Zharong is a native of Danyang, Yangzhou. Although www.biquge.info was a high-ranking authority as an economic official under Tao Qian, responsible for the grain transportation of Guangling, Xiapi and Pengcheng counties, and providing military supplies to Tao Qian's army, his ambitions did not stop there. After seeing the busy scene of huge supplies being transported to Xuzhou by Bai Fan coming and going on the river, he occasionally thought in his heart: "Tao Qian is the assassin of Xuzhou to conquer the world, isn't it because I have made money for him?" ”

Dealing with money and materials all day long, he understands the importance of money and materials better than anyone else. He knows one thing clearly: "With money, you basically have everything." ”

In his opinion, if you have money to support a strong army, you can train them, equip them with the best weapons, make them strong, and then you can fight the world.

"It turns out that it's as simple as wanting to be a powerful hegemon." After figuring out all the relationships, Cha Rong occasionally had this thought, "I can also be on my own." ”

Such thoughts came to his mind more and more frequently as time passed. He wanted to be self-reliant. After seeing that his prefect Tao Qian offended Cao Cao, Xuzhou became unstable and gradually entered the state of war, and the agenda of self-reliance had to be placed in front of him very realistically. Before that, he had already begun to withhold taxes from Guangling, Xiapi, and Pengcheng.

He was not fully prepared to stand on his own feet. After Xuzhou became a region within easy reach of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and other heroes, he naturally had to go somewhere else if he wanted to stand on his own. Because in that environment, there is no way to integrate the existence of a third force.

So where to go?

Charong naturally thought of his hometown Yangzhou and Panju Jiangnan. That's where there are no big forces. In Jiangnan, powerful people such as Liu Xuan, Yan Baihu, Wang Lang, etc., are not too strong. Among them, the strongest Liu Miao is only more than 20,000 people, and the believers gathered in Charong are half a catty and eight taels. As for Zhu Hao sent by the imperial court, Zhuge Xuan sent by Liu Biao is not a military general, even if there are accompanying soldiers and horses, there are not many soldiers and horses.

Charong thinks that with his own strength, he can divide a county in the south of the Yangtze River. Because after comparing many forces, he felt that his strength was still above them, and what he lacked was about the signboards of famous families and capable generals. Although these have a certain influence in troubled times, they are not very powerful, at least in Charong's opinion. He believes he has the ability to solve these problems.

So, go south. Cha Rong took his followers and the Xuzhou soldiers of Guangling County, and about 20,000 people took refuge in Liu Xuan, a powerful man in Jiangnan. At that time, Liu Miao was beaten by Sun Ce, who had just crossed the river, and he urgently needed to replenish his troops. And the believers of Charong are exactly what he wants. Liu Miao took Cha Rong into his subordinates and gave Cha Rong the title of a partial general. For this name, Charong doesn't care much. The reason why he took refuge in Liu Xuan, instead of relying on the newly rising Sun Ce, was because Liu Xuan had a signboard from a famous family, but Sun Ce did not.

Bending over is nothing to Cha Rong, and he has long been used to it as a human being. Succumbing to Liu Xuan's men, he has been seeking an opportunity to expand his forces.

The easiest way for Charong to increase his strength is to kill the leader of the army and seize his forces. He knew that the soldiers did not serve because of their loyalty to their leader, they only served for food. After killing the leader of the army, as long as he can ensure that the treatment of these soldiers is not reduced, then these soldiers will also die for themselves.

Increasing your strength is as simple as that, and you can easily get it by sacrificing your reputation. This kind of thing, Cha Rong did it three times. Killing Zhao Yu, punishing Xue Li, except for Zhu Hao, Cha Rong relied on such a means to gradually increase his soldiers and horses to 30,000.

In a sense, strength is a sign of strength. Seeing his strength rising uncontrollably, the smile on Cha Rong's face gradually increased. Of course, he also thought that as a leader, his treacherous behavior would undermine the trust of the integrity of the Futu followers. But Cha Rong has no other way to choose this, and he has to sacrifice small interests in exchange for greater benefits.

It's like walking a bamboo pole for him. He must find a balance between gaining strength by increasing his forces and losing the popularity of his followers, so that his power can be freed from the predicament. It was a fairly easy thing for him to do, and he was doing the kind of work that was calculating.

Leaning on the couch of Yuzhang Taishou's mansion, Cha Rong began to think carefully about the current situation:

Zhuge Xuan, who entered Yuzhang first, also escaped from Yuzhang one step earlier, and now guards the west city of Yuzhang, and the strength in his hands is estimated to be about three thousand. Because he robbed his Yuzhang. He and himself are also in a hostile relationship. It's just that this enemy is not very strong, and even if he doesn't pay attention to it, he has no possibility of attacking.

Liu Xuan, the master of the east, entered Yuzhang under his banner in the name of rescuing Zhu Hao, and then killed Zhu Hao to occupy the city, he was already hostile to him. He now thinks that Poyang City, which is in the northeast of Yuzhang, is ready to attack him. This is something that needs to be paid attention to, how to say that Liu Xuan, the assassin of Yangzhou, also has 20,000 soldiers and horses, although it is slightly less than his own people, but it is also not to be underestimated. It's just that he thinks that Liu Miao can't attack him with all his strength, and although Poyang City is small, it is the only territory that Liu Miao can control at the moment. He must leave at least 10,000 men behind to defend the city. to avoid being picked by outsiders. Sun Cejun, who is emerging in the east, is pressing over step by step, and he and Liu Miao are absolute enemies.

"Do you want to contact Sun Ce, flank Liu Xuan with him, and reach an agreement to finally divide Jiangnan equally?" Thinking about it, Cha Rong occasionally brushed over such thoughts. He knew that Sun Ce was very strong, crossed the river with 1,000 soldiers and horses, and later accepted Zhou Yu's 3,000 soldiers, and a total of 4,000 men and horses could defeat Liu Xuan, so he was naturally very capable. At present, Sun Ce has more than 10,000 people in Jiangdong. Although it is not comparable to Liu Miao in terms of troops, it is much stronger than Liu Miao in terms of overall combat strength and the popularity of the people in Jiangnan.

"Can such a strongman come to a deal with himself? I'm afraid not! "I know my own business, and I know very well how bad I am in the minds of these so-called "high-level" people.

"Sun Ce is a strong man, he has a very straight personality, and he looks down on those so-called ghost tricks. If you ask for an alliance with them, I'm afraid you'll be kicked out as soon as you enter. Cha Rong finally thought about it and had to make a decision: "Let's concentrate on defeating Liu Miao first." "He's starting to rearm for war.

Neither side is a deep-rooted force in Yuzhang, so naturally there is no large-scale naval army available. Therefore, although the battle will be fought in the area of Poyang Lake, the two sides will still use traditional land forces to win the victory.

Half a month after Charong entered Yuzhang, Liu Xuan, who was stationed in Poyang, moved his troops and horses to Yuhan. Corresponding Cha Rong also drove his troops to Zhongling. As Cha Rong judged, Liu Miao only sent 10,000 troops to Yu Khan, and the rest were in Poyang to defend against Sun Ce's threat to the east. And although there is also a hostile force of Zhuge Xuan behind Cha Rong, Cha Rong still believes that he only needs to send 5,000 people to defend. That's just just a precaution, Cha Rong didn't think that Zhuge Xuan would take the opportunity to attack him.

So, on the shore of Poyang Lake. Charong Army and Liu Xuanjun leaned on the two cities of Zhongling and Yu Khan to confront each other, and the war was about to break out.

However, at this time, Charong discovered a troublesome thing - there were faint signs of instability among his followers.

"What's going on?" Cha Rong didn't dare to be careless about this. After all, he clearly understood that everything he had came from this group of Futu cultists who regarded him as their leader, from their trust in him, and once they became suspicious of him and betrayed him, everything in his hands would dissipate without a trace. Although he has a lot of money, most of his money is spent on this army. For Charong, this army is his property, and there is no room for the slightest mistake.

"What's the problem? If you have a problem, please speak up? In order to deal with those damn instability, Cha Rong had to gather all the middle and lower-level leaders in his team and ask them in the main square of Zhongling City. He is not asking these things as a monarch at this time. In non-combat moments, when facing a large number of Futu cultists, he always carried out everything as a guide. Although the instructor also sometimes has the feeling of looking down on all beings and being high in the face of ordinary disciples, when the instructor gives lectures, he cannot cling to his own authority and widens the distance between himself and the congregation. Therefore, Cha Rong's current question is very peaceful.

"Why did you kill Taishou? Didn't we come to his rescue? Someone suddenly mentioned the incident of half a month ago, and asked in a timid but very positive tone.

"Because Zhu Hao wanted to betray us after accepting our aid and zhan had a Yu Zhang. He wanted to kill us, and I have proof of that. For my safety and the safety of all of us, I had to strike first as a last resort. Otherwise, if Zhu Hao launches first, we will suffer irreparable losses. This kind of loss is something I don't want to see, you know? Cha Rong said without hesitation. Although it was a lie, his face did not change. As early as when he decided to clean up Zhu Hao, he had already thought of this statement.

As the leader of a religious community, Charong still has considerable discernment. He is very good at persuading people, so he was able to bring his disciples here step by step on the basis of repeated violations of the doctrine. This is also one of his talents. If he doesn't have such talent, I'm afraid he is still in Xuzhou as his economic officer.

He is more accustomed to saying what he wants to mark in that decisive tone. Just like a first-class archer, he can not only hit the opponent's vital point very accurately, but also control the strength very well, neither too strong nor too weak, and can hit the itch of the listener, so that he can feel the edge of his words, but will not make such a sharp edge seem too much, and make the other party feel unacceptable. He often uses phrases such as: "Do you understand? "What do you think?" "Understood?" and so on to enhance the effect of his tone, and usually he can get the effect of pre-deception.

This time, however, his invincible eloquence met with setbacks. After a painstaking explanation, he found that the final result was not as good as he imagined. Most of the people below were silent, and no one responded to him at all. It's not the same as usual.

"What's wrong? Do you guys have any questions? Cha Rong stepped down from the high platform of the lecture and went to these middle and lower cadres to persuade them.

After all, he is still a very prestigious person in everyone's hearts. As the persuasion unfolded, he also figured out the biggest question in everyone's minds - why did you kill Zhu Hao? Obviously, Charong's explanation of the problem did not convince them. They expressed their doubts in front of Cha Rong: "It's unlikely that Zhu Hao would do such a thing, right?" ”

Asking one person is such a question, and asking two people is the same. As the number of people asking gradually increased, Cha Rong quickly discovered the strangeness: "Why are so many people's questions mostly the same?" Even the way it is expressed is very similar. ”

Don't......

At first glance, they heard their questions from others. It's just that their mouths change to a different tone.

"Damn it. Someone wants to shake my army with rumors. Soon Cha Rong determined this, and he began to search: "Who is this guy who eats inside and out?" ”

There is a deep bond between the followers of the Futu religion and the believers, and this connection makes them believe each other's words. It has been about half a month since Zhu Hao was killed, which is not a long time, but it is not something that can be done casually to let the rumors penetrate into the hearts of the people. This is more difficult for outsiders. But if the people who spread the rumors are also believers, then it is easier.

Charong regarded himself as the leader of the Futu Sect. Therefore, when he thinks that the disloyalty of the congregation is provoked by the believers of his own people, it is natural to think that the person who provokes him is eating inside and out.

"Who is it?" The voices of several intermediate instructors quickly flashed through Cha Rong's mind. This is not something that can be done alone. Maybe he is the mastermind, but he won't do everything himself, and there must be a group of henchmen under him. The only people who have a certain amount of influence in the army are those who are middle-level instructors.

Thinking of this, Cha Rong suddenly remembered one thing:

I often hear people say that there are also many Futu believers in Yuzhang. After entering Yuzhang City, he did make Xu Yuan, the local leader of Yuzhang, a captain, and made him an important person in his army. However, after the reward, I asked about the situation of Yuzhang's followers, but found that the actual number of Yuzhang's followers was not as large as expected, and it was only more than 1,000 people. At that time, he felt that he had lost a little, and he also heard his subordinates complaining about Xu Yuan.

Of course, these are not big deals, Xu Ding is also a very humble and capable person. Since he has already been rewarded, it is not good to dismiss him immediately. But Yuzhang's sect members became indifferent as they killed Zhu Hao. Occasionally, I was very surprised to see a little doubt and a hint of anger in their eyes from these people. They don't give up on themselves because of the reward they have given them. These new members of the congregation still retain their ideas to a considerable extent.

"It's my misfortune to have such people." Cha Rong thinks like this from time to time, what he needs is a group of people who are loyal to their own interests, not people who have their own thoughts and doubt themselves all the time.

Although the people around him said that Xu Yuan was good and that he was a capable person, Cha Rong gradually looked at Xu Yuan unpleasantly. At this moment, as soon as he wanted to draw out the spies in his team, he couldn't hold back the dissatisfaction in his heart, and turned his suspicious gaze at Xu Yuan: "The sect members of Yuzhang will doubt me, if there is no support from you Xu Yuan, I will definitely not believe it." ”

He thought so, and quickly put what to do with Xu Yuan in his mind. The so-called disposition is killing. Cha Rong doesn't want to let those who oppose him live uneventful all the time. Although that is not now, and now we must first appease the cadres and soldiers who are full of doubts about themselves, but we cannot drag it out like this forever. If persuasion is done without eliminating the source of the chaos, the chaos will continue. Therefore, he was already thinking about what excuse to use to execute Xu Yuan.

Three days later, the purge of Xu Yuan and his backbone began. Overnight, the purge force composed of those Xuzhou soldiers wiped out Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan's cronies, and their families. For a time, Yuzhang City and Zhongling City were in chaos and wailing everywhere. Adhering to the principle of Cha Rong's rapid handling of the Xu Ding incident, the means of the soldiers responsible for the cleansing were unusually single, without any interrogation, and these people were not allowed to make any excuses, in short, as soon as they caught the relevant personnel, the sharp broadsword did not hesitate to chop down. During the two-day purge, Cha Rong used absolutely brutal killing methods to kill more than 200 Xu Yuan and his family and cronies.

To outsiders, Cha Rong's behavior is absolutely irrational and crazy. After all, he and Liu Xuanjun were about to fight the war, but he did such a thing that was easy to scratch the hearts of the army, which really pushed up the abyss of his hope of failure. If there were a sizable strategist around Cha Rong, he might be able to raise objections to him. However, it is a pity that there is no such person beside Charong. Everything he does can only be chosen and decided by his own wisdom and his own experience. When he thought that it was necessary and correct to kill Xu Ding in this way, he quickly did it.

Although he also knew that such a method might make the people below him more against him and doubt him, he was confident that he could calm it down. Because in the army, he had also heard such complaints: "Why can Xu Yuan, the newcomers, quickly become an official position like a captain, but we have not been promoted in the army for so many years?" The partial general is really a bit favoritism. ”

Hearing such complaints, Cha Rong intuitively thought that there was a contradiction between the new and the old in his army. The current Charong army is still a situation where there are more old people and fewer new people, so Charong believes that his decision can satisfy the old people.

Of course, he also has a high-sounding reason to explain the reason for this matter: "Xu Yuan colluded with Zhuge Xuan in the west to attack Yuzhang City while we were at war with Liu Xuan in the east, so that we would become homeless again." According to my intelligence, they will be launched in the next two days. This is a very definite and dangerous thing. I had to make a decisive choice. ”

Charong describes himself as an innocent person who has no choice but to do so. He told everyone that his actions were just a means to thwart the other party's plot. All the mistakes were made by Xu Yuan, although it is possible that some people were wronged, but that was also caused by the inability to investigate in detail under the urgency of time. After all, in such a crisis situation, it is really necessary to ensure one's own safety by killing a thousand by mistake rather than letting one person go.

I don't know if it was the bloody means that made everyone feel the existence of fear, or whether Charong's rhetoric was accepted by everyone, in short, after this purge was completed, the rumors in Charong's army disappeared at once. Everyone seemed to be loyal to the leader of Cha Rong again, and wholeheartedly gathered around him to prepare for dealing with Liu Xuan. This made Charong feel very satisfied. At this moment, he saw not only obedience in his men, but also a trace of fear that he had not had before, which made him feel that he was on a high level.

The news of Xu Yuan's killing reached Xicheng in the afternoon of the purge operation. For such a major news, Zhuge Xuan gathered his staff and generals on the spot to discuss the impact of this matter on his side. Zhuge Xuan clearly knew that once Cha Rong had completed this matter and temporarily suppressed the dissatisfaction of the people below, the next step was to go east to fight Liu Xuan, so when he and Liu Xuan were in a decisive battle, what should he do? This is also a problem. In this regard, he urgently needs to understand everyone's opinions and turn them into unified actions.

"What? Xu Yuan was killed? Hearing Zhuge Xuan say the news, Li Sheng and the others were very surprised.

It was so unexpected and so sad. Except for Xu Ding and Peng Ling, who came later, everyone present had contact with the leader of the Futu Sect in Yuzhang County. Although that guy always smiled and didn't look serious, everyone felt his sincere personality and compassionate heart in their dealings with him.

"There are too many people in the world, and this is the misfortune of the world. What I can do is to let them ensure the safety of the cultists in the county when the new candidates come here. This is what he often says, and it is also the purpose of his meeting with Li Sheng and others.

"Woo woo......" A faint sobbing sound sounded in the hall.

Everyone was very strange at this time: this hall is full of old men. Although it is very sad to lose a friend like Xu Yuan, it is not to the point of tears.

Who is it? Who is here to pose like this bored child?

Everyone fled to the prestige, but they saw that the tears there were all due to Xu Ding, who knew Xu Yuan.

What's going on?

"Justice, what is it that makes you so sad?" Zhuge Xuan asked with concern. He knew that Xu Ding was not the kind of person with unusually rich feelings, and he was relatively calm. If he didn't encounter something that he couldn't do, he would never show his inner feelings.

"Lord, this Yuzhang Xu Yuan Xu Ping was originally my cousin in my own family!" Xu Ding said with tears streaming down his face: "We have been friends since childhood. My family is poor, and I often have the support of the Father of Justice, which is a great blessing to me. ”

"I see." Everyone immediately understood. The cousin of his own family is also the kind of person who is very affectionate and killed.,Where will it not be heartbroken.。 Xu Ding just sobbed softly like this, obviously restraining his feelings.

"Lord, please avenge me." Xu Ding knelt on the ground and bowed his hand to plead.

"What's this?" Zhuge Xuan pondered for a moment and quickly agreed: "I naturally will." For such a treacherous villain, no one will let him go, right? ”

"Thank you, Lord." Xu Ding kowtowed. He looked up, a faint spark of anger in his eyes.

"You're welcome." Zhuge Xuan waved his hand, "The main reason is that Cha Rong is angry and resentful when he does this." However......" Zhuge Xuan said and frowned slightly: "No matter what, we have to wait patiently for the time being." Charong's forces are so much stronger than ours that we can't settle accounts with him. ”

"Please don't be careful about this, my lord." Xu Ding said with a gleam in his eyes: "I have a way to let a branch of the Charong army defect to us." ”

Oh? How so? Everyone in the hall looked curious.

"Actually, my younger brother is in Charong's army. Although it is unclear what position he holds now, it is a fact that he commanded five hundred sectarians before he joined the Charong army. I don't think he'll be any worse now. If I had given a little time, I would have been confident in convincing him to join us. Xu Ding said confidently.

"Yes! If that's the case, then you might as well try. I think we can do this at the same time as Guan Charong and Liu Xuan. If the handling is good, then maybe we will also have the capital to fight with Liu Xuan. Zhuge Xuan was slightly happy, and he said whimsically. He decided to carefully observe the battle between Liu Miao and Cha Rong first. He believed it wasn't a simple battle.

The encounter with Liu Xiangjun was on the tenth day after the purge. The Zharong army advanced eastward, and Liu Xuan's army headed west, and the two sides met fifty miles away from Zhongling. Because they didn't want to enter the melee, the teams on both sides quickly restrained themselves, and led the troops to camp at an interval of two miles, and gave each other a war letter, agreeing to a decisive battle tomorrow.

On the morning of the second day, in the morning light, Liu Xuanjun formed a formation and left the camp. The team of 10,000 people set up a formation on the plain by Poyang Lake: the two wings forward, Zhang Ying on the left and Sun Shao on the right, but the middle recess is where Liu Xuan's army is located, and the fierce general Tai Shici, who has just been promoted by Liu Xuan, leads 500 cavalry to stand in the middle and defend Liu Xuan's side. Liu Miao stood in the middle of the formation in a golden helmet and golden armor, but beside him was his strategist, the world-famous physiognomy master Xu Shao.

Liu Xuanjun lined up, and Cha Rong on the opposite side naturally couldn't do without the slightest movement. Twenty thousand energetic and strong men came out of the camp, and they did not put up any fancy formations, but just let the soldiers line up neatly and form a quadrangular formation. Cha Rong brought his own cadres, that is, the generals under him, out of the battle to greet them, from left to right: Jingkou Captain Xu Hai, Left Sima Yan Zhao, Right Sima Qi Kai, and Lieutenant Gu Heng.

The formations of the two armies stood a hundred feet apart. In a tense atmosphere, the battle is on the verge of breaking out.