"Meng Yan, you shouldn't have come!"

Xun Chen whispered in Liu Chuang's ear, then suddenly parted, took Liu Chuang's hand, and said to Xin Ping: "Zhongzhi, do you think it looks like it?"

People often say that people who are good at conspiracy must be good actors.

This statement is indeed true.

Just looking at Xun Chen's changing expression, Liu Chuang knew that his father-in-law's acting skills must have reached the point of perfection.

Xin Ping smiled and said, "When I first met Meng Yan, I felt that his eyebrows were quite strange.

But if you want to say that you are like this, I think Meng Yan is quite similar to King Li of Huainan... Youruo, don't you think it?"

According to records in the Grand Historian, Liu Chang, King Li of Huainan, was eight feet tall and could carry a tripod.

Among Liu Bang's sons, if you are brave enough, there is no doubt that Liu Chang, the King of Li of Huainan, is the one who uses the most force.

Xun Chen wiped his tears, pulled Liu Chuang and refused to let go.

Yuan Tan and others didn't take Xun Chen's actions seriously. After all, everyone knows that Liu Tao and Xun Chen had a very good relationship back then, otherwise they would not have made a marriage for their children. Even if Liu Tao was drunk at that time, how could he agree if he had not had a life-long friendship?

The son of an old friend is his son-in-law.

It is reasonable that Xun Chen has not seen him for more than ten years.

"Meng Yan, Mr. Youruo has been nagging you all these days... Haha, he has fulfilled his thoughts when you come here this time."

Yuan Tan pretended to be kind and smiled and greeted Liu Chuang.

Liu Chuang showed a hint of shyness, with a simple smile on his face, and was polite. This made Yuan Tan even more favorable to him.

"Come on. I have set up a banquet in the mansion to welcome Meng Yan."

Feixiongwei stationed outside the city by himself, because Linzi City was overcrowded and there was no place to stay.

With Xun Chen here, Liu Chuang doesn't have to worry about Yuan Tan's conspiracy. Judging from the current situation, Yuan Tan had no malice inviting him to come, but simply wanted Liu Chuang to show his position and stand in a good team. This is not a big deal for Liu Chuang. He knew very well that this day would come sooner or later. If he chose between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, he would rather stand on Yuan Tan's side.

reason?

In Liu Chuang's view, in terms of ability, Yuan Tan is far from Yuan Shang's opponent!

He did not want to surrender to anyone, because he was the emperor of the Han Dynasty, so as far as Liu Chuang was concerned, he could only be loyal to the Han Dynasty, rather than a certain prince.

Even if Yuan Shao is a general, Liu Chuang cannot truly return to his heart.

Chen Jiao did not break into the city with Liu, but stayed outside the city and lived in the military camp with Zhou Cang.

Yuan Tan did a good job in this regard. He had already asked someone to build the military camp properly. Zhou Cang and others only needed to settle in, without any trouble. Moreover, the facilities in the military camp were very complete, and even ordered the Huotou Army to prepare meals in the camp.

If this is the case alone, Yuan Tan is a very careful person.

Liu Chuang followed Yuan Tan into Linzi City and was immediately shocked by the prosperity of the city.

It’s not that he has never seen the world. In fact, Linzi today will appear very backward even compared to any county town in later generations. But compared with this era... Liu Chuang has never been to a large city like Luoyang and Chang'an, but if compared with Xia Pi, Linzi is obviously stronger than Xia Pi. Whether in terms of the size of the city or the population of the city, this city can be called a prosperous city.

There was a passage in "The Strategies of the Warring States? Qi Ceyi": The road to Linzi is like a car hitting the hub and a man rubbing his shoulders.

This is why the next idiom was passed down from generation to generation, shoulder to shoulder.

From this we can see the prosperity of Linzi... During this period, whether a city is prosperous and its population is a key factor.

According to historical records, Linzi City has never been short of population.

From the more than 100,000 households in the early years of Emperor Wu of Han, that is, more than 500,000 people, to the size of today's only 50,000 households, and more than 200,000 people, this city can easily be included in the top ten among many towns in the Han Dynasty. But it is normal to think about it. Linzi was the capital of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Although Linzi is much smaller than during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, no matter which aspect, the population and scale of this city are among the best in this era.

When entering Linzi, Liu Chuang couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

If he had such a chassis, it would not be difficult to gain a foothold in Qingzhou.

A small Linzi has a population that is almost equivalent to the entire Donglai County... How could Liu Chuang not feel jealous of such a large scale?

But he also knew that with his current strength, if he wanted to occupy such a big city, he would inevitably be coveted and attacked by all parties.

In contrast, although Gaomi is a bit deserted and Donglai is a little remote, it can allow him to develop calmly.

Thinking of this, the hint of envy that had just entered the city disappeared, and Liu Chuang even felt a little grateful...

Qi County, its real name is Qi State.

In the first year of Zhanghe, that is, in 87 AD, King Liu Huang of Qi was abolished and Qi State was changed to Qi County.

This Qi County was not only the capital of Qi, but also the capital of Qingzhou. It is also for this reason that although Linzi is no longer the name of the capital, its prosperity has not decreased at all. However, since the Yellow Turbans, the population of Qingzhou has dropped sharply. Especially after Cao Cao conquered millions of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans a few years ago, Linzi was no longer as prosperous as before the Yellow Turbans... Although Yuan Tan had been governed by more than a year, Linzi still failed to recover its vitality. Liu Chuang walked along the way and saw many places where wars remained.

"Meng Yan, please talk less and read more later, don't express your attitude easily."

Xun Chen finally found an opportunity and whispered in a low voice with Liu Chuang.

Liu Chuang was stunned and immediately realized that today's banquet was probably much more complicated than he imagined...

A banquet has been set up in the Linzi Prefecture Office.

Yuan Tan invited Liu Chuang to attend the seat, but was rejected by Liu Chuang.

"The old man is here, how dare you pass away?"

He insisted on sitting at Xun Chen's head, and Yuan Tan was not willing to force him.

No matter what, Xun Chen is Liu Chuang's elder. Even if Liu Chuang is a prince, Xun Chen is there, Liu Chuang cannot sit in the upper head.

This is 'ritual'.

Since Chen Qun proposed this concept to Liu Chuang, Liu Chuang has attached great importance to it.

In this era, "ritual" is valued by the world. Even if rituals and music are broken, many basic rituals and laws are still in everyone's hearts. This is a moral norm that people in the world dare not easily cross, otherwise it will attract questioning and criticism from all parties, and even be despised by people all over the world.

Xun Chen looked at Liu Chuang with great appreciation, and was also very pleased with his respect.

"Youruo, Meng Yan is well-educated and well-reasoned. Even though he is wandering among the people, he still has the style of Zi Qi's family."

Xin Ping sat next to Xun Chen and praised softly.

Xun Chen glared at him viciously, "Zhongzhi, let's go back and calculate this account slowly."

After hearing Xin Ping, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He also knew that this time he planned to plot against Liu Chuang and retreated Liu Chuang into the whirlpool of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang's dispute over the establishment of the legitimate legitimate, which was a little sorry for his old friend.

But he had no choice!

Who made Yuan Shao favor Yuan Shang? Although Yuan Tan was the eldest son, he was at a disadvantage in the struggle for the establishment of the legitimate emperor.

Yuan Tan needs a strong ally now, and there is no doubt that Liu Chuang is the most suitable. First of all, Liu Chuang is not particularly strong, but he has a good status. Although Yuan Shao is in Hebei, he has heard of Liu Chuang. In addition, after Liu Ping returned from Gaomi, he praised Liu Chuang in front of Yuan Shao some time ago, which also made Yuan Shao have a strong interest in Liu Chuang. If it weren't for this, even if Yuan Tan spoke, how could Liu Chuang easily be appointed by Yuan Shao? There are many unknown relationships in this.

Maybe others don’t know it, but Xin Ping knows it.

Liu Tao had a good relationship with Yuan Wei during his lifetime and had a relationship with Yuan Shao.

From this aspect, Liu Chuang's background was quickly recognized and accepted by Yuan Shao, not to mention that he now has the title of "Uncle of the Han Dynasty", which naturally attracted more attention from Yuan Shao. And Liu Chuang's strength could not arouse Yuan Shao's hostility.

If such a person joins Yuan Tan’s camp, at least he can help Yuan Tan recover his disadvantages.

Since Xin Ping regards Yuan Tan as his lord, he naturally has to plan for Yuan Tan... In this regard, he did nothing wrong. But in terms of morality, he betrayed Xun Chen. Xun Chen was dissatisfied with him, and Xin Ping had nothing to say. Even if Xun Chen said something harsh, Xin Ping could only accept it.

"Youruo, I'm also considering Meng Yan."

Xun Chen glanced at him and said softly: "We will talk about this later. You have to find a way to excuse Meng Yan later."

“This is natural!”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Yuan Tan saw that everyone had sat down, he raised his glass to invite him.

"Today, Meng Yan came from Beihai, which is a blessing.

Gathering with all the masters is a great pleasure in life. Come on, please drink this wine."

Liu Chuang and others raised their glasses and were about to drink, but suddenly heard a loud voice coming from outside the living room, "Brother, why don't you know me if you invite me to drink?"

As they spoke, footsteps came and they walked into the two of them from outside the living room.

The leader was not old, and it looked just like he was seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a red face and white teeth, a handsome face, and a beautiful boy. He wore a lush scarf on his head, a green robe, a jade belt on his waist, and a big sleeve. Behind him, a giant man was nine feet tall, with wide arms and round waists. His face was blue and red eyes and thick eyebrows. When he stood there, he showed a heart-pounding horror.

The boy walked in with a big laugh, "Brother, why don't you know me?"

When Yuan Tan saw this person, his face sank and showed a hint of unhappiness.

However, he immediately smiled and stood up and smiled, "Isn't Xianfu resting? I was worried that I would spare your dream, so I didn't call you. You came just right, come on, I was about to introduce a hero to you... Haha, Meng Yan, this is my third brother Xianfu, who came to Qingzhou to help the war on my father's order. Speaking of which, he is the same age as you, you two can get closer."

Third brother Xianfu?

Liu Chuang raised his eyebrows and his heart couldn't help but feel a slap in his heart.

He suddenly understood why Xun Chen asked him to speak less and not show his position on the way to the city.

It turned out that the two protagonists of the battle for the establishment of the throne were there, and Yuan Shang actually came to Qi County. The purpose of his visit was probably not as simple as assisting the war!

In fact, if you think about it for a moment, Liu Chuang will understand the clues.

Yuan Tan wanted to conquer Tian Kai, but he wanted to take the lead in his military achievements.

Yuan Shang was young and needed military achievements... Now, Taiping of Jizhou. Apart from Qingzhou, only Gongsun Zan in Youzhou was the enemy. But Gongsun Zan... Think about it, in the first year of Jian'an, Gongsun Zan was defending in Yijing, and even Qu Yi's Xiandeng camp was unable to conquer it. In the end, he had to withdraw it. He was also attacked by Gongsun Zan and snatched away the supplies of Xiandeng camp. Such an opponent was definitely not something that Yuan Shang could rival. If Yuan Shang was sent to Youzhou, he would probably not be able to steal the military achievements in the end, but he might even encounter danger.

With Yuan Shao’s love for Yuan Shang, how could he let Yuan Shang go to Youzhou to take the risk?
To be continued...