Chapter 363: Three parties conspire, the game begins In the novel, Zhang Song and Pang Tong can be said to be the two ugliest men, but Pang Tong is not actually ugly, only Zhang Song is really ugly. He is short and frail, dissolute and has no moral integrity. He is often looked down upon by others. If he had not come from a prominent family, it would have been almost impossible for him to hold a high position. Because of this, Zhang Song has been very concerned about the way others treat him since he was a child. He had already prepared himself mentally to be ignored by Liu Bei's men because of his appearance. But unexpectedly, Liu Bei not only did not despise him, but instead took his arrival very seriously. Even Zhang Fei was sent to entertain him, which was obviously not the treatment he expected. So after getting off the boat, he asked Zhang Fei again, just as he had asked Gan Ning: "I am just a humble servant, how could Liu Zhengdong treat me so respectfully?" Zhang Fei looked down at Zhang Song, who was less than six feet tall, and he stroked his beard and laughed:

"Mr. Zhang, there is no need to underestimate yourself. I have heard of Mr. Zhang's talent for a long time." "But I never had the chance to see you before. I am very happy to see you here today, so I did this!" "Since you are here, why don't you go into the city first and talk to me. I will send you north tomorrow." Zhang Song was even more surprised to see that he spoke politely. It was said that Zhang Fei was a reckless man, but he didn't expect that he was so polite! If even Zhang Fei was so close to wise men, what would Liu Bei be like? Thinking of this, his doubts were relieved a lot, and he entered the city with Zhang Fei and Gan Ning. After entering the guesthouse, they went through the etiquette and sat down. A wine banquet was served and they drank until late at night before they broke up the banquet and stayed overnight. Until the next day, after breakfast and dinner, the man continued to board the boat and travel along the waterway. This went on for three to five days, with everyone feasting on the boat, which made Zhang Song feel very comfortable. When we arrived outside Xiangyang City, we saw another group of fish waiting quietly on the shore. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Liu Bei who came in person to pick him up, along with Qin Zhen, Liu Ye and others. Seeing Zhang Song arrive, Liu Bei hurriedly dismounted. Zhang Song also dismounted to greet him, and then he heard Liu Bei say: "I have heard of your great reputation for a long time, it is like thunder filling my ears, I regret that I am far away from you and cannot listen to your teachings." "Now that I heard you were going on a mission, I came to meet you. If you don't mind, I will take you to a deserted state to rest for a while." "I would like to express my longing for you. What do you think, sir?" Considering Liu Bei's current status, there was actually no need to treat an envoy with such grand ceremony. It is already a grand courtesy to ask someone to go out to greet you, let alone going out of the city to greet you in person. Zhang Song felt flattered and bowed repeatedly in return, then entered the city with Liu Bei. After entering the city, there was another banquet. While drinking, Liu Bei only asked about the customs in Sichuan and did not ask about other matters. Zhang Song responded one by one, and then when he saw that the time was almost right, he took the initiative to ask: "Now that the General Zhengdong has pacified the prefectures and counties, I wonder how many prefectures and counties he has under his command?" As soon as he asked the question, Qin Zhen, who was standing by, bowed and answered on behalf of Liu Bei: "Now our army has been ordered by the emperor to supervise the affairs of the three states of Yu, Xu and Yang." "It also includes the four states of Qing, Yan, Jiao, and Jing, totaling 42 counties."

"But those places are all vast and sparsely populated, not worth mentioning!" When Zhang Song heard that Liu Bei's army had occupied 42 counties, he nodded secretly in his heart. Although some counties were separated from his command, resulting in a few more counties, the strength of Liu Bei's army was unquestionable. "Although there are many prefectures and counties in the Han Dynasty, the major prefectures are no more than the three prefectures of Jing, Yang, and Yi." "Now Liu Zhengdong has gained half of the country, and his achievements are unmatched in the world!" As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ye, who was sitting opposite Qin Zhen, sighed and said: "Although there is that land, my lord still only wants the position of conquering the east." "On the contrary, Cao, Yuan and other Han traitors are in high positions. This is really unfair!" After hearing what the two said, Liu Bei pretended to be a little upset and said: "Please stop talking, my friends. What virtue do I have that I dare to expect more?" Zhang Song looked at Liu Bei's distressed expression and said: "No, you are a relative of the Han Dynasty, and your kindness and righteousness are everywhere." "Let alone a few official positions, it is not unusual for him to take the throne as the legitimate emperor." Seeing that he was being bewitched into becoming emperor, Liu Bei was immediately shocked and said hurriedly: "Your words are too much. Right now, I just want to bring the emperor back as soon as possible and not let him fall into the hands of the thieves." "As for their affairs, how dare I take charge of them? Please don't say anything more!" Zhang Song was surprised when he saw this and couldn't help but nod again. To be honest, Liu Bei now had the foundation to become emperor. If it were someone else, he would probably have already become arrogant and started preparing to ascend the throne. However, Liu Bei still looked like a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. His composure alone was far beyond that of Liu Zhang! In addition, since Liu Bei is now so respectful to wise men and humble to humble people, it will be just a matter of time for him to conquer the world. If he had presented Yizhou to Liu Bei, he would certainly have been granted the title of marquis in the future. But since Liu Bei's topic now was to welcome back the emperor, he couldn't say anything else, so he could only ask: "Since Lord Xuande intends to welcome the emperor back, and has already deployed his troops in Xiangyang, why not go north to Wuguan to welcome him?" After some probing, the two sides finally got to the point. Liu Bei sighed: "It's easy to say, but it's actually very difficult. Cao's army is strong and his horses are strong, and they are stationed at a strong pass, just like Dong's army." "In the past, many heroes fought against Dong, but they were unable to defeat the thief Dong. Our army is alone and cannot do anything." "Cao the thief only needs to sit and guard the strong pass. Although Bei has troops and horses, it is difficult to welcome the emperor back." Zhang Song frowned when he heard this, and after a long while he said in a deep voice: "It's a pity that there are rice thieves blocking our army in the north, otherwise we should persuade the lord to send troops to help!"

He now understood Liu Bei's thoughts. Although Yizhou was important, it was not as important as the emperor. So if he wants to show goodwill now, he should help Liu Bei persuade Liu Zhang to send troops. But due to the existence of Zhang Lu, even if he went back and made this suggestion, Liu Zhang would most likely not agree. But Qin Zhen was waiting for Zhang Song to say this, so he immediately said, "If you follow Zhang Song's words, and if the rice bandits are eliminated, will your army help us bring back the emperor?" "Of course, you are a relative of the Han Dynasty, so you should help me." Zhang Song answered subconsciously, but as soon as he said it, he realized that something was wrong. "Sir, what do you mean by that? Could it be that your army can help our army get rid of the rice thieves?" As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen looked at Liu Bei with a smile and bowed, saying: "My Lord, it is impolite not to return the favor. Liu Yizhou will send an envoy to present gifts." "How can our army not return the favor? Why not send an army to help Liu Yizhou conquer Hanzhong?" "This way, we can eliminate a threat in Shu and also add strength to our army. Isn't this the best of both worlds?" Liu Bei nodded after hearing this, but then hesitated and said: "Although this is possible, Hanzhong is still under the command of Liu Jiyu. I'm afraid Brother Jiyu may not be willing for our army to send troops!" As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Zhang Song standing beside him and asked for his opinion. Zhang Song raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this, not understanding what Liu Bei meant. Could it be that Liu Bei wanted to give up Yizhou and seize Hanzhong first? But if Liu Bei wanted to seize Hanzhong, he could just send troops directly without seeking Liu Zhang's opinion. After all, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong was a rebel, so Liu Bei didn't need any excuse to attack Zhang Lu. But now Liu Bei intends to seize Hanzhong together with Liu Zhang. In this way, even if Hanzhong is taken, it will have nothing to do with Liu Bei! Was Liu Bei planning to use Hanzhong to break up with Liu Zhang? This was illogical. There were many ways to break up, so there was no need to go through so much trouble. Or was it that Liu Bei was really so kind and just wanted to give Liu Zhang a gift in return? To be honest, Qin Zhen's sudden move left Zhang Song a little confused. He originally came to offer Yizhou, but now he has turned to help Liu Bei persuade Liu Zhang. In this case, regardless of whether Liu Bei wins or not, will he still have a chance to break with Liu Zhang in the future? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hesitate and did not reply to Lao Liu directly. Seeing this, Liu Bei did not force Zhang Song to answer, and simply turned to other topics. From then on, Zhang Song was invited to banquet for several days until Yuan Shao's envoy Cui Yan arrived. Speaking of Cui Yan, he was actually one of the important ministers under Yuan Shao, and was from the Qinghe Cui family. He was an upright, handsome, and elegant man. Historically, he was imprisoned and executed for satirizing Cao Cao. This time he went south on the orders of Yuan Shao to make friends with Liu Bei, but he did not expect that Liu Zhang's envoy was also there. I don’t know if it was Liu Bei’s intention, but the two envoys stayed in the same house. Seeing that Liu Zhang's envoy was also there, Cui Yan took the initiative to visit Zhang Song. After talking with Zhang Song for two days, he learned that Liu Bei intended to join forces with Liu Zhang. After knowing this, Cui Yan couldn't help but think to himself that Liu Bei was now very powerful. If they could persuade the two families to work together, they could launch a surprise attack during the chaos. How could Cao Cao not be defeated?

Hearing that Zhang Song was still hesitating whether to accept the offer, he directly advised Zhang Song: "Now Liu Zhengdong wants to welcome the emperor south, and this is for the public good." "Liu Yizhou is a relative of the Han Dynasty, so he should help the general." "If your army is willing to unite with Liu Zhengdong, our army will also lend a helping hand!" "If the three of us join forces, Cao Cao's demise will be just around the corner!" When Zhang Song heard this, he felt that it was completely contrary to his purpose, but he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree. But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that simply agreeing to it was not a solution. After much thought, he found Qin Zhen and asked Liu Bei indirectly whether he had any intention of seizing Xichuan. When Qin Zhen saw that Zhang Song came to him on his own initiative, he knew that Zhang Song had rebelled in advance. It has been more than ten years since Zhang Song offered Xichuan in history. But unexpectedly, Zhang Song still planned to offer Xichuan to Liu Bei. Seeing that the inertia of history was so strong, he smiled and said to Zhang Song: "I already know your intention to abandon darkness and join light, but now is not the time to mobilize the army!" "Now that the emperor is not here, it would be a violation of justice to mobilize troops without thinking!" "Only by welcoming the emperor first and holding the righteousness in hand can we recover our homeland." "Sir, if you have this intention now, why don't you wait for the day when you can follow the righteousness?" His words had almost made it clear, so how could Zhang Song not understand what he meant? It turns out that Liu Bei was not unwilling to take action against Yizhou, but the time was not right yet. It is necessary to wait until Liu Bei has completely grasped the righteousness before taking action against Liu Zhang. And Qin Zhen's words were hinting to him to follow their military strategy first and then obey orders tomorrow! After hearing Qin Zhen's words, Zhang Song put his heart at ease. The next day, Liu Bei held another banquet, and the man agreed to go back and persuade Liu Zhang to join in the march. Liu Bei was overjoyed when he saw this, and once again ordered that the man and Cui Yan be entertained. After a few days, the envoys from both sides were sent back. Before leaving, Cui Yan felt that he had received a secret report, so he left in a hurry, but Zhang Song was the only one who was reluctant to let him go. Seeing that Liu Bei was personally seeing him off, he simply turned his horse's head and bowed to Liu Bei, saying: "I am not selling out my master for glory. I just have to do this because I see a wise master!" "Although Liu Jiyu was the governor of Yizhou, he was weak by nature and could not appoint talented people;" "In addition, Zhang Lu is in the north and is always thinking of invading. People are divided and want a wise leader." "Now that I have met you, my heart is with you. If you really want to take over Xichuan in the future, I will do my best to help you!"

Seeing his sincerity, Liu Bei was moved and held his hand, saying: "I am not happy to hear these words now, but I am happy to hear Ziqiao's heart. If the day comes, I will definitely repay you generously!" Ziqiao is the courtesy name of Zhang Song, and Yongnian is a mistake in the novel. Hearing Liu Bei's words, Zhang Song almost knelt down and called his lord. But as his followers were watching from a distance, he had no choice but to ride away after completing the ceremony. At this point, the envoys from the two families left one after another, and a big chess game against Cao Cao officially began. (End of this chapter)