Liu Yan died of illness, and Liu Zhang became the pastor of Yizhou. In this regard, Wu Yi is naturally very dissatisfied, after all, even if it is because Liu Yan's eldest son and second son, Liu Fan, are in Chang'an and cannot come back, it should be Liu Yan's third son, who is also his son-in-law.

However, within a few days of Liu Yan's death from illness, he only summoned Zhao Wei and Pang Xi. Although there is no certificate such as a handwritten letter, Liu Yan's main room Fei Lan and his concubine Lu Yuxi both expressed their agreement with this result. Of course, more importantly, the entire Chengdu and even Shu County and Guanghan County have expressed their support for Liu Zhang.

But then again, even if Wu Yi really had any ideas, it was useless, because the person concerned, Liu Mao, was very open to this, and after learning the news, he immediately sent someone to send gifts to celebrate his fourth brother on his appointment as Yizhou Mu. Perhaps, it was because he never thought that he might inherit the position of Yizhou Mu, right? Or maybe it's because his character is indisputable?

However, not everyone can be as relieved of this matter as Liu Mao, and this is the case with Zhang Lu, the county guard of Hanzhong. It's no wonder, after all, Zhang Lu is the one who knows the truth.

"It just doesn't make sense! My father-in-law obviously planned to let my younger brother inherit the position of Yizhou pastor, and let me assist my younger brother together with Zhao Wei and Pang Xi! But these two people actually changed their father-in-law's last life?! To do so is to be unthankful! Zhang Lu kept scolding.

Speaking of which, Zhang Lu's feelings for Liu Yan are quite complicated, on the one hand, he and Liu Yan are in a relationship of mutual use, in the past, Zhang Lu secretly took refuge in Liu Yan in order to regain everything that belonged to him, and even did not hesitate to let his mother seduce Liu Yan. And he also knew that the reason why Liu Yan would help him was not only because of his mother, but also because he needed a suitable person to help him guard the Yizhou gate in Hanzhong.

In fact, Zhang Lu did not officially join Liu Yan's command until Li Yi attacked Ma Teng, and he had been entrenched in Hanzhong as a thief before that. Because only by doing so would Liu Yan have enough reason to ignore any orders from the imperial court.

But on the other hand, Liu Yan has been very good to Zhang Lu in the past two years because of Lu Yuxi's relationship. not only appointed him as the county guard of Hanzhong, but also accepted him as his son. And what made Zhang Lu most grateful was that Liu Yan allowed Zhang Lu to change the Wudou Rice Dao back to the name of the Heavenly Master Dao, and at the same time allowed the Heavenly Master Dao to preach in Yizhou. Perhaps, there is also a reason for this to win over Zhang Lu, but Zhang Lu will not forget this kindness.

And...... Liu Hui is his half-brother! But a family! Once Liu Hui ascends to the throne, the benefits that Zhang Lu can get are naturally self-evident.

"My lord! This matter must not be left as it is! Zhang Wei said loudly.

"Gongzhi, what do you think?" Zhang Lu was silent when he heard this, and after a long while, he turned his head to look at Yan Pu on the side and asked.

"The lord has a handwritten letter from Duke Liu, which is enough to prove that Liu Zhang is definitely not the heir chosen by Duke Liu. Moreover, Liu Zhang's subordinates have understood that their weak personality is not liked by Duke Liu, and even some time ago, because of the old lady's intercession, their mother and son were allowed to live in Duke Liu's mansion to serve. In this case, it is also hard to believe that Guild Liu will change his mind in a few days. Therefore, the subordinates concluded that it must be Zhao Wei and Pang Xi who changed Liu Gong's last life without permission! Hearing Zhang Lu's inquiry, Yan Pu replied.

And the reason why Liu Zhang was chosen, on the one hand, was because Liu Zhang's personality was weak and easy to control, and on the other hand, if Liu Mao was chosen, Wu Junshou would definitely take the opportunity to expand the power in his hands. This is obviously not what Zhao Wei and other Yizhou scholars want to see. So the subordinates thought that now the lord had only one choice. In the end, Yan Pu sighed with a helpless expression.

"Is there only one?" When Zhang Lu heard this, he muttered to himself in a low tone. Obviously, although Yan Pu hadn't opened his mouth yet, he had already guessed what Yan Pu was going to say.

Seeing this, Yan Pu sighed and said, "Yes, just as the lord thought, although the lord has Liu Gong's handwritten letter, with Zhao Wei and the others in Yizhou's connections, it is hard to believe that the scholars in Yizhou will support the lord. Although Liu Zhang is weak, he is Liu Zhang's sister-in-law! In addition, once the lord wants to help the lord's brother seize the position of Yizhou pastor, I am afraid that Liu Mao, Wu Yi and others will not agree. At that time, with the soldiers of Hanzhong against the entire Yizhou, the lord may have no chance of winning. And the old lady is still in Yizhou, if she rebels......"

"Yes......" Zhang Lu sighed lightly when he heard this. Although he was very dissatisfied in his heart, Zhang Lu really didn't have that confidence when he asked Zhang Lu to face the entire Yizhou.

And the current situation is not like the previous eradication of Zhang Xiu, Zhang Lu has to do it even if he is unscrupulous. In fact, if it weren't for Liu Yan's letter, Zhang Lu wouldn't have had much idea about who would take over the post of Yizhou pastor.

Seeing this, although Zhang Wei still had some ideas, Zhang Lu and Yan Pu both decided to surrender to Liu Zhang, so that he had to accept this reality.

Chengdu, among Liu Yan's mourning halls.

"Hehe, father, father, just now, Zhang Lu sent someone to send a gift to congratulate the child on succeeding to the post of Yizhou pastor. In this way, the three people you chose to assist Zhang Hui's wild seed have all surrendered to me, at least on the surface. I wonder how you will feel after learning the news under the Nine Springs? Zhang Lu looked at the coffin containing Liu Yan and sneered.

Since Liu Yan's death, Liu Zhang has been guarding his spirit, and has said that he will keep it until the day of his burial. This kind of behavior naturally won the appreciation of those officials who were loyal to Liu Yan, as well as the scholars.

"But don't worry, Lu Yuxi that slut and the wild seed born with you will be safe for the time being. After all, I still need that Zhang Lu to help me fight against Zhao Yun and Pang Xi~" Liu Zhang said with a sneer, but there was a hint of helplessness in his tone.

Originally, he planned to find an opportunity to blame Lu Yuxi after poisoning Liu Yan, so as to put her and Liu Hui to death. At that time, he didn't think that he would become a Yizhou pastor, after all, no matter how he ranked, it would be difficult for the position of Yizhou pastor to fall on his head. But Zhao Yun and Pang Xi chose him, which made Liu Zhang have to suppress the idea of getting rid of Lu Yuxi's mother and son.

The reason is also very simple, Liu Zhang has no one! If Liu Mao succeeds to the throne, then there is no need to worry about the loyalty of the family, or whether he will be hollowed out. Because Liu Mao not only has the support of his maternal uncle Wu Yi, but also because he has followed Liu Yan to work hard in Yizhou for nearly ten years, not only the Yizhou scholars have a high acceptance of him, but also have a team that is loyal to him.

But what about him Liu Zhang? There is nothing, not to mention a fierce general who can be entrusted with a heavy task, not even a trustworthy errand runner. If he turns his face with Zhang Lu at this time, then it will only make Zhao Wei, Pang Xi, Wu Yi and others bigger, and then completely empty him as a Yizhou pastor. This is obviously not what Liu Zhang wants to see. After all, since the right is in their own hands, who will easily give it up?

In January, in the mansion of Ma Teng in Chang'an.

Zhang Ning was lying on the bed with a pale face, and beside him, the imperial doctor Ling Zhao Heng was taking his pulse. It was a long time before he stood up and said to Ma Teng respectfully, "Prime Minister, Meiyangjun's illness is due to exhaustion. Although it seems to be serious, you only need to take the medicine prescribed by the lower officials and meditate and cultivate for a period of time, and you can recover. ”

"Thank you, Imperial Doctor Zhao." Hearing this, Ma Teng hurriedly thanked him.

"The prime minister doesn't have to be polite, I won't ask the prime minister to remember, during this time, you must not let Meiyangjun overwork, and at the same time, you must not be angry." Zhao Heng said respectfully, while prescribing a prescription for Zhang Ning. Later, after declining Ma Teng's thank-you gift, he took his leave.

And after Zhao Heng left, Ma Teng walked quickly to Zhang Ning's bedside and grabbed her slightly pale little hand and said softly, "Madam, during this time, you can recuperate." Leave the rest to me. ”

"Well, that's all there is to it." Zhang Ning sighed softly, his tone full of exhaustion.

As Zhao Heng said, Zhang Ning was completely crushed because of exhaustion. Not only because the drought and famine this time were too serious, but also because of the various plans and calculations of other forces, beware of the many scholars and doctors in Chang'an, and the management of the territory under Ma Teng's command, etc...... It can be said that almost all the big and small affairs in Ma Teng's territory, except for the affairs of the troops, are pressed on her.

Historically, Zhuge Liang was shoulder-to-shoulder because of the military and politics, and finally died of exhaustion. The burden on Zhang Ning's body may not be as heavy as the burden on Zhuge Liang at that time, but it is not much lighter. And although Zhuge Liang is responsible for everything, he also has Jiang Wei, Ma Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and other talents to help.

As for Zhang Ning, although Jia Xu, Wang Yi and others helped, although Jia Xu was strategic, how could the two who were wary of each other reach a perfect cooperation? Not to mention Wang Yi and others, although they are talented, they are still young and cannot be entrusted with important responsibilities at all.

What's more, Zhang Ning does not have the ability of Zhuge Liang at all, and it can even be said that the burden on Zhang Ning's body has already exceeded her own ability. After all, compared with Zhuge Liang or other scholars, Zhang Ning has neither the guidance of a famous teacher nor the growth environment. It can be said that Zhang Ning has been able to go all the way to today, relying only on her own talent, the unrealized goals and ...... in her heart Luck......

Hearing Zhang Ning's words, Ma Teng's heart, which was originally full of worry, suddenly surged with a trace of ecstasy. Because, Zhang Ning was finally willing to return the rights to Ma Teng, although it was only a last resort. How does this not make Ma Teng ecstatic? You must know that he has been dreaming of taking back these rights for a while now, but because of his awe of Zhang Ning and his habitual obedience, he only dares to think about it in his dreams.

"Madam, don't worry, I will definitely handle these things properly, and with Wen and their help, there will definitely be no chaos." Ma Teng smiled and comforted.

"Hmm." Zhang Ning nodded when he heard this, and then said again uneasily, "Shoucheng, although the disaster situation in the place is very serious, we must not relax the monitoring of those scholars because of this...... In addition, ask Wen He and Junqi a lot in case of trouble, if the two disagree, then come and ask me...... And ......"

"Hmm...... Rest assured...... I'm not going to be impulsive...... If you encounter anything that you can't handle, you will definitely come to ask Madame's ......" Ma Teng stood respectfully on the side of the bed, nodding his head while listening to Zhang Ning's advice. It looked like a junior listening to the teachings of his elders. At the same time, Ma Teng's constantly flickering eyes, like most of the juniors, obviously didn't really take these advice to heart.

It's just a pity that Zhang Ning, who is already very weak now, couldn't feel Ma Teng's turbulent heart. She only felt that Ma Teng's obedient appearance made her feel very relieved and relieved, and she could rest assured that she would leave things to him.

After a while, Ma Teng left, and the room became quiet. Zhang Jing was lying on the bed quietly feeling all this, "It seems...... It's been a long time since I've rested like this......" Zhang Ning thought to herself, and with this thought, a trace of fatigue appeared in her heart.

Since leaving Zhang Jiao, he has been constantly trying various possible ways to overthrow the Han family and revive the Yellow Turban, and then hid in Liangzhou to cultivate Ma Teng to this point, and the hardships paid are probably only known to Zhang Ning himself.

And perhaps because she had experienced too much wandering life in her early years, except for a few people such as Ma Teng and Wang Yi, Zhang Ning had no other person around her who could make her trust. In other words, she can't really trust people who can't control it completely. Just like she did to Jia Xu, from the beginning to the end, she didn't think about corporal Lixian to convince people with virtue, but only rudely threatened him with his life and the lives of his people.

"If you can live behind a man like an ordinary woman, it seems ......" Zhang Ning once again had a thought in his heart. Perhaps, when people are burnout, they always want to have someone to rely on, right?

It's just that this thought was quickly thrown out of Zhang Ning's mind, "Zhang Ning, Zhang Ning, it's just that you fell ill because you were too tired, did it make you so weak?" It seems that he is really tired......" Zhang Ning thought to himself. Then, he slowly closed his eyes. She was going to take a good rest, not thinking about anything, doing nothing, just ...... Take a break.

At the same time, Ma Teng, who had obtained Zhang Ning's permission, immediately summoned Jia Xu, Wang Yi and others to tell them about the matter, "According to the words of the imperial doctor, Madame is sick due to exhaustion. So from this day on, no one is allowed to disturb Madame's rest! Everything is reported directly to me, and I must ensure that Madame can get enough rest! ”

"No!" Hearing this, everyone responded in unison, but at the moment when they lowered their heads, a fine light flashed in Jia Xu's eyes.