Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 127 A ship full of clear dreams fills the galaxy

Inside the central command tent, Zhong Hui and Shi Shouxin sat facing each other, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.

Zhong Hui's drunkenness was clearly a facade; he showed no signs of intoxication at this moment. He was eagerly awaiting the turning point in his destiny that Shi Shouxin would bring.

For better or worse.

"Grand Commander, something terrible has happened."

Shi Shouxin pulled a letter from his sleeve. It was the very letter that Liu Shan had copied, complete with his signature and seal!
He handed the letter to Zhong Hui, then sat quietly without saying a word.

Zhong Hui casually unfolded the letter, then suddenly stood up, his face full of shock!
Where is Liu Shan now?!

Zhong Hui rushed over in one stride, placed his hands on Shi Shouxin's shoulders, and said, "He has completely lost his composure!"
"Grand Commander, please calm down and let me explain slowly."

Shi Shouxin said with a smile.

"I can't calm down! Tell me quickly!"

Zhong Hui was almost in tears.

Shi Shouxin stood up and leaned close to Zhong Hui, saying, "Liu Shan is currently in my main camp. No one else knows about this for the time being, and the Grand Commander must also keep it a secret."

"Good! Good! Good! You did a great job! Excellent!"
Luoyang Shi Gandang, the man lives up to his name!

Zhong Hui's eyes welled up with tears, and he almost shouted the name out of his throat with joy! He pressed his hands tightly against Shi Shouxin's shoulders, his whole body trembling with excitement!

He couldn't help but be excited, because the news brought by Shi Shouxin was enough to help him break out of his current predicament.

"Grand Commander, there's no time to lose! Let's discuss this in my tent! Liu Shan cannot appear in the central army now!"

Shi Shouxin remained calm and composed.

"Okay, let's go now!"

Zhong Hui could not suppress his excitement. The two dismissed the idlers outside the central command tent and quietly left the central camp, arriving at Shi Shouxin's main camp.

After entering Shi Shouxin's military tent, he instructed Meng Guan to bring Liu Shan there for a meeting.

A moment later, Liu Shan arrived looking anxious. Zhong Hui looked him up and down and asked softly, "Are you Liu Shan? The emperor of Shu?"

"Let's not mention the Emperor's words again. I am now only a general. The Grand Commander may call me General Liu."

Liu Shan said humbly, he dared not put on airs in front of Zhong Hui.

Zhong Hui looked at Liu Shan and asked, "Deng Ai, are you really planning a rebellion?"

He asked a crucial question, showing no intention of being polite to Liu Shan. In Zhong Hui's eyes, Liu Shan was merely a ruler who had lost his country, just a dish on the menu.

Liu Shan looked at Shi Shouxin, and seeing that the other party nodded slightly, he mustered his courage and said, "This Grand Commander should ask General Shi, but I, Liu, did not personally witness Deng Ai doing this."

"I see. General Liu, you may go and rest now."

Zhong Hui was very pragmatic. Upon hearing that it wasn't Liu Shan's own idea, he immediately lost interest in listening to him and his attitude became unusually cold.

This Grand Commander of Wei was an extreme pragmatist who didn't even want to put on an act in his daily life.

Liu Shan was somewhat displeased, thinking to himself: Zhong Hui's manners and interpersonal skills are far inferior to Shi Shouxin's. He probably only holds a high position because of his good birth.

After Liu Shan silently left the military tent, Zhong Hui turned to Shi Shouxin and asked, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

He was slightly disappointed. Liu Shan's "voluntary" surrender and Shi Shouxin's use of stratagem were ultimately different.

"Grand Commander, please submit a memorial to the court stating that Deng Ai intends to support Liu Shan in a rebellion. Then, submit this letter, and you will have a legitimate reason for your actions."

This is one of them.

He summoned his generals for a meeting, took out the letter, invited Liu Shan out, issued a proclamation to attack Deng Ai, and marched into Chengdu. This showed that everyone was of one mind.

This is the second point.

In this way, Deng Ai could be eliminated, and military orders from the imperial court could be refused, as the saying goes, "a general in the field may disobey some military orders."

After we quell Deng Ai's rebellion and take control of Chengdu, the Grand Commander can then make a decision and deal with the situation with ease.

Whether Liu Shan truly discovered Deng Ai's plot to rebel or whether Deng Ai fabricated it is not important.

After Deng Ai was eliminated, the falsehoods became the truth, and whatever the Grand Commander said became the truth.

The important thing is that the Grand Commander now needs a legitimate reason for his actions, so Liu Shan came with a letter of denunciation, that's all.

Afterwards, who would bother to investigate how Liu Shan came to power?

Shi Shouxin explained patiently.

Zhong Hui lowered his head and remained silent, for once he took that step, there was no turning back.

Zhong Hui's old habit had resurfaced, and Shi Shouxin loudly reminded him:
"Grand Commander, hesitation only leads to trouble. Deng Ai must know that Liu Shan has fled Chengdu. Do you think he will just sit and wait to die?"
If we do nothing, it will be tantamount to Deng Ai reporting the Grand Commander to the court for plotting a rebellion! We must strike first!

Yes, how could Deng Ai possibly be idle!
If Deng Ai might not have taken it seriously before, now that Liu Shan is all well, he must have come to his senses!
Zhong Hui nodded, acknowledging this.

Shi Shouxin is right; the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released.

At this moment, Zhong Hui finally made up his mind.

"Tomorrow night, summon all officers of the rank of Yamen General and above to a meeting at the central command. You will have your troops ambush there. If anyone disobeys, then..."

Zhong Hui made a chopping gesture.

His words made Shi Shouxin's eyelids twitch wildly.

You can't even guarantee that information won't leak from your own central command? How come you don't even know how to win people's hearts?
In terms of specific operational details, Zhong Hui was terribly incompetent! Fortunately, he still had some self-awareness.

Shi Shouxin sighed silently to himself, thinking that Zhong Hui really had some problems with his character.

If Zhong Hui directly arranged for the central army to ambush them, then all the generals at the meeting would probably know about it!
On the contrary, although Shi Shouxin's troops numbered only a few thousand, they were all hereditary military units organized by family, and they were very tight-lipped, making it almost impossible for news to leak out.

So now Zhong Hui is actually asking Shi Shouxin to be in charge of "meeting security," which is truly the opposite of what was expected of the Heavenly Gang.

"Then tomorrow we will use the victory banquet to convene all the generals for a meeting."

Shi Shouxin nodded slightly.

Zhong Hui still has a few urgent matters to attend to, and he must do them as soon as possible.

The first thing to do was to send Liu Shan's letter of denunciation to Sima Zhao in Chang'an as quickly as possible, explaining that Zhong Hui led troops to Chengdu to quell the rebellion, and not because of a personal grudge against Deng Ai, and that he acted expediently without reporting back later.

The second thing is to set up a trap tomorrow, summon all the generals and officers in the army for a meeting, and kill anyone who opposes sending troops to Chengdu.

The third thing was to discuss a plan for sending troops, how many people to send, who to send, and how to carry it out, and to assign the task to others.

Time waits for no one, we need to make arrangements now.

Of course, Shi Shouxin was only responsible for the second task; the others were Zhong Hui's forte.

"Then let's set it for tomorrow. There's no turning back now."

Zhong Hui nodded, then suddenly remembered this matter and asked, "Should we inform Jiang Wei?"

"Of course! Jiang Wei hates Deng Ai to the bone. Without Deng Ai, how could Shu have perished? I'm afraid Jiang Wei will volunteer to lead the charge in this battle!"

Shi Shouxin chuckled coldly.

"It makes sense."

Zhong Hui agreed, but did not say how to arrange things for Jiang Wei and the surrendered Shu soldiers.

"I shall take my leave now and go make preparations."

Tomorrow, the Grand Commander will transfer the central army away and arrange dinner in Fucheng County, ensuring the soldiers are well-fed. Then I will lead men to relieve the central army of their duties. The generals, unaware of Liu Shan's arrival, will certainly not suspect anything.”

Shi Shouxin was incredibly perceptive and immediately offered Zhong Hui a suggestion.

"Okay, let's arrange it that way."

Zhong Hui immediately agreed, his heart pounding wildly.

Shi Shouxin escorted Zhong Hui back to the central army camp, where the sky was now filled with stars.

In ancient times, without industrial pollution, the stars in the sky, of varying sizes and brightness, resembled a magnificent canvas.

"To evade fate and avoid cause and effect, all kinds of shackles bind my true self; to follow fate and bear cause and effect, I finally know who I am today."

Could orchestrating this reshuffling of power in Sichuan be my karma and karmic entanglement?

Shi Shouxin looked up at the stars in the night sky and couldn't help but voice his concerns.

Many things that happened after he entered Sichuan were secretly orchestrated by him, quietly changing the course of many people's lives.

Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore.

Soon, he will take the stage to perform! He will sing a timeless masterpiece about how one scheme could harm three virtuous men!
……

Late at night, a figure slowly approached the military tent where Shi Shouxin was staying. The soldiers on duty at the door were dozing off and did not notice him.

The man slowly approached, pressed his ear against the tent, and heard the sounds inside.

It sounded like a woman's unrestrained moans, rapid and high-pitched.

It took a long time before they stopped; the people inside seemed to be chatting.

"Will you have my child, Yue'er?"

The man's voice was panting.

"Okay, Ah Lang, how many should we have?"

The woman responded slowly, her voice somewhat languid.

"The more the better, so they can start to grow and multiply as soon as possible."

"Then I need to get pregnant quickly so that I can give birth to the child after I return to Luoyang with you."

The woman chuckled, sounding quite pleased.

"Maybe you're pregnant now?"

"Who knows? Let's try again."

"Ah."

The conversation inside the military tent became increasingly absurd, prompting Liu Shan, who was eavesdropping, to let out a long sigh.

He had originally wondered if his daughter was going to rekindle her relationship with Fei Gong, as he had thought his third daughter was very reluctant to part with her ex-husband.

Surprisingly, she seems quite happy now! Judging from this conversation, she doesn't seem to be being forced. They're even discussing having children.

The more Liu Shan pondered this, the more uneasy he felt. Even concubines came in many forms; some women were sent to the military camp, abused, and then sent away.

Judging from this situation, Liu Yue has been taken into the household and will return to Luoyang with Shi Shouxin in the future.

Oh no, it's my third daughter who's fallen for that Shi Shouxin and betrayed her father.

Thinking of this, Liu Shan felt a sense of sorrow.

His current situation is not what he wants.

Upon meeting Zhong Hui today, Liu Shan felt that Zhong Hui was not someone who could accomplish great things.

A woman, and her daughter whom he had watched grow up, who was usually so virtuous and kind.

Why would she betray her past so quickly, so readily and obediently throwing herself into the arms of a new lover? And why would she say such disgusting things to a man in bed?
Liu Shan, who had been emperor for decades, couldn't understand this question.

Just then, a knife was held to Liu Shan's neck, and the guard on duty asked with a grim expression, "What are you doing sneaking around here?"

"Liu just wanted to talk to General Shi about something."

Liu Shan chuckled and said that he was very polite to his personal guards.

"Oh, you're Liu Sanniang's father."

The guard's tone was a bit strange, mainly because of the sounds coming from inside the military tent, which the guard also heard.

This princess of Shu is quite something; she's beautiful, gentle, and affectionate.

Only Shi Jianjun can control, possess, and protect this kind of woman.

"Then you wait."

The guard left a message and then said to Shi Shouxin inside the tent, "Supervisor Shi, Liu Shan requests an audience."

The decadent music inside the military tent immediately stopped.

A short while later, Shi Shouxin came out, and his face seemed normal.

He led Liu Shan to the military tent where they were to work. After they were seated, he got straight to the point and asked, "Speak, what is it?"

"Third Sister is a good girl, you should cherish her."

Liu Shan pleaded, "As a father who worries about his daughter, not as a ruler who has lost his country."

"Don't worry about that. She will be the child's mother in the future. As the father, would I treat the child's mother badly?"

Shi Shouxin countered, having already explained his plan; he intended to take Liu Yue away.

Liu Shan was speechless. He didn't want things to turn out this way, and he certainly didn't want any involvement with the Wei generals. Originally, Liu Shan only intended for Liu Yue to stay in the Wei army camp for a few days; he figured he would eventually return. But he never imagined that everything would be irreversible.

Since Shi Shouxin and Liu Yue were discussing having children in bed, it was clear that they were planning a "deep relationship," which was tantamount to Liu Shan wanting to marry this Wei general.

This was clearly not Liu Shan's original plan.

He could only sigh and ask, "General Shi, can you be honest with me and tell me how confident we are in this matter? If we can't kill Deng Ai, we will all die. As long as Deng Ai escapes from Shu and goes to Chang'an to report this to the Duke of Jin, we will all be finished."

He couldn't help but emphasize again, "Just how confident are you?"

Liu Shan was tricked into coming here by Liu Yue. If Liu Yue hadn't written the letter, no matter how much Zhong Hui or Shi Shouxin boasted, he would never have come here.

Now that his daughter is completely infatuated with Shi Shouxin, shouldn't this man who is good at seducing women think about his old father?
Liu Shan's demands were very reasonable, even just basic requirements.

"General Liu, all I can say is that you really don't understand the situation in Wei."

Even if I tell you, it won't do any good.

I'm pretty confident of winning this round, but I might not be able to advance in the way you're thinking. Anyway, let's just look at the final result.

In this respect, you're not as good as Third Sister; she believed everything I said without question.

"Alright, I hope General Shi will act cautiously for Third Sister's sake."

Liu Shan nodded, feeling uneasy but helpless.

He could only hope that Shi Shouxin was a man of conscience and wouldn't betray him after using him.

(End of this chapter)