"Who is the envoy from Youzhou this time?"

Picking up the teacup and drinking with Guo Jia until the cup of tea was finished, Li Li put down the teacup slowly and methodically, and asked unhurriedly.

Seeing this scene, Guo Jia roughly guessed Li Li's mind. After hearing this, he was not in a hurry to answer, and then lifted the teapot and poured two more cups of tea, and then said: "In addition to Shi Guanjing, the governor of Youzhou, who has been in charge of contacting us, there is also Shan Jing, who has been named the pastor of Yanzhou by Gongsun Zhan, who came with him this time, and brought a lot of money. However, this time there were no war horses, and there were not many soldiers accompanying them, only more than 30 people, so it is not difficult to see that they were in a hurry. Thinking that it must be Yuan Shao's army pressing the border, the war in Youzhou is tight, and Gongsun Zan is worried that he will not be able to withstand the Jizhou army, so he will send envoys to ask for help. ”

Li Li smiled and said, "That's for sure. Before we captured the annexed state, Gongsun Zhan was very active in forming an alliance with our Xiliang army, and he would definitely send envoys to bring grain, grass and war horses during the New Year's holidays. However, after we recovered and annexed the state, instead of actively befriending me, Gongsun Chan became very passive, deliberately alienated, and even wary of us, intentionally or unintentionally. During the Sili War, he wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob Yuan Shao's Jizhou nest in one fell swoop, but unfortunately his heart was higher than the sky and his life was thinner than paper, and he couldn't even deal with a single Juyi, so how dare he want to seize Jizhou?

After two years, if it weren't for Yuan Shao's step-by-step pressing, defeating him again and again, and he couldn't breathe, he might still want to turn his face with us and tear up the covenant without authorization. Last year, Yuan Shao sent troops to attack Youzhou, but Gongsun Zhan insisted on not asking for help from our Xiliang army, and as a result, he suffered another defeat. The loss of troops and the defeat of generals have further weakened their strength. This time, Yuan Shao swore to go on the expedition, making it clear that he would not give up if he did not take Youzhou. This made Gongsun Chan anxious, and finally couldn't help but ask me for help. In this regard, what is Fengxiao's opinion? Before the words fell, Li Li picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, so he tasted the tea without hurrying or impatience.

Guo Jia also drank tea slowly with a teacup, and when a cup of tea bottomed out, he chewed a piece of tea in his mouth. After chewing it a few times, I took out the tea leaves, and it was still intact. It's just that there are some dense tooth marks on the leaves.

Casually throwing the seemingly complete but actually torn tea in his hand into the bowl, Guo Jia stared intently at the beam in the northeast corner of the lobby, and said quietly: "Youzhou is located on the border, and there is still a vast land outside it. To the north is the barbarian steppe. The northeast corner is connected to many islands, and there have been many wars and disasters in the past, and the border is restless. At present, the biggest threat to Gongsun Chan is not Yuan Shao in Jizhou, but the anti-Gongsun Chan forces led by Yan Rou, which are united with the barbarians, and promoted Liu He, the son of Liu Yu, the former Youzhou pastor, as the leader, and confronted Gongsun Chan under the guise of avenging Liu Yu and recapturing Youzhou.

It is said that this time, Yuan Shao's oath against Gongsun Zan also took Liu He as a shield, trying to arouse the nostalgia of the people of Youzhou for Liu Yu, the old state pastor. The same hatred of the enemy fundamentally broke the fighting spirit of Gongsun Zhan's army. So as to completely eradicate Gongsun Zan and seize Youzhou. Therefore, the situation in Youzhou is extremely unfavorable to Gongsun Zhan, once Yuan Shao and Yan Rou's forces entrenched in Wuhuan join forces to attack, then Gongsun Chan will undoubtedly be defeated, and Youzhou will completely fall into the hands of Yuan Shao. Halfway through the words, Guo Jia carefully paid attention to Li Li's expression, and then said no more.

Li Li smiled slightly, "Feng Xiao is worried that I don't want to send troops for help, and sit back and watch Gongsun Zan perish, so that Youzhou will fall into the hands of Yuan Shao?" ”

"It's ??? Wechen didn't mean that. Guo Jia hesitated slightly.

Without saying a word, Guo Jia pondered intently, and then said: "Actually, Weichen is also a little uncertain about this, and he is hesitant. In all fairness, we can't sit idly by and watch Gongsun Chan perish and watch Youzhou fall into the hands of Yuan Shao. In recent years, the most critical reason why Yuan Shao of Jizhou has not been able to advance an inch and has never been able to wave his army into the Central Plains is that Gongsun Zan has been holding him back behind him, like a thorn in his back and a fish in his throat, forcing Yuan Shao not to dare to act rashly. In other words, as long as he can't take Youzhou for a day, Yuan Shao of Jizhou can't think of making a difference, so he can only stay where he is and be cocooned. The hinterland of Jizhou is a plain, and it has nothing to do with defending, so Yuan Shao can only defend against the enemy, and cannot let the enemy attack the hinterland of Jizhou, otherwise Jizhou will inevitably fall, and he will be finished. Therefore, if you want to hold Jizhou, you must seize Youzhou, so that you can have no worries about the future, and then seek the Central Plains.

On the other hand, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou originally occupied a certain geographical advantage, and had a great chance to capture Jizhou, annex Qingzhou, and dominate the land of Yanzhao. However, in recent years, Gongsun Zhan's temperament has changed greatly, he is arrogant, wanton killing, and more and more brutal and unkind, resulting in the detachment of his subordinates from morality and the disintegration of people's hearts. In addition, the counterattack forces led by Yan Rou and the brothers Xian Yuyin and Xian Yufu have not been completely wiped out, and now there is a resurgence of the ashes, causing Gongsun Zhan to suffer from the enemy on his back and abdomen, and he is not optimistic. In view of this, we should send troops to rescue, otherwise Youzhou will be lost. ”

“?????? However, outside of Youzhou, there are also many barbarian forces and small states of Fanbang, as well as Gongsun Du, who occupies Liaodong. For our Western Liang Army, although Yuan Shao of Jizhou is strong, he is not invincible, but these barbarian forces, Liaodong vassal states and Fanbang barbarians are very troublesome.

Therefore, once our army goes to Youzhou, it will inevitably fall into the quagmire of war and cannot get out, unless these barbarian forces are completely eliminated, our army will not be able to gain a foothold in Youzhou, let alone get substantial benefits. Therefore, Weichen is very hesitant, suffering from gains and losses, and it is difficult to make a choice in his heart, and he asks the lord to make a clear decision! This is Guo Jia's heartfelt words, the result of his careful consideration, as for what he said about the dilemma and inability to decide, it may not be the truth, maybe this is just a pretext, in order to test Li Li's true thoughts. And this is precisely Guo Jia's cleverness, clarifying all the opportunities and difficulties that may be encountered, posing the pros and cons, and finally putting the decision-making power in the hands of Li Li; The master's ability can be seen from this.

"Hehehe!" Li Li smiled dumbly when he heard this, and said inscrutablely: "Feng Xiao's words have been thinking about it for a long time, and he has been thinking about it for a long time, and he has put all the battles and emergencies that may occur in the entire Jiyou battlefield in front of me, and finally threw the question to me." It's a bit of a taste that is not as good as the radical general! ”

"Ugh!" Guo Jia was shocked when he heard this, and said urgently: "Weichen doesn't dare." Please see ?????? Lord."

Without waiting for Guo Jia to finish speaking, Li Li raised his hand to signal that he didn't need to explain, and said with a smile: "I know what concerns Feng Xiao has in his heart. Because you know the opportunities and difficulties you mentioned, and I, Li Li, also know them. For this reason, you are worried that in order to take into account your own interests and the long-term strategy of the Xiliang army, you will not start a war with the barbarian states such as Wuhuan, Xianbei, Liaodong vassal states and Goryeo before you completely occupy the Central Plains, and I will not send troops to rescue Gongsun Zhan, let alone put the main army of Xiliang into the northeast battlefield. Perhaps, in Fengxiao's mind, this kind of stupid thing and trivial foreign war. I, Li Li, would never do it, and never would have done it, after all, it was a thankless stupid move. "Between words. Seeing that Guo Jia was about to explain again, Li Li waved his hand to stop it, signaling that he didn't need to say more.

After a pause, the smile on Li Li's face disappeared. turned to a solemn expression. He said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, the remnants of the forces led by Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin, Xian Yufu and others are now forty or fifty thousand horses, and most of their strength has recovered, holding back most of the soldiers and horses under Gongsun Zhan. The Wuhuan barbarians entrenched in Youbeiping, Shangjun, Daijun and Liaodong probably have forty or fifty thousand people who control the strings, or even more, and their strength is not weak.

The eastern Xianbei on the Xianbei grassland is the most powerful tribe among the three major tribes of Xianbei, with no less than 80,000 Xianbei iron horsemen. The strength is still better than that of Gongsun Zan of Youzhou. However, the Xianbei tribe is not united. The internal strife has caused a great loss of strength, but he is still the most powerful force outside Youzhou, and he should not be underestimated.

Gongsun Du of Liaodong lives in a corner, and he is the power of my Han princes, so he is not afraid. In my eyes, as long as he holds the three counties of Liaodong without losing, he can be regarded as a contribution to the Han Dynasty, so there is no need to rush to get rid of him, and he can force him to surrender on his own initiative with his strong strength. As for the states of Goryeo, Buyeo and other countries outside Liaodong, as long as they don't take the initiative to plunder the Han realm, they will leave him alone for the time being, and it will not be too late to clean up these jumping clowns after sweeping Youzhou. ”

"It's ??? The meaning of the lord's words is to send troops to Youzhou? Guo Jia said in disbelief.

Li Li smiled and said, "Of course you have to send troops." not only sent troops to aid Gongsun Zhan, but also mobilized heavy troops to go to Youzhou, and it was ??? I'm going out on the expedition myself! ”

Guo Jia was shocked when he heard this, and shook his head without hesitation: "The lord is in command of the expedition to Youzhou? No, never! At present, the war situation in the Central Plains is at a critical moment, the situation is changing rapidly, and the lord should sit in charge of the division and wait for the opportunity to move, or he can take the states of the Central Plains in one fell swoop and settle the Central Plains. At this juncture, the lord avoided the important and went to the battlefield in Youzhou, which is really ?????? It is by no means the best policy, and the wise do not do it. He almost said the word stupid, but fortunately, Guo Jia's words stopped abruptly, and then changed his rhetoric, relatively euphemistically persuading Li Li to give up his position as commander and reap other generals in the army.

"What's more, there are not a few generals in the army who can hold the handsome seal, Zhou Yu, Teng Xiao, Xu Rong, Bo Cai, Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun. No matter how bad it is, Weichen and Wen He, Yuan Zhong, and Wen You, any one of them, can also go out on behalf of the lord! ”

Seeing that Guo Jia was so anxious that he didn't choose to speak, and his words were a little chaotic, Li Li laughed heartily with relief and was in a good mood.

Slightly restrained his laughter, Li Li said frankly with a smile on his face: "Fengxiao is too worried. Nowadays, there is indeed no shortage of generals among the generals of our army, Zhou Yu is the best choice, Feng Xiao, Wen He, Teng Xiao, Xu Rong and others can lead the army. But you ignore a crucial link, that is, they are all generals, and their status is not equal to that of Gongsun Zhan, Gongsun Du and other princes, so that they will not treat our generals with equal eyes and attitudes at all. In this way, it will inevitably lead to many unnecessary incidents and fights, resulting in unnecessary casualties, unwarranted consumption of the strength of our army or their two princely forces, and leaving an opportunity for the barbarians.

However, if I personally lead the army, whether it is Gongsun Chan or Gongsun Du, they dare to put up a shelf in front of me, make a big statement, and have nothing to do? Give them ten thousand dares, and they will not dare to be my enemies; If there is a chance, I will let them honestly listen to the dispatch and seize Youzhou and Liaodong vassal states without blood. As long as Youzhou is in hand, Gongsun Zan is indeed not Yuan Shao's opponent, can't I Li Li clean up his Yuan Benchu? Once Yuan Shao is destroyed, the states of the Central Plains can be determined, and the domination of the Central Plains is just around the corner; Even if one or two princes resist stubbornly, they are just grasshoppers after the autumn, and they will die sooner or later. Therefore, I have made up my mind, and I don't need to persuade Feng Xiao anymore, so it's decided! ”

Guo Jia pondered for a long time, obviously Li Li's words pointed to the crux of the problem. To this day, there are indeed many world-famous generals in the Xiliang Army. But when it comes to the deterrence and influence on the princes of various towns, no one can compare to Li Li, and the difference is far behind. It's not the same. Even Yuan Shao of Jizhou, who is currently coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, if he sees Li Li, he will definitely be three points shorter, and he has to be careful in every word and deed, and he doesn't dare to breathe, let alone the other princes.

But??? Li Li can be described as the god of war of the Xiliang Army, and he will always stand tall. It is the soul of the army that can affect the fighting spirit and cohesion of the officers and men of the whole army, and its importance is self-evident. If he personally led the army to Youzhou, in case something went wrong. Then the entire Xiliang situation may collapse violently; The generals are not subordinate to each other, and the civil servants are in their own affairs, and they are scattered to the letter, what else can they do? Not to mention. Li Li left. What should I do about the war situation in the Central Plains, who will be at the helm?

"Alas, no matter what the lord says, anyway, Weichen resolutely disagrees with the lord to personally lead the army!" After thinking about it for a long time, Guo Jia was still stubborn, resolute and uncompromising, and never let go.

Li Li looked at Guo Jia in surprise, but saw that Guo Jia looked at him without showing weakness. The expression is firm, and there is quite a stubborn and strong man who is unyielding.

Look at each other for a moment. Li Li smiled, a glittering light appeared in his pupils, and the corners of his eyes moistened. This is the first time Li Li has shed tears in front of people, and the tears that moved him are happy, like a hot spring flowing in his heart, warming people's hearts. He may have had tears before, but no one saw it, but this time there was an eyewitness, he was Guo Jia Guo Fengxiao.

In addition to being moved, a philosophical saying through the ages came to Li Li's mind: "There are stubborn people in the family who are not defeated, and the country has martyrs who will not lose the country." ”

Before this, Li Li had always thought that he liked Guo Jia because the two had similar interests and uninhibited personalities, so they got along very well and cooperated tacitly. But today he realized that he was wrong, and he was very wrong. Although Guo Jia is a weak scholar, he has no iron bones among military generals, and a bright and pure heart. Guo Jia treats him like a brother, and speaks cautiously many times, not because Guo Jia is cowardly or tactful, but because he respects Li Li from the bottom of his heart. This is not just to repay a kindness, nor is it to obtain a glory and wealth, but to support and protect with brotherly love.

Originally, there was no spirit of dedication in the world, but one day when you are willing to defend something or someone regardless of it, dedication comes into being. At this moment, Guo Jia is fearless and looks at Li Li, not that he really no longer fears Li Li, but because he is selfless in his heart, he admonishes him with righteousness, and he seems to put life and death out of the way.

"Hahaha!" Suddenly, Li Li laughed loudly and sat down with Guo Jia's shoulder. I wanted to pour Guo Jia a cup of tea, but Li Li suddenly felt that the tea was bitter and not suitable for drinking at this time, so he beckoned his soldiers to bring a jar of high-purity cellar wine. Lifting the red silk on the seal, Li Li personally poured a full cup for Guo Jia, and then filled it for himself, without speaking, and the two raised their glasses and drank together.

Unconsciously, more than a dozen glasses of fine wine were in his stomach, Li Li's cheeks flushed, and he said with a smile: "This matter is not urgent, there will be no troops in a short time, only when Gongsun Chan is defeated and in danger, our army can attack, this is the real rescue, otherwise he will not appreciate it." And during this time, we can plan in detail so that we will not miss the opportunity, let alone make any mistakes. When the time comes to actually send troops, you, Guo Fengxiao, will go with me, and Zhou Yu and Wen He will sit in charge of the army, and give them the right to arbitrarily act cheaply. Does Bonghyo think it is appropriate to arrange this way? ”

Seeing Li Li's moving tears with his own eyes, Guo Jia's heart was surging, and the deep emotion in his heart was incomprehensible, and the pride of dying as a confidant was spontaneously born.

However, seeing that Li Li was using a roundabout strategy at the moment, playing a scoundrel in broad daylight, Guo Jia couldn't cry or laugh, and said with a wry smile helplessly: "Knowing you is the luck of my Guo Jia's life, but it is also a great misfortune, and I am destined to be afraid of you for the rest of my life and work hard for you." It's just that I've never convinced you, and this time it's up to you, I hope your decision is right. Come, drink, or the same sentence you once said: there is wine today and drunk tomorrow, and there is no wine to drink cold water tomorrow! ”

"Hahaha!" Li Li couldn't help laughing, but the tears that hadn't fallen just now overflowed his eyes and laughed. This is a limerick he casually recited when he invited Guo Jia and Li Xuan to a banquet not long ago, but Guo Jia remembered it without thinking about it, and he even used it at the moment. However, this limerick poem is at the right time at the moment, appropriate and beneficial, the love between brothers is deep, only asking about the present and the future, and it is also a great pleasure in life to get drunk.

On this day, Li Li and Guo Jia were talking freely while drinking heartily, and there was no lord and minister between them, no respect and humility, and no restrictions on the number of courtesies. Guo Jia no longer calls himself a micro-minister, nor does he call Li Li the lord of the lord, the two of them are commensurate with you and me, relaxed and casual, without scruples, so that after getting drunk, Guo Jia fell asleep soundly on Li Li's thighs.

Hearing the news, Zhen's Zhang Ai rushed to the lobby was dumbfounded, so he ordered the maids to use all their strength to separate the two, and then carried them to the backyard to rest. This was the first time in their lives that Guo Jia and Li Li were drunk in the lobby, and the next time they got drunk was thirty years later??????

————————To be continued————————————

(I wanted to split this chapter into two, but Hu Ben couldn't bear it, so he had a 5,000-word chapter.) Tiger was a good drinker and rarely got drunk for thirty years, the only time he got drunk was when he graduated from college and got drunk with four brothers who had been classmates for four years. After getting drunk, the five brothers hooked their shoulders and walked rampant on the road, staggering and proud. That night, I met three groups of traffic police, and when I returned to school, the door was locked, and the door was slammed, and then I was called by the doorman to preach. It was a ridiculous experience, but now in retrospect, it feels very warm, a permanent memory of youth. —————— to be continued———————— (To be continued......