Wei Jie and the others indeed bypassed Quzhou County and headed toward Zhongshan Commandery without stopping.
However, the atmosphere in the group had become much more solemn, completely different from the previous lightheartedness.
The group quickened their pace, traveling day and night, and arrived at Zhongshan Commandery on the evening of the third day.
Zhao Xin and Wei Jie went first to see Liu Kun’s cousin Liu Xi.
Liu Xi was Liu Kun’s representative in Jizhou. They were both from Zhongshan Commandery, and the Liu family had many village elders here. Liu Kun was a renowned scholar, and in recent years, because he had firmly defended Jinyang and sheltered refugees, his reputation had grown even greater in the Jizhou and Bingzhou regions.
Zhongshan Commandery took pride in Liu Kun.
So when Liu Xi received orders to return to Zhongshan Commandery to gather forces and recover Jizhou, he was able to rally everyone with one call. Daicommandery and other places also relied on Liu Kun’s prestige to abandon the more powerful Wang Jun and turn to favor Liu Kun instead.
When Liu Xi heard that Zhao Hanzhang had sent a delegation, he immediately led his generals out to meet them.
He knew that Zhao Hanzhang and they were currently allies. Two days ago, reinforcements from Jinyang had arrived. They were able to spare reinforcements because Zhao Hanzhang had besieged Pingyang City, forcing Liu Cong’s main army to return for relief.
Otherwise, two days ago he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold Zhongshan Commandery, so Liu Xi greatly valued Zhao Hanzhang’s delegation.
However, he was also curious. The delegation didn’t go to Jinyang but came to Zhongshan Commandery instead. Why? If there were to be an exchange of interests, they should seek out Liu Kun, not him.
He was just someone working for others.
“Meet Wang Jun?” Liu Xi nearly couldn’t stay seated. He asked nervously: “Why does Emissary Zhao wish to meet Wang Jun?”
Surely Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t going to abandon them and form an alliance with Wang Jun instead?
Zhao Xin said: “Our provincial governor believes that whether General Wang or Inspector Liu, both are Jin officials and really shouldn’t attack each other at this time, as it only benefits the Xiongnu people. So our provincial governor sent me and Young Master Wei as emissaries to persuade General Wang that rather than attacking each other, it would be better to take the current battle lines as boundaries and divide Jizhou in two for joint governance.”
Liu Xi’s eyes flickered slightly, and he said hesitantly: “Would Wang Jun agree?”
They had no objections on their side. Currently in Jizhou, apart from Liu Yuan and Shi Le, they occupied the largest territory. Wang Jun only occupied the smallest portion of commanderies and counties.
In terms of military strength, Liu Kun couldn’t compare to Wang Jun. If they continued fighting, the one who would fail would definitely be Liu Kun. Although Dai Commandery and these places had pledged allegiance to Liu Kun, their enthusiasm for participating in the war wasn’t high. If Wang Jun persisted in not withdrawing troops and kept fighting, they would very likely surrender directly.
So peace benefited them more than it harmed them.
Liu Xi had another thought he wanted to say but didn’t dare—actually, if they could coexist peacefully, they could even give up a commandery.
However, he was afraid that saying so would damage morale, so he only dared to think about it.
Zhao Xin said: “If it were only dividing lines for governance, he naturally wouldn’t be willing. But what if we’re willing to help him take Qingzhou?”
Liu Xi’s eyes widened. “Qingzhou? But isn’t that General Gou’s…”
Zhao Xin smiled and said: “General Wang also holds the position of Inspector of Qingzhou, but General Gou is a noble person with many affairs and has probably forgotten about this matter, so he appointed Young General Gou as Inspector of Qingzhou as well.”
Liu Xi felt uncertain and swallowed, saying: “But if we take Qingzhou, what if we anger General Gou…”
Zhao Xin said: “General, right now Inspector Liu and General Wang are attacking each other. The case has been brought to Yuncheng for over a month now, and there’s still no conclusion, which clearly shows General Gou isn’t very concerned about this matter.”
“General Wang has abundant military forces, and Inspector Liu has high prestige. With our provincial governor assisting from the side, taking Qingzhou would be easy. This single action can pacify the warfare in two regions and twist the three territories into one force against the Xiongnu. Even His Majesty would be pleased. I think General Gou will also prioritize the greater situation.”
It was killing two birds with one stone—the only one injured would be Gou Xi. If Gou Xi knew, he would probably vomit blood from anger, right?
But Liu Xi only thought about it before agreeing.
Zhao Hanzhang and they were separated by Shi Le and Liu Yuan, making it very difficult to send troops to assist. She could only use strategies like besieging Wei to save Zhao, or tying down forces. Now they had one less powerful enemy in the Xiongnu, but that didn’t mean they could defeat Wang Jun.
If they could negotiate peace and send troops to help fight Qingzhou a bit, it wasn’t impossible.
Better a dead friend than a dead poor man.
Liu Xi agreed and said he would send troops to escort them to find Wang Jun for negotiations.
Liu Xi first sent a letter to Wang Jun on the opposite side, then warmly entertained the delegation.
He kept stealing glances at Wei Jie. The other party was truly like jade. What if such a person went over there and was offended by a petty person like Wang Jun?
So Liu Xi said: “Why doesn’t Young Master Wei remain in the city to wait for news? Outside is still too dangerous.”
Zhao Xin thought: …So am I not in danger?
Wei Jie shook his head: “The letter just sent bears my seal. I am the deputy envoy of the delegation. If General Wang agrees to meet us and I don’t appear, wouldn’t that be deceiving him?”
In the Youzhou army camp, Wang Jun indeed didn’t want to meet any delegation, especially Zhao Hanzhang’s delegation.
After reading Liu Xi’s letter, he threw the accompanying letter from Zhao Hanzhang’s delegation to his deputy general and said with a dark expression: “Zhao Hanzhang still has the face to send emissaries to me? Does she really think she can represent the court? If it weren’t for her causing trouble for me in Yuncheng, His Majesty would have long appointed me as Inspector of Jizhou.”
If he had become Inspector of Jizhou, no matter how much territory Liu Kun occupied, he would have to withdraw.
A general beside him also disliked Zhao Hanzhang very much and said: “Three days ago during the general attack, if reinforcements from Jinyang hadn’t suddenly arrived, we would have already taken Zhongshan Commandery and killed that Liu Xi fellow. The reason Jinyang could spare reinforcements to come over is entirely because she sent troops to Pingyang Commandery, allowing Liu Cong, who was tying down Jinyang, to leave. Grand General, why don’t we send out troops tomorrow and teach them a lesson in front of Zhao Hanzhang’s delegation, letting her know that between the Grand General and Liu Kun, her eyes are on her rear end for choosing Liu Kun.”
The deputy general had already opened the letter and finished reading. Seeing that Wang Jun was actually considering this suggestion, he hurried forward with the letter: “General, Wei Jie is in this delegation.”
Wang Jun frowned. “Wei Jie from Hedong?”
“It’s him.” The deputy general looked at his expression and said carefully: “Grand General, Wei Jie is a renowned scholar of our time. People often say: the three sons of the Wang family aren’t as good as one son of the Wei family. If the general doesn’t even meet him before sending out troops, I’m afraid the world will slander the general.”
Wang Jun was very surprised. “How could Wei Jie be in Zhao Hanzhang’s delegation? Could he have chosen to seek refuge with Zhao Hanzhang?”
The deputy general said: “Why not meet them once and see what they have to say? If the general doesn’t like it, we can just find an excuse to refuse them.”
Wang Jun lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded. He also wanted to meet Wei Jie. If he really had pledged allegiance to Zhao Hanzhang, he wanted to see what Zhao Hanzhang was trying to do.
Wang Jun thought of many possibilities. Zhao Hanzhang might talk nonsense to him, telling him not to attack Liu Kun; she might mediate between him and Liu Kun, having them divide lines for governance…
He had already prepared his refusal. Under Youzhou, to the west was Jizhou. Youzhou was the closest place to Jizhou. This entire area was originally his sphere of influence.
That scoundrel Liu Kun had wolfish ambitions and dared to covet his Jizhou!
Back when his parents were trapped and he sought help with no response, it was he who lent him troops to rescue his parents, yet now he repaid kindness with enmity.
Wang Jun’s teeth itched with hatred. He decided that even if Wei Jie spoke up, he wouldn’t agree to peace talks. As a result, when the delegation arrived and he hadn’t yet recovered from Wei Jie’s beauty, he was stunned by the windfall Zhao Xin threw at him. “Take Qingzhou?”
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