"In Xia Lu Fan, meet Yuan Gong." A young scribe in his early twenties stood at the foot of the hall and bowed generously.

Yuan Shu laughed smugly: "Han Yi ordered you to come to my place as an envoy, but you came to beg for mercy?" ”

Lu Fan smiled slightly and said, "No, Fan came to Yinling to mourn Duke Yuan on behalf of the lord." ”

Yuan Shu's face sank, and he suddenly snorted in displeasure. Yan Xiang stood up and shouted angrily: "Bold Lu Ziheng, as a messenger, he is so rude, cursing my lord, is Han Mingyuan so in charge of his subordinates?" is really a wild old revolutionary, and he will not change his true colors when he becomes the general of Zhengdong in the court. ”

Yang Hong also laughed and said: "Lu Ziheng, as a messenger who likes to use big words to shock and want to speak, everyone understands this truth. But my lord is a wise and majestic sage, and he cannot make sense in ordinary words. Han Yiyuan ordered you to come as an envoy, nothing more than to recall the 20,000 troops who were besieged by our legion. However, it is not impossible to return the 20,000 army, but you must pay the price. ”

Lu Fan laughed and said: "I laugh at Yuan Gong when he dies, and he still doesn't change his old temperament, does Yuan Gong really think that my lord can't help you?" ”

Ji Ling was furious, and immediately drew his sword and wanted to come and kill Lu Fan, who was disrespectful. Yuan Shu hurriedly stopped: "Wait, Lu Ziheng is a lobbyist, how can I, the master, let the lobbyist say what he wants to say happily, so as to kill him, to show that his words can't move me." Otherwise, others don't know, and they think that I, Yuan Shu, will be afraid of a little lobbyist. ”

Lu Fan said: "Thank you for your generosity. ”

Yuan Shu raised his glass in respect and signaled to listen.

Lu Fan bowed unhurriedly: "Since the crusade against Dong Zhuo, the situation in the Kanto region has become clear, and those who can compete for the power of the Kanto region have no one else except my lord, Er Yuan, and Cao Cao. For example, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Tao Qian in Xuzhou and Gongsun Zan in Youzhou are all attached to others as help, and it is difficult for them to achieve great things. However, Duke Yuan and Ben Chu Gong have always been incompatible, and Cao Cao has always been very close to Ben Chu Gong. If Gong Yuan didn't have my lord to resist these two for you, would Gong Yuan think to himself might sit in Jiujiang? ”

Yuan Shu laughed and said, "So your lord wants to belong to me and be the northern barrier of my Yuan Highway? ”

Lu Fan also laughed and said: "My lord once said that he wanted to protect the land of the West River and occupy the Central Plains, so he had no choice but to occupy the land of the three counties of Sili and wanted to connect the two places. But now it seems that the gains outweigh the losses, so it is better to abandon the land of the three counties of Sili and concentrate on the land of Yangzhou. If Xihe is really not guaranteed, it is also a good choice to exchange Xuzhou for a place. ”

Yuan Shu's face jumped, and he laughed and said: "Han Mingyuan is very strategic, doesn't he know that Yangzhou has my possession, and Xuzhou has Tao Gongzu there." ”

Lu Fan said with a smile: "My lord once said that if he does not abandon the land of the three counties, Yuan Shao will be enemies on three sides, and he will be like a man's back, and he will regard my lord as a great enemy of life and death." However, when he went to the place of Sili, Zhang Yang of Bingzhou and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou should not be in his eyes. And Cao Cao of Yanzhou, if he is allowed to fight my lord alone, I am afraid that he will not be very willing. Without Yuan Shao's presiding, Liu Biao of Jingzhou is afraid that he will be even more reluctant to pay attention to the affairs of Yuzhou. ”

"Abandoning the land of the three counties of Sili, my lord will increase his army by more than 50,000 troops, and at first, my lord only used 50,000 or 60,000 horses, which forced Yuan Gong to panic and wanted to lead his troops to the south. Presumably, with another 50,000 horses, in the name of the righteousness of Yangzhou Pastor appointed by the court, Yuan Gong's army will not be far from the day of defeat. And Tao Gongzu of Xuzhou is just an old man, if he defeats Yuan Gong, he is only afraid that he will fall to the wind. ”

Yuan Shu's face was gloomy, and his right hand, which was holding the wine glass, trembled slightly, and asked, "If I let go of Han Mingyuan's 20,000 soldiers and horses, what will happen to him?" ”

Lu Fan said: "My lord will pack up the army and go north to attack the treacherous Cao Cao. As long as he occupies the land of Yanzhou, Yuan Shao will be under the blows of my lord, Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yang, I am afraid that he will be quickly defeated. As for Yuan Gong, as long as he is content in the land of Yangzhou, he will be honest. After the lord of my family settles the world, he will treat Dou Rong as he did, and recruit Yuan Gong into the dynasty as one of the three dukes, and continue the noble lintel of the three dukes of the fifth, sixth and seventh generations of the Yuan family. ”

Yuan Shu was furious, threw the wine glass on the ground, and shouted: "The bold and arrogant Han Mingyuan regards me as what kind of person Yuan Highway is. I will release Han Mingyuan's 20,000 horses today, and see if he raises 100,000 people to attack me, I am not afraid. Someone came and drove Lu Ziheng away. ”

Yuan Shu's words were reversed, making everyone inexplicable, but Ji Ling didn't care about it and drove Lu Fan away from the hall. Yang Hong asked, "Lord, ...... are you?"

Yuan Shu laughed and said, "Since Han Mingyuan is so underestimated by me, I will let him completely underestimate me." Han Mingyuan gave up this Yangzhou land to me, and it was not bad for me to keep this Yangzhou land. Temporarily withdraw from the battle of the world, and sit back and see who will die in the world. Maybe after years of hard work in the north, it will allow me Yuan Highway to take advantage of it in the end, or it is possible. ”

"The lord's strategy is wonderful, we can first defend the land in Jiangdong, sit back and watch the battle in the Central Plains and Hebei, and after they fight to the death, our army will recuperate and recuperate, follow Chu Xiang's Northern Expedition, and determine the overall situation of the Central Plains in one fell swoop." Yang Hong, Yan Xiang and others praised Yuan Shu's foresight.

Seeing Ji Ling return to the main hall to resume his life, Yuan Shu said again: "Ji Ling, let you lead three thousand iron horsemen, and when Lu Jun has not returned to Lujiang, quickly go to Shu County to surround Sun Jian's family and ask for Sun Jian's relics." ”

Ji Ling was stunned for a moment, and asked puzzledly: "Lord, I don't know what I'm going to ask for?" ”

Yuan Shufu said hesitantly: "I heard that it was obtained by Sun Jian in Luoyang, and I don't know if it's true or not." You only said that it was Sun Jian's relic, and the Sun family was a thief with a weak heart and was unable to protect this thing, so he would definitely give it honestly. ”

Ji Ling went in response to the order, and Yuan Shu thought to himself: Those who represent the Han should be Tu Gaoye. When this prophecy first circulated more than ten years ago, my uncle and clansmen thought that the destiny of heaven was mine. But in the past two years, I have suffered several major defeats, and I already have some doubts about the truth of this prophecy. However, the former Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was also defeated by the overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Ji, but he was repeatedly defeated and revived, precisely because of this thing in hand. If I obtain it, it means that the destiny is truly mine. If you can't get it, Dou Rong's choice is not a wise move.

In the courtyard of Sun's village outside Shuxian County, Lujiang, Sun Ce rode a horse and pointed a gun at the surrounding Yuan Shu army, and shouted angrily: "Yuan Shu's thieves deceive people too much, how can my deceased father have any valuable relics." ”

Ji Ling sneered: "Since my lord said that there is, then naturally there is, otherwise what will I do with three thousand iron horsemen?" Sun Lang is better to hand it over honestly, otherwise, hum, Ji Ling no longer cares about the friendship between him and Sun Poyu in the past. Capture all of your Sun clan and hand them over to the lord to deal with. ”

Sun Ce was furious, and was about to ride alone to take Ji Ling, when suddenly a ten-year-old boy behind him shouted timidly: "Brother, my mother called you back." ”

Sun Ce had to stare at Ji Ling fiercely, and rode back to the mansion. Sun Ce ran all the way to the inner courtyard, only to see two women in their thirties leading several children, large and small, looking anxiously, then jumped off the horse, knelt on the ground and shouted, "Mother, Erniang." Although there are many soldiers and horses, the children are not afraid. also asked the second elder to sit in the mansion and wait for the child to kill Yuan Bing. ”

These two women are Sun Jian's wife and wife, and the two women are the sisters of the Wu family in Wuzhong, and they married Sun Jian as their wives together, regardless of dignity and inferiority, and get along with the family as usual.

Mrs. Da Wu had tears in her eyes, stroked the head of her eldest son, and said: "My son is brave again, can he fight 300 people, can he fight 3,000 people?" Your father died young, and there is no backbone in your family. It's hard to wait until you're eighteen years old and about to become an adult, how can you repeat your father's mistakes. That's it, that's it, that thing is just a dead thing, and keeping it any longer will only bring disaster to my Sun family, and it won't bring half of the benefits, so let it be given to Yuan Shu. ”

Sun Ce suspiciously followed his mother to the inner room, took out a cloth bag, unfolded it, and was immediately shocked and inexplicable, not wanting to have this thing hidden in the house.

After telling Sun Ce about the origin of this thing, Mrs. Da Wu cried: "It is because of this thing that your father has the heart to compete for the world. However, your father died a few months after getting this thing, so it can be seen that he is not blessed to enjoy this thing after all, and he has no chance with the world. My son will send this thing out as soon as possible, so as to avoid the disaster of the destruction of my Sun family today. ”

Sun Ce suddenly remembered something and asked, "Lu Kang, the Taishou of Lujiang, has come to my mansion several times to inquire, is it also for this thing?" ”

Mrs. Da Wu was stunned and asked, "Why does my son think like this?" Didn't he take care of our daily needs at the invitation of Han Zhengdong from Yuzhou? ”

Sun Ce pursed his lips and said, "That's not necessarily, maybe he also came to find out the news of this thing specifically for Han Yi." ”

Mrs. Da Wu was shocked, and wanted to order him to go to Runan to defect to Han Yi after Sun Ce offered this thing.

Sun Ce reluctantly sent this thing away, and Ji Ling took a look at it, and was also shocked, only then did he know why the lord would let him lead three thousand iron horsemen to Lujiang. If you make your own decision, I'm afraid that 30,000 horses is too little.

Sun Ce looked at Ji Ling's distant back, and said fiercely: "Yuan Shu, Ji Ling, today's hatred, I, Sun Boce, have written it down for the time being, and he will have a time of good retribution in the future." ”

Early in the morning of the second day, Sun Ce rode a horse to look at Runan. searched all the way, and finally intercepted Han Yi's army in Ruyin.

After Sun Ce saw Han Yi, he immediately cried to the ground and shouted: "Yuan Shu's thieves deceived people too much, and even forced my Sun's orphans and widows with a large army, and even took away the relics of his deceased father. I am willing to ask Uncle Han to remember my father's deep friendship with you during his lifetime, and borrow his nephew's 5,000 army to let his nephew seek revenge on Yuan Shu. ”