Li Shang also guessed a long time ago that it was likely that sending someone to spy on him was likely to be the Hanzhong County Shou Cang Pi, for no other reason, at present, in Hanzhong County, only Cang Pi had the ability and courage to secretly monitor Li Shang, and he was not afraid to bear the consequences of doing so.

This also makes Li Shang even more uncomfortable and frightened, Cang Pi is not only the old man of the young marshal army who has followed Xiang Kang since the beginning of the army, but also the convicted prisoner who was rescued by Xiang Kang from the prison, the whole family has received Xiang Kang's great kindness, Xiang Kang has always been loyal, and now he has been entrusted by Xiang Kang with the important task of guarding Hanzhong County, and he is eager to repay Xiang Kang's great kindness and virtue, it is impossible to act like this for no reason, and now that Cang Pi has done this, it means that there is only one possibility - there has been a rumor leaking!

Of course, Li Shang didn't know that there was a leak there, Li Shang only knew that once the warehouse batch found clues, he would definitely report to Xiang Kang without hesitation, and what kind of consequences would happen when the time came, Li Shang didn't dare to imagine it at all! Under the fear and unrest, Li Shang has nightmares every day, sometimes more than one nightmare a day, and inevitably, more than once wavering thoughts.

"Actually, if I really do that, it will benefit me a lot, at least I don't have to worry about my brother's safety, and after the matter is done, I can also taste the taste of being a king."

The dangerous thought almost shook Li Shang's reason for a while, so that Li Shang couldn't help but want to call a few of his cronies and generals to quietly test their tone. As a result, just when Li Shang hurriedly expelled this plan from his mind, his own soldiers suddenly came to report, saying that Xiang Kang had sent Han Situ Zhang Liang as an envoy to discuss major matters with Li Shang in person. With no one around the king, how could he send a foreign minister to act as a messenger? ”

Strange is strange, Zhang Liang came on behalf of Xiang Kang after all, Li Shang still went out to greet Zhang Liang at the first time, and respectfully invited Zhang Liang to sit in the lobby, Zhang Liang looked at the gorgeous lobby curiously, and said with a smile: "Yes, although it is an old mansion, but this furnishing is of this scale, among the courtiers under the command of King Han, I am afraid that few mansions can catch up." ”

"It turns out that the Marquis of Qin Chenggu is in Nanzheng's other courtyard." Li Shang casually explained: "The great grace of the King of Han personally ordered the reward to be given to the last general. ”

"The king of Han treats his courtiers really well." Zhang Liangyu made a pun and said with a smile: "If I am not mistaken, in addition to this mansion, it seems that the King of Han also gave more than 1,000 households in Xinchengjun, right?" ”

"Two thousand." Li Shang corrected and said casually: "In addition, the king of Han rewarded the last general with a mansion in Xianyang, which is bigger and better than this." ”

Zhang Liang smiled, and suddenly said: "Xin Chengjun, the foreign minister came at the order of the King of Han this time, there is a very important thing to tell you directly, Sima Wei, the king of Henan, sent someone to the King of Han to tell the truth, saying that Xin Chengjun, you sent someone to Pengcheng, and offered to betray the Han State in exchange, asking Emperor Chu Yi and the Overlord of Western Chu to release your brother Mr. Li Shiqi, and canonize you as the king of Hanzhong, and seal the land of Bashu in Hanzhong to you to establish a country. ”

Before Zhang Liang's words were finished, Li Shang had already jumped up, and asked in surprise with a blank face, "Is there such a thing?" ”

"Absolutely." Zhang Liang replied very directly.

"What did King Han say?" Li Shang hurriedly asked.

"What else can King Han say?" Zhang Liang smiled and asked, "How can such a despicable trick of discord be able to deceive the Han King's brilliant eyes?" Of course, the king of Han immediately angrily reprimanded Sima Wei's envoy, clearly pointing out that his words were nothing more than sowing discord and trying to make the Han monarchs and ministers suspicious and cause discord. ”

Li Shang breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhang Liang took the initiative to say: "But Xin Chengjun, you seem to care more about what other people say, right?" Aren't you afraid that others will be jealous of your meritorious status and take the opportunity to slander and slander you in front of the King of Han? ”

Li Shang was indeed very concerned about this, and hurriedly asked, "Zhang Situ, what do other people say?" ”

"King Han gave a gag order and didn't let other people know about it." Zhang Liang replied: "The King of Han is far-reaching, and no one in the world is invincible, knowing that once such a rumor spreads, there will definitely be people who are jealous of Xinchengjun to slander and slander you behind your back, fanning the flames, and some people who don't know the inside story will also spread rumors to confuse his hearing and hearing, so the King of Han simply blocked the news, so as not to give people a chance to take advantage of it." ”

Li Shang breathed a sigh of relief again, and hurriedly said: "Thank you King Han for your love and trust in the last general, please Zhang Situ understand and repay the king of Han, the last general can take the head of the item and the spirit of his parents in the sky and swear, if the last general really does such an unfaithful and unrighteous thing, he will be hit by five thunders, die without a place to be buried, and will not be forgiven by his parents and ancestors after death." ”

"Xin Chengjun doesn't have to do this to make such a poisonous oath." Zhang Liang shook his head and said very directly: "If King Han can't believe you, he won't send him down to tell you about it." There is no need to be loyal to the king of Han, and the monarch of Han is also detained in Wancheng by Liu Ji, the king of Nanyang, who was canonized by the overlord of Western Chu, and may betray the king of Han at any time in order to rescue the monarch, and he must not be entrusted with a heavy responsibility, but the king of Han is still sent down to tell Xin Chengjun about you, which is equivalent to telling you that Xin Chengjun is absolutely trustworthy of you, and he has absolutely no fear of you. ”

Li Shang thought about it carefully, if Xiang Kang couldn't believe himself, he would definitely send his absolutely trustworthy confidants to test his tone, and would not send Zhang Liang, a Korean Situ who lived in the Han army as a guest, to do such an important event—especially now that Zhang Liang also has hostages in the hands of the enemy, and may betray Xiang Kang at any time under the threat of the enemy.

Knowing this, of course, Li Shang hurriedly thanked Xiang Kang and Zhang Liang again, and swore again that he would never betray Xiang Kang. Zhang Liang said again: "But Xin Chengjun, the King of Han is also very difficult in this matter, and the King of Han can conclude that in addition to spreading rumors about your relationship with him, the princes outside the Guanwai will definitely send envoys to contact Xin Chengjun secretly. ”

Li Shang's face began to change, but Zhang Liang became more and more direct, and said: "Xin Chengjun, if it is a foreign minister in your position, it will definitely only be more difficult than you, on the one hand, it is the grace of the Han King, and on the other hand, the life of the brother and close relatives who raised him, where to go, how to choose, no matter who it is, it is difficult to make a decision." So King Han is also ready, if Xin Chengjun you decide to leave him for the sake of Mr. Li Shiqi, he will definitely not blame you. ”

Li Shang's face changed even more, and he blurted out: "So, King Han is still suspicious of the last general?" ”

"It's not that you are suspicious, it's that King Han knows your situation." Zhang Liang replied: "General, your parents unfortunately died early, it was Mr. Li Shiqi who raised you, and you are called brothers, in fact, they are father and son, and the princes outside the Guanwai are now threatening you with Mr. Li Shiqi's life, if you don't accept the coercion, you are not filial, and if you accept the coercion, you are disloyal, loyalty and filial piety are difficult to achieve, no matter who you are, you will be in a dilemma, and you will be at a loss." ”

After that, Zhang Liang said directly: "Xin Chengjun, if the foreign minister is not mistaken, when the envoy of the overlord of Western Chu met with you secretly some time ago, the reason why you didn't dare to take down the envoy of the king of Western Chu and send him to Xianyang to show his loyalty to the king of Han is because the envoy of the king of Western Chu threatened Brother Ling's life, right?" ”

Li Shang's face turned pale directly, and most of his henchmen and guards in the hall were also like this, Zhang Liang saw Li Shang's thoughts, so he said again: "Xin Chengjun doesn't need to wonder how the foreign minister knows about this matter, to tell you the truth, this matter is actually the messenger of the king of Western Chu who shouted to catch the thief, deliberately leaked the rumors, and directly leaked it to Cangjun Zun in Hanzhong." In addition, if I am not mistaken, it is very likely that Cangjun Zun has secretly reported this matter to the King of Han. ”

Li Shang began to tremble, and subconsciously clenched his fists, and Zhang Liang said again: "Xin Chengjun, you really only have two choices left now, one is to quickly rein in the precipice, no longer care about Brother Ling's life and death, take the initiative to report the truth to King Han, and ask King Han for his understanding and forgiveness." The second is to make a mistake and make a mistake, according to the requirements of the king of Western Chu, Yi Zhi rebelled, not only to save the life of Brother Ling, but also to have the opportunity to obtain the reward promised to you by the king of Western Chu. ”

"But the minister can guarantee that if you make the second choice, Xin Chengjun, not only will you not be able to save Brother Ling, but you will only harm Brother Ling's life, as well as yourself!"

Zhang Liang suddenly raised his voice and said: "What kind of temper is Mr. Li Shiqi, it is estimated that there is no second person who knows better than Xin Chengjun, who is upright and upright, standing up to the sky!" If he knew that you betrayed the King of Han for him, he would no longer have any face to live between heaven and earth, and he would definitely apologize for his sins with death, and he would never forgive you again! ”

"As for you." Zhang Liang said again: "Now that the army of Hanzhong Bashu is under your control, and there are Liu Ji and the Yingbu thief army who can lend a helping hand to you, you raise the banner to rebel, and there is indeed hope of success." But Xin Chengjun, have you considered it, if you do this, how many of the troops in Hanzhong Bashu will follow you sincerely? If you rebel for the sake of your relatives and for the sake of prosperity and wealth, won't your subordinates follow suit and rebel against you for the sake of their relatives and prosperity and wealth? ”

"Also, take another 10,000 steps back and say, even if you succeed in your move, general." Zhang Liang continued: "Will Li Shu, a commoner in Bashu, Hanzhong, really support you? Will the world respect you for this? The king of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai will look down on you again because of this? Isn't it polite and polite to you on the surface, but contemptuous of you behind the scenes? When the time comes, you will not only directly harm Brother Ling's life, but you will not be allowed to be between heaven and earth, what kind of situation will you be? ”

Li Shang was silent, and only after a while did his eyes reddened and said: "I can swear to the heavens that I definitely don't have any rebellion against King Han!" ”

"I believe this, and King Han absolutely believes it." Zhang Liang immediately replied: "Otherwise, Xin Chengjun, you must have done it a long time ago, so why wait until now?" ”

"Then why did Situ ask me to say such a thing?" Li Shang asked angrily.

"This is because I can trust you, so I said such things to Xin Chengjun." Zhang Liang said in a sincere tone, "The foreign minister knows very well that if you have the slightest dissenting heart in Xinchengjun, you will definitely be annoyed and angry when you hear such words, and you will hate the foreign minister to the core, and even kill him." But the foreign minister still dares to say this, because the foreign minister can trust you to become a king, and I believe that you will only be unhappy at most if you listen to it, and feel that the foreign minister's words are not listened to, as if he is suspicious of you, but he will never have murderous intentions against the foreign minister. ”

"And what else do you want to say?" Li Shang said angrily.

Successfully gave Li Shang a preventive shot, Zhang Liang first paused deliberately, and then suddenly said: "Xin Chengjun, do you know? After guessing that the king of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai were going to threaten you with Mr. Li Shiqi, the king of Han once planned to send someone to contact the king of Western Chu, preparing to exchange the land of Bashu or Hedong for Mr. Li Shiqi and let him reunite with your brother? ”

"What?" Li Shang was shocked, and the anger just now immediately disappeared.

"Xinchengjun forgives his sins, including foreign ministers, many people oppose the Han king's doing." Zhang Liang apologized and said: "The first reason is that the overlord of Western Chu may not accept the exchange conditions of the Han king, and he will definitely have to make more shameless demands. The second is that in addition to Xinchengjun, including the King of Han, many Han soldiers and their families are still in the land of Huaisi. So King Han had no choice but to dispel this idea. ”

Li Shang's eyes dimmed a little, and Zhang Liang said again: "In addition, someone proposed to the King of Han, suggesting that the King of Han quickly take away your military power, transfer you back to Guanzhong to monitor nearby, and solve the hidden dangers of Hanzhong and Bashu once and for all." ”

"But King Han flatly refused." Zhang Liang looked at Li Shang and said: "King Han said very clearly, Brother Ling has unfortunately fallen into the hands of the enemy for his great cause, and he is worried about his life at any time, as a repayment, no matter how well King Han treats you, it is not enough, how can he bear to make an unjust and suspicious move to take away your military power because of the enemy's discord?" ”

Li Shang lowered his head slightly, and Zhang Liang used a more sincere tone and said, "Xin Chengjun, now you should also understand the hard work of King Han, right?" He absolutely trusts you, but the king of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai have their eyes on you, insisting on splitting the Han army from you, and you have to do something against your will because of the enemy's life, giving the enemy a chance to take advantage of, he can only send foreign ministers to be honest with you, let you know what he thinks, and his absolute trust in you. ”

"So, Xincheng-kun, it's time for you to make up your mind." Zhang Liang's voice became softer and more sincere, and he said: "If you want to crush the shameless coercion of the King of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai, the only way for you to do so is to take the initiative and openly show your loyalty to the King of Han, and show your determination to never succumb to the threat of the thief army. Only in this way will the king of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai not dare to have illusions and continue to use shameless tricks to frame you for disloyalty and injustice! ”

Li Shang really didn't have the heart to rebel against the Han, and after listening to Zhang Liang's persuasion, he only thought about it for a moment, and said: "Zhang Situ, there is no need to say it, I understand what you mean, I will go to Cang Pi Cangjun Zun, temporarily hand over my military power seal to him, and then follow you to Xianyang to ask the King of Han for guilt, and take the initiative to explain the matter of the secret envoy of the King of Western Chu contacting me." ”

"Xin Chengjun, have you really made up your mind?" Zhang Liang stared at Li Shang and asked, "I think you also know very well that if you do this, the King of Western Chu will probably kill Brother Ling directly, and there will be no chance to rescue Brother Ling in the future." ”

"If my brother is really killed, I will avenge him with my own hands in the future." Li Shang said miserably: "Even the family members of the King of Han himself can't be saved, how dare I ask the King of Han to save my brother?" Besides, you are right, with my brother's temper, if I do something unrighteous to save him, even if he can come back, he will never live in this heaven and earth again. ”

Zhang Liang didn't persuade again, but just left the table to bow down to Li Shang, and said solemnly: "Believe in the righteousness of the king, the foreign ministers admire, from now on, the king of Western Chu and the princes outside the Guanwai will never dare to dream of separating you from the king of Han." ”

Li Shang no longer spoke, but immediately got up, instructed the guards to prepare carriages and horses for himself immediately, and sent people to the military camp outside the city to order several of his important generals to enter the city to discuss matters at the county guard's mansion, and then asked Zhang Liang to share a car with him, and went directly to the county guard's mansion to meet with the county guard of Hanzhong County, and calmly admitted that he did meet with Xiang Yu's envoy and the specific process, and also clearly said that he would not take precautions against his suspicion and suspicion against Cang Batch. and Li Shang resolved all kinds of misunderstandings on the spot.

Then, when the generals of the Han army gathered in the hall of the county guard, Li Shang first made the matter public in person, begging the generals of the Han army to understand and forgive his suffering, and then untied his military power seal in public, and handed his hands into the hands of Xiang Kang's cronies Cang Pi, asking the Han army generals to obey Cang Pi's orders, guard the pass city under the command of Cang Pi, and protect the rear of the Han army, Hanzhong Bashu.

Before the matter was over, after Li Shang temporarily handed over the military power to Cang Pi, Zhang Liang suddenly took out an edict and said loudly: "The decree of the King of Han!" Han Guo, Hanzhong, Bashu civil and military obey orders! ”

Everyone was stunned, but they still hurriedly knelt down on one knee to receive the order, and Zhang Liang also read it aloud: "The decree of the King of Han, Xincheng Jun Lishang is loyal to the country, and has made outstanding achievements, and immediately canonized the Marquis of Pinyang, continued to lead the army of the three counties of Bashu in Hanzhong, sat in Hanzhong, and added thousands of households, gave 2,000 acres of good land, 300 slaves and maids, and received the title of servant, ranking in Jiuqing!" ”

"What?!" Li Shang looked up suddenly, his face full of incredulity.

"Xin Chengjun, this is the reward you deserve." Zhang Liang said sincerely: "With your righteous deeds, from now on, the King of Han and the monarchs and ministers of the Han Kingdom will no longer be afraid of the King of Western Chu using the coercion of their families." You have made such a great sacrifice, of course the King of Han will reward you heavily. ”

Li Shang's mouth opened wide, and Zhang Liang said again: "There is one more thing, King Han will do everything he can to rescue Mr. Li Shiqi, no matter how small the hope is, he will never give up." If Mr. Li Shiqi really can't be saved, the reward that the King of Han should give him will be inherited by Mr. Li's son, that is, your nephew Li Scabies. ”

After that, Zhang Liang took back Li Shang's military power seal from Cang Pi's hands, and returned it to Li Shang with both hands, Li Shang didn't speak, but tears came out of his eyes, and then he couldn't cry.