After completing the battle of regaining Bingzhou, Cao Cao held a grand celebration banquet in Yecheng. During the meal, he expressed his high praise to the strategists and generals who made great contributions under his tent. He raised his glass to the ministers and workers under the table happily:

"If you don't have your concerted efforts, how could I, Cao Cao, have achieved this?"

Many of the officials here are also happy that the lord who works for him can achieve such great achievements, but Chen Qun is not like this. He looked thoughtful with his head down. He was not integrated into the warm atmosphere at all, drinking and drinking with his own wine bottle. Compared with others, he was like an outsider.

This incompatible scene was very conspicuous among the crowd, so Cao Cao naturally would not remain indifferent. He held the wine bottle and said to Chen Qun: "The long article seems to be intriguing?"

After coming back to his senses, Chen Qun quickly shook his head. Realizing that he was rude, he quickly raised the wine bottle and respected Cao Cao:

"No, my servants congratulate Lord Sikong on his unparalleled merit."

During the meal, Cao Cao took advantage of his three-point drunkenness to express his intention to completely unify Hebei in the west and destroy the Yuan family.

Cao Hong and Xu Huang expressed different opinions on this. They believed that Liucheng, the base camp of Wuhuan, was too far away, and the front line would be too long once they went on a battle. Moreover, the Wuhuan aliens took deep roots in the three counties, and it was easy to defend and difficult to attack in the areas controlled by Tadun. The Cao army did not know much about the geography, people's conditions, etc. in Liaodong. In addition, the problem of food and grass supply was not easy to solve. If the chance of winning was small, it would be very small if it was stuck on time. If it was too late to send troops, it would probably be more detrimental to the loss.

In addition, Cheng Yu also expressed his concerns:

"There is another character we have to guard against, that is Liu Bei, who is dormant under Liu Biao. He has always praised himself as the orthodox Han Dynasty and has always encouraged Liu Biao to attack us from Yuzhou. If Lord Sikong's attack focuses on Wuhuan, far away in Liaodong, then the rear is at risk of being attacked by Liu Biao at any time."

This worry was not only Cheng Yu, but everyone present was suspicious, so they did not agree with Cao Cao's expedition to Wuhuan.

At this time, Chen Qun stood up and said something completely opposite to Cheng Yu, Cao Hong and others:

"If Lord Sikong really intends to go to Wuhuan, then the problem of food and grass will not be difficult to solve."

Chen Qun's words aroused Cao Cao's interest, and he then smiled and reached out to signal Chen Qun to continue.

After Cao Cao's permission, Chen Qun said, "I have carefully studied the terrain before. The Hutuo River located in the river connects the Zhang River. In the following view, we can dig a canal transport waterway there to connect the Xun River and Lu River in Youzhou. By then, all the grain and grass supply will be north of the waterway, which can greatly shorten the time and consumption of escort grain and grass."

There is no doubt that Chen Qun's words were extremely convincing, and even Cao Cao himself was surprised:

"Indeed, doing so can effectively solve the problem of supply of food and grass supplies. It's a long article that is very strategic."

Food and grass are not the only problem when they go to Wuhuan. There are also terrain problems and Liu Bei's threats. Therefore, even though Chen Qun's food and grass solution is perfect, it is still impossible to completely convince everyone.

However, this incident further deepened Cao Cao's impression of Chen Qun, so that he immediately ordered Dong Zhao to go to the Hutuo River to investigate the terrain and think of a route to dig the canal transportation as soon as possible.

Chen Qun's rhetoric during the meal was soon reported to Liu Bei, who was in Xinye, by a spy hiding in Cao's army.

After reading the secret letter, he looked very calm. Xu Shu, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but feel a little worried after taking the letter from Liu Bei: "Chen Qun has outstanding strategy and has served under the lord before. If he exposes our plan, then Sima Yi will..."

Liu Bei shook his head: "I naturally know Chen Qun's ability. In addition to you, Yuan Zhi, is him. Sun Gan, Jian Yong and others are simply a group of mediocre talents compared to you. But it is because of this consideration that I gradually alienated him, and I didn't reveal a word about Sima Yi to him..."

At this time, Guan Yu, who was standing aside, stood up: "Lord, although we have some reservations about Chen Qun, it is not completely impossible to spy with his talent. It is best to be prepared for it."

Guan Yu's words made Liu Bei start to consider how to deal with Chen Qun again, and a trace of murderous intent seemed to appear in his eyes.

Zhao Yun, who noticed that Liu Bei was planning to kill Chen Qun, did not agree with Liu Bei's approach in his heart:

"Lord, but Chen Qun has done his best to be loyal to you, and it is not yet possible to determine that he has a disagreement towards you. If he attacks him arbitrarily, he may kill innocent people by chance."

Liu Bei looked at Zhao Yun who was speaking out for advice. Zhao Yun saw something wrong in Liu Bei's eyes. Realizing that his words might have angered Liu Bei, he immediately lowered his head.

After looking at Zhao Yun who didn't dare to look up at him for a long time, Liu Bei showed the same smile as usual. He stretched out his hand and patted Zhao Yun on the shoulder: "Zilong, what you said makes sense, but some things make us unable to lose and cannot afford to lose. Now, no matter how much I pay, I will ensure Sima Yi's safety, even if it's my own life, do you understand?"

Facing Liu Bei's sincere tone, Zhao Yun had no reason or position to refute.

Seeing that Zhao Yun seemed to have nothing to say, Liu Bei turned his head and said to Xu Shu:

"Chang Xi and the high-ranking officials both failed. The 'Your Highness' should have suffered a considerable blow. Hu Zhao is your mentor, and your sword was given to you by Sima Fang. These two people are so familiar with you. There are many people in Cao's camp who know Yun Chang and Yide, so you can't go. Who should I send?"

"Let's go!"

After thinking about it, Xu Shu seemed to have come up with a suitable candidate. When he was about to speak, a cheerful voice from a young man came from outside the door, and soon the door was pushed open with a creak.

The person who opened the door was a 15 or 16-year-old boy. He looked handsome and had a childish look. He calmly saluted Liu Bei in the face of Guan Yu and others who were stained with countless blood in the room, saying, "I don't doubt I've seen Uncle Liu."

This young man was Liu Biao's nephew, Liu Xian, whose surname was Zhou, his courtesy name was Wenzhi, and his courtesy name was fifteen years old.

Standing beside Zhou Buyi was a burly man with a sharp sword hanging on his waist, and he also respectfully saluted Liu Bei:

"The last general Wei Yan pays homage to Uncle Liu."

When he saw Zhou Buyi Liu Bei's expression of joy in his face, he stepped forward and quickly helped Zhou Buyi, who was underage, up:

"Wenzhi doesn't have to be too polite. Why did you suddenly come to me?"

Zhou Buzhi glanced at the expressions of Zhao Yun, Xu Shu and others around him, and then replied with a smile:

"I was almost suffocated in Jingzhou. I heard that Hebei was very lively and I didn't doubt I wanted to go and see it."

Liu Bei did not agree with this, and he said to Zhou Buyi:

"You are still young. I planned to find a good teacher and student in Jingzhou to train you, but unfortunately Liu Ba refused. I will look for you later. With your intelligence and talent, I may not even be able to compare with you in the future."

Zhou Buyi looked at Xu Shu who had suddenly lowered his head, and raised his head and said proudly:

"I've beat him long ago..."

"Oh?" Liu Bei felt that it was very different. He turned around and looked at Xu Shu: "How do you say this?"

Xu Shu replied truthfully: "You are the lord, and you don't doubt what you said. I lost to him before..."

At first, Liu Bei was still very shocked. He did not expect that Xu Shu, who was both civil and military, would lose to a fifteen-year-old boy. However, he immediately felt proud of his gaze of looking at people, because he saw that Zhou Buyi was the one with extraordinary talent.

However, this cannot be used as a reason for Zhou Buyiyuan to join Hebei, and Liu Bei has always disagreed.

Seeing that Liu Bei refused to agree, Zhou Buyi's eyes rolled and he quickly came up with a way to deal with it:

"If I could figure out the best candidate to get rid of Chen Qun, can the emperor agree to let me go with him?"

Liu Bei asked with a smile: "You talk about it first?"

Zhou Buyi pulled Wei Yan beside him and pointed at the sword around his waist and said to Liu Bei:

"I heard you just said that you were going to Cao Cao in Hebei to do something. Most of the people under your command are familiar with them, which is too eye-catching. General Wen Chang was outstanding in swordsmanship and courageous, and ranked one of the "Six Swords". Moreover, no one in Cao's camp has seen him. Only he can guarantee the greatest possibility of success at present."

After Zhou Buyi said this, Liu Bei remembered that his subordinates had such a number of people. He had always arranged Wei Yan as a backup piece in Jingzhou. Now it seems that he is the only one who can do it besides Guan, Zhang, Zhao and Xu.

From Liu Bei's expression Zhou Busi knew that he had adopted his opinion and became speechless. So he turned around and pulled Wei Yan's arm and cheered and said, "General Wen Chang, I'll go to Jizhou with you for fun."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Buyi turned his head and looked at Liu Bei with a naive face:

"By the way, Uncle Emperor, what do you want General Wei to do in Hebei?"

Liu Bei did not intend to tell Zhou Buyi about his assassination of Chen Qun, so he simply deceived him and said, "I just asked General Wei to go to Hebei to spy on some military information. The few groups sent before lost contact because of their lack of ability."

Looking at Liu Bei's kind smile, Zhou Buyi nodded:

"You're lying to me at first sight, but forget it, as long as you can go out and have fun, I don't care what the reason is."

It seemed that there was no reason to stop Zhou Buyi's willful behavior anymore, so Liu Bei had to agree to let him and Wei Yan act together, but before leaving, Liu Bei specifically told Wei Yan:

"General Wei Yan, you must protect Wen Zhi's safety. I will bring him back as much as I want you to take him away."

Wei Yan held his fists and said, "Wei Yan received the order!"

After they left, Xu Shu expressed his concerns to Liu Bei:

"Lord, is this appropriate? Zhou Buyi's talent that can't be concealed wherever he goes will make him particularly silly. You have spent so much effort to cultivate him. If he attracts Cao Cao's attention, I'm worried..."

Liu Bei didn't care at all about this: "You know his character. Even if I have the idea of ​​forcibly leaving him, I don't have the ability to keep him. This kid is so stingy, I'm not his opponent."

At the same time, when the generals were inconsistent with their opinions, Cao Cao once again thought of Guo Jia, a genius who was recuperating from Guangzong. Not only that, he also brought Chen Qun, who had made strange plans before during this trip. As a result, he received his comprehensive affirmation and support when soliciting Guo Jia's opinions. He gave an incisive analysis of Cao Operation:

"It is indeed too dangerous for you to conquer Wuhuan, but it is precisely because of the Tadun and Yuan brothers of Wuhuan that you should think that you would not take such a big risk, as the saying goes, win by surprise."

After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded thoughtfully. He pointed to Chen Qun beside him and said to Guo Jia:

"I was originally very concerned about the three counties in Liaodong. The most troublesome thing was the problem of food and grass. The land of Youzhou was bitter and cold, and it was impossible for the grain and grass to supply the army's combat needs. However, the excavation and transportation of grain and grain proposed by Chen Qun solved this problem well, otherwise I would not have come here to discuss it with you."

Looking at Chen Qun who lowered his head and didn't speak, Guo Jia chuckled softly:

"I have a question below, what will you do next after you conquer Hebei?"

Guo Jia's words can be said to have penetrated into Cao Cao's heart, and his eyes showed great political ambitions:

"Of course, it is to conquer Jingzhou in the south and eliminate Liu Biao and Liu Bei!"

As soon as this statement was made cold sweat suddenly in Chen Qun's palm. This detail was clearly visible to Guo Jia, and he immediately said:

"If this is the case, then the Yuan brothers and Tadun will have to be destroyed. If you seize their territory, you will naturally not give up. Once you turn the blade to the south, they will definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble in Hebei. By then, you will be unable to take care of the beginning and end and will definitely fall into a passive position..."

As he said that, Guo Jia looked at Chen Qun and deliberately pulled the topic to him:

"Brother Changwen, are you right?"

Chen Qun knew that Guo Jia was deliberately making things difficult for him, so he had to force his face to smile and pretend to be embarrassed:

"I'm very knowledgeable, so I can't interrupt your conversation with Lord Sikong."

Cao Cao disagreed with Chen Qun's "humility" and waved his hand:

"Hey... I'm too humble in the long article. The idea of ​​being able to think of the grain transport has proved your talent."

The most critical issue that Cao Cao left was that Liu Bei encouraged Liu Biao to raid his rear when his army attacked Liaodong. This issue was the one that Chen Qun wanted Cao Cao to pay attention to the most, but Guo Jia pointed out incisively:

"I said before that Liu Biao used Liu Bei to prevent it, or it could be said that he would not let himself send troops to let Liu Bei take advantage of loopholes in the rear, or Liu Bei led his troops to fight to establish prestige and attract people's hearts."

Cao Cao completely eliminated his concerns and made up his mind to lead the army to the expedition himself. He didn't want Guo Jia to work hard, but his original intention was to let Guo Jia return to Xudu to recuperate, but Guo Jia insisted on following the army to fight.

Not only that, he also strongly recommended that Chen Qun go to Youzhou to listen to Cao Pi first. Cao Cao also cherished Chen Qun's talents, so he agreed to Guo Jia's proposal.

During the march, Chen Qun whispered to Guo Jia, who was riding a horse and walking with him: "What do you mean?"

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Your 'caving and transportation' has probably reached Liu Bei's ears. I wonder what he would think of you, an old minister who was devoted to giving advice to Cao Cao?"

Chen Qun understood the profound meaning of Guo Jia's words. Maybe Liu Bei no longer trusted him, but the reason he did this was to create a gap behind Cao Cao and give Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of it. No matter what, Liu Bei would not treat him...

He recalled the advice Zhao Yun and Yu Jin had given to him before, and recalled Liu Bei's distantness and distrust of himself before, and even Sima Yi's problems were secretive to him. Thinking of this, Chen Qun felt no confidence.

Seeing that Chen Qun seemed to have become aware, Guo Jia's face began to become paler due to physical reasons. He coughed gently twice: "Remember my words, lock the doors and windows when sleeping at night, it is best not to leave yourself alone..."

This tone was similar to a warning reminder that Chen Qun felt particularly heartbroken. He was extremely reluctant to believe that he would be completely abandoned by Liu Bei, and even more unwilling to believe that he would attack him.
Chapter completed!