When Fu Wan finished reading the imperial edict, Yuan Shu neither received the imperial edict nor thanked him. He sat there quietly, still motionless.

Seeing this, Yan Xiang hurriedly walked to Fuwan, took the imperial edict from Fuwan, and said kindly: "If you have time, the angel came from afar. My lord was sick, so he could not meet him. If you are rude, I hope the angel will forgive you."

Fu Wan said with a smile: "Since the imperial edict has been read, my mission has been completed. However, when I came here this time, in addition to conveying the imperial edict, I also brought His Majesty a handwritten order to recruit a man named Zhou Yu from General Yuan to Pengcheng as the position of the Shizhong."

After saying that, Fu Wan took out the handwriting and handed it directly to Yan Xiang.

Yan Xiang took the order and wanted to leave Fu Wan to rest in Shouchun, but Fu Wan refused. He didn't dare to stay for a while, but he felt that the sooner he left here, the better.

After Fu Wan left, Yan Xiang came to the hall again and said to Yuan Shu: "No matter how reluctant the lord is, he shouldn't have acted like this just now. Fu Wan is the father-in-law of today. Now he treats the lord like this. After he returns, he will inevitably slander the lord in front of the emperor, lord..."

Yuan Shu said: "Hmph! I'm afraid that a boy who is still young. I'm afraid that he will do anything? I am entrenched in Huainan, with many soldiers and generals. I will sooner or later take that boy and replace him. Why do I have to bow down in front of him?"

Yan Xiang shook his head and said worriedly: "Lord, my subordinates know that the lord has the will to be independent in the Han Dynasty. However, the time is not ripe. Although our army has many soldiers and a wide range of generals, most of them are newly recruited soldiers. They are not acquainted with war and have not been trained. At best, they are just a group of mobs. Besides, our army is short of food and grass, the treasury is empty, and the lord continues to expand its army greatly. If this continues, problems will soon occur..."

Yuan Shu interrupted Yan Xiang's words and said confidently: "The problems you mentioned are not problems at all. I have sent someone to Licheng to inform Sun Ce to go and ask him to lead his army to attack Lujiang. As long as Lujiang is captured, our army's money and food problems will be solved, and the sphere of influence will be greatly increased. As long as we say it, our army can pacify Liu Yao in the south, attack Zhang Yan in the east, advance to the Central Plains in the north, and plunder Jingzhou in the west. At that time, the small land of Pengcheng will be no longer worth worrying!"

After hearing this, Yan Xiang just sighed lightly. In his opinion, Yuan Shu was too ideal. He bowed and said, "Lord, my subordinates think that Your Majesty has appointed the lord as the general of the chariot and cavalry. The lord can temporarily agree. Not only that, he will also send an envoy to Pengcheng to meet Your Majesty, and send gifts to Zhang Yan, and temporarily reconcile with him in order to gain more time to develop his strength..."

Before Yan Xiang finished speaking, Yuan Shu said coldly: "I am irreconcilable with Zhang Yan. It is a dream to ask me to reconcile with him. A mere chariot general wants to send me away? Zhang Yan is a general, but he lets my official position beneath him. It angered me and sent troops to attack Pengcheng. Anyway, Pengcheng is only a few hundred miles away, and you can reach within three days. Not to mention Zhang Yan, even the emperor will kill him. I will be the emperor!"

Yan Xiang hurriedly advised: "My lord must not be too hasty. He said that our army attacked Xuzhou, and Zhang Yan could even repel our army. Now Zhang Yan is no longer the same. Although Pengcheng is not far from here, how could Zhang Yan not make any defense? Since the lord is determined to be independent on behalf of the Han Dynasty, it is better to concentrate on development and change the dynasty after the time is ripe. In addition, in your majesty's handwriting, a man named Zhou Yu was summoned to serve as the minister of the court. Zhou Yu's subordinates also heard of it. It is said that Sun Ce Yi became a brother of Jinlan. When Sun Ce led his army across the river to conquer Liu Yao, he relied on Zhou Yu's advice. Otherwise, this person was resourceful, handsome, and well-versed in military tactics. He was a rare talent. If the lord could transfer Zhou Yu to his side to listen, he would definitely become the lord's right-hand man and help him achieve a career of kingship!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shu raised his eyebrows gently and asked, "How is Mr. Zhou Yubi?"

"Zhou Yu is ten times more talented than me. He is like the bright moon, and his subordinate is just a star." Yan Xiang said in a similar way.

Yuan Shu laughed and said, "Sir, are you too modest? Is Zhou Yu so proud of this? You can tell if Zhou Yu has the talent he mentioned this time. I just happened to send Sun Ce to attack Lujiang, so I asked Zhou Yu and Sun Ce to go with him and let him be the military advisor. I want to see how capable this person named Zhou Yu is, and whether it is really like the teacher said. Go and pass the order!"

"Here!"

Yan Xiang responded and then asked again: "Lord, the matter of sending an envoy to Pengcheng to see Your Majesty..."

"I don't know that sir is dedicated to my good intentions. I will send someone to Pengcheng, and while meeting His Majesty, I will make peace with Zhang Yan."

"The lord is wise!"

After Yan Xiang left, he went to draft official documents, asking Sun Ce to lead his army 10,000 to attack Lujiang, and asked Zhou Yu to be the vanguard. Yuan Shu sent Yuan Huan as an envoy, carrying a thousand gold coins, escorted by Lei Bo and Chen Lan, to Pengcheng, to see the emperor, and thanked His Majesty for his reward. At the same time, he also wanted to reconcile with Zhang Yan.

Since Sun Ce returned to Licheng after his defeat in Jiangdong, he has been in a state of depression. He ambitiously seeking hegemony, but failed. Instead, after returning to Licheng, he was ridiculed by Yuan Shu's subordinates.

At the same time, Sun Ce also hated Zhang Yan. Originally, he went to seize Jiangdong and the situation was very good, but Zhang Yan would send troops to support him, but instead formed a group of bandits such as Zulang, Jiao Yi and Liu Yao, and attacked him with Liu Yao's army, causing him to be attacked from both sides and gradually lost his foundation in Jiangdong.

If it weren't for Zhang Yan's appearance, Sun Ce might have defeated Liu Yao long ago and had the capital to seize Jiangdong.

It's too late to say anything now. Sun Ce returned and lost all his face. Not only did he lose the opportunity to escape from Yuan Shu, but he could not even get the imperial seal back. He really lost a handful of rice without stealing the chicken.

Fortunately, his old subordinates were all back to him, otherwise he would be depressed.

As the saying goes, if you stay in the green mountains, you will not have to worry about burning firewood. Now Sun Ce has to continue to stay in Licheng and wait for a good opportunity.

On this occasion, Sun Ce was practicing martial arts with the generals at the school ground. Suddenly, his uncle Wu Jing walked over with a happy look on his face. When he saw Sun Ce, he shouted loudly: "Bo Fu!"

Seeing Wu Jing's face was joyful, his steps were light, and he even held a manifesto in his hand, he temporarily stopped and went up to ask, "Uncle, what's the matter with me?"

"Bo Fu, your opportunity is here. Look at what this is!" Wu Jing handed the manifesto to Sun Ce.

Sun Ce took the manifesto and opened it. After he looked carefully, he frowned and asked, "Yuan Shu asked me to lead an army of 10,000 to attack Lujiang, and promised that after the matter was completed, I would be the prefect of Lujiang? Uncle, is this true?"

"This is sent here by Yuan Shu's confidant, and it was written by Yan Xiang himself. It's impossible to make a mistake. Not only that, Zhou Yu was your military advisor and went with you. Bo Fu, this time is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although we were defeated in Jiangdong, after we captured Lujiang, you can serve as the prefect of Lujiang. Although you failed to successfully escape from Yuan Shu, you can be hiding and secretly recruiting troops. As long as you say, with your courage and strategy, you will cross the river and fight for Jiangdong, and you will definitely succeed!" Wu Jing said.

Sun Ce laughed and said, "Okay, very good! I must seize this good opportunity and strive to conquer Lujiang in the shortest time!"

So, Sun Ce ordered his old subordinates and sent his confidant to Shucheng to inform Zhou Yu, asking Zhou Yu to help him find a solution. He himself took the old subordinates to Juchao, and took Yuan Shu's manifesto to take over the 10,000 troops stationed in Juchao, preparing to attack Lujiang.

...

At the same time, Dong Cheng carried the imperial edict to cross the Yellow River and arrived in Yecheng.

When Yuan Shao heard that Dong Cheng came with the imperial edict, he warmly received Dong Cheng. Dong Cheng also read the imperial edict to Yuan Shao to enthrone him as General of the Cavalry, and gave Yuan Shao the order to summon Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Tian Feng, Ju Su, Xu You, Shen Pei, Zheng Ji, Guo Tu and Xin Ping to join the court as the attendant.

Yuan Shao took over the imperial edict and was very respectful. He first asked someone to arrange Dong Cheng in the inn, and then he took several handwritten instructions to summon Cao Cao and discuss countermeasures with Cao Cao.

Cao Cao came to the hall, and Yuan Shao gave Cao Cao the imperial edict and handwriting brought by Dong Cheng. After Cao Cao looked at it, he laughed and said, "Brother Benchu, this is a small trick that Zhang Yan played. Brother Benchu ​​must not be fooled!"

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "I don't know, but these are all handwritten instructions of the emperor. If I openly disobey, I will be afraid of quarrel. If Zi has been taken to Pengcheng by Zhang Yan today, it can also be said that Zhang Yan holds the power of the entire court. He did this just to make me in a dilemma. Meng De, what should I do?"

Cao Cao thought for a while and said, "The world is still the world of the Han Dynasty. The emperor's order must be listened to. However, Brother Benchu ​​could have someone write a memorial and ask Dong Cheng to take it back, and he said that he would not stop it. The people he recruited will also send someone to escort to Pengcheng as soon as possible..."

When Yuan Shao heard this, he couldn't hold back and said hurriedly: "Meng De! You know that this is Zhang Yan's trick, but you still..."

"Brother Benchu ​​is calm and listen to me finish my words. Brother Benchu ​​wrote the memorial like this. After a month, let Tian Feng, Ju Su and others write a memorial each and send someone to Pengcheng, and refuse to be summoned for various reasons. In this way, Zhang Yan's methods are not worth worrying." Cao Cao said.

"Meng De's great insight!"

So, Yuan Shao asked the chief clerk Chen Lin to write a memorial for him according to Cao Cao's wishes, and then invited Dong Cheng to a banquet. The next day, he handed the memorial to Dong Cheng and asked Dong Cheng to bring the memorial back to Pengcheng to report his life.

At the same time, many scouts who left Pengcheng arrived at their destination one after another. After some inquiries, they personally handed over the emperor's imperial edict to the famous scholars.

Some famous scholars just wanted to escape from the world and were unwilling to become officials, so they wrote a letter to thank the emperor for his kindness and politely refused. Some famous scholars were overjoyed when they received the imperial edict and decided to go to Pengcheng and return with the scout. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!