Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

After all, he was the only person in the entire Three Kingdoms period who dared to point his finger at Cao Cao and curse him.

Even a mere Lu Bu was easily manipulated by him.

Therefore, at this moment, no matter how angry Lü Bu was, he was no match for Chen Gong, who was equally angry.

For a moment, they were speechless.

Because everything Chen Gong said was reasonable and well-founded, none of his statements were tenable.

On the contrary, he was being rather unreasonable.

“Fengxian, now that this has happened, we should not be thinking about assigning blame, but about finding a solution.”

“Killing Wen Yuan will not solve the problem; on the contrary, it will make him a laughingstock to the world.”

Fortunately, Chen Gong didn't completely sever all ties with Lü Bu.

In the end, her tone softened.

“Gongtai…you, hmph.”

Lu Bu's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

"Wen Yuan, don't take it to heart. Feng Xian was just angry for a moment!"

Chen Gong sighed, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"I see."

Zhang Liao glanced at Lü Bu, who had turned and left, his eyes flickering slightly, lost in thought.

............

Zhou Heng was naturally unaware of what was happening here.

If only they knew that Zhang Liao and Chen Gong had developed a rift with Lü Bu because of their own actions.

I wonder what they'll think.

At this moment, he was hosting a grand banquet to welcome the two Mi brothers.

After three rounds of drinking.

Zhou Heng summoned me and all the Liao Hua, Zhou Cang, and Mi brothers, and told me his plans.

"Gentlemen, my idea is to send Zifang and Zhou Cang to Jianghuai under the guise of a merchant caravan, and then gradually shift our focus to Jianghuai. What do you all think?"

Zhou Heng suddenly said.

"Jianghuai?" Everyone frowned. "Yuan Shu's territory?"

“Indeed, Xuzhou is a good place, the birthplace of our enterprise, but it is a place of constant warfare, open on all sides with no natural defenses. Once someone attacks, we will be sitting ducks. In addition, Xuzhou has been plagued by war for many years, and it also suffered from Cao Cao's massacre of the city. Talents have been depleted and resources are scarce. It is not a suitable place for us to establish our base.” Zhou Heng nodded.

“My lord is right. Although we have been operating in Xuzhou for many years and have many advantages, Xuzhou’s geographical location is indeed not suitable as a base. It is connected to Qingzhou in the north, Yanzhou in the south, and borders the Jianghuai region. It is as if we are sandwiched between three major warlords, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu. Any slight movement from any of them can cripple us, not to mention that there are also warlords such as Liu Bei and Lü Bu watching us covetously. If I am not mistaken, there will inevitably be a war between Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao within ten years. If we stay in Xuzhou for a long time, it will be impossible for us to develop among these major warlords. However, isn’t the Jianghuai region Yuan Shu’s territory? Will he allow us to establish ourselves there?” Mi Zhu frowned.

Zhou Heng shook his head: "Who said we need his permission to settle down in Jianghuai?"

"Forehead........"

Everyone turned their attention to Zhou Heng, wondering what he meant.

After all, Yuan Shu had ruled the Jianghuai region for many years and his power was deeply entrenched.

How could they possibly establish themselves in the Jianghuai region without his permission?

"Haha, just as Zizhong said, within ten years, there will definitely be a battle between Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao."

"Now, I'm going to push this guess a little further ahead: within three years, there will definitely be a major battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao will be the ultimate victor."

"Therefore, my intention is to seize the Jianghuai region as our base before Cao Cao completely conquers it..."

Zhou Heng laughed heartily and dropped another bombshell.

"what?"

These words were like a thunderbolt to everyone around them.

It's important to understand that Yuan Shu was in a precarious situation before Yuan Shao completely eliminated Gongsun Zan.

He was undoubtedly the number one warlord in the land, commanding no fewer than 600,000 armored soldiers.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to declare himself emperor later on.

Although Yuan Shu was arrogant, he was not stupid.

Without absolute strength, it would be impossible to do something so foolish.

But now Zhou Heng actually says that it is such a powerful feudal lord.

They will be defeated by Cao Cao within three years.

And they also had to snatch food from the jaws of two tigers.

If it weren't Zhou Heng who said this, they would definitely think he had lost his mind.

"What? Do you all not believe me?"

Zhou Heng had a faint smile on his face.

"This... My lord, it's not that we're unlucky, it's just that this matter is too unbelievable."

"Cao Cao is powerful now, occupying a small part of Yanzhou and Sili in Yuzhou, and has two to three hundred thousand troops under his command."

"But compared to Yuan Shu, the gap is still very obvious."

Mi Zhu shook his head.

"Hahaha, when did I ever say that Cao Cao would be a match for Yuan Shu in a one-on-one fight?"

Zhou Heng countered with a question.

"Does my lord mean..."

"They attacked him in unison."

"How could this be? Yuan Shu may be arrogant, but he's not stupid. How could he possibly incite public anger and give all the warlords in the land a reason to rise up and attack him?"

Everyone is puzzled.

Zhou Heng smiled and said, "Is that so? But what if he becomes emperor?"

boom.

These words were like a thunderbolt to everyone present.

This was even more shocking than the news of Yuan Shu's defeat at the hands of Cao Cao within three years.

"To declare himself emperor? How is that possible?"

"Although the Han Dynasty exists in name only, its prestige remains, and the people of the world still yearn for it."

"No matter how much the feudal lords fight, they are nominally subjects of the Han."

"To declare himself emperor at this time would be tantamount to suicide. Yuan Shu couldn't possibly be that stupid!"

Everyone couldn't believe it.

In fact, not only were they incredulous, but Zhou Heng was also someone who had been reborn from a later era and clearly knew the course of history.

He absolutely did not believe that Yuan Shu would dare to declare himself emperor at this time.

After all, declaring oneself emperor now is almost tantamount to rebellion.

At that time, all the feudal lords in the land, whether they like it or not, will inevitably send troops.

Even at his peak, Dong Zhuo was powerful, but he was only a Grand Tutor.

But he did it anyway.

I still remember in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Cao Cao heard this news, he was completely stunned.

No one could have imagined that Yuan Shu would turn a winning hand into a losing one.

All I can say is that Yuan Shu's thought process is beyond the comprehension of normal people.

However, Zhou Heng naturally wouldn't tell them about his rebirth.

"Yuan Shu, a skeleton in a tomb, ambitious but incompetent."

"If I hadn't been born into a good family, let alone occupy such a vast area as Jianghuai and become the most powerful warlord in the world."

"that is........."