Naturally, Cao Cao of Yanzhou was not the only force that wanted Zhu Ming's attention. Zhao Kuangyin of Yuzhou, Sun Jian of Jiangdong, and even Huang Zu of Jiangxia all coveted Zhu Ming.
These princes sent envoys and spies into Xuzhou and Jianghuai to win over Zhu Ming's generals and important ministers, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to get a share of Zhu Ming's fortune.
The death of Zhu Yuanzhang put Zhu Ming, who was the overlord of the Central Plains, on the edge of the storm. Surrounded by a pack of wolves, even a small prince like Huang Zu dared to step on him.
As for Zhu Ming, there are also undercurrents surging inside.
With the return of Zhu Yunwen, Xiang Zhuang and others, Zhu Ming can basically conclude that both the lord and Luo Shixin died in Jizhou.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Luo Shixin, one was the pillar of support and the other was the most powerful general. The death of both of them at the same time naturally shocked the whole famous. However, while some people were excited, others had strange thoughts.
After Zhu Yuanzhang left the Dabie Mountains, he also surrendered many surrendered armies, such as Tao Qian's Xuzhou Army, Liu Bei's Pingyuan Army, and Yuan Shu's Huai Army. Therefore, the composition of Zhu Ming's armies was equally complex.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive, he relied on his huge prestige to suppress him, so naturally no one dared to have any objections.
But now that Zhu Yuanzhang is dead, and the young master Zhu Di lacks prestige, it is normal for those generals in the army who are unruly and only serve Zhu Yuanzhang, such as Xue Ju, Li Guo, etc., to have different opinions.
Therefore, today's Zhu Ming is calm on the surface and share the same hatred, but secretly there are undercurrents surging, and if you are not careful, it may fall apart.
Regarding this situation, Zhu Di was also anxious in his heart. Naturally, he wanted to keep the foundation laid by his father, but his father died so suddenly that he did not even leave a last word.
In addition, the situation in Xuzhou and Jianghuai changed so fast that Zhu Di couldn't tell who was loyal and who was traitorous. At this time, he didn't know who to trust at all, and if he made a wrong move, Zhu Ming might fall into civil strife.
"Young Master, we can't go on like this." Xiang Zhuang said with a serious face.
"Yes, if this continues, Xuzhou will be in chaos." Zhang Yan said in a deep voice.
Zhu Yunwen, Xiang Zhuang, and Zhang Yan, who escaped from Taihang alive, were all loyal supporters of Zhu Di.
After Zhu Yunwen pondered for a while, he said: "Young Master, go find Military Advisor Fan. Military Advisor Fan is the person that the Lord trusts most, and he will definitely stand by the Young Master."
A trace of hesitation flashed in Zhu Di's eyes, and he said: "But Military Advisor Fan is in private contact with Cao Cao. In addition, his father has been dead for so long, and he has never stood up to express his position."
Fan Zeng was Zhu Ming's most important minister, and Zhu Di respected him very much before. However, after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Fan Zeng treated Zhu Di as if he were away from him.
It was precisely because of Fan Zeng's actions that the people below saw hope of independence. After all, if Fan Zeng fully supported Zhu Di, the people below would definitely not dare to be so presumptuous.
Therefore, to a certain extent, it was Fan Zeng who exacerbated Zhu Ming's internal divisions.
"Young Master, are you doubting the loyalty of the military advisor?" Xiang Zhuang said solemnly.
Zhu Di felt a sharp gaze and faced it without fear. Then he nodded and said: "The behavior of the military advisor makes me suspicious."
"Young Master, you should not doubt the military advisor."
Xiang Zhuang strengthened his tone and said reproachfully: "The military advisor is the most trusted person by the lord. If he also surrenders to the enemy, it will be a dead end now."
When Zhu Di heard this, a trace of anger flashed in his eyes. Seeing this, Zhu Yunwen quickly smoothed things over and said: "Young Master, no matter whether the military advisor is loyal or treacherous, we must and can only trust the military advisor now. Do you understand?"
Zhu Yunwen's words made Zhu Di calm down a lot. After thinking for a long time, he said: "I understand, I will go to the military advisor to apologize."
After saying that, Zhu Di stood up and left. Looking at Zhu Di's leaving figure, Xiang Zhuang and Zhu Yunwen both smiled.
After Zhu Di arrived at Fan Zeng's residence, after some briefings, since Fan Zeng was away for something, Zhu Di could only go to Fan Zeng's study to wait.
After waiting for two hours, Fan Zeng did not come back. Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a little impatient and began to wander around the study and read Fan Zeng's letter.
And when he turned to the letter that said, "Brother personally expresses his sincerity, brother, Fan Li", Zhu Di's pupils shrank suddenly, and he couldn't help but open it and read it, and the more he read, the more frightened he became.
Zhu Di had known for a long time that Cao Cao was wooing Fan Zeng, but he didn't know that Cao Cao's efforts to woo Fan Zeng were so strong, and he also promised to grant Fan Zeng the title of marquis, which was equivalent to giving Fan Zeng a subordinate status.
"Cao Mengde is really willing to give up." Zhu Di said to himself through gritted teeth.
"Of course Cao Ah Man is willing to give up. If I surrender, he will not only gain a state, but also gain an additional 100,000 troops. How can he, Cao Ah Man, engage in loss-making business?"
A familiar voice rang in his ears, which immediately made Zhu Di tremble. When he turned around, he found that Fan Zeng was behind him, and he was looking at him with a smile on his face. This made Zhu Di freeze up.
"Commander, when did you come back? Why is there no movement at all?" Zhu Diqiang said with a smile.
"I came back a long time ago. Seeing that the young master is so attentive, I didn't disturb the young master."
Fan Zeng smiled calmly, sat down, pointed to another pile of letter paper, and said: "Since the young master has read this letter from Cao Cao, why not read the others as well, No, these are letters written by other princes to me.
, it’s all here.”
"No no no."
Zhu Di was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands and said: "No need, how can I not understand the loyalty of military advisors?
No matter how tempting these princes are, I believe that the military advisor will never leave me."
Looking at Zhu Di's frightened look, Fan Zeng knew that Zhu Di must have been very frightened during this period. If he didn't explain clearly, Zhu Di would inevitably have a grudge in the future, so he said: "Young master, I am not good at this."
How did you respond to these princes?"
Zhu Di's heart moved inexplicably. After thinking for a while, he asked tentatively: "Is it possible that the military advisor neither agrees nor agrees, so he just hangs them and gives them hope to delay time?"
Fan Zeng couldn't help being stunned, then he stroked his long beard and said with a hearty smile: "Young master is smart, that's what I did, otherwise Cao Cao would have already overwhelmed the territory with his army."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief. If this was true, Fan Zeng was really interested in him, but why didn't he contact him for so long?
"Young Master, are you curious? In order to stand up and make it clear that I do not support Young Master, I allowed the situation to worsen?"
Hearing Fan Zeng's initiative, Zhu Di glanced at Fan Zeng carefully, nodded and said, "I'm a little curious."
Fan Zeng smiled lightly and said: "I am actually waiting for the young master to take the initiative to come to me."
Zhu Di's body trembled suddenly, it turned out that the military advisor was testing himself.