Liu Bei prepared a lot of cattle and wine for Zhou Ping to take with him. As for food, Xuzhou now has so many soldiers and horses and is going to war, so there is no food to give to the court.
Besides, there is no shortage of food in a big state like Jizhou, and the emperor will not suffer from hunger like he did in Luoyang.
It was more than a thousand miles from Xiapi to Yecheng. Zhou Ping now took the cattle and wine and walked not very fast. He arrived at Yecheng after more than 20 days. It was already the beginning of October of the second year of Jian'an.
As soon as he arrived in Yecheng, Zhou Ping immediately asked Chen Dao to go to Changshan Zhending to look for Zhao Yun. If Zhao Yun was at home, he would give him Liu Bei's autograph letter and advise him to assist Liu Bei in Xuzhou. Zhou Ping's status as an envoy was too sensitive and it was not appropriate to go to Changshan in person.
Yuan Shao is now a general, and he also records the affairs of the minister. Among the three ministers and nine ministers, many people obey his orders. The only thing that makes him dissatisfied is that the minister ordered Xun Yu to be appointed.
But this was originally requested by Cao Cao on the condition of reducing his troops, and the Xun family was very famous and prestigious in the court and Yingchuan, so Yuan Shao had to wait for some time before he wanted to replace him.
In fact, Xun Yu did not deliberately oppose Yuan Shao, nor did he deliberately do good for Cao Cao. Everything he did was for the emperor and the court.
Guang Luxun is now in charge of the palace guards, Guo Tu, the guard in charge of the palace gates is Jia Xu, and Zhi Jinwu in charge of the defense outside the palace is Xu You. As for Jia Xu, he did not go out of his way to please Yuan Shao, nor did he make it public.
Oppose Yuan Shao and turn a blind eye to everything he does.
It was difficult for others to enter the palace to meet the emperor, but Dong Cheng and Fu Wan could often enter the palace to meet the emperor. However, Yuan Shao also arranged many people around the emperor to monitor the emperor's every move at any time.
When Zhou Ping arrived in Yecheng, the first person he went to see was Yuan Shao, and then he went to see the emperor.
Yuan Shao has now moved into the General's Mansion. His counselors Ju Shuo, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, Xu You and Xin Ping are present.
"General, today the emperor is safe and secure, and the world has regained stability, all thanks to the general. General Xuzhou Muyou is loyal and grateful for the general's kindness. He specially ordered Ping to bring cattle and wine to Ye to pay homage to the emperor. This is also to express his gratitude.
Thanks to the general!"
Zhou Ping put the credit on Yuan Shao, expressing Liu Bei's respect for him.
Yuan Shao really laughed loudly: "This time the world has regained stability. Although Gu has made great contributions, Liu Xuande and the generals have also made great contributions. Especially the generals, who rushed to recruit troops and rescued the emperor, are indispensable. I mean, with the merits of the generals, they should be
You can be named Dutinghou!"
Zhou Ping did not expect that Yuan Shao was so happy that he actually wanted to make himself the Dutinghou.
His own merits are neither great nor small. Although being granted the title of General Jianzhong is enough to make up for his merits, it would be a good thing if Yuan Shao really granted him the title of Dutinghou.
But he couldn't accept it immediately and said: "Ping went to recruit troops just for the sake of the emperor and the peace of the world. I really don't dare to take credit!"
"General, don't resign. I should declare to your majesty that the general is the Marquis of Duting."
Yuan Shao is now the Marquis of Ye and a general, so he calls himself Gu.
Zhou Ping couldn't refuse anymore and thanked him: "Thank you so much, General!"
Generally speaking, those who go to the imperial court as envoys will be rewarded by the imperial court.
Yuan Shao knew Zhou Ping's wisdom. If it were before, he might not take him seriously. But now, Zhou Ping helped Liu Bei achieve such achievements and indirectly helped Yuan Shao gain such great benefits. Of course, Yuan Shao also wanted to recruit him for his own use.
, so it is necessary to reward him to captivate his heart.
However, Yuan Shao could not imagine that Zhou Ping was just using him.
"General, it has been eight years since Dong Zhuo's rebellion began. In these eight years, there have been many wars and disputes in various places, and there have been many disasters. The people have been displaced and have difficulty living in peace. It is rare that the country is now stable, and all states have withdrawn their troops to rest. Only Youzhou Gongsun Zan
He and Yangzhou Yuan Gongzhu, Sun Bofu, and Guanzhong Li Jue, Guo Si and others are still unconvinced. If the general can make them all obey in fear and come to court, and there will be no more military wars in the world, then the general's reputation will be passed down through the ages and serve the world.
Praised by the people!"
Zhou Ping deliberately mentioned Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, Sun Ce and others.
Now Cao Cao has reduced his troops and settled in Yanzhou, Liu Bei is also recruiting troops in Xuzhou to recuperate, Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou are both inactive, Luo Jun of Yuzhou will not have anything, only Gongsun Zan of Youzhou still gathers troops to defend Yijing, Yuan Shu and
Sun Ce had strong troops in Yangzhou, Li Jue and Guo Si were still making trouble in Guanzhong, and Han Sui and Ma Teng in Guanzhong also refused to surrender.
Yuan Shao appointed Zhong Yao as Sili Xiaowei. Guanzhong and Xiliang were easily pacified, but the most difficult ones were Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu Sun Ce.
If Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu and Sun Ce could be prevented from gathering troops to cause chaos, the world would definitely be at peace.
Of course, Zhou Ping knew that it was impossible for them to disperse their troops, and Zhou Ping was not prepared to do so.
The reason why he mentioned these things was actually because he wanted a reputation for sending troops to attack Yuan Shu.
Now that Yuan Shao has become a general, it is naturally his responsibility to pacify the world. Of course, he wants to destroy Gongsun Zan and others. In fact, he has been sending troops to attack Gongsun Zan, but he has been unable to attack him.
"General, if you have any good ideas, you might as well tell me." Yuan Shao heard Zhou Ping say this, and he must have a good idea.
Zhou Ping replied: "The general is now powerful in the world. The likes of Li Jue and Guo Si in Guanzhong, and Sili Xiaowei Zhong Yuanchang should be able to supervise Zhonglang General Duan Xuan to destroy them, and they will also be able to make Han Sui come to court with great authority. As for the matter,
Gongsun Zan of Youzhou generally thinks that Zan's army is strong, and the current strategy is to appease rather than attack."
Yuan Shao first nodded, agreeing with Zhou Ping's statement that Zhong Yao could stabilize Guanzhong. However, when he heard that it was better to appease Gongsun Zan than to punish him, he was slightly stunned and hurriedly asked: "Oh, why did the general say that? Gongsun Zan gathered his troops to fight.
How can you care for someone who relies on his courage to become his enemy?"
Ju Shou, Tian Feng and others also listened quietly, wondering what kind of good strategy Zhou Ping had to appease Gongsun Zan.
Zhou Ping smiled slightly and said: "Gongsun Zan dared to fight with troops before because of his strong army. Now he has been defeated many times and is trapped in Yi Jing. And now that the emperor is in Ye and the general is powerful in the world, if Gongsun Zan dares to fight with troops again
, which is rebellion and treason. The general can issue an edict from the emperor to make him the governor of Shanggu and lead the troops to suppress Wuhuan. If he is willing, there will be no more worries in the north of Jizhou. If he is not willing, then it is rebellion and the general will not
In the name of suppressing rebellion, we will surely destroy it quickly."
Yuan Shao nodded slightly: "What the general said makes sense. Gongsun Zan is quite brave. If he is willing to suppress Wuhuan, then there will be no worries in the north. If he is unwilling to accept the order, then he will rebel against the army. He should be able to suppress rebellion in his name.
If we gather our troops to attack, we will surely destroy them quickly, hahaha... The general really has a good plan."
Tian Feng seemed to see Zhou Ping's intention.
Zhou Ping wanted to persuade Yuan Shao to appease Gongsun Zan, but he actually wanted to keep Gongsun Zan's troops and restrain Jizhou at all times for future use.
As long as Gongsun Zan's soldiers and horses are there, Jizhou will not be truly trouble-free. Since Yuan Shao wants to guard against Gongsun Zan, he will naturally not have the energy to deal with Xuzhou.
In the final analysis, Zhou Ping was actually thinking about Xuzhou.
"General Jianzhong, since there is no war in the world now and Cao Cao has reduced his troops to 20,000, why do Xuzhou still have 60,000 to 70,000 troops? Should General Right also reduce his troops to 20,000 to 30,000 like Cao Cao did?
