Chapter 41: Don't listen to advice? Are you going to be stubborn to the end? Let's use the hidden chess to break Wancheng! (Please read it later)
Zhang Xiu was a little confused.

He knew that his son Zhang Quan was seriously injured and he also knew that he was captured.

But he didn't know who Xiao Fang had suddenly appeared.

The key point is that this person was Liu Bei’s military advisor, and he even saved his own son?
Did Liu Bei get the wrong script?

Why did he save his son?

Our two families are mortal enemies. Liu Bei captured my son, shouldn't he have killed him out of spite?

Even if he is not killed, at least it would be reasonable to let Zhang Quan fend for himself.

But why did Liu Bei choose to let that military advisor Xiao Fang save Zhang Quan?
Countless questions surged in Zhang Xiu's mind, and he stood there in a daze.

"General, here is the handwritten letter from the young general. Please take a look."

The personal guard hurriedly took out a secret letter from his arms.

Zhang Xiu then came to his senses, snatched it away, and couldn't wait to open it and take a closer look.

It is indeed Zhang Quan's handwriting.

This proved that the guard was not lying and his son was indeed still alive.

As he watched, Zhang Xiu's brows gradually frowned, and the joy in his eyes turned into shock.

"Quan'er...he actually wants to persuade me to surrender to Liu Bei?"

Zhang Xiu slowly raised his head and cast a stern and gloomy look at the guard.

There was clearly a hint of annoyance in his eyes and tone.

"The young general said that Liu Xuande is a magnanimous and generous ruler, and he has always respected you. If you surrender, Liu Xuande will not only forgive you, but will also make use of you."

"Liu Xuande also promised that if the general surrenders, the direct line soldiers from Xiliang who are willing to surrender with him will still be led by the general. If they do not want to surrender, they can be given travel expenses and sent back home."

"As for the old general, whether he wants to help Liu Xuande to support the Han Dynasty, return to his hometown to retire, or stay in Nanyang to live out his days, it is up to him."

The personal guards then recounted all the promises Liu Bei had made.

Zhang Quan also mentioned these conditions in his letter, but they were not as detailed as those dictated by his personal guards.

Zhang Xiu's heart was shocked and his eyes moved slightly.

Obviously, he did not expect that Liu Bei admired and respected him so much that he was willing to offer such generous conditions to recruit him.

Even Zhang Ji's retreat plan was planned for him.

At this moment, the anger in Zhang Xiu's eyes faded a little, and was replaced by a little hesitation.

"The young general also said that Liu Xuande's military advisor Xiao Fang is extremely powerful. The strategy that defeated our army in the previous battle of Biyang was proposed by him to Liu Bei."

"The young general said that Liu Xuande has such a brilliant man to help him. We can never be his opponent. If we insist on resisting, our Zhang army will only be destroyed!"

Zhang Xiu suddenly looked up, with a strange look in his eyes.

After Bi Yang's defeat, he was still wondering which of Liu Bei's advisers would give him advice.

Now the truth has come to light, it turned out to be this military advisor named Xiao Fang.

He is also his son’s savior!

"Xiao Fang, Xiao Fang..."

Zhang Xiu repeated the name over and over in his mind, racking his brains to search his memory, trying to find this inconspicuous name from some corner.

To his surprise, there was not a single word from Xiao Fang in his mind.

In other words, this Xiao Fang is most likely just an unknown country scholar.

An unknown scholar defeated his army of 8,000 with just a flick of his finger?
Zhang Xiu took a breath of cold air.

"Young General, please spare the lives of the thousands of men in the Zhang family army and find them a way out. Make sure they surrender to Liu Xuande!"

The guard became so emotional that he fell to his knees on the ground.

Zhang Xiu felt as if his heart was stabbed, and a pain spread throughout his body.

Looking back to the past, his Zhang family army had 8,000 soldiers, all of whom were fellow villagers who had followed their uncle and nephew from their hometown Wuwei County.

Now, along with his uncle and nephew, they have drifted away to other places, and there are less than two thousand people left.

If Wancheng was breached, his uncle and nephew Zhang, as well as the last two thousand Wuwei men, would probably all be killed and buried in a foreign land forever.

"Quan'er is right. I have to find a way out for these Wuwei disciples."

"If you continue to follow your uncle like this, wandering around like a stray dog, even if you are lucky enough to survive today, you will be wiped out sooner or later."

"This Liu Xuande is indeed a benevolent and righteous ruler as the rumors say. He is also magnanimous and has offered me such generous conditions for surrender."

"His military advisor also saved my son. I, Zhang Xiu, have no reason not to be grateful."

"Submitting to Liu Xuande may not be a solution..."

Zhang Xiu weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and the hesitation in his eyes gradually dissipated.

In the end, I was the only one who was determined.

"boom!"

Zhang Xiu slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "Prepare the horses."

Hu Che'er was startled and asked hurriedly, "General, where are you going?"

"Go see my uncle!"

Zhang Xiu walked out of the tent without even looking back.

A quarter of an hour later.

Zhang Xiu stepped into the main hall of the county government.

As soon as he entered the door, he felt that the atmosphere seemed a little wrong.

Zhang Ji sat high in the seat, his face gloomy and his eyes as sharp as a knife.

His cousin Zhang Yan, who was leaning on a cane, had a frown on his face and a look of suspicion in his eyes when he met his father's.

"uncle--"

"Brother!"

Zhang Yan interrupted Zhang Xiu and asked in a deep voice:

"Just now I heard that Quan'er sent his personal guards back from outside the city. Is this true?"

Zhang Xiu's heart trembled, and he suddenly looked up at Zhang Yan.

The personal guard had just entered the city less than half an hour ago, and I hadn't even mentioned it yet, but my cousin already knew about it?

There must be a spy who tipped off!

Zhang Xiu's face suddenly became unhappy, and he asked back:

"Second brother, what do you mean by arranging someone to monitor me?"

Zhang Yan was startled, coughed a few times, and immediately denied it:

"Brother, you are too suspicious. You and I are brothers, why would I spy on you?"

"I was just patrolling the city and passing by the South Gate, and heard the gatekeeper mention it. Since you are here, I naturally have to be concerned about my nephew's life and death."

Zhang Xiu snorted coldly.

This cousin of his, as Zhang Ji's eldest son, should be the first heir to the Zhang family army.

Because he was disabled and unable to ride a horse into battle, he had no prestige in the army and had always been wary of his cousin.

Zhang Xiu naturally knew this very well.

The atmosphere was a little unfriendly.

"Ahem, Wenjin, I'm very worried about Quan'er's life or death." Zhang Ji had to speak up to break the atmosphere.

Zhang Xiu did not bother to hide it, so he told the fact that Zhang Quan was seriously injured and captured, and was rescued by Liu Bei's military advisor Xiao Fang.

"Liu Bei didn't kill Quan'er, but saved him?"

"Who is this Xiao Fang?"

Zhang Ji was startled, and his face was immediately filled with surprise and suspicion.

"Xiao Fang is Liu Bei's military advisor. It was this man who designed and defeated my 8,000-man army last time."

Hearing this, Zhang Ji's face showed even more surprise, and he turned around to look at Zhang Yan.

Both the father and the son had confusion in their eyes. It was obvious that they were extremely unfamiliar with this name and had no idea who this person was.

"Let's not talk about who this Xiao Fang is, why would Liu Bei save our nephew for no reason?"

"Brother, Liu Bei must have some ulterior motive in releasing Quan'er's personal guards."

Zhang Yan suppressed his surprise and suspicion reappeared on his face.

Zhang Xiu did not hide anything and said frankly:

"Liu Bei let the guards into the city with a letter from Quan Er, trying to persuade us to surrender to Liu Xuande!"

As he spoke, Zhang Xiu took out Zhang Quan's handwritten letter and presented it to him.

Zhang Ji and his son were shocked.

Zhang Yan jumped up, walked forward with his crutches, took the letter and handed it to Zhang Ji.

The corners of Zhang Ji's mouth twitched slightly, his fists gradually clenched, and bloodshot began to form in his eyes.

"Arrogant! This is too much!"

"Liu Bei has captured Zou and is trying to force my father to surrender to him. This is really going too far!"

Zhang Yan was the first to lose his temper and slammed the table and cursed in anger.

Zhang Ji felt a pain in his heart as his son rubbed salt into his wounds, but he suppressed his anger and looked up at Zhang Xiu's attitude.

"Zou was intercepted on the way to Wancheng and has not yet passed through my Zhang family's door. It can't be considered as an insult to my uncle."

"What's more, at this moment of life and death, what's the point of saving face?"

"Uncle, for the sake of the lives of thousands of my Wuwei men, let us submit to Liu Xuande!"

Zhang Xiu bowed to Zhang Ji in a pleading tone, expressing his attitude.

Zhang Ji's eyes suddenly popped open, and he was burning with shock and anger. It was obvious that he had not expected Zhang Xiu to advocate surrendering to Liu.

"My father is a famous general of the Han Dynasty, a general of the Han Dynasty, and you actually let him bow down to a weaver and a shoe seller?"

"Zhang Xiu, are you crazy?"

Zhang Yan slammed the table and stood up, questioning Zhang Ji's real thoughts.

Zhang Xiu's face was solemn. He looked up at Zhang Ji and sighed:

"Uncle, those days are long gone. After Cao Cao seized control of the emperor, he took away your position as General of the Cavalry in the name of the emperor."

"We only have a few thousand soldiers now, trapped in this isolated city, with very little food and grass left. The morale of the army has hit rock bottom."

"How can we defend Wancheng in such a predicament?"

"If the city is breached, not only will our uncle and nephew be killed, but also the thousands of Wuwei disciples who have followed us for many years will be buried with us!"

"Uncle, which is more important, your face or your life?"

"Besides, Liu Xuande is a benevolent ruler. He promised that if my uncle didn't want to surrender, he would save his face..."

Zhang Xiu tried to persuade him earnestly and stated Liu Bei's conditions one by one.

However, the more Zhang Ji listened, the angrier he became, and his face became more distorted!
"enough!"

Zhang Ji slammed the table and interrupted Zhang Xiu's persuasion, saying angrily:

"No matter how much you talk, I, Zhang Ji, will never surrender to Liu Bei, a mat weaver and shoe seller!"

"If Liu Bei has the ability, let him attack us. I will accompany you to the end!"

Seeing that his father would not surrender, Zhang Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Xiu frowned, looking helpless, and could only ask:

"Even if my uncle is determined to defend Wancheng to the death, the food and grass in our city have been exhausted. How can we defend it to the death?"

Zhang Ji was shocked, and his furious arrogance was immediately extinguished.

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes and bowed:

"Father, the people of Wancheng must have a lot of food stored for the winter."

"Previously, many people from the neighboring hometown counties fled to the city with their families. They must have brought food with them as well."

"Father, you can order all their stored grain to be forcibly collected. It will be enough to sustain them for several months until Liu Bei withdraws his troops!"

Zhang Ji's eyes lit up when he heard this plan, and he immediately became energetic.

"Okay, okay, Yan'er, this is a great idea, let's do it!"

Zhang Ji agreed without hesitation.

Zhang Xiu's face changed slightly, and he bowed and reminded:
"Uncle, these stored grains are the life-saving food for the people of Wancheng to survive the winter!"

"If we forcibly invade, won't we force the people of Wancheng into a desperate situation? What if it provokes a civil uprising?"

Zhang Ji, however, looked down upon him and said coldly:
"Let them starve to death, and whoever dares to cause trouble will be killed!"

"I just want to defend Wancheng at all costs."

Zhang Xiu was startled.

My uncle is determined to fight Liu Bei to the end. Even if he fails, he will drag the entire city to be buried with him.

Having said this, Zhang Xiu knew that he could not persuade Zhang Ji and could only sigh helplessly.

...

A few days later, in the south of Wancheng, Liu’s army camped.

"Not only did Zhang Ji have no intention of surrendering, he also ordered his troops to plunder the entire city and seize the winter food and grass for the people of Wancheng."

"Right now, there are cries of grief everywhere in Wancheng, and the people are full of resentment."

Inside the big tent, Mi Zhu silently read out the secret report sent by the spies in the city.

Liu Bei clenched his fist and hit the table:
"It seems that Zhang Quan failed to persuade Zhang Xiu. His uncle and nephew are determined to resist to the end and even drag the entire city's people to be buried with them!"

Xiao Fang looked calm, and said calmly:

"Zhang Xiu may not want to surrender to the lord. In my opinion, it is Zhang Ji who is ashamed to surrender to the lord and wants to resist to the end."

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, so he looked at Xiao Fang:
"Military Advisor, what should we do now?"

"If Zhang Ji doesn't surrender, and we can't take him down for a long time, won't all the people in the city starve to death?"

"According to Bei's opinion, should we withdraw first..."

Liu Bei began to consider withdrawing his troops.

When he was halfway through his words.

Xiao Fang raised his hand to interrupt, with a meaningful smile on his face:

"My lord, do you still remember that I once said that I had already laid a hidden chess piece in Wancheng?"

"It's time to use this hidden chess piece to help the lord capture Wancheng."

　Please read on!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)