In Liu Bei's Dazhai, after the envoy came back and relayed Chen Xu's words, Xuande breathed a sigh of relief.

Guan Yu said: "Runan is the largest county in Yuzhou, and it is also under the jurisdiction of the elder brother, the pastor of Yuzhou, so how can Zhou Yu be able to rule Runan?" ”

Zhang Fei also echoed: "Runan is rich and occupies nearly half of the territory of the entire Yuzhou, and my brother must not easily give it to Sun Ce." ”

In their eyes, the entire Yuzhou should be in Liu Bei's pocket.

This is also why, knowing that the edict of the Son of Heaven was instructed by Chen Xu at that time, and wanted to weaken Yuan Shao through Liu Bei's hand, both of them did not have the slightest ill feeling towards Chen Xu.

The two of them were loyal to Liu Bei, and naturally hoped that Liu Bei's power could expand. Liu Bei has the title of Yuzhou pastor, and it is justified to lead the entire Yuzhou.

Even if the Son of Heaven did not issue an edict, the two of them would look for an opportunity to encourage Liu Bei to recapture the rest of Yuzhou counties.

After all, although Yingchuan is an outstanding person, it has also experienced the scourge of war for a long time, and the people's livelihood has withered. In addition, Yingchuan is only a small county, and it is the land of four wars.

If Liu Bei did not work hard and expand his power, sooner or later he would be wiped out by the rest of the princes.

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were full of righteous indignation, and hurriedly said, "Yun Chang and Yi Dexiu are going to be angry. Now that Sun Bofu is attacking Runan, he can share a lot of pressure for us and others. ”

"As for the capable people of Runan County, how can we occupy such a large county? Now let's wait until Yuan Shao is repelled, and then talk about anything else. ”

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were still indignant. However, they also knew that the main enemy now was Yuan Shao, so they did not shout to send troops to fight Sun Ce for Runan.

"The general said that Cao Mengde would also raise troops to attack Yanzhou, but he didn't know if it was true or not."

Zhang Fei hated being defeated by Cao Cao in Xuzhou at that time and fled in embarrassment, and immediately muttered: "Then Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou and slaughtered the city all the way, and I don't know how many people died, he must not be a good person." ”

Guan Yu retorted: "I heard that it was Tao Gongzu who arranged for someone to intercept and kill Cao Mengde's father first, and Cao Mengde raised a large army to attack Xuzhou and avenge his father." ”

"From the perspective of the Son of Man, Cao Mengde's move is understandable."

The current Cao Cao did not coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes as in history, nor did he end up with the title of ****.

On the contrary, since the Yellow Turban Uprising, Cao Cao's actions can be regarded as loyal to the monarch and worried about the country. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, Cao Cao is also a rare loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

Even if Liu Bei was once in an enemy position with Cao Cao for the sake of Gongsun Zhan, he could not deny this.

"I'll wait and see what happens, and there's no need to speculate."

Even though he received Chen Xu's reply, Liu Bei still didn't dare to be careless, and sent scouts to investigate Yuan Shao's movements every day.

At the same time, Sun Ce sent troops to Runan County, but encountered some setbacks.

Because Yuan Shao's hometown is in Runan, and Runan is the most important county town in Yuzhou. Therefore, he stationed a heavy army in the area.

In order to stabilize the situation in Yuzhou, Yuan Shao sent Zhang He, one of the four court pillars in Hebei, to lead troops to garrison Runan at the beginning.

When Liu Bei sent troops to attack Chen, Zhang He prepared to use his army to raid Yingchuan and cut off Liu Bei's back road.

It's just that he heard the news and knew that Sun Ce was about to move, and his target was directly aimed at Runan. It was precisely for this reason that he did not dare to act rashly, and watched Liu Bei take down the entire Chen State.

Zhang He's own bravery is extraordinary, and his strategy is outstanding. Even though Sun Ce and Taishi Ciyong crowned the three armies, they were still blocked by Zhang He from Runan and could not advance an inch.

However, it was said that Yuan Shao ordered the army to go south and wanted to eliminate Liu Bei in one fell swoop. Suddenly, a messenger sent by Zhang He came and prepared that Sun Ce would raise a large army to attack Runan County.

When Yuan Shao heard this, he was naturally shocked and urged the army to move forward overnight.

The army had just marched more than 20 miles, and suddenly a quick horse came to report that the troops and horses of Yanmen County, Taiyuan County, and Shangdang County in Bingzhou were frequently mobilized, and it seemed that they had the intention of attacking Youzhou, Jizhou, and Yanzhou.

When Yuan Shao got the report, he immediately ordered the soldiers and horses to stop marching, summoned his subordinates and said: "If Jizhou is lost, I will be homeless!" ”

At this time, Yuan Shao was already panicking.

In his opinion, Liu Bei is just a clown jumping off the beam, not enough to worry about. Even if Sun Ce used all his troops from Jiangdong to attack Runan, he was not afraid of it.

However, Chen Xu was regarded by Yuan Shao as a great enemy in his life, and even though Yuan Shao's power expanded very strongly, he still had no chance of winning the battle with Chen Xu.

If Chen Xu united with Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Gongsun Zhan, who lived in Liaodong, they would besiege Yuan Shao together. No matter how strong Yuan Shao is, it is difficult to resist.

The judge hurriedly said: "As soon as the lord dispatched the army to prepare for the south, Chen Wenzhao frequently mobilized his troops. ”

Liu Bei and Sun Ce also made the decision to attack the lord after the angel arrived. It can be seen that these two people attacked Yuzhou and must have been instructed by Chen Wenzhao. ”

"Liu Bei and Sun Ce are not afraid, but Chen Wenzhao is not easy to deal with. If the lord insisted on leading the army south, Chen Wenzhao really sent troops to attack Jizhou, and he would regret it. ”

In his heart, he didn't think that Chen Xu had the strength to attack Jizhou.

But he didn't want Yuan Shao to lead his troops south, so he echoed and said: "Zhengnan's words are great and good, if Yuzhou, where people's livelihood is withering, and Jizhou, which is rich, is it not because of a small loss?" ”

"After Chen Wenzhao defeated Yuan Highway and retreated to Guanzhong. Cao Mengde, Liu Xuande, and Sun Bofu all sent the Son of Heaven, but only the lord did not receive the reward. ”

"After Liu Xuande and Sun Bofu received the edict, they both raised troops to attack the lord; Thinking that Cao Mengde, he must have gotten Chen Wenzhao's instructions. ”

"If Cao Mengde also sent troops to Yanzhou, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Frustrated, Yuan Shao was drenched in cold sweat. If it is really as he said, Cao Cao also intervenes at this time, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Yuan Shao stabilized his mind and said calmly: "Impossible, I have been friends with Meng De since childhood, and Meng De will definitely not fall into the well at this time." ”

But the judge said loudly: "Lord, now the chaos has appeared, and the princes have risen together. Cao Mengde is a hero in the world, how can he be indecisive because of his past friendship? ”

Yuan Shao's heart was shocked, and he hurriedly said: "If this is the case, what should I do?" ”

The judge took advantage of the situation and said: "The lord can abandon Yuzhou and shrink his forces to defend Yanzhou and Jizhou." ”

"In this way, Liu Xuande has no excuse to attack the lord again, and Sun Bofu does not border the lord and can no longer fight with the lord."

Fu Zhu also said: "The lord can also send an envoy to Chen Wenzhao, reprimand him for not obeying the covenant, and take the opportunity to probe him; Another envoy was sent to Xuzhou to win over Cao Mengde to reassure him. ”

Yuan Shao was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately said: "Just follow what Zhengnan and Gong said." ”

Guo Tu and the others were about to persuade Yuan Shao to stop him, when they heard that he had already adopted the strategy of frustrating the two of them, and immediately stopped talking.

They knew that although Yuan Shao had soft ears, he was a little indecisive. However, once something has been decided, it is difficult to persuade him.

Forcibly admonishing will only cause Yuan Shao to be dissatisfied.

Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, Fu Zhu offered another strategy: "I have a plan, not only can I ensure that Liu Xuande will not send troops to attack the lord again." It can also make him and Sun Bofu fight each other. ”

Yuan Shao hurriedly asked, "What is the trick of Gonghe?" ”

"Liu Xuande is the Yuzhou pastor of the imperial court, and he has always wanted to control the entire Yuzhou. Since the lord has made up his mind to withdraw from Yuzhou, why not give up the land of Yuzhou to Liu Xuande? ”

When Yuan Shao heard this, he said unhappily: "Da'er Xing'er has invaded my city, do I still have to take the initiative to go over and curry favor with him?" ”

Frustrated Professor shook his head and said, "Definitely." Liu Bei relied on his title of Yuzhou pastor, so he had an excuse to attack the lord. ”

"The lord will give up the land of Yuzhou, which can not only make Liu Xuande inherit the favor of the lord, but also show the lord's loyalty to the Han Dynasty to the people of the world."

When Yuan Shao heard this, his heart moved.

Although he didn't make it very clear, he had already grasped the meaning.

The Son of Heaven personally named Liu Bei as the pastor of Yuzhou, but most of Yuzhou was occupied by Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao took the initiative to return Yuzhou County to Liu Bei, he expressed his support for the decision of the Son of Heaven.

In this way, it can show the world that Yuan Shao is loyal to the Han Dynasty. Because Yuan Shu is the emperor, the bad influence on him will also be greatly reduced.

Fu Zhu still did not give up, and continued: "Is there another great benefit to the lord acting like this? ”

Yuan Shao asked, "What's the benefit?" ”

Fu Zhi smiled slightly, and talked eloquently: "Lord, try to imagine, Sun Bofu led the troops to attack Runan, what is the plan?" ”

Yuan Shao didn't think about it, and replied directly: "Runan is a large county in Yuzhou, and it is adjacent to Yangzhou. Sun Ce Xiao'er definitely wanted to seize Runan and expand his power. ”

Fu Zhu continued to ask: "What would happen if Sun Ce spent a lot of money, food, soldiers and horses, but in the end he made wedding dresses for others? ”

Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment, thought about it carefully, and then suddenly said: "If I give up Runan to Liu Bei, Sun Ce will definitely be angry and raise troops to attack Liu Bei." ”

He laughed twice and said, "That's right! ”

"If Liu Bei is at war with Sun Ce, Chen Wenzhao will have no minions to help. Even if he raised a large army to attack Jizhou, the lord was not afraid of it. ”

Yuan Shao was overjoyed when he heard this, and said, "Just act according to the public's words." ”

Now that he has made up his mind, he immediately sent someone to report to Zhang He and explain the matter. At the same time, three messengers were also sent to Chen Xu, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei.

After Cao Cao received Yuan Shao's envoy, he immediately greeted him warmly.

The envoy first expressed Yuan Shao's goodwill, and then asked Cao Cao if he intended to attack Yanzhou.

Of course, Cao Cao denied it, and repeatedly emphasized that he was only Yuan Shao's first and would never break the covenant.

After the envoy received the desired answer, he was immediately overjoyed, bid farewell to Cao Cao overnight, and went to report the matter here to Yuan Shao.