The servant hurriedly opened the main door and sprinkled water to welcome him.
I handed over three name cards, but only two people came in.
The older man is about forty years old and has a generous appearance.
The young man appears to be in his early twenties, with fair skin and handsome appearance.
Liu Ye went up to greet him, saluted respectfully and said: "My lord, Liu Ye, I don't know that you two came to Chengde for a visit, but I missed your welcome from afar. Please forgive me!"
Liu Fu replied: "Liu Fu of Pei Kingdom, in Huaibei, heard about Liu Ziyang's filial piety when he was thirteen years old and obeyed his mother's orders and killed the evil servant!"
"Recently, I heard that Xu Zijiang commented that Ziyang has the talent to help the world!"
"I'm so lucky to see you today!"
Liu Ye was only twenty-six years old this year. When he heard that the elder was Liu Fu, he hurriedly said as a junior:
"Mr. Yuan Ying has a reputation as a courteous and virtuous gentleman, and I have heard of it for a long time."
"I just wish I was born in troubled times. It's hard to travel far and I can't make friends with you. It's really a pity in life."
"Today I can talk to you and get what I wanted!"
Yuan Yao listened and learned the etiquette and rhetoric of the two meeting, but he felt that it was really troublesome and long-winded.
Liu Ye turned around at this time and looked at Yuan Yao, who was much younger than him:
"Could this be He Shulong, one of the two dragons of the He family in Chen County?"
Yuan Yao shook his head: "No!"
Liu Ye smiled and said: "You are so young, you can't be Zheng Wengong, right?"
Yuan Yao took a deep breath and tried to make his voice full of energy:
"I am Yuan Xianneng from Runan! I am here today to visit Brother Ziyang!"
Who is Yuan Xianneng? Liu Ye searched in his mind for all the scholars surnamed Yuan in Runan, but the answer he got was blank.
Could it be that he is a junior who he has never heard of?
Liu Ye did not dare to be rude. There were many famous scholars in Yingchuan, Runan, so he never dared to look down on any scholar from Ruying.
"You're so polite, Mr. Yuan. Mr. Yuan's family is in Runan, and the commander of the county is the Yuan family in Runan?"
Seeing that Liu Ye didn't react for a while, Liu Fu coughed, pointed at Yuan Yao and introduced:
"This little friend Yuan is from the Yuan family in Runan, and he is the direct son of General Zuo!"
Liu Ye finally remembered who this Yuan Xianneng was!
It's Yuan Yao and Yuan Xianneng, the son of Yuan Shu!
Liu Ye had an unnatural look on his face, but he quickly covered it up and said doubtfully:
"Mr. Yuan Ying, didn't the invitation just now include Zheng Wengong and He Shulong? Why don't we see them?"
Liu Fu glanced at Yuan Yao, the instigator, and said with a smile: "The two of them suddenly felt unwell just now, and they will not come to the door until later!"
Liu Ye had no choice but to welcome the two people into the main hall. Seeing three carriages parked in the courtyard, Liu Fu couldn't help but ask:
"Is Ziyang going on a long trip?"
Liu Ye had no choice but to tell the truth: "I am also helpless!"
"Looking at Ziyang's troubled expression, has he offended someone or is there something important?"
"I didn't offend anyone, I just had to leave home to avoid trouble, which made Mr. Yuan Ying laugh!"
Liu Fu was secretly surprised and glanced at Yuan Yao secretly.
I thought to myself, could it be that this kid who was struck by lightning really opened his eyes and could predict the future?
In order to verify what he was thinking, Liu Fu sat down, pondered for a moment and asked:
"Zi Yang wants to hide from Chaohu Zheng Bao?"
Liu Ye was shocked when he heard this and stood up as soon as he sat down.
Pointing at Liu Fu, he said suspiciously, "How does Duke Yuan Ying know?"
"Could it be that Duke Yuan Ying has resigned from Zheng Bao and is now here to work as a lobbyist for Zheng Bao?"
"No, no." Liu Ye looked at Yuan Yao again and shook his head: "If the master is used by Zheng Bao, he will not come with Mr. Yuan!"
"Zi Yang, don't be alarmed!" Liu Fu waved his hand to signal Liu Ye not to panic, and pointed to Yuan Yao and explained:
"Zi Yang wants to avoid Zheng Bao. I also listened to Master Yuan on this matter!"
"And Mr. Yuan is here specifically to help Ziyang solve his problems!"
Liu Ye looked at Yuan Yao who was drinking alone with a surprised look on his face. He hesitated for a moment and then said:
"I haven't ventured to ask, what is the purpose of Mr. Yuan's trip?"
Yuan Yao stood up, comforted Liu Ye and sat down before speaking:
"The people of Lujiang have a fierce and decisive attitude, and they are willing to fight without fear of death."
"Now that the world is in chaos, there are many unruly people gathering in the mountains and rivers. If you have a few, you will be a thief, if you have a lot, you will be bandits!"
"Among all the thieves, Zheng Bao is undoubtedly the bravest and bravest, and has the largest crowd. Now based on Chaohu, it has become a climate to disobey county laws!"
"My master now takes the position of Captain of Lujiang. Naturally, this trip is to get rid of Zheng Bao, a great harm!"
Liu Ye heard what Yuan Yao said so eloquently and wondered: "I wonder how many soldiers and horses Yuan Duwei brought this time from Shouchun to suppress the bandits?"
Yuan Yao stretched out a finger.
Liu Ye asked tentatively: "Ten thousand soldiers and horses?"
"That is indeed enough to deal with Zheng Bao. Although this person has tens of thousands of followers in name, most of them are women, children, old and young. Those who can fight are only a few thousand grass bandits."
After all, he is the son of Yuan Shu, and he often has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, Liu Ye thought in his heart.
But Yuan Yao shook his head.
"A thousand soldiers and horses?"
"With a thousand soldiers, can a strong general conquer the formation? Although the combat effectiveness of Zheng Bao's subordinates is not as good as regular soldiers, I heard that Zheng Bao himself is very brave and can fight one against ten. He is a difficult character to deal with!"
This Yuan Xianneng is a bit too much, right? The son of his aristocratic family has never fought in a war, nor have the generals under his father Yuan Shu fought in a war?
Yuan Yao still shook his head: "I only brought a hundred fine cavalry!"
Liu Ye looked at the finger extended by Yuan Yao in disbelief.
"Captain Yuan, are you going to just take these one hundred elite cavalry, gather some county soldiers, and attack Zheng Bao?"
Yuan Yao still shook his head: "Although I have brought a hundred fine cavalry, I don't need them to deal with one Zheng Bao!"
"I only need ten attendants, that's enough!"
Liu Ye just felt that the man in front of him was joking with him, and it was a big joke!
But seeing Yuan Yao's expression, Liu Ye suddenly thought of another possibility!
"Captain Yuan, are you planning to assassinate Zheng Bao?"
Yuan Yao nodded: "It doesn't have to be like this until the last step!"
"It's better to invite Zheng Bao to a banquet and show his intention to appease him first. If that doesn't work, it's not too late to kill him!"
"His subordinates are naturally leaderless and scattered!"
Liu Ye stared at Yuan Yao and said nothing for a long time.
"I have roughly guessed what Mr. Yuan is doing when he comes to visit me!"
Yuan Yaoxin said, of course you can guess that my idea of dealing with Zheng Bao was plagiarized from yours.
"Brother Ziyang, please speak!"
"Then I want to invite Zheng Bao to the banquet in my name. Then whether to appease or kill him on the spot, it all depends on Mr. Yuan's idea!"
"That's exactly what I meant!" Yuan Yao clapped his hands and said with a smile: "There is a way for heroes to see the same thing. Brother Ziyang and I really hit it off!"
Liu Ye: "I just don't understand. How did Brother Yuan know that I went out to avoid Zheng Bao?"
"And why do you think that if you use my name to invite a hero like Zheng Bao with tens of thousands of people, he will definitely come to the banquet?"
Yuan Yao took his time, raised his hands and said respectfully to Liu Ye:
"Brother Ziyang is the queen of Fuling King and a clan member of the Han Dynasty. He is also famous at a young age and is well known to everyone in Jianghuai as a great scholar."
"And I know that Zheng Bao has taken a fancy to Brother Ziyang and wants to use him for him."
"That's why I came to see Brother Ziyang in advance to help Brother Ziyang solve his problems!"
Liu Ye also came to a conclusion in his mind.
This Yuan Yao and Yuan Xianneng, with their ability to collect intelligence quickly and use it quickly, are by no means a big idiot like they heard.
Of course, Liu Ye couldn't guess it even if he thought about it. Yuan Yao only knew this from God's perspective, which he knew well about history.
…
An hour later, Yuan Yao and Liu Fu were sent out of the house by Liu Yeli.
The two got on the horse, and Liu Fu couldn't help but praise: "This Liu Ziyang is extremely intelligent and smart. No wonder he is rated as one of the most talented people in the world by Xu Shao!"
"Captain Yuan is really discerning. This trip is the right one!"
Although Yuan Yao had just made Liu Ye and Liu Fu look at him differently, there was no trace of complacency at this time.
"Mr. Yuan Ying, you should call me 'Yuan Xiaoyou' or 'Mr. Yuan'. Calling me an official title makes me feel alienated from you!"
Liu Fu stroked his beard and nodded: "Does Yuan Xiaoyou really want to risk his life to appease Zheng Bao in person?"
Yuan Yao knew that Liu Fu was also an expert in appeasing local powerful people.
In history, Liu Fu was ordered to do something in danger. In Huainan, where the population was severely depleted, he brought local armed forces to join him, recruited refugees and rebuilt the new city of Hefei.
And when Sun Shiwan launched the Battle of Hefei for the first time, he successfully resisted it, which also laid a solid foundation for Zhang Liao's defense of Hefei later.
So Yuan Yao also wanted to hear Liu Fu's opinion.
"Mr. Yuanying, do you have any ideas?"
"It's not a good idea!" Liu Fu shook his head.
"I just want to remind you, Master, never underestimate this Zheng Bao!"
"Please give me some advice, sir!" Yuan Yao gave Liu Fu a lot of face, speaking like a gentleman with a very low profile.
"Lujiang County has always been known for its bravery and ruthlessness. Zheng Bao's ability to overpower the Lujiang thieves and gather more than ten thousand people shows his extraordinary bravery!"
"He came from a powerful family and became a bandit. However, he took the initiative to recruit scholars. This shows that he is knowledgeable and not a simple-minded person!"
"Master, it's better to be careful when dealing with this person!"
Yuan Yao showed gratitude and bowed deeply to Liu Fu: "Thank you, sir, for reminding me!"
Originally, Yuan Yao was conflicted about Zheng Bao.
"Three Kingdoms" records that "the treasure is the most fruitful, the talent is extraordinary, and no one is afraid of it."
History books are worth a thousand dollars. To be recorded in such a way in history books, Zheng Bao is certainly not an ordinary person.
Yuan Yao was not sure at first whether he wanted to conquer Zheng Bao for his own use, or follow the example of Liu Ye in history and hold a banquet to kill him.
After all, Yuan Yao is still limited in his thinking of recruiting "famous generals of the Three Kingdoms", and Zheng Bao is obviously not a famous general of the Three Kingdoms.
But everything is possible. What if Zheng Bao had that potential, but was accidentally attacked and killed by Liu Ye, and lost the opportunity to become a "famous general of the Three Kingdoms"?
The most important thing is that Yuan Yao's route south to Yuzhang is based on giving up the route west to Runan Yingchuan.
At this time, Runan Yingchuan is actually a good place to start a business.
There are scholars such as Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao and others who took refuge in Yangzhai's hometown in Yingchuan.
Wu had the famous tiger fool Xu Chu, Li Tong and other generals who gathered together to protect themselves.
Although Ruying was occupied by the Yellow Turban Army at this time, most of the remnants of the Yellow Turban Party were attached to Yuan Shu at this time.
As long as he seizes the Yellow Turban Army such as Liu Pi and Gong Du before Cao Cao pacifies Yanzhou, and then recruits Guo Jia, Xu Chu, Li Tong and others as Ma Chai, he can take the southern part of Yuzhou as his territory.
At this time, going east can join forces with his biological father Yuan Shu in Huainan, and going west can use the geographical advantage to compete with Cao Cao for the emperor and his entourage returning from Chang'an.
If we can successfully coerce the emperor to order the princes, the situation will open up!
However, as a die-hard Zhuge Liang fan, Yuan Yao could not refuse Zhuge Liang's temptation!
Therefore, between the two choices of heading west to Ruying or heading south to Yuzhang, Yuan Yao chose the latter without any thought.
There are also difficulties in marching westward to Ruying, and that is how to deal with the conflict between the local armed faction of the Yellow Turban Army headed by Liu Pi and the scholars and people's party headed by Guo Jiaxu and Chu.
There are also difficulties in heading south to Yuzhang. The biggest problem is that there will be a lack of famous generals along the way!
Coupled with today's conversation with Liu Fu and Liu Ye, Yuan Yao finally made up his mind!
I want to make Zheng Bao my general!
