Zhang Heng's words were so shocking. Even compared to Dong Zhuo's poisoning of the emperor, they were too advanced. Liu Bei couldn't accept it for a while and remained silent for a long time.
Zhang Heng was not in a hurry, and even started to pour and drink by himself, quietly waiting for Liu Bei's digestion process.
After a long time, Liu Bei sighed, stretched out his sleeves to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, and said: "Ziyi, as you said, if we had to do it all over again, would the big man still be a big man? "
"Why not." Zhang Heng said with a clear face, "During the Warring States Period in the past, all countries were reforming to become stronger, especially Qin. Under the leadership of Lord Shang, Qin's officials, institutions, and ministers were all changed. All over. Does Mr. Xuande think that Qin is still the same Qin?"
"Of course." Liu Bei nodded immediately.
Zhang Heng smiled, "That big man is still a big man."
Now Liu Bei completely understood that Zhang Heng wanted him to use the same courage as Qin's reform to reshape the Han Dynasty and rebuild the country.
But... isn't this exactly my ideal!
He was born into troubled times, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out when he was less than twenty years old. I have been fighting with the army, and I have seen the cruelty of human life, I have also seen the misery of people being homeless, and I understand the dark situation of officialdom.
Once upon a time, I also lamented the unfairness of the world and lamented the difficulty of people's livelihood.
Now, there is a real opportunity to transform the world before him. Even if there are many difficulties and obstacles in the process, should he back down?
With this in mind, Liu Bei looked at Zhang Heng again.
Ziyi was a man who knew astronomy from the top and geography from the bottom. He has the talent of Han Xin in commanding the army, the ability of Xiao He in governing the country, and the wisdom of Zhang Liang in planning. He is a talent that has been seen for hundreds of years.
With his help, this road may not be insurmountable by oneself.
Even if you fail in the end, so what, your life as a man in this world is not in vain!
Thinking of this, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up, and he stood up immediately without hesitation.
"I am willing to rebuild the Han Dynasty and reshape the mountains and rivers. There are many difficulties and dangers, but I will never regret it. I hope Ziyi can help me!"
Zhang Heng also stood up immediately, straightened his clothes, bowed his hands to Liu Bei and said, "Since Mr. Xuande has such great ambitions, although I am not talented, I am still willing to do the hard work of dogs and horses!"
Liu Bei was overjoyed and immediately pulled out the two-pronged sword he carried with him and handed one of them to Zhang Heng.
"This sword is made of black iron. It has been with me for nearly ten years and has killed countless enemies. Today I give it to Ziyi as a token to show my heart. From now on, wherever Ziyi wields this sword, wherever he goes, it will be as if I am there in person. , all major military and political matters, the power of life and death, can be decided with one word!"
Even Zhang Heng couldn't help but be greatly moved by Liu Bei's move of delegating power, and he hurriedly bowed and took it with both hands.
"Thank you Duke Xuande for giving me the sword! Heng will do his best to help Duke Xuande revive the Han Dynasty and rebuild the world!" With the sword in hand, Zhang Heng said solemnly.
"Okay, very good. I know that the road ahead is difficult, but with Ziyi's help, I will fight against fate. I dare to give it a try!"
Zhang Heng shook his head and smiled and said: "There is no action in the way of heaven. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish. But God also has the virtue of good life. Duke Xuande aims to benefit the common people, but he is following the way of heaven. How can he compete with heaven for fate? ?”
"That's well said. With God's help, there's no need to worry about everything happening!" Liu Bei looked up to the sky and laughed.
After talking about the general strategic direction, Liu Bei thought of Dong Zhuo who was about to arrive, so the two returned to the original topic.
"Ziyi, what are our chances of winning against Dong Thief this time?"
"Not much chance of winning." Zhang Heng shook his head decisively.
"ah?"
Liu Bei said with surprise on his face.
This is different from what you just said.
Zhang Heng explained: "Thieves Dong sent 100,000 troops this time. Even though we have captured and killed 30,000, there are still 70,000 troops, and these 70,000 troops are all the elites of Xiliang. Look at our side, the subordinates There are only 20,000 people who can fight, how can we compete with them?"
"But don't we still have reinforcements..."
"Those jujube princes are very good at fighting for power. If we really let them fight against the Dong thief, I'm afraid they will never come back. Not to mention the Dong thief, even if they are the Yellow Turban bandits, it will be difficult for them to win."
"This..." Liu Bei showed a trace of worry in his eyes.
"But don't worry, Mr. Xuande." Zhang Heng said with a smile, "We don't have much chance of winning, and the same goes for Dong Thief. If this battle really starts, it will never be possible to determine the winner in a short time, and it will definitely take a long time. Once Dong Thief's army If we are at a stalemate here, the other princes will be ready to take action."
"Who is Ziyi talking about?"
"There are too many to count. Yuan Shao and Wang Kuang are stationed in Hanoi, Huangfu Song is stationed in Sanfu, and Yuan Shu is in Nanyang. These people will not be idle. After the fire breaks out in the backyard, Thief Dong will definitely return to Luoyang and take charge of the center. It was difficult for the princes to break through the Eight Passes of Luoyang, so they had no choice but to waste their time.
In my opinion, the result of this battle is probably that both sides will suffer losses, and it will be left to nothing. In the end, the heroes dispersed in one fell swoop, and Dong's thieves moved their capital to Chang'an. "
"this……"
Hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but smile bitterly. This was far from what he had imagined, but if he thought about it carefully, it was very possible.
"But Mr. Xuande, don't worry. Thief Dong is arrogant, domineering and cruel. Even if we can't kill him, he will die sooner or later."
Zhang Heng turned on the prophecy mode and told Dong Zhuo's fate in advance without worrying about making mistakes.
In history, Dong Zhuo's brutal behavior after moving the capital to Chang'an has reached a heinous level. Even if Lu Bu doesn't kill him, Zhang Bu and Chen Bu will jump out.
Liu Bei nodded and asked: "What about us, where should we go after this battle?"
"The natural thing is to find a piece of land, concentrate on development, manage people's livelihood, and accumulate strength. When the time is right, we can send troops to sweep across the world and restore peace to this world!"
After listening to this analysis, Liu Bei's worries were swept away, his heart suddenly became enlightened, and his path forward instantly became clear.
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. I will remember Ziyi's wise words in my heart!"
"Mr. Xuande has given me the award."
Seeing that the conversation was almost over, Liu Bei looked at the sky and said with a smile: "It's getting late, Ziyi, let's go rest and recuperate. Maybe we will have to fight against the Dong thief in the future."
"Excuse me!"
Zhang Heng stood up and bowed his hands, then turned and left.
After looking at Zhang Heng's back, Liu Bei also stood up and left. He still had to digest everything Zhang Heng said tonight.
Just after walking out of the pavilion, Liu Bei suddenly remembered something.
He had always wanted to recruit Ziyi, but he had no chance to speak. Just now I gave him the sword as a gift, but he took it without any hesitation.
Thinking about the agreement between the two of them...is this a successful recruitment?
Liu Bei scratched his head, with some doubts in his eyes.
…
The next day.
Zhang Ji, who had arrived outside Xingyang City, checked and found that there were no traces of enemy troops around. He knew that Liu Bei's army had all retreated into Xingyang City, and immediately led his troops to Guoting.
Half a month ago, Guoting, which Niu Fu had been unable to defeat, was captured by Zhang Ji.
Then, he received Dong Zhuo's military order ordering him to go to war.
So Zhang Ji no longer hesitated, led his army directly to Xingyang City, and began to attack the city.
Liu Bei in the city didn't pay much attention to this attack, which only had more than 3,000 people and no manpower, and only sent Zhang Liao to lead his troops to defend.
In fact, Liu Bei couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to, because he had more important things to do at the moment - the jujube princes have arrived!
There was still fighting at the west gate, but Liu Bei took Cao Cao and his generals to the east gate and held a welcome ceremony.
Cao Cao originally didn't want to come, but he couldn't stand Liu Bei's persuasion, so he had to come with him.
Liu Bei only received the news this morning. When he finished his preparations and took his generals out of the city, the jujube coalition forces were already in sight.
The 150,000-strong army was extremely powerful. The army stretched for several miles, and the carriages transporting supplies and rations stretched for dozens of miles. The end could not be seen at a glance.
The first to arrive were of course Liu Dai's small group and a group of princes from Yuan Shao's clan.
When they saw Liu Bei and Cao Cao coming out of the city to greet them, they all smiled and hurried over quickly.
"Let's go, brother Meng De, let's go up and greet him."
Liu Bei smiled even happier than the jujube princes, because in Zhang Heng's plan, these people were indispensable cannon fodder.
Once they came, they would have the capital to fight Dong Zhuo to the death.
"good!"
Cao Cao nodded, forced a smile on his face, and walked side by side with Liu Bei.
The two sides finally met one mile outside the city, and they dismounted and began to greet each other.
"Everyone, Liu Bei has been waiting here for a long time!"
