Jian Yong was speechless and had to bow his farewell and rush to Youzhou on the passing merchant ship. Fortunately, the people on the merchant ship heard that he was Liu Bei's envoy, so they were quite polite and arranged two clean and spacious cabins for them, right next to the captain, not only could they enjoy the hospitality, but also could also see the scenery along the way.

But Jian Yong was still in a very bad mood. He got on the boat and sat in the cabin. He didn't say a word for a long time. Liu Xiu was a little nervous when he failed this time. He also had a great responsibility for the failure of this mission. It was because he was convicted of the facts by Zhuge Liang, and he didn't even see Gongsun Xu. It is said that Gongsun Xu refused to see him. As for the truth, only God knows.

The two sat down for a while. After thinking about it, Jian Yong decided to unify his words with Liu Xiu, so as not to say the wrong thing in front of Liu Bei. He first briefly repeated the process of communicating with Sun Ce, and then said: "Deran, based on your understanding of the Duke, what will he think after hearing Sun Ce's reply?"

Liu Xiu's face was pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he couldn't wipe it clean no matter how hard he wiped it. Sun Ce did not leave any face for Liu Bei, and he was extremely sarcastic and mean. This was obviously a problem. He wanted to anger Liu Bei and then start a war.

"Xianhe, what do you think?"

"If the war starts, how likely do you think the Fujun has to win?"

Liu Xiu shook his head. "No point, it would be good to save his life."

Jian Yong shook his head. "This is not the case. Although the Duke of the House has no chance of winning when fighting Sun Ce, it is also a complete defeat. Sun Ce is in the navy and infantry. His cavalry is too few to go ashore to pursue him. But in this way, we may have to give up the south of Yongnu, and Quanzhou Cang will not be able to save it."

Liu Xiu wanted to speak but stopped. The terrain of Yuyang was long from north to south and narrow from east to west, and roughly bounded by the county capital Yuyang. The south was plains and the north was mountainous. Almost all arable land was in the south, especially to Yongnu, and Guan Yu was in Quanzhou. If he gave up the south of Yongnu, the arable land in Yuyang County would be reduced by half, which would inevitably be difficult for Liu Bei to develop again.

Jian Yong continued: "It's May now. If Sun Ce arrives before the autumn harvest, even if he doesn't launch an attack, as long as he stations troops on the border, the autumn harvest will be greatly affected and we will be hungry this winter. If Sun Ce sends people to harvest or simply sets fire to the crops, the consequences will be even more unimaginable."

Liu Xiu nodded repeatedly. "Xianhe, just say, what should we do?"

"It is best to persuade the lord of the palace to form an alliance with Sun Ce and work together to attack Yuan Tan, and maybe he can retake Zhuo County. If not, then give up Anci City and return Gongsun Bogui's troops and territory to Gongsun Xu or Gongsun Fan, so that they can face Yuan Tan. In short, unless it is absolutely necessary, they must not start a war with Sun Ce, so that Yuan Tan and Zhang Ze can benefit."

Liu Xiu thought about it carefully. "I think it's possible." He scratched his head. "If it can form an alliance, it's of course the best. I'm afraid that Xuande will not bow his head now. Even if he is willing to agree, Guan Yu will not agree. Sun Ce's attitude is too bad."

Jian Yong smiled bitterly. "You are right, I am worried about this, so we can't tell them Sun Ce's attitude, especially Guan Yu. If the mission has not been achieved, we can't let it go. At the moment, we can only hope that the situation will not get out of control. Deran, what do you think?"

Liu Xiu agreed with Jian Yong's point of view and decided to tell Liu Bei only Sun Ce's request, not mention Sun Ce's bad attitude, and not even say that they were confined, just say that Zhuge Liang did not accept their request. They had decided to discuss and called the others over to explain their interests and unify their arguments, especially not let Guan Yu hear any rumors.

It was midsummer, and the southeast wind was strong. In less than three days, Jian Yong arrived in Quanzhou. They were afraid that Guan Yu would see the flaws and dared not rest, so they passed by. They had a document signed by Liu Bei himself, but no one dared to stop him. When Guan Yu learned about their transit, Jian Yong had already left the country. Guan Yu had no good feelings for Jian Yong, and he was even more unhappy to see Jian Yong so rude.

Jian Yong and his party traveled day and night to arrive in Anci.

Although he had a tacit understanding with Yuan Tan, both sides knew that peace was temporary, just to prepare more fully, and the conflict would come sooner or later. Liu Bei did not dare to be careless and had been stationed in Anci City during this period, not only guarding against Yuan Tan, but also strengthening control over Anci.

Seeing Jian Yong come back, Liu Bei was very happy and immediately asked about Jian Yong's experience of his mission. Jian Yong explained it according to the prepared rhetoric, and finally said that Sun Ce had personally led a large army to Qingzhou, full of murderous aura, and prepared to invade Youzhou with the reasons for seeking justice for Gongsun Zan. He reached an agreement with the court. In addition to not being named a king, the court almost agreed to all his requests, granted Wu Hou, and used Wu County as a fief, served as a general of chariots and cavalry, and commanded the military of the eight states, and the company princess was a concubine. There was also a rumor that the emperor said that if Sun Ce could pacify Youzhou and handed over Youzhou to the court, the court would make him a king. It was precisely because of this that Sun Ce had a strong desire to seize Youzhou.

During the process of Jian Yong's story, Liu Bei didn't say anything, but his face became paler and his eyes turned red without realizing it. After Jian Yong finished speaking, he didn't say a word, just sat quietly, his neck seemed to be too heavy to his head, so he had to support his forehead with his hands and lean against the table. At some point, he sobbed softly.

"How can a real man be as difficult as I, Liu Bei? I was bullied by Sun Ce in the Central Plains a few years ago. Now I have returned to Youzhou and have avoided it. I never thought... I never thought that he had come to the door again." Liu Bei cried out, tears flowing like a spring. "Is it that the world is so big that I, Liu Bei, have you not the foothold of me? Xianhe, tell me, what is the reason, why is God so unfair?"

Jian Yong and Liu Xiu looked at each other, not knowing how to answer Liu Bei.

Liu Bei seemed to have no hope for Jian Yong to answer. He wiped his tears and snot and talked to himself, sometimes clear and sometimes vague, with a few curses occasionally mixed in between. "What's wrong with the poor family? I'm not a poor family? In the Central Plains, I made a lot of efforts to deal with the Yuzhou family. He is today, and I have made contributions. Why do you come to bully me if you get the power in one day? What imperial edict? If he really has the court in his heart, how could he be so domineering..."

Jian Yong sighed softly and bowed, "Mr. Fu, we are incompetent, and we are ashamed of trusting Fu."

Liu Bei shook his hand, blew his nose with a towel, rubbed his red eyes, and said with a forced smile: "Don't blame Xianhe for a moment. Xianhe, how many troops Sun Ce has and which generals, please tell me in detail, and how much you know and say as much as you know."

Jian Yong had no choice but to say it simply. They had been under house arrest, but they heard some news sporadically, knowing that Sun Ce was in person and was an elite infantry cavalry composed of Jiangdong's children, and the strength was unknown. The navy was commanded by Gan Ning, which had always appeared near the Bohai Sea, and Liu Bei was not unfamiliar with it. When Sun Ce arrived in Qingzhou, Qingzhou Governor Shen You should participate in the war. Shen You had 20,000 Jiangdong soldiers and an unknown number of Qingzhou soldiers. In addition, there was Taishi Ci who fought in the plains and Jinan. However, he had the task of guarding against Yuan Xi, and he would not dare to decide whether he would participate in the war.

After listening carefully, Liu Bei thought for a long time, he said, "Have you ever heard that Yuan Tan's envoy met Sun Ce?"

Jian Yong shook his head. He didn't hear any wind.

It was difficult for Liu Bei to make a decision, so he sent someone to invite Guan Jing. After hearing Sun Ce's conditions, Guan Jing frowned and pondered for a long time. "The general wants to fight, but wants to be harmonious?"

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said, "If you want to fight, can you win?"

Guan Jing said: "If you want to fight, it is difficult to win, and you will not be defeated. Sun Ce, the main force of Shen You, is from Jiangdong, and may not adapt to the weather in Youzhou. Moreover, they lack cavalry, and the possibility of pursuing ashore is not high. At most, they will plunder Quanzhou and Yongnu. There will definitely be some losses, but they will not be defeated. The food storage can last for a year or two. The problem is..." Guan Jing paused and looked up at Liu Bei. "If someone takes advantage of the situation and joins Sun Ce, attacks from the north and the south, and attacks internally and externally, it will be a little troublesome."

Liu Bei rubbed the hilt of his sword around his waist, and the corners of his eyes twitched involuntarily. It was because he was worried about this that he did not dare to fight easily. Sun Ce was mainly naval troops and infantrymen, and lacked cavalry, so it was unlikely that he would go deeper. However, he was alone and alone. The reason why he could gain a foothold in Youzhou was because of the method of military training from Sun Ce. Whether it was Zhang Ze or Yuan Tan, he was not sure of defeating him. So he had to endure it until now. If he was defeated by Sun Ce, it was almost inevitable. If he formed a formation and fought, he would have no chance of winning and others would take the opportunity to pounce on him and tear him to pieces.

Yuan Tan, Zhang Ze, and even Gongsun Fan, who seemed to be obedient, were waiting for this opportunity.

Liu Bei's eyes flashed and hesitated: "If... I want to be harmonious, will Sun Ce agree?"

"Sun Ce came from a thousand miles away, so of course it was not just to be an enemy of the Duke and seize the food from Quanzhou. He was to get involved in Youzhou. In this case, his opponent was not only the Duke, but also the Duke Zhang and Yuan Tan, and he had to make a long-term plan to avoid being taken advantage of by others. According to his foolish opinion, compared with the Duke, he needed to consider Yuan Tan more."

Liu Bei nodded, his eyes rolling around. "You mean, he bluffs and wants to force me to bow his head?"

"It may not be. After all, the Duke took An Ci, and Gongsun Xu was next to Sun Ce. He wanted to enter Youzhou, and it was the most natural thing to do to avenge Gongsun Bogui under the banner of revenge."

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows, and the blue veins on his forehead bulged, like an earthworm crawling over. He took over Gongsun Zan's men and territory, and used various excuses to kill few people. However, the time was too short, Gongsun Fan was still in Ji County, and Gongsun Xu was by Sun Ce again. Gongsun Zan's old subordinates did not completely obey him, but were just waiting for an opportunity. Even Guan Jing might have such an idea. If Guan Jing suggested that he give up An Ci and retreat to Yuyang, he would never agree.

After finally eating this piece of meat into your mouth, how can you spit it out easily?

Guan Jing saw it clearly and sighed secretly. Liu Bei did not trust him after all. He pretended not to see him and continued: "Yuan Tan occupied Zhuo County, and Anci has become a place of right and wrong. With Gongsun Bogui's reputation and died in battle, how can Gongsun Xu be safe and sound? Even if he comes back, he should not be in Anci. Master, why don't you follow the situation and submit to Gongsun Xu as the prefect of a county?"

Liu Bei suddenly realized and burst into tears and laughed. He patted his thighs. "The Chief Shi Gaoming."

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Chapter completed!