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

However, he is unaware of this matter at present.

But we found out two weeks later.

Upon learning this news, Mi Zhu immediately dispatched someone to inform Zhou Heng at top speed.

So, within just three days of the other party arriving in Xuzhou, Zhou Heng had already received the news.

When he learned of this news, he was completely stunned.

Then came a burst of laughter.

Zhang Liao and Liao Hua, standing to the side, could only exchange bewildered glances.

"Why is my lord laughing?"

The two were somewhat bewildered.

At this point, they had already entered the territory of Ji Province.

Fortunately, they had been posing as a caravan, so they didn't attract too much attention.

Because of the present-day Jizhou.

It is the most prosperous place besides the Jianghuai region.

Even Jingzhou is far inferior.

Large families often came and went, but as long as there weren't too many people, they wouldn't attract Yuan Shao's attention.

After all, Yuan Shao originally rose to power by relying on his aristocratic family.

Naturally, they dared not offend those powerful and influential families.

But before the incident of the white-clad soldiers crossing the river occurred.

No one would be willing to cross the river in white robes.

No one would doubt it.

After all, the world is still very simple and honest.

Naturally, they did not believe that anyone would impersonate a caravan and carry out a sneak attack.

Of course, Zhou Heng was not a fake merchant who carried out a sneak attack.

It certainly doesn't qualify as something as shameless as crossing the river in the dead of night.

It's just a matter of kidnapping a bride.

To put it bluntly, it's a personal grudge, not a military battle.

What are you afraid of?

Zhou Heng led a small group of people, roughly the size of a merchant caravan.

After splitting up several times, it was still quite easy to enter the territory of Ji Province.

At this point, they were about to enter Changshan territory and then proceed from Changshan into the Taihang Mountains.

Then go find Zhang Yan and go to Zhongshan again.

In order to achieve their own goals.

"Hahaha, Wen Yuan, Yuan Jian, I'm just laughing. When luck comes, you can't stop it."

Zhou Heng burst into laughter.

"Oh, how do you say this?"

The two were somewhat puzzled.

Now that we're in Yuan Shao's territory, it's still uncertain whether we can safely withdraw.

What good news could possibly make you this happy?

"Hahaha, Yuan Shu wants to form a marriage alliance with me. Not only has he appointed me as General of the Cavalry, Marquis of Wuxiang, and Governor of Xuzhou, freeing me from my humble origins, but his dowry is so generous that it even moves me."

"The grain alone amounted to 200,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), along with countless military supplies and equipment..."

"Don't you think this is good news?"

Zhou Heng smiled.

"what?"

Their expressions changed drastically.

He then became just as excited as Zhou Heng.

"Great! With this batch of supplies, our strength will definitely experience explosive growth."

"Increasing the army to 50,000 within a year is not a problem."

"If we intercept the Zhen family's business again, our strength will truly experience explosive growth."

"However, why would Yuan Shu want to form an alliance with our lord for no reason?"

After their initial excitement, the two of them had some remaining doubts.

After all, in terms of status and position, Zhou Heng was far inferior to Yuan Shu.

If it were any legitimate feudal lord...

He didn't even glance at Zhou Heng.

How could they possibly form an alliance with Zhou Heng?

Let them rack their brains and still not figure it out.

"Haha, this matter is not hard to guess. It is nothing more than Cao Cao's edict to suppress the bandits, which has already been spread throughout the world."

"Yuan Shu felt surrounded by enemies and in danger of being destroyed at any moment."

"Therefore, we urgently need an ally."

"But by this time he had already ascended the throne and become emperor. Unless one was stupid, no one would ally with him."

"So the only people he can choose are us."

"Because the troops under my command all came from the Yellow Turban Army, and they no longer care about rebellion."

"Nothing is better than allying with me."

"He was forced into this situation."

But it made me who I am.

Zhou Heng explained with a smile.

"what?"

Their expressions changed drastically.

"If the news of Yuan Shu declaring himself emperor spreads throughout the land, wouldn't we become a thorn in the side of all the other warlords if we rashly form an alliance with him?"

"My lord, this is a good offer, but you must not agree to it."

The two quickly tried to persuade him.

This is normal. From an ordinary person's perspective, the best course of action right now is to sever ties with Yuan Shu.

To ally with Yuan Shu is like lighting a lamp in an outhouse to find shit.

Why can't we form an alliance with him?

Zhou Heng smiled.

"At this time, Yuan Shu has declared himself emperor, and everyone in the world wants to kill him. Everyone wants to stay as far away from him as possible. If we ally with Yuan Shu at this time, it will make the world think that we are with Yuan Shu."

"When the time comes, the feudal lords will besiege the city, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

The two quickly replied.

"Your idea is indeed good; under normal circumstances, that's exactly how it should be."

"But what I want to say is that you are wrong this time, not only wrong, but terribly wrong."

"Not only can I not sever ties with him, I also have to agree to this marriage."

"It's not just because of this generous dowry, but more importantly, because it makes her rightful."

Zhou Heng said calmly.

"Justified?"

The two were somewhat puzzled.

"That's right. As you know, my biggest dream has always been to take over Jianghuai and make it our base."

"If we take over Jianghuai without any identity or status."

"It will definitely draw a lot of criticism from the public."

"But wouldn't it be perfectly legitimate to have the status of Yuan Shu's son-in-law?"

"Not to mention the enormous dowry."

"As for those feudal lords you are worried about, they are not worth mentioning in my opinion."

Zhou Heng said dismissively.

"Oh? What do you mean by that, my lord?"

The two had some doubts.

"Hehe, let me put it this way to you. I had already analyzed this before. Cao Cao would definitely use the emperor to command the feudal lords and issue a document to suppress the bandits."

"But due to many factors in the world, only Lü Bu, Liu Bei, Sun Jian, Cao Cao and others were able to respond."

"Even if others wanted to respond, they would have some reservations or other reasons."

"Therefore, I cannot participate."

"If we want to take over Jianghuai, we'll have to confront these people sooner or later."

"In that case, you will be able to obtain a legitimate status and such a generous dowry."

"Why not?"

Zhou Heng countered with a question.

"That being said, if we agree, we will naturally become rebels just like Yuan Shu."

"This would be very detrimental to our future development."

Zhang Liao was somewhat worried.

"Heh, I only agreed to marry their daughter, I didn't say I had to send troops."

"Moreover, even if we were to send troops, Lü Bu, who is blocking our way, would not do as we wish."

"If that's the case, what does it matter?"

Zhou Heng countered with a question.

Upon hearing this, both of their CPUs nearly burned out.