After chatting with Chen Gong for a while, Wang Zheng and Wu Sheng left the table first.
It's not that he is pretending, as the New Year is approaching, it is as if Wang Zheng is a minister in name only, and in order to avoid giving others the power, he also formally wants to give gifts to the emperor of Xudu.
As the lord of Xuzhou in both name and reality, the chiefs of the cities in the five counties did not dare to neglect during this period. Almost all of them came to Xiapi one after another, not only to pay New Year's greetings in advance, but also to report on their duties and explain the surrounding forces.
trend.
Taking this opportunity, Wang Zheng happened to make a preliminary civil and military connection with several cities that would be turned into military wings after the new year, so he was really busy these days.
It is precisely because of this that the banquet hosted by Chen Gong tonight was basically attended by civil servants from the central government.
After he left, everyone returned to a casual state again. They were drunk and happy, and the banquet lasted until late into the night, and the guests and hosts left happily.
After Xu Fang arranged for someone to take him back to the post house, he and Mi Heng walked towards the state capital under the moonlight.
When the two arrived, Wang Zheng was talking to Chen Rao and Wu Niu, who had been stationed in the northwest of Pengcheng some time ago. Seeing the two coming, Wang Zheng happened to have finished talking and stopped talking immediately.
Chen Rao was also a smart man and was always good at observing people's words. He immediately took Wu Niu and took the initiative to leave. When he passed by Xu Fang and Mi Heng, he said a flattering hello and left.
"I'm so happy, I'll sit back and wait for the day to come."
When the footsteps gradually faded away, Mi Heng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "You are talking about a diligent monarch like my lord!"
After looking at it for a while, he became more and more emotional: "It's even rarer that my master is so talented. After two days of handling it, he is still in high spirits."
When he came to visit him this morning, he saw that Wang Zheng had not slept all night yesterday, and yet he seemed not tired at all after a whole day, which really surprised Ni Heng.
"Sir, please sit down first. It's not too late to talk later." Wang Zheng smiled and waved to the maid to light the lamp again and serve tea.
He didn't answer Mi Heng's last sentence. This was only due to the system.
As for the previous sentence, Wang Zheng has been studying with famous scholars every three days in addition to handling military and political affairs. He has escaped from the stage of illiteracy and understands that this sentence comes from "Shang Shu", which means to promote his own virtue.
, sitting and thinking hard about the famous sayings that praised the monarch's hard work from dusk to dawn, he smiled lightly and replied: "I work hard and don't dare to ask for help."
Hard work will pay off, and now he can start to quote scriptures at any time in some places. Compared with half a year ago, it is really completely different.
Xu Fang and Mi Heng were also overjoyed to see that their lord was becoming more and more outstanding, and now he was truly a man of both civil and military skills.
After the two of them sat down one after another, Wang Zheng put aside the papers on the table and asked Gu Pan: "During the banquet tonight, Chen Gong's words and deeds were quite strange. Did you two notice it?"
The two looked at each other and nodded in unison.
"It is indeed a bit strange." Xu Fang pondered for a while and said: "Logically speaking, Chen Gong came here just for the marriage between the general and Lu Bu's daughter. Not to mention that it is just an engagement now, and the appointment has not been made, so it is a real marriage.
Well, our two families are just forming an alliance in the short term, and some topics are a bit sensitive."
"In Fang's view." Xu Fang drank a little too much tonight, and now he was feeling drunk. He drank a few sips of tea before speaking, and then said openly: "Chen Gong's words were amazing tonight, and he was eloquent. In fact,
The most unusual thing is still in the above sentence."
Hearing this, Wang Zheng raised his eyebrows and blurted out: "Let Lu Bu guard the north for me?"
Mi Heng also reacted and nodded in agreement: "This is indeed a bit surprising."
Regardless of Wang Zheng, Xu Fang or Mi Heng, all three of them knew that if Wang Zheng and Lu Bu got married, then after officially marrying the tiger girl, it would be impossible for Lu Bu to continue to stay in Wuxian.
Although Zhang Zhao had said in his previous admonishment that the ultimate goal of getting married was to attract the fierce tiger Lu Bu, this required a process and could not be accomplished in a short time, so a problem arose.
Next, how will Wang Zheng arrange Lu Bu?
If you put it in Xiapi, you will be excluded by Wang Zheng in the first place. Are you kidding? Doesn't this allow the other party to directly intervene in the decision-making level of your own heavenly army?
In Wang Zheng's view, this is simply inviting a wolf into the house!
What happened to Lu Bu's adoptive fathers was a lesson learned from the past. If he wanted Wang Zheng to completely trust Lu Bu, there was no other possibility except for the system to stamp and authenticate them.
Where to put it?
Wang Zheng has not thought about this yet, but Chen Gong has solved this problem in advance.
If Lu Bu wants to keep it quiet in the north, he has only two options, one is Taishan County, and the other is behind Langya County.
And no matter which place, from Lu Bu's perspective, it is actually not the best choice.
Although Taishan is an excellent source of troops, first of all, the civilian armed forces, such as most of the Taishan bandits, have joined Wang Zheng's command. Now Wang Zheng is recruiting troops aggressively. If Lu Bu wants to go here, at least he will have to wait until Wang Zheng gets married.
Two or three months later, in Taishan County at that time, where will there be any soil for recruiting troops in the short term?
And here is the only territory outside Xuzhou under Wang Zheng's rule, and it directly faces the two hostile forces of his old enemy Cao Cao and his ally Yuan Shao. If Lu Bu goes to Mount Tai, he will really be taking the blame for Wang Zheng to resist the pressure.
.
The back side of Langya County is also inappropriate. First of all, this county has the lowest population and area among the six counties in Xuzhou. Originally, there was an economically developed Kaiyang, which is a rare saving grace. But according to the next plan, Xiapi will be
It has replaced Kaiyang's status as a thoroughfare, and the nobles of Langya are currently the ones closest to the royal government in Xuzhou...
If Lu Bu went here, to put it bluntly, there would be basically no room for development.
And this is where Wang Zheng and others were amazed and secretly puzzled.
If this suggestion was put forward by Mi Heng and Zhang Zhao on their side, it would be perfectly reasonable and normal.
But you, Chen Gong, are obviously Lu Bu's vassal, why did you choose such two places that are unfavorable for your lord's development?
The three of them discussed there for a long time, but they still didn't see the mystery behind Chen Gong's proposal. Wang Zheng frowned and thought for a while, and said: "Let's note this down for the time being. After the marriage, Lu Bu proposed a specific city.
Finally, it’s not too late to discuss it again.”
This is also a method. Mi Heng and Xu Fang looked at each other, nodded, and said: "Although Chen Gong made shocking words and exaggerated words at the table, these are common tactics of lobbyists, so don't pay attention to them. However, the details
If you think about it carefully, the strategic direction he mentioned is somewhat reasonable. Xuzhou's reputation is now in decline. To the north, Qingzhou is invaded by Yuan Shao's son. If his plan succeeds, the next step is very likely to force Xuzhou, and to the west is Qingzhou.
Even though Cao Cao and my lord have a contract, there will definitely be a battle sooner or later."
"My lord originally planned to seize the enemy first and raise troops in Beihai after the spring. Now I think it is not a bad idea to attack Jiangdong."
Attack Jiangdong?
Wang Zheng was startled when he heard this, and immediately fell silent.
This is indeed a more appropriate development route. It can even be said that this was originally the strategic blueprint that Wang Zheng set when he was in Qingzhou.
Abandon Linzi, visit Xuzhou eastward, then go down the river, occupy Yangzhou, and then copy the original route of Sun Wu's rise in history.
Later, this plan was overturned because after Mi Heng joined his team, the two of them discussed it. Due to concerns about the status of the Yellow Turban bandit, they wanted to develop for a while without showing too much edge, so they decided to temporarily form an alliance with Yuan Shu.
Because both Ni Heng's judgment and Wang Zheng's prophet knew that Yuan Shu would soon arrogantly proclaim himself emperor and volunteered to become a more eye-catching target to help them attract the firepower of the world.
Of course, in the current view of Mi Heng, since Wang Zheng has now obtained the state pastors and rural princes appointed by Emperor Xian, both in name and in reality, he has "come ashore clean", so the most important condition for forming an alliance with Yuan Shu is already
No longer available.
Coupled with the death of Yuan Yin, the final ownership of Xiapi, and the unresolved situation of Guangling, each of them has become a huge hidden danger, causing one of the two parties to break the contract at any time and provoke a war. In this case, it is better for the family to strike first.
It couldn't be better!
These Wang Zheng all understood that one of the reasons why he originally chose to go north was also because in his scattered memories, Cao Cao seemed to have fallen out with Yuan Shao not long after he welcomed Emperor Xian.
At that time, the situation of two enemies naturally no longer existed.
Of course, going to the south is still a better choice. The key is...
According to Wang Zheng's true intention, he really does not want to be an enemy of Yuan Shu now.
At least it cannot be provoked by one's own side.
Even though it was clear that Yuan Shu's attitude towards his family was more superficial and motivated by interests, a gentleman ignores his heart and deeds. Looking at the past, Yuan Shu actually did not feel sorry for Wang Zheng in the slightest!
On the contrary, Wang Zheng had failed once in Linzi.
Even speaking of it, although Yuan Yin was killed mainly because the other party did not know how to advance or retreat, which was his own fault, but judging from the result, Wang Zheng once again refuted Yuan Shu's sentiments.
He really couldn't bear to do it a third time.
Seeing that Wang Zheng didn't speak for a long time, Mi Heng felt anxious and couldn't help but glance anxiously at Xu Fang beside him.
Didn't we talk about this on the way here?
Don’t you agree that it’s better to take Jiangdong? Now you’re talking!
Xu Fang turned a blind eye and continued to hold the tea bowl, sipping slowly, and remained silent without saying a word until Mi Heng became impatient and coughed repeatedly. Xu Fang finally reacted, but instead of speaking to Wang Zheng,
He turned to look at Mi Heng and shook his head slightly.
What's going on?
Mi Heng was stunned and didn't know what to do. After picking up the tea soup on the table and drinking it, he saw that neither of them spoke, so he had to sit down again in frustration.
The hall immediately fell into silence.
Only the night wind outside the hall blew into the hall, causing a clear rustling sound.
Half a moment.
Wang Zheng finally spoke.
He looked around, his eyes flickering from Mi Heng to Xu Fang, and then from Xu Fang to Mi Heng. He coughed dryly, then clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Sir, this matter is of great importance, and I will give it some thought."
Let’s make a decision again.”
"By the way, since Lu Bu has promised to marry him, the next step is to appoint him, right?" Wang Zheng said again: "Sir, you are the most learned man in the state, so I will leave this matter to you."
This topic was introduced too bluntly, leaving Mi Heng stunned and speechless.
Alas, it seems that the lord has made up his mind and must attack Beihai first.
At this point, although Mi Heng can't figure out why Wang Zheng made such a choice, although attacking Jiangdong is the best strategy, attacking Beihai is at least a middle-of-the-road move. Although there are differences, there is no difference.
So much so that Ni Heng risked disobedience to the emperor by remonstrating again and again.
After experiencing family breakdown and death, Mi Heng has finally changed a lot from the No. 1 troll in the Three Kingdoms who was always tough-talking until his death.
"Now that my lord has given his instructions, Heng will go all out and not hesitate at all." He replied with a sullen face and cupped his hands.
"Great kindness." Seeing Mi Heng give up, Wang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said: "Then you will receive Chen Gong in Xiapi. You and he will discuss it carefully and make your own decisions regarding the details.
.”
"Here."
After chatting for a while, the faint sound of drums sounded outside the door. It was already the third watch.
Xu Fang and Mi Heng stood up to say goodbye, and Wang Zheng personally carried a lantern to see them off.
When he returned to the backyard and was alone, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the young man's face.
Within a year of the uprising, he had conquered five counties. In terms of his achievements and reputation, he was at least close to being able to "preserve history books", right?
As his power and majesty grew stronger, Wang Zheng often had the illusion that he might be able to have some connection with those words that were once out of reach, such as "talent and strategy" and "decision to kill".
But something always comes unexpectedly, like a fierce slap in the face that wakes him up.
Deep down, in essence, Wang Zheng is still just an ordinary person.
He remembered a statement he had read in his previous life. The three thousand years of political history of the Celestial Dynasty had already made a clear conclusion.
The first condition for a successful political leader is patience!
This "endurance" is not the endurance of patience, but the "perseverance" of restraining one's own nature.
Allow your subordinates, and the common people will know that people in the world "forbear and keep quiet".
And ruthless cruelty when dealing with "enemies".
The second condition is "bright decision-making", and the third condition is a strong desire for power.
To put it simply, Wang Zheng is pretty good at perseverance and not bad at forbearance, but he is cruel...
Currently it is completely impossible!
It is important to know that this "enemy" includes not only the opposing party in an obviously hostile conflict, but also "potential enemies" with conflicts of interest, as well as "third parties" who may become assistors to these enemies.
A successful political leader must be cruel and ruthless to all "enemies" and do his best to eliminate them!
If Wang Zheng didn't know it when he faced Liu Bei before, then this time with Yuan Shu, Wang Zheng suddenly discovered that for a politician, he had many problems, and they were big!
As a later generation who clearly knew Liu Bei's potential and threats, when Wang Zheng hesitated because of "preserving strength", it actually showed that he still had a lot of shortcomings in decision-making.
When it comes to facing Yuan Shu, he has some inexplicable principles and bottom lines deep in his heart.
And these are all useless to a politician.
He understood this, but he couldn't force himself to erase those things.
The wind was chilling to the bone. Wang Zheng stared at the transparent box hanging in mid-air and remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, he said to himself in a deep voice: