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

"What did you say? How dare you say it again!"

Liu Shan suddenly leaped up, his eyes wide open, his face flushed, and roared angrily at Xun Yun, causing the candlelight in the tent to flicker slightly.

Xun Yun was so frightened by the sudden roar that he trembled all over.

He wanted to read the victory report again, but it was as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't make a sound.

Left with no other choice, he could only hold the victory report high in his trembling hands.

Liu Shan rushed forward like lightning and snatched the victory report from Xun Yun's hand.

Overwhelmed with excitement, he staggered and even tripped over a corner of a table while rushing over, nearly falling over.

Man Chong reacted quickly, stepping forward and supporting him firmly with both hands, thus avoiding an awkward situation.

At this moment, Liu Shan was completely oblivious to his loss of composure.

He frantically tore open the seal on the victory report, unfolded it in a flurry, and eagerly began to examine it closely.

The contents of the victory report, however, were like sharp daggers piercing Liu Shan's heart.

Guan Yu led the Luoyang garrison troops to Tongguan in secret, inflicting heavy losses on the Hanzhong army that had launched a surprise attack.

With Zhang Wei killed, Ma Chao's army suffered a crushing defeat and fled in disarray, with almost all of his 10,000-strong Hanzhong army wiped out.

What shocked Liu Shan even more was that Zhao Yun, under Xiao He's orders, joined forces with Guan Yu to pursue Ma Chao's defeated army all the way into the Ziwu Valley, showing a strong momentum to take advantage of the situation and seize Hanzhong...

Black ink on white paper, each word like a knife.

Each stab was aimed at Liu Shan's eyes, causing them a sharp pain.

"Why is this happening? What on earth is going on?!"

Liu Shan's voice trembled and was sharp, his brows were tightly furrowed, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his expression was blank and helpless.

"That scoundrel Zhang Lu, wasn't he leading his troops to defend Xingshi Mountain? Why would he suddenly send troops to attack Tongguan? Has he lost his mind?"

"Isn't the General supposed to be stationed in Luoyang? Why is he leading his troops to Tongguan?"

"When did Zhao Zilong go to Ziwu Valley? Why didn't he tell me beforehand?"

"What on earth is going on? What on earth is going on?!"

Liu Shan was plunged into extreme confusion and bewilderment.

"Your Highness, we have likely fallen for Zhang Lu's feint attack."

"He pretended to go north out of Xiegu to rescue Cao Cao, but in reality he wanted to lure our army to confront him at Xingshi Mountain. He secretly sent Zhang Wei to lead a surprise force out of Ziwu Valley to launch a sneak attack on Tongguan and cut off our army's supply lines!"

"This must be Sima Yi's scheme!"

Man Chong spoke with certainty, finally seeing through everything.

Liu Shan was jolted, as if struck by lightning, and suddenly realized what had happened.

Immediately afterwards, an intense fire of shame and anger, like a surging tide, burned within him.

He was actually tricked by Zhang Lu!

After the two battles at Puban and Weishui, he was bursting with confidence, feeling that he had mastered the ability to command troops and regarded Zhang Lu as a piece of trash, easily defeated.

Unexpectedly, despite his confidence, he was tricked by Zhang Lu without realizing it.

In the end, it turns out that the clown was myself.

Losing face!

If this news reaches back to Yejing, what will his father, Emperor Liu Bei, think of him?

It should be noted that Liu Bei had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with Xiao He's behavior of ignoring his advice and acting arbitrarily in an attempt to steal credit.

Now, his autocratic behavior has almost caused a major disaster!
Wouldn't Liu Bei be twice as angry and twice as disappointed with him?
Thinking of all this, Liu Shan couldn't help but shudder. "As for the Battle of Tongguan, I guess the Grand Marshal probably anticipated that Zhang Lu might launch a surprise attack on Tongguan through the Ziwu Valley. To avoid alerting the enemy, he secretly reported to the Emperor and secretly transferred the General's Luoyang Garrison to Tongguan."

"Only in this way can the General catch Zhang Wei off guard and annihilate the invading army."

"I suspect that the Grand Marshal must have already devised a plan to turn the tables on Hanzhong and take it back in one fell swoop."

"Therefore, he personally went to Hanzhong to join forces with the generals and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, intending to personally conquer Nanzheng!"

Jia Kui also revealed Xiao He's strategic intentions.

These words, however, were like sharp blades, cutting into Liu Shan's heart once again.

"Xiao Bowen~~"

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Liu Shan gritted his teeth and spat out the name.

The current situation is completely out of his control.

He originally hoped to use this war to destroy Han China to establish his absolute authority in the Han army, and then win over and support Man Chong and others who surrendered to Cao Wei to rise to power.

Who would have thought that after all his fuss, he would end up benefiting Xiao He?

The great achievement of destroying Zhang Lu and recovering Hanzhong was about to be snatched away by Xiao He.

Wasn't his pre-war wishful thinking utterly thwarted, all gone to waste?

"His Highness the Crown Prince is the commander-in-chief of all the armies in Guanzhong. The Grand Marshal, without the Crown Prince's prior request, secretly reported to the Emperor and even mobilized troops into Hanzhong. This is truly an overreach of authority."

Xun Yun saw Liu Shan's anger and took the opportunity to fan the flames.

Liu Shan clenched his fist and slammed it heavily on the table, gritting his teeth as he said:
"Xiao Bowen, you've gone too far! Do you even respect me as the Crown Prince?!"

Seeing this, Man Chong quickly stepped forward and said:

"The Grand Marshal should indeed inform His Highness, but before His Highness left Chang'an, he granted the Grand Marshal the power of General of Chariots and Cavalry to have full control over all the armies in Chang'an."

"Then it seems that it is not against the rules for the Grand Marshal to act expediently and send the General of Chariots and Cavalry into Hanzhong without consulting His Highness."

"After all, the situation on the battlefield can change in an instant. If we have to ask Your Highness for instructions on everything, we might miss the opportunity to win the battle."

"As for the Grand Marshal's secret report to the Emperor, he certainly had that power. Not only him, but also the General of the Flying Cavalry and the General of the Chariots and Cavalry had that power."

Man Chong is trying to cool down Liu Shan.

He clearly did not want the relationship between Liu Shan and Xiao He to deteriorate further.

Liu Shan also realized that now was not the time to openly turn against Xiao He, and that he still needed to maintain appearances.

The flames of anger in his eyes gradually began to cool, but the rage in his heart remained unquenched.

"That is true, but the Grand Marshal clearly predicted that Zhang Lu might use a feint to attack Tongguan."

"Why didn't he warn His Highness the Crown Prince earlier, but instead secretly reported to the Emperor, requesting the dispatch of the Grand General to Tongguan for defense?"

"He did this because he clearly didn't want His Highness the Crown Prince to get the credit for recapturing Hanzhong."

Man Chong was trying to cool things down, but Xun Yun was adding fuel to the fire.

The purpose was obvious: to further escalate the conflict between Liu Shan and Xiao He.

Liu Shan's emotions, which had just calmed down, suddenly flared up again, his face turned red, and his eyes burned with anger once more.

"boom!"

Liu Shan slammed his fist on the table again, gritting his teeth and letting out a low growl:
"Xiao Bowen, as my subject, why do you repeatedly oppose me?"

"Do you even respect me, the Crown Prince, at all?!"

"What exactly do you want?" (End of Chapter)