Of course, a gift is not an insult, but a great respect.
"Book of Rites: Qu Li Shang": "A man in his twenties has a crown and a character.
This means that men will not be given names until they reach adulthood, indicating that they have begun to be respected by people and can no longer call them by their first names.
Therefore, this banquet started on the basis of mutual respect.
However, under the peaceful surface, undercurrents are surging.
Yuan Yao, Liu Ye and Zheng Bao entered the main tent.
Yuan Yao has a noble status and holds an official position, so he takes the leading position.
Liu Ye and Zheng Bao sat opposite each other.
As soon as the three of them sat down, the waiter brought out steaming meat dishes and filled the wine glasses.
Liu Ye first proposed to have a drink together, and Yuan Yao also raised the wine cup.
Zheng Bao looked at the wine cup in front of him and hesitated, then he handed over his hand and apologized: "Sorry, I don't know how to drink!"
"It is truly a blessing for Bao Sansheng to be able to meet Yuan Duwei and Mr. Ziyang today!"
"I would like to drink this cup with you two, but I can't drink it anymore. Please forgive me for being rude!"
Liu Ye looked surprised when he heard Zheng Bao say that he didn't know how to drink.
In his impression, a tyrant like Zheng Bao who came from a rough background would not be a teetotaler, not to mention a drinker and a good bartender!
He was simply prejudiced against people like Zheng Bao who came from a humble background and were famous for their bravery.
Yuan Yao also knew that his surprise was not fake, because he knew that the most important part of Liu Ye's plan was to get Zheng Bao drunk.
But Zheng Bao made a statement at the beginning, and Liu Ye had a premonition that his plan would not go as smoothly as he imagined.
But fortunately, the first plan today is to let Yuan Yao appease him first.
When the appeasement failed, he followed his own plan and killed Zheng Bao directly.
Zheng Bao didn't wait for Yuan Yao and Liu Ye to agree, and drank the wine from his own cup first.
Then Zheng Bao's face began to turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Zheng Bao really didn't lie, he really doesn't know how to drink! No drinking either!
Alcohol allergy! This is it!
Yuan Yao and Liu Ye could only drink a full cup.
Liu Ye said: "There is also a banquet outside the tent today. The brothers behind Zheng Shuai probably all came here on the boat with empty stomachs. Why don't we go out to the tent to have a good meal and drink!"
Without waiting for Zheng Bao's consent, Liu Ye and Yuan Yao exchanged glances and waved the attendants behind them to go out.
Liu Ye only had one Qi Ji left to accompany him.
Zheng Bao was cautious by nature, but there were only three people sitting on Yuan Yao's side of the tent, and there were about ten people sitting and standing on his side.
He could only wave the small bosses to go out, leaving only two higher-ranking bosses sitting below him.
The little bosses were pushing each other when they went out, for fear that if they were too slow, the wine and meat outside the tent would be gone.
Zheng Bao couldn't help but look grim.
Everyone ate something to fill their stomachs first, and while they were waiting for the cow Zheng Bao brought to be slaughtered and put into the pot, the three of them started to exchange polite compliments.
Liu Ye was very good at controlling the pace of the banquet and always kept the atmosphere in the tent moderate. Even though Zheng Bao resolutely refused Liu Ye's invitation to drink several times, the atmosphere did not cool down.
During this period, Yuan Yao and Liu Ye's subordinates outside the tent also came in one after another in the name of toasting.
No matter how close Qi Ji, Qin Yi and Yuan Bao under Yuan Yao were, or how much the swordsman under Liu Ye said how much he admired Zheng Bao's reputation as a knight resounding throughout Huainan.
Zheng Bao just remained calm and insisted on not drinking at all. He also kept paying attention to what was going on outside the tent, and from time to time went out of the tent under the name Xiao Jie to check.
But these were not in vain, and they succeeded in getting the two big bosses next to Zheng Bao drunk.
This finally made Liu Ye, who had planned and prepared all this, feel a little more at ease.
Unable to hold down the wine anymore, Yuan Yao could only get back to the topic.
"Brother Zheng has more than ten thousand people, which is enough to call him a hero. I wonder what his plans are in the future?"
Zheng Bao thought to himself, what was supposed to come has come.
He had no intention of concealing his plans, so he secretly held the sword on his waist, looked directly at Yuan Yao and said:
"Nowadays, there are many wars in the Central Plains, and sooner or later, Huainan will be affected."
"I want to take everyone south to Jiangbiao. I wonder what Brother Yuan and Brother Ziyang think?"
In front of Yuan Shu's eldest son, he said that he would coerce people to go elsewhere. Zheng Bao was also ready to face Yuan Yao's change of face.
Yuan Yao pretended to be curious: "Brother Zheng has never thought about surrendering to my father's army like Lei Bo and Chen Lan some time ago!"
"With Brother Zheng's talents, he will surely rank above Lei and Chen under my father's command!"
Seeing that Yuan Yao really showed his intention to recruit and win over, Zheng Baoxin said that he had really guessed it today!
He sent people to invite Liu Ye several times, but Liu Ye always made excuses or avoided seeing him.
A captain came to Shouchun and suddenly invited him to meet him.
Anyone with a normal mind can guess what the captain and Liu Ye want to do, but they just have a crush on their tens of thousands of followers!
Zheng Bao had already thought of his words when he arrived, and said calmly:
"Although Lei Bo and Chen Lan are not from aristocratic families, their surnames Lei and Chen are both powerful local surnames."
"A treasure begins at a young age, and never dares to think of being ranked with the adults."
"Moreover, although Bao is known as a million people, he is not afraid of Yuan Duwei's jokes. There are only three or four thousand young and strong people in Bao's village. If these people all follow Bao and join his father's family, there will be seven to eight thousand women, children, old and young in the village. Who feeds them?”
Zheng Bao hesitated to speak the rest, but Yuan Yao also understood everything.
Zheng Bao simply couldn't trust Yuan Shu, who was aloof and ignorant of the sufferings of the people.
According to Yuan Shu's method of recruiting troops, Zheng Bao would not stop until he recruited all the men among the more than ten thousand men.
Moreover, Yuan Shulian did not necessarily guarantee the food and salary for the non-direct troops, let alone the tyranny of ordinary people.
By then, not only would Zheng Bao and his soldiers not have enough to eat, but his family members would have long since starved to death.
It was for this reason that Lei Bo and Chen Lan later rebelled against Yuan Shu and led their troops to Lushan Mountain to occupy the mountain and become kings.
The funniest thing is that Yuan Shu finally had nowhere to eat, and in turn wanted to defect to Lei Bo and Chen Lan, but was rejected miserably.
Thinking of his own father who managed the place like locusts passing by, Yuan Yao also felt dizzy.
At this time, Liu Ye said: "Even if Commander Zheng does not want to surrender to the princes, he should not drive the soldiers and people away from Huainan!"
"Since Zhongping, although the Yellow Turbans have caused chaos in the world, Huainan has always been peaceful."
"Although Huainan is experiencing war for the first time, it still has a vast territory and abundant food, and it is far from being so dilapidated that it requires evacuation far away."
"Why did Commander Zheng choose to lead his people to a foreign country?"
"Are all Zheng Shuai's men willing to leave their hometown?"
But Zheng Bao had his own idea: "Now that the princes are fighting for supremacy, Huainan will be affected sooner or later."
"Although I gather a crowd, I cannot fight against the princes."
"It's better to take everyone south to Jiangbiao in advance, choose an unowned land to open up wasteland and farm, and protect your own life in this troubled time!"
"As my husband said, not everyone in our village is willing to leave their hometown."
"Bao has invited Mr. Ziyang several times because he wants Mr. Ziyang to advocate my ideas!"
What you think is quite beautiful! Liu Ye snorted in his heart.
Liu Ye was naturally unwilling to leave Huainan.
Although he also admired Zheng Bao's bravery and talent, he was determined not to follow Zheng Bao's plan to drive the people across the Yangtze River south.
joke! You, Zheng Bao, can continue to be your powerful force after going to Jiangnan.
But as a scholar from Huainan, I, Liu Ye, go to a place like Yuzhang, which is a "home without ministers". What future do I have?
"I'm sorry Liu Ye can't follow this policy!" Liu Ye refused bluntly.
Zheng Bao also didn't expect that Liu Ye would refuse in person, and refuse so simply!
"But Liu Ye knows someone who can advocate Zheng Shuai's strategy of going south!"
Zheng Bao's mood fell to the bottom and was suddenly lifted up again. He quickly leaned forward and asked:
"Who are you referring to, sir?"
After asking, Zheng Bao seemed to realize his gaffe, and sighed again:
"Even if there are others who are willing to advocate for this matter, they are not as popular as Mr. in the county. Alas..."
"What if that person is me?"
When Yuan Yao opened his mouth, it was as if a thunderbolt had exploded next to Zheng Bao's ears.
Zheng Bao looked in disbelief: "Captain Yuan, you..."
"Yes, it's me!"
"I am willing to advocate your strategy of going south to Jiangbiao!"
Zheng Bao's first reaction was that Mr. Yuan in front of him was not very smart, or that something was wrong.
Doesn't he understand that this will weaken his father's power?
Zheng Baosan laughed and said: "Brother Yuan, please don't make such a joke!"
Yuan Yao said with a serious face: "I am definitely not joking!"
"If Brother Zheng can agree to my conditions, I will not only advocate Brother Zheng's strategy of going south, but also ensure that the tribesmen in Brother Zheng's stronghold have enough food and grass to survive the pioneering years after they go south!"
Seeing that there was no trace of hypocrisy on Yuan Yao's face, Zheng Bao could only say seriously: "What are the conditions for Brother Yuan?"
Yuan Yao looked at Zheng Bao and said, "My condition is..."
"Brother Zheng and your subordinates must only obey me from now on."
Before Zheng Bao could say anything, Yuan Yao took the lead and said, "I also know that Brother Zheng has said it before, and he doesn't want to take refuge with my father like Lei Bo and Chen Lan!"
"I also know that Brother Zheng is worried about two things."
"One of Brother Zheng's concerns is that if the strong men are taken away to join the army, and their family members, old and young, cannot accompany the army, the survival of these people will be unsustainable!"
"Secondly, Brother Zheng feels that he is from a humble background and will not be reused by my father."
Zheng Bao nodded, these two points were what he was most worried about.
Yuan Yao suddenly changed the subject and said:
"Although my father leads Yangzhou as General Zuo, out of the six counties in Yangzhou, my father now only has two counties, Jiujiang and Lujiang."
"Brother Zheng must have heard recently that my father sent Sun Ce to increase his troops to attack Hengjiangkou to capture Wu County and Kuaiji County!"
Zheng Bao replied: "I have heard about this recently!"
"Since Sun Ce attacked Wu County and Kuaiji County, shouldn't we also send people to pacify the remaining Danyang and Yuzhang counties among the six counties in Yangzhou?"
Zheng Bao seemed to have realized something: "Is it possible that Mr. Yuan is going to send Mr. Yuan to lead the army to pacify Danyang and Yuzhang counties?"
Yuan Yao never blushes when he lies: "That's exactly it!"
"It's just that my father's army of tens of thousands will set out to conquer Xuzhou on a certain day, but I can't allocate many troops."
"My father sent me with thirty carts of goods to give to Brother Zheng. I hope Brother Zheng can help me!"
When Zheng Bao arrived here, he finally understood what Yuan Yao was going to do.
Yuan Yao also continued to analyze the pros and cons for him:
"And what Brother Zheng is worried about is not a problem for me!"
"First, I will cross the river south with Brother Zheng and his tribe, and share life and death together."
"My father gave me the power to control the counties and below. As long as I am here, I will choose a fertile land for Brother Zheng's tribe to open up wasteland and grow food. I will ensure that everyone has food and clothing without worries!"
Yuan Yao clapped his hands as he spoke, and Yuan Bao immediately walked into the tent holding the staff and showed it to Zheng Bao.
When Yuan Yao left, he took a lot of talismans from the Yuan Mansion. His own affairs cannot be called stealing, right?
"Secondly, Brother Zheng and your tribe will only obey me from now on."
"My father has tens of thousands of troops and dozens of generals under his command. It will not be easy for Brother Zheng to get ahead!"
"But if Brother Zheng votes for me, he will definitely become my general!"
Yuan Yao's words instantly awakened Zheng Bao.
He immediately realized that he had an opportunity in front of him that would make him great.
Yuan Shu was born into the family of the fourth generation and the third generation, and it was only a matter of time before he became the fifth generation.
The saying that students and former officials are spread all over the world is not for nothing. Just the number of governors and prefects of prefectures and counties appointed by the Yuan family in Runan in recent years can be counted with both hands.
As for officials at the county magistrate level, the Yuan family was too lazy to write a letter of praise to the court.
As a prince who supports the army, Yuan Shu's power is still growing. He is one of the strongest princes in the world, and it is not impossible to dominate the Central Plains.
Yuan Yaogui is the eldest son of Yuan Shu, and he will be the only one to take the position of Yuan Shu in the future.
If he could be loyal to Yuan Yao at this time, he would definitely rely on him.
When Yuan Yao takes power and succeeds to the throne, won't he become a minister of the founding fathers?
Zheng Bao has never been an indecisive person, but he has never made such a decisive decision as this time.
"Thanks to Captain Yuan's respect, I, Zheng Bao, am willing to serve Captain Yuan from now on!"
Looking at Zheng Bao kneeling on the ground, Yuan Yao also breathed a sigh of relief.
Guide them with benefits and teach them with harm.
If I can't explain these truths to you clearly, then I can only ask Liu Ye to kill you, and then I can reason with your younger brothers.
Liu Ye next to him also took a long breath. It seemed that he didn't need to be stained with blood today.
