Xingyang.
The princes were no longer in the mood to celebrate. After returning to the city, they complained to Liu Bei and went back to their homes.
Maybe he was reflecting, maybe he was crying, maybe he was thinking of a way out, but he was not in the mood to participate in this celebration banquet anyway.
People's joys and sorrows are not the same as each other, but Liu Bei is always in high spirits during happy events. Not only did he defeat Dong Zhuo's army, but he also made a lot of gains. He even had to host a banquet for Sun Jian, so he naturally had no obligation to accompany them to EMO.
Seeing that all the princes had left, Liu Bei led everyone back to his courtyard, and then waved his sleeves.
Have a feast!
This meal was quite enjoyable. During the dinner, everyone exchanged cups and cups, so happy.
Under Zhang Heng's instruction, the generals of Liu Bei's group headed by Guan Yu got up and had a grand party with the generals of Sun Jian's account. Even Liu Bei himself pulled Sun Jian to change cups frequently.
After a heavy drink, it could be said that the guest and the host had a great time. While the two parties got to know each other better, Sun Jian became more and more grateful for his decision to come to Xingyang.
Liu Xuande was a tolerant and straightforward man, a rare hero. He was not at all like the hypocrites of the Guandong princes who only knew how to talk.
If we join forces with this person, we will definitely be able to defeat Thief Dong.
Making great achievements is just around the corner!
Everyone thought that it would be over after dinner, but who knew there would be extra entertainment.
While everyone was present, Zhang Heng stood up and emphatically praised Zhang Fei, highly affirming his role in this battle and praising him for his contribution to killing Wang Fang.
Zhang Fei was very happy to hear this rainbow fart, and he felt very happy.
But who knew that Zhang Heng's praise stopped abruptly at the next moment, and then his expression changed, and he began to scold Zhang Fei for his bold behavior of disobeying military orders, and called out his own soldiers on the spot to beat Zhang Fei with 500 military sticks.
Zhang Fei was shocked by this.
Damn it, Ziyi, we agreed to subtract 200!
Do you want to eat fried cakes?
Moreover, you can fight if you want, why do you have to do it in front of outsiders?
Liu Bei was also shocked.
Good guy, if five hundred military sticks go down, my third brother's butt will probably turn into a meat pie.
"Ziyi, although Yide is at fault, if he kills the enemy general, can the merits and demerits be equal to each other?" Liu Bei hurriedly stood up and advised.
"What Mr. Xuande said is wrong. Gong is merit and fault is fault. How can we generalize it?" Zhang Heng blocked Liu Bei back with one sentence.
Hearing these familiar words, Zhang Fei couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of wine.
Zhang Ziyi is so shameless and unworthy of a human being!
Guan Yu also stood up and said: "Zi Yi, although Yide is at fault, five hundred military sticks are too many. Now is the time to employ people, so it would be a pity to break them. Why not send them to him for the time being, so that he can make meritorious service."
Zhang Heng nodded, "Although Yun Chang's words are reasonable, if such a big mistake is not punished, how can we convince the public. So I will first send fifty military sticks and beat them to a total of four hundred and five."
Hearing this, Guan Yu's face twitched.
My face is worth fifty military sticks, right...
"Secretary, please be more lenient. Four hundred and fifty military sticks is really too much!" Zhang Liao also stood up and advised with a wry smile.
Everyone tried to persuade him in turn, but Zhang Heng refused to give him any face. After the price was reduced to four hundred, he refused to reduce it any further.
Finally, Sun Jian couldn't sit still anymore and stood up together to persuade him.
He saw that Liu Bei had not spoken before, and thought that Zhang Heng was strictly enforcing the law, so he naturally had no hope.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Heng readily agreed.
"Yide, you underestimated the enemy and made a big mistake by advancing rashly. The crime is unforgivable, but Brother Nianzai Wentai interceded for you, so I will show mercy and grant you mercy this time. Come here, drag out a hundred troops and fight again stick!"
Even Sun Jian couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Good guy, why is my face so valuable?
After receiving the order, the soldiers immediately rushed forward and took Zhang Fei down.
But out of sight of others, Zhang Heng winked at Zhang Fei.
Yide, I will directly reduce it to one hundred for you. That's interesting. The pig's trotters you had before were not in vain.
Zhang Fei glared at him directly.
That’s enough for you, uncle, Ziyi, just wait for me!
Soon after, Zhang Fei's screams like he was killing a pig were heard outside.
But less than two hours after the one hundred army sticks were beaten, Zhang Fei ran up and knocked on Sun Jian's door. While thanking him for interceding for him, the two of them had another big drink.
…
In the study, Zhang Heng poured a cup of tea for Liu Bei, and the two sat across from each other and drank.
After Liu Bei took a sip, he smiled bitterly and said: "Ziyi, I just asked Yide and he didn't intend to violate military orders. What happened last night was purely due to bad luck. Even if the law is merciless, why do you have to do it in front of me? The punishment of outsiders lies with him.”
"Mr. Xuande misunderstood, punishing Yide is not the purpose." Zhang Heng shook his head and smiled, "Just now, I asked Yide to come to visit Sun Wentai in person."
"Oh, so Ziyi wants to make friends with Sun Wentai?" Liu Bei suddenly realized.
"Yes, although Sun Wentai behaves violently, he is willful and willful. He is a trustworthy ally."
Hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but nodded.
After drinking a meal today, he also discovered this.
"Besides... Sun Wentai may not have any intention of making friends with us when he comes here."
Zhang Heng smiled again, with a hint of deep meaning in his eyes.
"How do you say this?" Liu Bei asked slightly puzzled.
"Xuan De Gong, from the first time he took the initiative to help Yide, to the actions of Sun Wentai in Xingyang City, this signal has been revealed. As I have predicted, this should be Yuan Jiujiu's intention."
There is no love without reason in this world, and there is no hate without reason.
Who is Sun Jian? How could he flatter others unless he had other intentions?
Yuan Shu's thoughts are actually not difficult to guess. He saw that Yuan Shao was getting more and more powerful, and he was worried that he would be isolated and helpless and suffer a disadvantage in the future struggle for hegemony, so he wanted to win over Liu Bei in advance.
At least Liu Bei cannot be allowed to fall to Yuan Shao's side.
The fourth and third sons of the Yuan family have a profound background. They are descendants of the collateral lineage and have been educated in struggle since childhood. What's more, Yuan Shu, a long-term son, is naturally a master of tactics.
Only then did Liu Bei understand the key, and he said with a surprised look on his face: "Ziyi, you said that Yuan Gongli's purpose of wooing us is to compete with Yuan Benchu?"
"Not bad." Zhang Heng nodded.
"But..." Liu Bei frowned and said, "He and Yuan Benchu are both descendants of the Yuan family. They should help each other. How can they be suspicious of each other just because of a personal grudge? This person is too ignorant."
Zhang Heng shook his head and said: "What Mr. Xuande said is reasonable, but the Yuan family... is really too big."
As soon as these words came out, Liu Bei was stunned. It took him a long time to understand what Zhang Heng meant, and he couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.
Liu Bei's statement cannot be wrong. In the late Han Dynasty, families were generally regarded as units, not individuals.
In other words, others will not judge your personal motives, but will only guess the intentions of your entire family. And personal actions are often approved by the family behind them.
Because everyone is prosperous when one is prosperous, and everyone suffers when one is harmed, the children of the family are extremely united.
They believe that in this world where people are not human and ghosts are not ghosts, only a community of interests and blood will never betray you.
Even if he was in decline like Liu Bei, when he went out to study, and even later when he was involved in the underworld, his cousin Liu Deran was still with him.
Zhang Heng was not a direct descendant of the Zhang family in Nanyang, but when he appeared, the princes still did not hesitate to regard him as Zhang Wen's spokesperson. Why?
Just because they don't believe that Zhang Heng dares to act outside the family!
But this principle is not suitable for Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.
Because...the Yuan family is too huge.
The largest family in the world is actually the royal family, but internal fights are always common.
The Yuan family has disciples and former officials all over the world, and its influence reaches almost half of the royal family. It is not surprising that there are internal divisions.
The Yuan family began to rise to the center of the Eastern Han Dynasty from its ancestor Yuan An. After several generations of development, it finally took root and flourished from generation to generation, forming a complex and huge faction.
According to Yuan Shu's father's generation, there were three brothers in the direct line, but the successors to the title were Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's father, who successively served as Sikong Yuan Feng of Santai.
Although Yuan Shao was born as a concubine, he was often called a concubine's slave by Yuan Shu, but in fact he had long been adopted by Yuan Feng and given to his elder brother Yuan Cheng, who died young, to inherit the family business.
Therefore, although the two Yuans are brothers, in terms of clan law, they are cousins.
Yuan Shao inherited his uncle Yuan Cheng's family business as his legitimate son. Although he was extremely noble, he was still inferior to Yuan Shu, his legitimate son.
This was also the fundamental reason why Yuan Shu was aggrieved and broke with Yuan Shao.
Liu Bei sighed: "Nowadays, the national thieves are showing off their evil deeds and the enemy is in front of us. As a descendant of the Yuan family, Yuan Gongli doesn't want to do his best to defeat the thieves and serve the country, but instead thinks of colluding with his cronies. His heart is not pure!"
"All the children of the aristocratic family are like this, so why should Xuande Gong be so demanding? In order to win over the thief, we might as well make a fool of ourselves and wait until we get rid of the Dong thief before we do anything else." Zhang Heng shook his head and said with a smile.
Yuan is a person who wants to usurp the world, how can he be a good boy?
Even other princes have the same impure motives.
Even Zhang Heng has his own plans.
But then again, it is not the Liu family's fault that the world is in such a bad state. It is too unrealistic to expect others to wipe his ass.
