Zhou Xing also felt strange. He had just met Yuan Tan. He didn't tell him just now, but waited until he left before sending someone to invite him.

What exactly does this mean?

Zhou Xing definitely didn’t know about Guo Tu’s letter to Yuan Tan, and it was even less likely that he knew that Guo Tu advised Yuan Tan to make friends with Liu Bei.

At this moment, he was puzzled and couldn't figure out what kind of medicine Yuan Tan was selling in this gourd.

Similarly, he also had the same worries as Jian Yong, worried that this was a Hongmen Banquet.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Xing looked up at Liu Bei and said, "Go. If you don't go, it will appear that the lord is afraid of meeting Yuan Tan. There is no enmity between them now. If they don't dare to meet, it will make Yuan Tan suspect that the lord has different intentions."

Moreover, I suspect that he has no intention of harming my lord. It would be better to meet him openly and gain his trust, which will make things much easier in the future."

Liu Bei seemed to have figured it out, nodded and said: "Yes, if he harms me, why would he use this conspiracy."

"Now that he is in charge of Qingzhou, he may want to win over the lord and make him use him."

After much thought, Zhou Xing felt that this was the only possibility.

It is impossible for Yuan Tan to trap and kill Liu Bei.

Now Liu Bei is the governor of Donglai recognized by Yuan Shao, and he has just persuaded Kong Rong to give up the state to Yuan Tan, which is considered a favor to him.

If you kill Liu Bei, it would be ungrateful. Yuan Tan would not do this. Although he is not very smart, he is not that stupid.

Besides, if he wanted to harm Liu Bei, he didn't need to set up a Hongmen Banquet to stage a conspiracy, he could just lead his troops to attack.

Only the weak will play tricks, and Yuan Tan is not a weak person now.

Jian Yong wanted to persuade him again, but after hearing what Zhou Xing said, Liu Bei had already decided to go, so he stopped trying to persuade him. He just said, "If my lord goes, he must take Yide with him."

"You don't have to tell me, of course I have to go with my eldest brother."

Zhang Fei couldn't figure out whether it was a conspiracy or not. He only understood one thing, that is, he had to follow to protect Liu Bei.

The next day, Liu Bei took Zhou Xing and Zhang Fei out of the camp and entered the city.

Although I think Yuan Tan has no intention of murdering Liu Bei, he still needs to take precautions.

Liu Zheng led a hundred elite soldiers disguised as common people and sneaked into the city and spread around the governor's office. Another two hundred soldiers disguised as common people were waiting outside the city to prevent any unexpected events.

Outside the governor's office, Yuan Tan came out to greet him personally, expressing his regard for Liu Bei.

After seeing the ceremony and entering the mansion, Zhou Xing followed Liu Bei into the hall and sat down. Zhang Fei stood guard outside the door, because he could not bring a knife inside, so he could only hold the knife in his hand if he stood outside the door.

"I was able to capture Qingzhou without spending a single soldier. Xuande and Wen Sheng have made many contributions. Come on, I'll give you a toast."

Yuan Tan first toasted to each other.

Liu Bei and Zhou Xing toasted and drank together.

"Xuande, I have heard that you defeated the Yellow Turban Guan Hai in Donglai. With you in Donglai, the bandits of Donglai can be destroyed!" Yuan Tan said again.

Liu Bei said respectfully: "Ming Shijun, it was a fluke that I was able to win against Guan Hai. I pursued and won when the bandits retreated, not a head-on confrontation. We have few soldiers and food, and there are many bandits. If we want to wipe out the Donglai bandits, we must

It’s really difficult!”

Yuan Tan has now taken over Qingzhou. Although he has not been officially appointed as the governor, Liu Bei has called him the envoy to express his approval of him as the governor of Qingzhou.

"It is true that not only Donglai County, but also Qingzhou are full of bandits. It is really difficult to eradicate them all. Not to mention you, even I cannot guarantee that we can eradicate all bandits!"

Yuan Tan sighed slightly and then said: "However, Donglai is the most chaotic place with the most bandits and bandits. As long as you can wipe out the bandits in Donglai, I will lead my troops to wipe out the thieves in other counties. As for food, I will do what I say.

, I will have someone deliver it to you today. I will not only give you 10,000 shi of food, but also 5,000 shi more, so that you can suppress the thieves with peace of mind. In the future, the security of Donglai and the stability of Qingzhou will still be needed

You and I work together!"

Liu Bei and Zhou Xing were both surprised when they heard this.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Tan was not only willing to give the promised 10,000 shi of food, but also gave an additional 5,000 shi. This was really an unexpected food.

Now Zhou Xing can be sure that Yuan Tan invited Liu Bei here today because he wanted to win over Liu Bei for his own use, so he gave an extra five thousand stones of food as a favor.

If you only give 10,000 shi, it is the promised amount, which is what Liu Bei deserves, and he will not be grateful. But if you give 5,000 shi more, it will be different. Liu Bei will definitely remember this favor.

"Be prepared to thank Ming Envoy on behalf of the people of Donglai!" Liu Bei hurriedly stood up and bowed to Yuan Tan to thank him.

Yuan Tan felt very proud when he saw that Liu Bei was very respectful to him.

Although there is no place where Liu Bei is needed yet, Yuan Tan believes that as long as he shows more favors in the future, Liu Bei will definitely become his.

There is nothing special to talk about in this meeting. After all, it is the first time for Yuan Tan and Liu Bei to meet. There are many things to say that are not convenient to talk about. Both sides seemed a little polite.

Until I left the Governor's Mansion and left the city again, there was no surprise or danger.

Moreover, Yuan Tan had already sent food to the camp in advance. When he returned to the camp, the food was already there, amounting to fifteen thousand shi.

"My lord went to see Yuan Tan and not only immediately asked for 10,000 shi of food back, but also asked for an additional 5,000 shi. How was this done?"

Jian Yong was so happy that he smiled broadly, but he didn't know what was going on, so he asked quickly.

Liu Bei and Zhou Xing looked at each other and replied with a smile: "This is not my fault, nor the fault of the military advisor. The five thousand stone grain was given by Yuan Tan on his own initiative."

"What does he mean by giving it to me on his own initiative?"

Zhou Xing smiled and said: "What else could it mean? He definitely wants us to eat his food and listen to his words."

Now that he had obtained the food, Liu Bei no longer stayed, and left with his troops the next day, rushing back to Donglai.

This time he sent troops, Zhang Fei felt quite depressed. He actually solved all the problems without fighting a battle or killing a single soldier, which made him feel that his trip was in vain.

"Commander Zhou, I heard that you defeated two generals in a row in Lu Bu's camp. You are very powerful. I want to compete with you."

While camping on the road, Zhang Fei felt his hands were itchy. He remembered this and said to Zhou Xing.

Zhou Xing doesn’t want to compete with him, knowing that he will lose and might even get hurt by him.

"What kind of second generals are they? They are just two soldiers. I was once a ranger, and I can deal with two soldiers. If I deal with two generals, I am afraid that I will be injured and die."

"Hey, you're right. Although Lu Bu's three-surnamed servant is disgusting, his force is indeed not weak, and his generals are not simple either. With your force, you shouldn't be able to defeat two generals in a row. My second brother can."

Although Zhang Fei hates and resents Lu Bu, he still recognizes Lu Bu's strength in military force. He also learned from Lu Bu's generals personally when they lost Xia Pi.

After hearing what Zhou Xing said, Zhang Fei had no choice but to give up and whip Lu Bu's wooden figure again to vent his anger.

The soldiers and horses hurriedly marched back to Donglai. Everything in Huang County was fine, and no bandits came to disturb them. Guan Yu, Mi Zhu Li Ye and others were there, and everything was as usual.

After resting for a few days, Zhou Xing came to Liu Bei and said: "My lord, we were preparing to send troops to suppress the rebels in Mouping, but it happened to be a mistake when Kong Shijun was in charge. Now we should send troops to eliminate them and stabilize Donglai as soon as possible.

”
Chapter completed!