In the Pei Country's territory of Yuzhou, Zhang Mu brought Guo Jia to meet Cao Bin and his two brothers, Zhou Ang and Zhou Yu.
Zhang Mu's attitude was very friendly, matching the image of a 'beautiful jade gongzi' in the hearts of Cao Bin and the other two, but it didn't match what Cao Bin had been thinking these few days.
In his view, Zhang Mu had "put in a lot of effort" to Pei County, and "coincidentally" chased away the Yellow Turbans, and also obtained the hearts of the people and military power of Pei County. He even used the imperial edict to rise to power and killed Li Ye, this "chicken", to warn them. His scheme was definitely not small.
Why was he so friendly?
However, as time passed, Zhang Mu was very polite and addressed him as "Lord Prime Minister". He had no intention of seizing power.
What was going on?
Could it be that he knew the purpose of Zhou Ang and Zhou Yu's visit, and knew that they were the General of Cheji and the Governor of Jizhou, Yuan Shao, so he was afraid?
However, he didn't even tell Xia Houjie about Zhou Ang and Zhou Yu's arrival. He immediately brought people to the Provincial Governor's Estate to take back his authority, so how would Zhang Mu know?
Cao Bin had a belly full of questions, but he couldn't ask them until Zhang Mu asked him,""Lord Minister, have you settled the Cao family's matters and are free to take care of state affairs?”
"What?" Cao Bin was full of doubts, but he couldn't figure out Zhang Mu's intentions for a moment, so he could only reply,""I have to thank Ziyu for this. The Yellow Turban bandits are fierce, and many of my Cao family's people have died.”
"As expected!" Zhang Mu had an expression that said," I already knew this was going to happen.""Then the Prime Minister will have to worry about the state affairs next, right?”
"These few days, this county captain is exhausted.”
Zhang Mu's words didn't have the slightest intention of touching Pei Country.
This completely stunned Cao Bin.
Zhou Ang and Zhou Yu immediately looked at Cao Bin, their eyes saying,""This seems different from what you said?”
Cao Bin felt awkward, but he couldn't show it. He regretted bringing the Zhou brothers here, but he could only brace himself and say,""That's natural. I still have to thank Ziyu.”
"This matter has also made me realize that Pei Country lacks powerful generals. I wonder if Ziyu is interested in the position of commandant?”
Since he could not see through Zhang Mu, Cao Bin could only take the initiative to attack.
A commandant was the head of the military in a prefecture. He was the same as a fourth-grade general or lieutenant. Zhang Mu was originally only a county captain of Feng County (county magistrate), but he had been promoted more than four levels.
Originally, he, Liu Guang, and the others had planned to use the position of commandant to trade for Zhang Mu's money and grain. However, after learning that the latter had used the imperial edict to make it legitimate, they realized that he was ambitious. He might not be satisfied with the position of commandant, and it was impossible for him to return the money and grain.
But who knew that it would be so easy to talk to him now?
Then he would use his position as a commandant to probe.
If Zhang Mu was really ambitious, he would be exposed. If he wasn't, he might be able to try to get his money back.
"Minister, you think too highly of Ziyu. Let's not talk about this matter for now.”Zhang Mu didn't continue Cao Bin's topic and changed the topic,""Mayor Zhou isn't in Jiujiang, so why are you here?”
When they were introducing each other, Cao Bin had mentioned that Zhou Ang was the prefect of Jiujiang.
Seeing that Zhang Mu had changed the topic to him, Zhou Ang did not panic at all and said,"This official is highly regarded by the Cheji General and has already reported to the Imperial Court to appoint me as the governor of Yuzhou.”
The position of a provincial governor was actually nothing. It was more of a prosecutor's power and could not even compare to a prefect. However, a few years ago, when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Liu Hong, was still around, he heard Liu Yan's advice to restore the state shepherd system. This state shepherd could manage a state and control the military and political affairs at the same time. He was definitely a major official in the border.
The next step up was the Prefecture Overseer, so his status was raised.
"The governor of Yuzhou?"
Zhang Mu was stunned for a moment and pretended to be puzzled."If I remember correctly, shouldn't the governor of Yuzhou be Marquis Wu Cheng? I heard that it was the General who personally submitted the memorial. Why?"
Speaking up to this point, Zhang Mu's expression changed again and again. He said in a deep voice,"It seems like the rumors are true. General Che Ji and General Hou are not on good terms?”
"Ziyu, you are a smart person!" Zhou Ang did not deny anything. He stroked his beard and smiled."General Cheji is the alliance leader of the alliance army that attacked Dong. Now, he has become the lord of Jizhou. His advisors and generals are like rain. Gongsun Zan of Youzhou is not a threat. Yanzhou and Qingzhou are also not a problem.”
"And Yuan Shu is determined to fight for the Si Li territory with the traitor Dong. He is also eyeing Yanzhou, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou like a tiger eyeing its prey.”
"Why not serve General Che Ji?"
It was unknown if it was Zhang Mu who was acting too much, or if he was too confident in Yuan Shao, but Zhou Ang actually directly recruited Zhang Mu for Yuan Shao.
"To serve General Cheji!"
Zhang Mu hesitated.
Seeing this, Zhou Yu couldn't hold back and asked,""Ziyu, why are you hesitating? Who else in the world was more wise than the Cheji General?”
"This…" Zhang Mu sighed and pretended to be helpless,""I won't hide it anymore. Half a month ago, I received a letter from General Yuan Shu, who wanted to recruit me as the Prime Minister of Pei Country!”
"What?!" Zhou Ang and the other two were shocked.
A flash of lightning flashed across Cao Bin's mind as he exclaimed,""Could it be that it was Yuan Shu's idea for you to bring troops to Qiao County?”
"Not bad!" Zhang Mu nodded and said," The General sent a letter saying that the Governor of Dongjun, Cao Cao, did not listen to his edict and rebelled against the traitor Dong. He even let his clansmen steal the seal of the Governor of Yuzhou and took the position of Prime Minister of Pei. He asked me to lead the army to eliminate the traitor.”
"Hiss!" Cao Bin and the other two were shocked.
Yuan Shu actually attacked so quickly?
So, this was the reason why Zhang Mu 'coincidentally' led troops near Qiao County?
Cao Bin felt that he had found the answer, but he was still a little puzzled, so he asked,"Then why are you so polite to the three of us now?”
From Zhang Mu's words, it wasn't hard to tell that he had originally planned to get close to Yuan Shu, so he should have dealt with the Cao Family long ago, let alone Zhou Ang and Zhou Yu.
This did not match his current performance.
"Hai." Zhang Mu sighed and said with a bitter smile,"Because I found out that Liu Pi and Gong Du were sent by the general!”
The three of them were shocked once again.
The Yellow Turban thief was actually sent by Yuan Shu?
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