Jicheng, the governor's mansion.

Zhang Ze sat in the hall, looking at the swaying flames, his eyes were filled with blood and a trace of helplessness. His forehead wrinkles were as deep as a knife, his cheeks were thick and sunken, his cheekbones were towering, and his frozen skin was like two shadows. He stretched out his hands, roasted on fire, and did not move, as if he was frozen.

Zhong Shao sat opposite, wrapped his fur tightly, lowered his eyebrows, and did not look at Zhang Ze. One reason was that he couldn't bear it, and the other was that he didn't dare. He came from Zhuo County and informed Zhang Ze of the imperial edict. After receiving the edict, Zhang Ze did not say a word. The long-term silence made him very uneasy. The power of the Crouching Tiger made him almost breathless.

After a while, Zhang Ze withdrew his hand, put it in his sleeve, raised his head and looked at Zhong Shao. "Shen Fu, what are the plans of the court? He gave up like that?"

"Why did you say this?" Zhong Shao breathed a sigh of relief and showed a slightly reluctant smile.

"Where is the majesty of the court? If the situation is like this, the reason why the court did not collapse is because the court moved its capital to Guanzhong, and it has the power to defend itself. People in the world know the truth and have the Han in their hearts, and hope that the court can revive and peace will be restored. If the court itself gave up its four hundred years of foundation and gave up the world, can it still be expected that the people in the world will have the court in their hearts? It is very easy for people to collapse, but it will be difficult to take it back."

Zhong Shao held his hands together in his sleeves, his fingers numb and swollen. He glanced around and looked at Zhang Ze again. Zhang Ze understood and waved his hand to signal the guards waiting on the side. The waiter stepped back, and only him and Zhong Shao were left in the hall. Zhong Shao moved towards Zhang Ze, closer to the fire, and his eyes were illuminated by the fire.

"Your Majesty is foolish and you are trying to make a mistake. Youzhou is a place where Your Majesty has high hopes, and you cannot raise it unless you are a messenger."

Zhang Ze looked at Zhong Shao and signaled him to continue saying. Zhong Shao took out his hand towel, wiped his nose, and blew away the frozen snot. The weather in Youzhou was too cold, and even the fire was frozen, without any heat. "Your Majesty summoned Liu He to Beijing, which was a two-point plan. One was that Liu He was both talented and civil and military, and was a useful person. The other was that Liu He could only be relieved if he transferred Liu He, so he sent his troops south to force Yuan Tan to bow his head and give him a tax on Chang'an. Jizhou, Yizhou, and the betrothal gifts received by the princess when she got married, Your Majesty could raise 20,000 troops to go to war."

Zhang Ze was furious and interrupted Zhong Shao. "Twenty thousand army? This is almost all the troops in Guanzhong, right? Your Majesty wants to fight Sun Ce with these 20,000 troops? Whose strategy is this? It's simply a **. I'm afraid that the army will be in danger before leaving the pass, and Your Majesty will be in danger."

"So the Youji army is the top priority." Zhong Shao quickly signaled Zhang Ze to whisper. "The court has not made any clear statements yet, this is just my speculation."

Zhang Ze was even more surprised. "As an envoy, you rushed to Youzhou thousands of miles to announce the imperial edict, but you didn't know the court's strategy?"

Zhong Shao smiled bitterly. "I will not hide the envoy's words. Now your Majesty trusts Xun Yu, Liu Ye and others. Whenever there is something wrong, the three dukes and nine ministers will know the last. Although I am the counselor, I have a rare opportunity to give advice. The envoy, this statement is not what the minister should say, but the gains and losses of Youzhou are related to success or failure. I dare to speak out for you. As for your Majesty's strategy, it is just my speculation. It is for the envoy to consider it only."

Zhang Ze took a breath, calmed his expression, and showed a hint of helplessness. "Then please Shen Fuyan talk about the situation in Chang'an."

Zhong Shao leaned forward again. He and Zhang Ze had dated before. He was about ten years younger than Zhang Ze, and Zhang Ze was about ten years younger than his father Zhong Fu. He had a certain amount of trust between teachers and friends. He took the initiative to apply to come to Youzhou to preach an imperial edict, just to take this opportunity to communicate with Zhang Ze, so that Zhang Ze could not only understand the situation in Chang'an, but also give himself a chance to make meritorious contributions. He had no chance in Chang'an, and even had a problem with eating.

Zhong Shao said the situation in Chang'an. A drought in Guanzhong last year, and the people fled and fled, but they came back less than 11 years. Now Guanzhong has insufficient population, and the land reclamation and farmland have been affected. The harvest can barely supply the imperial court and the garrison. After the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died of serious injuries, and Wang Yun died later. The court, given that Sun Ce's great momentum, became a new threat and attempted to win over Yuan Tan to check and balance Sun Ce. However, after repeated consideration, he decided to maintain his relationship with Sun Ce and abandon Yuan Tan.

The reason for this decision was that Han Sui and Ma Teng had a close relationship with Sun Ce. Han Sui's son Han Yin died in Guandu, and Ma Teng's son Ma Chao made great contributions in the battle of Guandu. If he turned against Sun Ce, Guanzhong would probably not fight without fighting. The emperor hoped that Zhang Ze could lead the Youzhou army to the south, subdue Yuan Tan with force, or directly take down Jizhou. With the money and grain of Jizhou, not only the supply of Youzhou could be alleviated, but the court could also have income.

"If this strategy is successful, I will let you drink horses and the Yellow River. Even if you don't cross the river, Sun Ce will feel the pressure, and the world's affairs can still be done." After Zhong Shao said, he looked at Zhang Ze with great gaze. "I came by the imperial edict. If I am driven by the emperor, I will not refuse."

Zhang Ze glanced at Zhong Shao and picked the corners of his mouth. He understood what Zhong Shao meant. Although Zhong Shao was a civil servant, the Zong family had the blood of a military man. Zhong Shao's grandfather Zhong Shao was a general of Liao and a prefect of Liaodong. He made contributions to the border. Zhong Shao's father Zhong Fu was also a generous person. Zhong Shao was in his prime and was in great honor when the world was in great honor. Naturally, he was unwilling to be mediocre and wanted to do something. Unfortunately, he had a passion but couldn't even bear the cold of Youzhou. How could he adapt to the cruel battlefield? Zhong Shao was able to make contributions to the border because the remaining power of the Han Dynasty was still there. Now the court was in lingering. The Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei people would not take the court seriously at all. How could it be so easy to make achievements.

However, Zhong Shao also has an advantage. He is an envoy of the court and represents the court. He himself is not a simple Confucian scholar. Even if he cannot charge forward, he can still make suggestions, with multiple people and multiple ideas.

"Shen Fu said, how will Liu He deal with it?"

Seeing Zhang Zeyun, Zhong Shao was overjoyed and quickly revealed the prepared plan. "The revenge of killing his father is irreconcilable. Liu He will never leave Youzhou easily. He will contact Yuan Tan and attack Gongsun Zan. However, Yuan Shao was defeated, and there were more than one ten major troops. Most of the troops led by Yuan Tan were recruits, so he might not dare to face the enemy head-on with Gongsun Zan. If Yuan Tan rejected Liu He, Liu He would probably ask for help from the envoy." Zhong Shao paused and gave Zhang Ze a time to react. "Liu Yu was quite kind in Youzhou. Many of his old officials were willing to support Liu He. Even if the envoy refused to send troops, those people would support Liu He. The envoy must be guarded."

Zhang Ze nodded quietly. "What should I do to deal with it?"

"Do you think Gongsun Zan has a court in his heart?"

Zhang Ze snorted: "Don't you know that Gongsun Zan's son is by Sun Ce's side?"

Zhong Shao smiled. "Do you think Liu He still has the imperial court in his heart?"

Zhang Ze was silent for a long time and shook his head. "It's hard to say. He is a royal family and should have a court in his heart, but his father and son are so close to Yuan Shao, I can't judge what he is thinking."

"What the envoy said is very true. Gongsun Zan is unruly and it is difficult to distinguish between Liu He's loyalty and treacherous. With them here, it is difficult for the envoy to control Youzhou. Since that's the case, why not let them kill each other and both lose money?"

Zhang Ze's eyes flashed. "What's the matter?"

"And...after?" Zhong Shao was stunned for a moment, not knowing what Zhang Ze meant.

Zhang Ze straightened his waist, pulled half-old cloak, glanced at Zhong Shao, and smiled. "Shen Fu didn't know that the reason why Youzhou was stable was due to two factors: one was Liu Yu's comfort to the Hu people, and the other was Gongsun Zan's killing of the Hu people. The Hu people were profit-oriented and did not know benevolence and righteousness. Only by exercising kindness and power can they suppress them. Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan were both literary and military, but they regarded each other as enemies and killed each other, but they suffered both defeats."

Zhong Shao had a fever on his face. Zhang Ze returned these two sentences, which denied his suggestion. He was embarrassed and wanted to get up. Zhang Ze reached out and pressed him down. "Shen Fu, don't worry, wait until I finish speaking." Zhong Shaoqiang laughed twice and barely sat back.

Zhang Ze continued: "Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu, and the revenge of his father was irreconcilable. Asking Liu He to reconcile with Gongsun Zan again is just a mirror, but sitting on the sidelines and watching them fight is not a solution. If Liu He dies, the noble families in Youzhou will be **. If Gongsun Zan dies, Liu Bei will definitely become a big shot."

"Liu Bei?"

Zhang Ze nodded. "I don't understand one thing. Since the court summoned the royal family and rebuilt the clan's family, why didn't he summon Liu Bei? Isn't he the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan?"

Zhong Shao was surprised. "Is that true? But I heard from Zong Zheng Liu Chong that Liu Bei said in front of him that he is not a royal family."

"Is this happening?" Zhang Ze was very surprised.

"Liu Bei said he was a royal family?"

"Well, Liu Bei has always regarded himself as a royal family in Youzhou, saying that he is a descendant of Liu Sheng, the King of Jing of Zhongshan. This is one of the reasons why he can gain a foothold in Youzhou." Zhang Ze fiddled with the fire pit and drank another sip of wine. "The court may not know that although Liu Bei is not as conspicuous as Liu He and Gongsun Zan, his strength is far less than these two people. If Liu He and Gongsun Zan were both defeated, Liu Bei would have to be the fisherman in the end." Zhang Ze rubbed his hands, remained silent for a moment, and said word by word: "Then Youzhou is not the Youzhou of the court."

Zhong Shao was skeptical. He knew that Liu Bei had been stranded in Chang'an for a while. Zhang Fei beside him was carrying a strange spear and looked for people to challenge him. He became famous for a while. After Liu Bei returned to Youzhou, there was no news. If Zhang Ze did not mention it, he would never have expected that Liu Bei had such strong strength now, which made Zhang Ze so afraid.

"Then... what is the envoy going to do?" Zhong Shao reminded: "Liu He may be on the way to Jixian."

Zhang Ze smiled bitterly. "What else can I do? The general comes to block the enemy, and the water comes to cover the earth. If you can persuade him, he will persuade him, but he will not persuade him..." He smacked his lips. "I had to kill him. Shen Fu, I will ask Tian Chou to discuss immediately, and then I may ask you to meet Liu Bei. You can see it yourself at that time."

"Here."
Chapter completed!