Sun Ce and the other two were originally talking about the battle and the killing. The situation was difficult and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing. When they were disturbed by these two cute little girls, the sinister aura immediately dissipated a little, and their hearts became much brighter.

Huang Yueying seized the opportunity and said that Yuan Quan planned to cook in person to greet Sun Ce. Sun Ce knew very well. Yuan Quan was an extremely smart woman who had made him embarrassed just now, and this was a disguised apology. Thinking of the last time when Sun Ce was pretending to be drunk, he was a little moved, but when he thought of the tense scene just now, he was a little worried. Logically, Yuan Quan should have invited Mrs. Wu, but who knows that there is no reason for women to argue.

"I'm not sure yet, and there are still many things to deal with. I'll go there when I have time. If I don't have time, you can help me eat more."

Huang Yueying was very disappointed, but she didn't dare to say anything. She pulled the bridge to the backyard. After hearing the reply, Yuan Quan had no intention of being disappointed. She went to invite Mrs. Wu in person. Mrs. Wu also felt that it was not good for Sun Ce to make things difficult for him as soon as she came back. He wanted to marry Yuan Heng in the future, so she agreed and asked Sun Yi to inform Sun Ce.

Sun Ce still gave an ambiguous reply. There are too many official duties, so I can't guarantee that you can eat first.

Qiao Rui and the other two were puzzled. They just had a meal together. Why did they say it twice and twice? Do they think we were too long-winded? They were confused. Sun Ce understood it in his heart, but it was difficult to explain, so he had to pull Qiao Rui to continue talking about the matter.

"By the way, is there any news from Sanguan?"

Qiao Rui didn't know that Sun Ce was clearly at the situation of the three gates. He slapped his thigh and became excited. "General, although Li Tong, who was surrendering last time, was young, he really had some tricks. In just over a month, he adjusted the defense line of the three gates. Liu Xun mobilized a large number of troops to attack, and he went back in shame without even touching the city wall. In my opinion, he could be compared with Xu Shu..."

——

Xu Qian hurried over and saw the blood on Xu Shao's mouth leaning on the couch, and stomped his feet and said, "Zi Jiang, why are you doing this?"

Xu Shao smiled weakly and said, "Brother, we really met our opponent this time."

Xu Qian hurriedly sat beside the couch, held Xu Shao's hand, and put on his pulse. Seeing that Xu Shao's pulse was a little anxious, it was not weak, he felt relieved. "Don't worry, tell me slowly, what's going on?"

"Guangling Zhang Hong has joined Sun Ce's command."

Xu Qian raised his eyebrows suddenly, his eyes widened, and it took him a long time to relax. "Zhang Hong and Zhang Zigang?"

"It's him." Xu Shao said in detail what happened. Xu Qian listened quietly, and didn't say anything for a while. He let go of Xu Shao's hand and patted his thighs gently. His eyes flashed for a long time. He wanted to speak several times, but in the end he didn't say anything, as if he had any concerns. Xu Shao had dated his brother since he was a child. When he saw his expression, he knew that he was in a difficult position. He took the initiative to say, "Brother, I'm fine. Just say whatever you have."

Xu Qian thought for a moment. "Zi Jiang, what do you think of Sun Ce?"

“Brother means…”

"I mean, do you think he is likely to defeat Yuan Shao?"

Xu Shao looked at Xu Qian in surprise, unable to believe his ears. He understood Xu Qian's meaning, but it was because of this that he was so shocked. Compared with Yuan Shao, Sun Ce was not an opponent of the same level at all. But he knew very well who Xu Qian was. Xie Ziwei said that he was a weapon for the country and had a high evaluation. Others may not believe it, but he believed it.

Since Xu Qian said that, he had naturally thought about it seriously and even made a decision. Now he was just concerned about his face, so he discussed it with him. Xu Shao sat up and thought about it seriously for a while.

"If it is personal, Sun Ce is enough to compare with Yuan Shao, whether it is demeanor or knowledge, or even better. However, competing for the Central Plains is definitely not the power of one person, but also the power of the family. On this point, Sun Ce cannot compare with Yuan Shao at all. He cannot even conquer Yuan Shu's old subordinates, and the people who defect to him are all poor families. Such people may be able to charge in battle, but it is impossible to manage government affairs in one area. It is definitely not possible to solve the problem by building a martial arts lecture hall."

Xu Qian nodded slightly. "Is it possible to be in charge?"

"This... cannot be said to be possible at all, but the possibility is too small in Yuzhou."

"Yes, I think so too. But now Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are fighting in Hebei. In a short period of time, no one can compete with him for Yuzhou. Liu Bei is just a vain man, and he is not worth mentioning. The Chen family in Xia Pi is not famous, but Chen Deng only has one Lujiang County and is not Sun Ce's opponent unless he can control the entire Yangzhou. Even so, it will take at least a year and a half. Before that, no one can affect Sun Ce's control over Runan. It is very risky for us to fight him."

"What brother means is, let's bow our heads to him?"

"It's not necessary to bow your head, but it's better to make some concessions to avoid unnecessary sacrifice than to sit and wait for death." Xu Qian thought about it for a while. "Have you heard that Handan Chun and Hu Zhao from Yingchuan collected ancient monuments in Nanyang, studied ancient characters, and were preparing to rewrite the Nanyang County Chronicle."

Xu Shao understood. "We do the same?"

"Why not? Runan is the old place of Chen State, and the Yuan family is a descendant of Chen State. Since Sun Ce also relies on the Yuan family, we will never object to the history of the Yuan family. As for ancient characters, who can surpass our Xu family in the world? Just Shu Chonggong's "Shuowen Jiezi" is something they can't catch up with in their lifetimes."

Xu Shao pondered: "Brother, have you ever wondered why the court had not responded after Duke Shu Chong presented the "Shuowen Jiezi" to the court?"

"I'm afraid that ancient classics will become more powerful." Xu Qian sighed. "To this point, even if ancient classics do not become more powerful, modern classics will not be able to support them. I will be in a state of great success, and it is not possible for humans to do it. If this is the case, why not follow the trend and take advantage of the situation?"

Xu Shao thought about it. "Since my brother has made a decision, I should follow it. However, I had conflicts with Sun Ce many times and suddenly changed his attitude, and he would not believe me. He is not as good as my brother..."

Xu Qian smiled and shook his head. "Zi Jiang, you have thought too much. I am a brother and I, how can I get rid of my brilliance? I think, maybe it's time to let Wenxiu come back."

Xu Shao's eyes shrank slightly. "Where is he?"

"I heard that I was at Xu Gong, the commander of Wujun."

Xu Shao let out a long breath and nodded. "Brother, his mouth is not very good. If he quarrels with Sun Ce, he might lose his life. Then we will not help him, but harm him."

Xu Qian shook his head with confidence. "No."

Xu Shao really wanted to ask where Xu Qian got his confidence, whether Sun Ce would not kill Xu Jing or Xu Jing would not contradict Sun Ce, in his opinion, both of these things were very likely. But when he said that, he swallowed it back. He decided that it was his brother who should have reminded him, but what he should have done was not controlled by the result. Xu Jing and he had always disagree with him, and he had a lot of praise for this. If he recommended Xu Jing as an official, he could clear this crime.
Chapter completed!