Zhang Zhao could see the emotional changes on Gongsun Zan's face, but their voices were relatively low, and Zhang Zhao didn't know what they were talking about.

After Gongsun Zan and Guan Jing spoke a few words, he opened his mouth to respond to Zhang Zhao, but Gongsun Zan still did not immediately agree to Zhang Zhao's conditions.

Instead, he made a request.

"I can't decide on this matter. I have to ask Liu Bei before I can give your lord an answer. How about it?"

Gongsun Zan wanted to send someone into Linzi City to ask Liu Bei for his opinion.

Zhang Zhao was also unable to make such a request. After all, Zhang Zhao was also worried that if Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were allowed to join forces, if the two joined forces to plot some kind of plan, it would be detrimental to Liu Zheng.

But rejecting Gongsun Zan was not something Zhang Zhao could agree to, so Zhang Zhao could only ask Liu Zheng for instructions.

Gongsun Zan also agreed, and the first round of negotiations was temporarily put on hold.

Chapter 615 Going to the City for Questions

Not long after, Zhang Zhao returned from Gongsun Zan's camp.

After Zhang Zhao told Liu Zheng the news about Gongsun Zan, it also attracted the analysis of Liu Zheng's civil servants and generals.

"Gongsun Zan has to meet with Liu Bei's people before he can tell us whether he is willing to negotiate peace. What is this guy's plan!"

Liu Zheng frowned, thinking carefully about Gongsun Zan's intentions in doing so.

In Liu Zheng's view, Gongsun Zan's most likely way of doing this was to send troops to contact Liu Bei. If the peace talks were false, it was also very possible to meet with Liu Bei to discuss the purpose of a joint attack.

Once Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan's forces are brought together and the two sides formulate a method against Liu Zheng, then Liu Zheng will be very passive.

However, through Zhang Zhao's description, Liu Zheng felt that Gongsun Zan didn't have much confidence, otherwise, he wouldn't have asked to meet Liu Bei.

"Mr. Zibu, do you think we should agree to Gongsun Zan's request?"

Liu Zheng thought about it in his heart, but he didn't have much idea, so he could only ask the people around him.

At this time, Liu Zheng is only surrounded by the newly recruited Zhang Zhao. Chen Deng can give him some advice, like Lu Bu, Gao Shun and others. Liu Zheng asked for nothing. They don't know much about this issue. .

Moreover, Zhang Zhao, who participated in the whole process of the negotiation, should have his own ideas about Gongsun Zan. Asking Zhang Zhao would allow Liu Zheng to understand Gongsun Zan's intentions.

After Zhang Zhao was questioned by Liu Zheng, he didn't hide anything, and immediately began to explain his opinion to Liu Zheng.

"Returning to my lord, I think that Gongsun Zan actually has some confidence, but he became a little more cautious after asking the counselors around him. Most of the requests were made because he wanted to find Liu Bei to understand our strength. . Then make a decision whether to talk about peace or go to war.”

Gongsun Zan himself should be relatively proud, and he doesn't have much fear of Liu Zheng. After all, Gongsun Zan followed Lu Zhi and performed well in the Jizhou battlefield. Although he didn't take much advantage of the battle with Yuan Shao.

However, Gongsun Zan himself performed well. At the beginning, he blocked Yuan Shao's attack with his own ability, so that Gongsun Zan was not too afraid of Liu Zheng.

Of course, the main reason was that Gongsun Zan was warlike and never afraid of any opponent. In addition, Gongsun Zan and Liu Zheng had no chance of fighting head-on, so he didn't know Liu Zheng's strength.

This also caused Gongsun Zan to have no fear at all in front of Liu Zheng.

But Gongsun Zan is not afraid, but it does not mean that these counselors around Gongsun Zan are not afraid.

Guan Jing still knows Liu Zheng's intelligence, especially Guan Jing knows Liu Guanzhang, and knows that Liu Bei's two younger brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, are powerful, but such a powerful Liu Bei has suffered in front of Liu Zheng. , Liu Zheng's strength is naturally formidable.

This made Guan Jing have to go to the staff and Liu Bei's staff.

Zhang Zhao considered such a situation, that's why he told Liu Zheng that Gongsun Zan's advisers probably wanted to ask Liu Bei about the situation in Qingzhou this time.

Only Liu Bei is the one who knows Liu Zheng's strength best.

"Then we are letting Gongsun Zan's people go to meet Liu Bei in the city?"

"We can ask Gongsun Zan to send someone in alone, and only give a stick of incense time, so that the other party doesn't have much time to discuss and just ask for the result. It doesn't hurt us too much, but if the other party is If we can agree to the peace talks, we will not suffer any loss if the city of Linzi is handed over to us."

Zhang Zhao told Liu Zheng what he was thinking, and Liu Zheng nodded.

He was still unwilling to continue fighting, but after hearing Zhang Zhao's words, Liu Zheng also decided to trust Zhang Zhao once.

He asked Zhang Zhao to go back immediately, and continued to negotiate with Gongsun Zan's people according to his wishes.

Gongsun Zan was quite surprised when he learned that Liu Zheng had agreed, but Gongsun Zan still sent a person to Linzi City to ask Liu Bei's opinion as agreed.

The person sent was not Guan Jing, but another general whom Gongsun Zan trusted, Yan Gang.

Yan Gang can be regarded as one of the few talents under Gongsun Zan. After Liu Zheng knew this person, he had some impressions that he was the governor of Jizhou appointed by Gongsun Zan in history, but this guy did not have many deeds in history.

In Liu Zheng's impression, that is, during the battle with Yuan Shao, he was beheaded by Yuan Shao's general Ju Yi.

At best, he is a third-rate military general, and even Liu Zheng's Zhou Cang is much better than Yan Gang and his like.

Letting Yan Gang enter Linzi City was because Gongsun Zan was worried that Liu Bei didn't know his people, and thought it was Liu Zheng's plan. Liu Bei would only believe people who Liu Bei knew well.

Yan Gang walked through Liu Zheng's army alone, and then came to the city of Linzi.

On the city tower, Guan Yu was stationed at the city gate, and when he saw a person approaching, he immediately shouted.

"Who is coming?"

"General Guan, I'm under Yan Gang. General Gongsun Zan's subordinates are generals. I have met General Guan a few times before, but I still remember it."

Both Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan were Lu Zhi's students, and they had worked together under Lu Zhi's account before, so Guan Yu and Yan Gang had met on several occasions. For Yan Gang, who is not too outstanding General, although Guan Yu doesn't take it to heart, he still feels familiar.

In addition, Guan Yu knew that Liu Bei had already gone to Jizhou to ask for help, and he had already dispatched troops there half a month ago, so Yan Gang's appearance here is also considered possible.

"General Yan Gang, why are you here?"

"My lord has already stationed troops outside Linzi City. Liu Zheng sent someone over to negotiate, so he asked me to ask Liu Zhoumu, General Guan, please open the door and let me enter the city to discuss matters."

Guan Yu did not doubt that there was him, he was an acquaintance after all, and since Yan Gang was the only one, he would naturally not be afraid of Yan Gang playing tricks.

After agreeing on the time for a stick of incense, after Yan Gang entered the city, he didn't even go to the mansion in the city to rest, but just outside the city, talking with Liu Bei's people.

Liu Bei and the others had been waiting at the base of the city for a long time, and as soon as Yan Gang came in, they couldn't wait to ask.

"General Yan Gang, brother Bogui, Gongsun Zan, has already led the army to help?"

"My lord, my lord has already led [-] troops to the outside of Linzi City, but was stopped by Liu Zheng's army. The two sides were about to fight, but Liu Zheng sent people to negotiate peace, and said that he was willing to let people leave from Linzi City. , but there is one requirement."

"any request?"

"Then Liu Zheng said that the condition is that in the future, Qingzhou will be governed by demarcating boundaries, with Linzi City as the boundary, the east will belong to Liu Zheng, and the west will belong to the imperial court."

Chapter 616 peace talks

"My lord didn't answer Liu Zheng, so let me ask Liu Zhoumu what he meant, and see what Liu Zhoumu's decision is. If the state herd wants to fight, my lord has already told me that with the rocket as our trust, we will be able to defeat Liu Zheng if we attack back and forth. If the adults want to make peace, then I will go back and reply to my lord."

As soon as Yan Gang told Liu Bei about the task assigned to him by Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei immediately fell into deep thought.

Before Liu Bei answered Yan Gang, Zhang Fei, who was standing aside and heard the news together, became excited first.

"Hahaha, our reinforcements have finally arrived. This time, we can have a good fight with that kid Liu Zheng. With the cooperation of General Gongsun, I see how Liu Zheng will fight this time."

Zhang Fei has no memory, and he doesn't know how he made his losses in Beihai.

But Guan Yu, apparently calmer than Zhang Fei, immediately said something to Zhang Fei.

"Third brother, have you forgotten about Lu Bu?"

Obviously, Guan Yu, who is so arrogant, everyone is the first to sell the first man. This time, he also met his opponent. He suffered a loss in front of Lu Bu, and Guan Yu's arrogance was tempered a lot.

"General Yan Gang, do you know how many troops Liu Zheng has deployed outside the city of Linzi?"

After Liu Bei was silent for a moment, he opened his mouth and asked Yan Gang.

The suspicion in Liu Bei's heart was not Yan Gang and Gongsun Zan, but why Liu Zheng proposed peace talks at this time.

You know, among the people present, the one who knows Liu Zheng's strength best is Liu Bei. Liu Bei is fully aware that Liu Zheng is capable of defeating these officers and troops in Linzi City.

The reason why Liu Zheng has not taken the initiative to attack these days is entirely because Liu Zheng is worried that the loss of troops in the attack will be too large, and the gain outweighs the loss.

Now Liu Zheng proposed peace talks on his own initiative, and Liu Zheng, who had the advantage, proposed peace talks, which made Liu Bei have some doubts, thinking that Liu Zheng had some other plan, maybe to lure Liu Bei and others out of the city, and then start a war.

In this way, Liu Zheng didn't need to prepare for the siege, but fought against Liu Bei's men under the city, annihilating Liu Bei in one fell swoop, and even Gongsun Zan's soldiers who came to rescue Liu Bei.

So Liu Bei's worry is not unreasonable. He wants to see how many troops Liu Zheng has stationed outside the city before making a decision.

Yan Gang didn't worry too much about Liu Bei's question, but directly told Liu Bei what he knew.

"My lord, what we have found so far is that Liu Zheng has left about 4 troops outside the city. The exact number is not clear because our spies are not deep enough to get close to Liu Zheng's interior."

Yan Gang's answer made Liu Bei sullen, and began to ponder, in fact, what Yan Gang said was similar to what Liu Bei himself knew.

"It should be 5 to 2 people. If our army fights Liu Zheng, the number should be about the same. However, Liu Zheng's men are not elite. It is estimated that only [-] people are his own troops, and the rest are from Beihai. The remnants of the Yellow Turbans have limited combat capabilities, so from this point of view, Liu Zheng may indeed be interested in peace talks."

"My lord, I think Liu Zheng wants peace talks. It's May, and it's the time for spring plowing and farming. If Liu Zheng continues to fight our army here, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the work of the people under them. In the battle, Liu Zheng's troops also need to rest."

Jian Yong guessed what Liu Bei was thinking.

Liu Zheng's men and horses need to rest, so why don't Liu Bei's soldiers and horses rest? Although Liu Bei had been recuperating for half a month when he besieged Beihai, he had basically recovered a little, but the Battle of Beihai caused Liu Bei's men to lose a lot again. In addition, he has always traveled long distances from Yanzhou to Qingzhou.

Now that Chun Geng can't go back to preside over the overall situation, it is Liu Bei himself, not Liu Zheng, who has the greater influence.

Liu Zheng can give up Qingzhou. After all, Qingzhou itself is not Liu Zheng's territory. Liu Zheng has two large granaries in Jiaozhou and Yangzhou. If he lacks food, he can completely transfer from these two places.

But if Yanzhou is abandoned by Liu Bei, Liu Bei himself will suffer a huge loss.

Liu Bei also didn't want to continue fighting Liu Zheng in Qingzhou, he wanted to go back to Yanzhou to regain control of the overall situation.

Of course, there is a more important point.

Cao Cao was captured by Liu Zheng, and his life and death are uncertain. In Liu Bei's eyes, Cao Cao is already dead. Although Yanzhou was originally owned by Liu Bei, the governor of the state, Cao Cao, the governor, also occupied some territory.

Now that there is no Cao Cao, Liu Bei returns to Yanzhou, and he can control the entire Yanzhou alone. At that time, some remnants of Cao Cao in Yanzhou will be annexed. Liu Bei's strength will be improved again, and he will regain his strength and fight Liu Zheng again.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei already had the idea of ​​peace talks in his mind.

Seeing that Liu Bei has been silent and silent, Yan Gang was a little anxious. After all, Liu Zheng only gave him a stick of incense time, so he couldn't help staying in the city any longer.

So when Yan Gang saw that Liu Bei was silent, he hurriedly urged him.

"My lord, then Liu Zheng only gives me a little time, and you give me an answer, so I can go back and tell my lord, whether it is a fight or a peace negotiation, you can give me your opinion."

Liu Bei was interrupted by Yan Gang's words and woke up from his contemplation.

"Peace talks, go back and tell your lord, just talk about peace talks with Liu Zheng. Then Liu Zheng has a strong army. If there is a war, the soldiers and horses of both of us may not be opponents. Fortunately, the loss must be huge, if Liu Zheng escapes, he can regroup and come back, and we will be hurt."

Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan's soldiers and horses in Qingzhou are all elites under them. If they are gone, they will be gone.

But Liu Zheng is different. At best, Liu Zheng brought 2 people here. Even if all 2 people were buried here, it would not hurt Liu Zheng.

In this way, regardless of victory or defeat, Liu Bei will always suffer. After thinking about this, Liu Bei decided to agree to Liu Zheng's peace talks.

When Yan Gang heard Liu Bei said that he wanted peace talks, he nodded solemnly.

"I understand. I'll go back and report to you. I'll have a good talk with my lord."

After finishing speaking, Yan Gang left the city and returned to Gongsun Zan's camp.

Liu Zheng also followed the agreement and did not stop Yan Gang. After Yan Gang came out of Linzi City according to the agreed time, he let Yan Gang return to Gongsun Zan's territory.

Not long after, Gongsun Zan sent someone to find Liu Zheng, saying that he wanted to discuss the specific matters of the peace talks.

This result was beyond Liu Zheng's expectation, but it was also reasonable.

Liu Zheng originally intended to have peace talks, and the peace talks were also the result of Liu Zheng's efforts to fight for them, so naturally he would not refuse.

Dang even met with Gongsun Zan to discuss specific matters.

Chapter 617 Liu Zheng's Thoughts

It was not the first time that Liu Zheng and Gongsun Zan met.

Liu Zheng had already met Gongsun Zan when he was at Hulao Pass, but Liu Zheng didn't pay much attention to General White Horse at that time.

Now that he was negotiating with Gongsun Zan, he took a close look at Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan himself was relatively majestic in life, and the northerners are unique in that they have a thick back and a waist, a tall and straight figure, and an imposing manner.Dressed in white, he really looks a bit heroic.

"Liu Zheng, since you want peace talks, let's stop talking nonsense and just talk about how to implement it."

The two sides have reached a consensus, what is lacking now is just to implement the plan of peace talks, how to discuss the specific details and a series of things.

Since Gongsun Zan and Liu Zheng had nothing to talk about, Liu Zheng didn't want to waste any time on Gongsun Zan. Regarding the specific details of the peace talks, he had already discussed with his advisers before, so let Zhang Zhao and Gongsun Zan It is enough to hand over the people directly.

Neither side wasted much time here.After the discussion was over, it was Liu Zheng who responded first, leading the soldiers and horses besieging the city to retreat five li first, making way wide enough for Liu Bei's soldiers and horses in the city to withdraw from the city.

After Liu Bei's men and horses retreated from Linzi City, they sent someone over to inform Liu Zheng to take over Linzi City.

In this way, the two sides have initially reached an agreement.

And it was agreed that with Linzi City as the boundary, the two sides would not fight any more in a short period of time.

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