EBE Chapter 494 Zhang Ren Returns! Liu Bei: I'm in trouble!
Chapter 494 Zhang Ren Returns! Liu Bei: I'm in trouble!
Yizhou
成都
Looking at the travel-worn Ma Chao and Ma Dai before him, Liu Bei had a thousand words on his lips, but he didn't know where to begin.
To ensure his public persona remained intact, Liu Bei grasped Ma Chao's hand and said:
"Meng Qi, you must be tired from your journey. Go and rest first."
"A doctor has been prepared for you, and he will surely make you fully recovered."
Ma Chao thanked Liu Bei for his benevolence and kindness, then turned and went to receive treatment.
It was only because Ma Chao was physically strong, and the armor he was wearing initially mitigated some of the damage, that he was able to survive.
Otherwise, he would have died long ago from the arrow wound.
Even so, Ma Chao would still suffer from lingering health problems.
It might not be so easy for him to be so reckless in the future.
After Ma Chao and Ma Dai left, Liu Bei asked Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang:
"Xiaozhi, Kongming, what should we do with Ma Mengqi?"
To be honest, Ma Chao's arrival to seek refuge really posed a major problem for Liu Bei.
He had previously sent someone to contact Ma Chao, mainly hoping to use Ma Chao to quickly take Hanzhong.
After capturing Hanzhong, Ma Chao's life or death became irrelevant.
But for now, Hanzhong is still in Zhang Lu's hands.
Ma Chao, who attempted to double-cross Zhang Lu, was instead killed and became a vagrant.
It was truly... something that left Liu Bei speechless.
Fa Zheng smiled and said:
"My lord, although Ma Chao has flawed personal conduct, he is now a stray dog."
"This person is capable, and in the eyes of the Qiang, Di, and Jie tribes of Liangzhou, he is also the Divine General of Heaven."
"Give him a good official position and let him serve under your command."
Zhuge Liang also said:
“Ma Chao is no longer what he used to be. My lord, use him if you can, and if you cannot, then…”
Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng gave Zhuge Liang a deep look.
Kongming, you've gone astray!
And so, Liu Bei accepted Ma Chao and Ma Dai as his subordinates.
However, this matter was not widely publicized.
after all.
Given Ma Chao's notoriously bad reputation, publicizing him would inevitably damage Liu Bei's carefully cultivated public image to some extent.
……
Hanzhong
Nanzheng area
A resolute-faced general bid farewell to the fishermen who had sheltered him for days and embarked on his journey north.
This person was Zhang Ren, who jumped off the Golden Goose Bridge.
Hanzhong has a river that connects it to Shu (Sichuan).
Although not as wide as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, it is still much larger than most rivers in the north.
This perfectly illustrates the saying, "Wang Jun's warships sailed down to Yizhou."
Training naval forces in Yizhou was a perfectly normal thing.
Zhang Ren was lucky; he was rescued by local fishermen in Hanzhong.
However, he was seriously injured and it took him many days to recover.
Before leaving, he personally caught many, many fish and gave them to the fishermen who had saved him.
Even though Zhang Ren previously belonged to Liu Zhang's forces, which were hostile to Zhang Lu.
But he had to admit it.
Hanzhong under Zhang Lu's rule was truly wonderful.
People live in peace and contentment, with smiles on their faces, and can even eat meat during festivals.
After leaving, Zhang Ren planned to head towards Chang'an.
However, when they passed through a checkpoint, the guard noticed something strange and took them to Nanzheng.
Poor Zhang Ren, he shouldn't have been arrested for this.
However, recently all the checkpoints in Hanzhong have been under heightened security because of the two fugitives, Ma Chao and Ma Dai.
Zhang Ren's Sichuan accent already sounded somewhat suspicious in Hanzhong.
Add to that Zhang Ren's calloused right hand, and it would be strange if he didn't grab him!
……
"What! They've captured Zhang Ren, one of Liu Zhang's generals?"
"That can't be right! Wasn't he already dead at Jin Yan Bridge?"
Nanzheng Council Hall
Zhang Lu was surprised when he received the news.
After the Battle of Jinyan Bridge, Liu Bei announced to the public that Zhang Ren was dead.
Therefore, Zhang Lu was unaware that Zhang Ren was still alive.
"Brother, why are you so startled?"
"If Zhang Ren were still alive, he would definitely hate Liu Bei to the core!"
"Under the whole world, the only ones who can avenge him are Cao Cao's army or us."
"Therefore, we don't need to kill him."
Zhang Lu had no choice but to listen to what Zhang Qiying said.
Soon, he sent someone to bring Zhang Ren.
Upon seeing Zhang Lu, Zhang Ren's expression became complicated.
Zhang Ren had certainly criticized Zhang Lu for betraying Liu Yan, and he had done so quite a bit.
But that's mainly because the two have different stances and belong to different camps.
At present, Liu Bei is Zhang Ren's number one enemy.
Zhang Ren dreamed of tearing Liu Bei apart!
"General Zhang, why do you come from Shu to Hanzhong?"
Zhang Lu smiled and personally poured Zhang Ren a glass of warm water.
Zhang Ren sighed softly.
He is currently unaware whether Zhang Lu and Liu Bei have secretly reached any agreement.
But even if you knew, there was nothing you could do to stop it.
To put it nicely, he's a guest now;
To put it bluntly, he was a prisoner of war!
So Zhang Ren told Zhang Lu what had happened.
After hearing this, Zhang Lu bowed to Zhang Ren, his eyes filled with admiration.
"I admire General Zhang's loyalty to Liu Zhang."
"But General Zhang, have you considered how you will seek revenge in the future?"
Zhang Ren shook his head.
Does that mean if he said it, Zhang Lu would send someone to Chang'an?
Seeing through Zhang Ren's concerns, Zhang Lu smiled and said:
"To be honest, I have already decided to submit to the imperial court and to Minister Cao."
"General Zhang may also surrender with me."
"General Zhang should understand that with Cao Sikong's courage and determination, he will definitely recover the Shu region."
"In other words, Liu Bei is our common enemy, along with Cao Cao!"
Zhang Ren's eyes lit up.
If that's really the case, that would be wonderful.
But Zhang Lu suddenly changed the subject and laughed:
"I would like to ask General Zhang to temporarily submit to me in name."
"I will give you an army and send you north to fight against Cao Cao's army!"
"Remember, we must win a great victory!"
"what???"
Zhang Ren's CPU was spinning so fast it was almost dizzy.
For a moment, he didn't quite understand what Zhang Lu meant.
Weren't they all planning to surrender to Cao Cao's camp? Why are they going to fight Cao Cao's army again?
Zhang Lu said meaningfully:
"General Zhang, Commandant Su is a kind man, and so is Minister Cao."
“But that old bastard Zhong Yao is no good.”
"do you understand?"
Zhang Ren inwardly exclaimed, "Awesome!"
Damn it! You guys are really the most ruthless people ever!
Zhong Yao, is he the innocent victim you chose to be tricked?
Zhang Lu had great faith in Zhang Ren's military abilities.
Liu Bei next door has already proven this in the Battle of Jinyan Bridge.
Although the training time was a bit rushed, Zhang Lu had money!
He could fund Zhang Ren to create a hastily trained army of Bashu crossbowmen, and warmly welcome Zhong Yao with the highest level of ceremony!
……