Chapter 104: A Real Gift Bag
The next morning, Black Bear once again led the Qingzhou soldiers and captured soldiers to Wanshan to cut down trees.

Don't let them sit idle; find some work within their capabilities to keep them busy.

Yi Ji was also worried about a mutiny among the Qingzhou soldiers, so he delayed his withdrawal plan and continued to station his troops on the Longzhong Road south of Wanshan.

In the morning, Black Bear woke up from his nap and opened his eyes to look at the blackened beams and rafters in the barracks.

At this moment, my mind was wandering, and in a trance I could vaguely hear the subtle sound of termites gnawing on wood.

Why fight? Wouldn’t it be better to just hold Zhen Mi in your arms?
Withdraw tomorrow!
Feeling sleepy, the black bear took long breaths and was half asleep for another half an hour before he finally woke up.

He got up, drew his sword and tried to chop a few times, then stabbed with the sword, and found that it was slightly deviated.

He immediately raised his hand and summoned a white mana which he patted on his chest, allowing the white mana to regulate his body and assist in his development.

He hung up his sword, picked up his leather helmet and walked out, and saw his personal guards holding three business cards waiting for him: "General Qu, someone is visiting."

Black Bear reached out to take it and lowered his head to read it. He saw that the names on the business cards were Wang Can from Shanyang, Sun Qian from Beihai, and Chen Zhen from Nanyang.

Looking at Sun Qian's business card, Black Bear didn't feel surprised. It was normal for Liu Bei to send someone to inquire about the situation.

It is normal for Wang Can to associate with me, but what about this Nanyang Chen Zhen?
When playing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game, this person should be Liu Bei's man, and his job is similar to that of Sun Qian.

Why are you here?
He asked his personal soldiers, "Why did this Chen Zhen from Nanyang come here?"

"General Qu, he claims to be an envoy from Hebei, and he has official documents and seals as proof. He is still waiting outside the camp."

"Well, have someone prepare the meal and I'll meet him."

Black Bear walked towards the shed that he had built yesterday afternoon, and asked the guards who followed him, "What's the matter with Sun Qian and Wang Can?"

"Sun Qian said that Liu Yuzhou will go to Liu Zhennan for a banquet tomorrow. Liu Yuzhou has arrived in Xiangyang today. I hope he can go with us so that we can discuss important matters."

The guard thought for a moment and replied, "From what Sun Qian looks like, he hopes that he can have a face-to-face meeting with Liu Yuzhou before meeting Liu Zhennan."

"What about Wang Can?"

"Wang Can returned to his manor last night. His manor is located on the northern slope of Wanshan Mountain, facing the Han River and Shazhou. This morning, he sent a servant to deliver a business card and invite him to a banquet at noon."

"Prepare some more food. I will see Sun Qian after I see Chen Zhen."

Black Bear made arrangements. He was not going to meet Liu Biao and Liu Bei, as both of them had killed people while eating.

Gan Ning was all alone, so he went to Caizhou again, but he had no relatives or friends to lead his troops.

According to normal logic, as long as he was killed on the spot or captured and imprisoned, he could naturally recruit his followers at will.

Since arriving in Jingzhou, Black Bear has never set foot in Xiangyang City.

This is what we are guarding against. We are not afraid of conflict, but of complete confrontation and the loss of the last logistical supply base.

Under the awning, Chen Zhen came to see the black bear with a wooden tray.

Originally, he was somewhat resistant to Black Bear, after all, this man had kidnapped the two Yuan brothers.

The three wives of the Yuan brothers committed suicide out of anger and resentment at the humiliation of their reputations. This incident deeply touched Chen Zhen.

But Black Bear commanded the captured Qingzhou soldiers alone to defeat Cai Mao and kill the enemy in battle... This ability to command on the battlefield is exactly what Hebei lacks most at present.

Hebei has no shortage of middle and low-level military officers, nor strategic planners. What it lacks are generals who can command field battles!

"I, Chen Zhen of Nanyang, and Chen Xiaoqi, follow the orders of the general to pay my respects to him."

Chen Zhen bowed and held the wooden tray: "Here are the general's memorial, the tiger tooth general seal, and the letters from everyone. Please read them."

"I took the horses and armor from Hebei, and also cooperated with Liu Yuzhou as an envoy from Hebei, and together we severely damaged the armies of Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin."

Black Bear lowered his eyebrows and looked at the seal box wrapped in red brocade on the wooden tray, and continued: "So Hebei and I owe each other nothing. I don't want the Tiger Tooth General Seal anymore."

Chen Zhen was surprised and looked up at Black Bear: "General, why don't you read the letter from the general first?"

Black Bear reached out and took the letter on top. It was a roll of bamboo slips, tied very tightly and sealed with mud, which had a complete seal on it.

The handwriting on the mud seal is definitely not the seal of the Shogun, but the seal of the various departments in the Shogun's shogunate.

After a rough count, he found there were three different marks. Too lazy to identify the characters, he took out a dagger and knocked open the mud seal.

When he unfolded the bamboo slips, he saw a page of high-quality silk inside, with a memorial written on it recommending him to be General Huya, and stamped with a bright red general's seal.

In addition to the written documents, there were also three pages of tough and smooth paper.

The three pieces of paper were rolled together. When he spread them out, he saw that they were written by Yuan Shang.

Yuan Shang's letter was sincere. He first expressed regret for his impulsiveness that day, which caused Black Bear to suffer stigma for no reason.

Then he expressed concern about the severe drought in Hebei this year. The drought was too severe and it led to a locust plague. Hebei did not mobilize a large military force this year.

Therefore, Hebei could only defend the fortified city to delay the Cao army.

It also tells about Cao Cao's response, which is that he had sent an envoy to appoint Ma Teng as the General of the Northern Expedition.

The two Yuan brothers in Hebei were too cruel in killing the people of Yingchuan, which gave the people of Runan who had surrendered to Cao Cao new hope.

These people changed their usual behavior and were more active in conveying information to Hebei.

Finally, Yuan Shang was worried that it would be difficult for Yuan Tan and Qian Zhao to capture Hedong, so he promised to let Hei Xiong take Guanzhong.

Black Bear looked at it, frowned and thought: "He is trying to lead me to disrupt Guanzhong."

If there is any disturbance in Guanzhong, the Guanzhong coalition led by Ma Teng on the Hedong County front will definitely not be able to concentrate on fighting against Yuan Tan.

Once the allied forces in Guanzhong are defeated, Yuan Tan and Qian Zhao will be able to defeat them unstoppably.

When Yuan Tan reaches Chang'an, he will be like a snowball and suddenly have an army of at least 70,000 to 80,000.

No matter how much space you take up, you will have to give it up in the end.

But we must fight in Guanzhong ourselves, the sooner the better.

The experiences during this period made him highly vigilant against historical inertia.

I feel more and more that no matter how powerful Yuan Shang is, this year's drought and locust plague will drain Hebei's vitality.

The Central Plains was also suffering from drought, but Cao Cao's military farming system seized irrigated paddy fields and widely planted rice, so no matter how poor Cao Cao was, he always had military rations.

Therefore, Guanzhong must be fought, but there is no need to cause trouble for Ma Teng and let Ma Teng block the offensive of Yuan Tan and Qian Zhao.

What he had to do was to defeat Zhong Yao and eliminate Cao Cao's branch base in Guanzhong.

He tried to delay the fight between himself and Ma Teng as much as possible. After gathering a dozen or so Taoist knights at the iron cavalry or golden armor level, he would have room to deal with Ma Teng.

Ma Teng was never alone, he had a good partner named Han Sui.

This pair of good brothers who are fighting each other like dragons and tigers can save a lot of trouble by using the opponent's force.

After thinking it over, Black Bear said, "He allowed me to take Guanzhong by myself, which means that I, General Huya, will not have to obey Yuan's orders in the future."

Chen Zhen looked ashamed, thinking that Black Bear attached too much importance to reputation, so he said: "General, the situation is changing. If we can take all of Guanzhong, who would dare to regard you as a follower of Yuan? If you don't have an inch of land to stand on, how can you be free?"

"That makes some sense. For example, if Yuan Tan really took Guanzhong, how could he easily surrender to Hebei? Even if he was willing, the outstanding people in Guanlong would not."

Even if Yuan Shang of Hebei defeated Cao Cao and unified the Central Plains and captured the emperor, by that time, the resistance sentiment of the Guanlong scholars would be even stronger.

This is a long-standing competition between the two regions, so the native scholars in Guanzhong would instinctively resist Yuan Tan and Qian Zhao.

As Black Bear spoke, he picked up two other letters on the wooden tray, which were letters from Shen Pei and Ju Hu.

In his letter, Ju Hu put forward a hypothesis and asked Black Bear about the feasibility of training the navy in Bohai.

If we spend one or two years training a navy in Bohai, can we cut off Baimajin and Liyangjin?

It seems that he has become an expert in water warfare in the eyes of Hebei people.

If Hebei really had the Yellow River and Bohai navy consisting of thirty to fifty warships, then it would be Cao Cao's turn to have a headache.

Naval warships are most likely to trigger an arms race, and this is something that can be seen.

Bigness means power, and quantity means deterrence.

If an arms race involving warships is really triggered, it will be Sun Quan's turn to have a headache after the chicken-eating competition between Hebei and Central Plains ends.

In Shen Pei's letter, he said that if Cao's army did not stop its offensive after autumn, Youzhou would be able to free up its hands to form an elite cavalry unit and march south to assist in the battle.

Therefore, Black Bear was invited. If the advancement to Guanzhong failed, he could come to Hebei to command the elite knights of Youzhou.

Black Bear raised his eyebrows. This was not an invitation to him at all. It was most likely that he had heard of the reputation of 'Tai Shi Wen Gong' and wanted to win over this new Lu Bu of the time.

Perhaps Shen Pei had already imagined in his mind the scene of "Tai Shi Wen Gong" being invited and cutting off the black bear's head overnight and fleeing to Hebei. This should be a series of schemes, and someone must have contacted "Tai Shi Wen Gong" privately later.

Nowadays, people who engage in academics are all cruel and ruthless, not to mention the rulers and counselors who rule a region.

Guess the worst possible about the other party, and it will be harder to suffer losses.

Black Bear put down the letters and motioned Chen Zhen to sit down: "Hebei regards you as the Chief of Tiger Fang. I will ask you one question. If you agree, you will be my Chief of Tiger Fang. If you have other opinions, you can return to Hebei and report."

Chen Zhen sat up straight, probably guessing the question, and bowed his hands in a serious tone: "General, please ask."

"Are you my Tiger Fang Chief, or Hebei's Tiger Fang Chief?"

"When I came to Jingzhou, the general gave me instructions in person, ordering me to serve him from now on. I also had doubts, but after seeing Cai Mao's defeat, all my doubts disappeared."

Chen Zhen blinked and said sincerely, "I was born in a poor family and was not valued by Yuan Benchu. I have seen the separation in the chaotic times and have been wandering for more than ten years without any family to burden me. Now I am returning home. If the general cannot help me, I will marry and have children to continue the family line."

Hearing this, Black Bear also felt a little tricky.

I didn't expect that Chen Zhen was also a single man with no weak points to exploit.

When Liu Qi recruited the sons of large families with the surname Guan as officials, he could immediately trust them because they were wealthy and powerful and could not afford retaliation.

After just a moment's thought, Black Bear said, "Since you really want to do something with me, you should get married as soon as possible."

"Yes, when I am free, I will ask the old man to inquire for me."

Chen Zhen said as he took out a stack of silk books from his sleeve and handed them over with both hands: "General, this is a letter from the general to Lord Xuande."

Black Bear reached out to take it, and saw Yuan Shang asking for a battalion of soldiers from Hebei and Runan to be lent to Liu Bei.

Chen Zhen was also observing the black bear, and the black bear didn't think it was strange, so he asked, "What do you think, sir?"

"If you forcefully demand it, you will definitely become enemies with Lord Xuande."

Chen Zhen expressed his own views: "Lord Xuande has been around for a long time and is a benevolent ruler. Many brave men admire him. In my opinion, we can let the people of Hebei and Runan decide for themselves. It is good to select those who are willing to obey orders. Otherwise, forcibly taking those who are unwilling to obey orders will surely cause trouble."

"That makes sense. Lord Xuande has sent Sun Qian, the official from Beihai, to see me. You should discuss this matter with him. You cannot hurt the relationship between the two families, but you cannot suffer any loss either."

Black Bear turned his head to look at the guards outside the pavilion. The guards understood and immediately went to bring Sun Qian to see him.

At the same time, Black Bear also stood up and said, "I will recruit soldiers to form a battalion and they will be under the command of the Chief Secretary. Now I am going to attend a banquet at Beipo, so I will let the Chief Secretary take care of this evil man."

Chen Zhen stood up and said, "Yes, I understand."

It is important to maintain peace, but it is more important to get back the officials and soldiers from Hebei!
Otherwise, how could Chen Zhen be a bad guy?
Yi Ji’s reminder to Black Bear yesterday was very timely. If Jingzhou is stable and Liu Bei is invited by Yuan Tan, he is very likely to take the Wuguan Road to attack Ma Teng.

So no matter what choice Liu Bei will make, it would be better if he could withdraw more veteran soldiers now so that he would be less likely to suffer losses when conflicts arise.

Wait until we have completely occupied Guanzhong and gained control of the beautiful terrain and rivers.

Why do we need to worry so much?

If you are not convinced, come and fight!

It’s not like now, I don’t even want to go to Xiangyang City.

He himself was unwilling to go to Xiangyang City, and in fact Liu Bei was not very willing to go either.

Otherwise, the last time Liu Biao and Liu Bei met, they would not have chosen Dongjiao Manor.

Sun Qian came into the camp to meet him, while Black Bear drove his horse from behind the military camp along the Wanshan Trail straight to Wang Can's manor.

Wang Can’s manor is very famous. It is located slightly north of the top of Wanshan Mountain and has a large piece of flat land.

Standing facing the Han River and gazing into the distance, you can see the vast Nanyang Basin.

The houses in Wang Can's manor are not luxurious. They are mainly used for lectures, so they are very spacious.

The most luxurious thing was that they dug a very deep well to facilitate the water supply for the scholars here.

A well was dug from near the top of Wanshan Mountain. The rope just for drawing water was more than ten feet long!

Scholars found it hard to drink the water, so they called the water from this well the Bitter Well.

When the black bear came, he saw seven or eight scholars gathered around the well, turning a wheel to draw water.

His four Taoist soldiers were already standing in front of the door, holding their spears and standing with their hands on their hips.

Only Lu Bu followed him in. Wang Can was grinding ink under a bamboo shed. He immediately stood up and greeted him: "Hei Jun."

"Mr. Zhongxuan."

Black Bear also bowed and looked around, and saw that all the houses and furnishings in the manor were intact.

Wang Can saw this and knew what Black Bear was worried about, so he said, "Lord Black led the Qingzhou troops with strict discipline, and my house was not damaged at all."

As he spoke, he extended his arms and invited Black Bear to the thatched cottage, and immediately asked, "Mr. Black, do you know who Guo Liang was yesterday?"

Black Bear shook his head: "It's probably a fake name. Does Mr. Zhongxuan know?"

"This man is an old man from Cao Cao's Sikong Mansion. He has traveled to Jingxiang several times and is considered an acquaintance of the Zhennan Shogunate."

Wang Can was also afraid that revealing his true identity would cause Black Bear to send people to hunt him down, so he said: "He came to Wanshan not for the Qingzhou soldiers, he wanted to wait for an opportunity to visit Taishi Wengong. The young master has already settled the matter with him, and both sides have gained what they need."

"for example?"

"The prince will pretend to promise Lord Xuande that he will recruit soldiers in the autumn and go to Nanyang to help in the war; and the court will send an envoy to appoint the prince as the governor of Nanjun to quell the war."

Wang Can smiled as he spoke: "I invited Lord Hei to come here because I have something else to discuss."

Seeing the black bear's curiosity, Wang Can could not help but sigh: "The young master wanted to invite me to be the chief clerk of Fubo, but Liu Zhennan refused. When the young master moves to Jiangling, I will bid farewell to Liu Zhennan and am willing to follow the black king to Guanzhong."

Perhaps because he was worried that Black Bear would not believe him, Wang Can smiled bitterly when he saw Black Bear's surprised expression: "My family is from the same county as Liu Zhennan. When he was young, he studied under my grandfather. When I was seventeen, I fled from Chang'an to Jingzhou. It has been nine years now."

"Because of that marriage, Liu Zhennan thought I was resentful of him, so he refused to let me teach in the official school, and was unwilling to let me govern the people."

"I have been really depressed these years. This trip to Guanzhong is like a new life for me."

Wang Can picked up his brush and dipped it in ink, then wrote twelve names on the bamboo paper. When the ink was dry, he handed it to Black Bear and said, "These are the officials and scholars I value, but most of them are unknown now. If Lord Black is interested, I am willing to recruit them for him."

Black Bear picked it up and looked at it. He recognized the word "Pan" in the first character, but he didn't recognize the strange word at the back.

When Black Bear was guessing the correct pronunciation of this word, Wang Can saw it and introduced him, saying, "This is Pan Jun, Pan Chengming, from Hanshou, Wuling. He wants to be a disciple of Song Zhong, but has no one to recommend him. He is upright and decisive, and has both civil and military skills. He is a man of great ability."

Wang Can then introduced them one by one, but unfortunately he only knew one, Sima Zhi from Hanoi.

After the introduction, Wang Can said with emotion: "I make friends with outstanding people because I cherish their talents and cannot bear to bury them, and I also want to form a party to consolidate my own interests. I wanted to recommend him to Prince Liu Qi, but Liu Zhennan guarded against me like a thief."

Black Bear listened and nodded slightly: "Liu Zhennan is old, so it is reasonable for him to be on guard against others."

In my heart, I just think that Cai Mao’s brain is really useful. He directly broke the old balance of Jingzhou.

Wang Can clearly saw no hope and wanted to follow him.

If you don't run, you might get sick and die.

Wang Can said it very clearly. Liu Biao was a disciple of the Wang family, so it was barely acceptable to repay his kindness with a daughter.

But don’t forget that Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, was a disciple of the Yuan family!
Wang Can, who fled from Guanzhong to Jingzhou at the age of seventeen, is now twenty-six years old.

Apart from being short and ugly, Wang Can had no other shortcomings.

Liu Biao used his daughter to repay a favor, but he chose the wrong person.

He disliked the ugly Wang Can, who was the smartest one; and the handsome and majestic Wang Kai, who was average.

However, the direct line of the Shanyang Wang family is Wang Can, whose grandfather and great-grandfather were among the three highest officials in the country, not Wang Kai's lineage.

Wang Can's father, Wang Qian, was the chief secretary of General He Jin's court. If he had not perished with He Jin, he would have definitely risen to the rank of one of the Three Dukes.

Liu Biao was a disciple of Wang Can's grandfather. When he heard that Wang Can had come to surrender, he offered to marry his daughter to Wang Can in order to repay his kindness. However, as soon as he said this, he immediately regretted it after seeing Wang Can.

He gave his daughter to Wang Can's cousin Wang Kai. In order to avoid embarrassment to Liu Biao, Wang Can and Wang Kai became cousins ​​over the years.

It was as if Liu Biao’s daughter had really married the grandson of her former mentor.

Over the years, Liu Biao kept Wang Can under his control and used him. Although this restricted Wang Can, it also allowed Wang Can to be in charge of secrets, gain rich experience, and have a high level of work style.

Now Wang Can is old and refuses to be sent to Liu Qi.

If I were Wang Can, I would run too!

(End of this chapter)