already passed away, he would not have fallen into such a predicament.

But the crux of the problem lies here.

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

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

This resulted in Liu Zhang barely having warmed his seat upon succession before Zhao Chi, Gan Ning, and others dared to launch a rebellion against him.

Within Yizhou, the attitude held by Wu Yi, Zhang Song, Yan Yan, and others toward Liu Zhang was also one of contempt.

Poor Liu Zhang.

He was never cut out to be a master.

But because his eldest and second brothers were both hostages in Chang'an, and his third brother died of illness, this 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 Yizhou's master 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's face showed confusion.

Beside him, there were only Huang Quan and Wang Lei.

Where would five loyal subjects come from?

Subsequently, Gu Yi was seen clapping 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 had listened to Zhang Song's nonsense back then and replaced Yang Huai and Gao Pei from their positions as defenders of Bai Shui Pass that Gu Yi was able to occupy it so easily.

If he could have been firm in his confidence and continued to employ these two loyal subjects, he 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 imperial court."

Gu Yi smiled slightly.

He had no intention of killing Liu Zhang in his heart.

A mere Liu Zhang; it would suffice to keep him imprisoned in Chang'an as a wealthy man.

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

Living up to expectations.

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

This was equivalent to.

If any one of these five were to cause trouble in the future, Liu Zhang would be hard-pressed to escape the blame.

Among the five.

Apart from Zhang Ren.

Huang Quan could be considered the most capable person.

He could lead troops in battle, serve as an operations strategist, and his administrative ability was also quite good.

He could be considered a jack-of-all-trades talent.

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

Gu Yi returned to the Inspector's Mansion.

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

It is worth mentioning.

That evening, Wu Yi personally sent Wu Mi over.

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

Compared to Zhang Lu's sister, Zhang Mei, her beauty was even a cut above.

Moreover, Wu Mi was understanding and considerate.

Her service to Gu Yi in every aspect 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, be completely at ease.

……

A month and a half passed quietly.

Dong Zhuo had already dispatched quite a few internal affairs talents to govern the Shu region.

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