Zhao Yu's suspicion was correct, and Grand Secretary Chen did not withdraw his troops.

I still remember that in late July, Zhao Yu dispatched troops in Guantao in the name of Zhou Hu, the left general in Guantao. At that time, it was not only the counties in Hebei that responded to his call. In fact, Dongjun and Pingyuan County also received news one after another.

But at the same time, another incident happened, that is, after the new king Li Qian issued an edict to dismiss the left general Zhou Hu, he used his official position to recruit the heavenly kings of the Taishan Yishi.

Although Li Qian's main purpose of this move was to control Dongjun and Pingyuan County through the Taishan Yishi, cut off the retreat route of the Taishi army to return to Handan, and block Chen's army to the south of the river, he also gave General Zuo's official position to Zhang Zhai, Zhu Wu, Wang Peng and others, and they also had the idea of ​​provoking the bandits of Taishan and Zhou Hu to support the royal army.

Unfortunately, Li Qian never expected that the Taishan Yishi, who seemed to be incompatible with Zhou Hu, was actually his military advisor Zhang Zhai, who was secretly loyal to the former.

So at the instruction of Zhao Yu, Zhang Zhai swallowed the benefits given by Li Qian without any worries. After some internal discussion, Wang Peng finally took the position of the governor of Pingyuan County, while Zhu Wu took the position of the governor of Dong County.

Then, the Taishan Yishi devoted his energy to the capture of Dongjun and Pingyuanjun, and did not intervene in the civil war between Handan and Zhou Hu.

Since the Taishan Yishi was authorized by the new king Li Qian at that time, Pingyuan County was also at a loss and didn't know how to deal with the invasion of the Taishan Yishi. You said that the Taishan bandits were thieves, and they were awarded the official position from Handan. But if you want to be justified, the new king Li Qian himself was in a wrong position.

Therefore, after several hesitations, Pingyuan County finally decided to resist Taishan Yishi to a certain extent, and at the same time, they watched the final victory or defeat of the new king Li Qian and the left general Zhou Hu.

It was precisely because of the Taishan Yishi's intervention that Pingyuan County naturally had no strength to send troops to Guantao to reinforce Zhao Yu, but the county magistrate Huang Fen was about to make an accident in Handan, and sent people to report to Zou Zan, who was in Linzi, Shandong.

It was almost the end of July, and Zou Zan received the news from Pingyuan County in Linzi, and his face changed drastically.

Unfortunately, the Yang family in Liangzhou finally helped the third prince Li Qian and usurped the throne.

In addition to being frightened, Zou Zan immediately went to Donghai County in person to discuss countermeasures with Grandmaster Chen.

In early August, after three days of uninterrupted journey, Zou Zan arrived in Tancheng, Donghai County.

After meeting Tai Shi Chen, Zou Zan told Tai Shi Chen all the things he knew: "...Father, the big thing is not good. Two days ago, Huang Fen, the governor of Pingyuan County, sent someone to inform me that the Yang brothers finally assisted the third prince Li Qian to seize Handan and usurped the throne..."

Not to mention Mao Zheng beside him, Wang Su and the other two changed their expressions when they heard this, and even Grand Master Chen frowned.

Grand Master Chen frowned and asked, "Where is Ju Zheng? What is he doing?"

Zou Zan explained: "According to the news sent by Huang County Magistrate, Ju Zheng was attacked by Yang Xiong... At that time, Ju Zheng and Wei County Magistrate Han Zhan were supervising Yang Xiong to attack Dongwuyang, which was captured by Taishan bandits. Unexpectedly, after nightfall, Yang Xiong joined forces with Taishan bandits to attack Ju Zheng and Han County Magistrate's troops, causing heavy losses to the two armies..."

"Collaborate with the bandits of Mount Tai?" Wang Su exclaimed: "How dare Yang Xiong?!"

Grand Master Chen frowned and said nothing. In his opinion, since Yang Xiong had decided to assist the third prince Li Qian usurp the throne, what is the point of collusion with the Taishan bandits?

After thinking for a while, he asked in a deep voice: "How is Ju Zheng?"

Zou Zan breathed, barely squeezed out a smile and said, "Fortunately, under the desperate rescue of the Han County Magistrate, Ju Zheng was able to lead the defeated army to retreat into Yangping. Although he was surrounded by Yang Mian's army for a time, Ju Zheng quickly reversed the situation and severely damaged the Liangzhou army led by Yang Mian through a night attack. Even Niu Heng, his brave soldier under his command, killed Yang Mian on the spot..."

"ha!"

Wang Su turned his worries into joy when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Is it true that warrior named Niu Heng? On that day, the second brother predicted that the Yang brothers would suffer a loss in the hands of this powerful general under the Juzheng tent, and indeed..."

From the side, Grandmaster Chen's tense face also relaxed a little, but then Zou Zan said another bad news: "...but, Ju Zheng was finally dragged by Yang Mian in Yangping for a few days. During this period, Yang Xiong took the opportunity to lead the Liangzhou army to capture Handan..."

Hearing this, Wang Su's expression changed drastically. After all, his wife Xu and his elder brother Zou Zan's wife were all in Handan.

"Brother..." He looked at Zou Zan uneasy.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Zou Zan comforted: "My brother and sister are fine. According to reports, on the day when Handan fell, Chu Yan protected the prince Li Feng, Princess Xiangrui, and the insider and brother and sister forcibly breaking through. He is now living in Guantao and is in peace, but..."

"call"

Wang Su breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved. He felt secretly glad.

Immediately, he suddenly realized that his attitude was a little inappropriate, and a embarrassed look appeared on his face.

Grandmaster Chen did not care about Wang Su's actions just now. He frowned and looked at Zou Zan, looked at the solemn expression on the latter's face, and asked, "But what?"

Zou Zan licked his lips and said hesitantly: "...Your Highness the Crown Prince failed to escape."

Master Chen's expression changed slightly, and his eyes became sharper.

I have to say that compared to the safety of Emperor Jin, the old master was even more worried about Prince Li Xu. After all, in his opinion, the third prince Li Qian should not dare to kill his father. Otherwise, even if he successfully usurped the throne, the people of the world would not accept this new king who killed the lord and the father. I believe that Li Qian, Yang Xiong and others also knew about this.

But if Li Qian dares to kill his brother, then maybe he will be fine.

After breathing a long sigh, Grand Master Chen asked in a deep voice: "Is Ju Zheng in Guantao now?"

"Yes."

Zou Zan nodded and said, "According to the news from the Huang County Magistrate, after Ju Zhengping escaped from the trap, he led his army to Guantao to join Chu Yan's army, and then sent people to ask for help from each county, intending to form a royal army to retake Handan. This is why Huang County Magistrate learned about this."

After pausing, he added: "Which side of Handan did not sit and wait for death. With the assistance of Yang Xiong and others, the third prince Li Qian put his Majesty under house arrest and stole the throne. In turn, he accused Ju Zheng of colluding with Prince Li Yu to try to be unfavorable to His Majesty. They used this as a charge to remove General Ju Zheng Zuo, and even his father and us... were dismissed one after another."

"How dare he do Li Qian?!" Mao Zheng said furiously when he heard this: "Is he crazy?"

A prince who usurped the throne actually issued an edict to dismiss the official positions of Grand Master Chen and the Five Hu of Chen Men? Didn’t he, Li Qian, know that Grand Master Chen and the Five Hu of Chen Men were the backbone of Jin?

Compared to Mao Zheng's shock and anger, Wang Su no longer thought that his wife and sister-in-law were in danger and panic, and sneered: "He is not crazy, he is just afraid that we will turn around and attack... Say that Ju Zheng colluded with Prince Li Feng and made a ill-gotten plot? Then, Li Qian and Yang Xiong, did they think that everyone in the world is a three-year-old child? Who would believe such a ridiculous thing?"

Hearing this, Zou Zan's face showed a little subtlety, and she frowned and said, "That's the case. The trouble is that Prince Li Xu committed suicide for fear of guilt. Before he committed suicide by taking medicine, he admitted that he had connected with Ju Zheng, and even, with me and Zhongxin..."

"What?!"

Mao Zheng and Wang Su looked at Zou Zan in shock, and even a trace of surprise flashed in Grandmaster Chen's eyes. Then, this surprise was replaced by a strong anger.

After all, no one is stupid here, so how could he not see the conspiracy behind this incident?

After a brief shock, Wang Su angrily rebuked: "It must be Li Qian who forced the prince to pretend to commit suicide fearlessness and try to use this matter to frame us!"

"How dare he?!" Mao Zheng also looked angry.

Listening to Wang Su, Mao Zheng and the other two continued to denounce the third prince Li Qian, and Grand Master Chen stroked his beard without saying a word.

It took him a long time to say, "Send someone to call Zhongxin back."

Zou Zan, Wang Su and Mao Zheng looked at each other and hugged each other.

As dusk approached, Xue Ao brought a team of Taiyuan cavalry back to Tancheng.

As soon as he entered the front hall of the mansion where Grandmaster Chen lived, Xue Ao shouted dissatisfiedly: "Old man, why are you rushing to call me back? I'm busy..."

Wang Su hurried forward and whispered: "Second brother, something happened in Handan."

A few surprises flashed across Xue Ao's face, and his eyes stopped on the elder brother Zou Zan's face. Seeing the latter nodding with a serious expression, he then put away his cynical attitude and asked in a question: "Isn't Handan... not Youju? What's going on?"

So Zou Zan reiterated what he knew, and only Xue Ao frowned.

After Zou Zan almost finished talking about the current situation, Xue Ao frowned and asked, "Handan was captured by Yang Xiong and the others? Are the two brothers and sisters okay?"

Seeing that this kid was going to take advantage of him at this time, Zou Zan rolled his eyes speechlessly, deliberately biting the word "heavy" and said with an angry look: "Your sister-in-law and your younger brother and sister are fine. Chu Yan, who is under Juzheng, took them away when he broke through."

Of course, Xue Ao understood the tone of his elder brother. After a smile, he said, "Isn't that okay? What's the point of making a fuss?"

Mao Zheng and Wang Su looked at each other in surprise. Then, Wang Su said with a strange expression: "But the second brother... the prince is dead."

"If you die, just die."

Xue Ao still had a painless attitude: "When you have so many sons today, it's no big deal to die Li Xu and Li Qian..."

His rebellious words would naturally not be accepted by Master Chen, who said angrily: "Stop talking!"

Maybe seeing that the old man was really angry, Xue Ao didn't dare to talk back. He shrugged and changed the subject and said, "Then... Old man, do you call me back? Do you want to withdraw your troops back to Handan?"

Grand Master Chen glared at Xue Ao. If it were on weekdays, he would definitely scold him, but now he doesn't have the leisure time either.

First, Xue Ao's bad character has been determined and it is impossible to reverse it. Second, given the current situation in Handan, he is not in the mood to argue with the adopted son.

After thinking for a while, Grand Master Chen said in a deep voice: "I'm summoning you back just to hear your opinions and discuss together. Although there are residences in Handan,..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly paused for a moment and for some reason he didn't continue.

Seeing this, Xue Ao spread his hands and said, "If I want to go back to Handan, then I will be the pioneer...Li Qian and Yang Xiong, those two bastards, dare to frame us, hum!"

After a cold snorting, he suddenly seemed to think of something, frowned and said to Grand Master Chen again: "But old man, if we withdraw our troops back to Handan, Donghai, Langya will not be able to be saved..."

“…”

Master Chen stroked his beard and said nothing.

With his loyalty to the State of Jin and the Emperor of Jin, after learning that Handan had undergone a huge change, he would definitely withdraw his troops and return to Handan immediately, but the problem is that there is a major threat to the Jiangdong rebels in front of them.

If they withdraw their troops back to Handan, there is no doubt that Zhao Bohu, the leader of the Jiangdong rebels opposite, would take this opportunity to seize the East China Sea and the two counties of Langya, and would hold Kaiyang, which is extremely critical to both sides.

Kaiyang City in Langya County is a necessary road connecting Shandong and the East China Sea and Sihuai. If it falls into the hands of the Jiangdong rebels, the Jiangdong rebels will inevitably set up heavy troops in Kaiyang and completely close the important roads connecting Shandong. Jieshi, Taishi Chen and others will never be able to launch an effective offensive from Shandong again.

On the other hand, Jiangdong Yishi was able to spy on Shandong from time to time, and even put it in the right time.

Because he firmly believed that Zhao Bohu on the other side would never give up this opportunity, Grand Master Chen had already come up with a plan in his mind, just this plan...

"Father, what are you thinking?" Wang Su saw Grandmaster Chen's thoughtfulness and asked softly.

Seeing everyone's eyes looking at him, Grand Master Chen stroked his beard and said in a voice: "I am considering whether I can use this matter to lure Zhao Bohu..."

Hearing this, Zou Zan and Xue Ao moved slightly.

The next moment, Zou Zan said in surprise: "Father, what do you mean is that we pretend to withdraw our troops and lure Zhao Bohu to take Kaiyang. During this period, we suddenly returned and caught him off guard?"

"Um."

Unsurprisingly, Grand Master Chen Zou Zan also thought of this strategy under his suggestion, nodded and said, "During this period, I have been observing Zhao Bohu. According to the news sent back by Zhongxin and others, Zhao Bohu's forces are growing stronger and stronger. Now he is not without the power to fight with us, but he has always maintained the defensive momentum and cannot take a step. This is very unusual."

"Isn't it because he is afraid of the Grand Master?" Mao Zheng asked in confusion.

Grand Master Chen shook his head slightly, and Xue Ao also showed a thoughtful look.

Zhao Bohu was afraid of Grand Master Chen and the Five Tigers of Chen's Party?

How is that possible!
To be continued...