Wang Zheng personally introduced Li Ren into the lobby, and after a chat, he asked people to take him back to the embassy to rest.
After Li Ren's figure completely disappeared, Wang Zheng's eyes fell again on the mahogany desk beside him, where a letter written by Yuan Shu was lying quietly.
Perhaps because he heard Wang Zheng's preference for paper, in order to suit his preference, Yuan Shu no longer used bamboo slips for this letter, and it can only be said that the family background is different. In comparison, this letter is different from what Xuzhou is currently doing.
The popular "Caihou paper" is so rough, no matter the paper's whiteness, ink absorbency or even smoothness, it is considered rare and exquisite.
Wang Zheng read it carefully word for word from beginning to end for the second time, then he fell silent and looked a little strange.
This letter had roughly the same meaning as what Li Ren said, but it was not asking for his own position and attitude as he and Guo Jia had initially guessed. Instead, it was very simple, clear and straight to the point.
That's borrowing troops.
As for the reason for borrowing troops, it is because history has changed beyond recognition!
Although Yuan Shu still had the intention of proclaiming himself emperor, and even hinted this to the ministers and even the princes through some actions that exceeded the rules, because he did not occupy the two counties of Xuzhou as easily as in the original history, and the current royal government
The strength and threat displayed by this neighbor were far superior to Lu Bu at the same time, which made Yuan Shu less confident this time and gradually became arrogant.
Before preparing to arrange envoys to contact Wang Zheng, Yuan Shu also specially sent people to Kuaiji, hoping to win over his top general Sun Ce again and communicate about this important matter.
result...
After the envoy revealed Yuan Shu's inner calculations, Sun Ce's performance shocked everyone.
Not only did he drive away the envoys on the spot, he also drove away all the Danyang Prefect and other officials sent by Yuan Shu to declare his complete independence, and even launched an active attack!
Not long ago, Xiang'an and Linhu in the Lujiang area were suddenly attacked by Sun Ce's army.
Xiang'an's garrison was unprepared and was captured by Sun Ce's army in less than three days. Linhu City behind was barely better, but the villages and counties next to the county also suffered heavy losses.
When the news reached Shouchun, not only Yuan Shu was shocked, but all the civil and military officials were also horrified!
Because if Linhu is lost, it is obvious that Sun Ce's army's next target will be Shu County to the west of Linhu. You must know that the distance between the two places is not far, only more than two hundred miles apart, and Shu County's defense level is not as good as Linhu.
But the importance is even greater!
Because the location of Shu County is extremely critical, not only is the transportation convenient, both land and water routes are the only way from Lujiang to Jiujiang. Not to mention, to the north are Hefei, Chengde and...
Shouchun!
Is this okay?
Yuan Shu didn't even have time to scold Sun Ce for being ungrateful, and immediately ordered his troops to march by land and water to Linhu's reinforcements.
However, the Battle of Xuzhou last year had severely damaged his vitality, and his elite soldiers and generals were already severely damaged. Later, after receiving the news of the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou, he was worried that Cao Cao would capture Runan and completely wipe out his Yuzhou forces.
He anxiously invested the remaining troops in the garrison north of Runan.
In desperation, he could only select most of the new soldiers he had just recruited at the beginning of the year to form 5,000 troops and equip them hastily. Li Ren led the army to challenge Sun Ce.
The general is a defeated general, and the soldiers are new recruits. With such combat effectiveness, the fighting spirit is naturally not much higher. Naturally, he cannot be the opponent of Sun Cejun who has just been tempered by the war in Jiangdong. A land and water battle took place on the bank of the Yangtze River.
The war actually lasted less than seven days, and ended as suddenly as it happened suddenly.
And the result...
The Yangzhou army was almost completely wiped out. Only the defender Li Ren took hundreds of defeated soldiers and fled back to Shouchun in a hurry, not even daring to stay in Linhu.
When he saw the disgraced Li Ren running back, Yuan Shu even wanted to chop him alive. It was true that he had only a few generals at the moment and it was the time to recruit people, so he suppressed his murderous intention.
After all, the most important thing right now is to deal with Sun Ce, this rebellious guy!
But Yuan Shu was at a loss as to how to deal with it.
He couldn't even figure out why Sun Ce reacted so violently?
To put it bluntly, all this is due to the subsequent impact of the Xuzhou battle.
Because of the appearance of Wang Zheng, the performance of Yuan Shu and even the generals and the army under Yuan Shu were even worse than before in history. This allowed Sun Ce to see clearly the internal strife of Yuan Shu and his group in advance...
It turns out that apart from me, Sun Bofu, there is really no one in the Yangzhou army who can fight?
He sang triumphantly on Jiangdong Road and won consecutive battles. He was really unstoppable. On the contrary, the Yangzhou Army suffered a lot in Xuzhou and was bullied by everyone!
In particular, what Sun Ce couldn't bear the most was that Liu Bei, who defeated Yuan Shu, was expelled from Xuzhou by Wang Zheng and monopolized the biggest result of this battle.
After Yuan Yin was executed by Wang Zheng on the spot, Yuan Shu swallowed the humiliation forcefully. This made Sun Ce deeply dissatisfied and completely lost his respect and awe for Yuan Shu.
When a minister loses these things to the monarch, and this person is a person who is very self-reliant, capable and ambitious, it is self-evident what the result will be.
When the power is high and the main body is weak and the main body is strong, the natural next step is Tai Ah inversion.
In particular, Wang Zheng's power increased greatly again, which made Sun Ce's desire to become stronger even more urgent.
Yuan Shu naturally doesn't know all this, and he has no countermeasures at the moment. The best news at the moment is that Linhu has not been lost due to the favorable geographical location, but now Sun Ce also has three counties behind him, although they cannot all be converted due to the new attachment.
It is a resource during the war, but as time goes by, Sun Ce's troops and horses will only become more and more abundant day by day, and the food, grass, baggage, and equipment will become more and more abundant. If he does not send troops to reinforce, Linhu will be lost sooner or later.
What a thing!
But if he sends defenders from Runan or other places, Yuan Shu is afraid that problems will arise elsewhere!
He was not stupid. For a man who ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety, Sun Ce's back stabbing could be described as risking the world's disapproval. Yuan Shu knew with his toes how Sun Ce boosted the morale of his own army and horses. Similarly, he would do the same next time.
Will do one thing!
It was to announce to the whole world that Yuan Gongzhu was disloyal and wanted to proclaim himself emperor. He first took the initiative in public opinion and branded Yuan Shu as a traitor and traitor. Then Sun Ce would naturally become a loyal minister and a righteous man.
Yuan Shu also believed that there would be people who would immediately respond to Sun Ce's actions, such as Cao A'ao, the eunuch who was already eyeing Yuzhou!
I just know it's useless. He comes from a noble family. If it is said that he is not bad in classics and poetry, he also has experience in leading troops in battles. He can be regarded as a general, but his handsomeness has nothing to do with it. As for strategizing and adapting to the situation, he has not the slightest ability.
None.
When he was driven out of Yuzhou by Cao Cao, he was able to make a clever move to march eastward to Yangzhou because Yan Xiang was still there at that time, not to mention that Yan Xiang had given so many suggestions. In fact, most of Yuan Shu also made wrong choices, such as Yan Xiang
Yuan Shu suggested that he take the initiative to please the emperor and grasp the great righteousness, but Yuan Shu did not listen.
Since he could not think of any countermeasures, and the other civil and military officers under his command were speechless, Yuan Shu had no choice but to shamelessly find Yang Hong again, who had been ordered to shut up and think about his mistakes because he opposed proclaiming himself emperor.
In order to show his sincerity, Yuan Shu even took the initiative to visit the house. For a domineering person like him, this was a euphemistic expression that his family had indeed been a bit "not thoughtful" before.
Yang Hong's temperament is not as strong as that of Yan Xiang, so he borrows a donkey to go downhill.
"Both the lord and the ministers are well aware of Sun Ce's abilities."
Yang Hong frowned, walked around the hall with his hands behind his back, walked around in circles for a few times, and then said: "Don't say that our military strength is really stretched at the moment. Even if we have enough people, if there is no general to lead the army, I'm afraid the chance of winning is not good.
."
"Yes." Yuan Shu was convinced and sighed deeply: "It's a pity that Ji Ling died in Xuzhou, otherwise I wouldn't be so helpless."
Hearing this, Yang Hong glanced at Yuan Shu calmly, thinking to himself that Ji Ling was already defeated by Sun Ce, and if he faced him again, he would win less and lose more.
However, these words cannot be famous. After all, Ji Ling is a deceased person and can be regarded as the most outstanding one under Yuan Shu. After pondering for a long time, he suddenly asked:
"My lord, I heard news from merchants in the city before that General Tiangong... Hey, no, now I will call him Marquis Li Yang. In mid-spring, he defeated Pingshou and killed Kong Rong. If calculated according to the time,
, it’s the summer solstice now, the war in Beihai must be over?”
"So what?" Yuan Shu was suddenly startled: "This son's power has grown more and more powerful now, and he will be a disaster sooner or later. If I hadn't been unable to catch him, I should have taken back my Xiapi when he attacked Beihai.
!”
"Fortunately, my lord did not send troops that day." Hearing this, Yang Hong laughed dumbly, and immediately picked up a piece of ice from the wooden basin in front of him and put it on his face. The ice melted and ice water flowed down Yang Hong's chin, beard and
It was all over his body, but Yang Hong didn't care. He stuffed the melted ice cube into his mouth, took two big bites, and threw the rest back into the ice basin.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Shu frowned slightly.
As the two chief advisers under his account, Yang Hong has a smooth personality and is capable. The only drawback is that he is fine when there are many people, but in private he is too casual, almost vulgar, and not very particular about etiquette. He comes from a family like Yuan Shu.
In his eyes, it was natural that he couldn't stand it.
In contrast, Yan Xiang has a straightforward personality and is outspoken. Although he often says unpleasant things, he always knows etiquette and observes propriety no matter what the occasion. He is prudent in dealing with things and has the demeanor of a celebrity.
Alas...it's a pity that my ovary was also lost in Xuzhou!
Thinking like this, Yuan Shu took the initiative to call the guard outside the door to bring a towel to wipe Yang Hong's hands and face.
"Thank you, lord." Yang Hong thanked him and said with a smile, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it is feasible or not."
Yuan Shu perked up after hearing this: "Come quickly."
"Sun Ce's rebellion brought disaster to Xiao Qiang." Yang Hong said one word after another: "Now that Cao Cao's army is pressing down on Yuzhou, it has become a difficult situation both internally and externally. I dare to say that if I rely on the strength of Yangzhou alone, it will be very difficult to deal with it.
In this case, why not ask friendly countries to lend a helping hand?"
He looked at Yuan Shu and said: "Marquis Li Yang and my lord have a long-lasting friendship and an alliance. I thought it would be a good idea to send an envoy to send a letter to ask for help."
"Please Wang Zheng?"
Yuan Shu couldn't laugh or cry, and shook his head repeatedly: "This Zhuzi is from the Yellow Turbans. He has no father. He is really a man who sees profit and forgets his righteousness. How could he come to help me for no reason? Besides..."
Next, Yuan Shu understood even if he didn't mention Yang Hong. It was just that when Wang Zheng accepted Xu Du's emperor's edict, the covenant was probably in name only. Coupled with the impact of Xuzhou's change of ownership, it is considered very serious that the two sides are not at war at the moment.
Very rare.
"Otherwise." Yang Hong said with a smile: "I feel that although Wang Zheng is now the Mu of Xuzhou and the Marquis of Liyang, he has not forgotten his origins."
"Last month, the Runan Yellow Turbans were forced by Xiahou Dun's troops and asked for help from Xuzhou. Wang Zheng did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to personally raise the three armies and drive hundreds of miles to station troops in Xiang County. Only then did Xiahou Dun throw a rat weapon to protect the Chen Kingdom.
lose."
"In my opinion, if my lord can do what I say and is willing to send envoys to ask for help, then I know that they will not make my lord go back and forth in vain."
"Besides, doesn't the lord want to know the current position and attitude of this close neighbor?" Yang Hong looked at Yuan Shu and said with a smile: "If he is willing to send troops to help, his intention will be known without asking, and he is willing to continue to join hands with the lord to fight against the north.
Yuan Cao Alliance!"
"This..." Yuan Shu was silent. Now he is no longer the playboy who only knows how to fight cocks and horses. As a politician, Yuan Shu has already met the most basic requirements, which is to value practical benefits over practical benefits.
A false reputation, to put it bluntly, is shameless.
But what he is most worried about at the moment is that this old face is willing to go all out, but the result is unsatisfactory. How can Yuan Shu be willing to do so?
Seeing that Yuan Shu was still hesitating, Yang Hong dropped another piece of bombshell news: "Lord, please relax. From what I expected, Wang Zheng also has a young mind, and he will definitely not sit back and let a villain like Sun Ce become a big man by betraying his master!"
"Besides, the two of them already have old grudges!"
"Oh?" Hearing this, Yuan Shu was startled: "How do you say that?"
After Yang Hong finished describing the old events that happened in Kaiyang that day, Yuan Shu looked at Yang Hong thoughtfully: "Is this serious?"
"Absolutely true!"
"Hmm..." Yuan Shu still hesitated: "Is one punch too light?"
If it had been before, Yuan Shu would have been furious when he heard that his beloved general had been humiliated like this.
Naturally it is different now. Not only did he secretly cry out that it was a pity, it would have been great if Wang Zheng had killed Sun Ce with one sword that day. But what he cared about more now was that this festival was not small at all, but not big at all.
The key is that the loser is Sun Ce, not Wang Zheng...
It would be great if they could be transferred here!
"Haha, my lord, with Sun Ce's temperament and temper, in full view of the public, this punch on the face will make our handsome gentleman even more resentful than a knife." Yang Hong looked up to the sky and laughed: "The key is
Yes, Wang Zheng must also know this."
"Even if he doesn't know..." Yang Hong said one word at a time: 'Our envoy must also let him know that he and Sun Ce are no longer sworn in!"
Yuan Shu once again fell into a long exam.
After a while, he looked at Yang Hong and said slowly: "I'll just follow your plan."
There was no way, and it was only at this moment that Yuan Shu discovered that although he was not the enemy of the whole world, if he could help, after counting, it was still possible for him to be Wang Zheng.
This is actually not very likely.
Afterwards, Yang Hong called his maid and started writing. He dictated it, while Yuan Shu wrote it himself. Finally, he chose a so-called acquaintance like Li Ren to write the letter on the same day and hurried to Xuzhou.
Li Ren naturally did not dare to neglect, and he was very clear about it.
This should be the last chance the lord gives himself.
If he couldn't invite reinforcements from Xuzhou, he probably wouldn't have to return to Shouchun.