Chapter 170 Gently opened the book, Taishi Xiang came Not to mention that Qiao Rui was in trouble, Qin Zhen had already left Qiao Mansion at this time. In fact, as for the two Qiaos, he really wanted to "bring the two Qiaos to the southeast, and enjoy spending time with them day and night." But as he said, he never forces anyone to do things against their will. Besides, he already had two children at home, so he didn't want to make things too much trouble. So after saying this to Qiao Rui lightly, he returned to the county government. As soon as he arrived at the county government, he saw that the place was already surrounded by people. I don’t know if it was Mei Qian’s deliberate operation, but all the officials in the city, big and small, returned here. Even Chen Ce was drunk and staring at Mei Cheng's body in a daze. As soon as Qin Zhen arrived here, Dong Qian came forward and whispered: "Why did Mr. Qin come just now? Something big has happened!"

Seeing him like this, Qin Zhen said in a deep voice: "I just visited General Qiao's residence as a guest, and I don't know what happened yet!" "Can you explain to me why our general Mei Cheng died here?" As soon as he said this, the temperature in the atmosphere dropped several degrees. Everyone lowered their heads and dared not reply. After all, the generals under Qin Zhen's command died, and they did not dare to say anything, for fear that Qin Zhen would get angry. It was Mei Qian who came forward with a mournful look on his face and said with a sorrowful look on his face: "Military advisor, please don't be angry. This matter is also my fault!" "Because the military advisor was afraid that some scoundrels would take the opportunity to bully General Liu Xun's family, so he ordered me to station troops here." "I thought that the military advisor was having a banquet today, and I was afraid that the general's wife would get close to him, so I ordered the soldiers to guard the inner courtyard." "As a result, Yu Li somehow managed to enter the inner courtyard tonight." "He intended to humiliate the general's concubine. I was still seeing the guests off, and the soldiers didn't see his face clearly, so they thought he was a thief who came to do evil, so they arrested him immediately!" "But Yuli drank a lot, refused to repent, and even intended to draw his sword to fight." "He was accidentally killed by our guards." "Even his good friend Kou Cai died in the mansion!" Having said this, he fell to his knees with a plop, grabbed Qin Zhen's legs and cried bitterly: "It is my fault for not keeping a close watch on this matter. I hope the military advisor will punish me severely!" He cried so heartbrokenly that people around him felt sympathy for him. They didn't know it was a double act, they only knew that Mei Cheng was Mei Qian's brother. It is naturally a bad feeling to accidentally kill a brother because of a mistake. While thinking, Chen Ce hurried forward to help Mei Qian up and said: "General, please don't do that. It's not your fault that Yu Li is like this." "The military advisor is very observant and will not misunderstand the general."

As he spoke, he was clearly filled with sadness, and it was obvious that he was getting along well with Mei Cheng. Qin Zhen saw this and did not express his opinion directly. He just glanced around the scene, and finally landed on a charming woman in the distance, and said directly: "Madam, can you tell me what the truth is?" This woman was Liu Xun's concubine Zhang. She didn't know what had happened, she just knew that someone was dead. As a woman, she was naturally afraid in front of so many people. Seeing Qin Zhen coming over, he felt a sense of security. He covered his face and shook his head, saying: "I don't know what happened!" "I just heard the noise outside, so I asked." "Then I heard Kou Cai arguing with this person, and then this person rushed into the room. I don't know what he wanted to do." "I screamed in fear, and the soldiers were alarmed, so they arrested him and took him away." "As for the aftermath, I dare not watch, and I don't know what will happen!" Having said this, she started crying again as she thought about what had just happened. Former officials under Liu Xun, upon hearing these words, looked at the corpses of Mei Cheng and others, and felt a little ashamed. They themselves did not know Mei Cheng, but they knew Kou Cai. Now that Liu Xun's army has been defeated and Liu Bei's army is doing fine, Kou Cai has brought Mei Cheng here to insult the mistress! Even if Zhang was just a concubine, she was still Liu Xun's wife. As they listened, one of them stepped out and spat at Kou Cai's body, saying: "Such an ungrateful person deserves to die here!" As soon as he made this move, some people who had a good impression of Liu Xun came out and began to point at Kou Cai's body. On the contrary, no one was interested in Mei Cheng. Qin Zhen looked at this scene and nodded secretly. Judging from everyone's performance, what Mei Qian did was very clean! Everyone thought it was a misunderstanding, not murder! And there were no witnesses except those sergeants. While thinking, he sighed slightly: "If that's the case, then I know. To be honest, I was the one who ordered Liu Xun's family to be protected!" "Unexpectedly, the offender is our general!" "From this perspective, Mei Chengcuo shouldn't have been so obsessed with his own ideas. I was also at fault for not being strict with my subordinates!" As he said this, he patted Mei Qian on the shoulder and said: "General, you are following orders, and our soldiers are following my orders." "If you want to blame someone, blame me. It has nothing to do with the general!"

"On the contrary, it was because of my mistake that the general lost a brother. I feel very guilty!" Mei Qian saw Qin Zhen began to take the blame, so he cried and said: "The military advisor has done nothing wrong. The blame should be on my brother. He deserves to be punished for doing such a thing!" "If the military advisor wants to take the blame, I will be ashamed!" As soon as he started, everyone started saying: "Yes, what has Qin Jun done wrong?" "It's all Mei Cheng's pride because of his achievements. It has nothing to do with Qin Jun!" "Mr. Qin is protecting his family, which is truly a righteous act!" As they said this, they cleared Qin Zhen of all blame. This was also what Qin Zhen wished, so he talked to everyone for a few more words and finally came to a conclusion on the matter. First, this matter was purely a misunderstanding, and most of the fault lay with Mei Cheng and Kou Cai. Second, Mei Cheng was a meritorious official, and although he made mistakes, he should be buried with honor. Third, Mei Qian did nothing wrong and was acting for the public good, so he should be rewarded. After making these arrangements, he lightly let the matter go. Thus, this fulfilling night was completely turned over, and Mei Cheng became one of the martyrs in the history of Liu Bei’s army’s campaigns. Compared to the original fate of being killed for rebelling, he was able to get a good reputation. As for how future generations would imagine, that was not something Qin Zhen could control. The next day, he wrote a written report on everything that happened in Lujiang and sent a messenger north to hand it over to Liu Bei. At the same time, he ordered Mei Qian to arrange Mei Cheng's funeral properly and give him a grand burial. By noon, they received good news from Zhao Yun and Lu Su. It was said that Liu Xun's troops had been completely defeated and Liu Xun himself was nowhere to be found. Qin Zhen was naturally very happy about this. In this battle, Lu Su, Zhao Yun and Qin Yi worked together to almost wipe out Liu Xun's army. Among them, more than 4,000 people were beheaded, and more than 15,000 people including the army and navy were captured. Only a thousand people fled and their whereabouts are unknown! The losses on their side were also heavy. Qin Yi and Chen Zhang suffered the greatest losses, with both sides losing nearly two thousand people. The combined losses of Zhao Yun, Lu Su and other troops were around a thousand men. After counting the losses and prisoners, Qin Zhen suddenly discovered that this time when they went south to Lujiang, excluding Chen Ce's troops, there were more than 20,000 prisoners alone. As long as these prisoners are trained, their total strength will exceed 100,000! If Chen Ce's followers were included, there would be more than 100,000 people. Not to mention hundreds of thousands, even if it is an army of one hundred thousand, no matter where it is placed, it is a powerful force. Now, only one year has passed since Liu Bei began living in Pei County. Qin Zhen was naturally quite satisfied with this achievement, and directly sent a letter of commendation to Zhao Yun and others. At the same time, he asked Zhou Tiao and others to go to Juchao, Shuxian, Linhu, Longshu and other places to persuade them to surrender.

Once these counties surrender, his battle to capture Lujiang will be completely over. But there is still one thing that Qin Zhen still has doubts about. Where on earth did Liu Xun go? According to the original story, after Liu Xun's home was stolen, he went to Pengze and contacted Liu Biao to attack Sun Ce together. As a result, Liu Biao's navy was counterattacked by Sun Ce, making Sun Ce the overlord of the southeast. Later, when Liu Xun was defeated, Ren Jiu did not die, but went all the way north to join Cao. It was not until Cao Cao was proclaimed Duke that he was impeached and dismissed from office and executed. This ending can't be considered a good end, but it can be considered a long life. But now that Liu Xun has been defeated, he seems to have disappeared. Something is really wrong! Could it be that he went south to join Sun Ce? While he was thinking, someone came and gave him the answer. This person is Taishi Xiang. Qin Zhen didn't know much about Taishi Xiang. All we know is that after Taishi Ci died in the 11th year of Jian'an, his son Taishi Xiang continued to assist Sun Quan. He served in the posts of Shangshu, Taishou of Wujun, and finally Cavalry Captain of Yue. His resume is not impressive, but he does have some skills. After all, there are only a few places in Jiangdong, and although Taishi Ci has a lot of experience, his background is not strong. After Taishi Ci's death, Taishi Xiang was still appointed to the powerful position of prefect of Wujun, which shows that he had certain abilities and was deeply trusted by Sun Quan. Therefore, when he heard that Taishi Ci asked Taishi Xiang to come and see him, he summoned the young man in person. After Taishi Xiang took the initiative to request to go north that day, he crossed the river directly. But after crossing the river, he remembered one thing: he didn't know where Qin Zhen was! So he asked around, and only when he arrived in front of Wan County did he learn that Wan County had been conquered by Qin Zhen. Then he came to the mansion, gave his name and asked to see Qin Zhen. Originally, he was a little nervous about meeting Qin Zhen, the world-renowned military strategist. But when he actually met Qin Zhen, he found that this military advisor was much kinder than he had imagined. As soon as they met, Qin Zhen started to ask about his well-being and whether he had eaten. After knowing that he had not eaten yet, he personally asked someone to prepare some food and send it to him. Taishi Xiang was flattered by this and said hurriedly: "Military Advisor, there is no need to do this. I am here for business!" After saying that, he took out a square box from behind him. As soon as he opened his mouth, Qin Zhen looked at the box in his hand and smiled: "Could it be that you came to send me something from Liu Xun?" In fact, when he saw Taishi Xiang, he guessed that Liu Xun was most likely killed by Taishi Ci! The box probably contains Liu Xun's head.

But this was not good news for him. Because Liu Xun was good at nurturing talents and was popular in Lujiang, he was not like Ji Ling who could be killed at will. Now that An County has been initially settled, it is good that there is no news about Liu Xun. If Liu Xun's former subordinates knew that Liu Xun was killed and his head was chopped off and sent to them, who knows what would happen! Therefore, not only could Liu Xun's head not be seen by anyone, even the news of Liu Xun's death could not be spread. So even if he judged that the head inside was Liu Xun's, Qin Zhen would just jokingly call it Liu Xun's thing. Then he turned to Taishi Xiang with a kind look: "It is fate that Ziyi was able to obtain this item, which is of course a great achievement. However, Lujiang has just been settled, so this item should not be shown to others." "I have to see you tomorrow to discuss how to deal with you!" When Taishi Xiang heard this, he looked surprised and thought to himself, I haven't even said anything yet, and this military advisor already knows it? He was young and fearful that Qin Zhen would misunderstand him, so he asked curiously: "The military advisor hasn't even seen what's in the box, so how can you know what it is?" Qin Zhen saw this, smiled slightly, pointed at his head and said: "I asked Ziyi to defend Chungu and cut off Liu Xun's way back. What else could Ziyi have sent me except this?" After pointing like this, he asked with a smile: "I don't know yet, do you have a given name?" Although in the Han Dynasty people usually gave their courtesy names at the age of twenty or thirty-three, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, many people gave their courtesy names at the age of fourteen or fifteen. Naturally, Taishi Xiang was amazed by his performance, and thought that this military advisor was indeed an extraordinary person. His words and actions were quite dignified, yet somewhat humorous. When he saw him asking for his courtesy name, he hurriedly said: "The boy Yuefang just gave his name Yuanfu!" Qin Zhen couldn't help but laugh when he saw this: "It is a good word. Yuan means the beginning, and Fu means return. The Book of History says: 'Enjoy the favor of heaven and receive the clear mandate of heaven'" "You can understand that your father wants you to keep your original aspiration and learn more about the Dharma!" Taishi Xiang listened and thought to himself that this gentleman was very knowledgeable. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Qin Zhen's smile fade and he said: "It's Yuan Fu who is here. Why don't you tell me about the news in Jiangdong?" When Taishi Xiang saw this, he couldn't help but say something strange: "But I don't know what the military advisor wants to ask me about Jiangdong?" "It's mainly Sun Ce's movements!" Qin Zhen said to Taishi Xiang seriously: "During this period, due to the current chaos, Sun Ce's blockade was extremely tight, and our army did not have time to send spies south, resulting in a lot of information being blocked!" "Since Ziyi is in Danyang, he must know Sun Ce's movements. Tell me everything!" Also, Liu Bei had no intelligence agency under his command, so he didn't know much about the situation in Jiangdong. Now that we have finally caught someone from the south, we naturally have to ask for information from Jiangdong! When Taishi Xiang heard this, he immediately told him everything he knew. But when he said this, Qin Zhen was shocked! (End of this chapter)