The next morning, before the sun had even risen.
They got up early again and rushed to Pan Feng's place as promised. They gathered everything together and prepared to return.
In front of Jia Cong, Pan Feng was more polite to Liu Bei.
But in the military camp, everything was up to him. He had no intention of asking Liu Bei for directions.
Pan Feng immediately instructed,
"County Officer Liu, you and my cavalry will lead five hundred cavalry to open the way.”
"I will lead 1,500 infantry to follow.”
"We must reach Lunu in five days!"
"I will lead the infantry to take a section of the Zhangshui waterway. If we are a little slower, we will arrive a day or two later than you.”
"I will obey the commandant's orders." Liu Bei didn't want to argue with Pan Feng and accepted the order.
Pan Feng was in the midst of making arrangements. Soon, a cavalry officer entered the tent.
Pan Feng pointed at the introduction."
"This is the commander of the other division of the prefecture, Zhang He. You guys follow him first.”
Li Tian observed from the side.
The current Zhang He should be one or two years younger than Liu Bei and Guan Yu, and slightly older than Zhang Fei.
Being able to become the commander of another division at the age of 25 was already not bad.
Then, the group of them set off.
Zhang He led 500 cavalrymen and Liu Bei's group of 16 people, returning to the south along the same route that Liu Bei had taken.
Along the way, Li Tian was filled with emotions.
Liu Bei's starting point was really low.
Now, not only was Pan Feng's official rank higher than his,
Even Zhang He was taller than him!
Zhang He was quite serious along the way, but he only relaxed after crossing the Hutuo River.
"It seems that Zhang Chun hasn't shown any disloyalty to enter Zhongshan Prefecture so easily. County Officer Liu, I'll see how you explain yourself.”
...
Zhongshan County is located in Lunu County, in the prefect's mansion.
Zhang Chun finally received a message that made him uneasy.
One morning, his subordinate, Xu Yi, came to report,"
"Official, according to the reports from Anxi County and Weichang County, Zhang Shan was patrolling the three counties in the south of the prefecture, but he suddenly disappeared!”
"He arrived at Anxi County four days ago and has been refusing to see any visitors ever since!”
"Later, even County Magistrate An Xi Pang was surprised and forcefully went to the posthouse to check. Only then did he know that Zhang Shan had disappeared.”
When Zhang Chun heard this, his left eye twitched and an ominous feeling rose in his heart.
"Have you found out the reason?"
Xu Yi replied,"
"I don't know the details, but the biggest suspect is Anxi County Lieutenant Liu Bei!”
"The next day after Zhang Shan pleaded illness, Liu Bei left Anxi and did not return for four days.”
"It is very likely that Liu Bei used the excuse of paying respects and escaped.”
"Perhaps Zhang Shan had a conflict with him and was secretly harmed by him. Then, Liu Bei used an excuse to escape.”
Zhang Chun couldn't sit still anymore.
He straightened up from the table and stood up with his knees straight. His hand subconsciously touched the hilt of his sword.
A person who was in the middle of a rebellion was extremely nervous.
The slightest movement would make him sensitive.
In history, he would only raise his army after two to three months.
Of course, the preparation work at the moment was very inadequate.
However, he might not be able to wait that long!
He paced back and forth for a while and immediately ordered,"
"Have Commandant Wang immediately patrol the counties in the north of the prefecture!”
"Using the excuse of guarding against the Black Mountain Bandits, gather the troops of the county officers!”
"Screen it once, just in case!"
"In addition, gather the soldiers patrolling along the Hutuo River and gather them in Tang County!”
"Also, get Yan Rou here immediately!”
I want him to contact Wuhuan Nanqiao King in advance and prepare to receive him!”
Xu Yi quickly agreed.
"Yes, sir! I will do it immediately."
……
There were two sides to the story.
Three days later, on the 9th of February.
North bank of Hutuo River, Wuji County.
Zhang He, Liu Bei, and 500 cavalrymen stopped here for a while.
This was the first county town they passed after entering Zhongshan Prefecture.
Because Zhang He and Pan Feng had received orders from Jia Cong.
He wanted to test if Zhang Chun had any disloyalty.
Therefore, after entering Zhongshan, he had to make a secret investigation first.
"Zhang Sima has come from afar and is tired. I wonder if you have any important matters. We will definitely cooperate.”
County Magistrate Wang was not Zhang Chun's confidant, so he did not know anything. He was very polite to Zhang He and Liu Bei.
Seeing this, Zhang He became even more suspicious of Liu Bei.
Zhang He asked indirectly,"
"Recently, have there been any strange movements or movements of soldiers in this county or the surrounding counties?”
County Magistrate Wang was stunned. He thought for a moment and said,
"The patrolling troops along the Hutuo River have withdrawn in the past two days.”
"Lord Prefect originally said that he wanted to guard against the Black Mountain Thieves from Chang Mountain.”
"But recently, I heard that the Wuhuan people are active in the north near the border of Youzhou.”
"That's why we withdrew our troops from Black Mountain to defend against the Wuhuan.”
After hearing this news.
Zhang He hesitated again.
Liu Bei and Li Tian heard this conversation and knew that Zhang He was doubting the authenticity of the report.
Li Tian had an idea and asked,"
"Brother Zhen, do you remember me and County Lieutenant Liu?”
"Seven days ago, we came to pay our respects to your father.”
Zhen Yan then noticed Li Tian standing behind Zhang He and quickly returned the greeting,"
"Of course I remember. What do you need, Brother Li?”
Li Tian: " In the past few days, did Lord Zhang send anyone to Wuji to inquire about County Lieutenant Liu's movements?" Did you ask in detail?"
Zhang He listened on the side and didn't know what was going on, so he just watched quietly.
Zhen Yan quickly glanced at the others and answered truthfully,"
"The day before yesterday, Xu Yi came over and specifically asked about County Lieutenant Liu's whereabouts.”
"Oh, he also said…he also said that County Lieutenant Liu might have fled to avoid punishment.”
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