Chen Deng had been standing in front of Yuan Shang's mansion for two hours.
He came every day to hand in his business cards, but to no avail. The other party's closed door seemed to be a silent mockery of him.
He turned his head and looked at the baggage convoy behind him, which was heading towards the north gate of Yecheng.
This was Yuan Xi's convoy, and it was obviously heading towards Youzhou. When Yuan Xi's carriage passed by just now, Chen Deng deliberately turned his head away, but now, watching Yuan Xi go away, he still felt a little disappointed.
Although he knew that Yuan Xi would no longer have a say in the Yuan family after being adopted, Chen Deng still held out a glimmer of hope.
Until just now, he had completely given up on this idea.
He felt a little cold and his feet began to go numb. Now he was really in a dilemma.
If he returned empty-handed as an envoy to Jizhou on behalf of Liu Bei, how would the officials in Xuzhou view him?
It was he who encouraged Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou. Now that Xuzhou has become like this, everyone is laughing at him, right?
Chen Deng looked at the closed door again, finally made up his mind, turned around and left.
There is no need to stay in Jizhou any longer.
Why not just go back to Xuzhou, ask Liu Bei for an army, and fight Sun Ce yourself!
At worst, I'll die!
Hanoi County, Zhang Yang's residence.
Lu Bu and Zhang Yang sat on the host and guest sides, drinking happily. The two rows below them were all their capable subordinates.
Following Lu Bu were Chen Gong, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and others, while the brothers Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao stayed in Chenliu County and did not come.
On Zhang Yang's side, there were Dong Zhao, Yang Chou, Sui Gu and others.
The one who is speaking now is called Sui Gu.
Sui Gu, whose courtesy name was Baitu, was a native of Ji County, Youzhou. He was originally a Black Mountain bandit. He was as famous as Yu Du and Bai Rao, and they were known as the three great bandits.
On that day, Sui Gu and Yuan Shu conspired to seize Dongjun. After being defeated by Cao Cao, they defected to Zhang Yang.
Sui Gu had drunk a lot of wine and was now drunk saying, "The Yuan family is so abominable!"
"He just killed the Marquis of Ji and is now plotting to take Youzhou. I heard that the fierce tiger of the Yuan family has already led his troops to attack Yuyang!"
The news that Yuan Xi had left Yecheng to attack Youzhou was not deliberately concealed and had already reached Henei.
Ji County, the fiefdom of Gongsun Zan, was Sui Gu's hometown. It was located at the junction of Guangyang County in Youzhou and Yuyang. Sui Gu was born into a Black Mountain bandit family and naturally he hated the Yuan family very much.
Yang Chou sneered after hearing this and said, "Bai Tu, if you hate the Yuan family so much, you could lead your troops to attack Zhuo County."
"The capital of Zhuo County, Beixincheng, where the fierce tiger of the Yuan family lives, can be reached by passing through Heishan. How about we go and raid his hometown?"
"But it seems that Bai Rao thinks so too, hahaha."
Sui Gu was furious. This Yang Chou had always been at odds with him, and now he was openly mocking him.
Everyone knows that when he, Yu Du and Bai Rao were at the peak of their power, they were collectively known as the three major bandits of Black Mountain. However, more than two years ago, Yu Du followed Zhang Yan to capture Ye City and killed the prefect Li Cheng. Then Yuan Shao returned and repelled the Black Mountain bandits, chasing them to Cangyan Valley in Luchang Mountain in Chaoge, and beheaded Yu Du.
Then, a few days ago, Bai Rao, on the orders of Zhang Yan, led tens of thousands of troops to attack Beixin City, but suffered a disastrous defeat and was killed by Zhao Yun, a general under Yuan Xi.
When Yang Chou mentioned the matter of Beixin City, it was obviously a veiled criticism that the two thieves who were as famous as Sui Gu were both killed by Yuan, so what good could Sui Gu get?
Sui Gu was furious and said to Zhang Yang, "Governor, I would like to lead an army to annihilate Zhuo County!"
Dong Zhao said, "White Rabbit, be patient. Henei is close to the Yuan family. If we rashly make enemies with them, what will happen to the governor?"
After hearing this, Sui Gu closed his mouth reluctantly.
At this time, Chen Gong said, "Then according to Mr. Gongren, we are both close neighbors of the Black Mountain Army and the Yuan family, what should we do?"
When everyone saw that the master was getting to the point, they all listened attentively.
Since Lu Bu led his troops to Henei, Henei County, which had been able to support itself, began to be stretched to its limits because of the sudden increase of tens of thousands of mouths to feed.
Lü Bu was fighting Cao Cao in Yanzhou and was already at his wit's end. Cao's army had to eat human flesh and only managed to survive with the help of Yuan Shao's food and supplies. Lü Bu was left with no other options.
He was too embarrassed to eat human flesh, so he had to follow Yinhu's plan and head northwest into Sili to look for food, and reconnect with Zhang Yang, with whom he was on good terms.
Zhang Yang, the governor of Henei, whose courtesy name was Zhishu, was a native of Bingzhou. He was quite brave and once served under Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou. Later, he was sent by Ding Yuan to serve as a military commander under Jian Shuo.
In the sixth year of Zhongping, after Emperor Ling of Han died, Jian Shuo was killed by He Jin. Zhang Yang then defected to He Jin and was sent to Shangdang to suppress the bandits.
Not long after, He Jin was killed and Dong Zhuo entered the capital. Zhang Yang once again lost his backing and later joined the anti-Dong coalition led by Yuan Shao.
After Zhang Yang led his troops to meet Yuan Shao in Hanoi, he and the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo stationed troops at Zhangshui. However, Yufuluo rebelled during this period, secretly defected to Dong Zhuo, and kidnapped Zhang Yang.
Yuan Shao sent Qu Yi to pursue Yu Fuluo and defeated him in Yecheng. Yu Fuluo then took Zhang Yang hostage and escaped.
Zhang Yang had no choice but to seek refuge with Yu Fuluo. When Dong Zhuo learned about this, he issued an imperial decree to appoint Zhang Yang as General Jianyi and Governor of Henei. From then on, Zhang Yang became an independent lord.
After he became the governor of Henei, he devoted himself to farming, and Henei began to gradually recover from war and banditry.
Later, Dong Zhuo died, and then Yu Furuo also died.
Zhang Yang had the unscrupulous side of a Bingzhou warrior, and he once let his soldiers plunder and become bandits. But he also had a loyal side, and was very lenient with his subordinates, so many people of all qualities came to join him.
"Heroes of the Late Han Dynasty": "If a servant plots a rebellion and is discovered, he will weep over it and forgive it without questioning."
It was about one of Zhang Yang's subordinates plotting a rebellion, but he cried in front of Zhang Yang and was pardoned by him.
From this point of view, there was nothing wrong with his name, so like Yuan Shao, his subordinates fought fiercely among themselves, which laid a huge hidden danger.
However, in the eyes of superstitious people, he and Lu Bu have another extremely terrifying similarity.
Almost all the people Zhang Yang had sought refuge with were high-ranking and powerful people. They had all stood at the pinnacle of power in the Han court, second only to the emperor, or even higher than him.
From Ding Yuan to Jian Shuo, from He Jin to Dong Zhuo, the weakest Yu Furuo also commanded nearly one million Southern Xiongnu. It can be said that they were all figures who stirred up the Han Dynasty.
But these people died early and did not die a good death.
The similarity between Zhang Yang and Lu Bu is that all their sponsors died or even their entire families were wiped out. The only difference is that Lu Bu took the initiative, while Zhang Yang just sat at home and did nothing.
Zhang Yang and Lu Bu, both princes from the current Bingzhou, both have the attribute of being a hindrance to their lord. They have always gotten along very well, which can be said to be some subtle connection between them.
When Dong Zhao saw Chen Gong asking questions, he concentrated on thinking.
He knew that this strategist who first surrendered to Cao Cao and then to Lu Bu had his own ideas in mind and his stance was erratic. Even with Dong Zhao's ability, he couldn't figure out what Chen Gong was thinking.
Moreover, Dong Zhao himself had a lot of things hidden in his heart and didn't want Chen Gong to see through his true colors.
Dong Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Before answering this question, I would like to ask everyone present, what do you think of the current Han court?"
After hearing this, Lu Bu showed hesitation on his face. When Dong Zhao saw it, he knew that Lu Bu was still undecided on the issue of whether to submit to the Han emperor.
He said, "Only when Wen Hou makes up his mind can we make plans for the next step."
His words seemed to have no stance, but they hit the nail on the head for Lu Bu.
Now, Lu Bu neither wanted to break with the Han court nor get involved in the mess of holding the Han emperor hostage.
He had suffered great losses before, and knew very well that the world was in chaos, the Han court had lost its way, and whoever stayed by the emperor's side would not have a good end.
But he could not openly oppose the Han court. After all, the warriors of Bingzhou had always been excluded by the gentry throughout the world. Without the support of the Han emperor, their end would have been even more tragic.
Chen Gong listened and said, "Mr. Gongren, do you think that Gong's previous proposal for a marriage between Wen Hou and Yuan Gonglu was unwise?"
Dong Zhao laughed and said, "I didn't say anything, but I want to remind you that if you rashly stand on one side, you will become enemies with the other side."
"Hanoi is located in the center of several forces. If it makes friends with one, it will break with the other party, or even attack each other."
"I just want to ask the governor and Marquis Wen, have you determined who the enemy is?"
After hearing this, everyone remained silent.
This is the problem that all the princes in the world have to face at this time.
Everyone wants to use their allies to deal with the enemy, rather than blocking the enemy for their allies. No one is stupid.
The princes living in border areas are naturally advantageous. At the very least, they can establish their own territory as long as they hold on to one side.
But for those who are located between the territories of multiple forces, they need to think carefully about who to join forces with and who to become enemies with.
Zhang Yang, who is now located in Hanoi, has to face several forces around him at the same time, just like Yuan Shao in Jizhou, Liu Bei in Xuzhou, Cao Cao in Yanzhou, and Yuan Shu in Yuzhou.
In contrast, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Liu Zhang of Yizhou, and Zhang Lu of Hanzhong could live well behind closed doors.
The same is true for Henei now. If they make friends with Yuan Shu, they will anger Yuan Shao. Henei borders Jizhou. Even with the help of the Black Mountain Army, it is unknown whether they can stop Yuan Shao.
Although the Black Mountain Army seemed powerful, with tens of thousands of troops, wasn't it also annihilated by the few thousand soldiers of the Yuan family?
Dong Zhao was secretly pleased to see that everyone was speechless. He did not need to make a clear statement, he only needed to raise the question.
If the relationship between him and Yuan Xi was exposed, he would be suspected, so now he just had to pretend to be neutral.
Chen Gong spoke first and gave his reasons. On Zhang Yang's side, Yang Chou and Sui Gu also responded sharply.
Later, even the taciturn Gao Shun made an exception and said a few words.
If Yuan Xi were present, he would understand that what these people are discussing and the decisions they are about to make will affect the direction of the world. Only Yuan Xi, who is well versed in later history, would know that in the next year, Sili, where Henei County is located, will be the focus of the world.
The emperor returned east to Luoyang.
In fact, many people in Henei have secretly joined different forces. Yang Chou has secretly joined Cao Cao, Dong Zhao is half of Yuan Xi's man, Sui Gu has many connections with Zhang Yan, and Chen Gong has turned to Yuan Shu.
Although Lu Bu had previously fought against Cao Cao, if he married Yuan Shu, he might not necessarily ally with Cao Cao in the future, which was something Yuan Xi did not want to see.
Because at this time Yuan Xi knew for sure that Cao Cao had already secretly betrayed Yuan Shao.
"The Spring and Autumn Annals of Emperor Xian" states: "(Cao Cao) pretended to help Shao, but actually planned to attack Ye and provide support for Zan."
This shows that when Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao was already prepared to break with Yuan Shao and stand on Gongsun Zan's side.
However, whether in later generations or in this life, Yuan Shao quickly conquered Gongsun Zan, resulting in Cao Cao not having time to take action.
However, the course of history did not deviate too much, and Cao Cao's next destination was Xuzhou and Henei.
In Lu Bu's inner residence in the city, Lu Lingqi danced with her double halberds listlessly, feeling unable to muster the energy.
The hidden tiger hasn't appeared for such a long time. Could it be that he died somewhere?