Three days later, the army officially set off and embarked on the journey to Xuzhou.
Liu Bei adopted Zhang Heng's suggestion and prepared to go to Yingchuan to recruit talents, so he handed over the army to Guan Yu, but he only took Tai Shici and two thousand soldiers south to Yuzhou.
In addition to Zhang Heng and Tai Shici, he was accompanied by Xun You, Guo Jia and Zhang Wen.
One of these two people is from the Xun clan and the other is a close friend of Xun Yu, so they might be of some use.
As for the army led by Guan Yu, Zhang Heng suggested crossing Yanzhou and rushing to Xuzhou, and finally stationed in Pengcheng first to spread the news that Liu Bei was about to take over as the shepherd of Xuzhou.
This move can test Tao Qian's attitude, and can also go north at any time to connect with Taishan County.
There are five counties under the rule of Xuzhou, from north to south they are Langya, Donghai, Pengcheng, Xiapi and Guangling.
In terms of geographical location and level of economic development, Langya, Donghai and Pengcheng in the north are more prosperous. As for the southern part of Xiapi and the entire Guangling, they are vast and sparsely populated, and their strategic value is not high.
After arriving in Xuzhou, Zhang Heng was already ready for a fight with Tao Qian.
As a result, Pengcheng, which is connected to Donghai County, has become a crucial strategic location. He led his army to be stationed here. Once war breaks out, it only takes three days for the army to cross Pengcheng and reach Tan County, the seat of Xuzhou.
This is tantamount to grabbing Tao Qian's throat, taking the initiative whether to fight or retreat.
As for the rest, let's wait until Liu Bei rushes over from Yingchuan.
Seeing Zhang Heng giving strategic guidance, Liu Bei immediately obeyed, ordered Guan Yu to act according to the plan, and gave him the right to make secret decisions before the battle.
The first year of Chuping, the end of May.
Guan Yu's banner fluttered in the wind, and he led the army slowly out of the city. The people in the city wanted to follow him, but it was not suitable to take them with them at the moment. They could only wait until Xuzhou established a firm foothold before sending troops to respond.
After all the army left, Liu Bei and others slowly embarked on the road south.
However, Liu Bei still had some doubts about Zhang Heng's words. When he had nothing to do on the road, he raised his own questions.
"Ziyi, are there really so many talented people in Yingchuan County?"
The reputations of the major noble families in Yingchuan are naturally astonishing, but Liu Bei has seen many people who are actually hard to live up to their reputations.
For example, the jujube princes, who were not famous for a long time before entering the court as officials, but past facts have proven that these people are just talkers.
Real talents are so hard to find.
Zhang Heng replied with a smile: "Mr. Xuande is generous. The talents in Yingchuan County are like crucian carp crossing the river. Among them, the talents in running the county are even more numerous."
"Oh, Ziyi, you might as well tell me who are the real talents?" Liu Bei said with a smile.
"In the past there were the Eight Dragons of the Xun family and the Three Lords of the Chen family; now there are the Three Lords of the Xun family, Zhong Chen, Guo Han."
The so-called Xun's Eight Dragons refer to the eight Xun Shuang brothers. The three monarchs of the Chen family are Chen Shi, Chen Ji, Chen Chen and his son.
As for Zhong, Chen and Guohan, they are the four major families in Yingchuan County.
Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said, "Ziyi, can you be more specific?"
"Then I will tell Duke Xuande one by one." Zhang Heng shrugged and said, "The largest noble family in Yingchuan County is the Xun family. There are many talented children in the family, especially Gongda's two uncles. Xun Yu and Xun Chen were both great talents who helped the world."
"Then how do these two compare to Gongda?"
Liu Bei looked at Xun You's dull expression and suddenly asked a rather tricky question.
"It's not easy to make an analogy. Gongda is good at military strategy, but Xun Chen is good at eloquence and government affairs. And Xun Yu is known as the king's assistant. He is omnipotent and expert in running the army and the country, and managing the government and the people!"
Hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
This was the first time he saw Zhang Heng give such high praise to others.
Know everything and master everything, isn't this the true portrayal of you Zhang Ziyi?
So Liu Bei became more curious and couldn't help but ask: "Xun Yu is so talented, but how do you compare to Ziyi?"
"Excuse me?" Zhang Heng shook his head and laughed at himself, "Of course you are ten times better than me."
Liu Bei immediately shook his head, "I don't believe it."
Zhang Heng once again recounted the process of rescuing Xun You and Xun Shuang in Luoyang City.
"Xuan De Gong, I invited Ci Ming Gong and his family to come and join us. Although he didn't reply, he was somewhat moved. Now Xu De Gong is the shepherd of Xuzhou, and he went to recruit in person. This shows our sincerity. He Xun's family It’s time to nod.”
The situation was unclear at that time, so it was reasonable to say that Xun Shuang was being cautious or waiting for the price to sell, but he could not make a hasty decision.
But now Liu Bei, who is the shepherd of Xuzhou, goes there in person. If he refuses to agree, he will be shameless.
Before coming, Zhang Heng had already prepared several reports in advance. As long as the old guy Xun Shuang dared to disagree, Zhang Heng would immediately ask Zhang Wen to come to Shu and recruit several Xun Yu brothers to serve as officials in Xuzhou.
What, if you dare not go, then you are disobeying the emperor's edict, and you will have to weigh the consequences yourself.
When the time comes, Xun Shuang's widowed daughter can justifiably snatch her over to warm the bed!
Zhang Heng couldn't help but feel a little distraught when he thought of Xun Cai's swaying figure.
"Ziyi?"
Seeing that Zhang Heng suddenly fell into deep thought with a perverted smile on his face, Liu Bei couldn't help but remind him in shock.
Only then did Zhang Heng come to his senses and hurriedly suppressed the smile on his face.
"Mr. Xuande, it's hot in the summer, so we might as well speed up."
Liu Bei laughed and nodded: "Okay, I want to see what this great talent from Yingchuan looks like."
Zhang Heng had already walked the road from Xingyang to Yingchuan several times, so he was naturally familiar with the road. In only two days, the group arrived at Yingyin County where the Xun family was located.
However, before they could enter the city, the group met several women outside the city. They were Xun Cai, Cai Yan, Cai Wan, and Dong Bai who was living here.
The sun was scorching in the sky and the weather was hot. The girls were tired of staying at home, so they went out to enjoy the cool weather. They happened to meet Liu Bei and his party who were speeding towards them.
It seemed that they were separated for less than a month, but it was midsummer, and the women had already taken off their spring clothes and put on cool clothes, making them look even more fresh.
Xun Cai, in particular, wore a long skirt, which fully displayed her proud figure. Standing among several Taiping princesses, she stood out from the crowd.
Zhang Heng stood on his horse and smiled at Xun You and said: "Gongda, you are here uninvited. It's better to let Duke Ciming know about it in advance. Gongda might as well go and announce it first, and then we can enter the city."
"That's exactly the reason." Liu Bei also nodded and smiled.
"As you command!"
Xun You clasped his fists and took the lead in riding into the city to report.
Zhang Heng then suggested to Liu Bei: "Mr. That’s it.”
"What Ziyi said makes sense." Liu Bei nodded in agreement.
After doing all this, Zhang Heng walked towards the girls.
The eyes of Xun Cai and others had also been attracted by the galloping army. They were confused and frightened when they suddenly saw Zhang Heng coming on horseback, and they were relieved.
When he got close, Zhang Heng got off his horse and smiled at the ladies, "Ladies, please be polite!"
Xun Cai and others quickly returned the favor with blessings.
"I've met Brother Shi!"
Zhang Heng waved his hand and said with a smile: "I've been away for ten months, but my wife is still well."
"Brother Lao Shi is thinking about me. I am in good health."
Xun Cai's expression was neither humble nor arrogant, and his voice was extremely cold, like a clear spring on a hot summer day, which made Zhang Heng feel relaxed and happy.
Such a pure and beautiful temperament, coupled with her purple-red rose skirt, is like the moon in the sky, making people yearn for it.
At this moment, whether it was the quiet and calm Cai Yan, the playful and smart Cai Wan, or the charming and charming Dong Bai, they all lost their proper elegance in Zhang Heng's eyes and became just a foil to Xun Cai.
Seeing Zhang Heng staring at him for a long time, Xun Cai felt a different kind of flutter in his heart. He couldn't say he was shy or disgusted, but he couldn't help but blush, and had to open his red lips to change the topic.
"But I wonder where Brother Shi comes from?"
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "The battle on the front line is over. I rushed to Xuzhou with Duke Xuande. I happened to pass by Yingchuan and came to visit Duke Ciming."
"Thank you for your concern, brother. My father is still well. Brother, you can go to the city to pay your respects. I have to pick lotus leaves with my sisters, so I'm sorry."
To be honest, Xun Cai originally had a very good impression of Zhang Heng. Although he didn't like him, he didn't dislike him. But for some reason today, she always felt that there was a hint of aggression in Zhang Heng's eyes, which made her extremely uncomfortable, so she found an excuse and left quickly.
"Madam, please do so."
Zhang Heng naturally didn't want to leave anyone behind, so he raised his hands and smiled.
Xun Cai and the other girls turned to Zhang Heng and turned away, leaving Zhang Heng alone.
Alas, young people don’t know how good a young woman is, and mistake a lolita for a treasure.
This lady Xuncai is becoming more and more attractive.
Just as Zhang Heng was thinking about it, Liu Bei came over, looked at the women who had not gone far, and then looked at Zhang Heng who was still standing there, and couldn't help joking:
"Ziyi, whose girl do you like?"
Zhang Heng quickly waved his hand and said: "Mr. Xuande, don't dare to say nonsense. Those women are the daughters of Xun Ciming and Cai Bojie."
"Isn't that just right?" Liu Bei laughed and said, "One is the head of the Xun family, and the other is a great scholar of the world. Only the apple of such a person's eye can be worthy of Ziyi."
Hearing this, Zhang Heng immediately cast an appreciative look at Liu Bei.
What you said makes sense, but I am speechless.
