Xi Zhicai assisted Cao Cao, and his main task was to collect intelligence from all sides, focusing on two goals: one was Yuan Shao and the other was Sun Ce. Nanyang is close, convenient to come and go, and the most information is collected. He found that Sun Ce had a characteristic: he was usually very calm, but he was brave at critical moments, not only often charging into battle in person, but also having the habit of going head-to-head with others.

The list goes on. Outside the He family's manor, Sun Ce led more than 20 people to counterattack Cao Cao's main formation. Outside Wancheng, Sun Ce led 500 men to charge into battle and almost wiped out the entire army. When facing Duan Xuanbu, he duel with Zhang Liao. This time, he fought with Yuan Tan and attacked Yuan Tan's camp alone, was seriously injured and almost died.

Many examples prove that although Sun Ce is shrewd, he still manages the brave and ruthless horseman. This is also understandable, Sun Jian is this temper. Such people are very common in the cold family of martial arts, they have no family to rely on, no knowledge, can only rely on superior martial arts, this is the foundation of their life in the world. They get ahead with their martial arts, even if they have been crowned marquis and worship generals, they still can't change their temper, if they have the opportunity to fight against others, they will forget their identity, although there are millions of teachers, they are no different from horsemen.

Since the consumption of the army is too great, it is better to send a few warriors to duel with Sun Ce. If we can defeat him, break his confidence, and make him realize the strength of the imperial court, the next negotiations may be easier. If you can kill him, so much the better. In case of defeat, it doesn't matter, the loss of one or two people is insignificant to the imperial court.

After Xi Zhicai finished speaking, he looked at Xun Yu with a smile. "Ling Jun, what do you think?"

Xun Yu slowly sipped the wine and weighed it for a moment. "I think it's doable, at least give it a try."

Xi Zhicai stroked his palms and smiled.

Cao Cao blinked and smiled. It's a win-win-win-win Huangfu Song's biggest headache at the moment is that the generals are unruly and unruly, and they don't like each other. Lu Bu is the representative of the people of Bingzhou, he was named Wenhou because of Dong Zhuo's merits, and he thought that his martial arts were strong and unparalleled in the world, and he didn't look down on the people of Liangzhou, especially Ma Teng and Han Sui, who had just been crowned marquis. Ma Chao is a representative of Liangzhou people, young and vigorous, and his martial arts are good. He was very unconvinced by Lu Bu, felt that he was disloyal and unjust, took refuge in the Liangzhou people, betrayed the Liangzhou people, and stepped on the corpses of the Liangzhou people to climb up.

These two people are proud of their martial arts, and no one obeys anyone, if the imperial court wants to send someone to compete with Sun Ce, they are the best candidates, especially Ma Chao. After all, Lu Bu was older, and as a liege, he would not easily fight Sun Ce. Ma Chao has just debuted and wants to become famous, and Sun Ce is undoubtedly the best opponent. If he killed Sun Ce, of course it would be a good thing. If he is killed by Sun Ce, it is not a bad thing, Ma Teng will remember his hatred on Sun Ce's head, and he needs the support of the imperial court even more. No matter who wins this contest, no matter who dies, it will be good for the imperial court, at least there is no harm.

"Ma Chao seems to be the same year as Sun Ce, they are both young heroes, and they are rivals."

Xi Zhicai said with a smile: "Yes, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Yang Xiu, Ma Chao, the four of them are the same age, Sun Ce has become famous, Zhou Yu will also be known after winning Jiangxia and Nanjun, Yang Xiu and Ma Chao are slightly inferior, they should be given a chance, otherwise Sun Ce and Zhou Yu will not be too lonely." ”

Xun Yu couldn't help but smile and nodded. Cao Cao patted his legs and sighed. "We're not old yet, but the young heroes can't wait to come out, and we're really a little unwilling. I think Sun Jian's mood at the moment is probably similar to mine, so he will go to Lujiang to share the competition with Chen Deng. ”

Xun Yu said lightly: "Ling Lang Zixiu is not bad, although he is not as brave as martial arts, but it is rare to be calm, and he is also loyal and filial, and he will be a party in the future." ”

Cao Cao laughed, smug and proud.

Xun Yu spent half a day in Cao Cao's camp until the evening when he left and returned to Chang'an City.

——

Huangfu Song sat in the hall and was having dinner.

He was tall, with a slender face, dark and rough skin, and elongated eyes that looked like they were squinting, hiding an indescribable tiredness. Although he has just passed the age of Ershun, his hair is already half white, and even his back is a little rickety.

Dinner was simple, a bowl of porridge, a plate of tempeh, a plate of turnips, two slices of meat.

Tomorrow, he returned to Chang'an in the evening to take a break. He has a private residence in Chang'an City, not far from the palace, which is a small clean and tidy courtyard. He was very surprised by Xun Yu's visit, and knew that there must be something big, so he hurriedly greeted Xun Yu in person and introduced Xun Yu into the inner house.

Seeing the unfinished dinner on the case, Xun Yu sighed. "General, although the court is short of money, the food and salary of the armies have not been short, why do you want to distribute the money to the soldiers, and suffer like this?"

"Get used to it. For generals, soldiers must be regarded as children, and soldiers can be regarded as parents. Ling Jun didn't want to have dinner with me, did he? ”

Xun Yu sighed, got straight to the point, and talked about the situation in Nanyang, Sun Ce's reaction, and the attitude of Yang Biao and others, and finally asked: "Does the general think he can fight?" ”

Huangfu Song shook his head without thinking. "No, although I have 30,000 people, the only ones who can really fight are Cao Cao's 10,000 foot soldiers, Lu Bu's 3,000 cavalry, and the 3,000 close battalions directly under me. Although the more than 10,000 foot cavalry allocated by Han Sui and Ma Teng were elite, they did their own thing, and their military discipline was sloppy, and they were not stronger than the Xiliang soldiers led by Xu Rong. Even if Cao Cao and Lu Bu led the men, they had no chance of winning against Sun Ce. ”

"What if the court must fight?"

Huangfu Song narrowed his eyes and muttered for a long time. "Then you can only train with war, what about food? If it is collected on the spot, I am afraid that there will be no more imperial court in the eyes of the people of Nanyang. Once the army was overturned, the imperial court had no soldiers available, so it had to rely on Han Sui and Ma Teng, only for fear that the old troubles would not go away, and there would be new worries. Ling Jun, tomorrow the court meeting, I will strongly oppose it, and please Ling Jun help me. ”

"It's that I need the general to help me. Tomorrow's court meeting, not only Yang Gong and others may seek war, but Han Sui and Ma Teng will also seek war, they are eager to make meritorious contributions and will not let go of any opportunity. ”

Huangfu Song snorted, disdainful.

"However, I have a way, maybe I can take into account the gains and losses, and I want to discuss it with the general."

Huangfu Song's eyelids flashed, and he glanced at Xun Yu, and the corners of his mouth trembled. He understood what Xun Yu meant, but he didn't feel very comfortable. These Shandong celebrities just like to play tricks, and they don't say anything directly, and they go around in circles for a long time.

"Please speak up."

Xun Yu saw it in his eyes, but he didn't break it. "General, the world is in turmoil, etiquette is broken, it is the time to use force, and it is not appropriate to rely on poetry and books. There are many Confucians in the imperial court, but there are few famous generals, and only the general supports him alone, which is extremely hard. As the saying goes, the Kanto region is the prime minister, the Kansai is the general, and the six counties have always been the source of the famous generals of the imperial court, so Emperor Xiaowu expelled the Xiongnu and opened up the territory. At present, the imperial court has set the capital of Guanzhong, and it is the time to vigorously select the children of Guanxi to serve in the army. Sun Ce can build a martial arts hall in Nanyang, and the imperial court can also build a martial arts hall in Guanzhong, and select hundreds of officials' children to enter the hall to teach and practice martial arts, so as to fill the army, does the general think so? ”

Huangfu raised his eyebrows, and his eyes lit up. "What Ling Jun said is very true."