A convoy of more than 400 grain trucks, escorted by nearly 1,000 people and 3,000 cavalry, left Jizhou from the south gate and marched along the official road to Guantao.

There was a carriage specially prepared for Han Zhan in the convoy, but he did not stay in the carriage, but walked side by side with Chen Gong. He smiled and said to Chen Gong: "Gongtai, if you feel that it is too cold outside, you might as well take a car." With that, he also raised his whip and pointed to the carriage behind him.

Seeing Han Zhan riding a horse in the wind and snow, how could Chen Gong get into the warm carriage, he smiled and said, "Thank you Tinghou for your kindness, I am still willing to ride a horse." ”

Seeing that Chen Gong was unwilling to take the carriage, Han Zhan was not reluctant. Someone to talk to you will not be too lonely on the way. Moreover, you can also make friends with the other party, and when you solicit them in the future, you can also increase the chance of success.

Chen Gong saw that the convoy was on the official road covered with snow, and said to Han Zhan apologetically: "Tinghou, if it is cold today, the road is rugged and difficult to travel, but I want to trouble you to personally escort the grain and grass to the pavilion pottery. On behalf of the military and civilians of Dongjun, I would like to express my gratitude to Tinghou! ”

"The public station is polite." Han Zhan looked at the convoy that was trudging in the snow, and couldn't help frowning slightly, he smiled bitterly and said to Chen Gong: "However, the snow on the official road is too deep, and it will take at least four or five days for the convoy to reach Guantao, I don't know if Cao Taishou will be in a hurry." ”

Hearing Han Zhan say this, Chen Gong was silent for a moment, and then said, "It's okay, I immediately sent someone to Dongjun to report to Cao Taishou, so as not to worry about him not being able to see the grain truck for a long time." ”

"Since this is the case, the public station will quickly send someone to report the news," Han Zhan urged Chen Gong: "So as not to worry about Cao Taishou." ”

The grain truck only traveled more than 30 miles a day, and Han Zhan saw that it was getting late, so he ordered to camp on the spot.

After setting up the camp, Huang Zhong came to Han Zhan's tent and reported to him: "My lord, the camp has been set up. The last general sent fifteen horsemen to the east, south, and north at the same time, and we can all know at the first time what is going on. ”

Regarding Huang Zhong's arrangement, Han Zhan nodded with a smile and said approvingly: "It's still Han Sheng who thinks thoughtfully, so that the soldiers and civilians can sleep soundly tonight." ”

"Lord," Huang Zhong waited for Han Zhan to finish speaking, and then said cautiously: "It's freezing outside, and if you are not careful, you may be infected with wind cold." Tomorrow, why don't you travel by car? ”

Han Zhan knew that Huang Zhong cared about himself, so he would make such a suggestion, and he said with a smile: "Thank you Captain Huang for your kindness, but Ben Hou is not a weak person, can't he even stand this little bit of wind and snow?" Tomorrow in a hurry, Ben Hou will continue to ride a horse, and Captain Huang does not have to worry about the sky. ”

Early the next morning, the grain convoy set off again. Chen Gong still walked side by side with Han Zhan, and after the two chatted a few words, Chen Gong suddenly stared at the ground in a daze. Han Zhan looked down at the place he was looking at, but it was nothing more than a messy pile of horse hooves, all left by the cavalry that opened the way in front.

Han Zhan asked curiously, "Gongtai, I don't know what you're looking at?" ”

Chen Gong pointed to the snow full of horses' hooves, and said with some surprise: "Tinghou, please see, these horseshoe prints on the snow seem to be different from what I usually see. ”

Chen Gong's words immediately made Han Zhan realize that the other party had discovered the secret on the horse's hooves, after all, the horseshoe prints nailed and unnailed horseshoes could be seen at a glance. He hurriedly smiled and said: "The public platform is laughing, they are all horseshoe prints, what difference can there be?" ”

"Tinghou," Chen Gong stared at the snow and said stubbornly, "I have carefully observed, the horseshoe prints of the Jizhou cavalry are indeed different from the horseshoe prints of the Dongjun cavalry. ”

Han Zhan didn't want him to know the secret of the horseshoe, so he quickly changed the topic: "Gongtai, I heard that in the past, Cao Gongxing stabbed Dong thief and escaped from Chang'an alone, passing through Zhongmu County, and was captured by the sergeant guarding the pass, and it was Mr. who saved him. even abandoned the official and went to the county with him, I don't know if there is such a thing? ”

Who knew that Chen Gong didn't say anything after hearing this, but asked, "I don't know where Tinghou heard this rumor?" ”

Seeing Chen Gong say this, Han Zhan secretly said in his heart, could it be that Cao Cao was killed, and Chen Gong did not hesitate to abandon the official to save him, is it a fabrication in the romance? In order to clarify this matter, he asked tentatively: "Gongtai, is it a false rumor, and there is no such thing at all?" ”

Chen Gong bowed slightly after hearing this: "That's right, when Meng De escaped from Chang'an, he was indeed captured by the soldiers guarding the pass in Zhongmu. I visited the prison at night and learned that he planned to return to his hometown to issue an edict and summon the princes of the world to raise troops to punish Dong Zhuo. I felt that he was a man of loyalty, so I took him out of prison and abandoned his official position and went with him to the county. ”

After verifying the abandonment of the official here in Chen Palace, Han Zhan continued to ask, "Have you two ever been in Chenggao on the way back to Qian County?" ”

As soon as Han Zhan finished speaking, he noticed that Chen Gong's face turned red as soon as he brushed it, and even his breathing became short. Seeing Chen Gong's reaction, Han Zhan believed a little more about Lu Bo's extermination.

He looked left and right, and saw that the cavalry was keeping a distance from himself, which was all Chen Dao's arrangement. Ever since Chen Zhi became the commander of the guards, he told those guards that every time he went out, he had to keep a certain distance from Han Zhan, so as not to affect his conversation with others. But at the same time, you can't be too far away from Han Zhan, so as not to be able to rescue if there is any emergency.

Han Zhan smiled faintly at Chen Gong, and then asked in a low voice in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Ben Hou heard a rumor and wanted to confirm it to Mr., I don't know if it is possible?" ”

"What rumors?" Chen Gong asked vigilantly.

"Lu Bo's calamity of destroying the door," Han Zhan asked unhurriedly, "I wonder if it has anything to do with Cao Mengde?" ”

"You, you," Chen Gong pointed at Han Zhan with his finger and asked in an incoherent voice, "Where did you learn about this?" ”

"Don't panic," Han Zhan continued with a smile, "Ben Hou doesn't want to ask the teacher for guilt, but just to understand what kind of person Cao Mengde is, so as to decide whether to borrow grain from him. ”

When Chen Gong heard Han Zhan say this, he thought that the other party was really trying to borrow grain, so he sent someone to understand Cao Cao's details, and his heart suddenly became much more steady. However, he still denied that Lu Boyu was destroyed. "Meng De and I did go to Lu Bohao's house that day. However, when we arrived, we found that there was no one alive in the village, and all nine of our masters and servants had been killed. According to Meng De's analysis, it may be that the robbers broke into the house and robbed, and when they encountered the resistance of the family, they destroyed Lu Bohao's family in a fit of anger. ”

He was afraid that Han Zhan would not believe it, and after a pause, he continued: "At that time, I was still preparing to bury the body, but Meng De said that if anyone saw it, we would not be able to argue. He dismounted and kowtowed three times to the corpse, and then he mounted his horse with me and continued to Qianjun. ”

Judging from Chen Gong's expression, Han Zhan didn't know whether the story he was telling was true or false. And who killed Lu Bohao may become a historical unsolved case.

…………

After four more days on the road, I finally came to the realm of Guantao.

Taishou Chen Zhen, guards Xiahoulan, Lu Kuang, Lu Xiang and others went out of the city to greet each other. Seeing Han Zhan appear, several people hurriedly stepped forward to salute and said in unison, "See the lord!" ”

"Excuse me!" Han Zhan stretched out his hand to help everyone, and then asked Chen Zhen: "Chen Taishou, I don't know if Cao Mengde's soldiers and horses have ever arrived at the realm of Pavilion Tao?" ”

"Returning to the lord's words," Chen Zhen replied respectfully, "Cao Mengde's soldiers and horses arrived yesterday, and now they are camped five miles south of the city. Please wait, and his subordinates will send someone to inform him. ”

"No need," Han Zhan waved his hand on horseback and said, "I'll leave this matter to Mr. Gongtai." After speaking, he turned his head to look at Chen Gong, "Gongtai, please send someone to the south of the city to inform Cao Taishou and let them receive this batch of grain and grass in the south." ”

After the people sent by the Chen Palace left, Han Zhan asked Chen Zhen again: "Chen Taishou, I don't know how the high lieutenant's injury is?" ”

"Back to the lord's words," Chen Zhen hurriedly said: "The injury of the senior lieutenant has improved, and I heard from his family that he used to stay and walk around alone yesterday. ”

Han Zhan and the grain convoy passed through the city from Guantao, and as soon as they got out of the south gate, they saw a group of people and horses on the opposite side, about more than 200 horsemen, and there was a black flag in the team, and the word "Cao" was the size of a bean. The opponent's soldiers and horses stopped a hundred paces away, and rushed out of the queue with one horse, heading towards Han Zhan's location.

After Chen Gong saw the person who came clearly, he hurriedly introduced it to Han Zhan and said, "Qiyu Pavilion Marquis, it is Cao Taishou who comes!" ”

Looking at the oncoming knight, Han Zhan felt as if he was in a dream, he didn't expect that he would actually meet Cao Cao face to face. He secretly thought in his heart that if Huang Zhong was allowed to send a cold arrow and kill Cao **, then future history would be rewritten. In the end, it is not about "returning the Three Kingdoms to Jin", but about unifying the world by itself.

But these things can only be thought about in the heart, but they must not be done. Once he kills Cao Cao, it will have a bad impact on his reputation, and maybe even Guo Jia and Xun Yu will leave him because they disdain to be with him.

When Han Zhan was thinking nonsense, Cao Cao had already come within twenty steps. Chen Gong, who was standing on the side, hurriedly rode his horse and rushed over, and muttered a few words to Cao Cao's horse.

After a while, Cao Cao rode his horse again. As the distance got closer and closer, Han Zhan finally saw the other party's face clearly, Cao Cao was a Chinese face, with thin eyes and a long beard. When the two sides were only two or three steps apart, Cao Cao reined in his horse again and bowed to Han Zhan on horseback: "Meng De has seen Tinghou!" ”

Facing this historical celebrity, Han Zhan seemed a little at a loss, and he thought to himself: What should I call him? It's not appropriate to call him Prime Minister Cao Cheng, he's not a Taishou at the moment, so if he calls him like this, maybe he thinks you're mocking him; It doesn't seem appropriate to call him Meng De, it's all the names of people of the same age, and Cao Cao is almost forty years old now, although he is a pavilion marquis, but he is only seventeen or eighteen years old, how can he intersect with his peers?

Seeing Han Zhan staring at him in a daze, but never speaking, Cao Cao's face showed embarrassment. However, he quickly regained his composure, saluted Han Zhan again, and repeated: "Dongjun Taishou Cao Mengde, I have seen Tinghou!" ”

Han Zhan laughed and said, "Cao Taishou, Benhou is polite!" He saw that although Cao Cao tried his best to hide his emotions, he could still see a trace of dissatisfaction on his face, so he continued, "Cao Taishou's face is good, the land is wide and square, and he is the state of a dragon and a phoenix among people. Ben Hou saw God for a while, and asked Meng Demo to be surprised! ”

"Tinghou has won the prize!" After Cao Cao heard Han Zhan's praise, he actually put on a sincere and frightened expression: "Meng De is just a little Taishou, how dare he be the dragon and phoenix among people." ”

Han Zhan leaned sideways, pointed at the hundreds of carts of grain behind him with a horsewhip, and said to Cao Cao: "Cao Taishou, these are the grain and grass you need, please arrange for people to leave as soon as possible." ”

"The great kindness of the Pavilion Marquis, Meng De is unforgettable." When Cao Cao saw the hundreds of carts of grain, his eyes immediately lit up, and he hurriedly bowed down again and thanked Han Zhan: "Meng De represents the people of Dongjun, thank you Tinghou!" ”

"Cao Taishou, you might as well hand over the matter of grain and grass to the public station for disposal." Han Zhan thought that he would have to fight Yuan Shao in the spring of the next year, and he still needed Cao Cao's help, so he hurriedly said to him: "Please follow Benhou to the city for a while." ”

"In this way, it is better to be respectful than to obey your fate." Cao Cao saw that Han Zhan had defeated Yuan Shao, so he had the heart to befriend him, and when he heard him invite him to the city as a guest, he naturally couldn't ask for it, so he hurriedly agreed. However, he still explained to Chen Gong before following Han Zhan into the city.

Cao Cao followed Han Zhan to the main hall of the Taishou Mansion, and as soon as he entered the door, he felt that the room was as warm as spring, so he curiously looked around and wondered how many braziers were placed in the room. But he looked at it for a long time, but he didn't see a brazier, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Dare to ask the pavilion, there is no brazier in the main hall, why is it as warm as spring?" ”

Hearing Cao Cao's question, Han Zhan smiled, and then said: "Cao Taishou doesn't know anything, now the brazier is no longer used for heating in the Pavilion Tao City, but a fire kang is used. ”

"Ondol?!" After Cao Cao repeated the word, he asked puzzledly: "Tinghou, please forgive Cao for his shallow knowledge and not heard of this kind of fire kang." ”

It's right if you haven't heard of it, Han Zhan said secretly in his heart: In front of me, you are an old hat. However, on the surface, he still politely said to Cao Cao: "Cao Taishou, this is just an object developed by Benhou on a whim." Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning. ”

When Cao Cao heard Han Zhan say this, he suddenly felt that the other party was unfathomable, and his evaluation of him was a few points higher in his heart. Even thinking that even if you can't be friends with the other party, you can't be an enemy with him when your own strength is not good. Liu Biao and Yuan Shu in the south have been eyeing their own territory, maybe they will attack at any time, maybe they will need to borrow troops from him to relieve the siege for themselves.

Han Zhan saw that Cao Cao was still standing in the middle in a daze, and hurriedly greeted him: "Cao Taishou, you don't have to be restrained here, just treat it as your own home, please sit casually." ”