When Zhang Cuo fought his way out of the encirclement and escaped back to Chengdu, the news of Li Cun’s death in battle and the fall of Liangzhou and Yong Province reached the city almost simultaneously.
The people of Yizhou were gripped by a sense of impending doom. Doubts regarding the Empress’s policies spread rapidly, and a significant number of citizens even began to flee spontaneously toward the lost provinces of Yong and Liang. It wasn't just the wealthy families of Yizhou; even the capital, Chengdu, saw twenty to thirty percent of its population disappear, leaving only seventy percent remaining. Liu Zhao immediately issued a series of measures offering benefits to those who stayed, hoping to use such incentives to retain the populace, but the results were minimal.
It was precisely for this reason that Liu Zhao agreed to Dugu Yao’s plan to ambush and kill Jia Lingyun in Badong City.
Chapter 834