Liu Bei was clearly unfamiliar with the name Wei Yan, and he had not even remembered it after hearing it once.
Zhao Yun then repeated, word for word, the entire conversation he had with Xiao He in the inner courtyard.
Liu Bei looked both delighted and confused.
He was delighted because Xiao He had offered timely help and solved the most critical step in the Raid on Xiangyang.
He was confused because he had no idea who this Wei Yan actually was.
“Zhuge Liang, do you know who this Wei Yan is?” Liu Bei had no choice but to turn to Zhuge Liang.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuge Liang answered carefully.
“I have only happened to hear the name Wei Yan before.
As for his background and official post, I do not know the details.” A strange light appeared in Liu Bei’s eyes.
Even the widely connected Zhuge Liang did not know this man well, yet a recluse who had lived in the mountains and ignored worldly affairs had declared that he was trustworthy and fit to be the inside agent.
After predicting Liu Biao’s death and Liu Cong’s surrender to Cao Cao, Xiao He had now given Liu Bei another surprise.
The more he thought about it, the harder it became to treat the matter lightly.
“No matter what, since this is someone Xiao He mentioned, we absolutely cannot take him lightly.” Zhuge Liang shared the same doubts, but he decided to verify the matter at once.
“lord should send someone across the river immediately to contact Yi Ji and use all our connections to gather everything we can on Wei Yan tonight.
Whether this man can be trusted can be decided tomorrow.” Liu Bei nodded heavily and immediately ordered Sun Qian to cross the river and secretly meet Yi Ji.
That night, he and Zhuge Liang stayed awake the whole time.
They waited through the entire night.
Near noon the next day, Sun Qian finally returned, covered in dust.
Before he even had time to drink a sip of tea, he placed the results of Yi Ji’s investigation on Liu Bei’s desk.
“After a full night of investigation, we learned that this Wei Yan is from Yiyang and is twenty-five years old.
His martial skill is excellent, and he does have some talent as a general.” “It is only because he comes from a poor family, and because he is somewhat proud and once offended Cai He, that he has never been promoted.
Even now, he is only a military marquis with no more than five hundred men under him.” Jian Yong briefly reported the key findings.
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang looked at each other, and both showed a flash of delight.
He had talent as a general.
That matched exactly what Xiao He had said.
He came from a poor family, had offended Cai He, had never been promoted, and was proud by nature.
With all those things added together, how could he not hold resentment toward the Cai clan?
The role of inside agent seemed almost made for this Wei Yan.
He was nearly the perfect fit.
“This Wei Yan is the one!” Zhuge Liang snapped open his feather fan and spoke without hesitation.
“lord, this man is the best possible choice to serve as the inside agent.” Liu Bei felt a great weight lift from him and laughed in delight.
“I did not expect there to be such a fierce man in Xiangyang.
Heaven truly is helping me.” At the side, Zhao Yun also let out a breath of relief, but then he clicked his tongue and sighed.
“I did not expect the man Xiao He recommended really could be used by lord.
He lives hidden in the wild mountains, yet he knows a military marquis in the army at Xiangyang so well.
It truly is hard to believe.” Those words reminded Liu Bei of something again.
He turned to Zhuge Liang.
“Zhuge Liang, how do you think Mister Bowenvwen was able to judge that this Wei Yan could take on such an important role?
Could it be that, just as Zhang Fei guessed, he really studied under a recluse immortal and learned ways to foresee the future and perform divination?” Zhuge Liang lightly waved his feather fan and fell into thought.
He considered it for a long time before finally speaking.
“Perhaps this Xiao He truly is the child of immortals and has learned some supernatural method of calculation.
Or perhaps, although he lives in seclusion in the mountains, he has not truly ignored the world and has instead kept a clear watch on the people and affairs of Jing Province.” “As for which it is, we do not need to dig too deeply.
What I can say for certain is that this Xiao He truly means to help lord, and that is enough.” Liu Bei suddenly understood, and the doubt in his eyes turned firm.
He no longer hesitated.
“Zhuge Liang is right.
Then I will write a letter at once and have Gongyou go immediately to recruit this Wei Yan, so he can work with us from both inside and outside and help us break into Xiangyang.” “After this battle is over, I will formally invite this Xiao He to enter my service with full ceremony and help me accomplish the great cause of restoring the Han.” Inside a military tent in Xiangyang, a young military marquis eight chi tall, with a face like a dark red date, stared at the letter in his hands in open surprise.
His features even bore some resemblance to Guan Yu, and this young military marquis was Wei Yan.
The letter he held had been written by Liu Bei himself.
In the letter, Liu Bei spoke with complete honesty and plainly stated his wish to recruit him.
He laid out the full plan for Raid on Xiangyang and asked Wei Yan to serve as an inside agent, seize the gate, and let Liu Bei’s main force surge into Xiangyang.
The plan was bold, but that alone only surprised Wei Yan a little.
What truly moved him was something else.
A great man like Liu Bei, famous across the realm and honored as a guest by Liu Biao, actually knew that someone like him existed.
He had even lowered himself to write personally and used sincere words to ask him to join.
He had gone even further and revealed the full plan for Raid on Xiangyang without concealing anything, even though it was a matter of life and death.
As Wei Yan read the letter, his chest heaved with emotion, and his hands trembled slightly.
“My lord recently gained a master of strategy.
It was this man who recommended you to my lord and said that Military Marquis Wei has the talent of a famous general, and that you are a loyal and proud man who is unwilling to join Liu Cong and the two traitors Cai and Kuai in surrendering to the Cao Cao traitor.” “When my lord learned that there was still a fierce and loyal man like you inside Xiangyang, he naturally came to admire you greatly.
That is why he ordered Qian to cross the river late at night to visit you and ask you to help my lord take Xiangyang.” Liu Bei had always been straightforward.
Since he had decided to recruit Wei Yan, he treated him with sincerity, so before Sun Qian left, he specifically told him to speak honestly to Wei Yan and not deceive him with empty words.
“A master of strategy?
Which worthy man of Jing Province knows my ambitions so well?” A flash of deep curiosity passed through Wei Yan’s eyes.