Chapter 146: Unexpected, going in the opposite direction To be honest, among the many brave generals at the end of the Han Dynasty, Taishi Ci had a relatively good temper and was a decent person. But now looking at Jiang Gan, he really wanted to lose his temper. He thought to himself that he had never met such a person in his life. First, he told him that the appointment given to him by Liu Bei was rejected by him, and then he asked him to take the initiative to ask for the position of prefect of Danyang! So if there hadn't been this messenger, he wouldn't have died, but this messenger came and ended his way to life? So what exactly is this messenger here for? Therefore, Taishi Ci looked at Jiang Gan unhappily and said: "Sir, what's the reason for your words? You knew that the position of Danyang governor would be useful to me, but you took the initiative to veto me. Now you want me to take the initiative to ask for it. Why is that?" Seeing this, Jiang Gan shook his head and smiled: "I don't know what the general is saying!" "It is clear that the general said that no reward is accepted without merit, and he is unwilling to accept it." "I am concerned about the general and do not want to embarrass him, so I will decline this matter on his behalf!" "But I am afraid that I will fail my master's trust, and I don't want you to be trapped and die here, so I urge you to take the initiative to ask for it!" "You must know that the general's active request is not the same as my lord's appointment."

"I will not hide it from you, General. Before I came here, the Lord had the intention to ask me to come here and appoint you as the governor of Danyang. However, after thinking about it, I felt that this was not appropriate." "First, the general values ​​integrity. Although my lord is concerned about the general, the general will not accept it." "If that is the case, General, if you resign once, it will be difficult for you to take it again in the future, and your way of survival will be cut off." "Secondly, although my lord has good intentions, it is difficult to express them in words, which may cause the general to misunderstand, so I should not give the general this position." "So before the lord entrusted the seal to me, I rejected the matter on behalf of the general. I only asked the lord to write a letter to me so that I could express our army's good intentions." As he spoke, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Taishi Ci. When Taishi Ci saw this, his expression became complicated, his brows were tightly furrowed, and he was thinking about the logic behind Jiang Gan's words. He thought about it carefully and found that it was exactly as Jiang Gan said. The crux of this matter is not that Jiang Gan helped him to deny it, but that even though Liu Bei gave it to him, he did not want it. To be honest, if Jiang Gan handed over the seal as soon as he arrived, he might have directly rejected the appointment. After all, people's hearts are hidden, and he didn't know what Liu Bei was thinking. Naturally, he felt uneasy about this sudden show of goodwill. This would mean he would have no chance to turn back. Even if he later thought it through and wanted to accept the seal, he was too embarrassed to ask for it. From this point of view, Jiang Gan rejected this matter because he was indeed considering him. But when he looked at the envelope Jiang Gan took out, he hesitated again and felt a little ashamed. If Liu Bei really wrote the letter purely for his own good, how should he face Liu Bei? While he was thinking, he saw Jiang Gan retreat back to his original position and said again: "As for why I want to persuade the general to submit to the court, it is also for the general's consideration!" "Because the general values ​​righteousness over reason, although he knows my lord's intention, he is unwilling to accept it lightly."

"If it is the seal given by my Lord, then I will not accept it without any merit, and that is why the general does not want it." "But if the general takes the initiative to ask for it, it means that he is dedicated to the public, has his heart set on the Han Dynasty, and wants to seek the right path!" "Now that Sun Ce is wreaking havoc in Jiangdong, the general does not want to be associated with him, so I ask you to guard Danyang. This is not out of affection or personal relationship, but out of justice!" "Even if the imperial court knew about this, they would not blame you, but would instead commend you for your loyalty to the Han Dynasty." "In this way, the relationship between my lord and the general can be preserved, the general will not be embarrassed, and the general can find a proper path. This is called the three-perfect method." When he said this, the smile on his face faded away, he bowed deeply to Taishi Ci and said: "Therefore, for the sake of the general and my master, I ask the general to submit his loyalty. This is a sincere statement, without any selfish motives at all!" Seeing Jiang Gan like this, Taishi Ci was deeply moved. He quickly stood up from his seat, stepped forward to support Jiang Gan and said: "I was confused for a moment and misunderstood your kindness. Please get up quickly and don't make me suffer!" He is not an unreasonable person, but there is something in his head that he can't get over. Before, he just thought that Liu Bei and Liu Yao might be the same kind of people who just wanted to use him, so he was unwilling to submit to them. But now I think about it, Liu Bei and Liu Yao are completely different. Liu Yao was in a position of power and authority at the same time, wanting to use him but not paying attention to him. But Liu Bei always attached great importance to him from beginning to end and never treated him with disrespect. Actually, if you think about it carefully, Liu Bei doesn't need to spend so much effort to win him over now. After all, Liu Bei rose in the Central Plains and had an army of 70,000 to 80,000. As for him, he only had a few thousand soldiers and was in danger of losing his life at any time. If they didn't value our past friendship, why would they have sent an envoy here in such a grand manner? Similarly, Jiang Gan had no conflict with him. If he hadn't been considering him, there would have been no need to risk angering him by giving him such advice! What Jiang Gan said was not wrong. If he wanted to walk on the right path now, the only way was to rely on Liu Bei. Because Liu Bei was the governor of Yuzhou, he might have also obtained the title of governor of Yangzhou from the imperial court. Compared with Liu Bei, Sun Ce's official position was merely the prefect of Kuaiji. Even if he surrendered to Sun Ce, Sun Ce was not able to appoint him as the governor of Danyang, and he still could not gain the approval of the court! Only by relying on Liu Bei can it be in his current interest! Thinking of this, Taishi Ci immediately bowed to Jiang Gan and said: "If it weren't for your advice, I would have gone astray!" "I hope you will accept my greeting, and forgive my disrespectful words just now!" Just as Jiang Gan was being helped up by him, he saw Taishi Ci turning his hand to bow, so he hurriedly supported him and said: "General, you can't do this. You are my lord's friend, how can you bow down to me?" "My words just now were quite offensive, I hope the general will not take it as an offense!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Taishi Ci looked up and said with a smile: "Well, since we are both rude, let's stop bowing and forget about this!" At this point, he smiled proudly, grabbed Jiang Gan's hand and said loudly: "Come here, prepare the banquet quickly. I want to get drunk with Mr. Jiang today!" Seeing him so straightforward, Jiang Gan naturally followed suit and reminded him: "General, don't call me Mr., just call me Ziyi!" "But the general has not yet made it clear. Do you want to write to my lord and surrender to the court?" Seeing Jiang Gan being so cautious, Taishi Ci stroked his beard and smiled: "Sir, you have made the point clear. I am not a traitor. How can I not want to submit a letter?" "But Mr. Lu has come from afar, so we should entertain him first and then talk about official business!" After hearing his statement, Jiang Gan finally felt relieved and stopped talking, allowing Taishi Ci to entertain him. That night, Taishi Ci hosted a banquet for Jiang Gan and called all his generals to join him. After three rounds of drinks, Taishi Ci asked Jiang Gan and the others how they knew he was there. After all, he was in this place, hiding in the dark. Ordinary people had no idea where he was stationed. How did Liu Bei know he was here? When he asked this, Jiang Gan told him everything and also told him that Qin Zhen had ordered Jian Yong to look for him. Hearing this, Taishi Ci was shocked. It would be fine if Liu Bei sent someone to look for him. Unexpectedly, the person looking for him was Liu Bei’s new military advisor Qin Zhen! He then naturally asked about Qin Zhen, and when Jiang Gan talked about Qin Zhen, he said with admiration: "If we say that our military advisor is truly a genius, he is already well-known in the world even though he is only thirty years old." This is also the idol effect of this era. Although Qin Zhen was born in a poor family, he has unknowingly become a role model among young scholars. After all, Qin Zhen is only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, but he has already accomplished many things. As Qin Zhen's subordinate, Jiang Gan is naturally also his fan. When he started praising Qin Zhen, he talked endlessly, which left Taishi Ci stunned. He thought that when he first met Liu Bei, his territory was just a plain and his soldiers were only a few thousand, so he had accomplished nothing. Although they later occupied Xuzhou, they did not achieve much. Now that he has met Qin Zhen, he has risen strongly instead, which shows that Qin Zhen is indeed capable. But when he thought of this, he couldn't help but secretly think that Qin Zhen was such a capable person, he must have made some arrangements to find him. Even if Liu Bei had no intention, Qin Zhen should have had his own plans! While thinking, he naturally asked Qin Zhen what the meaning of sending people south was. Jiang Gan knew that Taishi Ci was a man of both courage and wisdom and could not be deceived, so he simply revealed all of Qin Zhen's intentions. Anyway, Qin Zhen didn't have any bad intentions this time, so it would be okay even if he told Taishi Ci. When Taishi Ci heard the news of Liu Yao's death, his expression darkened and he said: "So, Liu Zhengli has died of illness in Yuzhang County?" Seeing him like this, Jiang Gan thought something bad was going to happen, and hurriedly tried to persuade him: "I know that you value righteousness, but Liu Zhengli's actions are his own fault. It has nothing to do with you. I hope you won't be too sad!" Hearing this, Taishi Ci took a deep breath and said: "I am not sad, but I have some old acquaintance with this man. When I went south, I wanted to help him rebuild Yangzhou. However, he cared about his reputation and did not listen to me, so he was defeated and retreated to Yuzhang!"

"I know that this man will not be able to accomplish anything, so I lead the troops to station here." "It is unexpected that this person died of illness. It is really sad!" "If he had listened to me earlier, why would he be in such trouble today?" Seeing that Taishi Ci was not very sad, Jiang Gan said: "So my lord is worried that the general will not be able to move forward here, so he intends to let the general go south to take over Liu Zhengli's troops." "First, it will give the general a place to display his talents, and second, it will help to rectify the situation in Yuzhang!" Seeing this, Taishi Ci nodded and said: "I already know your intention, so I will follow your wishes!" Just as Qin Zhen expected, if he was asked to lead his troops north to surrender, he might still have some resentment in his heart, but if he was asked to accept Liu Yao's old subordinates, he would naturally be very willing. However, Qin Zhen had not anticipated one thing. Taishi Ci had always been a man who would repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude. After nodding, he said to Jiang Gan: "But even though you have this intention, I cannot accept it for nothing!" "Sir, just go back and tell the envoy that I am willing to submit to your command." "But it's hard for me to lead the army south!" "Because our army has no extra food and grass at the moment, it is difficult to reach Yuzhang!" "So I intend to take Jingxian first, occupy Wanling, and help you capture Lujiang!" When Jiang Gan heard this, he was shocked. Although he was not very proficient in military affairs, he knew that Wanling was in the northeast and Yuzhang was in the southwest. Taishi Ci's actions were tantamount to going in the opposite direction, so he hurriedly advised: "How can you do this, General? Since there is no food or fodder to spend, I will go back and report to my Lord and send it to him." "It's already a long way to Yuzhang. If you take Wanling, won't it be a long way to return tomorrow?" "Besides, the general's troops are not many to begin with. If we take the city now and suffer further damage, how can we deter Liu Zhengli's troops in the future?" As soon as he finished speaking, Taishi Ci stood up and said with a smile: "From what I have heard, sir, I know that you are not good at military affairs." "You must know that your army has not yet taken Lujiang. Even if I go south, it is just to provide support. What use is there?" "On the contrary, if I capture Wanling, you will have an extra special force in the south!" "Tomorrow, you will lead your troops south, and I will attack from the north. How can Liu Xun resist this two-sided attack?" "Once Lujiang is taken, I will go south to recruit Liu Yao's former subordinates. It won't be too late!" "As for gathering Liu Zhengli's former subordinates, why would we need troops? I can do it alone, and there is no need to waste food and fodder!" "Sir, just tell me what I said, and I'm sure you will agree to it!" Having said this, he stood up and said seriously: "Generals, listen to my orders. Since we have been entrusted with the mission today, we should share your worries!"

"It doesn't even take three days. You can send troops tomorrow. Let's take Jingxian first, and then Wanling!" When everyone heard this, they immediately stood up and accepted the order, and walked out of the house without giving Jiang Gan any chance to persuade them. (End of this chapter)