Chen Xu pulled Tian Feng and walked quickly to the Prefecture Pastoral Mansion. In the house, he saw a man of nearly forty years old, kneeling beside him, concentrating on his studies.

This person is more than 1.7 meters long, wearing a green shirt, his face is handsome, and his weapons are extraordinary.

He wears a scarf on his head, and the occasional light of wisdom in his eyes shows that he is extraordinary. The long beard adds a flowy touch to this person.

Chen Xu suddenly saw this person, and he hesitated at first.

After carefully looking at the visitor, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute and said, "Xu, meet uncle!" ”

This Confucian is none other than Chen Xu's haunting strategist Chen Gong. Because he hadn't seen him for too long, plus Chen Xu himself, he had only met Chen Gong once.

So at first, Chen Xu didn't recognize Chen Gong.

Fortunately, he was a human being in two lives and had an excellent memory, so after a little hesitation, he knew who the person was.

was worshiped by Chen Xu, although Chen Gong was his distant father, he did not dare to hold it up.

Chen Gong hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Chen Xu, and said, "Wen Zhao is now a prince, and he has many generals. And I'm just a white body, how can I receive your great gift? ”

Although Chen Gong was favored by Bian Zhang and was famous in Yanzhou, his career was not smooth.

The Chen Palace in the romance is the order of Zhongmu County.

Cao Cao fled after failing to assassinate Dong Zhuo and was arrested by Dong Zhuo. When he arrived in Zhongmu County, he was caught by Chen Gong.

Because Chen Gong was grateful for Cao Cao's loyalty in assassinating Dong Zhuo, he let Cao Cao go, abandoned his official position, and fled with him.

But later, because Cao Cao mistakenly killed Lu Bohao's family, and said: "Rather teach me to bear the world, and stop teaching the world to bear me." ”

Since then, Chen Gong thought that Cao Cao was selfish and vicious, and then abandoned him.

However, this is not the case.

The two of them went to Chen Palace, and they have been living in seclusion in their hometown, quietly watching the world.

It wasn't until later that Liu Dai, the assassin of Yanzhou, was killed by the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, and Chen Gong recognized Cao Cao as the lord of the Ming, so he came out.

He took the initiative to find Cao Cao, who was stationed in Dongjun, and said to him: "The state has no owner today, and the king's life is cut off. ”

Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this, listened to what Chen Gong said, and obtained Yanzhou. Since then, Cao Cao has taken this as the foundation and eventually became the cause of the king.

From that time on, Chen Gong really stepped into the official career.

Later, because of Cao Cao, he arbitrarily slaughtered Yanzhou celebrities and killed the famous Bian Zhang.

Chen Gong intersected with the celebrities of Yanzhou when he was a young man, and won the favor of Bian Rang, and he was also a teacher and friend.

The killing of Bian Rang and Yanzhou celebrities made Chen Gong resentful of Cao Cao. When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou and Yanzhou was empty, Chen Gong betrayed Cao Cao with Zhang Miao and welcomed Lu Bu into Puyang.

It can be said that Chen Gong at that time was full of resentment in his heart. He only thought about revenge on Cao Cao, but he didn't consider whether Lu Bu was the master of Ming at all.

It is precisely because of Chen Gong's affectionate and righteous character that his tragic life has been caused.

Although Chen Gong has the talent to help the world, but later, Chen Deng's father and son in Xuzhou were clever and flattering to Lu Bu, which made Lu Bu gradually alienate Chen Gong, and did not listen to him and did not obey him.

At that time, Chen Gong already knew that Lu Bu was destined to be defeated.

At that time, he also had the idea of abandoning Lu Bu and leaving. But he betrayed Cao Cao before, and if he betrayed Lu Bu now, he was worried about being ridiculed by others.

Scholars and doctors in the Han Dynasty often regarded reputation as more important than life, and Chen Gong himself was no exception.

In this way, after he was captured, he insisted on dying in Baimen Tower, despite Cao Cao's persuasion several times.

Chen Gong's life is undoubtedly tragic and lamentable.

In this era, as in history, he stayed in his hometown to watch the world and find the master.

Chen Gong's vision is naturally good, as in history, he fell in love with Cao Cao.

But the current Cao Cao is only a Dongjun Taishou, and he is still nominally under Liu Dai's control. It can be said that heroes are useless.

In addition, Chen Xu is his clan, and now he is sitting on a state, and he has a wide range of soldiers.

Moreover, Chen Xu treats him very respectfully, and often has correspondence with him, which has always revealed a strong sense of solicitation.

So after thinking about it, Chen Gong finally decided to defect to Chen Xu.

Chen Gong believes that by virtue of the kinship between the two. In addition, now that the state has been preliminarily decided, there is a lack of talent. Chen Gong came to Bingzhou, and Chen Xu would definitely reuse him.

In this way, he can show his ambitions.

Now that you have made up your mind, come over and go to Chen Xu. Even if the two are related, he can't put his posture too high.

So when Chen Xu saluted him, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

Supported by Chen Gong, Chen Xu's face turned straight and said: "Uncle is the uncle of Xu's clan, and it is natural for me to give my uncle a junior salute." ”

"When Puyang, if it weren't for my uncle's reminder, I'm afraid I would have died in Huangquan a long time ago, how could I lay such a foundation today?"

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Chen Gong smiled with relief.

In the past, he just casually reminded Chen Xu once, but he didn't expect that Chen Xu still remembers that kindness to this day.

It can be seen that Chen Xu's love and righteousness are important.

Although he admired it in his heart, Chen Gong said: "I traveled all the way and found that the people in Bingzhou are all living and working in peace and contentment. ”

"The decadent and barren scene of the past has changed."

"But I don't want to, I haven't seen him for seven years, Wen Zhao has already sat in the entire state and has 100,000 soldiers, it's really unbelievable."

Thinking of the hairy boy in Puyang City before, Chen Gong was a little embarrassed.

Hearing Chen Gong's words, Chen Xu was stunned for a moment, and then said with some sighs: "I never thought that the last time I saw my uncle was seven years ago. ”

"In the past few years, I have been fighting in the north and south, and I have rarely had time to rest. Today, it suddenly occurred to me that I had been away from Dongjun for nearly seven years. ”

Tian Feng heard the conversation between the two, and then he knew that the Confucian in front of him was the Chen Gong and Chen Gongtai that his lord often mentioned.

He heard the bleak taste in Chen Xu's words, so he stepped forward and said: "Lord, Gongtai is a famous man in Yanzhou, and he is talented. He came to join the lord today, which is really gratifying! ”

Although Chen Gong did not say it explicitly, he wanted to defect to Chen Xu. But when he came to Bingzhou, he had already made his attitude clear.

At this time, Chen Xu remembered that he only cared about catching up with Chen Gong, and actually forgot to recruit him.

After tidying up his clothes, Chen Xu saluted Chen Gong again and said: "Since I took over the state, I have worked hard every day, working day and night, and I dare not slack off. ”

"However, the little nephew has a bad background, and the state is a desolate place in the north, and there is also a lack of scribes. So until now, there are still very few people available under the little nephew's account. ”

"Today, since my uncle has come to merge the state, the little nephew has the courage to beg my uncle to stay here and help the little nephew manage the state."

After speaking, Chen Xu bowed and refused to get up.

Chen Gong was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked, "If I come to merge the state, what kind of official position will Wen Zhao grant me?" ”

Chen Xu replied: "The official position of the state is not merged, but it is chosen by the uncle." ”

When Chen Gong heard this, he laughed. He picked up Chen Xu and said, "I'm a newcomer, and I haven't made an inch, how dare I be in a high position?" ”

Chen Xu said a little anxiously: "With my uncle's talent, what kind of official position can't be held in the state?" ”

Chen Gong shook his head and said meaningfully: "Wen Zhao, as a superior person, you should weigh the gains and losses in case of trouble, and be cautious in your words and deeds. ”

"Not only that, but you also have to take care of the emotions of other subordinates."

"If I first came to the state and occupied a high position without an inch of merit, Wen Zhao would definitely leave an impression of cronyism."

"Wen Zhao should keep this matter in mind!"

Chen Xu's heart sank, and he said respectfully: "Uncle taught him, Xu knows it in his heart. ”

When Chen Gong heard this, he smiled with satisfaction.

He looked at Chen Xu, who was a talent, and after a while, he suddenly saluted him and said, "Palace, I've seen the lord!" ”

Suddenly called 'lord' by Chen Gong, Chen Xu was overjoyed, hurriedly held Chen Gong's arm, and said, "Uncle is willing to help me, why worry about the big thing?" ”

Since he has been recognized by Chen Gong, Chen Xu wants to give him an official.

Chen Gong said: "This matter is not urgent. ”

"The lord has obtained the nine counties of the state, does he feel that his subordinates are not enough, and the population in the territory is too sparse?"

Although Chen Xu didn't know what Chen Gong meant by this, he still replied truthfully: "Now, I have 80,000 elite foot soldiers, 10,000 elite cavalry, and 10,000 Hun cavalry. ”

"The main forces have a total of 100,000, although it seems like a lot. However, scattered to various important positions in the state, the troops are somewhat insufficient. ”

"If you are at war with the princes of one side, you can still support so many soldiers and horses under your command. If several princes come to attack, the troops will be a little stretched. ”

"As for the population, the state is already remote and inhospitable. In addition, Bingzhou is located on the border of the Han Dynasty, and there were often Hu people to raid in the past, so the population is extremely sparse. ”

"Although I have been in the Taihang Mountains for a few years, I have recruited millions of displaced people. However, after they migrated and dispersed to the territory of the state, the population in the territory was still less than 3 million. ”

Although Bingzhou is a large state, it is vast and sparsely populated. In the past, the entire state had a population of just over one million.

In fact, not only Bingzhou, Youzhou and Liangzhou are located in the border area, there are often Hu people to plunder, and the population is extremely scarce.

In the era of the rise of princes, one side of the princes is not strong enough. It is not only necessary to see whether there are talents under his account, but also to see whether the population under his rule is large enough.

Because, the more the population, the more troops can be fed. When there are more armies, the strength of the princes will naturally be stronger.

Although in the territory of the Han Dynasty, many anointed lands are in the hands of the Shi clan and Haoqiang.

But the territory of the Han Dynasty is so large, and the population is only tens of millions. I don't know how much land has not been cultivated.

If the population is sufficient, the princes can let them reclaim the wasteland.

Therefore, the princes fought each other, not only to grab territory, but also to plunder the population.

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Chen Gong smiled slightly and said: "I have a plan, dedicated to the lord, which can add another 100,000 male soldiers and a million people to the state!" ”

When Chen Xu and Tian Feng heard this, they were all shocked.