When Zang Hong came back with the news of Dong Zhuo's challenge, the whole of Xingyang was filled with joy.
The princes seemed to have determined that they could defeat Dong Zhuo. This kind of self-confidence was really incomprehensible to Zhang Heng.
After receiving the news, Zhang Heng sneered and shook his head, then strode out and arrived at Liu Bei's residence.
Liu Bei's mood has been low these days. Although Zhang Heng had already analyzed the situation with him, he was still in a bad mood when he actually encountered him. But at this moment, Zhang Fei heard the news about the left-behind city of Xingyang from somewhere, and hurried to seek confirmation.
When Zhang Heng entered the door, he happened to hear Master Zhang's loud voice.
"Brother, they all went out to fight against the Dong thief, but they left us to defend the city. What's the point of this!"
In response, Liu Bei could only smile and shake his head.
"Brother, please say something!" Zhang Fei said eagerly, "Without us, how could they defeat Thief Dong!"
"This..." Liu Bei sighed and said, "We have made a lot of achievements in the previous period, so naturally it is not easy to fight anymore. If you stay behind, you can stay behind."
Zhang Fei immediately objected loudly: "No one thinks that they have more credit. If they have the ability, they can fight on their own. What's the point of running against us!"
"Okay, okay." Liu Bei waved his sleeves helplessly, "This matter has been decided. There is no need to say anything more about Yide. Let's just defend the city."
"No, this is absolutely not possible!" Zhang Fei cursed, "These bunch of princes are trying to bully my elder brother into being lenient and generous. They are simply not the sons of man! I will go and make it clear to them right now. If it doesn't work, I will have a fight. The loser will stay and defend the city! Thief Dong’s head must be ours!"
After saying that, Zhang Fei turned around and left angrily, apparently looking for trouble with the jujube princes.
"Yide, stop!"
Liu Bei gave a low drink and frowned.
At this time, Zhang Heng slowly walked in from the door, with a faint smile on his face.
"Yide, where are you going?"
"Hmph, go find those birdmen to settle the score!"
Zhang Heng smiled even more happily, "Why, you want to follow them even if they want to die?"
"Forehead……"
Hearing this, Zhang Fei's eyes suddenly widened.
"Ziyi, what do you mean?"
"That's what it means."
Zhang Heng sneered, walked around Zhang Fei, walked to Liu Bei and cupped his hands.
After listening to Zhang Heng's words, Zhang Fei quickly rolled his eyes a few times, as if he understood something, but he did not go out, but turned back to Liu Bei.
"Yide, now we are in an alliance with the Guandong princes. You must not act impulsively." Liu Bei glared at Zhang Fei and scolded.
Zhang Fei smiled uncharacteristically: "Brother, I understand."
Then, he turned his attention to Zhang Heng.
"Ziyi, what did you mean by what you just said?"
"It's not interesting. Yi Deruo is really worried about being robbed of his credit by those people, but he can lead his own troops to fight with the army. It's hard to say whether he can come back alive!"
Hearing this, Zhang Fei slapped the table and laughed: "Okay, I knew you were plotting against those birdmen!"
After hearing the news of being left behind, although Zhang Fei was angry, he was also a little puzzled.
With his brother's nature and considering the overall situation, it is normal for him to be squeezed out by those princes.
But as for Ziyi, why didn't he stand up and argue?
You know, this guy never suffers!
Now, he finally understands.
Zhang Heng couldn't help but glare at him, "Yide, how can you accuse someone of innocence out of thin air? I, the Zhang family of Nanyang, studied in the family and learned the way of sages, so how can I plot against others?"
"Stop pretending, Ziyi, what are your plans? You might as well tell us and let us listen."
"You really want to know?" Zhang Heng said with a smile.
Zhang Fei nodded quickly, "I think about it, even in my dreams!"
"In that case, then I... won't tell you."
Zhang Fei:......
"Ziyi, you can't do this. You and your brother both know it, but you kept me in the dark. What's going on?"
Zhang Fei grabbed Zhang Heng's hand and shook it hard, looking pitiful.
"There is no plan, it's just pushing the boat along." Zhang Heng was a little unbearable by him, so he said helplessly, "Yide, do you think the jujube coalition can defeat Dong Zhuo?"
"Hmph, five thousand people were beaten and defeated by two thousand people. What are they going to do with Dong Zhuo?"
"That's fine. They can't defeat Thief Dong, so what do we have to worry about? Let them suffer some losses first, so as not to keep pretending they are invincible."
"Yes, it should have been like this a long time ago!" Zhang Fei laughed happily.
"But after they are defeated, Thief Dong will definitely take advantage of the situation to pursue them, and we will have to step in to clean up the mess."
"Wouldn't it be better to just clean up and let Thief Dong kill them all!"
Zhang Heng spread his hands and said: "That's okay, but then we have to face Dong's army ourselves."
"this……"
Zhang Fei suddenly looked embarrassed.
Although he is a bit reckless, he is not stupid.
With his own small number of troops, he really had little chance of winning against Dong Zhuo.
"Okay, okay, if you are really too busy, Yide, you might as well go and train your soldiers more. There will be plenty of battles to fight in the future."
"All right."
Zhang Fei also saw that Zhang Heng had something to discuss with Liu Bei, so he stood up, bowed his hands to Liu Bei, turned and left.
Liu Bei stared at Zhang Fei's back for a while, shook his head and sighed, and then turned his attention to Zhang Heng.
"Ziyi, is something wrong?"
"There is indeed something..."
Zhang Heng told the story about Chen Gong's coming to surrender last night, which made Liu Bei smile happily and all the depression he had felt in the past few days was gone.
"Where is Chen Gongtai now? Why doesn't Ziyi bring him to see me?"
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "Why should Mr. Xuande be impatient? He can only join us after bidding farewell to Zhang Mengzhuo."
Why did you bring him here, just to take advantage of Liu Daer's arm and travel with him?
"That's right, but I'm impatient." Liu Bei said with a smile, "Ziyi, although Chen Gongtai is a famous scholar in Dongjun, what is he like about his talent and talent..."
It's still early now, and the real famous ministers and generals have not yet appeared, so it is normal for Liu Bei to have doubts.
"Chen Gongtai's talents are ten times better than mine. Xuande Gong can use them with confidence." Zhang Heng said with a smile.
"Stop talking nonsense and be realistic." Liu Bei immediately rolled his eyes at Zhang Heng.
If he is ten times stronger than you, he is no longer a god!
"Xuan De Gong, what I'm telling you is the truth. Chen Gongtai is an all-rounder. He can help the king and support the country at the top, and protect the country and the people at the bottom. Wen Neng is a patriarch, and he can lead troops in military campaigns. He is a rare talent. only……"
Having said this, Zhang Heng suddenly paused.
It was this pause that caused a knowing smile to appear on Liu Bei's lips.
Liu Bei has been interacting with Zhang Heng for a long time, and he has a general understanding of Zhang Heng's character. He praises everyone he introduces, but in the end there is a sudden turn.
And it is precisely this turning point that is the real point.
"Just what?" Liu Bei quickly gave him a step.
"The reason why Chen Gongtai came to seek refuge with Mr. Xuande was because Zhang Mengzhuo did not know how to recognize people, and he could not put into practice what he had learned. If Mr. Xuande wants to truly conquer this man, in addition to re-employing him, he needs to do one more thing."
"What's the matter?"
"Be kind to the Yanzhou nobles." Zhang Heng said calmly.
"Where do you start talking about this?" Liu Bei asked with a puzzled face.
"Although Chen Gongtai is talented, he has a strong sense of localism. Anyone who can make him return to his heart will surely be able to make the Yanzhou gentry return to their heart. In other words, if you want to win his heart, you must first win the heart of the Yanzhou gentry."
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are rivers and lakes, there are factions.
Chen Gong's position is somewhat similar to Chen Deng in Xuzhou. They are often not responsible to any warlords, but only to the local gentry, because this is their basic base.
In other words, anyone can come, but the premise is that you must be a qualified lord, and you must also maintain a certain degree of respect for wealthy families like us.
Historically, it was Chen Gong who supported Cao Cao in taking control of Yanzhou. The reason why the two fell out after that was because Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, a famous scholar in Yanzhou, which made Chen Gong think that Cao Cao did not value the Yanzhou nobles, so he turned to greet Zhang Miao and Lu Bu.
Judging from the two endorsements of Yanzhou Mu, Chen Gong is extremely powerful in Yanzhou. Being able to conquer this person is equivalent to winning the hearts of most of the Yanzhou nobles.
Likewise, if this kind of person is not used properly, he is a time bomb that can detonate around you at any time.
However, Zhang Heng believed that with Liu Bei's skill, there shouldn't be any big problems.
Even if there is a problem, I will be there to take care of it.
Looking at ability, this guy is slightly inferior.
In terms of resourcefulness, they are ranked at the bottom of the first-rate ranks, or even at the top of the second-rate ranks. Compared with top counselors like Jia Xu, Xun You, Fazheng, and Guo Jia, they are still one level behind.
Not to mention real hexagonal warriors like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.
"Xuan De Gong, achieving great things does not happen overnight. We must make plans for the next ten, twenty years, or even one or two generations. There is no harm in establishing a good relationship with the Yanzhou nobles in advance."
After listening to Zhang Heng's story, Liu Bei nodded first, and then asked doubtfully: "What Ziyi means is that we have to rely on the gentry to achieve success in the future?"
"No, that's not the case!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng quickly shook his head and said: "The noble family is from a poor family, and we should use them as supplements. We should only use talents and supplement them with morality. Only in this way can we be united. As for the gaps in between, we can slowly balance and sew them up." If there are really those who are rebellious and have evil intentions, we will have no choice but to endure the pain and get rid of them!"
Although Zhang Heng said it very cryptically, Liu Bei still understood it.
Chen Gong is a person who can be used in terms of ability, but cannot be completely trusted in terms of position.
As for the Yanzhou nobles behind him, they must be appeased, taken seriously, and treated with courtesy.
If after this step, someone still wants to cause trouble, then the only choice is...
Raise the butcher's knife and kill one to serve as a warning to others!
After discussing the affairs of Chen Gong, Liu Bei brought up the battle between the princes and Dong Zhuo.
"Ziyi, Thief Dong replied and promised that the battle will take place in five days. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Zhang Heng just shook his head.
Someone rushes to die, what can you say?
But the time has finally been set. It is now the end of March, and five days later, it will be the third day of April.
It's a good day to die.
