The next day, after a night's rest, Xu Ji, who was in good spirits, and Deng Ai, who was ready, led the three thousand shadows to set off, and of course the affairs of Chang'an were entrusted to Xun Yu.

It won't be long before Tian Feng will return to Chang'an, and with the two of them here, Xu Ji is very relieved.

Before leaving, Xu Ji received a good news, Guo Jia, who was in Bingzhou, showed his strength in Bingzhou, and after two years of cooperating with Liang Xi to complete the transformation of all the families in Bingzhou. The two big families in Bingzhou, one Wang family and one Guo family, all actively cooperated with Yanzhou's work, so that Bingzhou quickly settled down and the economy began to rebound steadily.

Zhang Hu, who sent an envoy to Xianbei, also came with news, where Zhang Hu had led the troops to kill and assassinate many leaders of the Xianbei people, making the Xianbei tribes loud.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Hu's mission work was much easier to carry out. After saying goodbye to everyone, Xu Ji, who was in a good mood, left Chang'an City with Deng Ai and went straight to Nanyang. Out of Qingnikou, and then all the way to the southeast, until they came to the Lu clan directly south of Hangu Pass, Xu Ji's army stopped and rested for a while. Then to the southeast, day and night, came to the outside of Nanyang City.

On this way, Deng Ai, the little adult, was not idle, but asked Xu Ji about the composition of Li Yan's Jingzhou army, especially the personalities of Li Yan and Wei Yan, and asked particularly carefully. Of course, Xu Ji knows everything. There are endless words, but he is secretly praising in his heart, he is so cautious at a young age, which is enough for him to avoid many unnecessary mistakes and omissions in the future, although Xu Ji can be sure that Deng Ai is a genius, but Deng Ai is still a child after all, as long as it is a child, there will be negligence. But until now, Deng Ai has not missed the slightest detail, how can this not make Xu Ji feel gratified?

Along the way, the two talked and laughed. Soon we arrived in Nanyang.

At this time, although Nanyang City was in the midst of a battle, Sun Ce's army obviously did not have enough strength to break through the city. It's just Chen Bing's south gate. When Xu Ji's army arrived, Sun Ce's army was even more silent, not at all like a war. Therefore, the army led by Xu Ji entered Nanyang City without any resistance.

But Xu Ji and Deng Ai were puzzled at the same time in their hearts.

But one thing is certain, that is, Sun Ce must not be here.

Could it be that Sun Ce's target was really Cao Cao? Hearing that Xu Ji was coming, Li Yan and Wei Yan hurriedly went out of the city to greet them. At the same time, there were some generals behind him.

Xu Ji laughed and took Li Yan's hand to the meeting hall, and after sitting down, he turned his head to look at Li Yan, who was becoming more and more calm and already handsome. Nodding and sighing, "Zhengfang, I'm really sorry for you during this time."

Li Yan smiled: "Where did the lord say it? It is the duty of the servants to share their sorrows for the Lord. It's Sun Ce's army in front of him that makes people a little headache. Deng Ai said in a deep voice: "Can the general make it clearer?" I hope to get all the information after Sun Cejun's arrival. ”

The important person in the hall had long noticed the underage child. It's a little inexplicable, a little unclear who this kid is, is it Xu Ji's relative?

Now this child actually speaks, and everyone can't figure it out. You must know that in the Yanzhou Army, the most important thing is strength. No one can mess around. The person who can speak on such an occasion is even more extraordinary, so it makes everyone wonder.

Xu Ji looked at everyone's appearance, and said with a smile: "You don't know, this is my rising star Yiyang Deng Ai in Yanzhou." ”

Everyone heard the news. They all showed a sudden realization. Wei Yan's face showed even more surprise, because he was also from Yiyang, and he was the same villager as Deng Ai. In the past, he had heard of Deng Ai's name, but he didn't know that this rising star who was loved by Xu Ji at a young age was actually a fellow villager with himself.

Deng Ai's recent actions have made him famous, and he is known as a genius military advisor to the new generation of leaders in Yanzhou. Deng Ai smiled and nodded to everyone, but a kind of majesty of a superior person involuntarily revealed.

Li Yan has been famous for Deng Ai for a long time, and hurriedly smiled at Deng Ai: "It turned out that it was the military advisor who sacrificed wine to Deng Ai, and he has been famous for a long time." Here's what happened, just over ten days ago. This army of Sun Ce was killed, and their reason for fighting was to follow the orders of the imperial court. Sun Ce served as the assassin of Jingzhou, so he had absolute control over Jingzhou, so he hoped that we would immediately withdraw our troops and return all the cities in the north of Jingzhou that we occupied. Xu Ji glanced at Deng Ai and said, "This Sun Ce will look for excuses." ”

Deng Ai snorted coldly: "Sun Ce has found a good shield for his behavior." ”

He looked much thinner than two years ago, but his spirit was even stronger, and Wei Yan said, "I don't think they dare to do it." Otherwise, there would not be such a small fight these days, by the way, the next day he came out and declared that he wanted the lord to come out in person to give an explanation. Deng Ai looked at Wei Yan. There was indifference in his eyes, which made Wei Yan quite uncomfortable. This fellow villager made him feel a little uncomfortable, this kid was too sharp-eyed. There was a blank look in his eyes. But it seems that he can see through a qiē. Hurriedly put away the little thought that he had just despised Deng Ai.

Deng Ai was thinking in his heart: This Wei Yan is really an arrogant guy as the lord said, this person is arrogant and arrogant, he must teach him well, if he becomes a waste material, it will be a pity. Xu Ji's eyes flashed with surprise, and he exclaimed: "What a Sun Ce, a good Zhou Yu, would actually come up with such a clever plan that can be attacked, retreated, and defended, so that I can't find a reason to deliberately target." ”

Li Yan and the others looked at each other, not understanding what Xu Ji meant at all.

Deng Ai smiled and told everyone what had happened in Chang'an during this period of time, of course, including the cooperation between Sun Ce and Cao Cao. Only then did everyone understand what Xu Ji meant.

The matter is obvious, Sun Ce certainly hopes that Xu Ji, his most powerful enemy, will go to see the king of Hades, but this matter is basically impossible. And Cao Cao gave him a promise, that is, he could force Xu Ji to leave Chang'an, and then he would not be able to gain a foothold in the Central Plains.

The problem is that the Yanzhou army is an invincible iron army with a reputation for being invincible, and before this, Xu Ji has never had a record of defeat. Therefore. Sun Ce really had no reason to believe that Cao Cao was capable of dealing with Xu Ji. However, Cao Cao's skills, Sun Ce also knew, and he also understood that the goal was not completely certain, and Cao Cao obviously would not do anything to Xu Ji. Now that Cao Cao is so proactive, it would be abnormal for Sun Ce not to be moved.

Therefore, of course, Sun Ce had to cooperate with Cao Cao. Even if there is a possibility, Sun Ce will not give up.

Of course, Sun Ce would not be desperate, and he himself did not believe that Cao Cao had any skills to deal with Xu Ji. That's why we adopt a tentative strategy. Now if Sun Ce uses the excuse that he is the assassin of Jingzhou to test Xu Ji, it will be much more justified.

If Xu Ji was really forced away by Cao Cao, then Xu Ji would definitely not have time to take care of the northern part of Jingzhou. After all, Xu Ji can lose here, but he can't lose Yanzhou.

If that's the case. Sun Ce's army will drive straight in and join forces with Cao Cao. Deal with Xu Ji. If Xu Ji was not forced by Cao Cao, then as long as Xu Ji came here, they would be able to save their strength and retreat after a few things. Xu Ji also had no excuse to deal with them.

Li Yan gasped and said, "This Sun Ce is really powerful. There is such a deep meaning. ”

Deng Ai said coldly: "The real power, I'm afraid it's Zhou Yu, Sun Ce has an impulsive personality, I guess he can't think of this kind of strategy according to his ability." ”

Xu Ji pondered for a long time and said to Deng Ai: "But the question is, are things really as simple as we imagined?" Deng Ai smiled bitterly: "The lord asked well, but I thought it was not so simple this time, you know, according to the lord, Zhou Yu is an adventurous person." The current one is simply a steady strategy, and it is not Zhou Yu's style at all. ”

Xu Ji also smiled bitterly: "That's what I mean, I feel that the person who is making suggestions behind the scenes is someone else." ”

Deng Ai said in a deep voice: "Chu Zhiliangcai, Jingzhou Liao Li? ”

Xu Ji nodded.

Others looked at each other. Obviously, I have never heard of Liao Li, a little-known figure.

Xu Ji's mood was a little heavy. You must know that there were many characters in the Three Kingdoms era who did not have the opportunity to emerge, but they were talented. Not to be underestimated. This Liao Li, Yu Fu and Chen Deng are generally geniuses buried in history, and they have no chance to show their talents. These three people are all first-class strategists of the Three Kingdoms, and they will definitely not be much inferior to Guo Jia and others. At least it can be on par with Xu Shu.

Now because of his own reasons, history has changed, and Yu Tuo is already like a fish in water under his own hands. Showing his might, although Chen Deng has not seen it yet, this Liao Li is definitely not easy to match. While thinking about it, Deng Ai said in a deep voice: "Lord, if Liao Li makes a plan, I'm afraid that things are not as simple, we must clearly know the purpose of the Jingzhou army at this time. ”

Wei Yan's head was indeed a little tricky, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but say, "I don't quite understand, does Sun Ce have other purposes besides testing whether the lord is defeated at the hands of Cao Mengde?" Xu Ji glanced at Wei Yan and said in a deep voice: "Wen Chang also has a certain amount of truth in what he said, but Wen Chang, you don't know Liao Li, this person's talent is probably not under Zhou Yu, and Sun Ce is in a hurry for quick success, he won't do anything that is not beneficial, just testing us, it's really not Sun Ce's style, the most disturbing thing for me is that you have been fighting with this Sun Ce's army for some time, but you still don't know who the other party's main general is, this Sun Ce's army is really sneaky, So you can't be left out of it. ”

Wei Yan couldn't help but want to say something, and finally held back. Xu Ji and Deng Ai glanced at each other and saw what Fang Fang meant: This Wei Yan still needs to be honed.

Especially Xu Ji, knowing that this Wei Yan has too strong a personality, even if he is talented, he doesn't know how to express it tactfully, and he is a little stubborn, so he has to make him suffer.

Li Yan and Wei Yan have been together for the longest time, and they know Wei Yan best, of course they know Wei Yan's shortcomings, and hurriedly smiled: "The lord has worked hard all the way, so let's take a rest." Xu Ji shook his head and said, "This road is not difficult for me, not to mention that if I don't understand Sun Ce's intentions, I will not be able to sleep well." ”

Deng Ai was silent for a while, and suddenly smiled: "Actually, this matter is easy to say, we have a way to test Sun Ce's mind." ”

Everyone was in high spirits and looked at Deng Ai one after another. Deng Ai said leisurely: "Actually, this method is very simple, don't they claim to want the lord to show up?" The lord simply went out to negotiate with them, if the other party immediately withdrew the army, it would be nothing else, if after seeing the lord, Sun Ce still did not retreat. That means that the other party has another purpose. ”

Everyone nodded, and even Wei Yan looked at the kid with an eye-catching look. "Of course." Deng Ai smiled: "This matter needs to pay attention to the timing the most. It's best to do this in a few days. Otherwise, if Sun Ce notified Cao Cao and let Cao Cao know that the lord was here. Cao Cao would immediately know that his plan in the Chang'an region had failed, and he would also deduce that the lord had already set up a plan to deal with him in the Central Plains, so he would not have to taste it. After all, it now seems that Cao Cao's lower embryo is our primary target. ”

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, obviously impressed by Deng Ai's analysis. Xu Ji had known this result for a long time. This Deng Ai is the hope for the future of Yanzhou that he has been trying to cultivate, and even, this is the killer weapon that Xu Ji used to deal with Pang Tong, Deng Ai who has not yet left the mountain, and Sima Yi. What if you don't have this ability, but what if you have this responsibility?

The following days. Xu Ji stood still and played tactics with Sun Ce's army outside the city.

Sun Ce's army outside the city was even more eccentric, and he actually put on a look of accompanying him to the end, and Xu Ji and the others became more and more sure that there was something wrong with Sun Ce's army in front of them.

Xu Ji was very worried, so he scattered his men and began to conduct extensive reconnaissance in the Nanyang area, hoping to find a breakthrough, but the result was nothing.

At the same time, the Central Plains War has quietly begun. Since following Xu Ji out of Chang'an, he went straight to Huanfan in the Central Plains, day and night. All the way to the west. Soon after, they rushed to the Central Plains, and after meeting with Xu Shu, the two began to arrange a qiē according to Xu Ji's combat intentions. As a result, the Yanzhou troops in various parts of the Central Plains were mobilized and prepared to launch a counterattack against Cao Cao's army.

In order to confuse Cao Cao. Xu Shu first sent Gao Shun to lead his Yanzhou army, which was the best at attacking in the world, from Dongjun in Yanzhou and went straight to Shanyang. After crossing Surabaya and Wenshui, Gao Shun's army rested in Rencheng. It went all the way to the southeast and tun the army to Tengcheng. At the same time, the siege force of Xun You's army also began to move towards Fengcheng, and after bypassing Jiuli Mountain, they quietly came to Xiaocheng, waiting for the action of the armies from all walks of life, and then the driver sneaked into Huaiyin, Huai'an, and Yandu in order to cut off the back road of Cao Cao's army.

Of course, the trigger point of this war is not in these places, but in Yuzhou.

In Ruyin City, the council hall. Zhang Ji was full of spring breeze, and looked at the young man Lu Xun sitting under him with high spirits, and his heart was happy.

The helper that Liang Xi found for him is really good, although he is very young, but he is very wise, and he has no last resort at a young age, always giving him a feeling of facing Jia Xu, which makes him very relieved. Lu Xun was actually sent to Liang Xi by his uncle to study, especially in the past two years, he has changed a lot, you must know that Lu Xun and Deng Ai have been fighting outside all these years, Deng Ai is since helping the Gongsun family repel the Xianbei people in Lelang County in Liaodong, and Lu Xun was directly sent by Liang Xi to the military department of Yanzhou for training, and was sent to Zhang Ji by Liang Xi as a staff officer not long ago, so their battlefield experience has accumulated little by little, and they have already faded away from immaturity and become a new star on the battlefield.

The people who are now standing opposite Zhang Ji and Lu Xun are Ji Ling and Lei Bo, two generals under Yuan Shu, who were sent by Xu Shu to Zhang Ji's army to assist Zhang Ji in his actions.

Zhang Ji was of course happy to see the two of them, and he had to know that his current position was the front line. There are places bordering Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and he is marching outside, although he has elite soldiers, but there are no fierce generals. His nephew Zhang Xiu garrisoned the front line of Chang'an and took away almost all the outstanding generals of the northern army, and Jia Xu, a strategist, was even more exhausted, and it was really difficult for him to lead the army alone.

Xu Ji was really considerate, first sent Lu Xun and other strategists to himself from Yanzhou, and now sent two generals for himself, which of course made him happy.

Ji Ling and Lei Bo are not unknown, on the contrary, the two have been famous for a long time, and they were already leaders when they were under Yuan Shu. Especially Ji Ling, a man of all talents in humanities and martial arts, is quite famous in Yuzhou. Just looking at him standing there now, although he is not moving, the calm temperament that only a first-class master can have is still naturally elegant. A pair of eyes. There is also a faint flashing of ambilight, shimmering brilliance, looming.

Zhang Ji immediately knew that this Ji Ling was worthy of his name. Where does Zhang Ji know? At this time, after three years of painstaking cultivation, Ji Ling's strength has made great progress, and it can be said that he is advancing by leaps and bounds. What's more, because Xu Ji's words were awakened, he didn't use the three-pointed knife and used the spear instead, and compared with the past, the strength of martial arts is incomparable.

If you go it alone. Yanzhou General Guan Hai is already slightly inferior.

When Zhang Jizheng was happy, he only heard Lei Bo say in a deep voice: "General Zhang Ji, Lu Xun military division." Mr. Xu Shu sent the two of us here to obey the dispatch of the adults and the military advisor. What are the commands? But he didn't give up. Zhang Ji said in surprise when he heard this: "Didn't the two generals know Mr. Xu Shu's intention of sending the two here before they came?" ”

Ji Ling and Lei Bo shook their heads in unison. Zhang Ji was a little baffled. How could these two men not know what they were going to do, since they had already been sent? Ji Ling looked at Zhang Ji, who was puzzled, and explained: "The general doesn't know something, the military law in the Yanzhou army is strict, and the two generals don't know what Xu Shu's military division means. When the two generals came to Yuzhou, Mr. Xu Shu said that the two generals were now commanding General Zhang Ji and Lu Xun's military division, and that we should obey the command of General Zhang Ji in every action, and if you have any questions, just ask General Zhang Ji. ”

Zhang Ji nodded, although he had already joined the Yanzhou army. But I don't know much about the rules of the Yanzhou Army, so I have this question, but Zhang Jinai is a veteran of the battlefield, and of course he can see the benefits of doing this, that is, he has done the best of secrecy to the greatest extent. Because the formulation of the strategy is only in the hands of the higher level, all subordinates have no way to know, and there is no way to cooperate with the enemy to inform. While thinking, Zhang Ji asked the two to sit down, and then looked at Lu Xun. smiled and said, "Strategist, can we start?" ”

Lu Xun laughed and said, "This is natural." Immediately, his face turned pale, and he began to analyze the entire shape and said: "The current situation is very simple, Cao Mengde has formulated various strategies. I want to capture Xuzhou, and then take Yanzhou in one fell swoop, so on. The foundation of the lord is gone, and Cao Cao has the right to enter the Central Plains. and even dominate the capital of the world. ”

Lu Xun's words made Ji Ling and Lei Bo dumbfounded, they didn't expect this legendary Lu Xun to be so powerful.

Originally, they thought that Lu Xun's reputation among the Yanzhou army was just touted. After all, what can a child understand?

But when I saw it today, I listened to Lu Xun's words, although I didn't have any strategy. But his knowledge and mind are ordinary people, and the two of them immediately looked at this Lu Xun with admiration, it is really famous, and there will be no vain! This is still Lu Xun, so what about the legendary Deng Ai?

Lu Xun glanced at the two of them, and was amused in his heart, he knew that the two of them might not be able to look down on him, and what he needed to do most now was to establish his absolute authority in the hearts of the two. Otherwise, in the course of the battle, unnecessary trouble will definitely arise. Thinking of this, Lu Xun pointed to the sand table and said in a deep voice: "Now the lord wants to achieve great things, there is no other way, the land of Hanzhong is the place where the lord must take it first, and now the Chang'an region has completely fallen into the hands of the lord." However, the strength of the warlords in the northwest is strong, Ma Teng, Niu Fu, Liu Bei, none of them are easy to match, and the wall grass Lu Bu is all eyeing the lord, and the lord does not hesitate to sweep away dissidents here. To do this, you must have no worries, but now the two generals have also seen that Cao Cao is not only secretly arranging a qiē, but also occupying Xiapi. This is undoubtedly a big trouble for the lord's henchmen, so this time the battle is not to separate life and death with Cao Mengde, but to take Xiapi back, and gain the same power to control the Yangtze River as Cao Cao. so that Cao Cao could not sneak attack the lord behind his back. Ji Ling and Lei Bo were stunned for a while, obviously not expecting Lu Xun to analyze the pros and cons of everything so clearly before the battle.

Zhang Ji stood aside and nodded silently: This Lu Xun is really good, although his methods are not as sharp as Jia Yu's, but he seems to be as vicious as Jia Yu when he does things. If anyone dares to underestimate him, they will be unlucky. Lu Xun looked at the two people who were a little in a daze, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face, and he said softly: "If what I expected is not wrong, Mr. Xu Shu sent not only the two of you, but also one person." ”

Ji Ling and Lei Bo raised their heads suddenly, looking at this child who hadn't even grown fluff in disbelief.

Zhang Ji said strangely: "Who is the military advisor talking about? Lu Xun said indifferently: "Of course that person is General Guan Hai, I believe that General Guan Hai has now arrived in Mr. Xun You's army." ”

Ji Ling admired Lu Xun so much at this time, and said in awe of Lu Xun: "Mr. Mingjian, that's right, General Guan Hai was indeed sent out by General Xu Shu, but we don't know where General Guan Hai went. ”

Lei Bo couldn't help but ask, "I just don't know how Mr. knows the whereabouts of General Guan Hai?" Lu Xun laughed and said: "If you talk about siege in the Yanzhou army, the first recommendation is Mr. Xun You's army, but that is in terms of overall strength, in Yanzhou, there is another person who is an expert in siege, and that is General Guan Hai." The army under General Guan Hai was all siege soldiers, not only with extremely strong field combat ability, but also extremely fast at climbing the city wall. ”

Ji Ling nodded and said: "I know this, when I fought with General Zang Ba's army in Yunzhou, I had already experienced General Guan Hai's skills. Lu Xun said indifferently: "General Xun You's troops are extremely efficient, but there is no one who is a capable general, General Zhang He and General Gao Lan are assisting General Chen Zhi in Youzhou at this time, the two of them must be flawless, now the big war is imminent, Mr. Xun You's siege troops determine whether they can win the success or failure of Xiapi, how can Mr. Xu Shu not send a capable person to Mr. Xun You?" ”

Ji Ling and Lei Bo were so happy and convinced of Lu Xun. Lu Xun turned his head to look at Zhang Ji and said to Zhang Ji: "General Zhang Ji, now Mr. Xu Shu's intention is obvious, Xun You's army will take Huaiyin, Huai'an and Yandu in the shortest possible time, and then approach Guangling and Jiangdu." The disadvantage of Xun You's army is that it has poor mobility, so we should take the first step to act. ”

Zhang Ji suddenly realized: "No wonder the military advisor is in such a hurry to bring the army to Ruyin." Lu Xun turned around, bowed to Zhang Ji and said, "Dare to ask the general to send troops immediately, and arrest all the great families from all over the country who have mistakenly thought that the general is the enemy of the lord over the years, so they have thrown themselves here." ”

Zhang Ji laughed and said: "Of course, when the lord asked me to pretend here, didn't he just want to attract all these big families who were against the lord, and then eliminate them in one fell swoop?" Speaking of which, what the old man and my nephew Zhang Xiu did is very similar, he deceived the diehards in Chang'an, and I deceived the diehards in the Central Plains. Lu Xun couldn't help but smile and said: "These families are all suffering from skin ringworm, and they are not enough to worry about." Yangzhou, that's where our goal lies! (To be continued......)