"My lord, Lord Assassin has just sent someone to send an invitation, inviting you to attend the banquet held in the Assassin's Mansion tonight." On the second day after Zhang Erlang returned, Wei Shuo suddenly received an invitation from the Assassin's Mansion.

Wei Shuo took the invitation and looked at it a few times and asked, "Jifu, do you know why Lord Thorn Shi held a banquet?" ”

Hearing this, Cao Hong's face showed a hint of excitement and replied: "I heard that it was to welcome Zu Shizhi, and in order to avoid war, Zu joined the army to avoid war, personally led hundreds of people from the township party, and protected nearly 1,000 old, weak, sick and disabled people all the way, and finally arrived in Xuzhou after thousands of difficulties and dangers. After Lord Shi Pei learned about it, he specially invited local celebrities in Xuzhou to hold a welcome banquet for Lord Zu tonight. ”

Zu Ti is here! Wei Shuo's heart moved, and he forced the joy in his heart. He had looked all over Xuzhou, but he couldn't find a partner he could trust, and now Zu Li's arrival was equivalent to giving him a reliable ally.

"Tell someone to come and I'll be there on time tonight."

"No!"

After Cao Hong left, Wei Shuo could no longer hold back the excitement in his heart, and he shook his fist in the air with his right hand to show that his heart was not at peace at this time.

Zhang Erlang glanced at Wei Shuo in surprise, and couldn't understand why Wei Shuo was so excited after hearing Zu Ti's name, he thought for a while and asked, "Brother Wei, is this Zu Ti very capable?" ”

Wei Shuo paused, looked up at the window and said: "Very capable, several heroes in the world, only this person I admire the most, he and Liu Kun who is far away in Jinyang are rare talents in the family." In the future, once there is a change in Xuzhou, the only ally we can rely on may still fall on Zu Shizhi. ”

"Since this surnamed Zu is so capable, why didn't Brother Wei recruit him to our Laoshan Mountain?"

"Some people don't say that they can be recruited, so let it be! Moreover, as a child of a family, Zu Ti has many followers from the township party around him, and he has his own small group, so he definitely doesn't look down on us salt dealers. Wei Shuo joked.

"Cut! What's the big deal, huh! I hate those big families the most! ”

The reason why Zu Ti is positioned as an ally, rather than taking it for granted to subdue the other party, is because Wei Shuo knows very well that at this time, he does not have the capital to recruit a big man like Zu Ti. The status of the ancestors is much higher than him, and the king of the East China Sea once recruited Zu Ti to be the Taishou of Jiyin, but it happened that Zu Ti's mother died, and Zu Ti did not answer the call.

Wei Shuo believed that with Zu Ti's reputation, as long as he arrived in Jiangdong, he would inevitably be reused by Jiangdong Sima Rui, and at least he would have to be awarded the position of a stabbing history, which was the same position as Pei Dun.

In the evening, Wei Shuo took Cao Hong and Zhang Erlang to the Thorn Mansion by car, and at this time, the Thorn Mansion was already full of traffic, and there were warblers singing and dancing everywhere. It was not the first time that the three of them had come to the Assassin's Mansion, so they didn't need someone to lead the way, and the three of them walked towards the hall.

Wei Shuo's arrival immediately attracted the attention of many people, but no one took the initiative to come forward to say hello. Since the Weishan Lake banquet, Wei Shuo has become an alternative in Xuzhou officialdom, whether it is a civil official or a military general, everyone respects him. Wei Shuo didn't care, and found a corner where no one was around, and Cao Hong and Zhang Erlang stood behind him as guards and subordinates.

"Lord Thorn Shi has arrived!"

Not long after he sat down, Wei Shuo heard someone at the door call loudly, and everyone present got up one after another to wait for Pei Tingshi. I saw Pei Dun walking in with a smile on his face holding a mighty and majestic man, this was the first time Wei Shuo saw Zu Ti, and he couldn't help but secretly exclaim in his heart: What a Zu Shizhi who smells chickens and dances!

Pei Dun took Zu Ti's arm and came to the main seat to stand still, glanced around first, paused slightly when his gaze swept over Wei Shuo, and then quickly flashed over. After everyone was quiet, Pei Dun spoke, and he first made an enthusiastic speech to welcome Zu Li's arrival.

"It is a blessing for the people of Xuzhou to be able to come to my Xuzhou. Now Xuzhou is facing the threat of Hu people, and it needs talents like Zu Shenjun. ”

"Lord Thorn Shi is polite, Zu took refuge in Xuzhou this time, and he didn't dare to have other extravagant hopes, I just hope that my lord can help my subordinates with some grain and grass, and our brothers will have a good reward in the future." Zu Ti was very modest, and besides, he was not Liu Bei and had no ambition to seize Xuzhou, he only hoped to take a temporary rest in Xuzhou, and then rush to Jiangdong as soon as possible.

Pei Dun smiled and didn't say anything, in fact, Pei Dun still very much hoped that Zu Ti could stay. Zu Ti is different from Wei Shuo, he is an authentic family, and the ancestral family is a very famous family in the Northland. Recruiting Zu Ti is not like hiring Wei Shuo, Pei Dun will not have a mustard in his heart to use it with confidence.

At the banquet, everyone frequently toasted to the ancestral brothers, and even Pei Tingshi raised a glass to drink with the ancestral brothers, this treatment Wei Shuo had never enjoyed. Wei Shuo himself is nothing, but he didn't expect to annoy Zhang Erlang behind him.

I saw that Zhang Erlang couldn't help but mock in a low voice: "A group of sycophants! ”

Poof! Cao Hong, who was standing on Zhang Erlang's left, almost laughed out loud when he heard this, and even Wei Shuo couldn't help glaring at Zhang Erlang angrily, and whispered: "People's ancestors are world-famous heroes and heroes, and it is nothing that everyone is so courteous. ”

"Humph! No matter how powerful he is, he can't compare to Brother Wei. Zhang Erlang said angrily.

"Since Zu Senjun came from the north, he must have some understanding of the current situation. In order to deal with the Hu people, I in Xuzhou formed five battalions of recruits as early as a few months ago. Now, after a period of training, these recruits have initially possessed combat capability, but at present, Xuzhou still lacks a general to command the whole army. ”

"If the ancestor is interested in joining the army, why don't you stay in Xuzhou?"

As soon as Pei Dun said this, the scene was silent, and many people were glancing at Wei Shuo. At the beginning, the new five-battalion new army in Xuzhou, everyone thought that the chief officer of the new army would be produced among the five officers such as Wei Shuo in the future, but they didn't expect Pei Dun to be handed over to the newcomer Zu Ti today.

After Wei Shuo took a deep look at Pei Dun, the corners of his mouth showed a hint of mockery. Unexpectedly, after experiencing something like Sima Ao, Pei Dun would no longer trust anyone. The conditions proposed in order to leave Wei Shuo at the beginning have not been implemented now.

Zu Ti was shocked, but his face did not change color, and he said very calmly: "Thank you for the love of Lord Thorn Shi, and I dare not accept it with shame!" Xuzhou is a place of outstanding people, and there must be strangers who can help assassinate Lord Shi. ”

Zu Ti's refusal was unexpected by many, including his brother Zu Yue, who sat below him. Unlike Zu Ti, Zu Yue's ambition is also much greater, but his ability is much worse than Zu Ti. In Zu Yue's view, staying in Xuzhou to take charge of the new army is much better than going to Jiangdong, which has an unpredictable future.

But Zu Yue also knew that what his brother Zu Ti decided was definitely not something he could change. Therefore, he could only quietly pull the corner of Zu Ti's clothes and remind Zu Ti not to refuse, but who knew that Zu Ti didn't care about his reminder at all.

Although there was some unpleasantness at the banquet, the atmosphere was generally harmonious. Everyone was staggered, and the time unconsciously came to the middle of the night. By this time, the banquet had come to an end.

"Brother, why did you refuse Lord Shi's kindness just now?" As soon as he left the banquet, Zu Yue couldn't help but question his brother Zu Li.

Zu Ti glared at his brother with some irritation, and after a little bit of thought, he explained: "Shi Shao, didn't you see the reaction of the other people at the banquet?" Obviously, the appointment of me as commander-in-chief of the new army was nothing more than the intention of Lord Shi. If I do this, I will inevitably offend other Xuzhou generals. ”

"If you offend, you will offend, are we still afraid of them?" Zuyo retorted a little unconvinced.

"It's not a question of whether you're afraid or not, haven't you heard what Lord Thorn Shi said? Recruit training has been going on for some time, and the Xuzhou generals who are in charge of daily training must have established their authority in the recruit camp. If you offend them, do you think my brother and I can successfully control the Xuzhou Army? ”

"With such a group of dissident people on the battlefield, do you think I didn't die fast enough?" Zu Ti patiently analyzed the reasons for his brother.

"So what do we do next?" These ancestors were completely convinced.

"Find a way to borrow some grain and grass from the family, and then find an opportunity to go south, it's useless to stay in Xuzhou. Xuzhou has a history of assassination, down to the officials, and I don't see a glimmer of hope from them to defeat the Hu people. ”