"If you can trust your confidant, why not!" Yuan Shao sighed and patted Guo Tu on the shoulder. "It's hard for you to be hard for you. You should have a good rest for a few days, but the military situation is urgent. You must not leave it for a moment, you can only work hard for you."

"I'd like to serve the lord." Guo Tu took a step back and bowed to salute. Yuan Shao expressed his closeness with intimate actions, but he would not accept it as calmly as Tian Feng. Compared to Tian Feng, he knew Yuan Shao's temper better.

"How many soldiers can Zhao State, Changshan, Zhongshan, and Hejian provide?"

"A preliminary estimate, if it is as many as possible, it is about 40,000. If it is not enough, there will definitely be 20,000. However, it takes time for each company to convene the corps, and it may not be able to go into battle immediately after the convening is completed. It requires the lord to train it to become an elite soldier." Guo Tu smiled, showing a hint of contempt. "The courage of an ordinary man is not worth much. Who can compete with the battle of thousands of people compared to the battle of tens of thousands of people."

Yuan Shao agreed with Guo Tu's opinion. There are many heroes in Hebei, which are places where elite soldiers are produced, especially with many crossbowmen. However, without strict training, these people are just a mob and are difficult to use. The courage of the three armies cares about the generals, and it would be great if there were more generals like Que Yi. Although Shen Pei is domineering, his ability to march and fight is not outstanding. Moreover, this time, the removal of small and medium-sized families is to balance the power of Shen Pei and others, so naturally he cannot give this opportunity to Shen Pei again.

Not only should we recruit people from small and medium-sized families, but we should also promote generals, and we should not recommend them by Shen Pei and others.

Yuan Shao took back his mind. "Apart from the troops, have you found any talent available?"

Guo Tu immediately handed over a list. He met and negotiated with the heads of various families along the way. When seeking their support, he also paid attention to the character and ability of these people and promised to recommend them to Yuan Shao. These people supported Yuan Shao not for the sake of justice, but for the future of himself and his family. If they could not become officials, they would not be so active. There are many people, but not many people can be called talents. Guo Tu barely selected more than ten people and listed their hometowns, family strength, and personal abilities for Yuan Shao's reference.

Yuan Shao was very satisfied. This is the characteristic of the Legalists. Compared with Tian Feng, Ju Su, and Guo Tu, they are more pragmatic. After reading this list, Yuan Shao was not happy. Judging from Guo Tu's notes, these talents are just middle-aged people and are difficult to take on the responsibility of one side. At most, they are school lieutenants and chief lieutenants. Small and medium-sized families are small families, and they have small worlds and limited abilities.

"Is there anyone here who can compete with Yan Liang?"

"No." Guo Tu shook his head without thinking, leaned over, and pointed to a name on the list. "There is a Gao Lan in Gaoyi, Changshan. He has some martial arts skills that are comparable to Zhang Yanyi. Compared with Yan Liang, his ability to command troops is slightly inferior to that of Yan Liang."

"It would be good if he could be comparable to Yen." Yuan Shao smiled. Zhang He and Yen were recommended by the Sei Pei. He had outstanding martial arts and was cautious. The halberd soldiers he was in charge were all elite soldiers, and now they are the main force of his personal guard camp. Guo Tu didn't like Zhang He very much, and he had always belittled him intentionally or unintentionally.

However, even if he is really comparable to Zhang He, he cannot take on the responsibility alone. Zhang He followed him for several years, made many progress and made contributions to his battles. Now he has the ability to lead the army alone. Gao Lan still cannot lead the army alone without a big battle. It seems that the Ru Ying people still have to take charge of the army. There is a good candidate at present: Xun Yan.

There are many heroes in the Xun family, but it’s a pity that the Xun family is too big. Xun Yu, Xun You and Xun Chen left one after another, which made him very uneasy.

Yuan Shao repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, but it was difficult to make a decision for a while. Guo Tu saw it in his eyes, knew it clearly, but did not urge him. When Yuan Shao took the initiative to ask him for advice, it would be too late to say it again. He took a sip of wine and said lightly: "Lord, I basically agree with what Tian Feng said, but I just want to remind my lord of it."

"you say."

"Sun Ce's foundation is not stable and his confidant is not solid. He is indeed at the end of his strength and dare not compete with his lord. However, Sun Ce is greedy and cunning, and he is afraid that he will not be willing to defend. He sent people to cross the sea to Youzhou and provoke Gongsun Zan as evidence. In his opinion, even if he does not send troops to Youzhou to participate in the war, he will not sit idly by the success or failure of Youzhou. At least he will send people to restrain and harass him, so that his lord cannot go north with all his might."

Yuan Shao's eyes rolled, and he felt the same way. If Sun Ce was so honest, then it wouldn't be Sun Ce.

"How will he act in the opinion of the public?"

Guo Tu leaned over and took the map and clicked on the location of Qingzhou. "Tian Yuanhao is right. Rencheng, Suiyang and Junyi are three of the defense lines set up by Sun Ce. Sun Ce clearly wants to defend the city and wait for labor. Suiyang is in the hinterland of Yuzhou, and it is not up to be said to stick to it. Junyi is between Chenliu and Luoyang, and Sun Jian cannot take this important task. But this Rencheng is different. If the lord still remembers, Rencheng's guardian Taishi Ci had fought on the northern foot of Mount Tai before. It was just because Xiansi surrounded Sun Jian. Sun Ce had no choice but to call Taishi Ci to help."

Yuan Shao came over and stared at the map for a long time. "You mean, is it possible that Sun Ce could send Taishi Ci to capture Qingzhou?"

Guo Tu nodded.

"Tian Kai is the governor of Qingzhou under Gongsun Zan. Sun Ce seized Qingzhou, so wouldn't he want to be an enemy of Gongsun Zan?"

Guo Tu shook his head. "Lord, Sun Ce and Gongsun Zan are in harmony with each other, but they are only a temporary connection and will never last long. As far as I know, Sun Ce has been trying to unite with Gongsun Zan in recent years, but Gongsun Zan has a high opinion of himself and has never responded. This is a lone wolf, no one can become an ally with him, and will definitely be destroyed by the Lord. Sun Ce cannot see this, and it is best for him to seize Qingzhou while Gongsun Zan is too busy to take care of himself."

Yuan Shao looked at Guo Tu, but still didn't believe it. He suspected that Guo Tu had other plans. Do he hoped that I would redeem Xiansi, or put my hope on Xianyi?

"Public, what news did you receive?"

Guo Tu shook his head. "Lord, it is precisely because I have not received the news that I have such concern. The more I don't want people to know the secret, the more I have to hide it. Whether it is the letters of Fengxiao or the scouts we arranged ourselves, there has been very little news about Taishi Ci's army recently, so I am worried that Sun Ce will take the opportunity to seize Qingzhou."

Yuan Shao didn't dare to take it lightly. Regardless of whether Guo Tu had ulterior motives or not, Qingzhou could not be lost, it was his left arm that encompasses the Central Plains. However, he did not want to discuss this issue too much with Guo Tu. He needed to listen to other people's opinions, such as Tian Feng and Ju Su. Listening in a side way is dark, listening in both directions means being clear, and referring to both directions means being clear, so as to reduce mistakes.

At this time, Chen Lin walked in quickly and saw Guo Tu present, and quickly handed over a document. During the period when Guo Tu was away, he was the agent of Guo Tu's affairs and handled the news from all sides. For him, this was a difficult task, and a large amount of information came every day, making him overwhelmed. Now that Guo Tu is back, he can breathe a sigh of relief.

Guo Tu took the document, glanced at it, and his brows immediately frowned.

Yuan Shao saw that Chen Lin's expression was wrong and knew it was not good. When he looked at Guo Tu's expression, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"Pong Ze, what's wrong?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment and handed the document to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao took it and took a look. The corners of his eyes immediately twitched twice, and the smile on his face disappeared without a trace.

The high-ranking officials were defeated and Yu Zhang fell into the hands of Sun Ce.
Chapter completed!