My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Upon hearing the hidden meaning in Zhuge Liang's words, both Zhuge Ke and Jiang Wan were involuntarily startled.

"Uncle, has something changed at the front? Has the battle taken an unexpected turn?"

Zhuge Ke was exceptionally astute and was the first to keenly sense that something was amiss.

The two men before him, Jiang Wan and Zhuge Ke, were both Zhuge Liang's trusted subordinates. Jiang Wan was calm and composed, while Zhuge Ke was intelligent and quick-witted.

Zhuge Liang never intended to hide anything from them.

At that moment, Zhuge Liang sighed slightly and explained in detail to the two men the Crown Prince's decision to divide his troops to attack Hanzhong and to appoint a group of northerners as generals.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wan frowned slightly, a hint of doubt in her eyes, but she did not immediately discern the unusualness in it.

Zhuge Ke's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with astonishment, and he hurriedly said:

"Uncle, this is extremely inappropriate!"

"The heroes of Jing and Yang provinces have followed Your Majesty since you raised your army, fighting in the south and the north. They are the founding ministers of Your Majesty's restoration of the Han Dynasty and have made great contributions to the revival of the Han Dynasty."

"Man Chong and the others were nothing more than surrendered officials of Cao Wei."

"As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince is using all the surrendered officials and generals of Cao Wei in this crucial campaign against Hanzhong, instead of employing any of our Jingyang people. This is not a good omen!"

Zhuge Ke became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his voice rising as he asked:

"Uncle, could it be that the Crown Prince's actions were instigated by the Emperor?"

"Is it that the Emperor is wary of us, the meritorious officials of Jing and Yang, and intends to support the surrendered officials of Cao Wei to suppress us?"

"If that's true, it's truly disheartening!"

Upon hearing Zhuge Ke's words, Jiang Wan suddenly realized the truth and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Yuan Xun, stop making wild guesses about the Emperor!"

Zhuge Liang glared at his nephew and said seriously:
"The emperor practices the way of the king and acts with benevolence and righteousness. He has never had the slightest suspicion of us, the meritorious officials of Jing and Yang."

"Your speculation about the emperor is truly disrespectful to him!"

Zhuge Ke was reprimanded and immediately realized that he had spoken out of turn.

He quickly lowered his head, a look of guilt on his face, meekly accepting his uncle's reprimand, saying:
"Uncle is right. I spoke carelessly and said the wrong thing. I hope you will not blame me."

After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, Zhuge Ke's eyes darted around, and he said:

"Since the Emperor is benevolent and still trusts us meritorious officials of Jing and Yang, then the Crown Prince's actions are acting on his own initiative."

"Could it be that the Crown Prince distrusts us Jingyang people and intends to align himself with the surrendered officials of Cao Wei?"

Zhuge Liang stroked his fine beard, nodded slightly, and sighed softly:
"This is exactly what I'm worried about, which is why I want you to go to the front lines in Guanzhong in person and find out the truth from Bowen."

"The Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the country, and His Majesty has recently been in poor health and lacking energy. If the Crown Prince suddenly intends to change course, it will be a matter of national security and must not be taken lightly."

"You must find out the truth of this matter once you go there."

Zhuge Ke understood his uncle's implication and quickly bowed.

“I understand what you mean, Uncle. Don’t worry, I will set off today and head to Guanzhong immediately to find out the truth from the Grand Marshal.”

Zhuge Ke then put away Zhuge Liang's handwritten letter and took his leave.

"I hope it's not what I feared. Otherwise, a bloody battle is probably inevitable..." Zhuge Liang gently shook his feather fan, his gaze fixed on the direction of Guanzhong, a deep worry flashing in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

……

Xiegu, Han Camp.

Inside the Chinese army's tent.

Liu Shan rested his hand on his forehead, sitting quietly behind the table, listening to the pattering rain outside the tent, his face full of unease.

Those who trouble others' minds are concerned with two things.

Firstly, yesterday Liu Bei sent someone to the camp. The messenger carried the emperor's decree, praising his courage and decisiveness, and commending him for his bravery and resourcefulness. However, he also subtly reprimanded him for being autocratic and ignoring Xiao He's advice.

He was naturally very upset after being scolded by his father.

The second thing was that shortly after the army entered Xiegukou, spring rains fell in Hanzhong, making the roads muddy and hindering the transport of supplies.

Zhang Lu's Hanzhong army, seemingly prepared in advance, seized the advantageous terrain of Xingshi Mountain.

Xingshi Mountain is strategically important, with steep slopes that make it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Zhang Lu's army set up camp on the mountain, adopting a defensive posture to block the path of his main force.

Liu Shan and his 100,000 Han troops were thus trapped in the valley north of Xingshi Mountain, their camp stretching for ten miles without any progress.

"Man Chong and Jia Kui, their wisdom and schemes are ultimately limited; they can't come up with a brilliant plan to break this deadlock for me. Alas..."

Liu Shan slammed his empty wine cup onto the table, letting out a sigh that betrayed a hint of disappointment.

A young eunuch beside him, seeing that Liu Shan was in a bad mood, quickly and carefully refilled Liu Shan's wine cup.

"In terms of wisdom and strategy, no one in the world can compare to the Grand Marshal. Even if Your Highness does not allow the Grand Marshal to accompany the army, Ma Su and Deng Ai are both disciples of the Grand Marshal, and they are equally wise and resourceful."

As the eunuch served the wine, he muttered to himself:
"This humble servant does not quite understand why Your Highness does not appoint those two to serve at the front lines. Perhaps they could devise a brilliant strategy to break the deadlock and resolve the current predicament."

As a mere eunuch and servant, she dared to question the Crown Prince and even criticize important court officials.

This eunuch was clearly a confidant of Liu Shan, and had served him since childhood; their relationship was both that of master and servant and also included elements of partnership.

"Huang Hao, haven't you figured it out yet?"

Liu Shan picked up the wine cup again, slowly swirling it in his hand, his eyes cold and meaningful as he said:

"After I ascend the throne, I will undertake a monumental undertaking that will change the course of history. I will bring about sweeping reforms to the Han Dynasty, and I will make every citizen of the Han Dynasty as powerful as a dragon!"

"If I want to accomplish these important tasks, I will definitely need the support of the court officials."

"But Xiao Bowen obviously won't support my reforms, and Zhuge Kongming, Lu Boyan, Gu Yuantan and others are all conservative and inflexible, so they probably won't support me either."

“If I want to make changes, they will resist; if I force the changes, they will definitely oppose me.”

“These are all leaders of the meritorious officials of Jing and Yang. If they do not support me, the entire Jing and Yang meritorious official group will not support me. The Jing and Yang meritorious official group is the most powerful in the Han Dynasty. If they do not support me, how can my reforms be implemented?”

"And Ma Su, whom you mentioned, and Deng Ai, are both from Jingyang, so they will definitely stand on the side of the Jingyang meritorious officials group."

"Tell me, can I appoint those two as generals for this southern expedition?"

Liu Shan no longer concealed his true feelings from Huang Hao, his trusted eunuch, and finally poured out the bitterness that had been suppressed in his heart for so long.

This was the first time in his life that he had revealed his "grand ambitions" and his dissatisfaction with Xiao He and other meritorious officials of Jing and Yang to a second person. (End of this chapter)