Putting aside the matter of Chang'an for the time being, on the other hand, the wars in Yuzhou and Yangzhou made Xu Ji feel happy.

However, the situation in Jingzhou was a bit helpless for Xu Ji, and Sun Ce's strength in the four southern counties of Jingzhou became stronger and stronger.

Sun Ce, who occupied the southern part of Jingzhou, accepted Zhou Yu's suggestion and frequently courted the families of the four southern counties of Jingzhou.

Long before Liu Biao went to Jingzhou, there were thieves in the south of Jingzhou, and the so-called thieves even if some of the big surnames who were not powerful in Jingzhou and did not obey the discipline of the government, these big surnames just had no academic status, and they were not enough to reach the big families, but their power was also extremely strong for a while. After Liu Biao arrived in Jingzhou, although he suppressed the thief with his own talent, the thief was always ready to move, and he was even more dissatisfied with Liu Biao.

Now, under Sun Ce's deliberate co-optation, with hatred for Liu Biao, he will serve Sun Ce to the death, after all, with Sun Ce's support, they are likely to become a new family in the future, and no one will give up this opportunity.

The original clans in the south of Jingzhou were even more under Sun Ce's Siwei and Shi, and they took refuge in Sun Ce, which made Sun Ce's power rise sharply, although the number of regular troops was still numerous, but as long as needed, the clans in the south of Jingzhou could take out tens of thousands of people to support Sun Ce at any time. Sun Ce, who had no worries, began to move his troops north, making every effort to seize the Yangtze River defense line.

Baling, Hanshou, Wuling and other places were taken one after another, or they were attacked by force, or local officials sacrificed cities, or the clans of the family defected, in short, all of which made Sun Ce's strength expand dramatically.

Zhang Yun's army of 60,000 also failed to stop Sun Cedi's domineering momentum. After a series of defeats, he moved his army north to join Cai Mao in Gangneung. Protect Nanjun, and garrison Huarong and Jingling in order to survive. Half a month ago. Sun Ce's general Cheng Pu and Jiangxia Taishou fought in Wuchang. Break the Yellow Ancestor. Huang Zu's general, Du Du Su Fei, commanded the navy to come to the rescue, but was ambushed by Sun Ce's naval army general Jiang Qin and Jiangxia water thieves halfway. defeated the Jiangxia Navy and captured Su Fei.

Su Fei knew that the situation was inviolable, so he surrendered to Sun Ce, and with Su Fei, who knew the inside story of Jiangxia in detail, the first line of Jiangxia could not be defended. Xia Kou. SHI Yang. Ullin. Hanyang. Sanjiangkou. Huangzhou and other places were conquered again and again. Huang Zu's army was defeated and left, but was besieged by Jiang Qin's army on the Xiakou River. With nothing to go on all three sides, his generals persuaded him to surrender. Huang Zu thought to himself that if he surrendered, he would fall back into the hands of the Sun family for the second time, and he was ashamed for a while. jumped into the river with a scream, drowned, and all the soldiers under Huang Zu surrendered.

After this battle, Huang Zu's soldiers and Jiangxia water thieves, Sun Ce got a total of more than 50,000 Jingzhou troops, more than enough to hold the Jiangxia cities, after conquering Changsha, Sun Ce's own strength was qualitatively improved again after the Jiangxia battle. As a result, Jingzhou was shaken, and all the people's hearts wanted to return to Sun Ce. Therefore, after Sun Ce captured Jiangxia. There was a trend in Jingzhou, and many people in the north of Jingzhou began to move in the overall situation, and with the acquiescence of the families in the north of Jingzhou, a large number of people came to the four counties in the south of Jingzhou through Jiangxia. Zaoyang, Yiyang, Pingchun. Even the people of Gwangju, Gushi, Anfeng and other places began to move south in large numbers because of the war between Yuan Shao and the Yanzhou army. poured into the four southern counties of Jingzhou. As a result, the number of people in many cities in the north of Jingzhou has plummeted, and even the Jingzhou garrisons in these places are panicking.

Now Sun Ce has money, food, people, soldiers, and prestige. It has truly become a hegemon. And Jingzhou Assassin Shi Liu Biao Assassin Shi has Yanzhou Yu Forbidden Army in the north, Sun Cejun in the south, and there are incidents of people fleeing in the east. For a while, it was really anxious.

However, Liu Biao's position in the history of assassination is running out.

Sun Cejun in the south after sweeping Jiangxia. If you don't ask, you can know that the next step will be westward. Attacking Jiangling on both land and water, although Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are generals, they are still too far behind Jiang Qin in terms of ability.

And Li Yan's army in the north is the internal response of Yanzhou, so it can naturally go south at any time. Yuan Shao of Yuzhou is also about to be defeated, and the day Zang Ba's army subdues Yuzhou is the time to spy on the northeast of Jingzhou.

If there is a betrayal of the Jingzhou family, Liu Biaoyan is undefeated?

Now Xu Ji hesitated to say that the matter was the question of whether Li Yan's army should go south. It must be known that Li Yan now has more than 10,000 elite soldiers under his command, all of whom are Li Yan's henchmen, and his general Wei Yan is even more convinced of Li Yan, as long as Li Yan is willing, he can change his flag at any time and show his identity.

After hesitating, Xu Ji sighed and gave up. Who allowed himself to occupy too much space now and have too few troops in his hands?

Li Yan went south, even if he added the forbidden army, he did not have enough ability to control the northern part of Jingzhou, if he added the Zang Ba army in Yuzhou, it would be about the same, but the problem was that Yuzhou was newly determined, and Zang Ba and Gao Shun's army had to stay in Yuzhou to prevent the Yuzhou family from making a rebellion.

And as far as the strategy of the world is concerned, if you want to defeat Sun Ce, you must first capture Hanzhong and Yizhou, otherwise even if your army takes the northern part of Jingzhou as its own, the final result will be across the river from Sun Ce's army. Since the southern part of Jingzhou is basically Sun Ce's world, and the family of Jingzhou also has the intention of abandoning Liu Biao, plus Sun Ce is not in a hurry to go north, but to consolidate the southern part of Jingzhou, to take the Yangtze River as the boundary, to give up the northern part of Jingzhou to himself, and want to take advantage of the Yangtze River natural danger to confront himself, then the northern part of Jingzhou will be his own sooner or later, why rush for a while?

There is no need to hide Li Yan's identity anymore. It is better to ask Li Yan to devote himself to the war in Chang'an, compared to going south to Jingzhou, Li Yan's role is even greater. Immediately, Xu Ji passed down the order that Li Yan and Yu Ban, who were going to make a show in the Hongnong area for the world to see, continued to "fight", but in fact, they really wanted to move around Hanguguan in order to cooperate with the Chang'an war, after all, Xu Ji did not want the Chang'an army in Tongguan and Qingnikou to interfere with his Chang'an strategy.

Xu Ji knew that after occupying Chang'an, he could use the name of Liu Xie's emperor in his hands to order various cities in the Chang'an region, but the armies of Tongguan and Qingnikou were extraordinary, after all, this was the gateway to Chang'an. The defenders in these two places are all cronies under Wang Yun, and after the fall of Chang'an, it is easy to talk about other places, but the defenders in these two places are not easy to clean up, and they cannot be taken lightly. There are Yu Ban's army and Li Yan's army to contain the two places; There will be a lot less pressure on Xu Ji's rear.

The rest of the land is waiting for Guo Huai's good news.

At this moment, Xu Sheng came with good news: Wang Ling was arrested. The man had no letters on him at the time of his arrest. But according to Guo Huai's description, Xu Sheng was 100% sure that this person was Wang Ling.

Xu Ji was overjoyed. asked Xu Sheng to send Wang Ling to the other side of the river. Wang Ling had not yet arrived, but Guo Huai came first.

Xu Ji and Shi A knew that things in Chang'an City had progressed. waited for Guo Huai in the big tent of the Chinese army.

Guo Huai walked into the big tent excitedly, and Xu Ji laughed and asked him to sit down. said: "Looking at Boji's complexion, I know that Lu Bupifu has fallen for Wenhe's plan." ”

Guo Huai said happily: "As the lord expected." Since this morning, Lu Bu has begun to frequently mobilize troops and horses in the city, and even led the army out of the city for drills, Wang Yun's mansion was full of surprise, and he didn't know what Lu Bu's intention was. But I knew that it must be Mr. Jia Xu's work. ”

Xu Ji nodded and said to Guo Huai: "If it is not necessary these days, it is better for Boji not to go out of the city, one is that Wang Yun is suspicious." If he discovers Xingzang, it will be a failure of the Ten Thousand Mountains; Besides, it would be bad if you missed the opening of the city gates. ”

Guo Huai said solemnly: "Guo Huai knows. The three of them also took a look at the streets of Chang'an City to discuss how to take down Wang Yun with the least loss.

While he was talking, someone reported that Wang Ling had already brought it.

Xu Ji remembered that he hadn't told Guo Huai about this matter, and when Guo Huai heard this, he said to Xu Ji: "My lord, I don't know what to do with Wang Ling?" ”

Xu Ji originally wanted to say that he would kill him to prevent future troubles. But when he saw Guo Huai's expression, he immediately smiled and said, "Is there any good proposal from Boji?" Guo Huai hesitated again and again, then bowed to the ground and said: "Lord." Can Wang Ling be spared? ”

Xu Ji said indifferently: "I know that Wang Ling is your friend, but we can't do things for personal gain." Behind Wang Ling is the Wang family, since there is collusion with Wang Yun, it is my Xu Ji's enemy. How can I keep this man? Unless Berji has a justifiable reason. ”

Guo Huai looked at Xu Ji and said: "What the lord said is extremely true, although Guo Huai is not a scholar, he is also rude and righteous. This Wang Ling Ruo is useless to the lord. Guo Huaiwan did not dare to make such an unreasonable request. Xu Ji raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? In this case, Berji might as well speak and listen. ”

Guo Huai said in a deep voice: "The lord occupies Chang'an. The defenders of Tongguan and Qingnikou must be guarded. I guess the lord has arrangements for these two male passes, but these two passes are not in the hands of the lord is always like a fish in the throat, not vomiting unhappy, Wang Ling is Wang Yun's nephew, the guards of these two passes are Wang Ling and Wang Chen on behalf of Wang Yun personally assigned, if the lord shows favor to Wang Ling, the two Xiongguan can be surrendered without a fight. Shi A and Xu Ji were suddenly moved when they heard this, it is undeniable that Guo Huaidi's suggestion is very heartwarming and feasible, thinking of this, Xu Ji nodded and said: "Bo Ji is reasonable, I know how to do it." ”

Xu Ji asked someone to bring Wang Ling into the big tent of the Chinese army. Guo Huai knew that it was inconvenient for him to stay here, so he stood up and said goodbye, Xu Ji knew that he was not suitable to meet Wang Ling in this situation, if Wang Ling saw Guo Huai here, maybe it would arouse the psychology of rebellion, and swear not to cooperate with him, then the gain outweighed the loss. After Guo Huai left, Wang Ling was brought into the camp by two shadows in charge of the guard Xu Ji.

Xu Ji and Master Shi Ah looked at this Wang Yun's nephew, who looked like a talent, but at this time, his face was dusty, covered with mud, and he looked embarrassed.

Xu Ji looked at Wang Ling, who was standing tall, waved his hand, and the two phantoms turned out of the tent and left. Xu Ji stood up, walked to Wang Ling's side, and said leisurely: "Your Excellency, this is Mr. Wang Ling, right?" ”

When Wang Ling was arrested, he was inexplicable, and he didn't know who the person who did it to him until now, he was originally domineering, but at this moment, when he saw the other party, he called his name, and he knew that the other party already knew his identity, since he already knew that he was the nephew of the big Situ Wang Yun, and the other party dared to do it, then he must have strong strength, so he naturally put away his anger and arrogance, and immediately dispelled the attempt to threaten the other party with Wang Yun's identity and status. At the same time, he was secretly thinking about who he was holding onto. looked at Wang Ling's face and changed. Xu Ji knew that when it came to Wang Lingdi's heart, he looked at Wang Ling for a long time.

Wang Ling knew that he would not be able to escape today, but he did not give up the last hope, and reluctantly said: "This general has recognized the wrong person, I am not Wang Ling, but just a businessman in Bingzhou." ”

Xu Ji smiled dumbly and said, "If Your Excellency is a businessman, don't you have one or two capitals on you?" I don't know what is the yellow and white thing on your body? Where are the goods that are brought to the market? Wang Ling was stunned when he heard this. Without saying a word, Xu Ji said leisurely: "Wang Ling, don't argue anymore. Since I, Xu Ji, can arrest you here, I have already figured out all the details of you. ”

Only then did Wang Ling know that the person opposite was Xu Ji. Immediately, his face was colorless, and he bit his lip and did not speak. This is, of course, to prevent Xu Ji from cheating him. Pull the news out of his mouth.

Judging from Xu Ji's position, Xu Ji's trip was for Chang'an and Wang Yun. Of course, Xu Ji understood the thoughts in Wang Ling's heart, and a cold murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he snorted coldly: "Wang Ling. Do you think I didn't know that you had news to bring to your uncle Wang Yun when you returned to your clan this time? Don't tell me you're just going back to visit your family. Hum! Don't think I don't know that you and your brother Wang Chen will go back to Bingzhou once a month. ”

Wang Ling looked at Xu Ji in amazement, he didn't understand why Xu Ji's people were so secret, but Wang Yun didn't know at all, it was certain that Wang Yun was dead. Otherwise, Xu Ji would not have been able to catch himself so easily. However, as long as he didn't admit that he went back to the state to ventilate and report the news, Xu Jina had no way to get to such a field. He had only hope of sacrificing himself. In order to protect the interests of the family, since Xu Ji did not kill him, it means that there are some things that Xu Ji has not yet figured out, since Wang Yun has been calculated by Xu Ji, then don't drag down the whole family for a dead person, for the interests of the family, as long as he keeps his mouth shut, even if Xu Ji has to deal with his own family in the future. Without evidence, Xu Ji did not dare to act rashly.

Present. Wang Ling snorted lightly and continued to remain silent. Wang Ling's thoughts are clear to Xu Ji, if it weren't for the better solution to the problems of Tongguan and Qingnikou, how could he have bothered to talk to Wang Ling? I would have killed him with a knife a long time ago.

Sneered: "Let me guess. Does Lord Lingzun want you to send a letter to your uncle Wang Yun, saying that I, Xu Ji, came to Bingzhou a few days ago, but now I have disappeared without a trace. Perhaps he has crossed the Yellow River and come to Chang'an. Be careful with your uncle. ”

There was no trace of blood on Wang Ling's face, and Xu Ji's words hit his vital point. gave him the illusion that there were also Xu Ji's people within the Wang family. If so, the Wang family will not be spared. Frightened and helpless, he said after a while: "Since General Xu already knows everything, what do you ask me to do?" Xu Ji didn't expect Wang Ling's tone to be so strict, on the surface, he had admitted everything, but in fact, he didn't say anything, and snorted coldly: "Wang Ling, do you think that I am deceiving you by having something in your Wang family?" Hum! There is one thing you have to figure out, whether you cooperate with me Xu Ji today or not, Wang Yun's defeat is irreversible, and the difference now is whether I, Xu Ji, want to destroy Wang Yun alone, or destroy your entire Wang family by the way. Wang Ling raised his head suddenly, looking at Xu Ji with a complicated expression, he was a son of a big family, of course he understood that a prince like Xu Ji who was dominating one side, who he wanted to deal with, naturally had a thousand interfaces, but he was skeptical that Xu Ji could destroy the Wang family by the way while destroying Wang Yun.

After all, so far, he has not really seen the evidence of collusion between the Wang family and Wang Yun in Xu Ji's hands, although Wang Yun is a member of the Wang family, but it can't be said that Wang Yun is guilty, so he has to connect the entire Wang family, right? Especially according to Yanzhou's law that "the crime is not as good as innocent relatives", it is even more unreasonable. Unless Xu Ji really has internal responsibilities within the royal family, he can justifiably get rid of the evidence of the Wang family, otherwise once this opportunity is missed, the Wang family will destroy all the evidence of dealings with Wang Yun, and it will be even more difficult for Xu Ji to deal with the Wang family.

Xu Ji is the most trustworthy person, and he will never change the law at will, which is tantamount to dishonesty in the world, so Wang Ling thinks that even if Xu Ji wants to deal with the Wang family, there is no sufficient reason, after all, the Wang family is a big family in the state, and eradicating it at will will only cause the local vibration and is not good for Xu Ji. Although Xu Ji in front of him was sure of his appearance, Wang Ling had a glimmer of hope, he thought that if Xu Ji really had an internal response within the Wang family, why did he have to spend so much time with himself? It's better to kill yourself.

Xu Ji stared at Wang Ling, whose face was uncertain, knowing that the other party had already mobilized for help, and said with a smile: "I might as well tell you that the saint is also in my hands Xu Ji today." Do you want to lead you Wang Ling to face the saint now? ”

Wang Ling's color immediately changed when he heard this, which meant that even if Xu Ji had no internal response in the Wang family, he could kill people on the emperor's orders. He was still wondering what Xu Ji used to control Chang'an after getting rid of Wang Yun, but now everything is clear. Thinking of this, Wang Ling said dejectedly: "Wang Ling is willing to listen to General Xu's dispatch, just to protect my Wang family." ”

Xu Ji laughed and said: "I don't want you to be embarrassed with Wang Yun, as long as you deceive me into opening the gates of Tongguan and Qingnikou for me, how about it?" ”

Wang Ling's body trembled, and he knew the reason why Xu Ji left him, Xu Ji really didn't want to get the inside story of the Wang family, but from the "Neiying" that didn't actually exist, he knew the close relationship between himself and the guards of these two passes.

A feeling of powerlessness flooded Wang Ling's heart.

Facing Xu Ji is as if everything is in his hands, and there is no chance of backhanding, which is the most terrifying. (To be continued......)