Han Zhan spent the following days very comfortably, discussing in the conference hall with Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others during the day, or going to the barracks to watch Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong train their troops. And after dark, he went to Cai Yong's house, listened to her play the piano, and recited poems against her, and naturally did something about male and female love, good nights and short nights.

Don't look at Han Zhan's lack of literary talent, but I don't know if he has had adventures when he travels, his memory is particularly amazing now, and he even knows the poems and songs he read when he was studying. Except for the song Fu, he can't be compared with Cai Yan, and the rest of the poems, he comes out of his mouth. Seeing that Ruyi Langjun, who he fancied, was so versatile, Cai Yan put all his heart on him.

Early this morning, after Han Zhan helped Cai Yan draw his eyebrows, he was searching for suitable poems in his mind, ready to praise Cai Yan's beauty, but heard Patch shouting urgently outside.

Han Zhan knew that since he had been staying here with Cai Yan for a long time, as a butler's patch, there was nothing important, and he would never come to disturb him, so he asked outside, "Patch, what's the matter?" ”

"Back to Gongzi," Patch replied outside the door, "Mr. Guo asked me to invite you to the council chamber and say that a Master Chen has come to visit." ”

"Lord Chen?" Hearing Patch say this, Han Zhan frowned, and thought to himself: "Which Lord Chen, could it be Chen Zhen and Chen Xiaoqi?" He didn't stay well in Guantao as his guard, what did he do when he came to Jizhou? ”

With this question, Han Zhan came to the conference hall, but unexpectedly found that Guo Jia and Xun Yu were chatting with a civilian official with a fresh face. Seeing Han Zhan walking into the conference hall, several people hurriedly greeted him and bowed: "See the lord!" ”

"Excuse me!" Han Zhan raised his hand to the others, signaling that they didn't need to be polite. After Xun Yu and the others stood up straight, he looked at the strange civil official and asked, "I don't know what this adult is called?" ”

"See Tinghou," a civil official who looked to be in his early thirties, bowed to Han Zhan and introduced himself: "My surname is Chen, the name palace, and the word Gongtai, and I am a subordinate of Cao Taishou of Dongjun." ”

"Chen Gong?!" When he heard this name, Han Zhan's eyes almost darkened, and he fell directly to the ground. He secretly thought in his heart that Chen Gong had quietly left him because Cao Cao had killed Lu Bohao's family by mistake, and had said something like "I'd rather be responsible for the world than for the world to bear me". Why is he now Cao Cao's subordinate?

After Han Zhan sat down in the middle, he frowned and thought about it, and finally figured out the problem, his understanding of Chen Gong came from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which was very different from the real history. He looked at Chen Gong and asked with a smile: "Mr. Gongtai came to Jizhou from Dongjun, I don't know what to learn?" ”

"Tinghou," Chen Gong said respectfully, "This year, the grain harvest in Dongjun is poor, and Cao Taishou is worried that he will not receive it in the autumn of the next year, so he sent me here to borrow grain from Tinghou." ”

"Borrowed food?!" After listening to Chen Gong's intentions, Han Zhan asked expressionlessly: "I don't know how much grain and grass Cao Taishou plans to borrow from Ben Hou?" ”

Chen Gong stretched out his right hand, gestured and said, "Eighty thousand Hu." ”

Eighty thousand, hearing this number, Han Zhan couldn't help but sneer, and said in his heart that I am not related to you Cao Mengde, and I have never even met each other, so I dare to open my mouth and ask me to borrow 80,000 Hu, you can really open your mouth.

However, he did not write his dissatisfaction on his face, but asked Guo Jia quietly: "Fengxiao, you said that this grain, can we borrow it?" ”

Guo Jia in this time and space has never had any contact with Cao Cao, so naturally he will not help him speak, he thought about it and replied: "My lord, 80,000 grains is not a small amount. Even if we lend it to Cao Taishou, I don't know how he transported so much grain from Jizhou back to Dongjun? ”

Hearing Guo Jia's words, Han Zhan immediately knew what he should say: "That's right, what Feng Xiao said is extremely true. We have a bad relationship with Yuan Shao, if we want to transport grain to Dongjun, it will inevitably pass through Yuan Shao's territory, once he sends people to rob grain, how should we deal with it? ”

Chen Gong had long been prepared for Han Zhan's refusal of his request to borrow grain, but when he heard him say this, he really felt that this was an unsolvable problem: the soldiers and horses of Dongjun would definitely not be able to come to Jizhou to transport grain and grass; And the soldiers and horses of Jizhou sent grain to Dongjun, and they were bound to pass through Yuan Shao's territory, and they would not be able to escape the fate of being hijacked at that time.

Seeing Chen Gong's embarrassed expression, Xun Yu was a little overwhelmed, and hurriedly stood up and said to Han Zhan: "Lord, there is a way for my subordinates, I don't know if I should talk about it or not?" ”

When Han Zhan heard that Xun Yu unexpectedly did not call himself by his name, but called himself the lord, he knew that what he was going to talk about was very important, so he nodded at him and said, "Xun Changshi, please speak!" ”

"Jizhou has plenty of grain and grass, and 80,000 Hu is just a drop in the bucket." Xun Yu said unhurriedly: "We can transport the grain and grass to the pavilion, and then inform Cao Taishou to lead the troops to the pavilion to collect the grain and grass." As for whether Yuan Shao will send troops to intercept them when they return, it has nothing to do with us. ”

As soon as Xun Yu's words were finished, Xun Yu echoed: "What Xun Changshi said is extremely true, and his subordinates seconded it!" ”

Then Tian Feng also came out and said: "My subordinates also seconded it!" ”

Seeing that Xun's uncle and nephew and Tian Feng were saying good things for themselves, Chen Gong threw a grateful glance at them.

Han Zhan saw that Xun's uncle and nephew and Tian Feng were all helping Cao Cao say good things, and if he objected again, he would be a villain in vain. He stared at Chen Gong for a while, and suddenly thought that when Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, Chen Gong inexplicably betrayed him and went to Lu Bu. Since Chen Gong can defect to Lu Bu, why can't he defect to himself?

In order to leave a good impression on Chen Gong, he did not object to the matter of borrowing grain: "Okay, then Xun Changshi will hurry up and prepare to lend the grain and grass to Dongjun." After the preparation was completed, Captain Huang led people to the pavilion. ”

After explaining the task to Xun Yu, Han Zhan said to Chen Gong again: "Mr. Gongtai, please send someone back to report to Cao Taishou, and ask him to personally lead the troops to Guantao to receive grain and grass." ”

Chen Gong saw that he had finally fulfilled his mission and completed the errand assigned by Cao Cao, and a relaxed expression suddenly appeared on his face. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to Han Zhan: "On behalf of the people of Dongjun, thank you Tinghou!" ”

After sending Chen Gong away, Han Zhan instructed Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, immediately send someone to Guantao, inform Xiahoulan, and ask him to strengthen his defense and prevent the Dongjun soldiers from doing something to destroy them when they borrow grain to transport grain." ”

Unexpectedly, Guo Jia heard Han Zhan say this, and a smile appeared on his face. When Han Zhan saw Guo Jia's expression, he couldn't help but ask strangely, "Fengxiao, what are you laughing at?" ”

"Lord," Guo Jia replied with a smile, "Jia thought you would ignore this, but I didn't expect you to take these things into account." ”

Han Zhan saw that there were only himself and Guo Jia in the council room, so he lowered his voice and said to Guo Jia: "By the way, Fengxiao, Ben Hou has something I want to discuss with you." ”

Seeing Han Zhan's mysterious expression, Guo Jia guessed that it must be a particularly important matter, and in order to prevent the wall from having ears, he also said in a low voice: "Lord, please speak!" ”

"Chen Gongtai is quite strategic, Ben Hou wants to recruit him." In front of Guo Jia, Han Zhan didn't tell a lie in front of the real person, so he said bluntly: "I don't know what Feng Xiao thinks? ”

"As far as Jia knows," Guo Jia shook his head after listening to Han Zhan's words and said, "Back then, Cao Mengde failed to assassinate Dong Thief and escaped from Chang'an. was captured by the soldiers guarding the pass halfway, but Chen Gongtai felt his loyalty and did not hesitate to abandon the official and flee with him. Jia thinks that if you want to recruit him, it is tantamount to asking for fish from the wood. ”

Han Zhan saw that Guo Jia didn't have much hope for the recruitment of Chen Gong, so he decided to tell Guo Jia about Lu Boluxe: "Can Feng Xiao know about Lu Boluxe?" ”、

"Lu Boxuan?!" When Guo Jia heard this name, a confused expression appeared on his face: "Who is he?" ”

"Lu Boyao is the sworn brother of Cao Mengde's father, Chen Gong abandoned the official and Cao Cao fled to Chenggao and came to Lu Bohao's home." Han Zhan didn't know whether Lu Bohao's matter was true or not, but he still told Guo Jia about it: "Lu Boyao saw that the son of his righteous brother was visiting, and although he knew that he was being painted, he still received him warmly. Because there was no good wine at home, he went to a neighboring village overnight to buy wine.

The Lu family sharpened their knives in the backyard, preparing to kill pigs to entertain Cao Cao. Who knew that when Cao Cao heard the whetstone, he thought that the other party was preparing to plot against him, so he rushed in and killed all his subordinates and the Lu family. When I found the pig tied up in the kitchen, I realized that I had killed the wrong person.

When the two left the Lu family in a hurry, they met Lu Bohao, who had returned from drinking. In order to prevent Lu Bohao from discovering his murderous deeds, Cao Cao even killed Lu Bohao. ”

"No, Cao Mengde is this kind of person?" After Guo Jia heard this, his eyes widened in surprise, and he asked in an unbelievable tone: "He is actually such a wolf-hearted person, and Jia Jia still thinks he is a good person." ”

However, Guo Jia considered the problem more comprehensively, and after a moment of silence, he found one of the doubts: "Lord, Jia feels that this statement is unreliable. You just said that everyone in the Lu family was killed by Cao Cao, so only Cao Cao and Chen Gong knew about it. Both of them would have kept this matter a secret, so who revealed it? ”

Guo Jia's question really stopped Han Zhan. He can't tell Guo Jia that he saw this incident from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", right? In that case, it's no wonder that Guo Jia doesn't treat him as a madman. He coughed heavily, and then said: "There are gods three feet above his head, if people don't know unless they do it, Ben Hou also occasionally heard about it." If it weren't for seeing Chen Gongtai today, Ben Hou wouldn't have remembered this. ”

After listening to Han Zhan's half-truthful explanation, Guo Jia said thoughtfully: "If this matter is true, then Jia thinks that he is still somewhat sure of recruiting Chen Gong." ”

…………

An envoy sent back to Dongjun by Chen Gong returned on the fifth day, bringing with him Cao Cao's handwritten letters. Cao Cao said in the letter that he was going to personally lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to Guantao to receive the grain and grass lent by Jizhou.

After Han Zhan saw the letter presented by Chen Gong, he nodded, stood up and ordered: "Captain Huang, early tomorrow morning, you will lead 3,000 troops and escort the grain and grass to Guantao." ”

Huang Zhong hurriedly replied: "The last general will obey the order!" ”

However, when Chen Gong thanked Han Zhan, Han Zhan saw Guo Jia glaring at him, he immediately remembered the agreement with the other party two days ago, and hurriedly added: "This time to lend grain to Dong County, it is a matter of life and death for the people of Dong County, and this batch of grain and grass must not be lost." Therefore, Ben Hou decided to personally escort this batch of grain and grass to Guantao together with Huang Xiaowei. ”

Han Zhan's decision, the expressions of the people below were different. Guo Jia is the initiator, so he naturally smiles secretly; But Xun's uncle and nephew were shocked, and said in unison: "Lord, you are a golden body, how can you be in danger?" ”

"Tinghou," although Chen Gong was particularly moved when he heard Han Zhan say that he would personally escort this batch of grain and grass to Guantao, he was still worried about Han Zhan's safety, so he still persuaded him with good words: "If it is cold today, and the road is not easy to walk, in my opinion, Tinghou does not have to go this trip in person." On behalf of the people of Dongjun, I would like to express my gratitude to Tinghou! ”

"Gongtai," Han Zhan left his seat, walked to Chen Gong, helped him up, and said with a smile on his face: "If you don't personally send this batch of grain and grass to the Pavilion Tao and hand it over to Cao Taishou, Ben Hou is really not at ease." Gongtai, you go back to rest first, and early tomorrow morning, escort the grain and grass to the pavilion with Ben Hou. ”

When Chen Gong heard Han Zhan say this, his eyes turned red, and he hurriedly bowed down again: "Thank you, Tinghou!" In this case, I will retire first! ”

"Mr. Gongtai, please!" Han Zhan waved his hand at Chen Gong: "We'll meet tomorrow." ”

After Chen Gong left, Xun Yu, who was so anxious that he stomped his feet, came over and asked Han Zhan: "Zhan'er, only Captain Huang is responsible for transporting grain, why do you want to make this trip yourself?" ”

Han Zhan naturally wouldn't tell Xun Yu in public, saying that I was going to recruit Chen Gong, in order to leave a good impression on him, so I temporarily decided to go to the pavilion in person. He rolled his eyes and immediately counted in his heart: "Uncle, we will fight Yuan Shao in the coming spring, if we can win over Cao Mengde, and then he will send troops to contain us, we will have a greater chance of winning." ”

"If you want to contact Cao Mengde, Zhan'er can send a special envoy to Dongjun." Xun Yu said angrily: "Why do you want to run again in person? ”

"Uncle doesn't know, if Benhou sends someone to negotiate with Cao Mengde, what conditions the other party proposes, and the messenger sent needs to come back to ask Benhou for instructions, this time and again, it will take a lot of time." Han Zhan continued: "If Ben Hou goes in person, the situation is different, and if there is anything between the two sides, Ben Hou can make a decision on the spot. ”

Hearing Han Zhan's reasoning, although it was far-fetched, it could not be refuted, Xun Yu could only smile bitterly, and said helplessly: "Since Zhan'er has made up his mind, then Uncle will no longer stop it, and everything is up to you." ”

Seeing that no one objected to going to Guantao by himself, Han Zhan began to instruct everyone: "When Benhou is not in Jizhou, all affairs in the state will be handled by Xun Changshi and Mr. Guo. ”

As soon as Han Zhan's words fell, the civil and military officials below all lined up and replied neatly: "The subordinates (the last general) obey the order!" ”