Han Ji

Chapter 154 Going with the Flow

He recalled Su Gu's words: "This chaotic world... needs people like you."

need?

Liu Bei twitched the corner of his mouth.

In this chaotic world, what is needed are ruthless people, shrewd and ambitious individuals, people who are willing to do anything and spare no expense.

Liu Yan is.

He... must be too.

He gripped the jade unicorn tightly until his knuckles turned white.

The wind picked up again outside the window.

The icicles under the eaves crackled and sputtered in the wind, like something breaking.

It was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, early morning.

The snow fell all night again, covering the rooftops, streets, and crenellations of Nanzheng City with a thick layer of white. The sky was overcast, with low-hanging leaden clouds. The wind was light, but the cold was biting, feeling like a knife scraping your lungs when you inhaled it.

There were a few more people in the secret room in the backyard of the Commandant's Mansion than usual.

The charcoal brazier burned brightly, flames leaping half a foot high with loud crackling sounds. Liu Bei sat in the main seat, with Guan Yu to his left.

Zhang Fei was flanked by Jian Yong and Qian Zhao on his right. Xun Cai sat to his side and slightly behind, wrapped in a silver fox fur coat. She was pale and occasionally suffered from morning sickness, but she insisted on coming.

The sealed room had no windows, only a single vent in the ceiling letting in a sliver of pale sunlight. Maps hung on the four walls, with the "Map of Yizhou Counties" in the center, the locations of Mianzhu, Chengdu, and Luoxian circled in cinnabar, the red so intense it was almost blinding.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Liu Bei didn't speak immediately. He first looked around at everyone, his gaze lingering on each person's face for a moment. Guan Yu's phoenix eyes were half-closed, staring at Mianzhu on the map. Zhang Fei frowned, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee. Jian Yong's eyes were lowered, his hand habitually fiddling with a string of counting rods. Qian Zhao stood straight, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles slightly white. Zhang Wu stood behind Liu Bei, ramrod straight.

Xun Cai remained the calmest, simply looking at Liu Bei and waiting for him to speak.

"Everyone's here." Liu Bei finally spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the secret room. "What I'm about to say concerns the survival of Hanzhong, and also the future and lives of all of us. Once we leave this room, not a single word can be left out."

Everyone nodded.

Liu Bei took the scroll of notes from under the table and handed it to Jian Yong.

"Constitution, read aloud."

Jian Yong took it and unfolded it. The hemp paper was yellowed in the firelight, and the ink characters were densely packed. He cleared his throat and began to read.

He read very slowly, word by word.

From Liu Jun's identity, to Liu Yan's scheme, to Ma Xiang's role, to the agreement to "rebel in May," to the coded tokens, to the spies in the homes of powerful families in Yizhou...

The room was deathly silent.

The only sounds were the crackling of the charcoal fire and the heavy breathing of the crowd.

After a long while, Zhang Fei couldn't hold back any longer.

"Brother!" he glared at Liu Bei, "What are we waiting for? Quickly muster our troops, march on Mianzhu, and chop up Ma Xiang and his gang! Then report to the court that Liu Yan is plotting a rebellion!"

"Act?" Liu Bei looked at him. "What can we use to accuse? Liu Jun's confession? Liu Yan can easily turn around and accuse us of colluding with the remnants of the Yellow Turbans with a single false accusation. Whom will the court believe?"

Zhang Fei choked.

"Then, what do we do? Just watch him set fire to Yizhou?"

"Of course not." Liu Bei stood up, walked to the map, and pointed to the vermilion circle. "If he wants to light a fire, we'll help him light it, but we won't wait for him to do it; we'll light it first."

Everyone was taken aback.

"Take the lead?" Qian Zhao frowned. "Brother, should we go and incite Ma to do the opposite?"

"It's not about instigating," Liu Bei turned to look at everyone, "it's about lighting the fire for him. We'll use his firewood to start his fire, but we'll be the ones who light it."

Jian Yong's eyes lit up: "Brother, you mean...we'll impersonate Liu Jun's men and deliver orders to Prime Minister Ma, urging him to start the uprising ahead of schedule?"

"Yes." Liu Bei nodded. "Liu Yan is waiting for the imperial staff, waiting for May. We won't wait, we'll make him rebel immediately. Let's start the fire early, the bigger the better. Let Liu Yan see a raging fire nearing its end, and us already standing by the fire with buckets of water, while he's still eagerly awaiting his governorship."

Guan Yu pondered, "Will Ma Xiang send a letter?"

"Yes." Liu Bei walked back to the desk, picked up the scroll, and turned to a page. "Liu Jun has provided the complete set of codes and tokens. We have the fish-shaped jade pendant, the blank instructions, and the rendezvous poem. In addition," he paused, "we can add more to his scheme."

"Upgrade?"

"Take out three million," Liu Bei said. "Make Ma Xiang believe that this is additional funding from Liu Jun. In this urgent situation, we must act quickly."

Zhang Fei gasped, "Three million?! Brother, this..."

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub." Liu Bei waved his hand, "Three million to buy Yizhou is worth it."

Everyone fell silent.

The flickering firelight illuminated the solemn faces on the people's faces.

Xun Cai suddenly spoke, her voice soft but clear: "My husband's plan has three dangers."

Liu Bei looked at her and said, "You speak."

"One danger is that if Ma Xiangruo becomes suspicious and sees through the disguise, he will alert Liu Yan, who will then be on high alert."

"The second danger is that if the fire gets out of control and spreads throughout Yizhou, we will not only fail to put out the fire, but also set ourselves on fire."

.

“There are three risks,” Xun Cai paused, “Even if we succeed, what will be my husband’s status when he enters Yizhou to quell the rebellion? If the court sends someone else, wouldn’t we be doing all the work for someone else?”

Every sentence hits the nail on the head.

Liu Bei nodded: "Cai'er is right. Therefore, this matter must be handled quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly."

He looked at Qian Zhao: "Zijing, have you dealt with Liu Jun and those four people completely?"

Qian Zhao nodded: "It was all taken care of last night. The body was buried in the North Mountain, and no one knows about it."

"Alright." Liu Bei then looked at Jian Yong, "Xianhe, how well can you imitate the handwriting?"

Jian Yong pondered, "I've seen Liu Jun's handwriting. It's not difficult to imitate the form, but the spirit... requires time to practice."

"Three days," Liu Bei said. "Within three days, I want you to write a letter to Prime Minister Ma, written in Liu Jun's voice. The content should be: There has been a change in the court, and you are hereby ordered to rise up on the fifteenth of the first month, execute Yu Jian, seize the prefecture, and the follow-up support has been increased by three million, which will be personally delivered by your trusted confidant Liu Yong."

Jian Yong took a deep breath: "I'll do my best."

"It's not just about trying your best, it's about having to." Liu Bei's tone became more serious.

He then looked at Qian Zhao: "Zijing, when you interrogated Liu Jun, did you get all the details about the codes and tokens?"

"I've asked everything." Qian Zhao took out a small cloth bag from his bosom and poured out a few items: a pair of fish-shaped jade pendants, one yin and one yang, with warm and smooth jade, and a bronze talisman with a horse engraved on the front and a letter engraved on the back.

"The jade pendant is a token, and the bronze tally is Liu Jun's personal identification," Qian Zhao said. "Liu Jun instructed that when meeting Ma Xiang, he should hold the jade pendant, give the secret signal, and hand over the bronze tally. He also instructed that a piece of silk be filled out on the spot to indicate urgency."

Liu Bei continued, "Zhang Wu, pick two of the most unruly men from the labor camp, give them Liu Jun's copper tally, jade pendant, and instruction letter, and send them to Mianzhu with Xian He. Xian He will impersonate Liu Yong, and you will impersonate his followers. After leaving Mianzhu, deal with these two unruly men."

Zhang Wu bowed his head and agreed. Jian Yong's fingers trembled: "Brother, shall I go?"

"Only you can go," Liu Bei said, looking at him. "Xianhe, you are meticulous, eloquent, and adaptable. No one else can handle this."