On the way to Xuzhou, Li Yan heard about Liu Zeqing's defeat. He was mentally prepared, but he didn't expect Zhou Xian to win so quickly. He sighed silently in his heart, knowing that he had to change the plan he had set before. He turned to the whistleman who was sending the letter and said, "You should return to Jining immediately and tell He Jin to send troops immediately. Before the official army went south, occupy Rencheng and Qufu, and set up a defense line on the south bank of Sishui. Don't rashly cross Sishui before I go back."

After waiting for the whistle to leave, Li Qiang, the guard next to Li Yan, asked: "Young Master, are we going to Xuzhou?"

Li Yan nodded and said, "Go, we'll go even more at this time. If Zhou Xian takes over the entire Shandong, it will bring endless trouble to our army. Our army is short of military strength in Jining, so we can only rely on Sun Kewang's army. Now the King of Chuang fights hard with Sun Chuanting in Nanyang, and the decisive battle is imminent. At this time, I must not let him influence the overall situation of our army."

Li Qiang was originally a servant of the Li family, and he had no scruples in front of Li Yan. "Big Master, aren't your relationship with Mr. Zhou very good?"

Li Yan was obviously stunned for a moment, and after a while, he said: "That is personal friendship. What I do now is a business, and I cannot simply confuse it."

Li Qiang curled his lips and said unconvincedly: "Everything that the eldest son did is to break into the king, but some villains always put various charges on you."

Li Yan smiled faintly, "What rumors have you heard again?" Li Yan knew that the lower-level generals communicated with each other, and there were many rumors about upper-level generals and officials. Most of the time, such rumors were harmless and would not have any direct impact. He did not take them seriously.

Seeing that Li Yan was interested, Li Qiang hurriedly said, "Some people said that you took the initiative to come to Jining to control the 20,000 soldiers led by He Jin. Then, based on Yanzhou and Guide, you will become the king."

Li Yan smiled and said, "No one can believe such nonsense? Even if I want to be king, He Jin has been following King Chuang for many years and is a trusted general of King Chuang. How could he listen to me?"

Li Qiang said: "What they said is concise and cannot be believed!"

Li Yan said "Oh", "Then tell me, why are they talking so concise?"

Li Qiang said: "They said you are from Henan, and King Chuang is from Shaanxi, with a layer of separation. You have outstanding abilities and are stronger than all the generals under King Chuang. But those generals in Shaanxi lead tens of thousands of troops, and most of the time you have only a few thousand people around you, so you are dissatisfied. He also said that Yuan Shizhong was also from Henan and had a good relationship with you. He wanted you, a Henan man, to be the emperor, so he rebelled. The tax reduction and tax exemption you are promoting now are all to win the hearts of the people. In Henan, many people do not know King Chuang, but they must know Mr. Li, who is unparalleled. Also, you had a good relationship with Mr. Zhou before and had a certain connection with Sun Kewang, which is all for your future kingship. And, there is also..."

Li Yan's face became increasingly ugly as he heard it, and finally shouted: "Enough." It attracted the soldiers around him to look in this direction.

Li Qiang was also surprised, "Big, eldest son, what's wrong with you?"

Li Yan waved his hand, "I'm fine. Just listen to it if you say so. Don't spread it anymore, and don't argue with others. The King of Chuang is a wise king and will not believe these irresponsible words." After that, he stood up and said to the generals: "Cleaning it quickly, we must set off immediately and strive to arrive in Xuzhou before dark." He could not understand why these rumors were there, and at first glance, it made sense. He shook his head gently and decided not to think about it anymore. He believed that the King of Chuang would not believe these things randomly.

In Xuzhou, Li Yan was tied with his hands and carried into the room. He raised his hand and smiled at Li Dingguo Highway: "Second General, isn't it a bit too much to treat his old friends like this?"

Li Dingguo glared at the two soldiers behind Li Yan and shouted: "I asked you to bring Mr. Li here, but I didn't say it was this way of carrying it. The two idiots, why don't you loosen the tie to General Li quickly."

Li Yan rubbed his hands and neck and said to Li Dingguo Highway: "Second General, my subordinates?"

Li Dingguo said, "Don't worry." Then he ordered the soldiers standing at the door, "Take those brothers down, eat and drink to entertain. If they suffer a little grievance, I'll ask you."

There were a few plates of hot and cold dishes on the table, and Li Dingguo was entertaining Li Yan. "Mr. Li, you sent you the map last time and designated the route of the march, and taught our army how to bypass the main force of the official army. Without your help, our army would not have been able to plunder the grain and take down Yangzhou. Here, I would like to express my gratitude."

Li Yan picked up the wine glass and smiled faintly: "A small matter is not worth mentioning. Besides, that incident was not completely risky. In the end, General Sun dared to act and command properly."

Li Dingguo laughed and said, "This is the next thing. You don't know. Since that incident, my elder brother has praised you and has been obsessed with it. He always told us, if you have a talent like Mr. Li, you will not worry about not being able to get the world. Fortunately, Mr. Li, you are really here today. Let me be like this! Let's talk quickly, and I will just say it directly here. Mr. Li is here, but I am here to surrender to my elder brother? If so, you will be the first military advisor next to my elder brother in the future."

Li Yan looked at Li Dingguo and was slightly surprised. When he met last time, he was still a reckless young man, hiding behind Sun Kewang in obscurity. But now he speaks subtlely and has more unique temperament. He smiled slightly, "Second General, I am here not to surrender this time, but to discuss a deal with General Sun."

Li Dingguo picked up the wine glass and drank it all, and said in a plain tone: "Discuss the deal! Then the deal is big enough, otherwise I will not let you go back easily."

When he was in Nanyang, Li Dingguo felt that Li Yan was a threat and wanted to kill him. However, Li Yan discovered that time and escaped early. Now that Li Yan came here again, Li Dingguo was more willing to keep him, whether he surrendered on his own initiative or forced him to stay by force.

Hearing Li Dingguo's words full of threats, Li Yan was not in a hurry. He just smiled faintly and said, "Now General Sun occupied Yangzhou and stationed troops in Gaoyou, I can't help but remind me of a man from the past. The reason why Gaoyou City is so strong now is indispensable to his contribution."

Li Dingguo was stunned for a moment and said, "Are you talking about Zhang Shicheng?"
Chapter completed!