July 4, 4th year of Jian'an.

It was only ten days since Wang Chong left Huainan, but in this short period of ten days, Wang Chong's identity has changed dramatically.

When he left, Wang Chong was just a water thief leader wanted by the government; After returning, Wang Chong became the Taishou of Huainan, and the official became General Annan.

Liu Ye and Li Tao learned the news of Wang Chong's return in advance, and immediately went out of the city ten miles to greet them.

Of course, in this sensitive period, Wang Chong's identity is not suitable for publicity, so now the officials and families in Hefei only know that the imperial court sent an envoy to take over Huainan, but they don't know that this person is Wang Chong.

In order to keep it secret, Liu Ye and Li Tao only brought more than ten horsemen to greet each other, and after the two sides greeted each other, Liu Ye couldn't wait to ask: "Leader, how is the situation?" ”

Wang Chong smiled, took out the appointment letter from his arms and handed it to Liu Ye.

Liu Ye swallowed his saliva, opened the appointment letter and looked at it, and was immediately shocked: "Huainan Taishou, General Annan!?" This ......"

Facing Liu Ye's shocked gaze, Wang Chong smiled and said, "Does Ziyang think that the official position given by the imperial court is a bit high?" ”

Liu Ye nodded, frowned, and said, "It's unbelievable!" ”

"Actually, there's nothing surprising, Cao Cao is stumbling on me!" Wang Chong shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently, "But as long as we can quickly gain a foothold in Huainan before this news is known, even if Liu Xun and Sun Ce are dissatisfied with us, I believe they will never dare to act rashly." ”

Wang Chong has now targeted Zheng Bao in Chao County, and once he swallows Zheng Bao's forces, the situation on both sides of the Jianghuai River will become extremely complicated, because with the rise of Jinfan, Liu Xun, Sun Ce, and Wang Chong will gradually evolve into a three-legged situation.

Among the three forces, Sun Ce was the strongest, but even so, he did not dare to attack Huainan easily, because this would only force Liu Xun to join forces with Wang Chong, and in order to prevent Sun Ce from taking advantage of the situation, Liu Xun and Wang Chong naturally could not start a war rashly.

This is almost a dead end, and the only way to break the game is to swallow the remaining force with a thunderous force before the other force reacts, and which of these three forces is the easiest to eliminate? The answer is undoubtedly Liu Xun.

Sun Ce's territory is the widest and the most powerful, even if Wang Chong and Liu Xun join forces, it is impossible to capture Jiangdong, and after Wang Chong swallows Zheng Bao, the power will also extend all the way from the mouth of the river to Hefei, but Liu Xun, although he is nominally the Taishou of Lujiang, but the sphere of influence is only in the area of Wancheng, which is naturally the easiest to be broken in one fell swoop.

Although he has not yet taken the Chaohu area, Wang Chong already has a long-term plan in his heart, and it is not a big problem to deal with Zheng Bao, the key is how to take Wancheng before Sun Ce and completely lock the Jiangdong Army's sphere of influence south of the river.

Liu Ye was worried, but Li Tao did not have so many scruples as him, and when he heard that Wang Chong was named General Annan by the imperial court, he was immediately overjoyed: "Congratulations to the leader, congratulations to the leader!" Now that I, Jinfan, have finally come to become an official and soldier, I will no longer have to live the days of hiding in Tibet and everyone shouting and beating in the future! ”

Liu Ye was also infected by Li Tao's emotions, and temporarily put aside many worries in his heart, and smiled slightly: "Boyun, why are you still called the leader now?" It's time to change your tune, right? ”

Liu Ye said that he took a step back, bowed ninety degrees, and made a formal bow to Wang Chong: "Humble Liu Ye, meet the lord!" ”

When Li Tao heard this, he also echoed: "The last general Li Tao, meet the lord!" ”

Then the rest of the soldiers also knelt down on one knee and shouted in unison Wang Chong's 'lord'.

Wang Chong suddenly had an indescribable complicated feeling in his heart, to be honest, he had waited for this day for too long.

"Get up!"

"Thank you, lord!"

"Let's go, talk as we go!" Wang Chong stepped forward and enthusiastically held Liu Ye's hand, and the two walked side by side at the front of the team, while Li Tao and others consciously led the horse and followed behind.

Liu Ye was a little flattered, you must know that the current Wang Chong is not the previous Wang Chong, ordinary people are in high positions, and their personalities tend to become arrogant and empty-eyed, but the current Wang Chong is still a corporal of courtesy, which shows that his mind has always maintained enough calmness and has not been blinded by power, which is really rare.

"Ziyang, what is the current situation in Hefei?"

"Rest assured, everything is under Ye's control." Liu Ye smiled confidently, "More than a dozen generals in Hefei City, after Yuan Yao came forward to say something, most of them expressed their willingness to surrender, and the remaining few troublemakers were all killed by Bo Yun, so to speak, as long as there is no external interference, there should not be too many problems in Hefei City." ”

Wang Chong understood the meaning of Liu Ye's words, that is, the current situation in Hefei City is quite stable for the time being, but after all, the soldiers are newly surrendered, and there are still big problems in loyalty.

Wang Chong didn't worry too much about this, because he believed that with the migration of time, when these soldiers gradually had a sense of belonging to themselves, their loyalty and cohesion would naturally rise.

"Yuan Yao once came forward to say Xiang? He came up with it on his own initiative? ”

"Yes!"

Wang Chong frowned: "Ziyang, what do you think of Yuan Yao?" ”

"Back to the lord, although Yuan Yao's talent is mediocre, he is quite familiar with current affairs, and he knows that the Yuan family is gone, so he took the initiative to come forward to appease the generals of the Yuan army in Hefei City for Ye, this can be said to be Yuan Yao's vote, he wants to use this to convey his intention to the lord!"

"What intentions?"

"Naturally, it is the intention of surrendering!"

"There's no conspiracy, right? For example, we deliberately use this to lower our vigilance, but in fact we are just trying to hibernate and wait for the right time? ”

Liu Ye smiled: "The lord should not worry about the sky, if Yuan Yao really has such a scheming, he would not have been as ownerless as when Xu Xuan killed Yuan Yin and took away the jade seal of the country on the banks of the Feishui River, and now he is imprisoned in the Taishou Mansion with his family, and the guards are all soldiers of the Jinfan Cavalry Battalion, how can he get in touch with the outside world and plot to make trouble?" ”

Wang Chong nodded thoughtfully: "Don't let your guard down on him for the time being, continue to monitor him for a while and see, by the way, what is the reaction of the family in the city?" ”

Liu Ye replied: "Over the years, Yuan Shu has made Huainan a troubled people, and most of the families hate him very much, so after Ye took control of Hefei, their reactions were very flat and there was no resistance. ”

Wang Chong pursed his lips: "That's because Ziyang, you are a famous person and a wealthy family in Huainan, and your interests do not conflict with them, so you are allowed to act in Hefei, but if this person is replaced by me, I am afraid their reaction will not be like this!" ”

"Regarding this matter, Ye has long thought about it." Liu Ye smiled and explained, "In fact, for most families, what they value most is always their own safety and interests, and as for who the object of allegiance is, it is only secondary!" ”

Wang Chong said with some unhappiness: "Ziyang means that I want to cede enough benefits to these families in exchange for their support?" ”

Liu Ye shook his head: "No, now that Cao Cao can't afford to go south, they don't actually have much choice, so as long as the lord annexes Zheng Bao as soon as possible, let them see that the lord has the momentum to dominate Huainan, and when the time comes, they will naturally take the initiative to compromise with the lord." ”

Wang Chong nodded, and after thinking about it, he solemnly said to Liu Ye: "Ziyang, in the future, I will give you full authority to deal with the affairs of these families, and I will only send you eight words: those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will die!" If there is a family that doesn't know what to do, you might as well let it disappear from this world completely, I want to see who has the courage to go against me! ”

Liu Ye was drenched in cold sweat by Wang Chong's domineering, and he didn't dare to disobey at the moment, so he had to bear it head-on: "No!" ”