Li Sheng stayed in Runan for a few days, and there was nothing to do, just to accompany Liu Bei to continue to have a good relationship with him. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 InfoMaybe it's because he's always been in contact with more elders than his peers. Li Sheng treated Liu Bei with the same courtesy as he did with his division commander. Of course, Liu Bei was very satisfied, coupled with Li Sheng's conversations with him from time to time showing some charming words and all kinds of sought-after words, and in the end, when Liu Bei was about to leave Runan, Liu Bei was already close to Li Sheng, completely like a pair of real uncles and nephews.

Liu Bei thinks that the only person in the world who can really understand him is this Zixu Xian's nephew, as for his two brothers, Yun Chang and Yide, although they are very compatible with him emotionally, he can't communicate with them on other things. It's not that they don't want to say it, but even if they say it, they can't understand it.

It was precisely because he was so suitable for Li Sheng that Liu Bei forced Li Sheng to stay. "There's nothing going on over there anyway." He said. Of course, he also asked Li Sheng to inform the people outside of the situation here, and he didn't want to have any misunderstanding or conflict with Li Sheng's subordinates.

Liu Bei and Li Sheng get along very happily, and pleasant days always fly by. Liu Bei is finally leaving Runan. He must return to Yuan Shao's side to resume his life. This is what he must do, not to win Yuan Shao's trust, but to bring all the subordinates he still has left on Yuan Shao's side. Because Yuan Shao didn't trust Liu Bei very much, he only asked him to send an envoy to Runan this time, and he was only willing to bring one of his subordinates and a dozen people to guard him - he was really afraid that Liu Bei would leave him. And Liu Bei himself had to bow his head under the eaves, and left his subordinates in Hebei. He has always wanted to break away from independence, because he has already seen that Yuan Shao is inappropriate. Since there is already a better way to go now, he is naturally unwilling to accompany Yuan Shao to die with his subordinates.

"Alas, I'm really reluctant to Zixu." When they parted, Liu Bei grabbed Li Sheng's hand tightly and cried. Although it is easy for a big man to cry so much, Liu Bei's crying always makes people feel a trace of sympathy. Crying is the patent of the weak, and crying with feelings makes people feel a kind of heart palpitations that are touched.

Li Sheng himself was originally a person who cried easily, although he didn't cry much now, but he could understand Liu Bei's feelings: because he was reluctant to confide, because of the bitterness of achieving nothing, because he wanted to violate his original dignity, he was depressed under others. Liu Bei is undoubtedly a sentimental person, although his appearance is a little numb, and his mood is invisible, but his heart is very fiery and sensitive, so at some times he will cry involuntarily because of some trivial things.

"This person has too much bitterness in his heart." Li Sheng looked at Liu Bei's faintly wrinkled face, and inadvertently passed through such a thought in his heart.

Regarding Liu Bei's crying, Li Sheng held back his heart and the tears that were about to fall in his eyes, pulled a dry smile, and said, "General Zuo is too worried. It's just a period of separation. I believe that General Zuo can return to Runan safely and come to Jingzhou, and I will need more support from General Zuo at that time. ”

"Don't call me General Zuo." Liu Bei finally held back his tears, "With the relationship between you and me, we really shouldn't be so estranged." If Zixu doesn't dislike it, you can call me uncle. Liu Bei said that he wanted to set a relationship for Li Sheng emotionally. He can see that Li Sheng is also a person with deep affection, who is trustworthy and entrusted.

"Isn't that a high climb?" Li Sheng shirked and said, "You are the emperor's uncle." ”

"Gao Pan? How can it be considered a high climb? There was always a bit of bitterness on his tearful face: "I'm just a person who can't do anything." Zixu excused himself like this, didn't he look down on me? ”

"Where!" Li Sheng hurriedly waved his hand, that is, he agreed, quickly changed his name, and said, "Little nephew Li Sheng has seen his uncle." He bowed down the boat along the water, but his heart was tight with joy. In fact, the moment Liu Bei made that proposal, he wanted to agree. The reason why he still has to shirk is just to let Liu Bei know that he is not a person who climbs the rich and noble. Just as Liu Bei felt that Li Sheng was suitable for stumbling with emotional shackles, Li Sheng also thought that the best way to deal with people like Liu Bei was to use sincerity and emotion to impress him and trap him.

His cry was very sincere, but it made Liu Bei, who had never had an heir, feel very relieved. Liu Bei hurriedly helped Li Sheng up, and his face was full of obvious joy: "I have a nephew like this, what a happy life." As he said this, a trace of remorse crossed his heart: "Why do you only recognize him as your nephew?" Wouldn't it be better to know him as a righteous son? Thinking about it, he wanted to speak again, but after all, he shook his head helplessly: "This may be the fate of the ghost envoy." There seems to be nothing else that explains what I have missed at the moment.

"Alright, alright." Liu Bei gently patted Li Sheng's shoulder and smiled softly: "There is always a time to get together, and we need to be separated eventually." It's reluctant, but it's a must. I have to go, and I just hope that one day we can meet again in the near future. As he spoke, he quickly turned over and got on his horse, and bowed his hand to the people who came to see him off from Runan City: "Go back, everyone!" You don't have to send it anymore. ”

"General Zuo (uncle) let's go!" The people of Runan and Li Sheng bowed down together. They leaned over, raised their eyes, watched Liu Bei's departure from a distance, and quietly waited for the slightly lonely figure to disappear from their sight. It was a long time before they stood up.

"Commander Liu, we're leaving too." Standing up straight, Li Sheng turned over his mount and arched his hand to Liu Bi, who came out together.

"Going? Why didn't the major general stay longer? Because Li Sheng recognized Liu Bei as his uncle, Liu Bi changed his words and called Li Sheng a young general. After all, Liu Bei has no other nephews at the moment.

"No, my men are still waiting for me. If you go back too late, it's hard to say anything to them. Li Sheng shook his head gently: "In order to accompany Uncle Xuande, I have been staying in Runan for a few more days. Right now, now that Uncle Xuande has left, it's not good for me to stay here and enjoy it alone. Besides, some of the matters concerning the armistice between your and our armies also need to be dealt with personally, and it is really inconvenient for me to stay for a long time. ”

"In that case, then I won't keep it anymore." Hearing Li Sheng say this, Liu Bi realized that Li Sheng had to go, so he didn't stay, but just bowed his hand to Li Sheng, and said respectfully: "Please also ask the young general to go all the way." ”

"Thank you!" Li Sheng led Zhou Rui to Liu Pi and quickly left. Because he thought that he had already exceeded the time agreed with Luo Zhao and the others for a few days, although he had also sent someone to inform them, he was a little anxious after all, and he walked fast for a while.

According to the prior agreement, Li Sheng and Zhou Rui led their men to go around in the mountains south of Runan City for a long time, and finally found Luo Zhao and the others. At the moment, the sky is already a little dark. It was impossible to continue the journey, so Li Sheng conveniently discussed with Luo Zhao to stay in this mountain for a night. Anyway, all kinds of things have been arranged, and the people of Xinxi are unwilling to have any problems under the leadership of Xu Shu, and they don't need Li Sheng to rush back.

Set up an account, make a fire, and eat. As the sun sets, beside the scorching bonfire, everyone roasts the fish caught from the creek next to the campsite and tells each other about what has happened in the past few days. The current ground camp is no longer the place agreed between Li Sheng and Luo Zhao. Worried about the appearance of such a case, Luo Zhao quickly moved the camp after Li Sheng sent someone to inform him. This is where his prudence lies, after all, "you can't have the heart to harm others, and you can't have the heart to prevent people".

"Why did the lord pull Liu Bei to this Jingzhou with a blank eye? Isn't it enough for us to have us in Jingzhou at the moment? If Liu Bei is really as powerful as the lord said, wouldn't it be very bad for us to let them come to Jingzhou? After all, there's one more competitor. After listening to Li Sheng's experience these days, Luo Zhao couldn't help but ask a little strangely, he was very puzzled by Li Sheng's behavior of wooing Liu Bei to come to Jingzhou.

Hearing Luo Zhao ask like this, Li Sheng smiled. He didn't answer Luo Zhao's question directly, but just asked lightly: "If we develop like Liu Bei, do you think the world will think we are powerful?" Or do you think Liu Bei is powerful? ”

"This ......" Luo Zhao hesitated for a moment, and then came to his senses: "The lord originally wanted Liu Bei to be the shield in front of us." ”

"Exactly." Li Sheng smiled very happily.

"What the hell is going on?" The two of them chatted speculatively, but they listened to Zhou Rui and Zhou Li on the side in a daze, and they were a little confused. In order to figure out what was going on with this seemingly important question, Zhou Rui had to ask, "What are you talking about?" ”

"I'm asking the lord about Liu Bei's intention to come to Jingzhou. I didn't know much about this, but now I do. Luo Zhao replied with a smile.

"What do you understand?" Zhou Rui asked, with the posture of breaking the casserole and asking to the end.

"This ......" Luo Zhao looked at Li Sheng and nodded lightly, knowing that he was allowing himself to talk about this matter, he took a deep breath and began his own explanation: "The lord seeks development under Liu Biao's account, and his various ambitions of not being subordinate will inevitably attract Liu Biao's attention no matter how hidden we are. If we are the only ones in Jingzhou who seek to stand on our own, then Liu Biao will undoubtedly spend all his strength on targeting us. Even if we can still develop, the momentum of this development will undoubtedly be greatly affected. That's what we don't want to see. To deal with Cao Cao, it is absolutely impossible to achieve it without doubling our current strength, and time is really tight for us, and we cannot relax at all. Therefore, we don't want to see any control from Liu Biao's side at all. Therefore, the lord tried his best to attract Liu Bei to come to Jingzhou. After that, Luo Zhao threw a look at Zhou Rui and Zhou Li, which meant: "Do you understand this?" ”

"I don't understand." Zhou Rui and Zhou Li shook their heads in unison: "Please ask Mr. Luo to be more detailed." "They seem to be very humble.

"Alas!" For the two of them not being able to turn around, Luo Zhao couldn't help but sigh softly, and patiently continued to explain: "Liu Bei is a famous figure in the world. He was once the lord of one side, and although he was defeated, he was also defeated. The princes of the world admired his ability and personality, but at the same time guarded against him from using his own power to seek independence. For such a person, we invite him to this Jingzhou, and the face-loving Lord Liu Biao will inevitably take him in because he is of the same clan and has long been famous all over the world. This is Lord Liu Biao for the sake of his reputation, he will definitely treat Liu Bei well in the open, but in secret, he will be wary of Liu Bei's details. At that time, in the heart of Lord Liu Biao, Liu Bei's danger will definitely be above the lord. In this way, he will pay more attention to Liu Bei and not focus on our side. In this way, as long as we do our own thing in a subtle way, basically our development will not be controlled by Lord Liu Biao's side. ”

"I see." Zhou Rui and Zhou Li finally understood. They looked at Li Sheng with admiration, and they admired the lord's power.

After saying this, everyone chatted for a while, and the general discussion was how to deal with the relationship with Liu Bei in the future, that is, after Liu Bei came to Jingzhou. Of course, they did not discuss each of these points in detail, but only set a general framework: to get close to Liu Bei's forces, have a good relationship with everyone under Liu Bei's forces, and appropriately assist the development of Liu Bei's forces, and attract Liu Biao's attention, so that Liu Biao will have a certain degree of guard against Liu Bei.

"It's a bit difficult." Li Sheng said. The so-called key to the difficulty is to grasp the intimacy of Liu Bei's forces: that is, he needs to become intimate with Liu Bei's forces, and he must secretly give him a certain amount of mix, so that his development is blocked by Liu Biao.

"It's really a troublesome thing. But I think it would be easy to solve it if I went back and discussed the matter with a few gentlemen. After all, the intellect of several gentlemen is very outstanding among the people. Zhou Rui thought about it, but said nonchalantly.

"That's just as well." A satisfied smile suddenly appeared on Li Sheng's face.

After talking about it for so long, the night was already deep. The people chatting around the campfire gradually became a little sleepy. Luo Zhao looked at Li Sheng, who had already begun to yawn, worriedly, and persuaded him with concern: "The lord should rest early." I'm going to have to hurry tomorrow. ”

"I understand." Li Sheng nodded lightly, "However, Zhong Ming, can we not return to Xinxi so soon?" ”

"How?" Luo Zhao asked strangely: "It's been so long since we had a new breath, how can we still delay outside?" You must know that the people of the new breath have been worried about the lord all the time. ”

"I know that. But I'm still going west to Woniu Mountain. Li Sheng nodded and said to Luo Zhao.

"To the west of Woniu Mountain?" Luo Zhao couldn't help but be even more surprised when he heard this: "Where to do what?" ”

"Collect people." Li Sheng replied.

"Collect people? Who do you receive? "Now it's not just Luo Zhao, even the two brothers Zhou Rui and Zhou Li are also interested.

"I heard that there is a remnant army of the Yellow Turban in Woniu Mountain that does not obey Liu Pi's orders, and its leaders are named Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, all of whom are skilled in bows and horses, and are known as martial artists. Right now, I want to subdue them. After all, there are still too few generals in our army who can really come out to lead troops to fight. Li Sheng explained the truth and falsehood. He didn't say that he was really for the guy named Zhao Yun. Because whether that thing will happen or not is not accurate at the moment, and for things that cannot be done accurately, he really can't use it as a reason.

"The lord really loves talent." Luo Zhao sighed. For Li Sheng's such a full and powerful reason, he really couldn't refute anything, so he had to ask remindingly: "What about the new thing?" ”

"I'm going to write a letter and explain it. After all, the matter of looking for talents is also for the better development of our forces in the future. I think Master and Yuan Zhi should be able to understand this. Li Sheng thought about it and finally made a decision.

"That's all there is to it." Luo Zhao looked a little helpless, but there was nothing he could do.

*****

It is about two or three hundred miles from Runan City to Woniu Mountain, which is neither too far nor too close. Because most of the roads are mountainous, it always takes people days to get there, and this is still the main road.

Li Sheng knew that Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao were grassy in Woniu Mountain, but he didn't know where these two people were weeding in Woniu Mountain. Because the history of these things is too vague, and he himself is mostly secretive about what is going to be carried out today, and he did not send people to reconnoiter in advance, so that he came to the vicinity of this Woniu Mountain with his men and horses, and he was a little disturbed as if he had entered the Ecstasy Array.

"I didn't expect this Woniu Mountain to be so big?" Looking at the mountains that looked like lying cows for several miles, Li Sheng sighed helplessly. For such a situation, he was a little confused, so he had to ask Luo Zhao, who was in charge of intelligence, in a whisper: "Zhong Ming, what do you think you should do now?" If we let our people find it, it will take a lot of work. In a few days, this mountain will not be able to run all over the mountain. ”

"Hmm. That's right. Luo Zhao nodded. He inspected the topography of this Woniu Mountain in detail, but found that this mountain was actually on the side of the road leading to Yanxu Erzhou. He ordered someone to bring a map of Runan, inspected it in detail, and couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, lord. According to the map, there is a village about 20 miles away from this Woniu Mountain. If Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao really settled in this Woniu Mountain, then there must be people in this village who are familiar with them. We only have to ask this question in the past, where can we not get detailed information about these people? ”

"Makes sense." Li Sheng quickly agreed.

Twenty miles was not a long distance, and after two hours of marching along the thoroughfare, Li Sheng finally saw the village that was crossed by the road. It was a large village, and Li Sheng looked at it from afar, and saw that there were four or five hundred families standing in it, and there was a wooden wall with grass for defense, which surrounded the whole village like a camp.

Li Sheng's group is a big target, and the appearance of each one holding a gun and armor makes people know at a glance that it is not a "good road". This is obviously a threat to the people in troubled times. When they saw Li Sheng and his party coming to the village from a distance, the bronze bell in the village rang violently: close the village door, close the house, go out of the armor, hold knives and guns, and put on an appearance as if facing a great enemy. Because there was no government on this side of Runan, and there were only a lot of bandits, as soon as the people here saw the organized armed forces coming, they quickly took all kinds of precautions -- they completely regarded Li Sheng's troops who came here as a branch of the bandits.

Li Sheng understands these very well. After all, he has been in Runan for so long, and he has already seen a lot. At that moment, he asked Luo Zhao to come forward to explain, and after a long time, he finally asked the villagers to open the village gate.

To the west of the village there is a large village, which is the addition of the village chief. In this era, most of the villages in the mountains have not yet left the clan category, and most of the people in the same village have the same surname, so the name of the village is also very concise and clear. Guo Village, that's the name of the village.

Li Sheng left his brigade outside. He himself brought a hundred personal guards and three generals, Zhou Rui, Zhou Li, and Luo Zhao, into the village. This is of course to avoid causing trouble to the village, but more importantly, to win the hearts and minds of the people here. When all the forces are accustomed to letting their troops go into the cities and villages to rest and loot the people's houses, as long as there is such a unit that behaves differently and acts like it has committed no offense, then this army will definitely be memorable. Although he didn't know how many years he would have to go back to Runan after that, Li Sheng still wanted to do everything possible to win the hearts of the people in this area. Because he thinks that it will be good for his career after all. Knowing the importance of the people's hearts, he would never feel that the people's hearts are too much.

The meeting with Guo Chang, the village chief of Guo Village, was held in the ancestral hall of Guo Village. It was a circle of houses that stood next to the manor, with a hall that could accommodate hundreds of people. Both in terms of scale and luxury, it is the best except for Guo Changzhuangyuan, and it is enough to let these people get along with them. However, this is not suitable. After all, the ancestral hall is the spiritual seat of the ancestors, a solemn place, and outsiders cannot be allowed to enter and exit at will. Therefore, when Guo Chang proposed to meet and discuss in the village, it made the people of Guo Village smile bitterly, and surprised Li Sheng and other outsiders. For Li Sheng, it took them a long time to understand why Guo Chang did this: this old man undoubtedly regarded the people who were alive now as more important than his ancestors, and he was actually using the ancestors' spirit tablets as his talisman.

The meeting went on very happily. After understanding the "true" purpose of Li Sheng's group, this person named Guo Chang agreed with Li Sheng's march: "If the general really has the heart to help us solve the bandit problem in Funiu Mountain, I am willing to vigorously support the general." ”

"How is it funded?" Hearing that Li Sheng secretly said that there was a door in his heart, his eyes narrowed suddenly, and he looked at Guo Chang with a sharp light: "I don't think your village is a rich place. ”

"That's what we hid it from. The general must know that gold, silver, and money should not enter the eyes of others. Guo Chang's old face bowed and laughed. He pointed to the fence outside the village and said, "If we don't have the financial resources, we can complete such a facility?" ”

"That's true." Li Sheng nodded heavily: "But why do you want to tell me so clearly?" Aren't you afraid that we really are legendary bandits? ”

"Old and talented, there is still a little skill of observing people: the general's subordinates are well-dressed and upright, and they are upright and upright, which is different from ordinary bandits, and the general himself is even clear-eyed, with a harmonious face, and those people on the mountain who are full of flesh and face. If such an army and such a general are considered bandits, wouldn't it be black and white upside down? Guo Chang smiled, and Li Sheng nodded his head again and again.

Although Li Sheng himself didn't like flattery and flattery, he suddenly heard that someone was praising him, and the praise was something to say, which happened to scratch one of the most advantageous places in his heart, he couldn't help but rejoice, and even the tone of his speech became much more modest: "The elder is overpraised." Doing it under is just a duty for the general. ”

"Duty? If every general in the world had such a duty, then there would not be so many battles in the world. Lao Guo Chang sighed for a moment, and then turned the topic to the matter of assisting Li Sheng in the army: "Since Your Excellency is here to help us suppress the bandits, then I, as the head of the local township, am willing to provide the general with 30,000 yuan of money and 1,000 stones, and I am willing to choose 200 young and strong people from this village to join your army to help you fight the enemy." ”

"Really?" Li Sheng couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard Guo Chang give him such a big gift: "So I thank the elders." Li Sheng, who didn't care about the money and food that Guo Chang gave, really valued the strong men in the village. Although they only glanced at it in front of them in a hurry, although the weapons and equipment they were holding in their eyes were not much better than the local Yellow Turban troops in Runan, their momentum, the appearance they were standing there made Li Sheng's heart flutter all of a sudden. He could see that this group of young men with rudimentary weapons had been trained to a certain extent, and that they had a set of laws similar to those of soldiers in their advance and retreat.

"Well, although their training doesn't seem to be enough, it's much better than the average person, and it couldn't be better if they were used as a reserve for me." Li Sheng had such a thought in his heart, and now he was extremely polite to Guo Chang. After all, along the way from Xinxi, his men inevitably suffered some damage. Although this kind of injury is not necessary to make him hurt his muscles and bones, as a general, he can see the source of good soldiers, and there will be people there who are not impressed.

Of course, this is still an opportunity for Li Sheng, a chance to stay on the side of this Woniu Mountain for a few more days as much as possible. It was precisely because of the acceptance of these recruits that Li Shengda could confidently tell Luo Zhao: "We must train here for a while." Recruits must be qualified before they can go into battle, otherwise they are not responsible. ”

"God help me." Li Sheng looked at the simple and resolute faces that had just been included in his army and thought with a smile. For him, the longer he stays by the side of this Woniu Mountain, the greater the chance of meeting the person he thinks. Although he himself knew that he couldn't really have much chance of convincing him to join his camp, the slim chance didn't mean that the chance was zero, and even if there was only one percent chance of success, he had to try. Because everything, as he himself had said in his heart before, was a dream, a dream that he had been longing for since he returned to the time of the Three Kingdoms.