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

"I was just joking. I was talking about someone else."

Zhou Heng felt somewhat helpless.

Zhou Heng decided that it would be better to hold fewer meetings like this before he could find a strategist.

You can issue any commands yourself.

"Uh, I thought it was our lord?" Liao Hua scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "But who was the person our lord was talking about just now?"

"Zhang Yan, this man commands a million-strong Black Mountain Army, which is extremely powerful. He is currently hiding in the Taihang Mountains. If Yuan Shao's son wants to go to fetch his bride, he must pass through Changshan and Zhongshan, and these places are all bordered by the Taihang Mountains. It will be a piece of cake for Zhang Yan to take action."

Zhou Heng didn't waste any words and spoke directly.

“Zhang Yan is indeed a good candidate. Moreover, he had previously fought with Yuan Shao for control of Ji Province, but he was defeated by him repeatedly.”

"The relationship between them and Yuan Shao was originally one of irreconcilable enmity."

"If it's him who makes the move, there might be a chance."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"This humble general has a past relationship with Zhang Yan and is willing to go and persuade him."

Liao Hua stepped forward voluntarily.

"you........"

Zhou Heng had some doubts.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the other party, but this matter was no small thing and couldn't be resolved simply by having some connections.

Zhou Heng also planned to personally intervene and offer conditions that the other party could not refuse.

Moreover, I had never heard of any relationship between Liao Hua and Zhang Yan in my previous life.

"Has my lord forgotten?"

"When I first met you, my lord, I mentioned that I was going to Ji Province to seek refuge with General Zhang Yan."

"I have heard that General Zhang Yan is fighting against Yuan Shao, and I would like to go and lend him a hand."

"We had corresponded before, so I am confident that I will be able to persuade them."

Liao Hua said with absolute certainty.

He was once under Zhang Niujiao's command in the Yellow Turban Army.

Therefore, he and Zhang Yan could be considered comrades-in-arms.

In his view, it's just the right time to step in now.

"Alright, but this is no small matter. It must succeed, not fail."

"It just so happens that I also need to make some arrangements with the Zhen family in advance."

“I will go with you in person.”

After thinking it over, Zhou Heng finally decided to go in person.

Since the decision has been made to kidnap the bride...

Naturally, we must gain the Zhen family's approval as much as possible; otherwise, the Zhen family will strongly oppose it.

His army could not enter Ji Province.

It poses no effective threat to the other party.

If things drag on and on, it will be troublesome once Yuan Shao realizes what's going on.

So he decided to go there himself.

"Is our lord going to personally lead the operation?"

Everyone's expression changed. As the leader of a faction, the most taboo thing is to put oneself in danger.

As the lord of a faction, if anything happens to him, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Upon hearing Zhou Heng's words, they couldn't help but feel worried.

"That's right, don't worry, this time Liao Hua and I are going secretly, so there won't be any risks."

"After all, the world is currently shocked by Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor and the alliance between Yuan Shao and the Zhen family. They probably have no time to pay attention to a small bandit leader like me."

"In that case, how could I possibly let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

Zhou Heng nodded.

"But........."

"There are no buts. During my absence, if you have any questions about domestic affairs, consult Mi Zhu; if you have any questions about foreign affairs, consult Gao Shun and Chen Chong."

Zhou Heng waved his hand, giving them no chance to refuse, and made the decision directly.

"Yes."

Everyone could only nod helplessly.

"By the way, how have things been going in the past month? I need to make some arrangements before I leave."

Zhou Heng asked again.

"Now, the iron mines in our Xuzhou city have begun to be mined according to the method of public disclosure, which is more than five times faster than ordinary mining."

"During this period, we have transferred a large number of craftsmen from various states, as well as fine iron, and with the mining results, we have used these materials to forge 500 sets of iron armor, which are ready for use at any time."

"Once all the remaining personnel arrive, as long as there is enough refined iron, we can produce at least two thousand iron armors per month."

"In at most another six months, almost every one of our soldiers will be fully armored."

"Nearly 100,000 shi of grain have been transferred from various states, and other military supplies can at least guarantee the stability of Xuzhou for six months."

"There is no need to worry about food supplies anymore."

"His 20,000 soldiers are almost all armed, with 5,000 sets of leather armor, 1,500 sets of iron armor, and 10,300 warhorses..."

"In addition, I also took out two billion coins from my family as military pay, expenses in various places, and to purchase grain and fodder from various states."

Mi Zhu spoke first.

All of these things were sponsored by the Mi family; Zhou Heng only provided some technology.

This immediately enraged the Mi family, the richest family in Xuzhou.

This effectively depleted all the stockpiles that the Mi family had accumulated over the years.

If something major happens again, and they try to extract so much from the Mi family, it will really cripple them.

"Zizhong, you've worked hard."

Even Zhou Heng was unmoved by Mi Zhu's words.

What does two billion yuan mean?

It should be noted that when Cao Cao's father donated funds for the Three Dukes, it only cost him 100 million yuan.

This time, he directly gave himself two billion.

Not to mention the support of artisans, provisions, weapons, and personnel.

Zhou Heng's original 15,000-strong army was reduced to 15,000 after being engaged in battle with Lü Bu.

There are fewer than 10,000 people left.

Mi Zhu directly drew 5,000 men from his family and added them to Zhou Heng's army.

This is what allowed Zhou Heng's army to develop so rapidly.

With the addition of the enemy's food, money, and various weapons and equipment, a considerable number of people were recruited during this period.

Only then did they acquire an army of 20,000.

Now, another two billion, 100,000 shi of grain, and countless military supplies have been allocated.

How could this not move him?

Historically, this is how the Mi family supported Liu Bei. They gave him 2 billion coins just for marrying off his younger sister, and the subsequent support was countless. Unfortunately, Liu Bei squandered it all in the end.

Now, I will absolutely not follow Liu Bei's old path again.

"This is all I should do."

Mi Zhu smiled.

"On the military front, after a month of training, the 20,000 troops have initially achieved combat capability."

"However, it is estimated that it will take at least another six months before it can be truly put into combat use."

"I divided the troops into two types."

"Three thousand cavalry and seventeen thousand infantry."

"However, the cavalry currently only possess half of the iron armor, and each rider has three horses."

"The rest of the infantry were all in leather armor, and there were still more than 12,000 men who had no armor to wear."