Chapter 60: In Times of Crisis, Settle the Turmoil

  The gate of the post station opened, and Liu Xuan led two men out. This was his first meeting with Zhang Yun. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were appointed as the chief and deputy commander of the naval forces by Cao Cao, which shows that Zhang Yun still has some talent.

  Liu Xuan saw that Zhang Yun was tall and majestic, with a handsome appearance, and looked like a talented person. He smiled and said: "Today is the morning of the day, all officials in Jingzhou are attending the ceremony to congratulate the governor, brother-in-law is a dignified school lieutenant, how can you have time to come here?"

  Zhang Yun's mother was Liu Biao's younger sister and also Liu Xun's aunt, so the relationship between Liu Xun and Zhang Yun was that of maternal cousins. However, they had not yet had a chance to discuss their familial ties when instead, due to the matter with Zhang Ping, discord arose between them.

  Zhang Yun naturally also knew about their relationship, and from a familial perspective, he should find an opportunity to visit Liu Xuan.

  Zhang Yun had heard that Liu Xuan had offended Lady Cai, so he was also deeply wary of Liu Xuan and found various excuses to delay their meeting. However, he did not expect that their first meeting would be shrouded in conflict.

  Zhang Yun said coldly: "No matter which day, I will never be careless. I heard that Gan Ning privately trafficked military slaves and arbitrarily arrested officials, so I came to investigate this matter."

  Liu Jiong smiled faintly and said, "What a coincidence, I'm also here to investigate this matter. This place belongs to Fan City, which is within my jurisdiction as the touring inspector. Zhang Ping is also under my command, so it's my duty to handle this case. Thank you for your kind intentions, General Zhang, but I can take care of this myself and don't need your help."

  Liu Cong's words were neither arrogant nor humble, with reason and evidence, topping Zhang Yun who couldn't speak for half a day, catching thieves belongs to local government affairs.

  And he is the naval commander, interfering with local government affairs, which is indeed a bit inappropriate, unless it is Xiangyang County seeking help from Liu Biao, and Liu Biao orders the navy to assist, otherwise Zhang Yun's dispatching troops to arrest people would be an overstepping of authority.

  Gan Ning, hiding at the door, secretly praised him. If the last time Liu Xuan helped him was a kind of quick wit and an accident, then today's words made Gan Ning realize that this Liu Xuan was indeed not simple, and at just 16 years old, his words were so sharp.

  Gan Ning felt a sense of expectation towards Liu Xuan in his heart, perhaps he could really help him get out of this predicament.

  Zhang Yun said with a sigh, "Gan Ning is what kind of person? He's the infamous water bandit of Jingzhou, extremely powerful. Can you, a small-time patrol officer, handle him? If he causes bloodshed and triggers a huge riot in Fan City, can you, as a minor patrol officer, take responsibility for that?"

  Zhang Yun's words enraged Gan Ning, who dared to insult him as a notorious water bandit. He gripped his twin halberds tightly, and if things escalated, he would be the first to kill Zhang Yun.

  Liu Cong coldly laughed and said, "Commander Zhang's words are astonishing. I don't know what General Gan did in the past, but I personally saw the Provincial Governor surrender to him, promising to appoint him as a Central Lang General and temporarily reside at Fengyi Pavilion. In this way, he has nothing to do with the water bandits."

  Zhang Junyi's accusation that he was a water thief was simply absurd. How could the governor of the state be in league with water thieves? Wasn't Zhang Junyi afraid of offending the governor by tarnishing his reputation like this?"

  Liu Xuan's sharp tongue and quick wit left Zhang Yun no match for him, and the big hat of "usurper" was immediately placed on Zhang Yun.

  "Furthermore, Commander Zhang worries that my abilities are too weak. I think this is even more absurd. As the governor of the province, each has their own responsibilities. If I am unable to handle it, I will naturally report to my superiors. There is no need for Commander Zhang to instruct me on what to do. Please ask Commander Zhang to withdraw his troops. I will take care of this matter."

  Zhang Yun was refuted to the point of being speechless, unable to respond. The other party was just a sixteen-year-old youth, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed and angry, shouting: "I'm going to take care of this today, get out of my way!"

  Liu Jiong drew out his sword and said coldly: "Unless you kill me, don't even think about overstepping your authority."

  "You!"

  Zhang Yun was furious, glaring fiercely at Liu Xuan, with flames of anger shooting out from his eyes. "How dare you!"

  "I'm not bold, you're the one who's bold! Taking advantage of the governor's New Year's banquet, you secretly led your troops to try and occupy Fancheng and rebel. I've already sent Liu Hu to report this to the governor. Zhang Yun, think about your own head first!"

  Zhang Yun was suddenly shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. He had not expected that Liu Xuan would not only say that he bullied the governor, but also impose on him the crime of rebellion and conspiracy.

  This is a weakness of Zhang Yun, although these thousands of people are his private soldiers, but today is the real dawn, he led the army to surround Fengyiting, it's indeed a bit risky, if he can catch the military slaves and rescue the people from Youjiao, he still has something to say.

  But if he can't catch him, or the reason is not convincing to Liu Biao, it will only make Liu Biao dissatisfied, and even be caught by Kuai Yue and counterattack, then Cao Cao will end up losing more than he gains.

  Zhang Yun only then discovered that he had underestimated Liu Xun, who was just a minor governor, with an insignificant official position, but he was the nephew of Liu Biao, and his status was not ordinary.

  Zhang Yun suddenly felt a headache, and he finally realized that his plan to kill two birds with one stone had actually backfired. At this moment, a trusted aide stepped forward and whispered, "Just now, some brothers saw Liu Hu escape through the waterway."

  Zhang Yun understood in his heart that Liu Hu must have gone to report the news, and once he was caught by Kuai Yue, it would be troublesome. The matter couldn't be blown up anymore, and today's bad temper had to be endured.

  Zhang Yun could only hatefully say: "Since Director Liu Cao can resolve the crisis, then there's no need for me to interfere. However, I'm warning you that if my brother hasn't returned home by tonight, don't blame me for being ruthless and merciless."

  "Commander Zhang must have gotten it wrong! I haven't arranged for Zhang Ping to be on duty these past two days. If anything happens to him, it has nothing to do with me."

  "A clever move, retreat!"

  Zhang Yun was very helpless. Zhang Ping was not on duty today. If he investigated further, he would find that it was his arrangement for his cousin to provoke Liu Bei. Moreover, the 500 soldiers would not be in the post station, and there was no evidence, so he could not report to Liu Bei. He indeed had a bit of loss.

  Zhang Yun had to lead the troops onto the ships, and dozens of large ships sailed towards the opposite bank. However, Zhang Yun did not completely let go, leaving a dozen or so subordinates on the river to monitor every move of Fengyiting.

  Gan Ning only led his men out after Zhang Yun withdrew. Gan Ning was both impressed and grateful in his heart. He admired Liu Xun's eloquence, which forced Zhang Yun's army to retreat, and at the same time, he felt grateful for Liu Xun's willingness to offend Zhang Yun on his behalf. This favor made Gan Ning feel deeply indebted, and he didn't know how to repay it.

  Gan Ning knelt down on one knee and raised his fist high, saying: "The kindness of Master Jing, Gan Ning will remember in his heart."

  Liu Xuan hastily helped him up and sincerely said, "I and General Gan are like old friends, this is for the sake of righteousness, not to get any reward from General Gan, don't mention gratitude again."

  Gan Ning was deeply moved in his heart, and secretly thought: 'I heard that he saved Zhao Yun in Runan, regardless of his own life, without abandoning or leaving, with a reputation for loyalty. I thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seems that it is indeed not in vain. This person is really a man of honor, and being able to make friends with him is also my good fortune.'

  At this time, Liu Xuan said again: "General Gan should not relax yet, this matter is far from over, a bigger crisis is behind, now it's just solving the urgent need, if General Gan can trust me, I will do my best to handle this matter properly."

  Gan Ning naturally knew that things had gotten out of hand and it was no longer something he could handle. He bowed deeply, "Young Master Jing has ordered, Gan Ning will not disobey!"

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  In the backyard of the post station, more than a dozen captured soldiers had been released, leaving only one Zhang Ping. He sat in a small room without being put in any restraints. After taking a nap in the morning, he was full of energy.

  Zhang Ping was very pleased with himself, he was caught by Gan Ning, it was a trap set by Zhang Yun, found an opportunity to capture Gan Ning, although it was a bit risky, but Zhang Ping also knew that Gan Ning did not dare to kill him, now Gan Ning had fallen into the trap, just waiting for Zhang Yun to come and rescue him, how could he not be pleased.

  At this time, a footstep came from the courtyard, and the iron gate creaked open. Zhang Ping raised his head and was startled to stand up, only to see Liu Xuan appearing at the door, looking at him coldly.

  Zhang Ping immediately reacted and knelt down, performing a ceremonial bow, "Your humble servant pays respects to the Director!"

  "Zhang Zei Cao, I don't understand, how did you end up here?" Liu Jiong asked with a cold smile.

  Zhang Ping lowered his head and didn't know how to respond. After a while, he said: "Your subordinate thanks you for saving him, Director Cao."

  Liu Cong turned his head and took a look. Several of Gan Ning's men immediately retreated, leaving only a dozen or so people from the Youjiacang in the room.

  "Zhang Ze, it's my duty to rescue you from here. Gan Ning has already agreed to release you. However, last night was not your shift, and without my permission, you altered the attendance record on your own. Do you admit to this crime?"

  Zhang Ping nodded, this was within his expectations, "Your subordinate is willing to accept punishment!"

  "Alright, according to the rules of the prison, those who disobey the orders of their superiors will be severely punished. I'll let you off this time since it's your first offense, and you'll only be locked up for two days. This matter is now closed. If you dare to offend again, you'll be expelled from the prison immediately!"

  Zhang Ping was stunned, only then realizing he had been tricked and locked up. How could he explain this to his brother? There were still many things waiting for him to do.

  "Sir Cao, today is just a propitious day, can't we postpone the lockdown till another day so that I can reunite with my family?"

  Liu Jing shook his head and said bluntly, "If you want to reunite with your family, you wouldn't have changed shifts without permission. Since you don't care about it yourself, why do you need to switch?"

  He immediately ordered his men on both sides, "Take Zhang Ze back, lock him up for two days, and do not allow anyone to visit him within two days."

  A dozen or so soldiers came forward and asked Zhang Ping to go back. Zhang Ping was resentful in his heart, but he had no choice, so he followed the soldiers away.

  Watching Zhang Ping walk away, Liu Xuan shook his head. In fact, the role of isolating Zhang Ping was not too great. To solve this military slave crisis, the key still lies with Gan Ning.

  When a crisis arises, the methods of dealing with it have been roughly the same throughout history. For example, when encountering a difficult situation in later life, one should first grasp the time, understand the cause of the matter in the shortest possible time, and then consider countermeasures.

  So-called countermeasures are actually two methods, one is external, finding human relationships, because you can't solve it, it doesn't mean others can't solve it, find people who can solve the problem, think of ways to use connections, ask for help.

  Another is internal, that is to minimize the crisis as much as possible, for example, if some files are leaked, hurry up and supplement them, if there is a problem with the data, modify it immediately, make illegal places legal as much as possible, reduce legal risks, etc.

  Of course, the most important thing is to report to the leader first, so that the final responsibility will be borne by the leader. Many people hide and cover up when something happens, thinking it's their own fault and not daring to report to their superiors.

  Little did they know that after reporting, the most you would bear is work mistakes, deduction of bonuses, writing a self-criticism and so on, but the legal risks were transferred to the leaders, and of course, the psychological pressure was also transferred to the leaders.

  Actually, any crisis can be resolved in the end, it's just that there is no hurdle that cannot be crossed and no mountain that cannot be climbed.

  Today, Liu Xuan also faced a crisis. He had to understand the situation clearly in the shortest time possible, so he knew what to do and how to deal with Zhang Yun.

  Especially the contradictions between Zhang Yun and Gan Ning have become irreconcilable, at this time Liu Xuan can only make a choice, supporting Gan Ning will inevitably offend Zhang Yun, not offending Zhang Yun will also inevitably hurt Gan Ning, it's hard to satisfy both.

  So Liu Xuan chose to support Gan Ning, although he offended Zhang Yun, but won the trust of Gan Ning. Moreover, turning against Zhang Yun also benefited from the trust of the Kuai family towards him. This is a case where there must be gains and losses, it just depends on how one weighs the pros and cons.

  At this time, Gan Ning walked into the courtyard and asked: "Young Master Jing, what should we do next?"