"Why is this happening? Did we misunderstand Li Li, or did he look at the lord differently and deliberately take care of him? ”

After calming down, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and Han Dang's minds were full of questions, and they still couldn't believe that Li Li would be so generous.

Sun Ce shook his head slightly, took the edict and put it back into his arms, frowned and groaned: "Why is this happening? I have always been puzzled before, I can't understand why Li Li treats me well, and even wonder if he is confused, and he actually gave me the official title that Yuan Shu wanted but couldn't get. This incident tormented me for more than two months, but I still couldn't figure out what Li Li wanted and why he was so generous. ”

Speaking of this, Sun Ce's tone paused, and his words changed sharply: "However, after I received a secret letter written by Li Li again, all my doubts were easily solved and I completely figured it out.

There is no such thing as a good thing in this world that you can get for nothing, and if you want to get something that you have never had, you must pay a price that you have never thought of. Li Li is still Li Li after all, he has not changed at all, although he is the same age as me, he is scheming, cunning and vicious, and his every move has an unpredictable meaning, and it is impossible to refuse. Even though he knew that he was calculating and that there was a huge trap in front of him, he still couldn't help jumping down, because the bait in the trap was too tempting for anyone to miss. ”

While speaking, Sun Ce took out a stack of letters and silks from his sleeve and handed them to Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, and said to himself: "Just at the princes' meeting just now, Yuan Shao ordered me to return to Hedong. Succeeded Liu Bei in Hedong County, and together with Zhang Yang, escorted the allied army's grain and grass to ensure the safety of the grain route. ”

After Sun Ce finished speaking. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others did not answer, as if they had not heard this exciting good news. The three of them looked stunned, with a look of horror on their faces, while Cheng Pu's right hand holding the secret letter was still trembling, as if he was overly frightened and frightened.

After being stunned for a long time, Huang Gai sighed with a shocked face: "Li Thief is really still Li Thief." This trick is too ruthless! It's simply a demon who eats people and doesn't spit out bones, turning his hands into clouds and covering his hands for rain, which is unguardable! ”

Cheng Pu said thoughtfully: "Yes! Li Li was a young man and became a general. Sitting on 400,000 Xiliang troops and holding the authority of the world, it is not a fluke, it is indeed an extraordinary ability that is terrifying. This time, we knew that we were being used by him. But he had to die for him. And we have to find ways to do it. Otherwise, when I return to Jiangdong, I will be ruined, and all the efforts and efforts I have made before will be in vain and meaningless. ”

"Not really, right?" Han Dang shook his head lightly with an angry face, and hesitated: "Even if Li Li really does this, who will listen to him among the princes of the towns, and who will follow the order?" If the princes of the towns do not obey the edict, what is the point of him doing this, wouldn't it be an innocuous abolition of the edict. No effect on the princes? ”

Huang Gai and Cheng Pu glanced at each other, and sighed very helplessly. Forthwith. Cheng Pu looked at Han Dang and shook his head slightly, and said in a low voice: "You're right, maybe Li Li's move doesn't pose a threat to the princes of the towns, but it is a fatal blow to the lord and me." After all, our foundation is too shallow, the soldiers are outnumbered, and the most important thing is that we have no foundation to stand on, and we have no food and grass supply; Moreover, once we wait for the bright banner to break away from Yuan Shu, we will be enemies of Yuan Shu. It is precisely these reasons that force us to rely on the edict of the Son of Heaven to get things done; If the edict is recalled or annulled, we will be in internal and external troubles, not only will we not be able to gain a foothold in Jiangdong, but we are likely to be exterminated by Yuan Shu and the Jiangdong Shi clan. Therefore, Li Li's desperate trick may not work for others, but it is a mortal threat to us. ”

After hearing the words of Han Dang and Cheng Pu, Sun Ce nodded with a gloomy face, and said in a deep voice: "The winner is the prince and the loser is the thief, this is the eternal and unchanging law in the chaotic times for hegemony. If the Allies win this battle, we will get nothing but some grain and grass to be shared; If Li Li won the final victory, then this trick would have an effect on all the princes of the alliance, and even shake their foundations; And we are undoubtedly the first group of people to die under this trick. So ??????"

Speaking of this, Sun Ce's face showed a thick look of helplessness, and after a pause in his voice, he whispered: "Therefore, we have no choice, we can only do what Li Li said in the secret letter, there is no other way." And the only thing we can do is to complete the agreement with Li Li cleanly, and then leave quickly, and strive to return to Jiangdong as soon as possible. Only by returning to Koto will we be safe, and the victory or defeat of the Battle of Hakoya will not affect us for the time being.

What's more, Li Li pointed out a clear path for us in his letter, we have nothing now, and even if we return to Jiangdong, we will not be able to do much in the short term. However, if we follow what Li Lixin said, we will be able to get a lot of baggage, recruit soldiers along the way back to Jiangdong, and then show our strength in Jiangdong and develop rapidly. ”

Cheng Pu nodded thoughtfully and said, "What the lord said is good, now we have no choice. Li Thief is a really smart man, and while promising high-ranking officials, he also threatens and threatens us, and incidentally shows us the benefits that can be obtained by working for him. This move can be described as exhaustive, insidious and vicious, no matter who encounters him, it will be a headache, and if he is an enemy, his fate will be even worse. This time, we can be regarded as having learned the power of the Li thief, and we have to take over this favor in addition to being used by him; A person who is so treacherous as Li Li can be called a 'hero of the world'! ”

When the words fell, Cheng Pu suddenly remembered what Sun Ce had just said: "The lord just said that Yuan Shao asked me to retreat to Hedong and take over Liu Bei to protect the allied army's grain route, I don't know if this matter is true, there will be no more variables, right?" ”

"No, it won't." Sun Ce affirmed: "We will set off early tomorrow morning and take a ferry to Hedong County to transport grain and grass, and then replace Liu Bei and Zhang Yang to garrison Hedong and Hanoi two counties. This is something that all the princes agree on, how can Yuan Shao change the order overnight? ”

"How coincidental it was? There is something strange about what Li Thief said in his secret letter so quickly becoming a reality! Cheng Pu frowned and said in a deep voice.

Sun Ce was shocked when he heard this. A pair of eyes were full of worry and doubt: "What Demou said is reasonable. Two days ago, in the middle of the night, this secret letter suddenly appeared on my handsome case. Less than two days later, I was sent to Hedong County this afternoon to protect the grain road. If there is nothing strange in this, I'm afraid no one will believe it, but what is the problem? Could it be that Li Li knew two days ago that I was going to Hedong County to garrison, so he sent someone to deliver this secret letter? But how did he know, and he had already gotten the news two days in advance? Such a mysterious thing is really incredible. I can't figure it out! ”

"What does the lord mean??? Li Thief installed an internal response next to Yuan Shao? Cheng Pu said in astonishment.

Sun Ce shook his head lightly: "No, it's definitely not as simple as planting thin eyeliner next to Yuan Shao." Just imagine, it's just a small work. How could you have access to such a secret military intelligence? And how did he get close to Yuan Shao, and how did he learn the unannounced information from Yuan Shao's mouth? So, if I'm not mistaken, it's definitely not a petty act. Rather, there was someone among the Allied princes who secretly consulted with Li Li. I already knew that Yuan Shao wanted me to go to Hedong County. Even??? I suspect that it was this prince who secretly colluded with Li Li to instigate Yuan Shao to send me to Hedong to replace Liu Bei, and the whole thing was planned by this person, trying to use this matter to show favor to Li Li, and then make a profit from it! ”

"It's ??? This is incredible! Huang Gai said in shock.

Cheng Pusi pondered and said: "It's indeed a bit unbelievable, but it's not impossible." In the troubled times, people's hearts are unpredictable, and the alliance of the princes is also forced by the form, and it is just an expedient measure. As a matter of fact. The princes of each town are not of the same mind at all, fighting openly and secretly, and intriguing. There are not a few people with different aspirations. Perhaps no one had secretly colluded with Li Li when the Allied war was going well, but now that the Allied forces have suffered a lot of losses and are in a bad situation, it is difficult to say that no one has betrayed the Allied forces at this time, so as to exchange for Li Li's forgiveness or ask for Li Li's forgiveness. Isn't that what we're like, to put it mildly? Since we will all do this, won't we be the second prince who secretly communicates with Li Li? ”

Sun Ce's face was very ugly when he heard this, and he immediately waved his hand and said, "Okay, this matter is over, there is no need to discuss it anymore." Either way, these things have nothing to do with us, and it's not our turn to worry about them. At the moment, it is imperative that we make arrangements for tomorrow morning's departure as soon as possible, and we cannot delay for a moment! ”

"What's the good arrangement for this, just leave the camp early tomorrow morning, why prepare in advance?" Huang Gai answered.

Sun Ce's eyes flashed with a cold color, and he said in a deep voice: "General Gongfu is thinking too simply, our Yuan Shao Yuan Alliance Lord is not a good stubble!" Now that Hanoi and Hedong are his Yuan Shao's territory, how could he let us go and garrison without warning? ”

Huang Gai was stunned when he heard this: "What does the lord mean??? Could it be that Yuan Shao is not at ease with us and is still wary of us? ”

Cheng Pu and Han Dang's expressions changed greatly when they heard this, and Cheng Pu said with a blushing face: "Yuan Shao has never believed in any of the princes along the way, presumably this time he ordered us to garrison Hedong and have a backhand, otherwise he will not let me protect the allied army's grain route." Specifically, please make it clear to the lord. ”

Sun Ce's face was gloomy, and he nodded lightly: "As Demou said, although Yuan Shao sent us to Hedong County, he didn't trust us. He only asked me to lead 15,000 soldiers across the river, and the remaining 10,000 soldiers of our department continued to stay in the camp, temporarily under the personal control of Yuan Shao, and waited until the next general order was issued, if there was any change, and then return the remaining soldiers and horses to me. ”

"Ahh Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and the others were taken aback, and Han Dang said angrily: "After Yuan Shao was born in the Yuan family, the fourth and third princes, acting like this, it is really in vain to be the leader of the alliance, which is chilling!" ”

Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were also indignant, Cheng Pu said: "Lord, what should I do, can I let Yuan Shao slaughter it?" We finally recruited more than 10,000 new soldiers and expanded the number of soldiers and horses to 30,000, and now Yuan Shao gave an order and asked us to leave half of the soldiers and horses. How unreasonable, deceiving people is too much! ”

"What else can I do? The shape is pressing, how can we question it? For today's plan, I can only take advantage of the night to select 15,000 elite soldiers, and we must prepare well tonight, and take all the grain and grass to Hedong County tomorrow morning! After finishing speaking, Sun Ce glanced at Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, and then brushed his sleeves away.

―――――――――――― (To be continued......)