Zhu Jun lay on the sickbed, motionless, but his breath became obviously rapid. After a few days, he lost a lot of weight again, his cheekbones were tall, his cheeks were deep, and his skin covered with old-spots piled up together, stacked together, like an indelible sorrow. After a long time, Zhu Jun opened his eyes, but did not look at Sun Ce, but silently looked at the green curtain.

"There is an edict on the pillow, you can read it yourself."

Sun Ce was not polite either. He leaned over and opened the wooden pillow under Zhu Jun's head and took out the edict inside. His hand touched Zhu Jun's neck, which was wet and cold. He looked at Zhu Jun and said nothing. He opened the edict. Before he could read it, he laughed first.

"Is this a funny thing?" Zhu Jun couldn't help it and glared at Sun Ce fiercely.

"I'm smiling at this paper." Sun Ce pointed and made a clear sound in his hand. "This is the new paper tributed by Nanyang. Mr. Zhu, you don't feel that you use free paper every day. When you see the imperial court using this paper to write edicts, you should know how to cherish it, right?"

Zhu Jun was amused and crying, staring at Sun Ce for a while, bent his arms and wanted to sit up. Sun Ce quickly put down the edict, stepped forward and stroked Zhu Jun, picked up a quilt and rolled it up, stuffed it behind Zhu Jun, so that he could lean more comfortably. Zhu Jun leaned well, and then gasped and said, "You know that this is the new paper you paid to Nanyang, but you don't know how embarrassed the court is. There is no silk to write the edict, and you can only use paper. You have the courage to say that Nanyang has saved so many people, why don't you pay more money to the court?"

"What Mr. Zhu means is that the people don't care, the court is the most important?"

Zhu Jun denied it. "I didn't say that."

"Don't Mr. Zhu know how many people in Guanzhong have Nanyang supported in it now and the people in Luoyang?"

Zhu Jun kept silent. Why did the people of Luoyang escape to Nanyang? It was not because he could not guarantee the safety of Luoyang and could only feed Nanyang. If Luoyang was peaceful, who would be willing to leave his hometown? In the past two years, the people of Yingchuan and Runan counties gradually returned home, but few people in Luoyang came back. This was his dereliction of duty and he could not blame Sun Ce. No matter how rich Nanyang is, his financial and material resources are limited, and he could not fish out of the pond.

Sun Ce quickly read the edict. During this period, Guo Jia received news from Chang'an and Jizhou one after another, and had already understood the court's cancellation of the king's service, but he had never seen the real edict and could not draw a final conclusion.

The edict said it was very simple: Chang'an is stable, but wars in Luoyang are frequent. In addition, the journey from Chang'an to Luoyang is long and the manpower and material resources are not available, so we stay in Chang'an for the time being and will not move back to Luoyang. We will consider it when Luoyang is stable.

The edict was issued in the tone of the emperor, but it was obviously not the emperor's original intention.

Sun Ce was confused. The edict to be appointed to be appointed as the king was issued was hasty, and the edict to be held temporarily was also hasty. Obviously, there were many things that were inconvenient to say clearly, so he could only be vague. Especially for Zhu Jun, the Grand Marshal, there was no mention of a word in the edict, neither admonishing nor accusing, which was really unconventional.

Sun Ce slowly folded the edict, stuffed it back into the wooden pillow, and thought for a while with his eyebrows frowned.

"Donald Zhu, does the court know about Junyi's offensive and defense war?"

"I've written a memorial before to explain the situation."

"What is the reply from the court?"

Zhu Jun shook his head, drooped his eyelids, and said quietly: "Don't guess, the person who the imperial court hopes to serve the king is not me, but Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao refused Zhao Qi's mediation and refused to serve the king, so he naturally had to cancel the proposal to serve the king. Bo Fu, although I cannot agree with your approach, this time it fell ill was not because of you. You don't have to take it to heart."

Sun Ce laughed. "Mr. Zhu said that it is unreasonable. You have to write a letter to your father, otherwise I would not dare to go back to Yuzhou."

"It's better if you don't go back, just stay in Luoyang to help me." Zhu Jun looked at Sun Ce, touching the corner of his mouth, and showed a rare smile. "If Luoyang could be managed like Nanyang, maybe the emperor would be willing to come back."

"If Luoyang really restores stability and prosperity, will Mr. Zhu be afraid that Yuan Shao will be worried about it?"

The smile on Zhu Jun's face flashed and he sighed.

"Mr. Zhu, there is Zhou Yu in Nanyang, and Luoyang is not bad either. Zhou Yu's father Zhou Boqi is loyal and reliable. He can be the Yin of Henan. With him to help you farm, it will take a few years to do so. Luoyang has soldiers and food, and he has enough self-defense. Are you worried that the emperor will not come back?"

"I really want to lead the Black Mountain army to farm?"

"The Black Mountain Army is not born to be a thief. They are all farmers who have lost their land."

Sun Ce explained patiently. It was his established policy to lead the Heishan army to the surrounding areas of Luoyang. The reason why it was not the Yellow Turbans in Runan was because his general direction was to move forward. The arrival of the Little Ice Age was that no one could stop it. Too many people staying in the north could only trigger wars, and migrating to the warmer Jiangnan could ultimately solve the problem. Developing Jiangnan requires a lot of manpower and material resources, but first of all, manpower is manpower. Without people, nothing can be done. Farmers who have families and businesses refuse to move, and farmers who have lost their land are the most willing to migrate. The Heishan army and Baibo army are both a way to cut off firewood from the bottom of the pot and compete with Hebei families for population, and also fill the capital and build a solid line of defense.

He could not say all these words to Zhu Jun, but could only use seeking benefits for the people. Zhu Jun has been an official for many years and knew that land annexation was the chronic disease of the collapse of the court. Whether it was the Yellow Turban or the Black Mountain Army, most of them were landless farmers, and there were not many people who actually changed the dynasty. In contrast, Yuan Shao, who had already shown his ambition, was the most dangerous enemy.

To deal with Yuan Shao, one must have food and two must have soldiers. Farming requires people, and joining the army also requires people, so fighting for population is an urgent task. Although Zhu Jun is not from a noble family, he has many contacts with a noble family, so it is impossible to let him rob a noble family. Recruiting the Heishan Army and the Baibo Army’s military farming is the best of both worlds.

In addition, Sun Ce also proposed to Zhu Jun for training. The Black Mountain Army had the advantage of military strength, but it had never been able to win battles. Why? Because they lacked formal military training, especially generals, they didn't even understand the basic rules of military use. Why could his subordinates fight tough battles? It was not because he was brave enough, but because his subordinates were well-trained. The officers above the captain of the personal guard camp had received basic training in the martial arts hall, knowing when to do what, how to cooperate in the attack, and how to cooperate in the retreat, rather than charging in a swarm and rushing in a swarm.

The martial arts lecture hall was hosted by Yin Duan. Yin Duan is not a famous military expert, he has practical experience. Zhu Jun is not a famous military expert, but he also has rich practical experience and is not inferior to Yin Duan. Why can't Yin Duan do what Yin Duan can do? The Heishan Army and Bai Bo Army are known as one million. It is no problem to remove water and reorganize 100,000 people. Even if Yuan Shao comes to attack, he can withstand for a while and wait for the support of Jingzhou and Yuzhou.

Zhu Jun didn't take it seriously at first, but later he saw that Sun Ce was speaking seriously and said it very carefully and thoughtfully, not like talking nonsense. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that although not everything Sun Ce did in Nanyang could be copied, there were a lot of people who could learn. There were really 100,000 elite soldiers in hand and sufficient food and grass supply. With Jingzhou and Yuzhou as support, and then controlling the Liangzhou soldiers of Bingzhou in his hands, what could Yuan Shao do?

Zhu Jun sat up straight without realizing it, his dark face became a little more radiant.

Sun Ce struck while the iron was hot and gave another strong medicine. "Mr. Zhu, the three armies can seize the commander, but every man cannot seize the ambition. You are now the mainstay of the court. With you, Shandong will not be in chaos. The most urgent task is to cheer up and take care of yourself."

Zhu Jun put on his clothes and turned over and got out of bed. "Bo Fu, I have a reluctant request. Please call a few doctors from Bencao Cottage in Nanyang."
Chapter completed!