Just when Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan were fighting near Gecheng, Zhao Yun was playing chess opposite Jia Xu at Zhending's house. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info He held the chess pieces in his hand, didn't move for a long time, and suddenly said: "We just look at it like this? ”

Jia Xu played with the chess pieces in his hand and smiled silently: "You want to support Gongsun Zhan?" ”

Zhao Yun put the chess pieces in his hand back into the chess box, put his hands on his thighs, and looked at Jia Xu quietly: "Although Gongsun Chan is not very willing to obey the general's orders, he is the general's fellow disciple after all, at least he is still biased towards the general, and it is not the best strategy for us to sit back and watch him be defeated by Yuan Shao." Moreover, Youzhou is out of fine horses, and there are Wuhuan people, once it is occupied by Yuan Shao, it will be very unfavorable to me. ”

Jia Xu glanced at Zhao Yun and smiled silently: "It's not good for you and me, but it's very good for the general." ”

Zhao Yun looked at him suspiciously.

Jia Xu thought for a while, put down the chess pieces in his hand, picked up the teacup next to him, took a sip of tea, and then said slowly: "Gongsun Zhan has always regarded himself very highly and refused to give in to the general. The imperial court also always wanted to use him to balance the generals. With him in Youzhou, the general can't decide anything in the court, and even Liu Biao in Jingzhou can't control it. The Yuan family's troops are scattered in the hands of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and they can't keep pace, and now in addition to the general and Duan Gong, there are also Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan and Liu Biao, how can they be consistent? The division of troops leads to the dispersion of forces, I don't think I need to say more about this truth. ”

Zhao Yun nodded, he already understood what Jia Xu meant. When Gongsun Zan was defeated and Yuan Shao occupied Youzhou, the imperial court would feel the pressure and put all the military power into Liu Xiu's hands and he would command it in a unified manner. Only by unified command can we give full play to our combat effectiveness. Otherwise, they will not be able to go all out if they hold each other back.

Temporarily abandoning Youzhou may have disadvantages on a local scale, but it is advantageous from an overall point of view.

Zhao Yun didn't know if Liu Xiu had the idea of being self-reliant. But in his opinion, even if Liu Xiu is self-reliant, it is better than the Yuan family, after all, he is also surnamed Liu, and he is the son of the king of Chu, and more importantly, his ability is obviously stronger than Dong Chong and Song Feng's two relatives.

As for whether Gongsun Chan will defeat Yuan Shao. This thought only passed through Zhao Yun's mind, and it never left the slightest trace. Gongsun Zan is hostile to the big clan, Zhao Yun has no good impression of him, if he enters Jizhou, those powerful people in Jizhou will not cooperate with him, and sooner or later they will have to drive him out.

A personal guard walked over quickly and arched his hand to Zhao Yun and Jia Xu: "Zhang Shuai is here." ”

Zhao Yun and Jia Xu glanced at each other, got up and said, "Please!" ”

It didn't take long. Zhang Yan, accompanied by Lan Lan, walked up with brisk steps. She frowned and glanced at the chessboard. smiled silently: "The two of you really have Yaxing, are you still in the mood to play chess at this time?" ”

Jia Xu smiled indifferently: "What makes Zhang Shuai so worried?" ”

"The general is seriously ill in Chengdu, and Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao are fighting in the river, so let's just watch it?" Zhang Yan softened his tone a little: "Once Yuan Shao wins the victory and advances into Youzhou, the pressure on us will be greater. In addition, the general's illness needs to be cured by alchemy, isn't it...... Very serious? ”

Jia Xu raised his eyebrows. Liu Xiu's physical condition is a top secret, and only he and Zhao Yun know about it in the entire Bingzhou, and Zhang Yan doesn't know the details. It's not surprising to be anxious. He rolled his eyes and asked quietly: "It's really heavy, is there any good way for Zhang Shuai?" ”

When Zhang Yan heard this, the melancholy in her eyes became even stronger. She bit her lip, "I have some elixirs left by the great sages and good teachers back then, but I don't know if it will have an effect on the general." I want to send someone to Chengdu to visit the general by the way. She smiled a little shyly: "The two of you also know that the safety of my yellow scarf is now all tied to the general." If there is any surprise on the part of the general, it seems that we have no second option but to rebel again. ”

Jia Xu nodded: "I can understand Zhang Shuai's worries. As for the elixir, whether it is useful or not and put it aside, Zhang Shuai can have this thought, I think the general will be very satisfied. ”

Zhang Yan knew that Jia Xu was Liu Xiu's henchman, and to some extent, he was more important than Zhao Yun, since he said so, then Liu Xiu's life should not be in danger at the moment. "Okay, I'll send someone to deliver the pill right away." Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What arrangements does the gentleman have for the current war?" ”

"There's nothing to do, just wait and see." Jia Xu stretched out his hand and pointed at the chess table: "I heard that Zhang Shuai has superb chess skills, why don't you come and talk about a game?" ”

Zhang Yan looked at the chess table, slowly walked to the chess table, took out a chess piece from the chess box in Zhao Yun's hand, dropped it lightly on the chess game, smiled slightly, turned around and left, and a crisp voice came from downstairs: "The project of dredging the tributaries of the Hutuo River has not yet been completed, and my yellow scarf is still pointing to this year's harvest to eat, so I will not accompany the two to talk." When the world is decided, it's not too late to discuss with the two. ”

Jia Xu laughed: "Then Zhang Shuai go and get busy, after the new rice returns to the warehouse, we will go and disturb Zhang Shuai's roaring priest to read the full text." As he spoke, he walked to the chessboard, wrapped his arms around his chest, looked at it carefully for a while, shook his head, and said, "This chess game is wonderful, wonderful." ”

Zhao Yun's jaw head agreed: "This son is like a stroke of genius, turning things around in one fell swoop." ”

"Admittedly." Jia Xu sat down again, picked up a piece from the chess box, raised his hand, and put it back halfway, pondered for a long time, shook his head and said, "No, this still doesn't work." ”

Zhao Yun was surprised when he saw this. Jia Xu is thoughtful and has superb chess skills, he plays chess with Jia Xu, and he has to lose at least seven games out of ten. In this game just now, they have been playing for a long time, his chess momentum was forced by Jia Xu, there was no life, and he didn't find a way out after thinking for half an hour, Zhang Yan just glanced at it, and dropped a finger casually, which actually made Jia Xu embarrassed to this extent? That's kind of appalling. He looked at Jia Xu's face, but Jia Xu was already stuck in the chess game and couldn't extricate himself, and he didn't notice his surprise at all.

…… In July of the second year of Zhongping, Yuan Shao, who defeated Gongsun Zhan, conquered Yi County in one fell swoop after a short rest, and conquered Zhuo County again with Wen Chou as the vanguard. Gongsun Zhan's army was defeated like a mountain, retreating all the way, Guangyang, Yuyang and Youbeiping were lost successively, and retreated all the way to Liaoxi, until Liu Bei led the army to help. Gongsun Chan stopped retreating. Yuan Shao stopped advancing, and instead sent Yan Liang to take Shanggu and Daigu. At this point, most of Youzhou fell into the hands of Yuan Shao.

When the news reached Luoyang, the government and the opposition were in an uproar. The Empress Dowager Song urgently summoned the three dukes to the palace. Discuss what to do about this new situation.

Situ Luzhi was silent for a long time, opened his mouth a few times, but didn't know how to say it. In the end, the Empress Dowager Song couldn't hold back, so she had to turn her gaze to Taiwei Duan Cheng. "Duan Gong, what do you think should be done?"

Duan Cheng's mouth was bitter, but when the Queen Mother asked, he had to answer. He bowed: "I think." Once Youzhou is lost, Yuan Shao will inevitably recruit Wuhuan Jing to ride into the fortress. Qing Yan's War ...... I'm afraid it's going to be tight. ”

Empress Dowager Song looked at him with blank eyes, she also knew this situation, and what she wanted to know was how to solve this problem.

Duan Cheng was forced to say again: "In this situation, I am afraid that the entry of the state army into Hebei will not solve the problem, so the minister suggested that the general of the Che Cai should be invited to preside over the latest chapter of the demonic life of Shennong." ”

"How to host?" Lu Zhi said with a cold face: "He will preside." It is nothing more than the Yizhou army going down the river, and the state army crossing the Taihang Mountain into Jizhou, what is the difference between what the imperial court can do? Duan Gong is a famous general. But did he push this right that originally belonged to the imperial court onto him? ”

Duan Cheng closed his mouth tightly and never said a word again. He and Lu Zhi are also Liu Xiu's husbands, and they also realize that Liu Xiu has shown a tendency to be disobedient, but in his opinion, the current situation is urgent, and not letting Liu Xiu make a move is to sit back and watch Yuan Shao sit big, and it may not be easy to win if he asks Liu Xiu to make a move in the future. What's more, Liu Xiu is also a clan, even if he divides one side or even usurps the throne for himself, it is better than the Yuan family winning the world. He thought so, though. But he also knew that Lu Zhi didn't think so, and Lu Zhi was the minister entrusted by the first emperor to take care of his life, but he was not, if the two had different opinions, only he would be subservient to Lu Zhi, and it would be impossible for Lu Zhi to submit to him.

He could only keep his mouth shut.

He kept his mouth shut. Tang Zhen, who has always regarded herself as a relative of Liu Xiu, also kept her mouth closed tightly and didn't spit out a word.

Empress Dowager Song looked at them and sank her face: "The third prince is an important minister of the dynasty, if it collapses today, but you learn from those clay puppets and don't say a word?" ”

Lu Zhi's face turned red, he knew he should speak now, but what did he say? Gongsun Zan was defeated, Youzhou was lost, and the reliance he used to balance and contain Liu Xiu was gone, except for Liu Xiu to preside over the war according to Duan Cheng's words, what else could he do?

But in this way, what else can restrict Liu Xiu in the future?

Lu Zhi bowed: "Queen Mother, the minister thinks that the general of the Che Cavalry was assassinated and his injuries have not recovered, and I am afraid that he will not be able to preside over the war at this moment. ”

Empress Dowager Song frowned: "Then what is Gong Lu's opinion?" ”

Lu Zhi hesitated for a long time: "I ordered Beizhong Lang to attack Zhao Yun to contain Yuan Shao's offensive and reduce the pressure on the former general in a full-scale war for the resurgence of the empire." In addition, send envoys to appease the Wuhuan tribes and let them not obey Yuan Shao. ”

Empress Dowager Song squinted at Lu Zhi for a long time and sighed secretly. This scholar is a scholar, and his words are very thoughtful, but they are useless. Who doesn't know that Beizhong Lang General Zhao Yun and Changshi Jia Xu are Liu Xiu's cronies, and the imperial court gave them an order, if Liu Xiu doesn't nod, can they go all out? Fighting this kind of thing, it doesn't mean that he will definitely do it if he promises you, he can do it perfunctorily, or he can go all out, and the edict of the imperial court alone can't control them at all.

"What else?" Empress Dowager Song's tone was already a little displeased.

"And ......" Lu Zhi glanced at Duan Cheng for help, but Duan Cheng lowered his head and pretended not to see it. Lu Zhi had no choice but to force himself to calm down and said: "There is also an edict ordering Zhennan General Liu Biao to step up the attack. Only when he strengthened the offensive could he effectively contain Yuan Shu. ”

"Liu Biao?" Tang Zhen, who had not spoken, suddenly sneered: "If he still has the strength to fight back, how can he sit back and watch Sun Jian attack Jiangxia?" Lu Gong, you're a little whimsical, aren't you? ”

Lu Zhi was embarrassed and speechless.

Empress Dowager Song turned to Tang Zhen: "What does Tang Gong think?" ”

Tang Zhen replied: "The minister dared to ask the Queen Mother to issue an edict to appease the Che Cai General, even if the Che Cai General was seriously injured and could not come to the battlefield in person, he was also asked to rule over Zhennan General Liu Biao as the Che Cai General, and sent the Yizhou Army to aid Jingzhou." ”

"No!" Lu Zhi looked at the Empress Dowager Song pleadingly: "Empress Dowager, this is a tiger to drive wolves." ”

The corners of Empress Dowager Song's eyes twitched twice, and her gaze turned to Duan Cheng, who was helpless, so she had to say: "The minister seconded the words of Duke Tang." ”

Empress Dowager Song took a deep breath and waved her sleeves for the last time: "In this case, in the name of Your Majesty, I will issue an edict to ask the general of the Che Cavalry and ask him to send troops to Jingzhou." She glanced at Lu Zhi again, who still wanted to persuade, and smiled helplessly: "Gong Lu, what choice do we have now?" We can only trust the general and believe that he will not do such an unsubmissive thing. ”