In the last month of 190, it was bitterly cold.

Under the selfish motives of the alliance army of the Eighteenth Route Princes, they did not eliminate Dong Taishi in one fell swoop, but fell apart and died in name. Yuan Shu returned to Nanyang County and deployed to attack Jingzhou and recapture the Yiyang County that had been divided.

Sun Jian had been defeated a few months earlier and returned to the Jiujiang area, where he was stationed to capture Jingzhou. Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong, the general of Taishi Dong, and was forced to return to Chenliu, looking forward to a comeback. Yuan Shao invaded and annexed Han Fu and obtained most of Jizhou, and Gongsun Zhan, with the help of Liu Guanzhang and a large group of strategists and generals, faced a strong enemy Yuan Shao without falling behind.

Dong Zhuo, who moved the capital to Chang'an, in order to seek allies, promoted Liu Biao to the general of Zhennan and commanded Jingzhou with the help of the Son of Heaven.

……

Yuan Shu's heavy troops were stationed in Nanyang County, so that thieves rose in Runan County, Yingchuan County, and Geyang County, which was adjacent to Jiangxia County, although Yuan Shu was exterminated, and with the support of the county families, he would not lose these counties. But it's also precarious.

Nanyang County was the first iron-smelting center of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Yuan Shu's hoarding of tens of thousands of troops here was nothing more than the convenience of the production of armaments and weapons in it. The more than a dozen counties separated out form Yiyang County, which is equivalent to about half of the iron ore income of the entire Nanyang County, how can he not be in a hurry.

Since his return, he has been restless. After all, on the side of the couch, you can't allow others to snore! Changshi Yang Hong suggested: "My lord, Liu Jingsheng has newly won Jingzhou, and his foundation is not stable, so there is no need to worry. Although he has captured the twelve counties of Nanyang, the people in the county are undecided, and the family clan is not convinced, so we only need to send secret envoys to persuade these family clans that it is just around the corner to take back Yiyang County without spending a single soldier. ”

"It doesn't hurt if you have any clever plan, sir." When Yuan Shu heard this, he hurriedly asked Yang Hong for help.

"Since the cold winter, the main public grain and grass have been insufficient, and it is difficult to support the war. Moreover, it is still necessary to be wary of enemies in the west and Hanoi, who have been eyeing the lord Nam Duong County. Yuan Shu snorted coldly, his very contemptuous look flashed, and he motioned for Yang Hong to continue.

Yang Hong said: "Liu Jingsheng is mediocre, and he has not yet made Liu Qi, the crown dog, as the new county guard of Yiyang County, which ignores the practice of the family in the county and becomes our help." A certain brother Yang You is not talented, but he can go to persuade the family for the lord. ”

Yuan Shu nodded and said: "Yang You will go to the so-called Yiyang County on the same day to say the surrender, and General Ji Ling will lead the headquarters to garrison the area of Shuyang, Nieyang, and Champion, and attack Xinye after the beginning of spring in the next year; Chen Lanlei Bo was stationed in the area of Biyang and Wuyin, waiting for orders. Li Fengle led 10,000 infantry troops and 5,000 cavalry from Qiaorui to defend Luyang to prevent the princes of the Central Plains in Hanoi. Liu Jingsheng, and it's not too late for you to live for a few more months. ”

Yuan Shu ordered them one by one, and the generals took the orders and left. Yang Hong looked at the generals who led the order, and a trace of disappointment flashed imperceptibly. Ji Ling and Chen Lan's headquarters were the main force that Yuan Shu relied on, with a total of 20,000 soldiers and horses, half of which were well-trained cavalry battalions, usually newly recruited soldiers. It can be seen that he is only sure to win Xinye, so that Hanoi, which is the biggest threat, is only a foot soldier.

……

A steady stream of information came to Liu Qi from all directions, and for Liu Qi, the focus now was on the dynamics of Yuan Shu in Nanyang County.

After many inquiries, Chen Bao and others had already sent back the news of Yuan Shu's troop movement to Liu Qi when Yuan Shu's troops moved to garrison.

Tong Yuan and Wang Yue went to Shu early in the morning, Liu Qi summoned Chen Zhi and others to come to the Chinese military tent, and instructed the scouts to order Wang Wei to garrison Xinye, and to help defend Chaoyang.

"Liu Hu, Liu Pan!"

"The last general!" Liu Hu and Liu Pan appeared at the same time and responded.

"Speed up the training of soldiers, and my son will see results at the beginning of spring!" Liu Qi solemnly ordered and said: "At the moment of the great enemy, with the severe cold and snow, Yuan Highway did not enter Xinye because of the lack of food, and the beginning of spring is the day of his attack. You two have to train this group of recruits within these two months. ”

"No! The last general is willing to make a military order! ”

"After all, Xin Cai is under the rule of Yuan Shu, and the matter of training soldiers will be evacuated in a few days." Liu Qi pondered for a while and said: "Liu Hu and Liu Pan immediately straightened out the soldiers, and before leaving Chen Cai, he transported all the money and grain hoarded by his grandfather to Xinye, and my son arranged for General Wen to pick him up. ”

The two took the order and left, and Liu Qi said again: "Uncle Zhi, An Zhi will inform Xu Zhongkang, and when he finishes recruiting Xiangyong, he will immediately go to Yiyang to garrison, and you and your third brother will temporarily lead the training of the Euphorbia Battalion and the Baiyi Battalion." ”

When Chen arrived at Zhao Yun to receive the order, Liu Qi finally arranged various military affairs, and said with a smile: "Xincai County has accumulated a lot of savings under my grandfather's operation for many years, and everyone has helped with the relocation of money and food personnel. When we leave, we also need to give Yuan Highway a big gift. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned, not knowing what Liu Qi's plan was. Xun Yu smiled slightly, smiling without saying a word. Liu Qi said with a smile: "This surprise gift will come soon, let's get busy." ”

With the slightest doubt, everyone assisted in the transportation.

****************

In Pingyu County, not far from Xincai, the last monthly review of the "Yuedan Review" in 190 years quietly kicked off.

The severe cold can't suppress the villagers' expectations for the Yuedan review, and a generation of famous phase teacher Xu Shao's mansion is bustling.

"Mr. Zi General, the world's heroes have achieved a lot of results in their crusade against Dong Zhuo so far, although the coalition army has existed in name only, but it has also shown us a lot of heroes and heroes." One of them raised his voice, overshadowing the others, and said, "Dare to ask Mr. Zi General how to talk about the heroes of the coalition army?" ”

"That's right! Right! Mr. Zijiang, please tell me! A large group of people immediately started to laugh.

Xu Shao looked at it with an arrogant look and chuckled: "The heroes who deserve to be the world's heroes are none other than Yuan Benchu, Yuan Highway, Cao Mengde, Hebei Gongsun Zan and a few others who are the third duke of the fourth world. ”

"Wow! Mr. Zijiang, isn't Lu Fengxian, who is the world's tiger general and the world's unparalleled, a hero? A young man asked.

"The three surnamed slaves, brave and unscrupulous, how can He De be a hero?" Xu Shao asked rhetorically.

"......" The man choked suddenly, unable to explain why.

Xu Shao paused for a moment and said, "The people you are commenting on are all on the wooden cards in front of you, you can take a look." ”

Everyone scrambled to move forward, and more than a dozen wooden plaques recorded Xu Shao's Yuedan comment this month. There are Cao Cao, a famous general in Hebei, Gongsun Zhan, who is known as the White Horse General, Liu Bei, a benevolent and famous man after King Jing of Zhongshan, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu of the Third Duke of the Fourth World, Sun Jian who is a tiger in Jiujiang and so on.

This time, the Yuedan evaluation only evaluated the princes of the Eighteen Roads, but it had no quality on Liu Yan in Yizhou, Liu Biao in Jingzhou and other Liu clan relatives. It's a surprise.

"Mr. Zijiang, what do you think of Yizhou Mu Liu Junlang?" The guest asked, unwillingly.

"According to the turbulent times, it is difficult to support the heroes of the Han family." Xu Shao looked disgusted and said.

"How is Liu Bo'an (Liu Yu) in Hebei?"

"Benevolence can negotiate and be loyal to defend the country. After all, he is not a person who calms down the troubled times, and he should be a handsome man for a while. ”

"How is Jingzhou Liu Jingsheng?"

"There is nothing to show for it, and there is no decision for it." Xu Shao said this, and said with a smile: "The people of one side are talented, but the people of one country are incompetent." Recently, I heard that Liu Jingsheng was a nepotist, and his son was not yet crowned, so he thought that he could be the guard of a county even if he was weak, how could he not be mediocre? Do you say yes? ”

"Hahaha! Mr. Zijiang is right, the hairy boy dares to rule more than a dozen counties, so am I not the pastor of a state? As soon as these words came out, many guests in the venue burst into laughter.

"After all, it's a member of the Han family, don't worry! Beware of the villain's snitching and getting into trouble. An abrupt voice sounded, and the guests were so silent that they could hear a thin needle landing on the ground.

"Humph!" Seeing the person coming, Xu Shao snorted coldly: "What about the Liu clan?" Is there still Tianwei today? Xu Wenxiu, haven't you found your master yet?! Lost dogs, dare to do this! What a joke! ”

The sentence "the dog that lost the family" instantly made Xu Jing look at him angrily, Xu Shao's sentence was a pun, on the surface he scolded Xu Jing like a dog who lost his family, but secretly he referred to the current Han Dynasty.

"What? Not convinced?! Don't forget, the Xu family has long had no place for you Xu Wenxiu! You're a lost dog now! Someone, send off! Xu Shao didn't look at Xu Jing, and greeted all the guests: "This month's Moon Dan review is over, don't get drunk and have no home!" ”

"Haha, Mr. Zijiang, if you don't get drunk, you can't go home!" ……

Xu Jing walked out of Xu Shao's mansion under the pull of the slave, Xu Jing took a deep look at the lively Xu Shao's mansion, couldn't see any expression, turned around and left.

Xu Shao and Xu Jing's two cousins have been at odds for a long time, and since Xu Jing was expelled from the Xu family, the conflict between the two has intensified. The dispute between the concubines has never been less in the Dashi clan, and Xu Jing couldn't imagine that it would be his turn so soon.

"Master, is the Han royal family still there now?" The little slave asked cautiously, Xu Jing sighed and said, "How are you doing?" What if you're not there? ”

Troubled times are coming, where is my destination? Xu Jing was unwilling for a while, although his opinion on the three herds of the Han royal family was not the same as Xu Shao, it was not much worse. Although Liu Bei has benevolence, his reputation is not obvious, and he does not have a state or a county, where can he display Xu Jing's talents?

As for Yuan Shu and his ilk, they looked down on him who was not from his background. Could it be that the world is so big that there is really no place for me? Xu Jing thought bitterly.

"Sir, where are we going now?" The servant asked carefully, since Xu Jing was expelled from the Xu family, more than a dozen members of the family followed him and left.

As if he had made some decision, Xu Jing glanced at the slave and suddenly said softly: "Go to Xincai County." ”

Xincai is not far from Pingyu, and it will take about three or five days to arrive along the official road. One of the purposes of Xu Jing's trip is to measure how Liu Jingsheng's son acts, whether he is rumored to be untalented with his father, or whether he is secretly sharp. If you can, although Yiyang County is small, you can also get an errand to support your family, and then make plans in the future.

"Pack up the softness, and we'll leave for Xincai tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."