Jia Xu was silent.

He could understand Li Ru's anxiety and love for him, but he could not accept Li Ru's judgment and choice. He did not believe that there would be anything in this world that was not learned and skilled. Even saints should learn. Those who claimed that they were born to know were either delusional people or liars. Not to mention the distance, the great wise and good teacher Zhang Jiao is an example that was close to him. He once bewitched millions of people, and even many knowledgeable people admired him very much. The final result is obvious to all.

Li Ru must have met Zhang Jiao. Before the uprising, Zhang Jiao had traveled in Luoyang for many years, and his eldest disciple Ma Yuanyi was responsible for Luoyang's affairs. Li Ru was working as a doctorate in Luoyang at that time. What was his impression of Zhang Jiao back then? Did he also think that Zhang Jiao was not good at learning and was born to know it?

After all, he was a Confucian scholar, always relying on saints from heaven and liked to look for signs from illusory prophecies and divinations.

Li Ru regretted it a little. He was too anxious. Not only did he fail to convince Jia Xu, but he aroused Jia Xu's suspicion. Jia Xu did not doubt that he had any intentions, but his eyes clearly showed some pity, although he covered it up very well. It was a kind of pity from the strong to the weak, and the wise to the fool.

Feeling Li Ru's emotions, Jia Xu lowered his eyelids. "In his opinion, how should I deal with it now?"

Li Ru sighed. At this point, it would be impossible to bow to Sun Ce again, at least not now. Now bowing will only make Sun Ce despise and be slaughtered by others. Jia Xu will definitely not accept this result.

"Give up Hangu Pass, give up Hongnong if necessary, retreat to Hedong. Save strength and avoid a decisive battle with the King of Wu. In addition..." Li Ru turned to look at Jia Xu, his voice hoarse. "Estimate Niu Fu to defend Wuwei, that is your last retreat."

Jia Xu held Li Ru's hand tightly. "I will remember the teachings of sir."

Li Ru smiled helplessly and closed his eyes. Jia Xu didn't say anything else, tucked the corner of the quilt for Li Ru and left the room. Yuqiu Xing and Hu Cheer followed. Jia Xu left the side courtyard and walked into the main courtyard, suddenly stopped and turned to look at Yuqiu Xing.

"Do you believe there are saints born to know in this world?"

Wu Qiu Xing was stunned. "Yes, isn't the saint like this?"

"I can't get it!" Jia Xu laughed silently, no longer interested in asking, and walked forward quickly. Wu Qiu Xing was confused, not knowing what Jia Xu meant, was he stupid, or was he wise and stupid, and could a child teach?

Jia Xu came to the main courtyard, and Dong Yue was waiting in the hall. When he saw Jia Xu coming in, he quickly stood up to greet him. The table had already prepared wine and food. Dong Yue invited Jia Xu to sit down, raised his wine glass, said a few polite words, and then asked about how to deal with the situation in front of him. Sun Ce had arrived in Xi County, and Lu Su from Luoyang also showed signs of dispatching troops and generals, and he was very nervous.

After saying that, Dong Yue stared at Jia Xu with a little bad eyes. He was robbed by Jia Xu just now, and he felt very uncomfortable. It was obviously the trouble caused by Jia Xu, and it was me who suffered the loss. Why is it my responsibility? I am honest and bullied?

Jia Xu turned his wine glass and pondered: "Meng Chao, do you want to avenge Mr. Dong?"

Dong Yue frowned and became even more unhappy. Is this the other sentence? "Of course I want to." He answered reluctantly.

"Meng Chao, Mr. Dong has been dead for more than seven years, but we have never avenged him. Do you know what it feels like every time I pass by Qi County?"

Dong Yue didn't say a word, and his heart was a little shaken. He could guess what Jia Xu was thinking, and he always thought so, but he also knew that they could not do this. Wang Yun was not only a famous scholar in Bingzhou, but also many of his followers in the court. Wang Yun's sons and nephews were by the emperor. If Jia Xu dug Wang Yun's grave, he would not only not be able to gain a foothold in Bingzhou, but also make countless enemies in the court, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Jia Xu put down his wine glass and sighed softly. "Lu Bu is in his prime and still has a chance. But Huangfu Song has not been there for a few years. Should we also see him having a good ending like Wang Yun?" He shook his head. "I don't want to. If you miss this opportunity, a hundred years later, in the nine springs, how can I meet Mr. Dong, and how can I meet nearly a hundred people of the Dong family?"

Dong Yue lowered his eyelids and blushed. Jia Xu was Dong Zhuo's old official, and avenging Dong Zhuo was his duty, but he did not have the obligation to avenge the old and young people of the Dong family. That was his obligation. Among the killed Dong clan members, there were his relatives?

"Meng Qi, the King of Wu is a man of temperament. He has been trying every means to avenge Yuan Gonglu over the years, and I believe he can understand our choice. It is not worth worrying about the enemy of us for a while, but if he is underestimated, he will always be inferior in the future. The people of Guandong look down on the people of Liangzhou. If they even miss the opportunity for revenge, what kind of face can they have? Do you hope Qing'er will be despised for the rest of their lives?"

Dong Yue raised his eyebrows, raised his head, looked at Jia Xu, feeling ashamed.

Jia Xu didn't say anything more. He raised his glass, drank the wine in the glass, and then slapped the glass heavily on the table. "I know that the King of Wu is good at fighting and letting you fight alone will suffer a lot. Let's do this, I will take charge of all the losses. Isn't it a pity that 30,000 stones of salt? I will compensate you, and I will not only give you 30,000 stones of salt, but I will give you the whole Hedong. You go to Hedong and Hongnong, how about it?"

Dong Yue was surprised and happy, not knowing what to say. Jia Xu glanced at him sideways, his lips slightly tilted, not hiding the disdain in his eyes. Dong Yue felt a move in his heart, and suddenly he was alert and couldn't help but blame himself secretly. He couldn't agree to Jia Xu. If this was spread, who would still respect him, and he would probably run away with Jia Xu. Besides, Jia Xu had been in Hedong for six or seven years, so how could he take over if he wanted to take over? By then, Hedong would not be able to lose Hongnong again, but he would lose a lot, and he would not even have a foothold.

"Wenhe, this... this doesn't work, how can you let you fight against King Wu alone?" Dong Yue patted his chest. "It's still the same rule. We will fight side by side, no matter whether we distinguish each other. If you give an idea, we will go into battle and kill people. I don't want Hedong, you can just compensate me for my losses at that time."

Jia Xu was not surprised at all. He knew that Dong Yue didn't have the courage to take over Hedong, and even if Dong Yue really took over, he could make Dong Yue vomit it out again. He had a way to deal with these rough people. But while he was proud, he felt a little uneasy. If what Li Ru said was true, in Sun Ce's eyes, am I as stupid as Dong Yue and Niu Fu, and I was played with by him without knowing it?

"Wenhe, do you think, if the King of Wu comes to attack, how should we fight?" Seeing Jia Xu being out of sight, Dong Yue asked for a plan impatiently.

Jia Xu came back to his senses and said calmly: "I just discussed with Mr. Wenyou and gave up Hangu Pass."

"Give up Hangu Pass?" Dong Yue was stunned, and did not react for a moment, wondering if he had heard it wrong. "And what?"

"War and retreat, retreat first, retreat to Shan County, if not, retreat to the old pass. If necessary, we will give up the entire Hongnong and retreat to Hedong. Meng Chao, I said I would give you Hedong, which is not a joke. As long as I survive, let alone Hongnong, even Hedong, or even the entire Bingzhou, we can give up. It depends on whether they dare to come and take it." Jia Xu sneered: "There were too many times when we followed Gong Dong to fight, and we retreated thousands of miles apart, so you won't forget it?"

Dong Yue suddenly realized that a big stone that had been suppressed in his heart for many days was finally put down. For him, Hongnong was not a good place. It was sandwiched between Sun Ce and the court. Now there was another Yuan Tan, which no one could afford to offend. Since Jia Xu advocated retreating and promised to give him Hedong, what else could he worry about? Withdraw from Hongnong and let Sun Ce and the court go to the death.

Dong Yue became happier and happier. He slapped the table and was shocked by the sound of the cup and plate on the table. "Wenhe, listen to you, just do that!"

——

Lu Su held the desk with one hand and the wine glass with the other, shaking it gently, and glanced at Xinpi from time to time.

Xinpi lowered his head, walked back and forth with his hands behind his back. He held a document in his hand, which was the order he had just received today. After receiving this order, Xinpi fell into a long examination. At this moment, the document was shaking up and down with his pace, like an invisible hand hitting him, urging him to move forward.

Given that Jia Xu and the court were flirting with each other and the alliance disintegrated, Sun Ce asked them to advance to Hongnong. Sun Ce did not make specific requests, but they could not take it lightly and had to make a comprehensive consideration. When Li Ru passed by, he met them and talked about Jia Xu's intentions, hoping that they could understand and not force them too much, so as not to fight against each other and the fisherman would benefit. They didn't think so, Jia Xu was insatiable and ignorant of raising his compliments, so he should give him some education.

But Xinpi also knew that Hongnong was not easy to fight. From the perspective of the situation, he could not fight either.

To the west of Hangu Pass is Tongguan Road, which was called Hangu Road in ancient times, which is more than 300 miles away. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is all dangerous. Hangu Pass, Shanxian, Wushan, and Tuzhu are not a place that is easy to fight. Even if the journey goes smoothly and the situation is unstoppable, what can I do? I am approaching Tongguan and face the imperial court? With their current military strength, it is already a bit difficult to confront Xun Yan in Henoi. Then I then marched westward and faced Hedong and Jingzhao at the same time.

Xinpi thought for a long time but still couldn't grasp Sun Ce's true intention. Sun Ce's requirements for the war zone supervision have always been very broad and have great autonomy. He always thought this was a good thing, but now he has a headache. He hasn't been so embarrassed for a long time.

"Governor, will the king's intention be to cooperate with Jia Xu, sell a flaw and lure the court to take the initiative?" Xinpi stopped and turned to look at Lu Su. As a military advisor, he was unwilling to make such a conclusion, but he really couldn't think of a more reasonable explanation.

Lu Su twisted his fingers. "This is possible, but it is definitely not just that."

"What else might the king mean?"

"Teaching Jia Xu a lesson, forcing Jia Xu to bow his head and submit, otherwise he would be expelled from Hongnong." Lu Su tilted the corners of his mouth and his eyes were cold. "Jia Xu is very smart, but he is a little smart, always thinking about pretending to be a tiger's power, and seeking profits from both sides if he violates the court and the king. Moreover, Liangzhou people have entered the court one after another, so it is natural for him to have some ideas. If he does not break his fantasy, he will always be a hidden danger."

Xinpi pondered for a moment and nodded. "This is possible, but how to fight? With our troops, we are not enough to complete this task."
Chapter completed!