It has been nearly two months since he came to Xiapi with Liu Bei, and this is the first time he has visited Zhou Ping's home.
Zhou Ping invited him into the main room, and the two sat opposite each other, while Zhang Wu stood guard outside the door.
After the servants served tea and left, Chen Gong said to Zhou Ping: "Which one do you think is best among Wen'an, Yanzhou and Yangzhou?"
Judging from his tone, he seemed to want to argue.
Zhou Ping replied with a smile: "Of course Yanzhou is better."
"Since Yanzhou is good, why do you want to persuade my lord to abandon Yanzhou and take Yangzhou?"
Chen Gong asked in a questioning tone.
Zhou Ping knew Chen Gong's hatred for Cao Cao, and also knew why he wanted Liu Bei to attack Yanzhou so much. In the final analysis, he just wanted to destroy Cao Cao.
Therefore, he didn't care about the tone of Chen Gong's questioning.
"Although Yanzhou is good, it is not available to the lord now. Even if he is lucky enough to get it, how can the lord stop Yuan Jizhou from sending his troops south?"
"There is Gongsun Bogui of Youzhou in the north to contain Jizhou's troops, and there is Yuan Highway in the south to help. How can we not block it?" Chen Gong asked.
"Gongsun Bogui is brave but lacks strategy. His killing of Liu Youzhou has completely ruined the hearts of the people. Defeat to Yuan Benchu is inevitable. He cannot contain many troops in Jizhou. Not to mention Yuan Gonggui. It is only superficial but not real. He has too many soldiers.
And Shaoyong, if his surname was not Yuan, he would have perished long ago."
What Zhou Ping said is true. The reason why Yuan Shu was able to gather so many troops was mainly because his surname was Yuan and he was the son of the top aristocratic family today.
"Even so, since you are now involved with Zhang Zhiyong and have Mr. Zhang's plans, can't you still stop Yuan Benchu?"
Chen Gong felt that what Zhou Ping said was reasonable, so his tone gradually softened and he called Wen An sir.
"Haha, Gongtai, according to your original expectations, with Lu Bu's bravery, your intelligence, and Zhang Mengzhuo's reputation, you will be able to capture Yanzhou and hold it, right?" Zhou Ping asked with a smile.
Chen Gong nodded silently. He thought so at first, but he didn't expect that the result would not be as he expected.
"You are very talented, but you are just eager for quick gains, ignorant of the situation and people, and you are where you are today." Zhou Ping said again.
Chen Gong thought carefully and felt that what Zhou Ping said was absolutely correct. He was indeed unaware of the situation and the people.
He abandoned Cao Cao and chose Lu Bu and Zhang Miao, but the result was a complete defeat. When he arrived in Xuzhou, he could not understand the situation clearly and could not try his best to stop Lu Bu from attacking Xiapi, which led to Lu Bu's defeat.
Zhou Wen'an, in front of him, chose Liu Bei, a wise leader, and persuaded Liu Bei to abandon Yuzhou and come to Xuzhou. He also expected in advance that Lu Bu would defect to Xuzhou, and even expected that Lu Bu would attack Xiapi, thus setting up an ambush.
Such a person who understands the situation and understands others is far wiser than himself!
Zhou Ping continued: "In today's world, the strongest person is none other than Yuan Benchu. Cao Cao and the lord are indistinguishable. If the lord uses his own strength to defeat the two powerful Yuan and Cao, it is tantamount to fighting against the big with a small amount. Not only is it difficult to win, but even
It may be destroyed because of this. Although Yangzhou is not as good as Yanzhou, Yuan Shu is easily defeated. Although Sun Ce is also strong in military strength at this time, the land east of the Yangtze River is not stable. When the lord gets the land of Jiujiang and Lujiang counties, he can wait for an opportunity to cross the river and attack.
If all the land in Yangzhou is captured, and there are dangers from the rivers, my lord can advance to the Central Plains and retreat to Huaiyang, then he will be in an invincible position."
Chen Gong nodded slightly and agreed with Zhou Ping's words, but he was still worried: "It's just that Cao Cao has great ambitions and is good at using troops. If he is not eliminated early, he will be in great trouble for you in the future. If you gather your troops to attack at this time,
Yanzhou, even if Yanzhou cannot be defended, as long as Cao Cao can be defeated, it will be a blessing to you and a blessing to the world. If you wait for his power to become stronger, it will be too late!"
Zhou Ping chuckled softly and said: "Haha, Gongtai, this is where you don't know your strength. Let's not talk about whether you can defeat Cao Cao. Even if you can, I'm afraid you will have killed a thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred losses. By then,
Even if Yuan Shu raises his troops to attack, Xuzhou will be unstoppable. Such a strategy of destroying others and destroying oneself is not used by a wise man. Although the lord does not attack Cao Cao, Cao Cao will be more powerful, but if Cao Cao does not come to make an enemy of the lord at this time,
The lord can also be stronger, which is a matter of mutual benefit. As for who will be stronger between the two in the future, it will change according to the situation and is unpredictable."
Chen Gong was completely discouraged, knowing that his visit this time would not only fail to convince Zhou Wen'an, but might actually allow him to convince him.
"Alas!" Chen Gong sighed, "What the master said, the palace has never been clear, but if Cao Cao is not destroyed early, the world will be more chaotic! Since the master insists on this, and the emperor listens to the master's words, it is enough for the palace to stay in Xuzhou any longer.
It’s useless, so I’ll say goodbye to you, sir.”
Chen Gong said as he stood up and bowed to Zhou Ping.
Although Zhou Ping doesn't like Chen Gong in his heart, he is a famous scholar after all, and he insists on being an enemy of Cao Cao. He may still be in the same camp in the future.
Immediately he stood up and returned the courtesy.
From what Chen Gong said, it seemed that he wanted to leave Liu Bei and find another place.
Zhou Ping asked: "What does Gongtai mean by this?"
"Since you already have a husband, there is no need for Chen Gong. I will pay my respects to you when I get back." Chen Gong replied sadly.
“Where will Gongtai go?”
This is an issue that Zhou Ping is more concerned about at this time. He is only afraid that Chen Gong will defect to Yuan Shu. In that case, it will become more difficult to capture Jiujiang.
Chen Gong hesitated. He was suddenly completely disappointed with Liu Bei because Liu Bei didn't listen to him and wanted to leave. As for where to go, he hadn't decided yet.
However, deep down in his heart, he felt that the only place he could go to now was Yuan Shu in Huainan. At the same time, he also knew that if Liu Bei and Zhou Ping knew that he was going to Yuan Shu, they would definitely not let him leave.
"Does Gongtai want to go to Huainan?"
Zhou Ping did not explicitly say that he wanted to defect to Yuan Shu, he just said that he was going to Huainan. If he went to Huainan, he actually wanted to defect to Yuan Shu.
Chen Gong remained silent and stood blankly.
"If Gongtai goes to Huainan, he will die at the hands of Yuan Shu." Zhou Ping said seriously.
"Why?" Chen Gong asked in surprise.
"Just as Lu Bu killed Cao Bao, so Yuan Shu killed Gongtai. Do you think Yuan Shu will believe that you are sincerely surrendering? If you tell Yuan Shu that the lord is going to capture Jiujiang, given Yuan Shu's character, he will definitely think that you and Cao Bao are surrendering.
Just like Lu Bu, you are here to pretend to surrender, how could he not kill you?"
"The world is so big that there is no place for Chen Gong to go?!"
Chen Gong lamented in a low voice, feeling that what Zhou Ping said was reasonable. If he went to Yuan Shu, even if Liu Bei and Zhou Ping were willing to let him go, they might not be believed by Yuan Shu.
"If Gongtai is determined to leave Xuzhou, he can go to Jingzhou." Zhou Ping thought of a good place for Chen Gong, "Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou and Gongtai are both from Yanzhou. If Gongtai goes to vote, he may be able to be appointed. My lord and Liu Jingzhou
We are both descendants of the Liu royal family. If we want to destroy Cao Cao in the future, we will need the joint efforts of Jingxu and Xuzhou. With Gongtai in Jingzhou, it will be easy to achieve success in the future."
The best place for Chen Gong to go right now is indeed Jingzhou.
Although Liu Bei respected him when he stayed in Xuzhou, Liu Bei already had Zhou Wen'an, and now he listened to Zhou Wen'an's advice in everything. Chen Gong's words were useless, and staying in Xuzhou was also useless.
If he defected to Yuan Shu, as Zhou Wen'an said, Yuan Shu would not believe that he was sincere. Even if he believed that he was sincere, if he told Liu Bei about his plan to seize Jiujiang, he would be accused of betraying his old master. If he did not
If you say that, you don’t really want to vote.
However, Gongsun Zan was far away and Yuan Shao was friends with Cao Cao, so it was not suitable for him to join him.
Only in Jingzhou, Liu Biao was from Shanyang County in Yanzhou, so he might be able to get an appointment by joining him.
For Zhou Ping, it was a good thing that Chen Gong went to Liu Biao. If he wanted to attack Cao Cao in the future, he would have to borrow the power of Jingzhou. With Chen Gong, Cao Cao's enemy in Jingzhou, it would be much easier to persuade Liu Biao to send troops.
Chen Gong felt at ease at this time. As long as he didn't defect to Yuan Shu, he would have done nothing wrong to Liu Bei.
He immediately raised his hands to Zhou Ping and said, "Thank you, Mr. Gong, for your advice, and say goodbye!"
Zhou Ping sent Chen Gong out of the gate and watched him go away, thinking that if he had not persuaded Zhang Miao to rebel against Cao Cao, perhaps Cao Cao would have captured Xuzhou, and history would have been different.
It can be said that Chen Gong was a person who changed history.
Chen Gong came to the Prefecture Mufu and told Liu Bei that since he did not want to be an enemy of Cao Cao, it was useless for him to stay here any longer. He asked Liu Bei to let him leave and go to Jingzhou to take refuge.
Liu Bei was reluctant to let Chen Gong leave and tried every means to persuade him to stay, but Chen Gong was determined to leave. In the end, he had no choice but to agree to let him leave and send him out of the city himself.
Chen Gong wants to leave, but he cannot keep him even if he wants to. It is impossible to kill him. Liu Bei cannot kill such a famous person no matter what. If he kills him, he will kill one person and lose the hearts of the world.
Just like killing Guan Yu, it was for fame.
In late November of the second year of Xingping, Liu Bei and Guan Yu took concubines, Zhang Fei married, and three happy events came to his family.
Even Zhang Wu and Zhuge Jin found a daughter from an ordinary family for him and planned to get married in December.
However, for Zhou Ping, the biggest happy event is that Zhuge Jin's younger brother Zhuge Liang is coming.
Although they haven't arrived yet, the people sent by Liu Bei to escort him have reported back, saying that they will be in Xiapi in three days.
Zhou Ping also heard that they had been robbed by bandits on the road.
