Thief, why did he come to our Cheng family and specifically look for my house?"

When Dong Zhao heard this, he quickly handed over his hand and said, "Brother Shujie has shamed me. How can I, a Sima with a thousand stones, dare to call myself king in front of you?"

Li Gen seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

"As for why General Gongsun Zhonglang came here," Dong Zhao couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw the other party's expression. "I'm sorry to say it, but it has something to do with me... A few days ago, our army defeated Baima and Yan County.

Then yesterday we surrounded Wei Township again. General Gongsun Zhonglang knew that I was from Jiyin, so he took the initiative to ask me, who has the most heroes and the most powerful family in this area within a hundred miles... You said that your family's reputation is not lacking.

Let me open my mouth, I have no choice but to tell the truth!"

"Then, this honest lieutenant general abandoned Wei Xiang and came directly to my house?" Li Gen laughed more and more. "Gongren, I know this in my heart. I really don't blame you, but you have to follow me.

To be honest, does he want money or food, or does he want a strong man because of the unfavorable siege in Wei Township?"

"That's right," Li Jin, who was bowing his head and being patient, suddenly interjected. "I heard that there was a battle in Wei Township the day before yesterday. The officers and soldiers were beaten to a pulp, and the general was stabbed in the buttocks. Is it true or false?"

"It's true." Dong Zhao clasped his hands and said with a smile. "It was precisely because the battle in Weixiang was going badly that General Zhonglang personally brought the army to Weixiang yesterday, and then he came here today... As for what General Gongsun wanted to do

I don’t know what I want because I’m not a high-ranking person.”

"Dong Gongren, you must be a Thousand Stone Sima, how could you not know?" Li Jin became more and more impatient after hearing this. "Could it be that you knew it but didn't want to say it... Why should you, a native of our country, hide it from an outsider?"

"Actually, I know something about it, but I really don't dare to say it openly!" Dong Zhao suddenly became serious. "Does Xian Kunzhong know that the general in the hall has attacked Xianbei and burned his royal court at Tanhan Mountain since he was weak?

Killing powerful officials and hanging their corpses, overthrowing Goguryeo, and sending 400,000 of the country's population into slavery... For such a person, I have some suspicions about his intentions, so how dare I tell you? Don't I want my life?"

The Li brothers were speechless for a moment... Even Li Qian, who had been looking up at the sky, finally lowered his head and looked seriously at the back hall of his house.

At the turn of spring and summer, thunder was rolling, and the courtyard became quiet for a while.

After a while, as the leader of the Li clan, Li Qian finally spoke for the first time: "Gongren, I know that you have difficulties, but there is something you need to be more frank with me about... This General Gongsun is...

How many soldiers and horses did the general bring along the way to the imperial court? How many were there in Weixiang?"

"Brother Bojian." Dong Zhao slightly raised his hands and answered. "This time, the imperial court dispatched all the troops from Sanhe and Five Schools, plus elites from Youbingliangxuyang Prefecture. The total number of elite troops deployed in each place was no less than 100,000... However, Gongsun Zhonglang

We currently have only six to seven thousand people here!"

The three brothers had different expressions when they heard this. Li Jin was obviously disdainful, Li Gen was thoughtful, but Li Qian became more serious: "Is it because the backup has not arrived, or is it necessary to recruit troops on the spot? These six or seven thousand people

Could it be that they are all as elite cavalry as they are today?"

"Brother Bojian has seen thousands of miles." Dong Zhao, who was standing in the corridor, was still very respectful. "You are right about these three things! The military situation is urgent, and the Bingzhou soldiers and horses assigned to General Zhonglang have not actually arrived; and General Zhonglang

This time we come here with a sense of purpose, and we can kill anyone with a weight of less than two thousand stones, so we can naturally recruit soldiers on the spot; as for these six or seven thousand people, they are all the elite cavalry of the imperial court."

Li Qian was slightly stunned, and then asked again: "In that case, I have only one question...Dong Sima, how many imperial officers and soldiers are there in Wei Township now?"

"Except for the thousands left behind in Baima City, the rest are all in Wei Township." Dong Zhao said directly.

Li Qian was rarely moved: "Are you all in Wei Township?"

Dong Gongren lowered his head and stopped answering.

Li Qian also suddenly came to his senses, and then he slightly raised his hands in thanks: "Thank you very much, Mr. Dong, for speaking out in the name of fellow countrymen."

Everyone in the courtyard became quiet again, and even Li Jin became much more honest.

However, the thunder was rolling and the sky was getting gloomier. Sparse raindrops were already falling, but there was still silence in the hall, which made the Li brothers, who originally had different personalities, feel uneasy... At this time, they were no longer worried about whether they would be soaked in the rain. Drunken chicken, what they are worried about is the attitude of the person in the hall.

"I'll go ask some of you." Dong Zhao felt a little embarrassed when he saw this. "Xian Kunzhong, please wait a moment."

After saying that, this short and fat celebrity from Jiyin swaggered into the inner hall... and never returned.

Heavy rain came pouring down, and the three people in the courtyard were all in a panic, but their faces were all pale and uncertain:

The youngest Li Jin is purely indignant at the other party's slight;

Li Gen, who was slightly older, was worried about the amount of bleeding;

As the clan leader, Li Qian was worried and thinking even more.

But no matter what, the three of them did not dare to leave the courtyard easily and go to the porch to take shelter from the rain...even if it was their home!

Under the heavy rain, I don't know how long it took before Dong Zhao hurriedly appeared in the sight of the three people again.

"I'm sorry Xian Kunzhong." Dong Zhao smiled bitterly. "I went in and wanted to wake up the general, but I was blocked by the very tall Guan Sima. Not only was I not allowed to disturb the general, he also didn't allow me to come out... I I have always had a grudge with him, but he deliberately made things difficult for me... However, the general is awake now and asked me to call the three of us in."

The embarrassed Li Qian glanced at Dong Zhao, but didn't say anything after all. Instead, he bowed seriously in the rain, and then strode towards the inner hall of his home.

The Li brothers entered the inner hall, and sure enough, they saw Gongsun Xun, complete with seals and ribbons, wearing a crown and holding a sword, sitting at the top of his inner hall. Next to him, an officer with eagle eyes and thin beard stood on one side holding a staff. The unusually tall Sima, who was said to be Guan, was holding a long soldier and standing in the inner hall door with squinted eyes, and he did not hide the hatred towards the three brothers in his eyes!

After all, Li Jin was young and energetic, and since he entered last, it was difficult for the two cousins ​​to look after him, so they actually looked at each other without showing any signs of weakness... But Li Gen noticed when he stood still and was about to salute. There was no one around, so he dragged the person over.

"Are you Li Jin?" Gongsun Xun sat at the top. Without waiting for the three of them to salute, he extended his hand with interest to the young man who was competing with Guan Yu.

"Of course!" Li Jin suppressed his anger and bowed down wetly. "This is Li Jin!"

"He is a brave and courageous man." Gongsun Xun said with a slight smile. "Do you have any words?"

“The small print comes first!”

"Who gets it?"

"The elder of the clan."

"Not good." Gongsun Xun laughed and shook his head. "It's too intense to advance in name and advance in name. You will suffer losses in the future. Change it! How about retreating? You need to be more humble."

Although Guan Yu in the door had a stern face before, he couldn't help but smile at this time. Even Han Dang, who was holding the ceremony, couldn't help laughing, but Li Jin himself suddenly raised his head, his face flushed!

"Thank you, General, for the words!" Before Li Jin could say anything, the clan leader Li Qian immediately bowed to express his gratitude, and Li Gen quickly tugged on his cousin's clothes.

"Thank you, General, for the words." Li Jin had no choice but to say it bitterly.

"It's a pity that such a brave man hides in the countryside." Gongsun Xunfu said calmly. "The yellow scarf thieves have brought trouble to the country. Now it is the brave men who protect the country and settle down their homes. Those who serve on the battlefield, don't stay at home anymore. Let me join the army!"

Li Jin didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he could only look blankly at his eldest brother and clan leader.

"To be valued by the king, this is the honor of retreating!" Li Qian quickly fell to the ground and said.

"That's good, let this Li Tuizhi be the commander of the village!" Gongsun Xun said unconcernedly. "Although I uphold integrity, I can only kill less than 2,000 dan, and I cannot appoint more than 600 dan for the imperial court. Officials...you must understand my difficulties."

It took Li Jin a long time to realize who his brother was talking about, and he heard that he was a mere district chief... the so-called centurion. He became increasingly sad and angry, but had no choice but to do anything.

"However." Gongsun Xunfu spoke slowly again. "Although he has been appointed as the commander of the camp, there are no spare soldiers and horses in the army, and no officer has died in the battle... Please help your clan gather some soldiers and horses for him. Here comes the strong man."

"Please rest assured, sir." Li Qian gritted his teeth and replied. "I will definitely select a hundred warriors for my brother in the countryside, and bring their own weapons, livestock, food and grass, and then follow the general to attack the moth thieves to show that our clan Loyalty to the imperial court!"

"It's not a hundred." Gongsun Xun looked down at Li Qian and Li Bojian and said calmly. "It's three thousand... Your cousin has courage but no generals. If he has fewer soldiers, he may lose his army and humiliate the country. This There must be 3,000 men and horses in a camp just to be able to use it! In addition, whenever our army does something in Henan, you Jiyin Li family will also prepare food and grass supplies for the entire army and investigate the arrangements of the Yellow Turban bandits. Only then can we barely manage it. It shows loyalty!"

Li Qian, who was all wet, raised his head and looked at the 'junhou' who was sitting high in his hall. He didn't know what to say for a long time. His younger brother and cousin also clenched their fists.

"Not willing?" Gongsun Xun looked at the other party calmly.

"This is really..." Li Qian said helplessly regardless of etiquette. "Your Majesty, there are only a few thousand households in my clan. Isn't it true that three thousand people are from the same clan?!"

"What's wrong with the whole family coming out to do their best for me and the court?" Gongsun Xun remained unhurried and not angry. "This will show your family's loyalty, right? Could it be that your cousin actually refuses my conquest?" Pi?"

"What if we shouldn't?" Li Qian was really angry and couldn't bear it.

"Li Bojian, right?" Gongsun Xun finally asked with a smile again.

"Yes!" Li Qian gritted his teeth and replied.

"Do you recognize this object?" Gongsun Xun raised his hand and pointed at the object in Han Dang's arms.

"It's the first time I've seen it, but I've heard it before." Li Qian tried his best to answer. "This is a scepter, which represents the authority of the emperor. It can kill anyone with a weight of two thousand stones... Could it be that you want to say that if my brother doesn't obey you? Hou Zhipi, are you going to kill our three brothers?"

"How could I do such a low-level and ridiculous thing?" Gongsun Xun replied proudly. "I ask you again, do you know that I still have four thousand cavalry right here in Wei Township?"

"Of course I know." When Li Qian heard that the other party denied that he wanted to kill people, he couldn't help feeling light-hearted.

"That's the case." Gongsun Xun couldn't help but sneer. "If your brother doesn't want to be replaced by me, why should I kill just three of you? Why not kill three thousand of your Li family members?"

Everyone in the hall was stunned for a moment.

"Bo Jian, do you think I am powerless and unable, or am I unwilling because of concerns?" Gongsun Xun continued to smile when he saw this. "I have strong soldiers and a scepter in my hands, but I am still a human being. People from Youzhou who are no match for Yanzhou...why can't they easily wipe out the whole Li family in Jiyin and then return to the court calmly? You say, do you really not understand this truth, or are you used to being domineering? Don’t you want to think about that?”

The three people in the hall remained silent, just staring at the person in front of them.

"Of course, there is no third way." Gongsun Xun smiled more and more. "Now that I am at your home, you may be able to fight to the death and kill me and the eight hundred riders first, and then take advantage of Wei Xiang Before the reinforcements arrived, they fled in a hurry, going overseas, to Jiaozhou... Maybe some people could survive, but Yanzhou has been built up for generations, don't think about it! So, again, if I can't find people today, I will I want my tribe! How about it?"

After Gongsun Xun's persuasion, there was no sound in the hall, thunder was rolling outside, and the Li brothers all looked pale and speechless.

After a while, Dong Zhao, who had been smiling naively, couldn't help but put away his smile and swallowed stiffly, causing everyone to look over.

"It's as the Lord and Marquis said!" After a moment, Li Qian looked away from Dong Zhao and kowtowed helplessly. "Three thousand of the Li family's disciples will immediately retreat with them to go on the expedition. We will also ask the Lord for grain, fodder, equipment, and intelligence from various places in Henan." Don’t worry, I won’t dare to be half-hearted!”

"That's it." Gongsun Xun finally stood up from his seat and moved forward to help the three of them. "The ones who have stepped back are my colleagues. His family is also my family. Please stand up, three of you!"

Li Jin and Li Gen got up, their hands trembling, while Li Qian couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Immediately, the three of them did not dare to stay any longer and just left, saying that it was a very important matter and they had to prepare in the rain, but Gongsun Xun did not try to persuade him to stay.

"Oh." After sending the three people out, Gongsun Xun seemed to have just reacted, but he looked at the person behind him again. "Gongren, do you think this is okay? Your family will never be harmed by his family again. Were you bullied?"

Dong Zhao also smiled awkwardly, and then bowed slightly in response: "Ming Gong's love will never be forgotten by my subordinates."

As the thunder rumbled, Gongsun Xun couldn't help but raise his palms and smile.

————I am the dividing line between Neng people————

"When Taizu went to Dongjun to attack the Yellow Turbans, he heard that there was a scholar named Li Jin in Jiyin who knew poetry and calligraphy, so he went to conquer it at night. Li Jin was impressed by his virtue and was diligent when Taizu conquered the city, so he moved his family to Erzhu." - "Jiu Yan Shu". Volume 1. The Chronicles of Emperor Taizu Wu
Chapter completed!