The whole of Shouchun suddenly became busy. The various barracks began to move. The Black Flag Army, the Formation Breaker, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry were all gathered in the city. It could be said that Shouchun had gathered 80% of the Lvbu's Army's fighting strength.
"What's going on? Did the Xiliang Cavalry attack the city? "Liu Mang put on his armor and went up to the walls of Shouchun and inquired.
"Milord!" Chengyu and Huang Xu saw Liu Mang's arrival and cupped their fists towards Liu Mang. The Xiliang Cavalry suddenly appeared under the city walls. Fortunately, it was already late and the gates of Shouchun were closed. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Although the sky was dark, the Xiliang Cavalry under the city walls were holding torches. Looking at the torches, there were thousands of people. "What is Hao Shao of Guangzhou doing? Why didn't he send someone to report? Also, why didn't Yang Hong make any movements? "Liu Mang was really angry. Not only was he angry at Yang Hong, but also Hao Shao of Guangzhou. It was impossible for the Xiliang Cavalry to invade the hinterland of Yangzhou without making any movements. However, they ran to the gates of Shouchun. If this was not dereliction of duty, then what was? Yang Hong did not send any information. Even Hao Shao of Guangzhou did not receive any news. One must know that the Xiliang Cavalry had to pass through Guangzhou if they wanted to enter Yangzhou.
In fact, Liu Mang had wrongly accused them. Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu had been chased away. Now, Yang Hong was mainly responsible for information on Sun Ce and Liu Biao. Naturally, he did not have much information on Nanyang County. After that, Yang Hong went to Lujiang to pick up Yuan Fang. How could he care about this information? As for Hao Shao who was in Guangzhou, he was even more wrongly accused. He had already noticed the Xiliang Cavalry and even sent some scouts to investigate. However, the warhorses in Guangzhou were all inferior. How could they outrun the horses of the Xiliang Cavalry? Therefore, in the end, the Xiliang Cavalry had already reached Shouchun, while Hao Shao's messenger was still on the way.
"Good. Since they dared to come, I will make sure that the Xiliang Cavalry stays in Shouchun!" Liu Mang said coldly. This was because there were thousands of Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry in the city. The Urban Security, Black Chess, and Black Chess were enough to encircle and annihilate the Xiliang Cavalry outside the city.
Hearing Liu Mang's angry words, Chengyu and Huang Xu could not interrupt. They could only tell Liu Mang the news below the city. "Milord, the Xiliang Cavalry did not attack the city!" Cheng Yu and Huang Xu found it strange. After the Xiliang Cavalry arrived, not only did they not attack the city, they even lit up all the torches. It was as if they were afraid that no one in Shouchun would know about them. They even stopped outside the city for a long time. This made Cheng Yu feel very strange.
"They did not attack the city?" Liu Mang frowned. What did the Xiliang Cavalry want to do? Liu Mang looked at the torches outside the city. It was already late. They should be preparing to set up camp and attack the city tomorrow! It seemed that Zhang Xiu had not given up on his evil intentions.
Liu Mang would not give the Xiliang Cavalry a chance to live until tomorrow. "Chengyu, pass down my orders. Let Black Chess and Black Chess go out from the two sides of the city gates. Go behind the Xiliang Cavalry and prepare an ambush. When I give the order, attack from all three sides!" Liu Mang was prepared to leave the Xiliang Cavalry behind. He still needed to send people to the various vassals to buy provisions. It was impossible to delay.
"Yes! This general obeys! " Just as Chengyu and Huang Xu were half-kneeling and cupping their fists, a dozen riders suddenly came out from below the city. These riders all held torches and rushed towards the city walls. The Xiliang Cavalry behind them also made their move.
When the enemy made their move, Liu Mang's army on the city walls naturally had to respond. "Prepare the ballistae!" The ballistae were once again installed on the walls of Shouchun. These ballistae were very effective in defending the city. Therefore, after leaving Guangzhou, other than Liu Mang taking away a dozen, the rest were given to Hao Shao in Guangzhou. He believed that Hao Shao, the king of defense, would definitely be able to display his abilities as an iron wall.
The range of the ballistae was 700 steps. Within 500 steps, it could even penetrate heavy armor and large shields. These dozen riders were only able to withstand a round of shots from the ballistae.
"Wait!" Liu Mang frowned as he looked at the dozen Xiliang Cavalry charging towards the city. If they wanted to attack the city, it would not be these dozen riders but the entire army. Therefore, there was no need for the ballistae. Moreover, Liu Mang looked at the dozen riders. With the light from the torches, he could still make out their appearances. Among the dozen riders, there were only two generals, one scholar, and even one child! The others were all wearing armor. However, it could be seen that they were only personal guards. Attacking the city could not use a scholar and a child! Therefore, they must be here to talk.
"Let them come forward!" Hearing Liu Mang's words, the ballistae on top of the city wall were put away. Only then did the cavalry felt relieved and went toward the moat. They patted their horses and stood on the moat.
"Is the Great Han Sage King on the city walls, Liu Mang, Liu Ziyang?" One of the scribes at the foot of the city suddenly asked loudly. "We are Nanyang Yangwu General Zhang Xiu's Xiliang Cavalry!"
"This King is the King Of Shu." Liu Mang also responded to the scholar's shout. Although he was bestowed the title of Sage King by the Han Emperor, he could not call himself Sage King. He could only use the title of King Of Shu. "What? Zhang Xiu is not satisfied with the defeat in Yangzhou and wants to send you to your deaths again?"
Zhang Xiu's Xiliang Cavalry had been played twice by the Lvbu's Army. The first time was when they were ambushed in Guangzhou. Then, they were ambushed by Lü Bu. Based on Zhang Xiu's pride, it was possible that he would come back for revenge.
"We don't dare, we don't dare!" The scholar hurriedly greeted.
"Don't dare? If you don't dare, then why are you in Yangzhou? If you don't dare, then why are you attacking Shouchun? " Liu Mang coldly snorted at the scribes below. No matter who it is, they would not like to be attacked by the enemy.
"Your Highness Sage King. We did not come here to be enemies with Your Highness Sage King. We want Your Highness Sage King to uphold justice and return our Xiliang Cavalry and General Yang Wu's innocence!" The scholar continued to answer Liu Mang.
"Return your innocence and uphold justice?!" Liu Mang really did not understand. What was wrong with Zhang Xiu? He and Zhang Xiu were enemies. Why was he acting like a subordinate? Although Liu Mang had the title of King, there were not many people in the world who would listen to him.
"Where is Zhang Xiu? Ask him to come out and talk! "Liu Mang did not understand. Naturally, he did not say much. Perhaps there was a trap. He directly asked Zhang Xiu to come out and talk. Chengyu had already gone down the city wall. The Black Flag Army and the Formation Breaker should have also moved out and circled around. As long as there was enough time, the Xiliang Cavalry would be trapped.
"My master, General Yangwu, has, has already returned!" The scholar did not speak. Instead, one of the generals spoke first. The man's voice sounded like he was about to cry.
"Returned?" Did he return to Nanyang Wancheng? Then why did he ask Liu Mang for justice? Could it be that Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei did not get along and started a war? Zhang Xiu could not win and came to him for help? Was this a joke? Not to mention that Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei's army were in the honeymoon period, Liu Bei even sacrificed the White Eared Heavy Armored Soldiers to save Zhang Xiu. His general Chen Dao also died in the chaos. Chen Dao's body was personally buried by Zhao Yun. Moreover, Zhang Xiu's Wancheng was militaristic. In terms of military strength, Zhang Xiu was stronger than Liu Bei. Zhang Xiu could lose 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry because that was not all he had. However, Liu Bei was different. The White Eared Heavy Armored Soldiers were all his elites.
"My lord, this Zhang Xiu should, should be dead!" Xu Shu reminded Liu Mang.
"Dead!" Liu Mang was stunned. How could Zhang Xiu be dead? Liu Mang did not believe this news because Lü Bu had clearly told him about Chen Gong's plan. One tiger in the mountain was better than two tigers fighting each other. Killing Zhang Xiu would only make Nanyang Wancheng and Lvbu's Army become mortal enemies. On the contrary, Liu Bei could annex Zhang Xiu's Wancheng in the name of avenging Zhang Xiu. Therefore, the only way to deal with Zhang Xiu was to destroy his Xiliang Cavalry and cut off Zhang Xiu's claws that reached into Yangzhou to teach him a lesson.
Instead of killing Zhang Xiu, it was better to change the target and focus on Liu Bei. With Zhang Xiu as bait, Liu Bei would be lured over and destroyed Liu Bei's White Eared Heavy Armor. Even if Liu Bei did not save Zhang Xiu, Lü Bu would think of a way to let Zhang Xiu escape back to Nanyang.
Therefore, it was impossible for Zhang Xiu to die. However, Liu Mang was told by the people outside the city that Zhang Xiu was dead. Liu Mang did not believe it at first.
However, something that Liu Mang could not believe happened. The scholar outside the city cupped his fist and said, "I, Jia Xu, brought my young master, Zhang Lei, to seek refuge with His Highness, the King of Shu. I hope that His Highness, the King of Shu, can take us in on account of the fact that we are both officials of the Han Dynasty!"
"Jia Xu is Zhang Xiu's strategist? Zhang Lei is Zhang Xiu's son? "Liu Mang reacted subconsciously. However, he was shocked immediately.
"What, what did he say? Jia Xu! Jia Xu? "Liu Mang suddenly froze. "You are Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe?" Liu Mang's voice was full of disbelief.
"Hmm?" Hearing Liu Mang's voice, the two scholars present frowned. One of them was Xu Shu, who was beside Liu Mang. Xu Shu had heard of Jia Xu's reputation, but it was not a good one. Jia Xu was labeled as a remnant of Dong Zhuo, a treacherous official of the Han Dynasty, and incompetent and selfish.
This was because Jia Xu was promoted by Dong Zhuo when Dong Zhuo was still alive. Although he did not make any great contributions, he was regarded as a remnant of Dong Zhuo by those who claimed to be righteous. Just like Cai Wenji's father, although he did not wallow in the mire with Dong Zhuo, he was imprisoned by Wang Yun and tortured to death. Because Dong Zhuo promoted Cai Wenji's father and wanted to help Dong Zhuo collect the corpse, he was regarded as a thorn in Wang Yun's side and executed.
Similarly, Jia Xu escaped quickly. Otherwise, he would have died. Then there was the treacherous official of the Han Dynasty. This was because he instigated Li Jue and Guo Si to gather troops and horses to attack Chang 'an. This caused the Han Emperor to be toyed with by the two of them for many years and caused the Han Dynasty to lose its prestige.
Xu Shu was not a stubborn person. Naturally, he would not care about any remnant of a treacherous official. However, he cared about the last two evaluations. Incompetence stemmed from selfishness. Jia Xu's incompetence stemmed from the fact that he would be defeated by whoever he was under. Dong Zhuo used Jia Xu and died. Li Jue and Guo Si used Jia Xu and died. Zhang Xiu used Jia Xu to create a boundless river in Nanyang County. Therefore, everyone thought that Jia Xu was incompetent.
There was also selfishness. Jia Xu escaped time and time again before his lord was defeated. If this was not selfishness, then what was?
But now, his lord actually lost his composure after hearing this name. Xu Shu could not help but frown.
"Hm?!" Another person frowning was Jia Xu. He frowned because he did not understand why the King Of Shu would lose his composure after hearing his name. Could it be that His Highness the King Of Shu knew him? That was impossible. Jia Xu had never met Liu Mang. Even if Liu Mang knew of his existence, he would still be considered incompetent and selfish.
Jia Xu could not help but mock himself. Incompetent and selfish? Jia Xu was not incompetent. He just did not want to display his talents. This would only increase the number of casualties. Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Xiu were not people who could unify the world. Giving advice to such people was just like Chen Gong. In the end, he would only end up dead. Jia Xu did not want to end up like this. Therefore, he chose not to speak and not to waste time.
Selfish? Who could not be selfish? However, Jia Xu's selfishness was based on his own safety. Who would selflessly die? As long as no one provoked Jia Xu, Jia Xu did not want to be enemies with others.
Jia Xu looked at the King Of Shu on the city wall. He was waiting for Liu Mang's reply. If Liu Mang had the slightest problem, then Jia Xu would probably choose another path.
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