Yuan Tan arrived in Rencheng and set up camp in the southwest of Rencheng.

Cao Ang took Chen Gong and Bao Xun to the camp to visit, both sides were very polite, they were very happy to see each other, and they talked and laughed, but the estrangement in their hearts could not be eliminated, but they tacitly agreed not to touch it.

Seeing Bao Xun's unfamiliar face, Yuan Tan was very surprised and talked to him for a while, but his mood became very bad.

Bao Xun is the son of Bao Xin, the former minister of Jibei. After Bao Xin was killed in battle, Bao Xun returned to his hometown of Taishan, and heard that Cao Ang was guarding the area of Lu County, and their brothers came to reinforcements with their family soldiers. His elder brother Bao Shao guarded Nanpingyang, while he stayed with Cao Ang.

Regarding the Bao family's decision, Yuan Tan felt very uncomfortable.

The Bao family is a well-known family in Taishan County, Bao Xin was originally good friends with Yuan Shao, but later gradually estranged from Yuan Shao, when they were courting Dong, their brothers and Cao Cao advanced and retreated, and was defeated by Xu Rong in Bianshui, seriously injured, and his younger brother Bao Tao died in battle. Cao Cao was appointed as the Taishou of Dongjun, and Bao Xin was the prime minister of Jibei, which is just that, now that Cao Cao has left Yizhou, the Bao family still wholeheartedly supports Cao Ang, making him a very faceless assassin in Yanzhou.

What does Cao Ang mean by bringing Bao Xun at this time, to express his counterattack against Ren Chengyu as the prime minister of Dongping?

Seeing that Yuan Tan's face was wrong, Cao Ang secretly complained in his heart. He was originally reluctant to bring Bao Xun here, but Chen Gong insisted. Yuan Tan promised to let Cao Ang guard the defense line of Lu County and Rencheng before, and assign Rencheng, Jibei, Dongping, Lu County and Nanpingyang, Fangqiu, and Gaoping Counties belonging to Shanyang to Cao Ang's defense area, but later he reversed his word, appointed Cheng Yu as the minister of Dongping, and asked Cheng Yu to go to Jibei to recruit troops, which clearly wanted to cut Cao Ang's flesh. If he doesn't fight back, what Yuan Tan will do next, who can't say?

The Bao family is a Taishan family, and their influence is by no means comparable to that of Ban and others, and only with their support can it be proved that Cao Ang has the strength to gain a firm foothold here, and only then can Yuan Tan have some scruples, and stop transferring Cao Ang around like arranging an ordinary general, and place him at will.

Yuan Tan's face is not good, it is right that he did not keep his promise first.

The originally polite atmosphere suddenly became very awkward, and the next task arrangement was a little more intriguing. Yuan Tan asked Cao Ang to lead his troops out of the city to participate in the war, and Cao Ang agreed, and then said that the army was limited and could only send 2,000 people.

Yuan Tan was very unhappy. In a war of tens of thousands of people, you sent 2,000 troops, perfunctory to me?

The two parted unhappily.

Sending Cao Ang away, Yuan Tan was furious, but Xin Bi was very calm. He told Yuan Tan that anger would not help, and after defeating Sun's father and son, Cao Ang naturally bowed his head and obeyed his orders. The top priority is to send someone to help Cheng Yu stabilize Dongping and contain Tai Shici.

Yuan Tan felt justified and ordered the soldier Cao to engage in Li Dian to lead his troops into Dongping to assist Cheng Yu, Li Gan and his son left 2,000 people to defend the eastern barrier, and the others quickly marched east to prepare for the war. The headquarters built a position, mobilized grain and grass equipment, prepared to storm Sun Jian's position, and sent people to contact the families and heroes in the nearby counties, asking them to send troops to bring reinforcements with grain and grass. Those who violate the law will be punished as collaborators.

Fast horses galloped out of the camp, orders were sent to the counties one after another, and teams of men and horses galloped across the land within a radius of hundreds of miles. The war is about to start, the people in the nearby counties are panicked, forced by the pressure of Yuan Tan, many families choose to support Yuan Tan, send a different number of troops, with grain and grass, one after another rushed to Rencheng to help the war, even Gaoping, Suxian people have arrived, just a few days, Yuan Tan has more than 5,000 people, the total strength reached 40,000.

Yuan Tan's confidence increased greatly, and he ordered Cao Ang: I have enough troops, I don't need your reinforcements, you can hold Rencheng well.

After receiving the order, Cao Ang sighed repeatedly. The Yuan family's connections are really extraordinary, whether it is the Sun family and their Cao family, they can't be compared.

Chen Gong was very calm, asking Cao Ang to calm down and wait and see what happened. He said to Cao Ang, is it useful if there are many people? The soldiers are fine but not many, and when they were begging Dong, Yuan Shao and others to sit on a large army of more than 100,000, their achievements were not as good as Sun Jian's more than 10,000 people. Sun Jian only has 10,000 people, Yuan Tan already has enough troops, and no matter how many soldiers are recruited, it is of little practical significance. A rabble of people can do nothing but make a big noise.

——

Gaoping, the mansion of the Zhang family.

Zhang Jian sat in the hall and didn't say a word.

Zhang Ai and Zhang Zhi were fully armed and stood at the bottom of the steps. Zhang Ai was impassioned. "Uncle, how can Sun Ce be compared to the Yuan clan of the fourth and third dukes? It is unrighteous to resist the humble and respectful, and it is unwise to resist the weak and the strong, Yuan Yuanjun is the grandson of Li Yuanli, the eldest son of the Yuan family, if the Yuan family wins the world, he will be ...... in the future"

"Presumptuous!" Zhang Jian was suddenly furious, stood up, picked up the case in front of him, rushed to Zhang Ai in a few steps, and smashed the case on Zhang Ai's head. "The Son of Heaven is in Chang'an, Jun Ming is virtuous, and Zhongxing is in sight, why does the Yuan family win the world? If you dare to say it again, I will expel you from the Zhangjia portal. ”

Zhang Ai was caught off guard and was smashed on the head, and immediately bled profusely. He covered his head and looked at Zhang Jian, who was as angry as a tiger, his face flushed, but he didn't dare to say a word. Seeing this, Zhang Zhi hurriedly played a round. "Uncle, my brother lost his words for a while, don't worry about him. Yuan Yuanjun didn't have any intention of rebellion, but the father and son of the Sun family clearly respected the court, but in fact they divided one side, and the father and son were not satisfied with dominating Sanzhou, and they coveted my Yanzhou, how could we sit idly by? Besides, that Sun Ce doesn't read poetry and books, he only knows how to be a tyrant, and he also sent a cool official who is full of favorites to be the Gao Ping Order, isn't this a slap in the face of my Zhang family? Uncle, if you don't take this opportunity to make a move, when will you wait? ”

"Your brother is greedy and chaotic, and he deserves to die."

"Zilan, don't say it, my uncle doesn't care about my brother's life or death, maybe he is optimistic about Manzhong." Zhang Ai couldn't help but say: "He killed Hou Lan's family back then, but he didn't play the same style as Manzhong......"

"You ......" Zhang Jian's face turned blue with anger, and he rushed up to fight again. Zhang Ai had already prepared this time and dodged away. Zhang Jian couldn't catch up with him, and said breathlessly: "You remember, if the last bit of the Zhang family's foundation is destroyed in your hands, I will never spare you." ”

Zhang Ai was very unconvinced, and ridiculed each other. "The foundation of the Zhang family has long been almost destroyed by you. We support Yuan Yuanjun just to revive the family business, you are good, it doesn't matter if you don't help, I just know that you have a noble demeanor, is it useful? ”

"Useful." There was a voice in the doorway, not very loud, but hard as iron. Zhang Ai looked back, and his face suddenly changed greatly. Outside the courtyard wall, I don't know when there will be a row of heavily armed soldiers, each with a hard crossbow, the crossbow is wound, the arrow is ready to fly, the cold light is shining, and the murderous atmosphere is shining. A person walked in from the main entrance, unhurried, it was Gao Pingling who was full of favor.

Zhang Ai and Zhang Zhi's faces turned pale. "You...... What are you here for? ”

Man Zhong ignored him, walked slowly to the front of the steps, and bowed his hand to Zhang Jian. "Please Zhang Gong avoid one or two."

Zhang Jian's face was pale, he looked at the soldiers on the wall, and then at Zhang Ai and Zhang Zhi who were in a panic, sighed, walked down the steps, and bowed to Manzhong. "Please raise your noble hand and leave a trace of blood in my Zhang family."

returned the favor with a deep voice: "Zhang Gong rest assured, the pet and the Zhang family have justice and no selfish enmity." The guilty shall be punished, and the innocent shall not be harmed. ”