Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 429 In exchange for a human head

After losing his temper, Yuan Shu realized his gaffe, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, at least on the surface, he had regained some calm.

He sat down again, stared coldly at Li Ren who was kneeling in front of him, resisted the urge to call his guards to push the mediocre man out and behead him, and said with a sneer, "Very good, very good!"

"This Marquis asks you, what benefits did that scorpion give you?"

Yuan Shu knew very well that it was impossible for Li Ren to be unaware of the risks involved in this matter. If he hadn't received some benefits, he would definitely not have the guts to promise to bring back this sentence.

Li Ren was about to deny it, but when he saw the murderous intent in Yuan Shu's eyes from the corner of his eye, his heart skipped a beat. He knew very well that he only had one chance to speak!
If my family denies this matter, and if it is found out later by the secret agents lurking in Xuzhou, it will be a deception!

Taking bribes is naturally very serious, but it is not necessarily a capital offense, but if you add cheating Yuan Shu
"Golden thousand taels."

Li Ren's short sentence almost exhausted all his energy, and he said it slowly, word by word, because he could feel Yuan Shu's eyes that were injected into the sword sharply, and landed on him. , making Li Ren feel cold all over the place in this midsummer season, and feel like sitting on pins and needles.

But even so, Li Ren still concealed something.

What drove him to risk his life to say this in front of Yuan Shu was actually because of another promise made by Wang Zheng.

Regardless of whether the matter is successful or not, Wang Zheng will leave a place for Li Ren and his family, wife and children in Xuzhou!
"Zhu Zi has such a great handwriting, just four words"

"It's worth thousands of gold!"

Probably because he was extremely angry in his heart, Yuan Shu raised his head to the sky and laughed loudly when he heard this, but apart from the serious killing intent in his laughter, there was also a faint desolation.

But at this moment, both Li Ren and Yang Hong beside him were silent and did not dare to speak.

After laughing for a long while, Yuan Shu looked at Li Ren again, his face regained his composure: "If this Marquis's tent is filled with money-hungry generals like you, I'm afraid the day when he will destroy his family and die is not far away."

not good!

Could it be that Wang Zheng guessed wrong. The prince will not agree to this condition?
Hearing this, Li Ren instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what to do. He just kowtowed repeatedly, shouting constantly: "The last general is guilty, please be kind to me in the past."

Before he finished speaking, Yuan Shu interrupted with a sneer: "What is your crime?"

Yuan Shu actually knew that people like Li Ren were not uncommon in his own military system, and even similar corruption and bribery had long been a common practice among civil servants, including Yang Hong who was beside him. less?

What made him even more furious was Wang Zheng's act of taking advantage of the fire to rob, and even dared to openly bribe an envoy from another country!
And the ambition of this scorpion is too big.

Xuzhou, which he won last year, went to attack Qingzhou Beihai in the early spring of this year. Now that the war has just been decided, has he surrendered his eyes to Peiguo?

No. I'm afraid it's not just a Pei country, right?

It's the whole Yuzhou!

Isn't this Zhu Zi afraid of eating too fast and dying himself?Yuan Shu gritted his teeth, or did the other party see that this was a unique opportunity?

He who had initially calmed down from his anger, kept thinking in his mind, and when he came back to his senses, he looked at the brazen man kneeling on the ground in front of him. Unbearable.

Not to mention greedy for money, but also so afraid of death
This made Yuan Shu's anger a little bit colder, and another thought came to his mind. After this crisis was over, he must immediately look for some useful generals. People like Li Ren and Chen Lan could no longer reused!
Although Li Ren had been sentenced to death, on the surface he still kept his face, and instead sighed: "You have been with this old man for many years, remember the old love, and forgive me once more!"

"There have been frequent wars in the past two years, and the Marquis feels that the national treasury is empty. How about this? After you go back, you will hand over the thousand taels of gold yourself, which will just meet the needs of the army's salary in the future."

"Yes, yes, more lords and lords are more lenient!"

According to Yuan Shu, this incident seems to have been exposed, which made Li Renru feel amnesty, and thanked him in a hurry.It's just that after getting up from the ground again, the original panic calmed down and the cold sweat disappeared, and Li Ren couldn't help feeling annoyed and reluctant again.

The thousand taels of yellow scarves are gone before they are warm in your hands?

If I had known earlier, I might as well not have received this windfall. It's really not worth the money.

Or. Just now, my family should have underreported a little bit?
He lowered his head and looked at his toes, thinking wildly in his mind, but he didn't want Yuan Shu to ponder for a moment, and suddenly asked him again: "What do you think about Wang Zheng wanting Peiguo?"

what?
Hearing this, Li Ren raised his head in astonishment, his eyes full of astonishment.

It was rare for a prince to be so furious, and Li Ren had exposed his own private bribery, Li Ren thought that this matter was completely dead, but why did Yuan Shu ask his own opinion again?
Li Ren really couldn't figure out what Yuan Shu meant now, he was full of worries in his heart, he was speechless for a while, he didn't dare to speak, he was afraid that if he said something carelessly, he would offend the other party again and cause death.

"Whether it's Ji Ling or Sun Ce, they are both straightforward people, why are you such a mother-in-law?"

Yuan Shu saw his thoughts, and became more and more disdainful: "It's a decision to kill the generals, you just say it, I forgive you for your innocence!"

With these words guaranteed, Li Ren felt a lot more at ease.After weighing for a while, he decided to express his views impartially. Of course, he had to express his own position first:

"Your Majesty, just based on these behaviors of threatening to repay you, you can be sure that this son of Wang Zheng is ambitious, and he is really a villain!"

Then it was time to get back to the main topic: "As for whether to agree to this son's unreasonable request, it is naturally up to the Lord Qiankun to decide arbitrarily, and I dare not speak nonsense, but"

Having said that, Li Ren paused, carefully choosing his words: "If Wang Zheng doesn't send troops, we will have greater risks no matter whether we deploy the army from Runan or the guards from Jiujiang!"

"The mobilization of a large number of troops and horses cannot be concealed from the nearby enemies. Once they are transferred back to the Runan Army, Cao Cao in Xudu and Xiahou Dun in Kunyang will receive news, and they are very likely to take the opportunity to go south. Not only will the entire territory of Runan fall, Cao Jun It is more likely to successfully join forces with Sun Ce in Jiujiang and attack our Jiujiang County."

"As for the drafting of Jiujiang's defenders," Li Ren said with a wry smile, "These trilogy are mostly recruits or defeated soldiers. It is difficult to form a certain combat power in a short period of time. If we encounter Sun Ce head-on, I'm afraid." The following words are I dare not go on.

"It makes sense."

When Li Ren spoke just now, Yang Hong kept frowning, with disgust and anger on his face. Speaking of which, compared to Ji Ling who died in battle and Sun Ce who rebelled, among the generals under Yuan Shu's command, the friendship between Li Ren and him in the past is actually not bad. , Yang Hong has long known the other party's greed for money and fear of death.

But he didn't expect Li Ren to be so stupid and incompetent besides being greedy for money and afraid of death!
And these two points are exactly what Yang Hong can't stand the most!
It's just disgusting, but Li Ren's last words made Yang Hong feel the same way. In fact, Wang Zheng's threat to Yuan Shu is no less than that of Cao Cao and Sun Ce. Even according to the speed of development of the other party in the past two years, it may be even greater. !
But in the face of long-term worries and near-term worries, everyone knows which one to deal with first. After all, if you can't get through now, what is the future?

At this time of domestic and foreign difficulties, in Yang Hong's view, among these three enemies, whether overt or hidden, Sun Ce must be the first to be dealt with!

Because Sun Ce knows Yangzhou, Yuan Shu, and Jiangdong even more.

The edge of the blade he showed was almost close to the neck!

Even though he knew that handing over Peiguo to Wang Zheng was an act of capitalizing on the enemy, but at the moment, it was a last resort.

"My lord." Yang Hong said to Yuan Shu, "Just agree!"

"Promise?" Yuan Shu looked sideways after hearing the words, with a look of disbelief: "You want me to agree? That's Pei Guo!"

"O Pei Kingdom with 21 counties!"

"There is an ancient saying: 'A viper stings the hand, and a strong man undoes his wrist!" Yang Hong looked solemn, and he didn't bother to correct Yuan Shu's language mistakes. You must know that although Peiguo has 21 counties, at this time the only ones really controlled by Yuan Shu are Fifteen cities.

He just paused word by word: "Jiujiang, Runan, Peiguo, compared to the three, which one is more important, doesn't my lord know?"

"If you can preserve the vitality of the lord's foundation by giving up the country, why not do it? On the contrary, if we reject the king's government at this time, we will not only lose our only helping hand, but even if Zhuzi becomes angry, he will attack with a large number of troops and make things worse. , then we will be attacked from three sides, how shall we deal with it?"

Although "this" is clear that Yang Hong's words are justified, Yuan Shu still feels as if a knife is piercing his heart when he thinks of such a large territory in Peiguo, and he is very reluctant to give up.

There are very few people who can accurately see the situation. After seeing the situation clearly, people who can make decisions, make choices, and are willing to make compromises and the most rational decisions are even more rare.

Especially Yuan Shu, who got the Jade Seal of Chuanguo, and thought that his destiny belonged to Tu Gao, who was the generation of the Han Dynasty. In such a sinister situation, how could the mentality be reversed in a short time?

Seeing Yuan Shu's delay in opening his mouth, Yang Hong sighed inwardly, but he still wanted to continue admonishing him: "Besides, according to what I see, Wang Zheng's request for Pei Guo is not all bad."

no harm
Yuan Shu follows the prestige, is there any benefit?
"Before I heard that Wang Zhenghui led more than [-] Xuzhou troops into our territory, I was actually quite disturbed. I just felt like a thorn in my back and a thorn in my throat."

Facing Yuan Shu's puzzled gaze, Yang Hong explained: "However, since Wang Zheng used this time to send troops to ask the lord for the Pei Kingdom, it actually shows that Xuzhou's next focus will be on Yuzhou, which means that in Wang Zheng's mind, The future enemies will still be Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who prove that the alliance between him and the lord will continue to exist in the short term, and the situation of the two sides joining hands to fight against the enemy will not change. In this case, the threat of Xuzhou soldiers and horses in our territory will naturally be greatly reduced. "

"Besides, in Yuzhou, except for Runan, Cao Cao and Wang Zheng are in the sphere of influence. The two have always had a grudge. It is expected that there will be a battle. After Sun Ce is resolved, I in Yangzhou can also take the opportunity to recuperate and recover. , there is no possibility of taking back Peiguo, and even Xuzhou!"

Makes sense
When Yang Hong talked eloquently, Yuan Shu also fell into deep thought. Indeed, isn't time what his family lacks the most?
Although Peiguo is not small, it is not as important as Runan, Yangzhou!
He is so embarrassed and passive now. To put it bluntly, Sun Ce and Cao Cao chose the right time. It is precisely because the Yangzhou Army suffered heavy losses in Xuzhou last year and Yuan Shu is short of major generals, so he dares to be so presumptuous!

As long as he, Yuan Shu, is relieved, as long as he can block the military pressure from several directions, and try to recruit a new batch of generals, and cultivate a more than ten thousand elite, then he, Yuan Shu, will still be the strongest in the world Princes!
At least for a long time, Yuan Shu himself firmly believed that he was stronger than his fellow clan Yuan Shao!

As for Wangzheng, even if the territory expands again, he can help himself to withstand the pressure of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao first. When its value is exhausted, a mere yellow scarf bandit will be wiped out?
Thinking of this, Yuan Shu was completely awake, and even began to reflect. He glanced at Yang Hong, and suddenly sighed: "Speaking of which, this Marquis really lost his sense that day, and regretted not listening to Mr.'s words!"

"It's really not the time to be called emperor at this time!"

"My lord, it's not too late to wake up now." Yang Hong also sighed endlessly: "Then this is Peiguo."

"If that Zhu Zi really has the ability to completely wipe out the traitor Sun Ce." Yuan Shu pondered over and over again, and finally wavered: "A Pei country, this Marquis would be willing!"

"It's the officials of the Marquis in Peiguo. If the soldiers and horses agree to Wangzheng's conditions, will they all be transferred back to Jiujiang?"

"Other places are fine. The two cities of Longkang and Guyang must not be given to them, and the defenders must not be withdrawn either!"

Hearing this, Yang Hong shook his head again and again: "Longkang is the main water and land route from Peiguo to Jiujiang in the south, and Guyang is the throat to Shouchun from the land to the east. These two places must not be handed over to others!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Ren and asked calmly, "General Li, you are a veteran in the battlefield, you should know the pros and cons of it."

"All the other nineteen cities of Pei Kingdom can be given to Wang Zheng, but there is no room for negotiation in these two cities. Do you think Wang Zheng will agree?"

Seeing this, Li Ren laughed dryly, looked at Yang Hong, then at Yuan Shu, who was also coming over, laughed dryly, and said stammeringly: "I think... you should agree?"

He also knew that this should be the bottom line that Yuan Shu and Yang Hong could accept. Even if he was not sure, it was impossible to say "no" at this time.

"That's all!"

Seeing Li Ren's promise, Yuan Shu's gloomy complexion improved a little. After careful consideration, he took a deep look back, glanced at Li Ren coldly, and immediately made a decision.

"Then you go to Xiapi again and tell Wang Zheng."

"The Marquis of Peiguo gave it to me!"

"He wants to bring 5000 people into Yangzhou, and this Marquis agrees!"

"But this Marquis' request is not simply to relieve the siege of Linhu Lake."

Having said that, Yuan Shu seemed to see that familiar face again, and his eyes glowed with complicated and incomprehensible light.

That handsome and impeccable young man once made him sigh from the bottom of his heart: Shishu has sons like Sun Lang, so there is no regret after death.

But the other party betrayed him!Stabbed himself at the most critical moment!

It hurts.
Suddenly, Yuan Shu's face twisted violently, and then he smiled self-deprecatingly, and slowly closed his eyes.

After a while, a cold voice full of killing intent sounded in the hall:
"These thirteen cities, I want to exchange for a human head!"

(End of this chapter)