Seeing Liu Bei's hesitation, Liu Hong shook his head tiredly and squeezed Liu Bei's hand.
"Xuande, I am currently weak and cannot handle many things. Therefore, for the time being, until I recover, you will handle all matters on my behalf. Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo, Dong Zhong, you three come over."
Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong approached Liu Hong.
Liu Hong raised his hand and pointed at Liu Bei.
"When I am not in charge, you must discuss anything with Xuande, and Xuande will make the final decision. Xuande's decision is equivalent to my decision. You must listen to Xuande's instructions and do not make decisions without authorization. ,Understand?"
The three of them looked at each other, and then looked at Liu Bei together.
"clear."
Then the three of them saluted Liu Bei together.
Liu Bei returned the courtesy and looked at Liu Hong again.
"Your Majesty, is this okay?"
"I'm seriously ill and can't manage things. I'm afraid it will delay important things. There are not many people I can trust at the moment. Xuande, only you can really share my worries. Don't refuse. I can put my life and property in your hands." It’s in.”
Liu Bei looked at Liu Hong for a while, his eyes filled with tears.
"Your Majesty is so kind, but I will never repay you even if I die! I swear to my ancestors that I will do my best to defend the Liu family and never let the He and Yuan families usurp the Liu family!"
Liu Hong nodded with relief, took a breath, and slowly closed his eyes.
After a while, he fell asleep.
In order not to disturb Liu Hong's rest, a group of people all left Liu Hong's bedroom, leaving only Empress Dowager Dong to look after Liu Hong.
After leaving the palace, Zhang Rang, Dong Chong and Jian Shuo showed their kindness to Liu Bei and asked him for advice on what to do next.
Now, the four of them are a community of destiny, and Liu Bei, as the person with the highest status, the most talents and achievements, can indeed gain their recognition and trust.
Therefore, they did not object to following Liu Bei's instructions while Liu Hong was on sick leave.
"In the current situation, our side has the advantage, while the Yuan family and the He family have the disadvantages, but they will never surrender. This time He Jin requested to go to Xuzhou to attack the Yellow Turban Army. It seemed to be giving in, but in fact he was retreating in order to recruit more troops. More troops to reinforce themselves.”
"ah?"
Zhang Rang knew about it before, but Dong Chong and Jian Shuo were shocked.
Jian Shuo asked hurriedly: "Then why did you just convince His Majesty to agree to He Jin?"
"I don't want His Majesty to be too worried. And by doing this, they think they are retreating in order to advance. In fact, they are digging their own graves."
Liu Bei sneered: "Let them move and let them gather all the strength they can use to come to Luoyang. This gives me the opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop. If they are not allowed to accumulate strength, they will not dare to confront me head-on or fight with me." If I confront them head-on, how can I destroy them openly?"
Zhang Rang had no opinion on this, but Dong Chong and Jian Shuo were quite worried about Liu Bei's statement.
Dong Chong smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, forget about the He family. The fourth generation and the third Duke of the Yuan family have disciples and former officials all over the world. A single move can affect the whole body. It is difficult to deal with it."
Jian Shuo also nodded.
"Even He Jin is not that easy to deal with. You should be more careful and don't be deceived by He Jin!"
Liu Bei nodded slowly.
"The lion fights the rabbit, and I will try my best. I will never let them plot against me. But I am really not worried about the current situation. You two, please do your responsibilities well, lead the Xiyuan Army, and control Luo Yangcheng, just don’t let the forces of the Yuan family and the He family infiltrate.”
"I can guarantee this. As long as I am alive for a day, He Jin and the others will not even think of sending a single soldier into the city!"
Dong Chong gritted his teeth and said: "No matter Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, their troops can never enter Luoyang City! The captains at each gate of Luoyang City are all my people, and I give them the most rewards. This point Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
"It's the same here."
Jian Shuo followed and said: "Although the Xiyuan Army has just been established, as the emperor's personal army, it still has the most basic position. Whatever the emperor orders, the Xiyuan Army will act accordingly. Since the emperor has orders, the Xiyuan Army will also Will obey the orders of the king."
Liu Bei nodded.
"In this case, as long as the four of us work together, the He family and the Yuan family will never succeed. Everyone, I hope that we can work together to defeat the Yuan family and the He family. I am outside the city and you are inside the city. If we work together, the Yuan family and the He family will not succeed. The clan will inevitably perish!"
After the secret meeting between the four, Dong Chong returned to the palace to accompany the Queen Mother Dong, and Jian Shuo went directly to the Xiyuan Army Camp.
Zhang Rang stayed and sent Liu Bei off as usual.
On the way, Zhang Rang asked Liu Bei about the relevant arrangements.
"You don't really think that Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong can succeed, do you? These two people are more likely to fail than succeed. They just say it nicely. If they really succeed, why would Your Majesty call you back all the way? You'd better be careful. Better."
"Of course I know that if they fail, they will fail, so I have made three-hand preparations. They can do things best, and they can't do things, as long as they don't get in the way."
"Third hand?"
Zhang Rang asked doubtfully: "Besides me, do you have any helpers? Don't tell me that you also plan to find troops from other places."
"The first hand is you in Luoyang City, and the second hand is my own army."
Liu Bei raised three fingers and said with a smile: "The third hand is a secret force from Bingzhou. They will also assist me outside the city. When the time comes, if Yuan Wei and He Jin are in the city, it will be up to you. , if they are outside the city, let them take action. If none of you can do it, I will send the army up and take action myself.
Three preparations, three gates of hell. I don't believe that Yuan Wei and He Jin can go through three gates of hell in a row and stand in front of me and talk and laugh with me. If their luck can reach this point, I will admit it. I don't think so. They are cruel. "
Zhang Rang was quite surprised.
"Bingzhou? Outside the city? Who did you win over? It can't be Dong Zhuo, right? He is an old official of the Yuan family, and you win over him? How is that possible? Aren't you afraid that he will inform Yuan Wei?"
"How is it impossible?"
Liu Bei whispered: "Old Zhang, there has never been absolute loyalty. The so-called loyalty is just that the price is not paid in place, and this is not the first time that Dong Zhuo has betrayed. This kind of thing happens once and twice. "
"I don't like hearing what you say."
Zhang Rang shook his head and said: "But I thought about it again. I really didn't think that you couldn't do anything you said. If others said it, I would definitely doubt it. But if you say it, I really don't dare to doubt it. , if even Dong Zhuo is won over by you, I have nothing to say, I don’t think Yuan Wei will believe it until he dies."
"So, weakness and ignorance are never obstacles to survival."
Liu Bei patted Zhang Rang on the shoulder: "Arrogance is what it is."
Zhang Rang looked puzzled.
"Arrogant? Who do you mean? Yuan?"
"The noble families of the Han Dynasty and the high-ranking scholars have all committed the sin of incurable arrogance. They will surely lead to complete destruction because of their arrogance. The Yuan family is just the beginning. ."
Liu Bei put a little more force on Zhang Rang's shoulder and squeezed it, which made Zhang Rang a little confused.
What does this mean?
Who else are you going to deal with?
Could it be the Yang family?
The Yang family had severely offended Liu Bei and was Liu Bei's biggest enemy. It was not impossible for him to destroy the Yang family.
But what would happen if the two wealthy families were destroyed by Liu Bei?
Liu Bei will not change from a master of debate to a killer of elites, right?
Zhang Rang didn't care about the survival of the noble sect. He just thought it would be very interesting to watch the destruction of the gentry sect with his own eyes. However, what Liu Bei envisioned was too far-term, and it was obviously not something he could achieve in his position. matter.
While walking, Zhang Rang suddenly opened his eyes and thought of a possibility that was not even a possibility.
If this is really the case...
Liu Xuande, you are too terrible...
Later, in accordance with Liu Bei's request, Zhang Rang responded to He Jin's request to let He Jin know that his action was allowed.
He can go to Xuzhou or recruit troops, but the number of soldiers he recruits needs to be limited. It cannot exceed 30,000. Any more will not work. Moreover, the government's finances cannot provide him with much support. He needs to find a way to raise military expenses by himself.
For the former, He Jin was very happy, but for the latter, He Jin was very unhappy.
Do I have to spend my own money to recruit soldiers?
That won't work. Even if it's the army I use to fight for power, I can't pay for it myself. I have to get some money from the court no matter what.
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the behavior of high-ranking officials and dignitaries was so absurd and funny.
To deal with you, I have to use your money to deal with you, and I don’t want to pay an extra penny.
So he went up to the table to argue, trying to get money out of the court's finances.
Liu Bei felt funny about this, and answered He Jin on behalf of Liu Hong, who was still asleep - otherwise, don't go, the court has no money, why fight anymore, just leave it to Liu Yan to toss, what do you think?
He Jin thought about it and discussed it with Yuan Wei. Finally, the two of them gritted their teeth and decided to recruit soldiers from their own pockets. It was impossible to expect money from the Iron Cock Emperor. If there was a conflict with the emperor over money, then It’s just a hard time.
The emperor was notoriously greedy.
As for how to pay for the recruitment expenses and how to share them equally, He Jin had a friendly and harmonious conversation with Yuan Wei, and then brought their hard-core subordinates together to discuss, hoping to share the recruitment and expenses a little bit. The pressure of raising troops.
If everyone is so optimistic about us, they must be willing to pay this money, right?
The major families who were deeply bound around He Jin and Yuan Wei suddenly became depressed.
They surrounded He Jin and Yuan Wei to obtain benefits, but before they saw the benefits, they had to spend money to repay them.
Is this deal really a good deal?
There are many people who have doubts, but they have no choice but to go to the dark side.
He Jin and Yuan Wei tried their best not to let themselves spend too much, and wanted their younger brothers to spend more. However, the younger brothers mainly depended on their posture. Only how much they contribute will determine how much their younger brothers are likely to contribute.
So He Jin and Yuan Wei were forced to be generous and used a lot of their family savings to show off.
Now, the younger brothers cannot slack off and must show enough sincerity to show them.
