Xu Xuan left with Yuan Shu's head and Ji Ling's portrait, and Zhang Yi also completely occupied Shouchun, but Shouchun couldn't feed thousands of troops at all. Zhang Yi is also at a loss, and the military rations he brought are about to run out, what should he do?

Taking out the map seized in the Yuan Shu Palace, Zhang Yi found that the surrounding area was full of dangers! Liu Bei in the north, Sun Ce in the south, Zheng Bao and others in the east, and Liu Xun in the west.

At the mention of Liu Xun, Zhang Yi couldn't help but pay attention to him. Liu Xun is now the Taishou of Lujiang, and he surrendered to Cao Cao a year ago.

However, he is only nominally obedient, and he has thirty or forty thousand soldiers and horses in his hands, and he can be regarded as a big warlord.

Warlords are not the same as forces, warlords are gatekeepers who own armies, and these people are nominally attached to a single force.

It's like during the Republican period, warlords were everywhere, but they all nominally belonged to the central government. But the forces are different, and the Republic of China can be called a force, and the central government, Wang Puppet, and Puppet Manchu have already shown that they are two countries.

At this time in the late Han Dynasty, there was a difference from the Republic of China, and the forces did not obey the dispatch of the Han family. The difference with the warlords is that they all have high official positions in the imperial court and have established a small imperial court on their own.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yi asked Di Qing to cooperate with Li Shangyin to manage Shouchun first. He sent his master and apprentice to protect Shi Qian to Lujiang County to deliver a letter, asking Liu Xun to help him with some grain and grass.

He himself went south with a thousand men, and he was going to Hefei to meet Li Zhongtang, who was known as the pasteur of the Qing Dynasty.

Hefei County is in the south of Shouchun, but three or five days away, after arriving in Hefei, Zhang Yi soon inquired about Li Zhang's dock fort.

Wubao is a military fortress of the powerful families in the late Han Dynasty, and it is surrounded by the land of these powerful families. After the autumn harvest, the grain is pulled into the dock fort nearby, and the strong men are stored in it, forming a semi-military fortress.

In peaceful years, we will guard against bandits, and in times of war, we will resist rebellious soldiers. This kind of dock fort can be said to have preserved the most elite group of people in China, but it also made the phenomenon of land annexation very serious.

Zhang Yi led the soldiers to Li Hongzhang's dock fort and immediately let people spread the word.

Inside the fort, they were nervous when they saw the army coming. But after learning about Zhang Yi's intention, he immediately went to pass it on to Li Hongzhang.

Zhang Yi asked the soldiers to set up camp in the open field, and he took more than a dozen personal soldiers to wait for Li Hongzhang to appear.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the gate of Wubao opened, and a scribe walked out and said to Zhang Yi: "I have seen this general in Xia Li Zhang, but I wonder if the general is happy with his name?" ”

Zhang Yi stepped forward with his own soldiers, "This general Zhang Yi Zhang Ziguo!" ”

Li Hongzhang said in surprise: "Could it be Zhang Ziguo who captured and killed Yuan Shu?" ”

Zhang Yi was quite surprised, he didn't expect this matter to spread to Hefei. You know, it's only been a few days, huh?

"It's Ben Jiang!"

Li Hongzhang immediately gave a deep salute, "Li Zhang, thank you General for removing this scourge for the people of Huainan!" ”

"Haha-" Zhang Yi laughed, "It's getting serious!" ”

"It's really a pleasure for the general to capture and kill Yuan Shu! The people of Huainan suffered greatly from Yuan Shu. Ten years ago, Huainan was still a rich land, but now there are ten rooms and nine emptiness, and there is a great drought in the sky, and hungry people are everywhere. ”

Zhang Yi sighed with emotion: "It is precisely because of this that I came to Hefei to look for Gradually!" ”

Li Hongzhang did not answer, but said: "General, please come into the fort and sit down, and Rong Zhang will entertain you." ”

Zhang Yi knew that he couldn't easily convince Li Hongzhang, he was different from Di Qing. Di Qing is a death row inmate and is in a vulnerable position; But Li Hongzhang is a strong man, and he is also a person with strong political skills, and he cannot be impressed by half a word.

So Zhang Yi followed Li Hongzhang into the fort, and the two were full of wine and food. Li Hongzhang said: "Now that the moonlight is just right, why don't I ask the general to admire the moon?" ”

"Just what I want!"

Zhang Yi knew that the main event was coming, and the next thing was Li Hongzhang's examination of himself.

In the small pavilion of Li Hongzhang's house, the two cooked wine and talked.

Li Hongzhang poured a cup for Zhang Yi and asked, "I don't know what the general's ambition is?" ”

Zhang Yi took a drink, "As the saying goes: one will make ten thousand bones dry." But I don't want to kill so many people, but I want people to live better. The country is rich and strong, and it is not humiliated. Chen Tang once said: Those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away. ”

Although Zhang Yi's words were a little confusing, Li Hongzhang still heard the meaning. He asked, "If the general is based on Huainan, how should he deal with himself?" ”

Zhang Yi said with a smile: "Huainan is sandwiched between the Central Plains and Jiangdong, and it is the land of four wars. If you want to fight for the world with this, you must first develop a naval army, master Chaohu Lake, control the river, and then accumulate grain and grass, and repair the armor, so as to wait for changes in the Central Plains or Jiangdong. ”

"There will definitely be changes in the Central Plains and Jiangdong." Li Hongzhang said affirmatively: "Cao Sikong has already started a war with General Yuan, and Sun Bofu intends to capture Xuchang and hold the Son of Heaven hostage, and a great change is coming, I don't know how the general will choose?" ”

Zhang Yi shook his head and said: "I think so too, but I think there is a change in Jiangdong." ”

"Why is the general so sure?" Li Hongzhang asked strangely.

Zhang Yi said in an "uncertain prophet": "Although Yuan Shao is powerful, he is stubborn and self-serving, Cao Sikong is already leading him by the nose, and defeat is a matter of time." ”

"Sun Bofu intends to attack Xu, but Cao Sikong has a lot of wise men under him, and he will definitely find a way to solve this problem. Sun Bofu's bravery is well known to the world, but he, like his father Sun Wentai, overtrusts his bravery and often travels alone, if I send someone to assassinate him, he will be in chaos as soon as he dies. ”

Li Hongzhang thought for a moment, nodded and said, "But that's the case." ”

"Jiangdong is in turmoil, and the general can take the opportunity to take the Lujiang River, cross the river to attack Moling, and directly take Wu County, and Jiangdong will be owned by the general."

Zhang Yi nodded: "Although Jiangdong has many talents, it is just relying on Sun Bofu, Zhou Yu and a few veterans to fight with soldiers. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded, "It's just that if you want to cross the river, you still need a navy, can the general have a navy general?" ”

A person flashed in Zhang Yi's mind, "The Jingzhou Navy is strong, and there must be people who are not reused, and they can be recruited." ”

"Outsiders are afraid that they will not serve their lives!" Li Hongzhang meant something.

"Could it be that someone can recommend it?" Zhang Yi asked.

Li Hongzhang immediately got up and said, "Exactly!" He kept dozens of large ships in his lower home, and practiced the method of attacking water warfare on weekdays, and was willing to lead the naval army for the general. ”

Zhang Yi was entangled, Li Hongzhang led troops to fight, and established a powerful Beiyang naval division, but he failed in the First Sino-Japanese War. Is it really okay to use him to lead a water army?

But now Zhang Yi has no other candidates, he originally wanted to recruit Gan Ning to command the navy, but Gan Ning is a general, not a handsome talent. And the navy still has to rely more on handsome talents in order to become strong.

After struggling for a while, Zhang Yi nodded and said: "Since gradually Fu has a heart, let gradually Fu lead the water army!" ”

"Li Zhang thanked the lord!"