After talking about the situation in Yanzhou, Mi Heng also became interested and asked about Jizhou.

This is not just out of personal grudge.

Xuzhou is located in the east corner of China. There is a saying in chess: golden horn, silver edge, grass belly. The outcome of Go is ultimately based on who occupies the larger territory, rather than who captures more pieces. This is inconsistent with the principle of competing in the world.

And combined, so in terms of location, Xuzhou is the first-class place of Longxing.

But except for the side that faces the sea, it is surrounded by Yan, Yu, Yang, and Qing. It is not easy for Wang Zheng to develop based on this place.

Although Jizhou does not directly border Xuzhou, Yuan Shao's forces exist in Qingzhou, and Cao Cao of Jizhou is his younger brother. In addition, his general Wen Chou has just died at the hands of Wang Zheng, so he is also one of the potential opponents.

Mi Heng is arrogant by nature and has a high self-esteem. Although this character is not pleasant, he does have a strategy. He also knows very well that if he wants to avenge his family, fulfill his oath and kill Yuan Shao, his only hope is to rely on

, is to make Wang Zheng’s power continue to grow stronger,

Even if we want to raze a behemoth like the Yuan family in Runan, I am afraid that what is needed is not only for Wang Zheng to become a powerful leader.

If you are not the son of Emperor Jiuyan and the common ruler of the world, you will not be able to accomplish such great things.

If you don't accumulate steps, you won't be able to reach a thousand miles; if you don't sweep a house, how can you sweep the world?

If you want to seize the world, you must capture one area. If you want to capture one area, you must capture a state. If you want to capture a state, you must constantly strengthen yourself internally and know the enemy's strength externally.

"Yuan Benchu." Sun Ce thought for a while and said with a smile: "Is Zhengping afraid that he will raise troops to invade? That shouldn't be the case. I'm afraid all his thoughts are now on Youzhou."

"Yuan Shao wants to meet Gongsun Zan again?" Mi Heng was startled: "Didn't he just make peace with the emperor at the beginning of the year and stop fighting?"

"Son of the Emperor?" Sun Ce chuckled, but did not continue. He just said: "The so-called one moment is the other moment."

"Before ten months ago, the state pastor received news that Xian Yufu, a member of the Youzhou army, was gathering soldiers from Hezhou. In order to avenge Youzhou pastor Liu Yu, he recommended Yan Rou to be the Sima of Wuhuan. Yan Rou recruited all the Hu and Han people, and gained tens of thousands of soldiers.

, attacked Yuyang and beheaded four thousand people. Zou Dan, the governor of Yuyang appointed by Gongsun Zan, also beheaded him and dismounted!"

"Xian Yufu also united with King Wuhuanqiao and more than 7,000 Hu cavalrymen to meet Liu Yu's son Liu He in the south, intending to attack again!"

"Gongsun Zan is now surrounded by powerful enemies outside and has lost all the hearts of the people in Youzhou. How can Yuan Benchu ​​let go of such a great opportunity?"

"It is expected that he will take the opportunity to send troops to seize Youzhou!"

As he said that, Sun Ce's smile faded, he sighed, looked to the north, and said solemnly: "Baima's righteousness has been accomplished, and Gongsun Bogui's courage in the Bohai Sea has long been gone."

Wang Zheng on the side touched his nose awkwardly.

He knew that Sun Ce's words were purely out of emotion and not sarcastic, but he was also a member of the Yellow Turbans now, so he felt ashamed because his predecessors had lost face.

In the second year of Chuping (191), 300,000 Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou attacked Bohai and wanted to join the Black Mountain Army. Gongsun Zan led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to defeat the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans in Dongguangnan, beheading more than 30,000 people.

The Qingzhou Lord was so frightened that he ran away, abandoned all his baggage, and rushed to cross the river. Gongsun Zan waited until they were halfway across the river to attack, and defeated the Yellow Turban Army again. Tens of thousands of people died, more than 70,000 people were captured, and countless chariots, armor, and property were lost.

After this battle, General White Horse's reputation reached the pinnacle of his life.

Anyway, most of these famous generals from the Three Kingdoms started their careers by stepping on the Yellow Turban.

Since Yuan Shao is focusing on Youzhou in the short term, Wang Zheng and Ni Heng no longer pay attention to it. Thinking of the strange dream he had before rushing to aid Kaiyang, Wang Zheng's heart was moved and he said as if unintentionally: "Brother Bo Fu, I wonder if you have heard of Liu Bei?"

others?"

After hearing this, Sun Ce's eyes flashed and he stared at Wang Zheng for a while. Seeing that he was calm and relaxed, he seemed to ask casually, so he smiled and said: "Mr. Xuande?"

"Ce is also a martial arts practitioner. How could he not know the beautiful talk about the three heroes' battle with Lu Bu at Hulao Pass? This benevolent and righteous gentleman must have heard about it."

"However, although Duke Xuande is a hero, he is not a hero. Now he is just a plain commander. How could the general suddenly ask about him?"

"Bo Fu is a warrior, and so is Zheng." Feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at by him, Wang Zheng explained casually: "For such a heroic figure, it is inevitable to be curious."

But he kept Sun Ce's strange reaction in mind.

"Speaking of it, when it comes to major events today, these are not trivial." Sun Ce looked around at everyone, slapped the table and sighed: "The biggest event still happened in Chang'an."

"Oh?" Wang Zheng became interested and asked, "How do you say this?"

"At the end of last year, after Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others took the emperor hostage and attacked Chang'an, the two thieves fell into internal fighting. It has only been three months, but there have been several fierce fights, and tens of thousands of people have died.

Palaces, government offices, and private houses were all available at once."

"While the two were fighting, they actually used the emperor as a plaything to hold him back and forth, isolating the inside and outside. When I think about this deeply, I feel it is both hateful and pathetic!"

After hearing this, Wang Zheng also remained silent.

Most of the kings who perished in the past dynasties brought their own faults and were despicable and shameful. Only Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty had a strong sense of sadness in their bodies, which made future generations sigh after reading them.

They may not be heroic lords, but they are definitely not tyrants. The two great dynasties perished at the hands of these two people. The bigger reason is that they are hard to come back from and have run out of energy.

"Since Zhou Mu knows about this, he doesn't know how to respond." Wang Zheng asked: "You can't just sit back and watch Emperor Xian suffer and just ignore it, right?"

Hearing this, Sun Ce's face flashed with green energy, and it disappeared briefly. He was silent for a long time, and then he forced a smile and said: "The state pastor is far away in Yangzhou. It is said that it is difficult to put out the fire near by water far away."

"That's true." Wang Zheng smiled and took the initiative to round out his words: "With the blessing of the Holy Emperor and the blessing of hundreds of spirits, I believe that he will be blessed with good luck in times of adversity, and turn any misfortune into good luck."

"I hope so." Sun Ce burst into laughter.

But this laughter, for the first time, had a cold undertone, which sounded creepy.

...

After leaving the banquet in the middle of the night, Wang Zheng saw Mi Zhu's figure in the distance. Wang Zheng exchanged a few words with Sun Ce and asked Yu Jin to take him to the palace of his choice. He then turned around and walked back towards the pavilion.

Mi Heng hasn't left yet and is waiting for him here.

During today's banquet, except for interjecting questions about Yuan Shao, Kuang Sheng was taciturn and silent for the rest of the time. However, at this time, he was half-leaning against the window edge, holding a bamboo slip, drinking tea and fanning the fan, feeling quite content.

.

Wang Zheng joked: "Could it be that all refined people like to be alone? How come there are so many changes among people in front of us and behind us?"

Mi Heng took advantage of him, so he didn't mind, so he took action himself, brought a chair, and sat on the opposite side. He waved his hand and ordered the maid and soldiers to retreat.

Mi Heng dropped the book and said with a smile: "The seven emotions are not because of the number of people, but because of the people. Just like the constant laughter at the Lord's banquet, it is because of facing Sun Ce."

"Others smile at you, but I smile at you." Wang Zheng smiled and said, "Besides, Sun Bofu is indeed a person."

"This son's ambition is not small." Mi Heng nodded, fully agreeing: "He is not someone who has lived under others for a long time."

You are a good talker and have a good eye for judging people.

After thinking for a while, Wang Zheng asked: "This time Yuan Shufang's messenger is Sun Ce. Was it Yuan Shu's order?"

"No." Mi Heng replied: "This is why Sun Ce took the initiative to ask for a tassel."

"That would be interesting." Wang Zheng leaned on the railing leisurely and looked down, admiring the night and asked:

"How could a small place like Kaiyang attract people like this to this place?"

"While Heng was traveling, he often thought about it but couldn't figure it out." Ni Heng rarely showed confusion:

"Although Sun Ce's official position is not high, he is brave and good at fighting. He is one of Yuan Shu's generals at this time. To be a mere messenger is really overqualified."

"To convince others, you must first convince yourself, and to discuss others, discuss matters first." Wang Zheng smiled slightly: "Since we don't know what his purpose is, whether he is good or evil, we might as well talk about other things first."

"Sir, did you get anything out of watching today's banquet?"

Throughout the night, Wang Zheng kept chatting with Sun Ce, offering drinks and asking for food. Although he made some discoveries, he had not yet thought deeply about it, let alone the whole picture, but Ni Heng was different.

"What my lord said is true." Mi Heng said, "I came to the banquet at night, and Yuan Shu sent three gifts. Heng also had three doubts."

After taking a sip of tea, Mi Heng closed his folding fan, tapped his palms, and started talking:

"Recommending my lord to be the governor of Xuzhou is too presumptuous and is suspicious in one way."

"Pretending to be magnanimous, he gave up half of the county, and even used his beloved daughter to lure him. He wanted the general to seize the East China Sea in a hurry. It can be said that it is obvious, but the second part is suspicious."

"Finally, the emperor took the initiative to mention Chang'an. He knew clearly that the lord was revolting in the name of the Yellow Turbans and anti-Han, so why did he mention it to his face? The third reason is suspicious."

While listening, Wang Zhengyi frowned and fell into thought.

In fact, he had thought of these three points, but it was useless to just raise doubts. He needed to find out the answers.

It must also be the correct answer.

"Before you take something from me, you must give it to me first." He pondered for a while and then said slowly:

"Since Yuan Shu is willing to give up the East China Sea to me, he must be hoping to obtain something more valuable through this matter!"

"The only thing more valuable than half a county is one state."

The words woke up the dreamer. Mi Heng's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he clasped the folding fan heavily in his hand:

"My lord, there is something more valuable than a state!"

Wang Zheng was startled, stood up suddenly, and followed the sound.

But Mi Heng stared at him and said every word: "Jiangshan!"

“Thousands of miles of land!”

"General, Heng has figured it out. The three doubts are actually the same cause!" Ni Heng said solemnly: "Yuan Shu has a disobedient heart and wants to stand on his own!"

good!

Wang Zheng's heart was clear. The Skeleton King returned to the scene like this for a bandit like him. He must have followed the original track of history and arrogated the throne in the near future.

Yuan Jiujiu himself wanted to be the number one rebel in Tianzi, so he didn't mind if he exceeded the rules. The so-called Xuzhou was just a lip service at this time. Wang Zhengben also won nearly half of Xuzhou anyway.

As for Sun Ce's initiative to mention Chang'an, he was even hinting to him that since the Emperor of Han is like this, we are justified in rebelling.
To be continued...