After listening to Yan Yu's careful introduction, Zhang Zhi realized that Chang Xu, who brought Tian Ke to join the army on his own initiative, was completely different from his cousin Chang Ji, who was a little sorry for his character. Not only was his character several times stronger, he was also a loyal minister of Shu Han who was absolutely inferior to Huo Yi, Luo Xian and others in terms of loyalty.

Chang Xu's most dazzling performance before was to defend Zhang Zhi's hometown Luocheng. After Zhuge Zhan and his son died in Mianzhu, Deng Zaba's army marched forward under the leadership of the party. The officials of Shu Han around Chengdu either surrendered or abandoned their posts and fled. Even Yan Yu, the right general of Shu Han, fled back to Chengdu. Only Chang Xu, who was the county magistrate of Luocheng at that time, neither ran nor surrendered. He chose to lead the soldiers and civilians of Luocheng, including Zhang Zhi's father Zhang Rong, to defend the city. He miraculously blocked Deng Zaba's several days and gave Chengdu the opportunity to send troops to rescue Luocheng.

Unfortunately, due to Qiao Banxian's instigation, Liu Chan did not send reinforcements to Luocheng. Instead, he sent an envoy to Luocheng to ask Deng Zaba for surrender. At the same time, he issued an edict to order Chang Xu to open the city to surrender. Chang Xu had no choice but to accept the order. Then Chang Xu flatly refused Deng Zaba's recruitment and led his wife and children back to his hometown in Jiangyuan to live in seclusion. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Chang Xu is definitely one of the last loyal ministers of Shu Han.

It was precisely because of these situations that Zhang Zhi put down his airs and walked out of the hall to welcome Chang Xu's arrival. Chang Xu, who was about 40 years old, was very direct. As soon as he saw Zhang Zhi, he leaned down and said loudly: "Chang Xu, the former magistrate of Luocheng County, has seen the Han Dynasty and the Old General Yan. The old official is not talented. He asked to follow the general to raise an army to restore the country, rebuild the Han Dynasty, and to beg the back of the horse, and to serve the work of dogs and horses, and beg the latter general to take care of it!"

Chang Xu's frank attitude inevitably made Zhang Zhi's favor for him a little more. After personally supporting Chang Xu, Zhang Zhi said happily: "Thank you, Chang Ming Court, for returning to the Han Dynasty. This feat of the Ming court is comparable to the Marquis of Shouting when he was the late emperor, and the right chariot (Liao Hua) returned to the Han Dynasty for thousands of miles, which added a good story to our Yan Han."

"The Later General was too ridiculous. How could Xu compare with the two ancestors?" Chang Xu said humbly, "In addition, the old official must apologize to the Later General. The old official's companion (cousin) Chang Ji Chang was greedy for wealth and honor, and even betrayed the Later General's father Zhang Jincao. He almost made the Later General's father and brother fall into the hands of the thief army. He sneaked south and encouraged the Nanzhong Da surname to rebel against the Han and surrender the thief. He deserved to die. As the old official, as the subordinate, failed to stop the subordinate from doing anything wrong, and the same crime was unforgivable."

"Chang Mingting said that it was what your fellow disciple did. What does it have to do with you?" Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "Also, none of the things your fellow disciple did were done, and this general did not kill him because of this, of course, it would not involve you in Chang Mingting."

After saying that, Zhang Zhi quickly invited Chang Xu to the hall to sit in the hall and hold a banquet to welcome Chang Xu. Chang Xu had a good appearance, was not surprised by favor, and every move was as usual, and his words were even more deliberate, which made Zhang Zhi's impression of him even better. In addition, Chang Xu was the first old official from Shu Han to come to Chengdu from other places to join the Han army, so Zhang Zhi was rarely generous and appointed Chang Xu as the prefect of Guanghan, preparing to let Chang Xu return to his hometown Luocheng after restoring Luocheng.

Chang Xu was still calm and accepted Zhang Zhi's enthronement after a few words. Zhang Zhi also asked about Chang Xu's experience of leading Tian Ke to Chengdu to join the army. Chang Xu replied truthfully: "Reporting to the post-General, the lower officials immediately had the idea of ​​returning to the Han Dynasty after hearing the news of the Han army's restoration of Chengdu. Fortunately, the old mother, wife and children of Xiaguan supported Xiaguan's decision very much, so Xiaguan persuaded some of his own Tian Ke to come and join the army, and set out from Jiangyuan this morning."

"Thank you, thank you." Zhang Zhi smiled and nodded, and asked curiously: "Mr. Xiuye, ask more questions. Do you know that your father, Old Master Chang, have you led your family to join the army and return to Han?"

"I know." Chang Xu answered truthfully, saying: "When the Xiaguan decided to return to the Han Dynasty, he also reported this situation to his father. In addition, the Tianke brought by Xiaguan in Jiangyuan, some of the people who were hired farmers from his father's family."

"What is the attitude of Prefect Chang? Do you support it?" Zhang Zhi asked with concern.

"He did not make any statement." Chang Xu continued to answer truthfully, saying, "He just said that Xiaguan was in his forties and did not need to ask for his consent to do anything. Let Xiaguan make his own decisions. When Xiaguan set off from Jiangyuan this morning, Chenggong just asked someone to bring a message and asked Xiaguan to inquire about Jidi's situation."

Zhang Zhi nodded, knowing that Chang Hong was deliberately not making a statement and was trying to wait and see. At the same time, he also used Chang Xu, who asked himself to return to the Han Dynasty, to be a way to test his attitude towards the Chang family of Jiangyuan. Chang Xu volunteered and took the initiative to say: "Last General, if you intend to contact the lower-ranking father, the lower-ranking father is willing to join forces, the lower-ranking father will write to him to report to his brother Ji's current situation, and also persuaded the lower-ranking father to come to Chengdu to visit the lower-ranking general."

"No hurry." Zhang Zhi replied with a smile: "It's getting late, and I'm working hard for a long time. It's better to take a day or two. It's not too late to bother Mr. to start writing."

"It's okay." No one is perfect. Maybe because of his a little anxious personality, Chang Xu insisted: "Jiangyuan is only seventy miles away from Chengdu. After passing the waters, it's a flat road. The officials are not hard at all. Let the officials make a book for the Later General now."

Zhang Zhi originally wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his mouth, Zhang Zhi suddenly felt aroused and asked, "Mr. Xiuye, what did you say just now? Please say it again."

Chang Xu was a little confused, but he still said: "The Later General, the lower official said it was okay. Jiangyuan was only seventy miles away from Chengdu, and after passing the water, it was a flat road, so it was not hard to do anything. You can write to your confidant immediately."

Zhang Zhi blinked his eyes and quickly smiled, "Oh, so that's it. Since this is Mr. Xiuye's kindness, then I will work hard to make a book immediately. This general will send someone to send the letter to Jiangyuan tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Zhang Zhi really asked someone to bring a silk pen immediately. Chang Xu also made a letter and immediately wrote a letter to his uncle Chang Hong, the head of the Chang family, to let him know that Zhang Zhi did not kill his son Chang Ji, and persuaded Chang Hong to come to Chengdu to visit Zhang Zhi as soon as possible. Zhang Zhi thanked him with a smile, and talked with Chang Xu for a long time, and then he asked someone to invite Chang Xu to the guest room to rest.

During this period, Yan Yu, who was good at dealing with the aristocratic family, was always with him. After Chang Xu was invited away by Zhang Zhi's personal soldiers, Yan Yu said in disappointment: "It's a pity that if this Chang Xu was sent directly by Chang Hong. In the current situation, this Chang Xu should be the wayfinding stone sent by Chang Hong's old fox, who wanted to find out our attitude towards the Chang family before making a decision. And in terms of the situation, it is very unlikely to fall decisively towards us."

"This is not important, what is important is another point." Zhang Zhi shook his head and said, "Gen. Yan, have you noticed that we have ignored the threats from the Jiangyuan Chang family to us too much?"

"Ignore the threat of the Chang family?" Yan Yu said in a daze, "What threat does the Chang family have to us? Even if his family must be hidden in many hidden households, they can quickly form thousands of private soldiers in a short period of time, but how much threat can private soldiers like this kind of aristocratic families pose to us?"

"But what if the Jiangyuan Chang family and the Jin thieves joined forces?" Zhang Zhi asked back, and said, "What Chang Xu said just now accidentally reminded me that Jiangyuan is too close to Chengdu, only a mere 70-mile road, and all are flat roads. If Sima Wang and the Jin thief army who came back from Nanzhong were stationed there, it would become a sharp knife on our back. Once we dispatched our main force to restore the fallen cities in other directions, he would take advantage of the opportunity to go in and directly attack Chengdu and raid our only rear in Yizhou!"

Yan Yu's face changed slightly, and he nodded quickly and admitted that there was this danger. Zhang Zhize said: "There is a more important point. When I passed by Jiangyuan that day, I observed the terrain of Jiangyuan. There were water protection in the north and east of Jiangyuan. In the south, Baozi Mountain could not launch an attack. Only the west could be attacked. It was definitely a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack on the Chengdu Plain. If the Jin thief army was stationed there, and the Chang family's money and food support was supported, we had no second choice except to launch and pull out this nail."

"With this possibility, the terrain of Jiangyuan is indeed conducive to long-term persistence. The Chang family is also a top tyrant in Yizhou. They have a great savings of money and grain, and can afford the Jin thief army!" Yan Yu nodded quickly and asked again: "Hou General, what are you going to do?"

Zhang Zhi did not rush to answer. After thinking for a while, Zhang Zhi looked very similar to Zhuge Liang's eyes, and gradually turned into mung bean triangle eyes, shooting out two vicious green lights...

…………

The transportation between Chengdu and Jiangyuan was indeed very convenient. Zhang Zhi sent a fast horse to deliver Chang Xu's letter the next morning. At noon the next day, the Han army messenger had already delivered the letter to the Chang'an Manor outside Jiangyuan City and presented it to the former prefect of Shu Han and Hanzhong, and the current head of the Chang'an family.

The Han army messenger not only brought a letter written by Chang Xu to Chang Hong, but also a letter written by Xue Rang to Zhang Zhi. In the letter to Chang Hong, Zhang Zhi also greeted Chang Hong as a junior, clearly told Chang Hong that he would never care about Chang Hong's son Chang Ji betray his father and brothers' past. He also expressed his sincere apology for being unable to visit Chang Hong in Jiangyuan because of official business, and then he invited Chang Hong to visit Chengdu in person in his spare time to discuss the urgent need for restoration of the country with him.

After reading Zhang Zhi's letter with a respectful tone repeatedly, Chang Hong breathed a sigh of relief quietly, and then asked his servants to invite the Han army messenger to rest, and ordered good wine, food and good hospitality, waiting for his reply to Zhang Zhi, and asked the Han army messenger to take it back casually. As a result, the Han army messenger had just left, Chang Hong's second son, who had quietly run back from Chengdu a few days ago, quickly asked: "Father, what do you think?"

"It should be your fellow servant who helped us a lot." Chang Hong said with a smile: "Seeing your fellow servant who took the initiative to ask the thief army to hire, Zhang Zhi's son really relaxed his vigilance against our Chang family. Not only did he not show any hostility to us, but he also invited his father to Chengdu to meet him. It seems that this little man is planning to fully support our Chang family's support."

"Father, what should we do next?" Chang Wei asked again quickly.

"I'm just talking about the snake, keep this little man stable." Chang Hong replied calmly: "Count the journey, the old governor's army will be able to return to Jiangyuan City tomorrow afternoon at the latest, so we only need to keep this little man stable for a day to rest assured."

Chang Wei nodded to express his understanding and asked again: "Father, what should I do if that fourth brother Chang Ji? Since he is not dead, we chose to continue to rely on the Great Jin court and help the Great Jin army gain a foothold in Jiangyuan. Zhang Zhi'er will definitely not let him go?"

"Is your fourth brother important, or is the life of the entire Chang family in our Jiangyuan Chang family important?" Chang Hong asked back, and said, "Besides, Zhang Zhi's son may not have moved your fourth brother. Now the road from Yizhou to Nanzhong is controlled by the Dajin army. He is not as good as climbing to the sky if he wants to send letters to Nanzhong. As long as we can wait for the subsequent army of the Dajin court to go south to suppress the rebellion, we still have great hope of saving your fourth brother. But if our Chang family stands in the wrong team, the rear army of the Dajin court will go south in the future, and the entire Chang family will not be able to escape."

Chang Wei nodded and said nothing. Then Chang Hong also wrote a reply to Zhang Zhi. He expressed his gratitude to Zhang Zhi even more respectfully, thanking Zhang Zhi for not remembering the villain's mistakes and not killing his fourth son. He said that he would go north to Chengdu as soon as possible to kowtow to Zhang Zhi, and then prepare a very exquisite gift, and handed it to the Han army messenger together with the reply, asking the Han army messenger to take it back and present it to Zhang Zhi.

It was also coincidental that not long after he sent Zhang Zhi's messenger away, the second envoy sent by Wang quickly arrived in Jiangyuan and contacted Chang Hong. He asked the Chang family for help and learned about the latest developments of the Han army. Chang Hong did not dare to neglect it and quickly reported truthfully that the Han army had been resting and expanding its troops in Chengdu, and did not rush to expand outward. At the same time, he also took the initiative to hand over the letter written by Zhang Zhi to himself, so that Wang Wang knew that Zhang Zhi had been temporarily stabilized by him. Please Wang Wang quickly lead the army north and come to Jiangyuan as soon as possible to meet with the private soldiers of the Chang family who had already made secret preparations for war.

Understanding these situations, the envoys of the Jin army did not dare to be negligent, so they quickly returned to their horses and returned home. They were also very smooth. When the day was just dark, they met the Jin army team who was resting and having dinner in the suburbs of Linqiong. They saw Sima Wang who led his army back. After listening to the Chang family report conveyed by the messenger, they read the letter of enlistment written by Zhang Zhi to Chang Hong. Sima Wang did not even blink his eyelids and immediately ordered: "Stay for an hour, hurry up and build torches, and then go north overnight. You must arrive in Jiangyuan tomorrow morning!"

"Old Governor, there is no need to march overnight, right?" Wang Hun said: "Our army came from afar, and the soldiers were already very tired. If they continued to march overnight, they would not have much strength to fight when they arrived in Jiangyuan."

"Soldiers are very fast, so you must march overnight." Sima Wang said calmly: "Jiangyuan is too close to Chengdu, and the transportation is extremely convenient. If we rest and leave overnight, we will have to arrive in Jiangyuan at least in the afternoon tomorrow. Then there will be no time to reach Jiangyuan in deep ditches and high bases and build a solid camp. Only by marching overnight and striving to arrive in Jiangyuan tomorrow morning will we have two days to build camps and prepare to welcome the attack of the thieves. Otherwise, once the wind is revealed during the period, it will give Zhang Zhi time to respond in advance, and we may be forced to fight the morning afterwards."

Wang Hun nodded, but Hu Lie next to him had another layer of worry, and couldn't help but remind him: "Old Governor, is the Chang family of Jiangyuan reliable? The last general has heard that Chang Hong, the current head of the Chang family, once served as the prefect of Hanzhong who was a Shu people, was one of the important officials of the Shu court. Now Zhang Zhi's thief army has seized Chengdu under the banner of pseudo-Han. If Chang Hong misses his homeland and secretly colludes with Zhang Zhi's son, he tricks us to Jiangyuan while letting the thief army attack us with leisure in Jiangyuan, then we will be in great trouble."

Wang Lao laughed and said, "Don't worry, Xuanwu, I know this Chang Hong very well. It is true that he was the prefect of Hanzhong who was a Shu person. However, the reason why the Shu court valued him was not because of his talent, but because his family was too powerful, the Shu court had to please him and grant him a high position to provide for other Shu families. Moreover, during his tenure as the prefect of Hanzhong, the real power of Hanzhong was always controlled by Jiang Wei himself. He was always full of resentment about this and had no loyalty to the Shu court."

"There is more important point. Chang Hong is close friends with Qiao Zhou. His sons are all direct disciples taught by Qiao Zhou himself."

Sima Wang smiled and added, "When Qiao Zhou wrote the "On the Country of Enemy" to disperse the hearts of the Shu people, Chang Hong led a group of Shu families to spread and promote it desperately, instigating the officials, soldiers and civilians of Shu people to give up the Northern Expedition and recognize the huge gap between Shu and the Central Plains. After Emperor Wen raised troops to destroy Shu, he also represented the Jiangyuan Chang family to welcome the Central Plains army to enter Shu first. He was the most determined surrender among the Shu people. In addition, he had to consider his family, so he would turn to the Zhang Zhi thief army who went against the will of heaven unless he was stupid."

Believing that Sima Wang's ability to recognize people, Hu Lie nodded and no longer worried. Sima Wang said loudly: "Hurry up and send orders to build torches immediately. The more numerous the better, prepare more drums and gongs to prevent our soldiers from falling apart. The soldiers who told us said that after they arrived in Jiangyuan, they rewarded the three armies. If they wanted to drink and eat meat, they would speed up the speed for me."

In this way, in order not to give the Han army time to respond and to build a strong camp, when the soldiers were quite tired, I still started the forced marching mode. Fortunately, the Shi Family system restrained the soldiers of the Jin army very effectively. In addition to the temptation of wine and meat rewards, the soldiers of the Jin army forced themselves up and marched overnight with countless torches, like a swimming fire dragon, constantly rushing north in the middle of the night.
Chapter completed!