The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 167: Knowing that it is impossible to do something but still doing it is Li Yi's style of doing things
Wang Lang is a native of Xuzhou, and it is a coincidence that his hometown is Xuzhou.

It was Li Yi's fief, Tan County.

In other words, strictly speaking, Li Yi is Wang Lang's suzerain.

Even though Wang Lang was an old official of Xuzhou and Li Yi's predecessor, he could not put on airs in front of Li Yi.

"Please take a seat, my Lord."

Contrary to what Wang Lang had expected, Li Yi was not too arrogant and directly invited him to take a seat.

Wang Lang thanked him and said straight to the point:

"I think you already know the reason for Lang's visit. Yuzhang is in dire straits and the people are in danger."

"I heard that you were entrusted by General Liu to take charge of military affairs in Huainan."

"Only the Lord can save Yuzhang now."

After a slight pause, he added, "The governor of Yuzhang, Hua Xin and Hua Ziyu, are willing to offer the whole city to you, so that Xuzhou can be protected."

"From now on, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

This is standard political rhetoric.

It sounds better than singing. First, trick your troops over here.

Li Yi maintained the calmness of a politician and said calmly:
"To be honest with you, my lord, General Liu has entrusted me with the military and political affairs of Huainan."

"Yuzhang is far to the west of Yangzhou, and I really don't want to send troops to interfere."

This……

Wang Lang didn't expect Li Yi to refuse so decisively.

Just when he was in a dilemma, Li Yi suddenly changed the subject.

"But if Hua Fujun really wants me to protect Yuzhang, it's not impossible."

"I'd like to hear it!"

Wang Lang asked quickly.

"I will send someone to assist Hua Fujun in handling the military affairs of Yuzhang. After that, all military and national affairs of Yuzhang must be discussed with my Xuzhou officials first."

"What do you think, Your Excellency?"

Wang Lang was startled and understood what Li Yi meant.

Saying that he was going to assist Hua Xin in handling military affairs of Yuzhang, didn't he just want Hua Xin to hand over the military and political power of Yuzhang?

Li Yi did not want to get involved in Yuzhang affairs personally, especially since it involved the war between Liu Biao and Sun Ce.

But if we can send someone to take over and exercise self-governance.

Then even if it cannot be preserved in the future, there will be no loss to Xuzhou.

What's more, Li Yi has a long-term strategic vision and he will take over the Jiangnan area sooner or later.

In this case, we might as well use Yuzhang as an experiment.

Li Yi had been planning this "experiment" for a long time, but it had always been difficult to carry out openly.

Because both Xuzhou and Huainan are areas of key development.

Time is running out, so don't act rashly.

In order to ensure safety, Li Yi did not conduct experiments in Huainan and Xuzhou.

But Yuzhang is different. It is a malaria-ridden area and the population is small.

Send someone to take over and then govern themselves.

Regardless of whether the experiment fails in the end, it will not cause much damage to Xuzhou.

If successful, it will serve as a reference for the future.

"…How is it? What does the prince think?"

Seeing that Wang Lang remained silent, Li Yi asked again.

The attendant beside him said loudly:

"You should make a quick decision. Marquis Tan is busy with many things every day. How can he have time to serve you alone?"

Wang Lang frowned, thinking that he and Hua Xin were not the kind of people who coveted power and wealth.

Asking for help from Henan was just to take sides so as to protect oneself in troubled times.

Since Li Yi is willing to send someone to take over Yuzhang's mess, what's wrong with that?

"If you really want to send someone to Yuzhang, I think Hua Fujun will have no reason to refuse."

Wang Lang said, "Even so, you should send soldiers to station here."

What Wang Lang meant was that he hoped Li Yi would send some troops over.

They also want peace of mind.

After all, Yuzhang was a small and weak state, so they came to Xuzhou to seek refuge.

“…Yes, that’s as it should be.”

"I will transfer a thousand elite soldiers from Huainan to garrison in Yuzhang."

One thousand people...

Wang Lang frowned and sighed that something is better than nothing.

One thousand elite soldiers mainly serve as a deterrent, because they represent Xuzhou's personal involvement.

For Li Yi, supporting a thousand people in Yuzhang was an acceptable expense.

No more will do.

After Liu Yao's death, his followers actually joined Hua Xin.

Because Hua Xin himself had a high reputation and loved his people like his own children, he was highly respected.

So when Liu Yao's troops surrendered to Hua Xin, Hua Xin actually had more than 10,000 troops under his command.

But Hua Xin dismissed most of them.

One reason was that Hua Xin had no ambition to secede, and the other reason was that Yuzhang was too poor and Hua Xin could not afford to support it.

If Li Yi sent troops to garrison Yuzhang, the amount of money and food Huai'an would have to pay would depend on the number of people stationed there.

Adhering to the principle of quality over quantity, Li Yi only planned to send a thousand men to garrison.

"Who do you plan to send to Yuzhang?" Wang Lang asked again.

Li Yi stood up, looked around, and then without asking for everyone's opinions, he directly named:
"Ziyi, you will go to Yuzhang and assist Hua Fujun in supervising the military and political affairs of Yuzhang."

Taishi Ci was a little surprised that Li Yi called out his name among the crowd.

He quickly stood up and bowed:

"Yes, I will obey your orders!"

Someone may say:
"Although Taishi Ziyi is brave and courageous, he is not a man of strategy."

"If he is allowed to supervise the military and political affairs of Yuzhang, it may cause great mistakes."

Li Yi put his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice:

"No, I think Ziyi is loyal and righteous, just like the ancients."

"It can be used for great things."

Then he looked at Taishi Ci and asked, "What do you think, Ziyi?"

When asked for his opinion, Taishi Ci immediately knelt down and said:
“This is what the sincere and kind heart hopes for!”

A gentleman will die for his friend. Taishi Ci's ambition was to carry a seven-foot sword and achieve unprecedented merit.

Now he thinks his chance has come.

Ok……

Seeing Taishi Ci so energetic, Li Yi felt more relieved and said:
"If a dragon wants to fly high into the sky, it must first build a wooden plank."

"Just now I promised the prince that I would send a thousand men to garrison Yuzhang."

"Ziyi, when you go, you should see whether the people of Yuzhang are loyal to you. As for the number of soldiers you should command, you can decide as you wish."

What this means is that Taishi Ci can decide for himself how many people to bring.

Everyone present secretly admired Li Yi's personal charm.

Even when everyone was not optimistic about Taishi Ci, he was willing to take the lead and give him absolute trust.

It was as if to say, take my token, go to your local post to take up your new post, and come back to see me when you've finished your work.

This sense of trust is what all scholars in ancient times pursued.

Taishi Ci bowed and replied:
"Your Excellency has made great efforts to accomplish this. Now that Liu Yao is dead, I don't know how Hua Ziyu will be treated."

"So what can their troops do now? I think they can be summoned back and forth."

"If the troops are happy to come, come with them; if they are not happy to come, comfort them."

"After Ci arrives, I will see how Huazi Yu Mu Yu Fang Gui works."

"So the troops you lead should not be too many; a few dozen are enough."

Taishi Ci rejected Li Yi's good intention, thinking that there was no need to send troops from Huainan alone.

He only needed to bring a few dozen followers with him, and he was confident that he could recapture the Yuzhang troops and make them his own.

That is, use Yuzhang people to govern Yuzhang people, and Yuzhang soldiers to defend Yuzhang land.

This move will undoubtedly help Li Yi save a big trouble.

After all, supporting a troop of a thousand soldiers remotely would cost a lot of money in terms of food and money.

If Taishi Ci could really use Yuzhang to nurture the Yuzhang troops, that would naturally be great.

"Ziyi, you have to think it over carefully. Yuzhang is far away in a malaria-ridden area, and transportation to and from it is not convenient."

"If there is an emergency, Huainan may not be able to save you."

Yuzhang is rich in swamps, mountains, rivers and lakes, making communication very convenient.

If anything happened, it would be easy for Huainan to rescue them first.

In other words, once Taishi Ci is gone, he will have to rely entirely on himself.

Li Yi is now giving Taishi Ci a choice, seeing what he needs, and then trying to satisfy him all at once.

Otherwise, when he arrives in Yuzhang and asks for something, it will be difficult to give it to him.

But Taishi Ci seemed very confident:

"Your Excellency has the character of Huan and Wen. The ancients said, repay life with death, and strive to fulfill your integrity until you die."

"Since Ci has been entrusted with such a great responsibility, how dare I betray you?"

"Besides, Yangzhou had just been captured, and the soldiers were divided, so it would be difficult to reunite."

"It is only appropriate to show your grace and wisdom, calm their hearts, unite their people, and then stop the war."

Taishi Ci had his own unique insights, and in history he was also considered half a prince.

In Haihun, he suppressed the invasion of Liu Pan of Jingzhou and made him disappear from the enemy's territory.

Li Yi felt that Taishi Ci had the talent of a whole state and it would be a waste of his talent to keep him in Xuzhou, so he planned to send him out to gain some experience.

"With what Ziyi said, I can now leave the affairs of Yuzhang to you without any worries."

As soon as he finished speaking, a hand reached out to Wang Lang.

Wang Lang did not understand what he meant at first, but Pang Tong observed his expression and hurriedly presented the books that Wang Lang had brought.

Wang Lang then realized that Li Yi wanted to see the taxes and official lists of Yuzhang.

While watching, Wang Lang said something nice:
"These are all books and documents taken from the government office."

"The disasters in Yuzhang, the number of households, the strengths and weaknesses, and the sufferings of the people are all recorded."

At this time, they wanted to show Yuzhang's sincerity and focus on sincerity.

I hope Li Yi won't abandon them.

Li Yi flipped through the pictures and text and said:
"Why doesn't the number of Yuzhang residents match?"

"What's wrong?"

Wang Lang's body tensed up and he asked in a trembling voice.

“…Hehe, none of them match.”

Li Yi closed the letter and handed it to Pang Tong beside him.

According to the "Book of the Later Han", the population of the area where Eastern Wu was located was more than 900 million.

However, when the State of Jin destroyed the Sun Wu, it obtained its tax and labor service map, which showed that there were only 230 million people.

The disappearance of this population is naturally closely related to the local wealthy families.

Many tenants would voluntarily become slaves in order to avoid corvee and taxes.

Slaves were not included in the household registration, so naturally they did not have to perform labor service or pay taxes.

This gives the aristocratic families a lot of room for maneuver.

It hid a large population and seized a large amount of social wealth.

This led to the emergence of a large number of hidden households at the end of the Han Dynasty.

These hidden households only enjoy material benefits but do not assume social responsibilities, which seriously hinders the normal operation of the country.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the place with the most serious hidden household problems was Eastern Wu.

But it doesn’t mean that there are no other places.

The same is true for Xuzhou, where Li Yi is located.

When Li Yi first occupied Xuzhou, there were external and internal troubles, and many problems needed to be solved.

And now they have to face the God Yuan who is about to head south.

So how could he dare to mess with the land and touch the core interests of the aristocratic families now?
But the fact that Xuzhou is not dealing with these issues for the time being does not mean that preliminary attempts cannot be made in other places.

It would be better if the experiment was conducted far away from Xuzhou so as not to make Xuzhou bear the consequences of failure.

If you succeed, you can also learn from it.

Li Yi put his hands behind his back, glanced at everyone, and said calmly:

"Today, more than half of the land in the world is owned by high-ranking nobles, and the remaining half is in the hands of scholars and wealthy families."

"Ordinary people have no place to stand."

"Therefore, the good people, when there were starving people everywhere, exchanged their children for food in order to survive in this chaotic world."

"The evil ones protect the mountains and become bandits, gathering in the mountains and forests, robbing the people, killing people and setting fires."

"Everyone here, I'm sure you've all encountered robbers in your hometown, right?"

Everyone looked at each other, all silent.

Li Yi continued to speak, and sighed faintly:
"Life is full of disasters, and it is already very difficult to survive."

"…Why do we need to kill each other and even take pleasure in doing so?"

Li Yi once again asked a soul-searching question.

"In my humble opinion, whenever there is a rise of bandits, people say that the people are suffering from hardships and have no way to survive, so they become bandits."

"But once they become thieves, they lose all conscience and bring suffering to others."

"This will make it difficult for more people to survive and they will turn to banditry again."

"If this continues, how can the world be free of bandits?"

Everyone looked at each other and listened carefully to Li Yi's teachings.

Wang Lang was moved by this. When he first saw Li Yi, he was still young and did not think that this boy had any talent.

Now, with only a few words from him, he actually pointed out the root cause of the chaotic world. With such insight, it is no wonder that he has such a reputation for talent today.

Wang Lang often ridiculed those people in the world who were known for being charitable but had no sympathy for the poor and humble.

So he often used his own money to help others in need.

But now it seems, what benefit can his broad-mindedness bring to the people in troubled times?
"The common people have almost no food to eat the next day, but the rich and powerful can own fields stretching from one mile to another, occupying all the fertile land."

"The people live in luxury and debauchery, and are particularly evil in the field of land registration."

"These people are the most hateful. They have taken away half of the wealth in the world, and they are making the land tax slippery. Is this fair?"

After these words were spoken, many officials present felt very uneasy and were sweating profusely.

But his expression remained calm.

Some of them had a lot of land in their mansions, and the people they kept were slaves, so they were certainly not counted as part of the household registration.

From what Li Yi said, he wasn't going to use them as a target, was he?
Li Yi smiled and said, "You don't have to be nervous. I was granted the title of Marquis of the County and enjoy a fief of 3,000 households in Tan County. I have land in my hands."

What I mean is that I won’t use any action against you.

After all, I have my own land. If I really take advantage of you, I would be hurting myself, right?

Everyone felt relieved, trembling as they stood up, and said, "Your Excellency's words are truly thought-provoking and thought-provoking!"

Cao Bao was the first to kneel on the ground:

"Your Excellency is right. All living beings suffer, and it is our duty to save them from danger and preserve their lives."

"Leopard is willing to set an example and donate the land in his mansion to the state government!"

All the officials glanced at Cao Bao and cursed inwardly, saying that you are good at reading people's expressions and flattering others.

Li Yi hasn't even said he wants to confiscate the land, but you're the first to come out and claim credit.

We are all thousand-year-old foxes, and everyone knows that Cao Bao will definitely not donate all his land.

He only handed over a part of it, which was just a slight loss for him.

But as the first person to try it, Li Yi naturally left a good impression.

"I am also willing to donate my family's land and property to help you, my lord!"

"I second the motion!"

"I second the motion...!"

Suddenly, a good gathering turned into an activity of donating land.

Everyone understood that instead of waiting for Li Yi to take action someday, it would be better to hand it over first.

If you pay now, it will definitely be the least amount.

If Li Yi really takes the initiative to measure the fields and check them, I'm afraid the amount of land he hands over will not be this amount.

Wang Lang saw the whole scene and admired Li Yi's political skills even more.

With just a few words, these old foxes who had been in the Xuzhou officialdom for many years were completely subdued.

Good means, good tactics...

Wang Lang lamented that he had been an official for so many years, but was not as tough as a younger generation, and he felt really ashamed of himself.

Seeing that everyone was offering their land to show their loyalty, Li Yi immediately bowed and said:

"You are all truly General Liu's loyal and devoted followers. I will certainly commend you all for your achievements in front of General Liu later."

In officialdom, one must use both kindness and severity.

Don't hit too hard, it must be moderate.

Now, it would be the best outcome if we could get them to voluntarily donate part of their land.

If it were a little more radical, the whole Xuzhou would be in unrest.

This is obviously not the result Li Yi wants to see.

You have to know that these officials are the ruling class, the superiors, and the vested interests.

It is unrealistic to directly deprive them of their rights.

"Ziyi, do you understand what I want you to do in Yuzhang?"

Li Yi found Taishi Ci alone and asked him.

Taishi Ci nodded and said, "Does your Excellency want me to measure the land in Yuzhang?"

"exactly……"

Li Yi nodded.

Land measurement was to check the amount of land owned by people, their household registration, and their age, in order to restrict the powerful from annexing land and enslaving the population.

At the same time, it makes it easier for the state to collect taxes and levy corvee labor.

However, many large landowners have their own armed forces.

As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot overwhelm a local snake.

If you try to take advantage of the pie of these powerful landlords, they will 100% conceal their fields and the people dependent on them in order to oppose the investigation.

Many local officials were afraid of their power, or accepted bribes and colluded with each other.

To allow the landlords and powerful people to lie.

If the situation is more serious, they will take the initiative to unite and resist with armed force.

"Today, many cultivated fields are not real, and the age of the registered residents increases and decreases."

"I want you to rectify the taxation system and stabilize social order after you arrive in Yuzhang, so as to consolidate the stability of Yuzhang's political power."

Li Yi formally made a request to Taishi Ci.

"It's just that the local tyrants lost control and built fortifications and repaired armor and weapons."

"Gather clan members and guests, recruit dependent refugees, and fight against the government."

“So this is very difficult to do.”

Historically, after Liu Xiu established the country, he launched a large-scale land survey.

Many people say that Liu Xiu failed in his land survey and was almost driven off the throne.

But judging from the results, Liu Xiu did deal a heavy blow to the powerful families.

It solved the problem of inaccurate household registration and land area during the Han Dynasty, laying the necessary basic conditions for the later Ming and Zhang governance.

However, Liu Xiu's land measurement campaign was indeed very difficult and it sparked a large number of rebellions across the country.

Fortunately, Liu Xiu had already firmly established himself on the throne by then, and had not completely fallen out with the landlords and powerful people.

Instead, both sides compromised with each other.

The powerful families gave up some of their political and economic interests, and Liu Xiu restored a balance between imperial power and local forces.

No one wants to cause social unrest through excessive killing.

As I said before, what powerful landlords fear most is troubled times.

Because in troubled times, anyone with a gun can become a king, and it harms the interests of these vested interests.

Although land allocation can solve some social problems, with the passage of time, personnel flow will occur.

Land annexation will continue to occur, causing new social problems.

Xun You came over at this time and advised Li Yi:
"Sir, measuring the land is not a short-term strategy."

"I am afraid that the decree will be criticized by thousands of people before it is even passed to the local areas."

“When the person dies, the government will cease, or even before the person dies, the government will cease.”

"Please think twice."

Li Yi nodded, smiled and said:
"Gongda's arrival is just in time. Just now many officials in Xuzhou offered their land as donations."

"Did anyone have any complaints about me, the 'evil man', afterwards?"

Xun You was a little frightened when he heard this, and said quickly:

"Sir, please don't say that. How dare we?"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Li Yi's expression again and saw that it had not changed.

He sighed and then told the truth.

"Although no one said anything, from my point of view, I'm afraid many of them are unhappy..."

To put it bluntly, many people hope for redistribution of benefits simply because they are not vested interests.

And how many of the vested interests are willing to give up their interests for free?

"I also know that this is very difficult, so I will just try it out today."

"Send Ziyi to Yuzhang early to try it out."

"Whether it succeeds or not, it will not harm Xuzhou."

"If this goes well, it will be helpful for Xuzhou to try to measure the land later."

"If the matter does not work out, it will only damage Yuzhang."

This is the experiment that Li Yi intends to conduct.

It just so happened that Yuzhang was not very wealthy, so Taishi Ci could do his job with all his might.

If you really mess up, you can still cut it in time.

In short, someone always has to try.

Even if Li Yi doesn't do it, someone else will do it later. It's just a matter of time.

If that's the case, why can't I do it?
It’s a rare opportunity to come here, so you should leave no regrets.

"...Well, since you want to try this, I am willing to help you."

"...Haha, Gongda has this intention, that's great, then come and help me draft the law."

So Li Yi brought Xun You with him and drafted a basic law.

Let Taishi Ci take it and conduct a preliminary trial in Yuzhang.

"Ziyi has the right to act at his own discretion when he goes there."

"When appointing officials, one can decide life and death at one's own discretion."

Li Yi was afraid that Taishi Ci would be hindered by the law, so he let him do it freely.

No matter what, Xuzhou will fully support his work.

If you really can't do it well and fail, just give up and don't force it.

Li Yi gave Taishi Ci many instructions before preparing to send him away.

At this time, another messenger arrived.

It was a document sent by Yuan Yin, the governor of Danyang.

The book discusses the Shanyue problem in Danyang.

Li Yi hoped that Yuan Yin could raise no less than 10,000 Danyang soldiers for Xuzhou within two years.

These warriors are brave and fearless, making them very suitable for being sent to the front line for hand-to-hand combat and knife fights.

However, it is difficult to raise so many people in such a short time.

Then we have to start with the local Shanyue people.

Although Li Yi had already told Yuan Yin that he could intimidate the Shanyue people by rushing to harvest wheat.

However, Yuan Yin still stated in his letter that the actual operation is quite difficult.

I hope Li Yi can send more people to help.

On the one hand, he had to appease Yuan Shu's old ministers, and on the other hand, he had to help Huainan suppress the Shanyue. He was indeed very busy.

"My Lord, what did Lord Yuan say in the letter?"

Pang Tong asked with concern.

It was he who mainly proposed the strategy for wiping out the Shanyue rebels.

So Pang Tong was most concerned.

"Yuan Yin mentioned the difficulties he encountered at work and hoped that I could send someone to help him out."

As he spoke, Li Yi handed the document to Pang Tong and asked Xun You who was standing beside him:
"Gongda, what do you think of the Jiangnan Shanyue?"

Ok……

Xun You hesitated for a moment and said:

"Most of the Shanyue people are descendants of the Yue people. They form clans and tribes based on blood ties and have been entrenched for hundreds of years."

"If we want to pacify them within two years, we will need at least 30,000 elite soldiers."

"If we want to wipe them out within two years, we will need at least 100,000 people..."

Xun You told the estimated number in his mind.

Obviously, neither Li Yi nor Xuzhou would be willing to invest 100,000 troops to deal with the Shanyue problem.

It took the State of Wu several decades to pacify the Shanyue. It took one generation and then another generation to suppress them.

As a result, a large number of new generation generals were trained.

"How about this!"

Li Yi clapped his hands and said, "Since Ziyi is going to Yuzhang, he must also pass by Danyang on the way."

"You will go to Danyang with Wen Xiang, first assist him in pacifying the Shanyue, and then go to Yuzhang to take up your post."

Li Yi planned to send Taishi Ci and Xu Sheng to Danyang first to help Yuan Yin pacify the Shanyue, and then Taishi Ci would go to Yuzhang to handle military and political affairs.

"...here."

Taishi Ci bowed and changed the subject, "But if we don't go to Yuzhang soon, I'm afraid Hua Xin will become suspicious and defect to Liu Biao or Sun Ce."

Li Yi smiled and shook his head. "I will send a letter back first. Sun Ce and Liu Biao will know that I interfered in the affairs of Yuzhang and will not dare to act rashly."

"Ziyi can rest assured to fight the bandits in Danyang. There is still enough time."

The conflict between Sun Ce and Liu Biao has arisen, and war is inevitable. Who dares to offend a third party now?

What's more, the issue of Yuzhang's ownership is a mess in itself.

As long as the other party doesn't get it, both of them can accept it.

As they were talking, a messenger suddenly arrived.

"My Lord, the envoy from Yingchuan has arrived."

Li Yi heard this and smiled:
"...Hehe, what day is today? Why are all of you gathered together?"

"Please!"

Since they were allies in the war, Li Yi had to meet him in person.

The visitor was none other than Man Boning from Shanyang who was sent as an envoy to Xuzhou that year.

At that time, it was he who came forward to negotiate with Xuzhou.

This time Cao Cao sent him again, and no one knew why.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you, envoy."

When Li Yi saw Man Chong, he bowed to him.

Man Chong immediately returned the greeting, saying, "Your Excellency's elegance remains the same, and my old friends are filled with admiration when they hear of it."

Li Yi invited Man Chong into the posthouse and asked him about his purpose.

Man Chong said sternly, "This is a military and national matter. I didn't ask where General Liu is."

Li Yi replied, "I will ask you about military and national affairs first. If it is really an important matter, I will report it to General Liu."

If someone else said this, Man Chong might not believe it.

But if it was Li Yi who said this, Man Chong had to believe it.

Liu Bei's trust in Li Yi is well known to everyone.

"...Well, then, I'll tell you first."

Man Chong glanced around.

Li Yi understood and waved his hand, signaling the attendants to retreat.

"There are no six ears now. If you have anything important to discuss with me, please speak frankly."

Ok……

Man Chong then slowly spoke:
"I came here on the orders of Lord Cao to discuss the affairs of Hebei."

This was within Li Yi's expectations.

If it was an ordinary matter, Cao Cao would only need to send an ordinary envoy.

The fact that Man Chong was sent directly this time means that there must be something important.

"My Lord, do you know that Yuan Benchu is planning to negotiate peace with Gongsun Zan?"

what! ?

Even though he was mentally prepared, Li Yi was still shocked when he heard the news.

This is different from the information Li Yi received.

Xu You had clearly said before that Yuan Shao planned to attack Gongsun Zan next year.

Why did people on Cao Cao's side say that the two families wanted to negotiate peace?

Which one is true?
This matter cannot be taken lightly at all.

Because the war or truce in Hebei is directly related to the military strategy decisions in Henan.

"…Is the news true?"

Li Yi asked seriously.

Man Chong's expression was calm, and he spoke directly:
"Can you joke about something as important as this?"

……

(End of this chapter)