Zhang Nan tied his mount in the distance, squinted his eyes, and looked at the opposite hillside.

The hillside is not high and not big, it is a gentle slope that can be seen everywhere. There seem to be woods on the slope, and there may be people hiding inside, but night falls and there are not many torches on the opposite side, so I can't see clearly.

The most clearly visible form on the opposite side is that in the middle, a bonfire was burning vigorously, and there were several figures beside the bonfire and a battle flag. A big bird rising from the fire could be seen on the battle flag, which was undoubtedly Sun Ce’s own battle flag.

Zhang Nan let out a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat beads on his forehead, and his tentacles were covered in dirt. As he ran along the way, the sweat broke out layer by layer, wet and dry, dry and wet, and it almost scabbed after being stained with dust. However, all the hard work was worth it. He was the first to catch up with Sun Ce and stole the first effort.

However, he only had one battalion of troops, and ran so far. His physical strength was consumed too much, and he couldn't get any benefits when rushing up. Since Sun Ce stopped running, he could wait for Jiang Qi to come. Zhang Nan arranged the alert and ordered people to pack up the firewood. Since it was a night battle, a bonfire was necessary. As a vanguard, he had the responsibility to prepare for the battlefield.

It didn't take long, and Jiao Chu also came. He was a little regretful when Zhang Nan took the lead, but he was not in a bad mood. He really made fun of Zhang Nan. Zhang Nan laughed loudly and chatted with Jiao Chu. There were more than ten bonfires, and the guards set up pots on the fire, preparing to cook some light wine to quench their thirst, and seized the time to eat some dry food they carried with them to replenish their energy, and prepare for battle.

The lieutenant was an intermediate officer, and his armor was much more refined than that of ordinary soldiers. In addition, the personal guards surrounded him, even if they were more than 300 steps apart, Sun Ce could tell the identities of these two. He sipped a small sip and looked at the distance from time to time.

Liu Bei hesitated for a while. "Don't the general want to attack first, so he will slapp his spirit?"

Sun Ce tilted his head, looked at Liu Bei, called Pang Tong, and gave a few instructions in his ear. Pang Tong nodded and responded, and quietly retreated. Then Sun Ce said to Liu Bei: "If you were there, would you give me a chance?"

Liu Bei thought about it and nodded. "The general is right. The general is famous. Even if he has the same military force, no one dares to be careless. He must be on guard to avoid being attacked by the general. It is indeed not good to attack at this time."

Sun Ce chuckled and ordered someone to take a water bag and hand it to Liu Bei. Liu Bei took it, bowed to thank him, opened the water bag and took a sip. The water bag contained light wine, which tasted very light, but the taste was good. Liu Bei praised: "Good wine."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Please speak frankly, General."

"You switched to Yuan Shao. Do you think Yuan Shao has the opportunity to establish a new dynasty and want to be a minister who follows the dragon?"

Liu Bei was silent for a while and nodded. "The minister of the dragon dared not expect too much. He would be satisfied if he could make two thousand stones."

"Is that true?" Sun Ce smiled. "I heard that there is a big mulberry tree in front of your house, like a car hood, but it's true?"

Liu Bei suddenly raised his head, stared at Sun Ce and looked again and again, his eyes as sharp as a knife. It took him a long time to calm down. His eyes gradually calmed down and he smiled bitterly: "I am really sorry to be able to be so respectful to the general. The words of the countryside and the words of the boy Meng, the general does not need to be taken seriously."

"It's just a mulberry tree, what's the point of taking it seriously? I don't think it's a good thing." Sun Ce burst out laughing. "Is this big mulberry tree in your house in the yard or outside the yard?"

“In the yard.”

"Do you know what this means?"

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows. "I would like to ask the general for advice."

Sun Ce pulled out his slap on his waist, which was the short knife that was said to be Xiang Yu's relics, drew a frame on the ground, and wrote a wooden word inside. "Do you know what this is?"

Liu Bei stared at the word sleepy for a while. "The word is to recognize it, but I don't know what the general wants to say."

"Mulberry is a mourning person. A hardship is a difficult situation. You have been defeated repeatedly, and you have lost troops and lost many troops. You have been struggling for many years. It is likely that this mulberry tree is hindered." Sun Ce put away his short knife. "Listen to my advice, if you have the opportunity to go back, cut down that tree and change your life."

Liu Bei looked at the word sleepy, then looked at Sun Ce, and chuckled: "I didn't expect that the general would have such knowledge, which is really a great experience."

"If you believe, you will be effective; if you don't believe, you will be unsatisfied."

"Is the general's letter?"

"Don't believe it."

Liu Bei opened his mouth, not knowing how to follow up. Sun Ce was very sarcastic. He thought he believed it, but he didn't expect that he didn't believe it at all. Since he didn't believe it, why did you advise me to cut off the mulberry tree? Liu Bei sipped the wine and remained silent. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He believed that Jian Yong would not be bored to talk about these things to Sun Ce. How did Sun Ce know? Since he knew the mulberry tree, he should also know what I said, right? Is it a disaster or a blessing to be targeted by such a person?

At this time, two rapid screams came from the left side of the hillside, and then calmed down again. Liu Bei was frightened and turned to look, but it was pitch black and could not see anything. He wanted to ask Sun Ce, but seeing Sun Ce's ignorant look, he probably had no interest in answering him, so he closed his mouth. After a while, a scream came from the right side. This time it lasted for a long time, as if someone was seriously injured. The whispering sound rang out, and the screams stopped abruptly, and the world returned to peace again.

Liu Bei looked around with a stern look, and the air was getting cold. It was dark and there was silence around him. He knew that more than 3,000 people were lined up on the slope, but within his sight, there were only Sun Ce and the hundred people around him. The others were hidden in the darkness, silent, and even the war horses rarely made sounds.

Liu Bei felt his scalp numb, and when he looked at Sun Ce again, his eyes were full of awe. He now understood why Sun Ce disbanded the prisoners, not just to save food, but to dislike those people not being capable enough, for fear of affecting his morale. Now, except for the two hundred prisoners he led, there are only one hundred crossbowmen around Sun Ce who are newcomers, and the others are Sun Ce's personal guard infantry and cavalry that have been trained for a long time.

I had known that Sun Ce's subordinates were elites, but it was not until this moment that Liu Bei realized what elites were.

"Don't be nervous, it's just a sniper at the other party's scout." Sun Ce smiled, with indescribable pride. "With those 100 crossbowmen, even a mouse could not get in within three hundred steps."

Liu Bei looked around and did not see those powerful crossbowmen with obvious different eyes than ordinary people. But he was very curious. He knew that King Chen was good at shooting skills, and the powerful crossbowmen he trained were also one of the best. When Sun Ce attacked his camp, these people helped Sun Ce a lot. But he still didn't believe that no matter how good the archer was, he could not shoot blindly.

"So dark, can those powerful crossbowmen hit the target accurately?"

"Have you heard of the singling singling singling singling?" Sun Ce smiled. "Some of those powerful crossbows are just within thirty steps, and they can shoot when they hear the sound, and they are the same as they are."

Liu Bei blinked his eyes and knew why King Chen was so reluctant at that time. He looked at Sun Ce and could not hide his envy. "The general's good luck is that he can actually have such a legendary sharpshooter."

"This is what I earned with integrity." Sun Ce said lightly: "A person cannot stand without trust."
Chapter completed!