Episode 20

Xun Xu handed the token to Liu Ying, hoping that she could leave this place of right and wrong and no longer be involved in this war.Liu Ying stepped forward and hugged Xun Xu, then turned and left with the token.Xun Xu asked Lin Liang and Pei Xu not to follow Liu Ying again. He knew that this decision was the best protection for Liu Ying.

Zhuge Liang led his army in the Northern Expedition, and Hu Zhong also accompanied Ma Dai on the expedition.Chen Gong invited Feng Ying to have tea. During the dinner, he mentioned the war that killed his biological father ten years ago.In the 23rd year of Jian'an, Li Yan was stationed in Zizhong. Ma Qin and Gao Sheng rebelled due to Cao Wei's instigation and led an army to encircle and suppress Zizhong.The Shu army that originally had the upper hand was suddenly cut off by the Wei army and was driven into trouble by the soldiers.But it was too late for Liu Bei to station his army at Yangping Pass and rescue him.Chen Gong directly challenged Feng Ying. As the head of Si Wen Cao, he must have relevant information.

In the stills, we can see Feng Ying confessing that he and Yang Yi had anticipated such a day when they arranged for Chen Gong to go to Cao Wei.It was actually the strategy of the Shu army to have thieves encircle and suppress Zizhong.At that time, Liu Bei led his army to confront Xiahou Yuan across the river at Yangping Pass. After Ma Qin and Gao Sachs rebelled, Yang Yi came quickly to order Chen Gong to betray the information to Cao Wei.The Wei army's defenders at Dingjun Mountain misjudged the situation and attacked rashly. It was during this battle that the Shu army was able to defeat Xiahou Yuan and pacify Hanzhong in one fell swoop.However, the death of Chen Gong's father in battle was not the original intention of the strategy.

Chen Gong continued to ask whether Feng Ying had colluded with Guo Huai to betray the outside game lords for the purpose of Dahan Jiangshan's strategy. Do they deserve to die?Feng Ying replied that no one should die, but between national interests and personal life and death, he chose the former.Soon Yang Yi will come to Nanzheng and Feng Ying will persuade Chen Gong. If he doesn't believe it, he can ask in person. However, their preparations have not been easy so far and they must not waste all their efforts.Feng Ying directly admitted that he arranged Gao Tangbing's death and knew that Xun Xu was tracking him. He asked Chen Gong to find Yang Yi and try to get a general order from him.

Ma Dai came to the deserted Ziyan Pavilion to attend Li Yan's appointment.During the dinner, Li Yan first recommended Hu Zhong as Ma Dai's deputy and then bluntly expressed his dissatisfaction with Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition. However, Ma Dai was very cautious and only said that as a soldier, he obeyed his majesty's orders and did not dare to say anything else.Li Yanfu used the death of his brother Ma Chao to try to make Ma Dai change his mind, but Ma Dai was determined not to get into the troubled waters of the court dispute.Just when Li Yan was about to throw a cup and kill Ma Dai, Hu Zhong proposed to hand over His Majesty's secret edict to him for reading.After seeing the secret letter, Ma Dai was ordered to kill the thief. Li Yan then took out the letter of righteousness and asked for his signature to be used as evidence. Looking at the name of the general written densely on it, Ma Dai said, why worry about the big thing failing? He toasted and drank together, but he had other plans in his heart..

In Tianshui County, Guo Huai and Guo Gang were inspecting the deployment of the Shu army. However, after repeated inspections by the military commander, they still could not distinguish the main force of the Shu army.The Shu Han and Dong Wu accomplices were in a difficult situation in the two-front battle. Guo Huai ordered the entire line to shrink and withdraw from the Weishui River to block the Shu army head-on.Huang Yu summoned the remaining religious soldiers in Hanzhong and divided them into two groups, one group to cut off the Shu army's food route, and one group to attack the pass of Xixiang City with secret arrows. The target was Xunxu.

Xun Xu's leg injury gradually improved and he told Chen Gong that he had buried chess pieces at Liu Ying's place just waiting to be used.Chen Gong specifically told him that Feng Ying was going to Chiyan Peak in Qingshiyu to ask for fortune-telling. Of course Xunxu didn't believe that Feng Ying was just asking for help from the gods. Pei Xu also told him that the pattern on Feng Ying's door during the surveillance yesterday was a special mark for You Xiao.Xun Xu ordered Pei Xu to keep an eye on Feng Ying and wait for an opportunity to act decisively if necessary.Chen Gong then handed over the order from the Prime Minister's Office obtained from Yang Yi to him to facilitate his work.

Feng Ying carefully wrote words on the bamboo slip under the candlelight, blew it dry, and then carefully sealed it among the things and placed it away.Feng Ying stood up and looked at the armor he once wore. He thanked his old friend for his protection and regretted that he would no longer be able to wear armor and go into battle.Sun Ling came to report to his brother-in-law about the arrangements for tomorrow. He was suspicious that the Northern Expedition army would arrive in Nanzheng tomorrow. His brother-in-law had gone to Chiyan Peak early in the morning and would not be able to make it back in time. But Feng Ying insisted on going and gave his beloved wife a meaningful look at his only close relative.

After hearing Taoist Qingyun's prediction, Feng Ying just smiled and accepted his fate.He walked down the mountain road calmly and prepared to return.However, at this moment, Xun Xu suddenly rushed out with his men, accusing Feng Ying of having an affair with Cao Wei and leaking military information, and wanted to arrest him and bring him to justice.This sudden change made Feng Ying's expression become serious. He understood that at this moment, all plans and strategies would be tested.

Xun Xu acted decisively and quickly. He clearly knew that this was the best time to reveal Feng Ying's true face.He could not give Feng Ying a chance to escape, nor could he give him a chance to destroy any evidence.Therefore, he decided to intercept Feng Ying on his way out of Chiyan Peak and arrest him directly.