Looking at Liu Zhi's movements, Xu Fan, who was surging with wine, was amazed.

He is willing to condescend to the noble and the wealthy businessman in front of him to drink and throw pots, in addition to Liu Zhi's ability to bring rich financial resources to the Xu family, but also because Liu Zhi is different from other businessmen who are full of copper smell, he is a smart person who has traveled from south to north and is quite knowledgeable.

At least, in this matter, he gave Xu Fan a long insight.

"From this point of view, this Xianbei Hu chief Kebineng in your mouth is not only very knowledgeable, but also generous, and is willing to use the silk of the Han land to make war clothes for his soldiers, tsk, this silk in the Han land must also be a Chinese family to be able to wear, how many horses and furs do the Hu tribe have to use!"

"Hehe, gentleman, Xianbei people can't be counted like this. If he reduces casualties on the battlefield and wins the enemy, then the pastures, population, livestock, and goods of other tribes will all be better than Hu Chief's ability, so he is already exchanging other people's horses and furs! ”

"Haha, interesting, interesting. It's funny to hear you say that! ”

Xu Fan, who was blushing, shook his head, pointed at Liu Zhi and laughed, Liu Zhi took the opportunity to toast when he saw this, Xu Fan drank a few more glasses, suddenly stopped the maid from pouring wine, and sighed.

"Gentleman, but what's the trouble, I wonder if I can help you?"

Seeing that Xu Fan suddenly changed his appearance again, Liu Zhi was secretly vigilant in his heart, but verbally he became more and more respectful and close.

"Well, there is nothing to do." Xu Fan waved his hand, "I just thought that Jiajun wanted me to serve in the army, and it would be difficult to see Zihua in the army in the future, and there would be a lot less fun. ”

After listening to Xu Fan's words, Liu Zhi already knew in his heart. This is Xu Fan hinting that he is generous, he scolded in his heart, but the smile on the surface became more kind.

"What is the gentleman worried about, with the status of the father and son of the respected family, it is difficult to enter and exit the army, if the gentleman is boring in the army and wants to have some fun, just send someone to tell him, and he will definitely prepare it in advance for the gentleman here."

"That's right." Liu Zhi clapped his hands again at this time and said: "Since the gentleman is going to serve in the army, how can he not have the wealth of Zhou Ji on hand, I will prepare it for the gentleman in the future, and I will bring it back to the mansion together with Bo Li later." ”

"Hahaha, Zihua, you are really Tao Zhu's reincarnation!"

Xu Fan, who had fulfilled his wish, laughed again, and at this time he didn't sigh, his attitude was a lot warmer, and he drank happily, and after a while, he was already obviously drunk.

Liu Zhi, who did not show a trace, caught all this in his eyes, and he raised his glass and asked with a smile at the right time:

"I heard that Qingxu has had a lot of events recently, and the gentleman wants to join the army to serve, could it be that he is going to Qingzhou with the army?"

"Hehe, Zihua, you are a businessman, why do you still care about the war?"

The drunk Xu Fan still had a trace of vigilance in his heart, he didn't answer, but asked Liu Zhi instead, but the look in his eyes had already faded.

Liu Zhi smiled when he saw this, waved his hand to let the maids retreat, and said with a wry smile:

"It's not that I care about the military, but I have some dealings with some salt merchants in Xuzhou, and together with the swords and soldiers, all industries are in ruins, so I have to be careful."

Xu Fan also smiled when he heard this.

In troubled times, selling illicit salt is also a profiteering business. Offshore Xuzhou, coupled with the restlessness in the territory, there are Zang Ba and other military heroes who have seized the counties and counties, and there are pirates from Qingxu who plundered everywhere, so there is a lot of private salt flowing out every year, which is a big deal worth meddle in.

It is no wonder that Liu Zhi was worried that Yuan's large-scale use of troops in Xuzhou would affect his financial resources.

"You don't have to worry, at this time, I'm not going to Qingzhou, and the army is not going to Qingzhou, I'm going to merge with the state!"

"Ahh Liu Zhi's face was shocked, and his mouth opened wide in surprise.

"Aren't you fighting with Cao Cao in Xudu recently, why did you go to Merge State again?"

"Haha, Zihua," Xu Fan, who was already delirious, shook his head and showed a sarcastic smile, he looked at Liu Zhi and said:

"You are a smart man and have a lot of knowledge, but you don't know ... The heart of the superior has changed, so this life is busy, and it can only be... He's a humble businessman. How can you believe that the army is going to Xuzhou to fight,,, how do you know that Cao Cao is friend or foe。。。。。 ”

Xu Fan, who had finished speaking intermittently, fell drunk on the table, Liu Zhi had to call the maid again to carry him to the side room to rest, looking at the messy table of cups and plates, he got up and looked out the window, and there was no smile on his round and chubby face.

"That's really bad news."

···

It's not just one company that gets bad news.

As the time entered the end of August, the Qianghu tribes, who had gathered in Dunoze and failed to attack the Yan army's defense line many times, got bad news one after another.

Zhang Lu's army, which attacked Wudu, was repulsed and fled in defeat.

Han Sui's Qiang soldiers and horses attacked Hanyang and Nan'an and failed.

Jia Xu instigated the rebels anyway, and on the other hand, he attacked the east and west, pretending to send troops to cut off the retreat of the Qiang soldiers and horses, the Qiang soldiers and horses under the command of Han Sui were restless, Han Sui had to retreat, but in the middle of the way, the soldiers and horses of Cheng Yi, Yang Kui, the Lu family and others suddenly counterattacked, killing the Qiang soldiers and horses on their backs, and then Jiang Xu, Zhao Ang and other Liangzhou generals led the army to kill, Han Sui died in the chaos, and Cheng Gongying led the remnants to surrender.

Taking advantage of the victory, Jia Xu then sent Biqiu Xing, Jiang Xu, Zhao Ang and other generals to wipe out the separatist forces of Caohan, Song Jian, Heguan and other counties, and regained the two counties of Longxi and Jincheng, and the situation in Longyou has generally stabilized.

Yang Feng, Pang De and others led troops to quell the rebellion of Zhangye vassal states and other places, Ding Linghu was defeated repeatedly, and had retreated back to Juyanze, and recently he has repeatedly sent envoys to ask for help, claiming that if Lu Shuihu and other troops do not rescue again, then they who can't resist will withdraw from Juyanze, start again, and migrate to the northwest.

Tsunozawa, inside the felt tent.

Without the noisy gossip of the adults, Concubine Yi Jian looked at Ma Chao who was staring at Youtu, and her voice became clear and powerful.

"Meng Qi, you have led the cavalry to fight the enemy's defense line many times, since you can't break it, then forget it. Now rescuing Ding Ling is the most important, if we don't save it this time, those Ding Ling people who are moving everywhere will have to escape, and at that time, we will really be the only ones left in the entire cool land to fight alone! ”

"Eh, are you listening to me?"

Yi Jian's prostitute concubine was already angry in her words, and Zhi Yuanduo on the side hurriedly grabbed him, signaled him not to worry, and then said:

"Meng Qi, we know that you are waiting for a fighter to win in one fell swoop, and now this opportunity is not bad, according to the intelligence of Ding Lingren, Yang Aruo, Zhang Liao and others have gathered a large number of people and horses in the subject country of Zhangye, and are ready to eliminate them in Ju Yanze in one fell swoop."

"Think about it, if at this time, our cavalry avoided those obstructive pavilions and beacons, did not harass Zhangye and Wuwei, but crossed the quicksand, suddenly appeared on the west bank of the weak water, and inserted into the back of the enemy, what kind of scene would it be, and we would definitely be able to attack back and forth and defeat all the enemy troops."

After Zhi Yuanduo finished speaking, Ma Chao, who had been silent for a long time, still didn't speak, and the irascible Yijian prostitute immediately shouted:

"Ma Mengqi, have you heard clearly, three months have passed, and these days you have led everyone to lose a lot of soldiers and horses in front of those pavilions and barriers, and the opinions of the lords of the various departments are big enough. Now that the grain, grass and livestock that Tsunozawa has hoarded are almost exhausted, and you have no other way, then how can you be the leader of the people, ah, is it because you got that woman, and you are secretly planning to surrender, ah, you-"

Zhi Yuanduo saw that Yi Jian's concubine's words were getting more and more ugly, and he was afraid of angering Ma Chao on the spot, so he hurriedly reached out and pressed his mouth, and said while looking at Ma Chao:

"Meng Qi, I know you've heard it, think about it again, we'll all wait."

"There's no need to wait." Ma Chao finally turned his head, he looked at Yi Jian's concubine and Zhi Yuanduo, and said indifferently:

"Since you want to fight, let's fight!"

After finishing speaking, Ma Chao also ignored the two of them and walked out of the tent.

He looked up at the clear sky, but the doubts in his heart were as thick as dark clouds.

This time to send troops, maybe it is really a good opportunity. Three months have passed, and according to his estimates, Yuan Shao's soldiers and horses in Kwantung have already made some moves, and this time he also found out before that the general of the unified army was Gan Ling, the general under Yan Xing, his sister-in-law.

Perhaps the military operations of Yang Feng, Zhang Liao and others were because of the urgency in the eastern part of the country, and Yan Xing was eager to transfer the elite soldiers trapped in Liangzhou, so his sister-in-law had to hurry up and use his troops, planning to eliminate Ju Yanze's Ding Ling people first, and then turn around and come back to extinguish Du Noze's self with all his might.

This possibility can also be mostly confirmed in the mouth of Ding Lingren's envoy, but for some reason, Ma Chao's heart has become more and more uneasy.

Perhaps, because of the change in things, he is stepping beyond the scope of his control.

Ma Chao, who finally found a reason to comfort his inner turmoil, smiled bitterly, turned around and walked towards another felt tent.

Outside the tent were brave slaves he selected from various departments, Ma Chao helped them regain their freedom, and they also became loyal personal soldiers to Ma Chao.

Ma Chaojing lifted the curtain on his own, and he saw a woman dressed up in front of the mirror.

A woman he snatched after breaking through the city of Delete Dan, a woman of noble status, it was a trophy that belonged to him alone.

"You're back?"

Yan Wan, who was well-dressed, tilted her head, glanced at Ma Chao, and saw that Ma Chao did not answer, she smiled and said:

"If you came back so early, you must have quarreled with those Chiefs Hu again, right?"

"Yes, those stupid tribal adults are clamoring for me to take them to fight the Zhangye vassal country, the noise makes my head hurt, do you think I can fight or not?"