Chapter 205 199. Double Happiness
Ma Su and Deng Ai did not spend too much time sorting out the local county affairs. In less than ten days, they had reorganized their troops and headed north along the Xiang River. They joined forces with Zhang Nan who was still in Dongting, and together they returned upstream towards Jiangling.

Ma Su did not give Deng Ai much face along the way and was obviously extremely dissatisfied with Deng Ai, which made Deng Ai a little at a loss.

Zhang Nan noticed this situation but didn't say anything. He thought Feng Xi might have anticipated this situation, so he would not interfere in these matters.

The Han army marched along the Yangtze River for two days and finally returned to Jiangling City, which they had been away from for a long time. Feng Xi had naturally received the news sent back by the messenger sent by Zhang Nan long ago, and he generously held a banquet and set up wine to welcome the two people who had pacified the two counties.

In a small sense, this was to celebrate the triumphant return of the two. In a big sense, it was also to celebrate that after more than a year, Jingzhou was finally under the rule of the Han Dynasty again, which was naturally a cause for celebration.

After Zhang Nan, along with the other two men and the generals, settled the army, they came to the spacious meeting hall in Jiangling in an orderly manner to meet Feng Xi.

"Generals, you have worked hard on this trip. Thanks to your hard work, finally all the flags flying in Jingzhou are Han flags. I toast to you and the soldiers of my Han army who are not afraid of life and death!"

Since it was a big banquet, Feng Xi naturally had to say a few words. Zhang Nan, as the commander of the Jingzhou Navy, sat on Feng Xi's right hand side, the first in the list of military officers, and then Guan Xing, because everyone was willing to give Guan Xing this face, and then Fu Rong, the Bao brothers and other generals in order of rank.

There was naturally no problem with the military generals, but Zhang Nan noticed that something was not right with the civil officials. The first person to sit down was a middle-aged man with gray hair and beard whom Zhang Nan did not recognize. Although he had a smile on his face, his brows unconsciously revealed a sense of vicissitudes of life as he talked and laughed. It was obvious that he was a man with a story.

Even the current Jingzhou governor Huang Quan could only rank second at the moment, but judging from Huang Quan's expression he did not seem surprised by this.

But Feng Xi above was still speaking his congratulatory speech to himself, and didn't seem to have any intention of explaining anything, which made Zhang Nan scratch his head and feel as if there were ants crawling in his heart.

However, Feng Xi himself is not the kind of leader who likes to talk nonsense. He just said a few simple words to encourage the generals and ended his speech.

"Does sir have anything to add?"

Before Feng Xi sat down, he interacted with the middle-aged man specifically. His attitude was very nice, which surprised Zhang Nan a little.

Feng Xi's attitude was somewhat rare. Even when he was talking to Ma Liang, Wang Fu and other important officials in Jingzhou, Feng Xi was not so polite. However, the more he was like this, the more Zhang Nan was curious about the other party's identity.

"Thank you, Grand Commander. I am very excited to hear that you generals have returned victoriously. Although our Han Dynasty has experienced a year of lows and lost General Guan, we have all the wise ministers and generals here, and the future is promising.

I haven't been back to Jingzhou for more than ten years, and I am a little unfamiliar with the current situation in Jingzhou. I hope that you gentlemen and generals can give me more advice in the future."

Zhang Nan heard that the middle-aged man seemed to want to stay here for a long time, and he became even more curious. This man didn't seem to be from Sichuan, so who was he?
"Mr. Yuanzhi's return to our Han Dynasty and our army's recovery of Jingzhou are both great joys. Today, you don't have to restrain yourself. Drink to your heart's content!"

Feng Xi smiled, feeling extremely happy.

"Yuanzhi? ...Xu Shu Xu Yuanzhi?!"

Zhang Nan thought about it for a moment and immediately recalled the name. He was extremely surprised. Didn't he hear that after Xu Shu helped the previous emperor to defeat Cao Ren's Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, he was lured to Xuchang by Cheng Yu, the deceased counselor of Cao Wei, using Xu Shu's mother as a lure? Why is he here now? Zhang Nan was full of questions, so he naturally didn't enjoy eating and drinking. These behaviors naturally fell into Feng Xi's eyes.

This old brother of his was too easy to understand. He couldn't hide his thoughts, so Feng Xi responded with a smile while quietly reducing the amount of alcohol he drank to keep himself sober.

Sure enough, after a few hours, most of the generals had eaten and drunk their fill and left the conference room staggering. However, Zhang Nan was not drunk at all and quietly came over to talk to Feng Xi in private.

Feng Xi had been waiting for him for a long time, so he naturally asked his servants to invite Zhang Nan into his study. Zhang Nan came in without any hesitation, and sat down on the newly built chair in Feng Xi's study, and even adjusted his sitting posture to make himself more comfortable.

"Xiu Yuan, you know what. Although this table and chair you made looks a bit weird, it is comfortable to sit on. At least it makes my legs feel more relaxed."

As early as after the end of the war in Jingzhou, Feng Xi began to adjust his mind to people's livelihood. However, he still took some time out of his busy schedule and asked the craftsmen to make furniture for the study according to his requirements to make himself more comfortable. After all, sitting on the floor every day made Feng Xi, a future man who was accustomed to tables and chairs, feel a little uncomfortable.

"Why, Wenjin, you don't seem to have a good appetite today. I saw you hesitating at the banquet. Could it be that you have fallen in love with a girl and are obsessed with her, affecting your appetite?"

Feng Xi smiled. Although he knew what Zhang Nan was thinking, he still couldn't help but tease him.

"Go away. If it were this, it would be simple. You probably have guessed it. Why is Mr. Xu Yuanzhi here? I heard that he is not..."

When Zhang Nan heard Feng Xi's random ridicule, he couldn't help but give Feng Xi a blank look, and then he got back to the main topic. This matter did make him curious.

"Nothing. I just got a letter from the late emperor to Mr. Xu. Then I wrote one myself and asked Gong Heng and Wang Guoshan to arrange it and gave it to Mr. Xu."

Feng Xi acted as if nothing had happened, as if it was as simple as asking Xu Shu out for a meal.

"Xiu Yuan, don't lie to me. I heard that Mr. Xu Yuanzhi swore that he would never offer a plan to Cao Wei. He was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han."

Although Zhang Nan had never met Xu Shu in person, after all, he and Feng Xi had come here after the Battle of Chibi, but he had heard of Xu Shu's deeds. He heard that Xu Shu knew he was deceived, but was reluctant to lose face, so he was controlled by Cao Cao and stayed in Xuchang, seemingly to spend the rest of his life like this.

What kind of magic did Feng Xi use to persuade such a person to come back from Xuchang?

"Alas, it's nothing but sincerity. Life is short, and many things can never be regained once they are missed, so many people can only regret it for the rest of their lives. I just don't want Mr. Xu to be like this."

Feng Xi crossed his hands and rested his chin on them, but his eyes became blurry.

(End of this chapter)