As Liu Bei was the magistrate of Gaotang, he was also an official with a rank of thousands of stones. This time he came to meet with the alliance. Logically speaking, the magistrate of Fengqiu County had to come out to greet him in person and arrange a place to stay.
But now was the critical moment for the alliance, and Chang Fengqiu had already gone to Suanzao with his officials. Even if you can't make meritorious service, taking the opportunity to get familiar with the princes will be helpful for your future career.
Because of this, even though Zhang Heng and others entered the city, there was still no one to entertain them, so they had to find a hotel to rest on their own.
However, Liu Bei didn't care about these false etiquette, and directly took Zhang Heng into a guesthouse. After Da Ma Jin Dao sat down, he ordered the store to serve wine and meat, and he seemed to want to get drunk with Zhang Heng before they got up.
The environment of an ordinary hotel is naturally not that good. There are no wine bottles for drinking, and the store only serves a few large porcelain bowls.
Guan Yu, who had been silent all this time, now acted as a sommelier, pouring a large bowl for Liu Bei, another bowl for Zhang Heng, and finally it was his turn.
To be honest, this made Zhang Heng a little flattered.
Mr. Guan poured me wine... This treatment is not bad!
"If it weren't for Mr. Ziyi this time, it would be really difficult for me to enter the city." Liu Bei sighed with emotion as he held the wine bowl, "Here, let's have a bowl of wine for Mr. Ziyi to express our gratitude!"
"You're welcome, Mr. Xuande." Zhang Heng also quickly picked up the big bowl and said with a smile.
Seeing Liu Bei and Guan Yu drinking down the wine in the bowl, Zhang Heng, who was not a good drinker, couldn't help but swallow, but he could only drink it.
As soon as the wine entered his throat, Zhang Heng's eyes lit up.
Because he found that the alcohol content of this wine was not high and it had a hint of sweetness.
No wonder the people of the Han Dynasty were always drunk, and they all looked like the God of Bacchus was alive. It turned out that they drank such low-alcohol stuff!
For a moment, Zhang Heng, who had been devastated by alcohol in later generations, felt a little swollen.
After three rounds of wine, the five flavors of the food come into play.
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Mr. Ziyi has worked hard after traveling for several days. Let's rest early today. Early tomorrow morning, we will rush to Jujube to make an alliance with the princes."
"Why, Mr. Xuande plans to rush to Jujube tomorrow?" Zhang Heng asked with a smile.
"This is natural." Liu Bei nodded, "This place is only fifty miles away from Jujube. Two hours of traveling at full speed is enough. Since we have already arrived, how can we delay any longer."
"What Mr. Xuande said is absolutely true." Zhang Heng also nodded, looking like he was hesitating to speak.
Liu Bei was such a smart man. He immediately noticed something strange about Zhang Heng and asked, "Why, Mr. Ziyi thinks it's inappropriate?"
"It is a matter of great righteousness to form an alliance to fight against thieves, and there is nothing wrong with it. It's just..."
"It's just nothing. I hope sir will tell you directly."
Zhang Heng bowed his hands to Liu Bei and said with a smile: "Do you still remember what happened at the city gate today?"
"Sir, I will never forget your kindness."
"Mr. Xuande has misunderstood. I am not asking for credit." Zhang Heng quickly waved his hand and explained, "May I ask Mr. Xuande, do you know how many princes there are in Jujube now, how many people there are, and when do you plan to send troops to fight against the thieves?"
"this……"
Liu Bei was speechless for a moment and couldn't answer.
There were no telephones or news in this era. He only heard that the princes of Guandong were going to attack Dong Zhuo, so he hurried over with all his men. How could he know these details.
Liu Bei's actions cannot be said to be wrong. Wanting to make achievements and serve the country with all his loyalty can never be said to be wrong. It is just that he lacked some considerations.
To put it bluntly, Liu Bei is a bit blind now. He only knows how to act, but does not have a clear direction.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Ziyi, I came from Qingzhou, hurriedly and slowly, and slept in the open air. How did I know these inside stories? But our trip is to beg thieves, so I don't think we need to care about these little details. "
Zhang Heng shook his head and said: "It is admirable that Duke Xuande served his country loyally. But there are many mediocre and despicable people in the world. If we lose control, what happened at the city gate today will inevitably not happen again."
Hearing this, Liu Bei was stunned, and then nodded with deep understanding.
Just having passionate idealism without paying attention to methods will inevitably hit a wall in reality.
In the past, he followed the imperial court to conquer the Yellow Turbans. After fighting here and there, he had just obtained the official position of a county captain. However, he was eventually dismissed because he had no money to bribe the postal superintendent, and he could only resign sadly.
Since then, he has deeply understood this truth.
When Guan Yu next to him heard this, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Heng. Because these words were similar to what he said when he persuaded Liu Bei to take action at the city gate.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei said to Zhang Heng: "Then how should we act now, sir, please make it clear."
"Discussing Dong is a big deal, so naturally we can't rush it. I also ask Xuande Gong to stay for a few days. After I find out the current situation in Suanzao City, it won't be too late for us to go to the alliance."
Zhang Heng did this not only for Liu Bei, but also for himself.
His character has always been one of making decisions and taking action. Now that he has infiltrated into Liu Bei's team and his family and life have been saved, he naturally wants to understand the current situation and make plans for the next step.
Liu Bei was a little curious, "But I don't know who you plan to ask for information?"
Hearing this, Zhang Heng smiled.
"Someone has received a total of thirty pieces of horseshoe gold. We want to get some information. It shouldn't be difficult."
…
The next day, early morning.
Zhang Heng got up early and, accompanied by Uncle Li, rushed straight to the city gate.
Still a familiar place, still familiar people.
With money to open the way, everything will naturally be easy. Zhang Heng met the military commander yesterday smoothly.
As soon as this person heard that it was Zhang Heng who was asking to see him, his face suddenly lit up and he hurried over. With a happy face, he was even more attentive than when he greeted his biological father.
He originally wanted to wait for Zhang Heng to enter the city and then start robbing the finances, but he didn't know that Zhang Heng was walking with Liu Bei. He didn't dare to do it. He was feeling unhappy, but he found that the money-delivery boy came to his door. How could he not be happy? .
"I've met Mr. Zhang!"
Zhang Heng only mentioned Xiaolian, who was still white at the moment, but for the sake of money and Captain Zhang Wen, this person behaved very politely.
Zhang Heng also smiled, cupped his hands and said, "I thank you for your help, General, for what happened yesterday. I am here today to express my gratitude. Zhang has prepared a banquet in the guest house. I wonder if the General would like to express his gratitude? Of course, I still have some questions to think about. Ask the general for advice.”
When he heard the last sentence, the military commander's eyes suddenly lit up, and he even smelled the smell of money.
"Okay, okay, sir, if you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know."
Please tell me. I'm just waiting for you to ask me.
As long as you give me money, I can tell you everything I know.
At that moment, the two of them entered the city hand in hand and went straight to the guesthouse.
During the dinner, Zhang Heng's words and deeds spoke highly of this person, and naturally he got the information he wanted.
After a good meal, both parties were very satisfied. When Zhang Heng sent him off, the military commander naturally had another bag in his hand, which contained ten pieces of horseshoe gold.
"Master Zhang, please stay. If you still don't understand anything, feel free to ask me!"
Outside the guesthouse, the military commander patted his belly and laughed while belching wine.
Of course, if you ask again, there will be another price.
Zhang Heng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Thank you, General Chen, for clearing up the confusion. Today's discussion gave Zhang a sudden enlightenment."
Names were exchanged during the banquet, and Zhang Heng already knew that the military commander was going to Chen, and each of his names had the same character.
"It's easy to talk, it's easy to talk, as long as I can help the young master. It's getting late, and I have official duties, so I will stay here soon."
Chen Ying waved his hands and staggered away like a drunken duck with a big belly.
"General, walk slowly."
After sending Chen Ying away, Zhang Heng's smile faded and he turned around and walked into Liu Bei's room.
"How's your inquiry going, sir?"
Seeing Zhang Heng come in, Liu Bei immediately stood up and asked.
"Finally something has been gained." Zhang Heng nodded.
"Okay." Liu Bei said happily, "Sir, sit down and speak slowly."
Zhang Heng was not polite to Liu Bei, sat down and said: "According to what the man said, there are six princes in Suanzao City. They are Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, Zhang Chao, the governor of Guangling, Yuan Yi, the governor of Shanyang, Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, and Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei."
"so little!"
After listening, Liu Bei couldn't help but be surprised.
In Liu Bei's impression, this jujube alliance should be a grand gathering where princes gathered together to unite to defeat Dong Zhuo, but he didn't expect that there were only such a few princes at present.
In response, Zhang Heng could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
Indeed, there are indeed a few people in this group, and they are all minor characters in the history books, and the real big shots don’t seem to show up much.
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Xuande, the other princes may not have arrived yet. Furthermore, not all the princes are gathering in Suanzao." Zhang Heng explained, "For example, the later general Yuan Shu is currently stationed in Luyang, and under his command is Sun Jian, the fierce tiger from the east of the Yangtze River. Yuan Shao, the governor of Bohai, and Wang Kuang, the governor of Hanoi, stationed troops in Hanoi. Although Han Fu, the shepherd of Jizhou, did not participate in the alliance, he provided food, grass and equipment to the coalition."
After hearing this, Liu Bei's face looked better.
You know, today's Dong Zhuo is a real behemoth!
Previously, Dong Zhuo stationed troops in Hedong, with tens of thousands of Xiliang elite under his command. Coinciding with the turmoil in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to enter Beijing and annexed the most elite Northern Army and Xiyuan Army in the entire empire. He already controlled 200,000 soldiers!
If we only rely on the two or three big cats and kittens in Suanzao City, they won't be enough for Mr. Dong to stuff his teeth.
"Sir, now that we know the truth, shall we go to the alliance meeting tomorrow?" Liu Bei asked again.
"It's natural, but before leaving, does Duke Xuande need to make some preparations?" Zhang Heng said with a smile, "The six princes in Jujube City must have an army of 100,000 anyway. There are only a few hundred people under Duke Xuande's command. If you go like this, you will inevitably be looked down upon.”
Hearing this, Liu Bei was a little embarrassed.
"I feel ashamed to say that I am a low-ranking official. Even if I try my best to recruit troops, I only have less than 500 people. This makes me laugh."
"No, Mr. Xuande has great ambitions. The current situation is just a dragon lurking in the abyss. There will be a day when it will soar into the sky."
"Sir, that's ridiculous. But according to what you said, how should we prepare?"
Zhang Heng waved his sleeves and said: "Since Mr. Xuande has a small army and few generals, let's go to the alliance and make a surprise move."
"How to make a blockbuster success?" Liu Bei frowned.
Zhang Heng smiled, a strange look flashed in his eyes.
"This matter is easy. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than a declaration of surrender."
