Chen Deng didn't expect Han Zhan to see him for the first time, so he wanted to pull himself over so directly. He hesitated for a while before replying with a wry smile: "Tao Fujun has the grace of knowing Chen, even if Chen is broken, it will be difficult to repay it." Anyang Hou's good intentions, please forgive Chen for not being able to obey his fate. ”

Han Zhan considered that his territory would become bigger and bigger in the future, and the talents under his command would soon be insufficient. And Chen Deng is not only a wealthy family in Xuzhou, but also has real talent and learning, if he is willing to submit, he can be allowed to serve as the pastor of Xuzhou to envelop the natives of Xuzhou. At the same time, he can also let him contain Yuan Shu in Yangzhou, and Sun Jian and others in Eastern Wu, so that he has no worries about the south.

He knew that the first time they met, he recruited Chen Deng in public, which seemed too abrupt, and there was not much hope of success. But he still decided to throw stones to ask for directions, and seeing that Chen Deng did not hesitate to refuse his offer as he expected, he not only did not get angry, but said with a smile: "Yuanlong is loyal to Tao Fujun, but Benhou is too reckless. ”

After speaking, he no longer kept Chen Deng, but arched his hand towards the other party, "Yuanlong, Ben Hou still has important things to do today, so I won't keep you." If there is any rudeness, please do a lot of Haihan. After speaking, he shouted outside, "Someone! ”

With the shout, Chen Zhi walked in from outside, bowed down and saluted Han Zhan: "What does the lord command?" ”

"Send someone to escort Mr. Yuanlong to Licheng!"

As soon as Chen Zhi agreed, Chen Deng interjected on the side and said: "Anyang Hou's good intentions, Chen Mou understands it." Licheng is the boundary of Xuzhou, presumably Chen will not encounter any danger, so he will not dare to bother with Lao Anyanghou. Leave! ”

After Chen Deng left, Han Zhan instructed Chen Zhi to lead people to stay and dismantle the tent, while he, Guo Jia, and Tai Shici took fifty tigers and leopards to ride along the official road to chase the army ahead.

Halfway through, Guo Jia, who was riding on a horse, suddenly laughed inexplicably, which aroused Tai Shici's curiosity: "Strategist, why are you laughing?" ”

"I'm thinking about the lord recruiting Chen Yuanlong in public." Guo Jia said thoughtfully: "The lord knew that when he met Chen Yuanlong for the first time, he took the initiative to recruit the other party, and he would definitely not succeed, but he still did it, which seems to be quite meaningful." ”

Han Zhan wanted to know if Guo Jia had guessed his true thoughts, so he asked with a smile: "Fengxiao, why do you think Ben Hou wants to recruit Chen Yuanlong?" ”

"The lord's territory is getting bigger and bigger, but the civil and military generals he can use in his hands are very limited." When Guo Jia saw Han Zhan asking, he said what he thought without hesitation: "Qingzhou is now the territory of the lord, but the candidate for the Qingzhou pastor, the lord did his best to reluctantly choose a Zang Hong. If Xuzhou also falls into the hands of the lord, who should be chosen to be the lord of Xuzhou? Judging from the current situation, Chen Yuanlong is undoubtedly the best candidate. ”

Regarding Guo Jia's analysis, Han Zhan nodded with a smile and said approvingly: "Those who know me, Feng Xiaoye." In order to let Guo Jia fully comprehend his intentions, he continued, "After we have captured the four northern states, the first thing we need to take is Xuzhou. Xuzhou is a place of four wars, and there is no capable person in charge, so Ben Hou is not at ease. ”

Although Guo Jia guessed that Han Zhan was optimistic about Chen Deng, he didn't expect him to have such high expectations for Chen Deng. He asked tentatively: "Lord, are you planning to let Chen Deng sit in Xuzhou in the future?" ”

"That's right." Han Zhan didn't intend to hide his true thoughts, "Ben Hou thinks about it, Chen Yuanlong is the best candidate. With him here, whether it is Yuan Shu in Yangzhou or Sun Jian in Jiangdong, there is nothing to worry about. ”

"Jiangdong Sun Jian?" When Tai Shici heard the order mentioned by Han Zhan, he paused for a long time before he spoke: "Lord, Sun Jian is now relying on Yuan Shu to gain a firm foothold in Jiangdong. The lord compares him to Yuan Shu, does he think too highly of him? ”

"Don't look at Sun Jian's current soldiers, but he will be the overlord in the future." Han Zhan didn't explain to the two of them why he was optimistic about Sun Jian, but said to himself: "Don't look at the fourth and third princes of the Yuan Shu family, but now it is already going downhill. When Sun Jian sees that his power is not good, he will come up with ideas to stand on his own, and then he will become a fierce opponent of ours. ”

Guo Jia was not familiar with Sun Jian, so he naturally had no feeling for what Han Zhan said. He changed the topic in time and said to Han Zhan: "Lord, you said that Wang Hun and Zhou Cang are going to Kaiyang, can you persuade Zang Ba to return to obedience?" ”

When Han Zhan heard Guo Jia's question, he didn't answer immediately, but asked rhetorically, "Fengxiao, what do you think?" ”

"If it weren't for the gentry of Licheng telling us that Zang Ba controlled Kaiyang and other places in addition to Mount Tai, the original conditions would naturally not be enough to persuade him to submit." Guo Jia said slowly: "The lord sent someone to send a letter to Wang Hun and asked him to propose the matter of giving Zang Ba a marquis, I think the vast majority of people will not hesitate to make the right decision when they learn that they can be made after returning to Jizhou." ”

"Ben Hou believes that Wang Hun and Zhou Cang's trip will definitely live up to their mission." Han Zhan felt that what Guo Jia said was not complete enough, so he added: "In addition to the conditions we gave Zang Ba that he could not refuse, we pressed hundreds of thousands of troops from the north and south to Kaiyang and Taishan at the same time, so that he had to choose between being promoted to an official and suffering a catastrophe. I think Zang Ba is a smart person, and he will make wise decisions. ”

The hundreds of thousands of troops that Han Zhan said in his mouth included those Yellow Turban Army who had returned to obedience. With such a large number of soldiers and horses, it is very easy to destroy Zang Ba, who only has 30,000 people. What's more, not long after Zang Ba Xinkai opened the sun, whether the morale of the people is stable is still a big problem. Therefore, Han Zhan dared to make such a bold speculation, as long as Zang Ba saw the new conditions he offered, he would definitely choose to submit to himself.

Regarding whether Zang Ba is obedient, Guo Jia and Han Zhan thought about going together. But Guo Jia has his own views on how to use it after Zang Ba returns to obedience. Taking advantage of today's opportunity, he cautiously proposed: "My lord, in our new conditions, we promise to let the imperial court make Zang Ba the Marquis of Kaiyang, and will not move a single soldier under him, and let them continue to hold Kaiyang." I'm worried that in this way, if Zang Ba is an ambitious person, after a long time, will he have two hearts? ”

Don't look at Han Zhan has never seen Zang Ba himself, but through his understanding of the history books, he feels that Zang Ba is still very reliable, not the kind of villain who is in the twilight of Qin. As long as he doesn't do anything angry and resentful and offend him badly, he will never rebel easily. Thinking of this, he turned his head to Guo Jia and said: "Although Ben Hou has never seen Zang Ba, I believe that he should be a trustworthy person, and Ben Hou is very relieved to hand over Langya Kingdom and Dongguan County to him for jurisdiction." ”