Looking at Liu Bei's hesitant appearance, Liu Hong shook his head tiredly and squeezed Liu Bei's hand again.

"Xuande, now I am weak and can't handle many things, so, for the time being, before I recover, all things will be handled by you instead of me, Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo, Dong Chong, the three of you come here."

Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo and Dong Chong approached Liu Hong.

Liu Hong raised his hand and pointed at Liu Bei.

"When I can't be a director, you have to discuss anything with Xuande, and finally Xuande will make a decision, Xuande's decision is equivalent to my decision, you must listen to Xuande's instructions, don't make decisions on your own, understand?"

The three of them looked at each other, and then looked at Liu Bei together.

"Understood."

Then the three of them saluted Liu Bei together.

Liu Bei returned the salute and looked at Liu Hong again.

"Your Majesty, is that good?"

"I'm seriously ill, I can't be a director, I'm afraid of delaying big things, there are not many people I can trust at present, Xuande, only you can really share my worries, you must not shirk, I can put my life in your hands."

Liu Bei looked at Liu Hong for a while, his eyes overflowing with tears.

"Your Majesty's kindness, the minister's death will be difficult to repay! The minister swore to the ancestors that he would do his best to defend the mountains and rivers of the Liu family, and never let the He family and the Yuan family usurp the Liu family! ”

Liu Hong nodded reassuringly, took a breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

After a while, he fell asleep.

In order not to disturb Liu Hong's rest, a group of people left Liu Hong's dormitory together, leaving only Empress Dowager Dong to take care of Liu Hong.

After leaving the palace, Zhang Rang, Dong Zhong and Jian Shuo all showed favor to Liu Bei and asked him what to do next.

Now, the four of them can be regarded as a community of destiny, and Liu Bei, as the person with the highest status, the most talented and accomplished, can indeed be recognized and trusted by them.

So they did not object to obeying Liu Bei's instructions during Liu Hong's sick leave.

"In the current situation, our side has the advantage, and the Yuan and He families have a disadvantage, but they will definitely not be captured, this time He Jin asked to go to Xuzhou to crusade against the Yellow Turban Army, it seems to be a retreat, but in fact, it is to retreat as an advance, in order to recruit more troops to strengthen themselves."

"Huh?"

Zhang Rang knew before that Dong Zhong and Jian Shuo were shocked.

Jian Shuo hurriedly asked, "Then why did you convince His Majesty to agree to He Jin?" ”

"I don't want Your Majesty to worry too much, and by doing so, they think they are retreating and advancing, but they are actually digging their own grave."

Liu Bei sneered: "Let them move, let them gather the strength they can use to Luoyang, this is to give me the opportunity to kill them all, if they don't accumulate strength, they won't dare to confront me head-on, dare not confront me head-on, how can I destroy them in the open?" ”

Zhang Rang didn't have any opinion on this, but Dong Chong and Jian Shuo were a little worried about Liu Bei's statement.

Dong Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "Junhou, forget about the He family, the fourth generation and the third prince of the Yuan family, the protégés and former officials are all over the world, and it is difficult to deal with it." ”

Jian Shuo also nodded.

"Even if it is He Jin, it is not so easy to deal with, the prince should still be more careful, don't be deceived by He Jin!"

Liu Bei nodded slowly.

"The lion fights the rabbit, and do my best, I will never let them calculate me, but the current situation, I really won't be very worried, two, you and do your duty, lead the Xiyuan Army, control Luoyang City, don't let the forces of the Yuan and He clans infiltrate, it's okay."

"I can guarantee this, as long as I am alive for one day, He Jin and they will not want to send a single soldier into the city!"

Dong Zhong gritted his teeth and said: "Whether it's Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, their army doesn't want to enter Luoyang City!" The captains of the gates of Luoyang City are all my people, and I have given them the most rewards, so please rest assured that the prince and marquis will be able to do so. ”

"I'm the same here."

Jian Shuo followed and said: "Although the Xiyuan Army has just been established, as the pro-army of the Son of Heaven, there is still a minimum position, what is the order of the Son of Heaven, how will the Xiyuan Army act, since the Son of Heaven has an order, the Xiyuan Army will also obey the orders of the prince." ”

Liu Bei nodded.

"That being the case, as long as the four of us work together, the He family and the Yuan family will succeed, everyone, I hope we will work together to defeat the Yuan family and the He family, I am outside the city, you are in the city, and work together, then the Yuan family and the He family will surely perish!"

After the secret meeting of the four ended, Dong Chong returned to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager Dong, and Jian Shuo went straight to the Xiyuan Army barracks.

Zhang Rang stayed and sent Liu Bei off as before.

On the way, Zhang Rang asked about Liu Bei's related arrangements.

"You don't really think that Jian Shuo and Dong Chong can make things happen, do you? These two people are not enough to succeed and more than to lose, the words are just good, if you really want to succeed, why did Your Majesty call you back from afar? It's better to be careful. ”

"Of course, I know that they don't succeed enough and lose more than they do, so I'm ready to do it three times, they can do the best thing, they can't do it, as long as it doesn't get in the way."

"Three hands?"

Zhang Rang was puzzled: "Apart from me, what other helpers do you have?" Don't tell me you're planning to bring troops from out of town. ”

"The first hand is you in Luoyang City, and the second hand is my own army."

Liu Bei raised three fingers and said with a smile: "The third hand is a secret team, from Bingzhou, they will also assist me outside the city, when the time comes, if Yuan Kui and He Jin are in the city, you will do it, if you are outside the city, they will do it, if you don't succeed, I will press the army and do it myself."

Three-handed preparation, three ghost gates, I don't believe that Yuan Kui and He Jin, these two can break through three ghost gates in a row and stand in front of me and talk and laugh with me, if their luck can reach this point, I also admit it, I count them ruthless. ”

Zhang Rang was a little surprised.

"And the state? Outside the city? Who are you wooing? It can't be Dong Zhuo, right? He is the former official of the Yuan family, are you wooing him? How can it be? Aren't you afraid that he will tell Yuan Kui? ”

"How could it be?"

Liu Bei said in a low voice: "Lao Zhang, there has never been absolute loyalty, the so-called loyalty is just that the price code is not in place, and it is not the first time that Dong Zhuo has betrayed it, this kind of thing, there are one and two." ”

"I don't like to hear what you say."

Zhang Rang shook his head and said: "But I thought about it again, but everything you said, I really didn't think that you couldn't do it, others say, I must doubt it, you say I really don't dare to doubt it, if even Dong Zhuo is won over by you, I have nothing to say, I don't think Yuan Kui will believe it until he dies." ”

"So, weakness and ignorance have never been an obstacle to survival."

Liu Bei patted Zhang Rang's shoulder: "Arrogance is." ”

Zhang Rang looked puzzled.

"Arrogance? Who are you referring to? Yuan's? ”

"The Han Dynasty's famous men, the high-ranking scholars and scholars, one is counted as one, all of them have committed the incurable crime of arrogance, they will definitely go to complete destruction because of arrogance, Yuan's family, is just the beginning."

Liu Bei added a little strength to Zhang Rang's shoulder and pinched it, making Zhang Rang a little baffled.

What does this mean?

Who else are you going to deal with?

Could it be the Yang family?

The Yang family has offended Liu Bei fiercely, and he was Liu Bei's biggest enemy, and it is not impossible for him to destroy the Yang family.

But if one of the four worlds and three princes, one of the three worlds and three princes, if the two giants are all destroyed in the hands of Liu Bei, what kind of situation should it be?

Liu Bei won't change from a debater to a killer, right?

Zhang Rang didn't care about the survival of the scholar Gaomen, he just thought that it would be very interesting if he could see the destruction of the scholar Gaomen with his own eyes, but Liu Bei's vision was too long-term, and it was obviously not something that his status could do.

As he walked, suddenly, Zhang Rang's eyes widened and he thought of a possibility that was not a possibility.

If that's the case......

Liu Xuande, you are too terrible......

Subsequently, according to Liu Bei's request, Zhang Rang replied to He Jin's request to He Jin, letting He Jin know that his actions were allowed.

He can go to Xuzhou, or he can recruit troops, but the number of recruits needs to be limited, not more than 30,000, no more, and the imperial court finance cannot provide him with much support, he needs to find a way to raise military expenses by himself.

For the former, He Jin is very happy, and for the latter, He Jin is very unhappy.

Do you want me to pay for it out of my own pocket?

That's not good, even if it's the army I use to fight for power, I can't pay out of my own pocket, and I have to make a little money from the court anyway.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the high-ranking officials and dignitaries acted so absurdly and funny.

Deal with you, and use your money against you, and I don't want to pay a penny more.

So he argued and tried to get money out of the imperial finances.

In this regard, Liu Bei felt funny, and answered He Jin instead of Liu Hong, who was asleep and not awake - otherwise don't go, the court has no money, what kind of war are you fighting, continue to hand it over to Liu Yan to toss, what do you say?

He Jin thought about it, and discussed it with Yuan Kui again, and finally the two gritted their teeth and decided to pay for the troops out of their own pockets, expecting to take money from the Iron Rooster Emperor It was impossible, if there was a conflict with the emperor on the issue of money, it would be difficult to have a hard time.

The emperor was notoriously greedy.

As for how the recruitment fee should be paid and how to share it evenly, He Jin had a friendly and harmonious conversation with Yuan Kui, and then pulled out his hardcore subordinates to discuss together, hoping to share the pressure of recruiting and raising troops a little.

Everyone is so optimistic about us that they must be willing to pay this money, right?

The major families that were deeply bound around He Jin and Yuan Kui were suddenly depressed.

They surrounded He Jin and Yuan Kui in order to obtain benefits, but now that they have not seen the benefits obtained, they have to spend money first.

Is this business really worth it?

There are not many people who have doubts, but they have no choice but to go one way to the dark.

He Jin and Yuan Kui didn't want to spend too much as much as possible, and wanted the younger brothers to spend more, but the younger brothers mainly looked at their posture, how much they produced, how much the younger brothers could possibly spend.

So He Jin and Yuan Kui were forced to be generous and took out a lot of family savings to pretend.

At this moment, the younger brothers must not slack off, and must show enough sincerity to show them.