Jizhou, Montenegro.

Zhang Yan looked at the angel in front of him in disbelief, and it wasn't until he finished speaking that Zhang Yan walked up to the angel with some trembling and asked in a stammering tone, "What the angel said just now is true?" Didn't fool me? ”

"Duke Zhongshan laughed, this is a holy order, how can it be child's play?" The angel said with a smile.

"Minister, Zhang Yan! Thank you, God! Thank you! Thank you, Gong Qin! The minister must go to the soup for the imperial court, and he will not give ......up," Zhang Yan said excitedly in front of the angel.

"Hehe, Zhongshan Gong, please get up, hurry up~" The angel helped Zhang Yan up with a smile, while saying all kinds of sycophancy.

Speaking of which, when these people were sent to various places, they were very worried and afraid, after all, such a terrifying reward, who knows if those who were rewarded would be desperate to slaughter themselves. Although they are officials of the imperial court, didn't Yuan Shao also kill the angels who came to envoy in the past? Although that time was to persuade Yuan Shao to withdraw from the army, and this time it was to reward them......

Well? Why didn't they take the opportunity to escape? They naturally thought, although Zhang Ning gave them glory and wealth, but in the face of this ruthless lord, and no matter how you look at it, there is no future to speak of, how can they be willing to serve him? It's just that...... Their people are all in Chang'an, where can they go?

However, this worry, as more and more people accepted the rewards of the imperial court, these angels became more and more reassured. Especially this one, he didn't think Zhang Yan would refuse at all.

"Someone! Hurry up and prepare for the feast, my father wants to treat the angels well! Zhang Yan shouted excitedly.

After the banquet, Zhang Yan ordered someone to take a large amount of money as a gift and asked the angel to help send it to Chang'an. At the same time, he also gave the angel a lot of money. This action immediately made the angel smile from ear to ear.

It's just that after the farewell angel returned to the mansion, Zhang Yan's original happy appearance instantly became gloomy, and he saw him walk quickly into the secret room in the mansion, and then pulled out a scroll of Jian Ce from his sleeve, which was quietly stuffed to him by one of the angel's guards before.

Unfolded it, it didn't take long for Zhang Yan's expression to become very solemn. After watching it back and forth many times, I don't know how long it took, he shouted in a deep voice, "Someone! Chuan Zhongjing and Shuyuan came to discuss the matter. ”

After a while, Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao walked in quickly, "Lord! The two said respectfully.

Zhang Yan nodded, and then after the two of them took their seats, he couldn't wait to ask, "Both, I have a secret letter sent by the Marquis of Meiyang here!" The content of the letter is to let me lead the crowd to join Li Yi......"

"Meiyang Hou?" When Zhen Yan and the others heard Zhang Yan's words, they immediately remembered Zhang Ning, who was rumored all over the world during this time, and was even worse than the demon girls who brought disaster to the country and the people in previous dynasties. But then I heard Zhen Yan say in a respectful voice, "Dare to ask the lord, what the Marquis of Meiyang means, but do you want the lord to pretend to take refuge in that Li Yi, and wait until Li Yi attacks Chang'an and then turn against him?" Even...... If Li Yi has an absolute advantage......"

"Not bad!" Zhang Yan nodded and replied, "It's just that all along, although the relationship between me and that Li Yi is not hostile, it is not much better. Moreover, Li Yi is already unparalleled in civil and military affairs, and there are even more wise people under his command, if I suddenly lead the army to take refuge, I am afraid that I will not be able to gain his trust. ”

Zhang Yan didn't intend to hide it, because this kind of thing is too easy to guess, let alone Zhen Yan and the two. Of course, he can't say everything, such as Zhang Ning's true identity and the like. It's not that Zhang Yan thinks of his old feelings and plans to swear to keep them secret, it's just because in Zhang Yan's opinion, even if he says it, it won't do him half of the benefit.

Hearing this, Zhen Yan and the two glanced at each other, and then fell silent. In fact, they had long known that Zhang Yan had the intention of defecting to Li Yi, because Zhang Yan had also discussed with them. However, at that time, Gongsun Zhan's disadvantages were not so obvious, so Zhang Yan just discussed it casually. But now, at least judging from the information received......

After a long while, Zhen Yan asked respectfully, "Is the lord planning to agree to Meiyang Hou's request?" ”

"Exactly!" Zhang Yan nodded when she heard this, and then showed a wry smile, "Other than that, do we have any other choice?" Now that Gongsun Chan has been besieged in Yicheng, I am afraid that he will not be able to support it for too long. Even if I send troops to support, that Chun Yuqiong is not so easy to defeat. As a result, it will be even more difficult to maintain the current situation. And once Gongsun Chan is defeated, Yuan Shao's next target will definitely be us. At that time, even with the geographical advantage of Montenegro, it is undoubtedly a fool's dream to resist Yuan Shao, who is sitting on the soldiers of Ji and You. And even if I take the initiative to surrender, then Yuan Shao may not agree, and even if I do, I am afraid that my future days will be ......."

"In this case, the only way out for us is to find a powerful force to take refuge in. But around Jizhou, although Cao Mengde in the south quelled the Yanzhou Rebellion, his forces were too weak to be worth taking refuge into. Liu Xuande's intentions in Qingzhou are unknown, and his identity as a royal family member may not be worthy of me, the remnant of the yellow scarf. If we think about it this way, only Meiyang Hou and Na Li Yi can be our candidates for refuge. Zhang Yan said lightly.

Although Zhang Yan has no ability to strategize, he has struggled in the troubled times for so many years, but he still has the vision to see his own situation clearly, otherwise, he would not know how many times he has died.

Hearing Zhang Yan's words, Zhen Yan and the two were silent, their brows were tightly knit and their faces were contemplative, but after a long time, they didn't think of any good way. As Zhang Yan said, if he suddenly led the army to join Li Yi, how could he ensure that Li Yibu was suspicious of them? Or even send someone to replace them?

I don't know how long it took before Zhen Yan muttered, "Lord, why don't you let your subordinates go to Luoyang first to find out what Li Yi's tone is?" ”

"Hmm...... That's it! Remember, make sure to make this happen as soon as possible! Otherwise, after the Marquis of Meiyang and Na Li Yi start a war, it will be troublesome! Zhang Yan nodded, and then looked at Zhen Yan meaningfully and said, "I heard that Li Yi likes beauties very much, especially the kind of beauty embryo that has not yet reached the end of time......"

"This ......" Hearing Zhang Yan's words, Brother Zhen Yan couldn't hear the meaning of his words, and suddenly hesitated.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan hurriedly persuaded him, "Zhong Jing, Shuyuan, in fact, you can think about it carefully, if we really want to make a living under Li Yi, it will only be good for Ling Mei to marry in the past, and there will be no harm!" At that time, there will be Ling Mei inside to help say good things, and you and I will lead troops or govern the place outside...... And even if we turn to Meiyanghou at that time, we can find a reason to take Ling Mei back and then act......"

"Alas...... Just do what the lord wants. Zhen Yan sighed when she heard this, but finally agreed.

Otherwise, what could he do? In order to preserve and strengthen the family, offering the children of the family is sometimes the simplest and most practical way. And then again, this is not the first time Zhen Yan has done this. After all, he has five sisters, except for the eldest sister and his mother, who also became Zhang Yan's concubines, the second sister and the third sister all married local officials in Zhongshan and Changshan according to Zhang Yan's orders.

Just at this moment, a soldier hurriedly came to the door of the secret room and said loudly, "Duke Zhongshan, the villain has something important to report!" ”

"Huh?!" Hearing this, the three people in the room frowned at the same time, knowing that they were now in Zhang Yan's secret room, and there would be no soldiers to report ordinary things.

"What?" Zhang Yan asked with a gloomy face, in his mind, it must be that Chun Yuqiong is doing something again.

"Back to Zhongshan Gong, Yuan Shao's third son Yuan Xi asks to see him!" The soldier hurriedly replied, but at the end of his words, his tone became a little trembling.

"What?!" In a word, the three people in the room suddenly stood up, Zhang Yan came to the door in three steps and two steps, opened the door, stared at the soldiers in front of him with cold eyes, and asked in a gloomy tone, "What you just said is true?!" ”

"How dare the villain deceive Zhongshan Gong?! That Yuan Xi was waiting in Jingcheng City at this time! The soldier said with fear in a hurry. Although Chun Yuqiong forced Zhang Yan into Montenegro several times, resulting in Zhang Yan now staying directly in the dock fort in Montenegro and not going out, most of the territories of Changshan and Zhongshan are still in Zhang Yan's hands. The reason is also very simple, Chun Yuqiong does not have so many troops to garrison the cities, but from the Black Mountain Range, Zhang Yan can easily attack the cities of Changshan and Zhongshan Kingdom.

Therefore, without launching an offensive, Chun Yuqiong basically led the army to garrison the Xiaquyang generation.

"What kind of soldiers and horses did you bring?" Zhen Yan on the side interjected and asked.

"He's the only one!"

"This ......" Hearing this, the three of them glanced at each other, and then Zhen Yao said with some hesitation, "Then Yuan Ximo is not here to persuade him to surrender?" ”

"Whatever I came for, I've got to meet him! That Yuan Xi is only nineteen years old this year, so he dared to come alone and ask to see me. If I avoid it or even kill it, and spread the word, what kind of face will I Zhang Yan have to lead hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Montenegro?! Zhang Yan said in a deep voice when she heard this.

"No!" Zhen Yan and the two responded in unison when they heard this.

Not long after, Zhang Yan took Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao to the location where Yuan Xi was located. It was a restaurant, but now there were no other guests in this restaurant, only Yuan Xi alone, and more than a dozen soldiers with sharp blades and fierce faces around him.

"Hehe, it's really terrifying! Such courage at a young age. Yuan Benchu, it's really enviable......" Seeing Yuan Xi sitting in his position calmly drinking and drinking, Zhang Yan sighed and walked inside.

Hearing the voice, Yuan Xi turned his head to look, and suddenly, that gentle and elegant face full of confidence appeared in Zhang Yan's eyes. "Yuan Xi, the son of Duke Yan, meet Duke Zhongshan! This recklessly came to ask for a meeting, and hoped that the public would atone for his sins. Yuan Xi stood up and said loudly.

"Yuan Gongzi is serious, Gongzi came to visit his father, and it was too late for him to be happy~" Zhang Yan said, then walked to the table and sat opposite Yuan Xi, and waved his hand to the soldiers around him, "What are you doing in a daze?" All down! Don't come closer than fifty paces! ”

Hearing this, although those soldiers were a little hesitant, they still left quickly after seeing Zhang Yan's sharp eyes.

After only four Zhang Yan were left in the restaurant, Zhang Yan looked at Yuan Xi and asked, "Gongzi came this time, but what is the important matter?" ”

"Hehe, I don't know what Gong Zhongshan thinks of Fang's general trend today?" Yuan Xi asked instead of answering.

"This ......" Zhang Yan glanced at Yuan Xi strangely when he heard this, and then thought about it and said, "If it seems chaotic today, but there is no Shuanghou here, I think it won't be long before I can clear the monarch's side and then help the Han family, right?" ”

Zhang Yan's words are not nonsense, because this is the common perception of scholars in the world. Even including Zhang Yan and the others, if the subjective thoughts are removed, they also feel that it will be a matter of time before Li Yi unifies the world. As for whether you can help the Han room? That's hard to say.

Just hearing Zhang Yan's words, Yuan Xi shook his head with a smile, "Duke Zhongshan's words are wrong, although the power of the Wushuang Marquis is strong, and his subordinates are fierce generals like clouds and strategists like rain, but if you want to calm the world and support the Han family, how can it be so easy?" At least, many princes today may not let the Wushuang Marquis do this so easily. ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yan didn't speak, because he knew that Yuan Xi's next words were the point.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi no longer went around in circles, and said directly, "I can't hide it, this time I came down, but I hope that Duke Zhongshan can join his father's command......"

Before he finished speaking, Zhen Yan on the side said in a cold voice, "Is Yuan Gongzi's words too much for Meng Lang?" The feud between the Duke of Zhongshan and the Duke of Yan, who does not know the people of Jizhou? Besides, the Duke of Zhongshan has an army of more than 100,000 troops, and the Marquis of Youzhou Gongsun is an ally, if the Duke of Yan wants to easily take the two states of Youzhou and Hebei, I'm afraid it's not so easy, right? ”

"I think this is the screening driver." Yuan Xi looked at Zhen Yan and said with a smile, as if he was not surprised at all by his interjection, "What Screening Driver said is really a big fallacy!" Although Gongsun Zhan still nominally commands Youzhou, in fact, most of Youzhou has now fallen into the hands of the rebels led by Yan Sima, and most of the rest of the places are also waiting. It can be said that now that Gongsun Chan is now in Youzhou, there is only Zhuo County left. ”

"And now Gongsun Chan has been besieged in Yicheng by his father's army, if there is no accident, it won't take long to capture him. When the time comes, does the Duke of Zhongshan think that Yan Sima will be the enemy of his father? Yuan Xi looked at Zhang Yan and chuckled, but without waiting for Zhang Yan to answer, he directly told Zhang Yan the answer, "Definitely not, because Yan Sima already has a secret agreement with his father." So in this way, Zhongshan Gong thinks that he can still rely on the geographical advantages of Montenegro to block his father who is sitting in Youzhou and Hebei Prefecture? ”