In March of the first year of Zhongping, Chen Guo.

In March in the sky, the sun shines brightly, and the grass grows and orioles fly, which is the most pleasing to the eye. But in March on earth, there are people dying of hunger in the wild, and everything is devastated, like purgatory.

In the past two years, God has been particularly fond of playing tricks on people. Not to mention the frequent earthquakes and solar eclipses. Throughout the Chuping years, there were frequent floods, especially heavy rain and hail in Guanzhong, which caused the Huashan Mountains to collapse. In the Central Plains, it rained heavily day and night for more than 20 days.

, the houses were destroyed. But the year name was changed, ZTE was not seen, and God stopped raining again.

Throughout the spring, there was not a single drop of rain, and we were looking at another drought.

The most severely affected areas were Sili and Yuzhou. At this time, Yuzhou had no owner, and various forces were competing here. They were fighting for the territory, and no one had the energy to calm the people and provide disaster relief.

As a result, the entire Central Plains was infested with bandits and bandits, and the vast land of Zhongzhou turned into a paradise for bandits.

Of course, it's not easy to be a bandit. After all, everyone has become a bandit, robbing everywhere, and there are no fat sheep waiting for everyone to rob.

Chen County (now Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province), the capital of the Chen Kingdom, is considered a rare peaceful place in the Central Plains.

Luo Jun, the Prime Minister of the State of Chen, worked hard to govern, rewarded production, provided for the people, and provided relief, and was praised by others. However, Luo Jun was only a prefect after all, and what he could do was limited.

Early that morning, Luo Jun was handling government affairs at his residence, when the defenders came to report that another army had taken refuge outside the city.

Liu Chong, the king of Chen, was the most brave and ambitious. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Chong recruited soldiers from the territory to garrison the capital pavilion to guard the Chen Kingdom. After the chaos, Liu Chong even recruited refugees to serve as his subordinates, and even called himself "auxiliary."

"General of the Han Dynasty", separatist territory.

That is to say, Liu Chong was in a position where the forces were too complex. If he were on the border, he would have been the second Liu Yan.

In the past two years, there have been too many bandits and bandits in the surrounding area, and Luo Jun didn't care about it. But soon General Chang Xi came, saying that the person who came was Zhang Kai, the famous marshal of Yuzhou, and asked Liu Chong and Luo Jun to meet him.

Liu Chong had different ambitions, so he tried many ways to recruit talents. The two thieves and bandits might not care about the petty quarrel, but Liu Chong was still very interested in the offer of a chief like Zhang Kai.

Zhang Kai was from Langya. He participated in the Yellow Turban Uprising and was a Taishan bandit in his early years. Later, when Cao Ang took over Xuzhou, he did not want to surrender, so he lived in Yuzhou.

At this time, Zhang Kai had several men and horses in his hands, and his strength was not weak.

Liu Chong and Luo Jun had obviously heard Zhang Kai's name, and they were very polite to him and held a banquet in his honor.

These days, although everyone values ​​their family background, they are also afraid of the grass-head kings. These grass-head kings act unscrupulously and do not follow the rules. They also have strong soldiers and angered this group of people. The consequences are really unpredictable.

Zhang Kai is a reckless man, rude and rude at banquets. However, he is also casual. Seeing how well Liu Chong entertained him, he said: "I, Zhang Kai, have been rumored everywhere in the past two years, like a homeless savage. Thanks to

Your Majesty takes you in, so that I, Zhang Kai, can have a place to stay. I, Zhang Kai, have no way to repay you, but I am willing to conquer Wu Ping for your Majesty and kill Yuan Sina Liao."

Although Liu Chong was the king of Chen, when Yuan Shu was powerful before, he repeatedly invaded and even appointed Chen Guoxiang privately. Liu Chong did not actually control much territory.

That is to say, after Yuan Shu died, Liu Chong regained control of several counties in the west, but the four counties in the east of the country were still controlled by Yuan Si.

Liu Chong was worried about this matter. Hearing Zhang Kai's words, he was immediately overjoyed.

"With General Zhang's help, I won't have to worry about anything!"

At this time, Chang Xi also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I cannot let General Zhang be the only one who is more beautiful than me. I am willing to join General Zhang in the crusade against Wuping."

Liu Chong had great trust in Chang Xi.

When Tao Qian and Chang Xi surrendered to Liu Chong, Liu Chong even offended Cao Ang. But the result was unexpected. Tao Qian, an honest man, quickly switched to Yuan Shu, while Chang Xi, who had always been rebellious, stayed with Liu Chong.

Pamper your subordinates.

Liu Chong was not weak at first, but when he was defeated by Yuan Shu, he lost his troops and his generals, and his strength was greatly reduced. Naturally, he put Chang Xi who was capable of fighting in a more important position.

Seeing Chang Xi taking the initiative, Liu Chong was even more happy. He raised his cup and said loudly: "If two generals take action, they will definitely succeed."

In order to show his respect for Zhang Kai, Liu Chong gave Zhang Kai two thousand pieces of grain and two hundred pairs of armor.

Zhang Kai looked so grateful that he almost knelt down and called him "adopted father".

Liu Chong was overjoyed to send Zhang Kai off. Zhang Kai was an old thief and knew many people. With him taking the lead, more generals would be willing to surrender to him.

Luo Jun said with some doubts: "Your Majesty, we have no contact with Zhang Kai in the past. I don't know if this person can be trusted?"

Liu Chong smiled and said: "Xiaoyuan (characterized by Luo Jun) is worried too much. Even if you don't believe Zhang Kai, you still have to believe Chang Xi."

Hearing Liu Chong mention Changxi, Luo Jun also felt that he was worrying too much.

If Chang Xi wanted to betray King Chen, he would have rebelled with Tao Qian in the first place. Why wait until today? Moreover, King Chen treated him well and handed over Yangxia and Fule counties to him. Although the territory was not large,

But he can still be considered a small prince.

Zhang Kai stayed in Chen County for several days. Liu Chong spent the whole day banqueting, riding horses, and hunting with him. They were inseparable and he already trusted him quite a bit.

Zhang Kai was a forthright man and good at martial arts, which matched Liu Chong's temper.

At this time, Chang Xi's troops also rushed to Chen County, and they wrote to Liu Chong, requesting an attack on Yuan Si.

Liu Chong was very happy. These days, there are many people who drink too much and brag, but there are not many people who are willing to keep their promises. So in order to boost morale, Liu Chong wanted to see them off outside the city.

Early in the morning on April 5th, someone had already set up a stage outside the city. Liu Chong and Luo Jun came outside the city in person to say goodbye to them.

At this time, Zhang Kai was fully armored and bowed to Liu Chong.

Liu Chong said happily: "General Zhang, after we capture Wuping this time, I will hand over the two counties of Wuping and Kuxian to your management, and Zhexian (today's Zhecheng County, Henan Province) will be under the management of General Chang."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Chong adheres to a principle, that is, the sooner he takes something, the more he must give it first. If he wants these bandits to truly submit to him, he must use real money and silver to smash them.

In fact, if he had not met Yuan Shu and his status as a prince was restricted, he would have unified Yuzhou long ago.

Zhang Kai happily led Liu Chong to the high platform, followed by Luo Jun and Chang Xi, and other generals also followed, but separated Liu Chong, Luo Jun and the guards behind them.

But no one noticed.

This high platform was about several feet high, magnificent and majestic. Liu Chong was very satisfied with it and praised it full of praises.

Zhang Kai walked diligently in front to guide Liu Chong.

The two of them walked up the steps to the high platform one after another. Zhang Kai was about to get on the stage when he stumbled and suddenly fell backward. At this time, Liu Chong behind him had quick eyesight and quick hands, and hurriedly supported Zhang Kai.

At this time, the two were close to each other. Zhang Kai suddenly pulled out a dagger from his robe with his right hand and inserted it into Liu Chong's chest.
Chapter completed!