Chapter 380: Cangzhou Alliance
The peach leaves take off their calyx and the willow tips are soft, and the boundless spring scenery breaks away the worries of visitors. Hao and Yonghe repair the story, and the characters are all romantic for a while. -------Song Li Ruoshui's "Shangsi"
It is said that the seasons change in autumn and winter. In the first midwinter when Chen Long occupied Yecheng, heavy snow fell from the sky in Jizhou, and the trees were full of auspicious snow like pear blossoms in full bloom. The scenery was beautiful.
A rather luxurious two-wheeled carriage, pulled by two horses, drove slowly outside Cangzhou City under the control of a young man in blue clothes. The curtains of the carriage were raised, revealing a stunning flower-like face, with beautiful eyes like microwaves. She looked at the surrounding scenery, then turned around and said, "Long Lang, Cangzhou has arrived!"
The man called Long Lang is our protagonist Chen Long. At this moment, he was lazily leaning on the cushions in the back seat of the carriage, listening to the beauty talk. When he heard that Cangzhou had arrived, Chen Long stood up, stretched out, raised the beauty's chin, kissed her mouth to mouth, and said with a smile, "If Mi'er hadn't been with her along the way, she would have been so lonely."
That stunning beauty was Chen Long's beloved wife Zhen Mi. On the day when Yecheng was pacified, Zhen Mi missed her husband and her hometown in Jizhou, so she traveled thousands of miles, switched land and ships, and finally arrived in Yecheng to reunite with Chen Long. Liu Qian was old and lacked energy, so she did not come with Zhen Mi. She stayed in Xiangyang to preach and teach, teaching future technologies piecemeal to the growing adults Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying, enlightening their wisdom.
On the day Zhen Mi arrived in Yecheng, the messenger sent by Tian Feng also arrived. In the letter, Tian Feng proposed a strategy to eliminate the war and pacify the north, and invited Chen Long and Gongsun Zan to Cangzhou for a tripartite alliance on a certain day of a certain year. Chen Long was still immersed in the joy of Zhen Mi coming to his side, and casually agreed to the messenger's alliance.
On the contrary, Zhou Buyi read Tian Feng's letter repeatedly and reminded him: "My lord, Tian Feng puts himself and you on an equal footing every word, without revealing any intention of submission. This is putting himself on an equal footing." Are you also classified as a prince?"
When Chen Long received Zhou Buji's suggestion, he thought slightly in his heart. They thought that after they captured Yecheng and became Jizhou shepherds appointed by the emperor, it was logical that Tian Feng and Qu Yi should take the initiative to request to be brought under their banner. But judging from what he wrote in his letter, he indeed regarded himself as a party to the alliance. What did Tian Feng mean by this?
In terms of strength, Tian Feng is naturally the weakest, not even a powerful one. The small city of Cangzhou only occupies a corner of Jizhou. Although neither Chen Long nor Gongsun Zan had any intention of using troops against Cangzhou, it did not mean that Tian Feng and Qu Yi could be on an equal footing with Youzhou Mu and Jizhou Mu.
With this question in mind, Chen Long took his beloved wife Zhen Mi in a carriage and, escorted by Lu Chang and other ten special forces members, arrived outside Cangzhou City in heavy snow. After Lu Chang negotiated with the city gate, an official quickly walked out of the city gate to greet him. He claimed that he had notified Military Advisor Tian Feng and Prefect Qu Yi and invited Chen Long to rest in the post house temporarily.
The focus of Chen Long's visit here is the meeting with Gongsun Zan. As the most important local warlord in northern North China, if Gongsun Zan can reach a long-term peace alliance with him, it will be very important for the unification of the north, and it can also serve as a countermeasure for Liu Yu and his like between Liaodong Gongsun Yue, You and Xianbei Wuhuan. The role of peaceful demonstration will even affect the political and military decisions of Jiangdong Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. As long as everyone can recognize Chen Long's governance policies and peaceful reunification program, political means will always be stronger than war.
Although Chen Long is familiar with the history of the Three Kingdoms, he is not sure about the extent of Gongsun Zan's ambition at this moment. Therefore, after careful research, Chen Long, Zhou Buyi, and Guo Jia, two think tanks, decided to tentatively propose that Gongsun Zan return to the Yuyang line, which is the actual line of control between Youzhou and Jizhou, to test Gongsun Zan's reaction.
Cangzhou, known as "Cang" in ancient times, is located in the southeast of Jizhou, bordering the Bohai Sea to the east, Yuyang to the north, and Qingyan to the south. It is named after the sea to the east, meaning the state of the sea. Northwest of Cangzhou is Juli Lake, the largest freshwater lake in North China, also known as Baiyang Lake in later generations. The Daqing River passes through the city. Chen Long and Zhen Mi's post house is on the bank of the Daqing River, with beautiful scenery.
Chen Long's luxurious suite is connected to a waterfront platform. On the platform, there are tea tables and tea seas, and you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery of the entire Daqing River Basin. The grass and trees across the Daqing River are confused and deserted. It is obvious that the opposite side is an endless countryside that has not been developed. As the breeze blew by, Zhen Mi nestled next to Chen Long, feeling deeply happy.
The two had been separated for a long time and were enjoying the rare world between them. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a hearty laugh came: "Nanxiang Hou, Gongsun Zan of Xiayouzhou, came to visit you!"
Chen Long was overjoyed. In name, he had never met Gongsun Zan and had never been in contact with him. The only person Gongsun Zan had ever met was Longzhu after makeup. Zhen Mi hurriedly hid in the inner room. Chen Long opened the door, and Gongsun Zan appeared in front of the door. He was dressed in a brocade-yellow floor-length robe with a green-white jade belt tied around his waist, which made him look taller, more graceful and elegant. Wearing a plain brocade hat on her head, it was dotted with a few small pearls, which made her black hair look even blacker. The neatly trimmed sideburns are neatly trimmed, and are connected to the short beard just below the ears. The thick mustache on the lips is trimmed neatly, showing off his romantic nature. He has a pair of big eyes, a dark complexion, and a high nose. He was originally a famous handsome young man, but now that he is middle-aged, he still maintains his amazing charm. He does not look like a strong warrior with strong martial arts skills.
When the door of the room opened, Gongsun Zan was shocked when he saw Chen Long. No matter how well Chen Long put on makeup, he couldn't hide his tall and burly figure. Gongsun Zan suddenly felt like he was facing a dragon ball. Gongsun Zan smiled awkwardly and said, "Gongsun, hello! Are all the leaders of your Blue Dragon Army so tall?"
Chen Long knew that Gongsun Zan was suspicious, so he didn't explain at the moment. He smiled and changed the subject and said, "I'm here to pay my respects to Youzhou Mu! When did you arrive?" He extended his hand to invite Gongsun Zan in.
Gongsun Zan stepped into the house, and the two walked hand in hand to the rooftop. Chen Long asked the guards guarding the door to prepare tea sets. Gongsun Zan sat down, looked at the beautiful scenery by the river, and said, "Jizhou is such a great country!"
Chen Long was slightly shocked in his heart, and he didn't know if Gongsun Zan's words had any profound meaning. He said calmly: "Yes, Cangzhou is not well-known. I didn't expect it to have such a scenery."
Gongsun Zan turned his head, looked into Chen Long's eyes and said, "I didn't expect Wen Long to be so young. I'm really old." Chen Long heard this and said with a smile, "In what way are you old?" After saying that, he looked at Gongsun Zan with a smile.
Gongsun Zan heard the taste and couldn't help laughing. As soon as the love between a man and a woman was mentioned, the two immediately understood each other. Thinking back on how handsome Gongsun Zan was back then, he was naturally very popular among women and married several beauties.
The atmosphere became relatively relaxed, and the two avoided talking about politics. Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "I heard that all of Wenlong's ladies are all heavenly beings!"
The two laughed at the same time, and good feelings gradually grew in their hearts. If Chen Long hadn't been familiar with official history and Gongsun Zan was extremely ruthless in his later period, resorting to military violence and allowing his subordinates to plunder the people, Chen Long might have actually made this friend.
The two drank several cups of hot tea. Although the topics were lively, they were all frivolous and illusory. Chen Long understood that this showed that Gongsun Zan still had his own ideas about Jizhou, and it was not easy for him to quit. Just when a pot of freshly brewed tea was about to be finished, his men came to report that Qu Yi arrived with his wife.
It turned out that Qu Yi learned that Chen Long had arrived with his wife, so he went to the mansion to pick up his wife and come to receive Zhen Mi. Mrs. Quyi is in her thirties, has a well-behaved manner, and is obviously a lady. Now Zhen Mi had to come out of the bedroom to chat with Mrs. Qu. Gongsun Zan couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the beauty of spring. Any normal man would be suffocated by such an alluring beauty. Gongsun Zan couldn't suppress his lustful expression, and he didn't even pay attention to Qu Yi's greetings.
Chen Long coughed lightly next to Gongsun Zan, and Gongsun Zan came to his senses. He quickly returned the gift to Qu Yi, and at the same time complained to Chen Long: "Wen Long, you brought your wife here, why didn't you know what to say! You made me so rude. Come on, please Baoyue calls over!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
