Chengdu.

Xi Zhicai leaned against the couch, with her arms open, her thin chest undulating, and her bright sweat kept oozing out. The cloth scarf in the maid's hand was half wet. A gray-haired Taoist sat in front of the couch, putting his fingers on Xi Zhicai's skinny wrist, frowning.

Mrs. Lu sat in the distance without saying a word, but her eyes were filled with anxiety that could not be concealed.

"Jijiu, you need to rest." Taoist withdraws his hand and wipes his fingertips with a cloth towel. Xi Zhicai's wrist is also sweating. "In Chengdu, Jijiu cannot be truly quiet, because he is too hurtful, and his qi and blood are already weak. If this continues, Jijiu may not taste the chrysanthemum wine from Double Ninth Festival."

Xi Zhicai withdrew his wrist, pulled his shirt and said lightly: "Even if I go to Qingcheng Mountain, I can't rest." He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Madam Lu, do you have many believers in Hanzhong?"

Mrs. Lu bowed and replied, "My son has been in Hanzhong for several years, and most of his energy is spent on military and political affairs, and he doesn't preach much." She paused and said, "It's better south of Bashan."

Xi Zhicai said slightly, "Then the lady should go there in person. Huang Zhong is good at fighting and only judges the tactics of war. The son may not be his opponent. If the barbarians of Ba County can help and defend the west city, they will have great contributions to the lord. "He gasped for a moment. "The lord intends to use the son as the prefect of Ba County, so the wife must not miss it."

Mrs. Lu's eyes flashed slightly, she exchanged a look with the old Taoist, and nodded at the same time. "As long as the sacrificial saying goes, I will order everyone to govern, so that they can gather believers and help the prefect Wu with one arm."

"It's Mrs. Lau."

Mrs. Lu stood up and said goodbye with the old Taoist. Shuzuo Peng Yan flashed out from the side, looked at Mrs. Lu's back, then looked at Xi Zhicai who was breathing, and frowned. "Sacrifice, is this... OK? Tianshidao has a great influence in Yizhou. If Zhang Lu is the prefect of Ba County, I am afraid that it will be difficult for him to lose..."

"It is urgent to follow the power. Sun Ce's two-way attack on Yizhou is bound to win, and we have to do our best." Xi Zhicai opened his eyes and looked at Peng Yi. "Yongnian, you are talented, but you are too young, it's better to restrain your sharpness. Tianshi Dao has many believers in Yizhou, and the wife of Tianshi has the trust of the Lord. You should not be enemies with them. You should make good use of their benefits and take advantage of the situation."

Peng Xian curled his lips and responded in a bad mood. He took out the news he had just received from his sleeve, but did not hand it to Xi Zhicai. "Xin Changshi just received the news from his lord. Huang Zhong snatched the crops outside Shangyong City and ambushed the reinforcements led by Pang Xi. Pang Xi was killed and his entire army was wiped out..."

Xi Zhicai listened to Peng Yi's oral narration of Shangyong's war, his brows became tighter and tighter. He didn't say a word until Peng Yi finished retelling that he was sank for a long time before he said, "Yongnian, what do you think about this matter?"

Peng Li licked his lips, with a little excitement in his eyes. Xi Zhicai was Cao Cao's confidant, who actually controlled the information of the entire Yizhou. At the same time, he was also Cao Cao's chief adviser. Cao Cao was fighting outside, and Xi Zhicai was the backbone of Yizhou. As Xi Zhicai's assistant, he had the opportunity to listen to Xi Zhicai to analyze the situation, which made many people envious and even jealous. Now Xi Zhicai actually asked him what he thought, which was his trust and respect for him, and even training him.

"Sacrifice for wine, Huang Zhong was besieging the city for a year and was in trouble. He should be concealing something. Xu Yi is not a stoic person. Even if there is enough food in the city, Huang Zhong did not attack the city. Reinforcements have not arrived for a long time, so he may not be able to hold on. Xu Ziyuan said that the Jiangdong Army is good at mountain warfare, and the scouts are strong and unable to contact Fangling. It can be seen that the focus of the Jiangdong Army is outside the city, not inside the city. So I think Huang Zhong is probably training troops."

"Training?"

"Yes, Huang Zhong had fought in Yingchuan and Henan before, but the mountains there were not as dangerous as Hanzhong. It was necessary for him to strengthen drills and be familiar with the terrain. Training troops in Fangling is not too far from Xiangyang, and transporting grain is also convenient. It is better than when he went deep into Hanzhong. Is sharpening a knife to cut wood?"

Xi Zhicai's face became ugly. Peng Yi didn't dare to say anything anymore, and closed his mouth in a daze. Xi Zhicai pondered for a long time. "If this is the case, then the trouble would be great. We attacked two ways, without seeking a quick battle and decisive decision, and we could train troops for a year with peace of mind. Sun Ce's confidence was too strong. His reserves were at least much richer than we estimate."

"In fact, there are not that many." Peng Ying couldn't help but say: "Sun Ce is good at using elite soldiers. The elite soldiers need better equipment and more training, but their appetite may not be more than ordinary soldiers. Nanyang scalpers are famous all over the world. If they can be rationed with some beef, the food needs can be reduced. In general, the money they need may be a lot, but the food they need is not much."

Xi Zhicai opened his eyelids and looked at Peng Li, with a slight jaw. "Is this your own analysis?"

Peng Yi hesitated for a moment. "After listening to some of Qin Zichi's opinions, he had a few friends who had visited Xiangyang to study and were more familiar with the situation in Nanyang."

"Are you talking about Yin Mo and Li Zhu?"

"Yes."

"When did they come back and where are they now?"

"I came back before the New Year and went to Xiangyang again after the beginning of spring."

Xi Zhicai smacked his lips, feeling a little regretful. He knew that Yin Mo and Li Zhu were both from Fu County, not too far from Chengdu. He had been studying in Xiangyang and studied under Song Zhong, a great scholar in Jingzhou. He had wanted to recruit these two people into the maid mansion before, but they were too young and had a relatively humble background. Cao Cao was worried that the aristocratic family in Yizhou would have opinions. Making things difficult for them at that time would make their career more difficult.

"When they come back next time, please be sure to come and see me."

"Here." Peng Wei nodded excitedly.

Xi Zhicai sat up and turned over and got out of bed. Although he was slow to move, his physical strength was still a little weak. Peng Yi wanted to come and help him, but Xi Zhicai waved his hand and asked him to invite Xin Ping, saying that he had something to discuss. Peng Yi did not dare to neglect, so he brought a bowl of ginseng soup and hurried away. Xi Zhicai drank the ginseng soup, sat by the couch for a while, recovered a little, got up and put on his clothes, left the room, and sat in the hall.

Not long after, Xin Ping walked in quickly. Seeing Xi Zhi sitting upright, he was shocked, rushed over a few steps and bowed. "Sacrifice, you are in good health. Just give me some instructions. Why get up and waste your energy?"

Xi Zhicai waved his hand and signaled Xin Ping to take his seat. Xin Ping quickly sat down and looked at Xi Zhicai with a serious expression.

"Zhongzhi, you have worked hard recently."

Xin Ping smiled bitterly. Sun Ce attacked two times, and the situation in Yizhou was critical. Cao Cao personally led his troops to block the attack. The matter of Yizhou was handed over to Xi Zhicai and him. After Xi Zhicai was exhausted, the heavy responsibility fell on his shoulders. In just a few months, he felt great pressure. He didn't know how long he could last and when he would be as tired as Xi Zhicai.

"Do you know why you are so tired?"

Xin Ping's eyes flashed slightly. Xi Zhicai had something in his words, not just to encourage him. "Please give me some advice."

"Have you had any letters with George recently? He became Lu Su's military advisor, so there should be many young people around him who join the army, right?"

Xin Ping understood what Xi Zhicai meant, but he didn't say anything. Xin Pi was indeed much easier than him. First, Xin Pi was only responsible for a county in Henan, and his affairs were not as much as him. Second, Xin Pi served as a military advisor beside Lu Su, recruited some young people to join the army and assisted him in handling some affairs. Many daily affairs did not need to be handled by him personally. If he had any ideas, he only needed to arrange them. Unlike them, they could only do many things by themselves, and they were busy in the dark.

But they couldn't learn it. They had no foundation in Yizhou. There were not many people from Jingzhou and Yuzhou. They were either from aristocratic families and famous celebrities, such as Lai Min, who could not be a clerk for them. Secondly, the Yizhou tribe was watching. If they wanted to recruit, they would first recruit their children. Once there were too many such people, Yizhou might lose control, which would be more harmful than good for them. So even though they knew they were very tired, they could only grit their teeth and hold on. When Cao Cao defeated Sun Ce, he would be promoted again, and truly gain a foothold in Yizhou, and then slowly eliminated some poor children as officials.

Xi Zhicai knew all these principles, and even his own idea. What does he mean now? Although Xin Ping didn't say anything, he thought of Peng Yi next to him, and couldn't help but feel dissatisfied. He responded to the same voice and asked for the same spirit. Only a madman like Xi Zhicai would treat a young man like Peng Yi as a talent and cultivate him solemnly. There have been people in the provincial and ministerial palaces who have long been resentful about this and have everything they say, but they know that Xi Zhicai had a great influence in front of Cao Cao, and no one dared to convey such words to his ears.

"Hanzhong is in crisis. I just agreed to Mrs. Lu and asked her to launch the barbarians of Ba County to help the war. If Huang Zhong can be repelled, Zhang Lu will be appointed as the prefect of Ba County."

Xin Ping was stunned, then raised his head, his face changed, and the words came to his mouth. It took a lot of effort to swallow them back. "The sacrificial wine is of great importance, and I want to ask the lord for instructions."

"This is natural." Xi Zhicai said again: "Ba County is too big and the terrain is complicated. A prefect is afraid that it will not be able to control it. Therefore, I would suggest that the lord divide the Ba County. Look, will the Yizhou family agree?"

Xin Ping suddenly realized and said, "Of course I will agree, I will give you a promise, you will have a good method, your method is good."

"Since Zhongzhi also thinks it's good, you can do this matter. Not only Ba County, but other counties can also consider it at their discretion."

Xin Ping was overjoyed. This was a good opportunity to show kindness. If one more county is stolen, one more prefect and dozens of officials, the Yizhou family would certainly be unsuccessful. As for Mrs. Lu, she was just a witch. Those who listened to her were all foolish men and wives. No matter how many official positions there were, it had nothing to do with her. If you offend him, you would offend him. Compared with the interests, this was of course a good thing. If you appease the Yizhou family, you could eliminate some poor families as officials and provide a more solid foundation for Cao Cao to control Yizhou. If this was done, it would be appreciated by Cao Cao and the Yizhou family. It was enough to replace Xi Zhicai to become the pillar of the provincial governor's office.

Xi Zhicai was alone and devoted himself to his work. He had no time to do so, so he could only give this opportunity to him. No one except him has the qualifications. He is Xi Zhicai's only choice.

"Thank you for your wine." Xin Ping bowed and bowed.

Xi Zhicai looked at Xin Ping, who could not hide his complacentness and sighed in his heart. He glanced at Peng Yi beside him, his eyes stern, and he shook his head quietly. Seeing this, Peng Yi curled his lips, barely put away his disdain, and lowered his head...m.
Chapter completed!