The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 30 One Man, One Knife
Mi Fang shuddered again upon hearing this.

This time, he simply turned around and stared straight at Mi Wei.

They're not even bothering to hide it anymore.

Yu Fan was somewhat displeased with the fact that he had looked at the boy repeatedly.

But I just thought he was concerned about the younger generation in his family.

He then pointed at Mi Wei and said:

"Guan Yu has always looked down on you. Once he loses his son, your son and your nephew will all be buried with Guan Xing!"

"At that time, you will not only bear the infamy of disloyalty, but also fail your brother by failing to protect your elder brother's legitimate son. This is unfilial!"

"If a subject is disloyal and a brother is unfilial, how can you, my lord, have any face to stand in this world?"

"I have said all I have to say. If you still do not repent, then today will be the last time we see each other!"

Having said that, Yu Fan arrogantly turned and left.

His behavior was a clear indication that he believed he had Mi Fang under control and was certain that she would admit defeat.

At this point, Mi Fang was completely at a loss.

Once Yu Fan had walked a little further away, he impatiently grabbed Mi Wei and said:
"Awei, do you think we should go out of the city to meet Guan Xing? If he's really dead, things will get complicated..."

When Mi Wei saw that Mi Fang's first reaction was not to slide to her knees but to go out of the city to save people, even if it was just for show, he felt quite comforted.

This shows that my efforts during this period have paid off.

He then said in a deep voice:

"Uncle Zhong, Lü Meng has wicked intentions. We must not fall into his trap!"

Mi Fang's gaze darkened: "What do you mean?"

“I know Guan Jun’s abilities very well; he won’t die so easily,” Mi Wei analyzed.

“If he were really about to die, then the morale of Ma Mucheng would definitely be low, and it should have been captured by Lü Meng in one fell swoop last night.”

"Now that the enemy has surrounded the city without attacking, and has even sent that old scoundrel surnamed Yu into the city to wag his tongue, it is clear that they see they cannot take Ma Mu City in a short time and are planning to lure us out of the city for a field battle!"

"If we suffer a setback in battle, the situation will inevitably deteriorate, and then General Guan will truly punish us!"

Mi Fang: "Then let's continue to hold out and not come out?"

Mi Wei: "Of course! That old scoundrel deliberately mentioned Lord Guan; it was actually a misleading statement."

"If we don't go out to rescue them, it seems we'll incur General Guan's wrath and have no choice but to surrender. But if we do go out to rescue them, it will ruin the battle and we'll still have to surrender in the end... No matter what we choose, we'll fall into their trap."

"Therefore, Uncle, we should continue to sit in the city and not move. You should know that if you do nothing, you will not make a mistake!"

This last sentence clearly struck a chord with Mi Fang, who immediately nodded in agreement.

But just as he was about to make a decision, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the door.

Mi Wei: "Is your father worried that someone in the city might be misled by Lü Meng, and that even if we do not act, our efforts will be in vain because of the actions of others?"

“You and I aren’t the only fickle and treacherous people in this city,” Mi Fang said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Do you have any plans to deal with them?”

“This is easy,” Mi Wei chuckled.

"Please summon all the officials from the prefecture and your entourage to the prefectural government immediately!"

……

After leaving the main hall, Yu Fan deliberately slowed his pace.

We're just waiting for Mi Fang to catch up.

However, after waiting and waiting, they were almost at the gate of the prefectural government, but there was still no sound of footsteps behind them.

He couldn't help but curse Mi Fang in his heart for being weak and incompetent.

While such a temperament is easy to manage, it can also lead to major setbacks due to indecisiveness.

If all else fails, we'll have to have Lü Huwei feign a strong attack on Jiangling as a form of coercion.

However, this would inevitably result in losses of soldiers, which would be detrimental to the subsequent battle against Guan Yu.

As I pondered, I finally heard hurried footsteps behind me.

Yu Fan's heartstrings relaxed, and without turning around, he stopped in place and smiled with his hands behind his back:

"Hahaha, it seems the Lord has finally decided..."

Before he could even utter the word "understand," a sharp pain shot through the back of his head.

Then everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

……

Soon after, all the officials under Mi Fang's command gathered at the prefectural government.

The Assistant Prefect of Nan Commandery, the Magistrate of Jiangling, and other officials from the prefecture were also invited to attend.

Apart from Pan Jun, the governor of the prefecture.

Miwei sent someone to invite him, and the reply was that he would come after packing up, but he never showed up.

But it doesn’t matter.

Upon seeing that Mi Fang and his nephew Mi Wei were both present, the crowd first bowed to Prefect Mi Fang, and then turned to Mi Wei: "Inspector, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Deer claps his hands.

Zhan Sifu and others, who had been waiting nearby, immediately escorted a middle-aged scholar, who was bound hand and foot, into the arena.

The man was disheveled, had blood on the back of his head, and his mouth was stuffed with cloth. He kept sobbing all the way.

The officials were all surprised and suspicious upon seeing this, and they all looked at Mi Wei.

“He is Lü Meng’s envoy, Yu Fan Yu Zhongxiang.”

Mi Wei pointed to the middle-aged scholar who was being held firmly to the ground and introduced him to the crowd.

"Everyone says this man is a famous scholar from Yangzhou, but seeing him today, he is clearly a cunning and malicious person who wags his tongue and stirs up trouble!"

“My uncle summoned you all here to witness the execution of this man, so that we may show you that we have no disloyal intentions!”

The officials were already surprised when they heard that it was Lü Meng's envoy.

Hearing that Mi Wei was going to kill someone in public, he panicked even more.

Then the county clerk stepped forward and advised:
"Inspector, this man is both a renowned scholar and an envoy; killing him would be unwise!"

The thief's clerk also came out to advise:
"I've heard that Guan Xing is trapped in Ma Mu City. If we kill the messenger and anger Lü Meng, which could lead to Guan Xing's death, I'm afraid General Guan will hold a grudge against us in the future! How about we temporarily detain him as a hostage?"

“Yes, yes,” the county clerk immediately chimed in.

"With this hostage in hand, no matter what happens to Guan Xing in the future, we can still give an explanation to the King and General Guan!"

Mi Wei's face immediately showed a conflicted expression.

After a long silence, he sighed heavily and said:
"What you gentlemen have worried about is not without reason."

"Very well, I will grant your wishes and spare his life for now, offering his hair as a substitute for his head!"

What does it mean to do it according to our wishes?
The officials all grumbled inwardly, but when they saw that Mi Wei had finally given up on killing, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Miwei turned around and said:
"Zhan Jun, remove his crown!"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Sifu acted immediately, tearing off Yu Fan's crown and the turban beneath it.

He probably used too much force and accidentally tore off a few strands of hair.

Yu Fan whimpered in pain, but his eyes remained fixed on Mi Wei.

At this point, he was fully aware of the situation.

The true backbone of Jiangling City.

It was neither Fei Shi nor Guan Xing.

Instead, it was this young man in front of him whom he had once looked down upon!
It's a shame I thought everyone in the city was mediocre, so I easily entered the city alone... I was so careless!

Mi Wei didn't even glance at Yu Fan's expression.

Zhan Sifu and the others held down his hands and feet, grabbed a handful of his hair, and slashed him with a knife!

He then turned to Mi Fang and handed her the dagger:

"Uncle, please!"

Mi Fang stepped forward, trembling.

He glanced at Yu Fan, whose face was filled with shame and indignation.

He then glanced at his nephew, whose face was cold and stern.

With a determined bite, he stepped forward and delivered the same blow.

From that moment on, he knew he had no way out.

Then his body stopped trembling, and he turned to the county clerk and said:

"it's your turn!"

The county clerk shuddered upon hearing this and could only step forward with a wry smile.

Thus, from the clerk to the chief clerk, to the chief secretary, and then to the bandit clerk... except for the supervisor who had gone to Jiangnan to join Sun Quan's faction, all the officials in the prefectures, from Mi Fang down, and the governors' offices, except for Pan Jun, cut off a lock of Yu Fan's hair, making him their mortal enemy. After that, they had no chance of making peace with Sun Quan and Lü Meng.

As the saying goes, our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents.

Cutting one's hair may seem harmless, but it is actually extremely humiliating.

In fact, since the pre-Qin period, the government has had a special punishment of shaving people's beards and hair, called "髡刑".

In short, after everyone stabbed him, Yu Fan, whose hair was originally quite thick, became almost completely bald.

Only a small wisp remained at the back of his head.

But Miwei had no intention of keeping this thread, and handed the knife to Zhan Sifu:

"Zhan Jun, you take the final blow!"

Zhan Sifu was stunned for a moment, then realized the meaning of the knife, and couldn't help but show gratitude.

This means that in Mi Wei's eyes, he was not a barbarian from the frontier, but a Han dynasty official just like the other officials present.

"Thank you, Inspector Xie... no, thank you, my lord!"

(End of this chapter)