Chapter 412: Mutual Pressure
In Mianzhu City, Huang Quan was in charge of transporting cartloads of Yizhou local records slowly forward.

The wheels of the carts made a rubbing sound as they pressed against the slippery stone slabs. From time to time, soldiers wearing straw hats and raincoats would patrol on both sides of the road.

There was a noisy sound coming from the direction of the city market, and the sound was even louder at the street corner.

Huang Quan turned his head and saw soldiers standing guard on the roadside near the market.

The ox cart moved forward slowly and Huang Quan couldn't figure out what was going on.

Soon the convoy stopped in front of a spacious mansion, which was originally the location of Liu Yanzhou's government office, and the expansion exceeded regulations.

There are twelve stone steps in front of the gate alone, and the Hanque built with stone slabs on both sides are even more majestic and tall.

Huang Quan followed Wang Fu and Zhang Su up the stone steps and entered the gatehouse. He saw four large square flags standing in the front yard, soaked by the rain and hanging straight down.

On both sides are the large banner with a black border and a red background with a white tiger used by the Grand Marshal, and the large banner with a golden eagle pattern captured from the former Chanyu, which is more like a secondary flag; the other two sides are the large banner with a black background and a yellow dragon pattern used by the current Chanyu, and the large banner with a white background and a blue background with a strong stag pattern of the Xianbei King.

Huang Quan looked up a few times, then followed the crowd inside without stopping.

In front of the central gate, two rows of armored soldiers holding spears and wearing straw raincoats and hats stood on both sides.

Going further inside, there were only pairs of white-robed and golden-armored warriors standing at the corners. They wore face masks and hard-painted gray-black raincoats.

After turning three doors, we finally arrived in front of the banquet hall.

They were led into the corridor in front of the hall and could hear the trumpet music spreading out from the hall.

I didn't wait long before I saw more than 20 Kabuki girls wearing only close-fitting, brightly colored short brocade clothes walk out in an orderly manner. Not long after they left the house, these women were given cloaks to cover themselves.

Huang Quan couldn't help but clench his fists secretly. Now he was just a kabuki, but he had heard a lot about the tragic events that happened in the three prefectures of Guanzhong.

Ordinary kabuki actors and commoners are fine, but the ones with real beauty and temperament are all the wives, daughters and sisters of wealthy families and scholars.

Once war breaks out, not only will your family property and the innocence of your wife and daughter be lost, but you yourself may also be in danger of losing your life or even being killed for fun by the soldiers.

There were so many people from Dongzhou who fled to Shu to avoid the chaos. At this moment, countless bloody stories were awakened. Huang Quan took a deep breath and gave a secret warning.

Soon the message was passed, and Zhang Su walked in front, leading Wang Fu and Huang Quan on the left and right into the hall.

There were three rows of tables on both sides of the hall. Everyone seated wore armor, with their helmets taken off and placed next to their left legs, and their swords taken off and placed next to their right legs.

"The guilty minister Zhang Su pays homage to the Grand Marshal!"

Zhang Su bowed deeply and kowtowed, and Wang Fu followed suit and knelt down and kowtowed. Huang Quan also bowed his head and knelt down, but he held a wooden plate in his hands. In the wooden plate was a letter of surrender signed by Zhang Song, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Liang.

The black bear at the top is wearing gilded Ming Guang armor and a yellow scarf on his head, with his helmet and visor placed on the corner of the table. Behind him are kneeling Lu Bu and Dian Wei, and behind him is a wooden screen carved with flower patterns.

Black Bear raised his right hand and waved it: "Sit."

"Give me a seat."

Three or four steps in front of him, Yang Fu, who was kneeling facing south, began to repeat himself.

Immediately, heavily armored guards came forward carrying a square hollow low couch. Zhang Su could only stand up and bow again: "Thank you, Grand Marshal, for the seat."

After the three of them sat down, Zhang Su said, "Since the Yellow Turbans, Liu Yan and his son entered Shu, cut off tribute, blocked the court, and allowed their soldiers to abuse our state for more than ten years, putting men and women in danger. Fortunately, the Grand Marshal rescued us, and all the people in our state are delighted. From now on, I am willing to follow the Grand Marshal to fight against the rebels, support the country, and ensure the safety of the people."

He then extended his arm to introduce the wooden tray held by Huang Quan: "This is the testimony of the people of this state."

"Send it up."

Black Bear sat up straight and looked down at the three people. Yang Fu was about to instruct his secretary Lang, who was waiting nearby, to pass the message on, but he saw Black Bear raise his right hand and shake it.

So the secretary stopped where he was and sat down again.

Huang Quan noticed that the process was wrong, and he looked up slightly and looked around. Zhang Su didn't dare to make any body movements, and Wang Fu didn't give any hints.

He could only hold his breath and walk up the wooden tray. After walking three steps without being scolded or interrupted, Huang Quan took a breath and walked forward again. He climbed six steps and was about to kneel two steps in front of the black bear case when he heard the person in front of him say, "Come closer."

"Here."

Huang Quan answered in a low voice, took about eight small steps, and finally knelt on his knees. He did not dare to look up, and could only see the edge of the table. He held the wooden tray and handed it over. This posture was very strenuous and uncomfortable.

Black Bear reached out and grabbed the surrender letter drafted by Zhang Song. The surrender letter had more than 200 words, and the names attached to it also took up the other half of the space.

With a casual glance, Black Bear rolled up the surrender form and threw it into the wooden plate held by Huang Quan.

With a slight sound, Huang Quan quickly lowered his head.

Then Black Bear said, "The country is in chaos and morality has disappeared. How can we long for loyal men? Although Liu Yan and his son committed the crime of separatist Yizhou, they also had the merit of preserving the region. Liu Zhang violated the law and proclaimed himself king, but he also had the merit of sealing the treasury and sending envoys to welcome me. Therefore, I have no intention of investigating the crimes of the father and son. Liu Yan's tomb shall remain as it was and shall not be destroyed. I will send orders to all counties and prefectures to ask the governors along the way to provide Liu Zhang with food and fodder and send him out of the country with gifts."

"Grand Sima Rende, I, the guilty subject, thank you."

Huang Quan moved his knees back and kowtowed repeatedly. Wang Fu below also stood up and kowtowed. Zhang Su reacted a little slower, but he also kowtowed repeatedly.

Liu Zhang let them off so easily and naturally did not investigate further into the matter of these accomplices.

The captains and lieutenants sitting on both sides of the hall looked up at the black bear above them with eager eyes. The wealth of Shu had far exceeded their imagination and had broken through the psychological defenses of many people.

The leaders of the Hanzhong and Dongzhou soldiers present had crazy looks in their eyes, and they were eager to escalate the incident and redistribute the huge wealth in Shu.

Killing and violence are just a process. What they want are land, money, Shu brocade and silk. In short, they want all the good things.

At this moment, Black Bear remained silent, staring at these people and looking around.

Some people didn't dare to look at each other and lowered their heads. People like Zhang Wei stretched their necks. Some people lowered their heads and then raised them again, which made Black Bear feel that these people's necks were a little long.

As for Liu Bao and Budugen, they buried their heads from the very beginning, carefully observing the texture of the fried fish in the dish on the table, or the changes in the particles on the tangerines.

The atmosphere in the hall was serious, and several military strategists were eager to try.

At this time, Lu Bu stood up behind the black bear, looked down at the other party through the mask, and leaned forward slightly, like a vicious tiger about to dive down the mountain.

Yan Pu suddenly stood up at this time, with a smile on his face: "Congratulations, Grand Sima!"

"What am I doing?"

Black Bear asked, looking around at the people: "The war never stops, and it is your tribes, relatives and friends who die. What does it have to do with me? If we want to celebrate, we should celebrate for the more than 100,000 officials and soldiers in Yizhou, for their parents, wives, daughters and brothers, and for the innocent men and women."

Li Feng, who was sitting next to Liu Bao, stood up and raised his glass with his right arm: "Yes, congratulations to all the men, women and children in Shu for their peace!"

"Yes, congratulations for the peace."

Black Bear also stood up and raised his glass. More than a hundred people in the hall stood up and raised their glasses: "Congratulations for peace!"

"Drink up, everyone!"

Black Bear raised his head to drink, everyone in the hall was drinking, even Huang Quan was handed a glass of wine, he raised it and drank it.

After the wine entered his stomach, Huang Quan raised his hand and wiped the wine off his lips and beard with his sleeve.

He also knew that all negotiations had just begun.

Of course, I am also very grateful.

Everything in Yizhou is too precious and too easy to be destroyed in this chaotic world.

Objectively speaking, Liu Yan and his son and the Dongzhou soldiers they gathered did ensure the long-term stability of Yizhou.

(End of this chapter)