Yan Xing's wedding was lively and frugal, there were many guests, and the banquet was also very rich, but not extravagant. There are a lot of dishes, but there are no rare ingredients, most of them are common vegetables, and in terms of luxury, it may not be as good as the family banquets of many families.

However, most of the guests are soldiers in the army, and few have eaten a big meal, so being full is the most important thing. As for those families, they didn't come for the meal in the first place, and they achieved their goal by meeting Sun Ce, and the banquet was just a formality, and not too many people cared. On the contrary, they didn't mind giving Sun Ce a reputation for frugality.

In their eyes, this is one of the few praises that can be relied on by Sun Ce.

Xun Chen deeply agreed with this: Sun Ce is indeed quite picky. After receiving the news from Lu Dai, he entered Runan under a pseudonym, walked around Pingyu for a few days, and found that almost all the ingredients for Sun Ce's banquet were purchased from nearby farmers, and the cost was very cheap. But farmers are not at a loss. Summer is the peak season for all kinds of vegetables to be listed, even the fish and shrimp in the river are very much, the Runan River is vertical and horizontal, the ponds are all over the place, the people not only plant vegetables in front of the house and behind the house, raise some chickens, ducks and geese, but also go to the river to fish and shrimp, there is no cost. Especially for some half-grown children, it is the time of summer vacation, and they enjoy it while playing and earning money at the same time.

Even the tiger meat at the banquet came from this way. Sun Ce's subordinate officers took advantage of the opportunity of practicing jungle warfare to go into the forest to hunt, and solved the supply of tiger meat. In front of these elites armed to the teeth, the king of beasts can only obediently sacrifice his flesh and skin, and after this battle, the tiger plague that has plagued Runan for many years is completely solved.

However, Sun Ce solved the tiger problem by force, not by virtue, so he could not leave a mark in the history books.

Despite this, Xun Chen was still worried about Sun Ce's careful calculations. In terms of strength, Sun Ce has already counted the princes in the world, monopolizing the three states, and he is planning so carefully, even Yuan Shao, who has a big family, may not be able to defeat him. If Yuan Shao can't defeat Sun Ce in the short term, his advantage will get smaller and smaller as time goes by, until he is reversed by Sun Ce.

After reading the situation in Runan and evaluating Sun Ce's governance, Xun Chen wanted to see Sun Ce himself and make a final judgment. He asked Lü Dai to meet Sun Ce again, intending to meet Sun Ce as Liu He's envoy. The reason why he was so reserved was because Sun Ce insisted that Liu He seek peace, but Liu He only agreed to make peace, and the differences were very obvious, which directly affected the status of exchanges between the two sides.

Lu Dai received the order and came to see Sun Ce. After the wedding banquet, Sun Ce returned to Ge Pi's boat, guarding the camp and the camp along the coast, which was rare for ordinary people to see. Lu Dai reported his name, and he came to the lake relatively smoothly, but he still couldn't get on the boat immediately, and waited on the shore for a long time before he saw Guo Jia rushing over.

"Where is Xun Youruo?"

Lu Dai stepped forward and saluted. "Xun Changshi is in the post house, waiting for General Sun to meet him."

"General Sun doesn't have time to see him, let him come, just tell me if you have something." Guo Jia waved his hand. "I'm also very busy, so I can only spare half a day. If he wants to come, he will come quickly, and if he doesn't, forget it. ”

Lu Dai turned around and was about to leave, Guo Jia smiled again: "If you are a messenger, the general may be willing to meet, but it's a pity that you can't be the master." ”

Lu Dai was embarrassed, laughed twice at self-deprecation, arched his hand, and hurried away. He also knew that Guo Jia was a busy man, and he said that only half a day was not necessarily a bluff. The reason why I want to see Xun Chen may be for the sake of the same county. This opportunity was missed, and Xun Chen might really run for nothing.

Seeing Lu Dai away, Guo Jia glanced back at the boat in the middle of the lake, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

——

On the boat, Sun Ce sat opposite an old Confucian student, drinking sweet fruit syrup, silent, and the atmosphere was a little depressing.

The old Confucian has gray hair, there are not many wrinkles on his face, but the bags under his eyes are obvious, and there are not a few eyebrows left. His face was a little pale, and he looked like he was recovering from a serious illness. There are deep Sichuan lines between his eyebrows, and he looks preoccupied, sighing from time to time. He himself is not necessarily intentional, but just habitual and natural.

This person is Li Ru, who has disappeared from people's vision for a long time. After Dong Zhuo was killed, he sneaked all the way to Hedong, met with Jia Xu and others, and then sneaked to Nanyang, where he lived in seclusion for two or three years, and recently suddenly appeared in front of Sun Ce. If it weren't for him reporting to his family, Sun Ce didn't expect that this withered old man would be Li Ru, Dong Zhuo's most trusted strategist.

Dong Zhuo once recruited famous people in Kanto on a large scale in order to buy people's hearts, but in the end, the only person who really appreciated his kindness and really gave him advice was Li Ru. It's a pity that Dong Zhuo couldn't help but have a good reputation, and was attracted by the more famous Wang Yun, a famous man in Bingzhou, and no longer trusted Li Ru, and finally died under the planning of Wang Yun and Lu Bu, Li Ru could only flee in panic.

In the past few years, he has been living in seclusion in Nanyang, originally wanting to find out the situation for Jia Xu, but time has passed, the hatred has gradually faded, and his mood has slowly relaxed, and he has plans to retire in Nanyang. Nanyang life is stable, the academic atmosphere is free and strong, and there are famous doctors in the herbal hall to see patients, if it is too lively, there are many beautiful places nearby to live in seclusion, it is a very suitable place for the elderly. He originally planned to live in Nanyang for the rest of his life, but not long ago, when he heard that Cai Yong intended to rewrite the history of the Han Dynasty, it reminded him of his memory and hurried to Pingyu.

He knows in his own heart, no matter what kind of connection Sun Ce has with Dong Zhuo, whether he and Jia Xu and others are allies or not, Dong Zhuo will definitely leave a bad name in history, and he is no exception, even he can't forgive the evil act of killing King Hongnong, and often dreams that King Hongnong comes to ask for his life. This evil deed has become a stain on him, making it impossible for him to gain a foothold, and no one, whether they support the court or not, will not accept him easily.

Looking for Sun Ce, he didn't want to serve Sun Ce, but hoped that Sun Ce would come forward to interfere with Cai Yong and let him be merciful.

After listening to Li Ru's intentions, Sun Ce was also a little embarrassed. He thought for a while, and did not reply to Li Ru directly, but took out a manuscript and asked Li Ru to appreciate it. This is the "Book of Western Chu" he just received, which is the first draft of the history of Western Chu written by Cai Yong. After the early establishment of the Han Dynasty, there was a trend of reflecting on the Qin government, and Confucian scholars such as Lu Jia wrote books and discussed the gains and losses of the Qin government, many of which involved Western Chu, and left some materials, most of which were lost in later generations, and Sun Ce had never seen them. Cai Yong has read a lot of history in Dongguan, and he has an unforgettable memory, and he actually wrote the 200,000-word "Book of Western Chu".

There is only one book in the Book of Western Chu, that is, Xiang Yu's book, and most of the content is the same as the biography of Xiang Yu in the "Historical Records" and "Book of Han", but with some more details, Cai Yong made some abridgements and rewrites, including the content of Xiang Yu's infanticide. Sun Ce asked Li Ru to read this article, next to Cai Yong's elegant official book, Sun Ce approved seven words in regular script: write truthfully, no need to shy away.

The words written in cinnabar are particularly conspicuous, and Li Ru saw it as soon as he unfolded it, and his heart sank. He put down the manuscript, his face dejected. "Thank you, General, I took the blame and deserved it." After speaking, he was ready to get up and say goodbye.

Sun Ce raised his hand and motioned for Li Ru to be calm. "Literature is the first student, people are not sages, who can be without fault? In troubled times, who dares to say that they do not have innocent blood on their hands? We can't change the past, but we can make a difference. In the future, King Hongnong will be able to feel more at ease when he sees him again under the nine springs. ”

Li Ru's disgraced eyes slowly showed a glint of hope, he arched his hand, and said sincerely: "Please give the general guidance." ”