Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter Thirty-Three: I Have Three Questions for the General

Jia Xu’s deep pupils contracted sharply.

Liu Heng?

Was it Liu Boyu, the man who controlled the Three Adjuncts, sent Zhao Yun to behead Niu Fu, ordered Xu Huang to hold Tong Pass, and now had inexplicably appeared within the Allied ranks, sending his fierce general Dian Wei to execute Hua Xiong? Did he truly dare to step into this perilous trap at such a moment?

"How many men have arrived?" Jia Xu asked in a low, resonant voice.

"Only two men, two horses! They wear no armor and carry no weapons!" the personal guard replied.

Zhang Ji and Jia Xu exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock and disbelief reflected in the other's eyes.

Two men and two horses? This Liu Heng possessed immense audacity!

"What is he planning? To persuade us to surrender?" Zhang Ji’s expression shifted rapidly.

Jia Xu took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their depth, though his speech quickened: "General, this is a heaven-sent opportunity, yet a treacherous situation! If Liu Heng dares to come, he must have something to rely on—be it the defense of Tong Pass or... the future of you and me! To see him or not is a dilemma. If we see him, we must guard against his silver tongue disrupting our morale; if we do not, we lose the chance to probe his reality, or perhaps... find a path to survival!"

Zhang Ji paced back and forth, then suddenly gritted his teeth: "See him! Why shouldn't I? Order the executioners to be ready! I want to see if this Liu Heng has three heads and six arms that he dares to enter my dragon's den and tiger's lair alone!"

A flash of ferocity crossed his eyes: "If he dares any suspicious move, hack him into mincemeat immediately!"

"Understood!" The guard departed to carry out the order.

Jia Xu watched the blustering Zhang Ji, his lips moving as if to speak, but ultimately, he remained silent. Liu Heng... this young Marquis of Yangwu was indeed an intriguing character.

The heavy gate of the pass slowly opened, revealing a gap wide enough for only two horses. Inside lay a pitch-black tunnel, flanked by rows of armored soldiers with menacing blades and spears.

Liu Heng’s expression remained unchanged as he whispered to Dian Wei behind him: "Junming, enter the pass."

He nudged his horse's flank and rode in first. Countless cold, wary, and murderous gazes, sharp as physical blades, scraped across them.

Liu Heng held his head high, his eyes looking straight ahead as if strolling through his own courtyard. His composure was such that even the fierce Xiliang soldiers on either side could not help but cast side-glances of begrudging respect. As for Dian Wei, although he remained expressionless, his terrifying physique alone was enough to make anyone wary.

The two passed through the long tunnel and emerged into the open—the military parade ground within the pass. The perimeter was packed with armored Xiliang soldiers, bows drawn and blades unsheathed; the atmosphere was chillingly lethal. Directly ahead stood the towering gate tower.

Liu Heng dismounted with fluid, clean movements. He adjusted his robes and strode up the stairs, Dian Wei following closely behind.

In the main hall of the gate tower, Zhang Ji sat enthroned, fully armored, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His face was as dark as water, his eyes locked onto the approaching Liu Heng with undisguised scrutiny and murderous intent. Beside him sat a middle-aged man in scholar's garb—Jia Xu.

Jia Xu kept his eyes lowered, seemingly resting, but the moment Liu Heng stepped into the hall, he had already scanned him from head to toe, as if attempting to see through his very soul. Lining the sides of the hall stood several of Zhang Ji’s fierce officers, each with hands on their blades, their eyes vicious. A suffocating pressure filled the room.

Liu Heng reached the center of the hall, cupped his hands in a respectful yet unyielding salute to Zhang Ji: "Liu Heng, Marquis of Yangwu and Colonel of the Sili, greets General Zhang."

His voice was clear and calm, sounding remarkably distinct in the bloodthirsty atmosphere of the hall.

Zhang Ji let out a cold snort, failing to rise, his voice dripping with icy mockery: "Marquis of Yangwu? A grand title! And a grander audacity! You dare enter Sishui Pass alone? Do you believe that because you are of the Han imperial clan, I dare not kill you?"

He slammed his hand on the armrest, and the officers on both sides took a simultaneous step forward, their killing intent surging!

Dian Wei behind Liu Heng let out a cold hum and stepped forward to shield him.

Liu Heng, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed. He reached out to pat Dian Wei’s arm, a faint, calm smile appearing on his face: "General, you are mistaken. I have not come relying on my status, but rather... for the sake of you, General, and the lives and futures of these tens of thousands of Xiliang warriors under your command!"

"Oh?" A fiercer glint appeared in Zhang Ji’s eyes: "For our lives and futures? Is the Marquis here to persuade us to surrender? Ha! With nothing but empty words? Or are you relying on that mob of hypocrites outside the pass?"

"Not at all." Liu Heng shook his head, meeting Zhang Ji’s fierce gaze without a hint of fear: "I have come to ask three questions, and I seek your guidance, General!"

"The first question!" Liu Heng’s voice suddenly rose: "Dong Zhuo has deposed the Emperor, murdered the monarch, burned cities, and oppressed the people—this is intolerable to heaven and earth! As a minister of the Han, eating the Han's grain, do you truly wish to bear this eternal infamy alongside him?"

This question struck like a heavy hammer against Zhang Ji’s heart. Though he had not personally witnessed the atrocities of Dong Zhuo burning Luoyang, the reports from his scouts and the sight of the smoke blotting out the sun spoke volumes. As a warrior, Zhang Ji understood loyalty and shame; his expression turned ghastly.

Before he could answer, Liu Heng stepped forward, his voice sharper, directed at all the officers in the hall: "The second question! Dong Zhuo forced you to march east under the guise of resisting the enemy, but in truth, you are nothing but discarded pawns! He has taken the Emperor, the officials, and the plundered wealth to flee in a panic to the west, leaving you here to face the wrath of the Guandong Alliance! Tell me, has Dong Zhuo ever cared for you? Has he ever cared for the lives of the tens of thousands of Xiliang men who followed you through fire and water? In his eyes, you and your soldiers are nothing more than worn-out shoes used to delay the pursuers!"

As these words fell, the faces of the Xiliang officers changed, their expressions filled with anger and sorrow. Zhang Ji clenched his fists; every word was a dagger piercing his deepest resentment.

Liu Heng’s gaze swept over them like lightning, finally resting on Zhang Ji: "The third question! Dong Zhuo’s flight to the west must pass through Tong Pass! But—Tong Pass is a natural fortress already under my control! With deep trenches, high ramparts, elite troops, and plentiful supplies, my soldiers are ready! Dong Zhuo’s army is exhausted; with an iron wall ahead and the Alliance in pursuit, he is a turtle in a jar, unable to fly away! If you insist on dying for him, you will all be destroyed alongside him beneath Tong Pass! When that day comes, your name will be disgraced, and your family will not escape the reckoning! Tens of thousands of Xiliang comrades will die in a foreign land because of your single decision, their souls with no way home! How can you, General, bear such a sin?"

Boom!

The three questions fell like three claps of thunder, striking the hearts of Zhang Ji and every officer in the hall!

Loyalty, the lives of their families, and their unreachable homelands—Liu Heng had precisely targeted their greatest pain and vulnerability.

Zhang Ji’s face turned deathly pale, the veins on his forehead bulging. His lips trembled, and he was momentarily speechless. A deathly silence filled the hall, broken only by heavy breathing. The once-menacing officers now flickered their eyes, many subconsciously avoiding Liu Heng’s piercing gaze, their faces etched with struggle and confusion.

Jia Xu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally lifted his eyelids.

For the first time, his deep eyes looked at Liu Heng without reservation, filled with shock, gravity, and an indescribable sense of admiration.

This young Marquis of Yangwu possessed an understanding of the human heart and the situation that was terrifyingly clear!

These three questions struck the core, leaving Zhang Ji no room for lofty excuses. This was an overt strategy, forcing Zhang Ji to make a choice in a desperate situation!

Liu Heng’s gaze turned calmly toward Jia Xu, a faint, mysterious smile at the corner of his lips.

Their eyes met in the air; no words were spoken, yet it felt as if a thousand secrets flowed between them.

Jia Xu’s heart trembled. Liu Heng’s gaze was calm, filled with understanding, and that strange smile seemed to suggest he had already seen through all his calculations and concerns.

Liu Heng’s smile seemed to say: *Master Wenhe, such is the trend of the world; it is your move now.*

Jia Xu gave a light cough, breaking the silence. He stood up and bowed toward the shaken Zhang Ji: "General, the Marquis of Yangwu’s words are pearls of truth, striking at the heart of the matter. We... indeed need to consider this carefully."

That light cough was like a stone cast into a stagnant pool, shattering the suffocating silence and instantly drawing everyone’s attention to him.

His movement in standing was unhurried, and his words were calm, as if stating the most ordinary fact. However, the phrase "consider this carefully" acted like a thunderbolt to the shaken Zhang Ji and the conflicted Xiliang officers.

This was no longer a vague, impartial suggestion. It was a clear, public declaration of stance by Jia Xu, the strategist Zhang Ji relied upon most—the Marquis of Yangwu was right, they could no longer hold this position; they had to find another way!

Zhang Ji’s complexion shifted from pale to a complex, bruised hue. He stared at Jia Xu, his eyes filled with suspicion, anger, and the embarrassment of having his hidden thoughts laid bare.

"Wenhe... you..."

Zhang Ji’s throat worked, his voice dry and hoarse, unable to formulate a response. He looked around the hall at his officers, who had followed him for years; they were now avoiding his gaze, some even nodding slightly, clearly swayed by Liu Heng’s points—their families! Tong Pass! Dong Zhuo’s abandonment!

In this delicate and tense moment, a gruff voice filled with suppressed anger and doubt suddenly rang out: "What does Colonel Jia mean by this?!"

A sturdy, handsome young general stepped out from behind Zhang Ji—it was Zhang Ji’s nephew, Zhang Xiu!

Young and hot-blooded, he might not have had much loyalty to Dong Zhuo, but to be questioned so aggressively by an "outsider" on their own turf, and then provoked by Jia Xu’s implication of "defection," made his blood boil with humiliation.

He glared at Jia Xu, then turned sharply to Liu Heng, shouting: "Uncle! Do not listen to this man’s demonic words! He enters the pass alone, clearly mocking us! Whatever he says about families or Tong Pass is merely fear-mongering to disrupt our morale! Let me capture this scoundrel first, and then we shall decide..."

"Insolent!"

Zhang Ji let out a violent roar, cutting off Zhang Xiu. Veins throbbed at his temples as he looked at his nephew with complex eyes, then swept his gaze over the various officers, finally resting on the composed Liu Heng and the silent, imposing Dian Wei. He knew that Zhang Xiu’s outburst had completely exposed the instability of their morale! If he allowed this to continue, the situation would spiral out of control.

"Step back!" Zhang Ji barked at Zhang Xiu in an unquestionable tone. Zhang Xiu was stunned; seeing his uncle’s stern expression, his anger was forced down. He stomped his foot in frustration and stepped back, though his eyes remained fixed on Liu Heng.

*It’s done.*

Seeing this, Liu Heng knew he had gambled correctly. He quietly congratulated himself on his own brilliance and mentally thanked Jia Xu for the assist. Based on Zhang Ji’s current performance, Liu Heng knew he was about to achieve a new milestone in the Three Kingdoms.

Zhang Ji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turmoil, and turned his gaze back to Liu Heng. His voice sounded weary, filled with a sense of powerlessness: "Marquis of Yangwu... what a sharp tongue! What deep schemes! These three questions have left me... speechless."

He admitted it; in the face of Liu Heng’s soul-piercing questions, all his reasons and excuses seemed pale and weak.

He paused, his eyes sharpening with a final test: "However, empty words prove nothing! You claim Tong Pass is in your control, with deep trenches and high ramparts... how can you prove it? As far as I know, although you control the Three Adjuncts, the troops guarding Tong Pass cannot exceed ten thousand. Grand Tutor Dong is no Niu Fu, and the Xiliang army is more than five thousand strong. If the pass is broken in one strike by the Grand Tutor, would my surrender not be a path to self-destruction? Not only would I face reckoning, but these tens of thousands of soldiers and their families would be doomed!"

Zhang Ji had finally asked the most critical, core question—was Liu Heng’s trump card, Tong Pass, truly as impregnable as he claimed? This concerned the lives of tens of thousands of people!

Facing Zhang Ji’s interrogation and the suspicious, focused gazes of all the Xiliang officers, the smile on Liu Heng’s face did not vanish; rather, it grew more confident.

He felt no embarrassment from being pressed; instead, he stepped forward calmly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing on Zhang Ji.

"General Zhang asks a good question! To prove the strength of Tong Pass, why would I need to lie?"

Liu Heng’s voice was clear, carrying the ease of someone in total control: "Does the General know why Dong Zhuo urgently summoned General Huangfu Song back to the capital?"

Zhang Ji was stunned. Huangfu Song? That veteran general stationed in Right Fufeng? Everyone knew that Dong Zhuo’s summons was merely using the Emperor’s name to seize his military power—a false promotion to strip him of his command.

Liu Heng did not pause: "Dong Zhuo feared General Huangfu’s garrison in Right Fufeng—with his elite troops, plentiful supplies, and the hearts of the people—would respond to the Guandong Alliance in a pincer attack. Thus, he used this scheme to 'pull the firewood from under the pot.' But, for all his calculations, Dong Zhuo missed one point!"

He paused for effect, his eyes burning as he looked into Zhang Ji’s questioning gaze: "General Huangfu Yizhen is a man of loyalty through the generations; how could he collude with a national traitor like Dong Zhuo? Through the earnest persuasion of Mr. Xun Yu, Mr. Gai Shun, and the General’s own Chief Clerk Liang Yan, the General has long since awakened to the truth. He understands that Dong Zhuo’s perverse actions mean his downfall is imminent!"

At these words, Zhang Ji’s face changed drastically! Huangfu Song... had actually rebelled?