A few tacit jokes brought the two sides closer together. The emperor enthusiastically asked Xun Yan if he had eaten. After receiving a negative answer, he immediately asked someone to bring some food. Xun Yan was very grateful. Looking at the simple and shabby porridge and cakes, he praised the emperor's frugal words at the right time. He endured the strong discomfort in his throat and drank a large bowl of porridge.

"How long has it been since Xiu Ruo returned to his hometown?"

Xun Yan thought about it carefully. "It has been two months since the war of Chuping for six years."

"Five years." The emperor gently pulled his fingers, thinking. "The last time he returned home, it was already three or four years since Sun Ce implemented the new policy in Yuzhou?"

"It's about three years since he served as the governor of Yuzhou."

"How did you feel when you returned home that time?" The emperor leaned on the desk and looked at Xun Yan with curiosity in his eyes. "Is there a big change?"

Xun Yan understood the emperor's meaning and said seriously: "The changes are great, very big. At that time, Sun Ce invaded the land of aristocratic families, and the Yuzhou family was destroyed and scattered, and complained. He heard that Yuan Gong led his troops to the south, and the Yuzhou family responded, and the Central Plains was shocked. Unfortunately, Yuan Gong failed in that battle, Sun Ce deceived the court and blamed Yuan Gong for committing a crime of prosecution, and then was named king. Sun Ce was successful for a while and slaughtered the heroes of Yuzhou. Alas..." Xun Yan sighed, shook his head, and his face was heavy. "Your Majesty, the Yuzhou family fled in scattered, but there were still many people who could not escape his pursuit. The head was hanging along the official road, from Junyi to the East China Sea, which was terrible."

When talking about the sadness, Xun Yan burst into tears. The emperor also sighed but didn't say anything.

Liu Ye said: "Since that's the case, there are probably not many aristocratic families in Yuzhou today? Is there anyone who responds to Yuan Jizhou going south?"

"It's not much compared to that time." Xun Yan wiped away his tears. "The family either fled or was killed. The rest of them dared not speak out against Sun Ce. However, because that massacre allowed the gentry of Yanzhou to see Sun Ce's cruelty clearly, although they were only separated from Yuzhou, they were unwilling to surrender to Sun Ce. This time, Yuan Jizhou followed His Majesty's edict and went south to take revenge. Although Cao Ang wanted to violate the edict, the Yanzhou family rose up to respond to Yuan Jizhou. Now Cao Ang was in the process of destruction under the city of Tao, and Yanzhou collapsed, which is a sign that people can use it."

Xun Yan solemnly bowed to the emperor. "Your Majesty, this is the best opportunity to defeat Sun Ce and revive the Han Dynasty, and it may also be the last opportunity. The capital of Luoyang is right across the river. Please do not miss the opportunity."

The emperor nodded and sighed, "Yes, opportunities must not be missed, and times will never come again. Because this opportunity is rare, we must be more cautious. Only by knowing one and the other can we be invincible in all battles. Sun Ce is good at fighting. Since he went to Xiangyang in the second year of Chuping, he has been almost invincible and defeated in every battle. Every time it is incredible. The same is true for his generals. Taishi Ci fought in Liaodong, Zhou Yu fought in Jiangnan, Huang Zhong fought in Hanzhong, and Lu Su fought in Hongnong. Which battle was not defeated by less, unexpected? Let's talk about it before us. Zhu Ran guarded Gaotang, Lu Yi attacked Chenliu. Two young men who had just entered the battle formation had such ability to use troops. Tell me, what kind of opponent is this?"

Xun Yan was stunned for a moment, quite surprised. He looked at the emperor for a moment, but couldn't figure out the emperor's true intention. Is this a lie to my plan? Do they have a better plan?

"What Your Majesty says is so good that it is comparable to gold and jade." Xun Yan said: "I would like to abandon my shallow views, follow Your Majesty's edict, lead by example, and never follow me."

The emperor shook his hand. "No, Xiuruo, don't misunderstand me. I don't mean this. Your tactics are very good, but you haven't fought with Sun Ce for several years, so you may not know his current strength. What are we..." He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I just fought with Lu Su at Hongnong not long ago. To be honest, Xiuruo, I can't believe it. It took Lu Su only half a day to seize Hongnong, but we have been besieging Hongnong for almost three months, and we still have no choice. From this, it is probably not easy to capture Hangu Pass."

Xun Yan frowned, and his palms were a little sweaty. He didn't know about Hongnong's war, but he knew about Arc destiny. So far, they could only guess how Lu Su captured Arc destiny, and they didn't know the specific process. If Hangu Pass, Arc destiny could not be captured for a long time, it would be meaningless to march into Henan. The eight passes of Luoyang were all in the hands of Lu Su and others, and the emperor could not break through at all.

The Eight Passes of Luoyang were originally guarding Luoyang, but now they have become a cage surrounding Luoyang.

"What is your majesty's strategy?"

Liu Ye said: "Luoyang is here and cannot escape. Yuzhou has no danger to defend. If Yuan Jizhou quickly breaks through the Yanzhou defense line and enters Yuzhou, Sun Ce will have to fight. Defeat Sun Ce, Luoyang will be at his fingertips."

Xun Yan said nothing, looked at Liu Ye and the emperor again. He understood what Liu Ye meant. The emperor didn't want to cross the river at all. He hoped that Yuan Tan would rush forward and fight with Sun Ce. He stayed in Hanoi and watched the wall. This seemed impossible, and Yuan Tan would never agree. With the emperor's intelligence, he could not be unclear about this, but he still said it. Naturally, there were other arrangements.

"Xun Lingjun is the king of the times, and he will stabilize Guanzhong and assist Your Majesty. Your Majesty respects him as a teacher. You are the brother of Xun Lingjun, both civil and military. Your Majesty believes that you only lack one opportunity to be famous generals."

Xun Yan's mouth twitched, his heart moved, and he understood what the emperor meant. The emperor wanted to win him over and give him a chance to make contributions.

"Your Majesty praised you, Yan was ashamed of you."

"Don't be humble." The emperor looked calm and had a faint smile on his face. "I know that Liu Bei is very close to Sun Ce, and you may not dare to trust him, so I want to make some changes to your suggestions and arrange for you to help the cavalry."

Xun Yan pondered for a moment and bowed to salute. "Please give advice to your Majesty."

Liu Ye and the emperor exchanged a look and smiled knowingly. They had already analyzed Xun Yan's situation and believed that Xun Yan would not reject their proposal. At present, Yizhou and Guanzhong have dangers to defend, but Jizhou has no dangers to rely on. If Sun Ce cannot be defeated, Jizhou will be in danger. Yuan Tan has no way out and can only move forward with all his strength. As Yuan Tan's general, Xun Yan naturally refused to live in Hanoi.

The emperor stationed in Hanoi and maintained pressure on Henan, allowing Xun Yan to withdraw from Yanzhou to help. Although there was suspicion of using Yuan Tan and even the possibility of digging Yuan Tan's corner, Yuan Tan would not refuse, and Xun Yan would not refuse.

The emperor immediately discussed with Xun Yan to correct the plan and change the focus of the attack. Originally, Liu Bei was suspicious to the east and lured Xu Sheng's navy to go east. Xun Yan was preparing to attack Shazhou forcing his might, but now he changed to the emperor as suspicious to attack Shazhou and restrain Xu Sheng. Xun Yan led his troops to go east, looking for a suitable place to cross the river, enter Yanzhou, and assist Yuan Tan in the battle.

Xun Yan did not trust Liu Bei, so the emperor left Liu Bei and sent Lu Bu to lead 7,000 Liang cavalry to assist Xun Yan in the battle. If Liu Bei was willing, he could also transfer some Youzhou cavalry. In this way, Xun Yan's military strength would be enough to stand alone, and he could even become another unit second only to Yuan Tan's main force.

Xun Yan accepted this suggestion after a little weighing the pros and cons, but for the sake of safety, he needed to ask Yuan Tan for instructions.

The emperor happily agreed.

After they discussed it, the emperor immediately sent someone to invite Liu Bei to discuss matters. Before Liu Bei arrived, the emperor discussed some details with Xun Yan. To get Liu Bei to agree to this plan, they still need some cooperation.

Half an hour later, Liu Bei and Feng Ji arrived together. Feng Ji and Xun Yan had known each other for a long time, and they could not help but say a few words when they met. After saying polite words, the emperor asked Liu Bei for advice first. Liu Bei was humble and then proposed the plan formulated by Feng Ji. It was similar to Xu Yan's plan. They used suspicious soldiers to lure Xu Sheng away, attacked Shazhou and crossed the river, and seized Luoyang.

The emperor immediately introduced the war not long ago to them and reminded them not to underestimate the combat power of Sun Ce's subordinates. Compared with Xun Yan, Liu Bei accepted the emperor's opinions without any hesitation. He also added several Taishi Ci's battle examples and equipped with new armor. The Jiangdong Army, which had been strictly trained, could not speculate on its combat power based on common sense. It would rather be more conservative, concentrated, and maintain sufficient military strength than divide the troops easily.

Feng Ji also felt it was reasonable. Although he had not directly fought against the Jiangdong Army in recent years, he fought with Shen You and Taishi Ci a few years ago when he assisted Yuan Xi, and had a deep impression of the gap in combat power between the two sides. After several years, the Jiangdong Army's combat power will only be stronger and will not be weakened. Not long ago, Dong Zhao failed to defeat the Yuzhou soldiers who had just been recruited by the advantage of three times the strength of the army.

After reaching a consensus, there was much more talk. Liu Bei accepted the emperor's suggestion and Xun Yan led his troops to cross the river east. He stayed to assist the emperor, stationed in Henoi, restrained Lu Su and Lu Fan, and prepared to cross the river to attack Henan. In order to show his sincerity, he asked Qian Zhao to lead five thousand cavalry to fight with Xun Yan, and he and Zhang Fei assisted the emperor.

Xun Yan was overjoyed and was extremely grateful to the emperor, and his impression of Liu Bei changed greatly. With the help of these 2,000 elite cavalrymen, his strength had surpassed Dong Zhao and his chances of making meritorious contributions increased greatly. In order to show his sincerity, he left Sima Fu so that the emperor could contact the Hanoi family and raise food and supplies. Although it was a pity that he gave up his control over Hanoi, he also got rid of a greedy Liu Bei. Compared with gains and losses, he still made a profit.

After the discussion ended, Xun Yan rushed back to the camp to make a plan, and the emperor left Liu Bei to discuss in detail. In the past two days, Liu Bei [Updated Quickly] had many contacts with Lu Bu, but did not meet with the emperor, so he deliberately kept a distance. The emperor kept him talking, but he was right in his mind and could not get it.

With the foundation of the Lu family father and daughter, the emperor seemed particularly friendly and spoke much easier than Xun Yan when he was there. "I had a lot of talents under my command. I used to know that Zhang Fei was superb in martial arts, and I rarely met the enemy with the snake spear. I didn't expect that there was another Zhao Yun. Not only was the spear technique exquisite, it was no less than Zhang Fei, but the shooting art was even comparable to Wen Hou. I had a narrow road on the battlefield, maybe only you could fight Sun Ce."

Liu Bei bowed repeatedly. "Your Majesty is wrong, but I dare not take it. I think that the only one who can fight Sun Ce is Your Majesty. I am willing to follow Your Majesty and work hard for Your Majesty."

The emperor smiled. "Since that's the case, then I will worship my beloved minister as the left general and the left arm of the court. How about it?"
Chapter completed!