By the time he arrived, all the people in Pengcheng had gradually fallen asleep, and the sound of snoring one after another, accompanied by the whistling wind, played the tranquility of the night.

The moon was covered by a large black cloud, the sky and the earth were dark, an owl hovered down in the sky above the land temple in the west of the city, and landed on a dead tree in front of the land temple, with a pair of bright eyes, watching a person standing under the dead tree, from time to time let out a few chirps, which further highlighted the depth and loneliness of the night.

This person was wearing a long robe, with his hands in his sleeves, standing there quietly, closing his eyes and recuperating, it was Chen Deng, the captain of the Diannong School.

After a while, a sound of footsteps came from far and near, Chen Deng slowly opened his eyes, reflecting the faint light of the snow, and saw a sturdy figure walking towards this side.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and he said loudly: "I thought you wouldn't come!" ”

The person who came was Zhang Yan, he walked straight in front of Chen Deng, and arched his hand: "Brother Yuanlong invited, why didn't I come?" I just don't know what Brother Yuanlong asked me to meet here, and it was late at night, so what the hell is going on? ”

"It's cold, let's drink some wine first to keep out the cold." As he spoke, Chen Deng's hands were separated from the wide sleeves, and he actually carried a small pot of wine in each of his hands, and handed one of the pots directly to Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan took it unceremoniously, opened the wine seal, and said to Chen Deng: "Brother Yuanlong, do it first as a respect!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yan lifted the wine jug and drank it all, a pound of wine, and went directly to his stomach, but there was nothing to do.

After all, the alcohol content of the wine at this time is relatively low, Zhang Yan drinks it as if he is drinking beer, and the amount of alcohol has always been very good, so it is natural to drink this pound of wine.

Chen Deng frowned slightly when he saw Zhang Yan drinking like this. He doesn't drink much, if he drinks like Zhang Yan, he is afraid that he will get drunk soon, then he will not be able to discuss the plan with Zhang Yan tonight. He smiled and said: "Brother Mingda has a good amount of alcohol, but unfortunately Yuanlong can't drink enough, so he can only drink, not the sea." I'll take a sip first, and after discussing things with Brother Mingda, it's not too late to drink. Please also forgive Brother Mingda. ”

"It doesn't matter."

Chen Deng took a sip of wine first, and then said to Zhang Yan: "Brother Mingda, when I saw you sullenly at the banquet tonight, do you think that Tao Yuanjun has given less rewards?" ”

"Tao Yuanjun is generous and rewards a thousand gold, I only think it is too much, but not too little." Zhang Yan said.

"In that case, why does Brother Mingda look like this, could it be that there is something on his mind?" Chen Deng asked.

Zhang Yan didn't answer and asked: "Brother Yuanlong asked me to come to such a remote place so late, is it just to chat?" ”

Chen Deng Haha said with a smile: "I asked you to come, naturally I have something important to discuss, if it is just to chat, why come to this remote place?" ”

"In that case, then Brother Yuanlong, please speak up, I don't like to beat around the bush."

"Okay then, then I'll just go straight to it. The reason why I asked Brother Minda to meet here late at night is because some words are not suitable for others to hear, this place is remote and secluded, and it is late at night, except for you and me, there is no third person, which is very suitable for our secret meeting. ”

"Then I don't know what Brother Yuanlong asked me to come for?"

Chen Deng's face suddenly became solemn, and he said seriously: "I asked you to come here for the future of the entire Xuzhou." ”

Zhang Yan listened carefully and asked, "Does that have anything to do with me?" ”

"The stakes are high. In the future, the future of the entire Xuzhou will be all tied to you! ”

"Me?" Zhang Yan was surprised.

"Could it be that my ambition has been seen by Chen Deng?" Zhang Yan thought secretly.

Chen Deng said: "Yes, it's you." This time, you fought against Cao's army, first killed Cao Chun Liwei, and then led the army to defeat Lejin, beheaded Cao Ang, and burned Cao's army's grain and grass camp; Then he attacked Cao's camp, forced Cao Cao to retreat, and almost killed Dian Wei, all kinds of performances are enough to prove your superiority. ”

Zhang Yan said modestly: "Thanks to Tao Yuanjun's command and Brother Yuanlong's clever plan, I have such an outstanding performance......"

Chen Deng said: "Brother Mingda doesn't have to be humble, even if my plan is good, if there is no suitable future implementation, it will be in vain." I heard that Brother Mingda's ancestor is Liuhou Zhang Liang, I don't know if it's true or not? ”

"That's true, but even if I'm a descendant of Liuhou, there's nothing to show off, so don't mention it."

Chen Deng then asked, "Didn't Master Zhang think that one day, he would restore the glory of the former marquis?" Or even catch up with its glory and open up a new glory that is your own! ”

Zhang Yan smiled slightly: "It's easy to say, but it's hard to do......"

"Actually, there's nothing hard about it. As long as Brother Mingda can grasp the opportunity at hand, it will be easy to open up your own glory. Chen Deng said as he gestured.

When Zhang Yan heard Chen Deng's words, a trace of hope flashed in his eyes, and he asked, "Then dare to ask Brother Yuanlong, what is the opportunity now?" ”

Chen Deng said with a smile: "Xuzhou is bordered by the sea in the east, the Central Plains in the west, the Jianghuai in the south, and Qilu in the north. In addition, the merchants in Xuzhou gathered and the people were rich, which further highlighted the importance of Xuzhou. It's a pity that Tao Lingjun is very old, and he has long lost the mind to compete for hegemony, although he occupies Xuzhou, he doesn't know how to use it. As a result, Yuan Shu in the south of Xuzhou, Cao Cao in the west, and Yuan Shao in the north, no matter which one of them, are eyeing Xuzhou and do not want to annex Xuzhou all the time. If Xuzhou does not improve itself as soon as possible, sooner or later it will become a piece of meat in other people's mouths. Cao Cao's expedition to Xuzhou this time was nominally to avenge his father, but in fact he wanted to occupy the entire Xuzhou......"

"If you want to spread benevolence and righteousness, govern the place, and make the people live and work in peace and contentment, Tao Zhijun is naturally not a problem. But if you want to lead troops to fight, Tao Envoy Jun is definitely not Cao Cao's opponent...... In this battle, Cao's army was like a bamboo, but Tao Yuanjun was slow to react, so that Cao's army drove straight in, as if no one was in a land, and killed hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou. All of this, Tao Envoy Jun is to blame! ”

The more Chen Deng spoke, the more indignant he became, and at the same time, his dissatisfaction and helplessness with Tao Qian were also highlighted in his words.

"Actually, my Xuzhou soldiers are full of food and talents, but there is a lack of generals who can really lead troops to fight. It's a pity that Tao Yuanjun likes the noble and the poor, and looks down on the poor, so that many talented people can't be reused. This time, Cao Cao suffered setbacks in Xuzhou one after another, but it was just a temporary retreat, his son and son died in Xuzhou, and Xuzhou had formed a deep hatred with Cao Cao. According to my speculation, within half a year, Cao Cao will definitely make a comeback, and at that time, if Xuzhou does not have strong troops to resist, then the whole of Xuzhou will be in dire straits......"

Speaking of this, Chen Deng glanced at Zhang Yan, changed his words, and said: "Brother Mingda is brave and good at fighting, and knows how to use soldiers, if you can train a strong army to resist Cao Cao, then the future of Xuzhou will change." Although Yuanlong does not have any talent, as long as Brother Mingda does not dislike it, Yuanlong is willing to follow Brother Mingda to the death and give advice to Brother Mingda. ”

When Zhang Yan heard this, he was very excited, but he didn't expect Chen Deng to meet late at night, but it was to take refuge with his heart.

"Brother Yuanlong, are all your words from the bottom of your heart?"

"Every sentence comes from the bottom of my heart!"

Seeing the sincerity on Chen Deng's face, Zhang Yan immediately asked: "In this case, is it true that no matter what I do in the future, you will swear to follow me to the death and never deviate from it?" ”

"As long as you don't violate benevolence, righteousness and morality, and don't do evil, Yuanlong will always be with you until you are old."

"What if I want to replace the Tao envoy and divide Xuzhou?"

Chen Deng was stunned in his heart, and hurriedly asked, "You want to kill Tao Envoy?" ”

"Nope! I just want to replace him in charge of Xuzhou, and I don't want to kill him. ”

"If you just want to replace Tao Yuanjun, I don't have any opinion. After all, Tao Envoy Jun has the grace of knowing me......"

"I understand your feelings, you can rest assured, I will never kill Tao Envoy. I just want to ask, if I want to replace Tao Yuanjun, are you willing to help? ”

Chen Deng's heart knew very well that Tao Qian could not let Xuzhou become rich and strong, and it was better to let Zhang Yan replace him than to let Xuzhou be destroyed in his hands. Perhaps, under the leadership of Zhang Yan, Xuzhou will gradually become rich and strong.

He nodded without hesitation and said to Zhang Yan: "If Brother Mingda has this heart, Yuanlong will definitely help from the side!" ”

"Very good, from now on, you and I will definitely be able to put Xuzhou on the road to prosperity. And with Xuzhou's human, financial, and material resources, as well as its unique geographical location, it can definitely compete with the world! ”

After listening to Zhang Yan's words, Chen Deng seemed to feel Zhang Yan's ambition, and a vision for the future appeared in front of him.

The two chatted for a long time in the Land Temple, and began to plan how to replace Tao Qian and make Zhang Yan the master of Xuzhou.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yan went straight to the Taishou Mansion, and he wanted to meet Tao Qian.

At this time, Tao Qian, because he drank too much last night, was still lying on the couch and falling asleep. Suddenly heard that Zhang Yan was coming, so he hurriedly got up from the couch and hurriedly arranged for Zhang Yan to wait in the hall.

Zhang Yan came to the hall and waited for about a quarter of an hour before seeing Tao Qian walk out of the back hall.

"The last general, Zhang Yan, meet Tao Envoy Jun!" Zhang Yan got up and bowed to Tao Qian.

"Mingda, hurry up and be polite, in the future, in front of this mansion, you don't have to be so restrained, sit down!"

The two sat down one after another, and Zhang Yan first said: "Tao Envoy, I came to disturb you so early, the last general is really a little embarrassed, but the last general has a very important matter, and I must make Tao Envoy clear." ”

Tao Qian asked, "What's the matter?" ”