The Nameless of the Common Clans

"Is this letter written by Sun Ce?" In Chang'an, when Chen Mo received the letter from the Jiangdong messenger, he could hardly believe his eyes.

What kind of personality does Sun Ce have? Judging from the brief fight outside Yique Pass and Sun Ce's fighting style in Yangzhou later, he was a strong-willed person.

Chen Mo thought that Sun Ce would come to ask for an official position, but this letter made the image of Sun Ce in Chen Mo's mind collapse.

It was not flattering, but the letter almost listed all of Chen Mo's half-life achievements, and there was no mention of the revenge for killing his father. Although there was no flattering words, the admiration seemed to flow from the words. With Sun Ce's personality, even if he surrendered, he couldn't write such a letter, right?

"That's right." The visitor said neither servile nor arrogant.

"Okay, just treat it as if he wrote it." After a brief surprise, Chen Mo smiled and nodded, put away the bamboo slips and said, "What official position does Sun Ce want to ask for?"

If this letter was written by Sun Ce, he would eat the bamboo slips.

It should be Zhou Yu, but this Zhou Lang's literary talent... is also very ordinary~

The bamboo slips did not explain that Zhou Yu was also cunning, and sometimes he was more powerful than he was. Chen Mo looked at it, but I have praised you so much, it is not good to be too low.

"Reply to Changling Hou, my master does not ask for much, but he is not an official at the moment. Now that Danyang and Kuaiji have been pacified, they are still the generals of Yuan Gong, and it is difficult to convince the people, so he came to the court to ask for help." The messenger bowed.

"In that case..." Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "Give him a titled general position, and make him the General Protector of Han. The seal will be ready soon, and you can take it back to Sun Ce."

There was no titled general before. With the separatism of the princes, the original military positions under the princes could no longer meet the increasing number of troops, so they began to add titled generals above the colonels. These titled generals are also called miscellaneous generals. The amount of military power is completely determined by the princes. There have been similar military positions in the past, such as General Fubo of Ma Yuan under Emperor Guangwu, who is a miscellaneous general.

Chen Mo could not give the position of prefect to Sun Ce. This miscellaneous general is above the cavalry commander and colonel, and it also echoes Sun Ce's current status. As for the others, Sun Ce has to fight for it himself.

Jiangdong is not the only choice for Chen Mo.

"Thank you, Marquis Changling!" The envoy saluted solemnly.

This time, Sun Ce sent an envoy to Chang'an to ask for an official position, but he did not come empty-handed. He brought a lot of things from Jiangdong, including ten carts of jewelry, jade, and silk. His sincerity was full. Chen Mo really needed an ally from Jiangdong, and Sun Ce was just right. If he pacified the north in the future, he would not have to feel guilty about taking action against Sun Ce.

Although his father died in his hands, it was his father who took action first, and he gave Sun Ce an official position. He should be grateful. If he did not surrender, he would be punished in name only.

After sending Sun Ce away, Xu Shu came back and saw Chen Mo sitting there in a daze. He smiled and said, "My lord, are you worried about Sun Ce?"

"Him?" Chen Mo shook his head and said, "Sun Lang is indeed quite capable. Although I have never been to Jiangdong, I have read about it in books. It is not easy to cross the river and attack there, but it is also not easy for the other party to cross the river and get involved in the Central Plains. He chose this place as his foothold. It will not be that easy to return to the Central Plains in the future~"

Chen Mo has never been to Jiangdong, but he also grew up in the Jianghuai area and is familiar with the terrain of that area. No matter how powerful Sun Ce is, he can only occupy the Jianghuai area at most. Unless there is a war in the Central Plains, there is no chance for Sun Ce at all.

But the current situation in the Central Plains is a tripartite tripod. Sun Ce can contain Cao Cao for himself, but if he wants to go further, unless there is unrest within Cao Cao, just like the last rebellion in Yanzhou, which gave Sun Ce an opportunity to take advantage of. However, such an opportunity is unlikely to appear in the current situation. Even if there is, Cao Cao, who has learned the lesson from the last time, cannot be completely unprepared.

"But if Sun Ce and Liu Bei join forces, will something unexpected happen?" Xu Shu asked.

"Yes, if he forms an alliance with Liu Bei and quickly annexes Yuan Shu, Cao Cao will not be able to do anything to them." Chen Mo nodded, it is indeed possible: "But it must be fast."

Although the spies have not reported Cao Cao's military movements recently, this is suspicious. Chen Mo estimates that his brother is probably accumulating strength and secretly preparing to attack Xuzhou. If Sun Ce wants to make a difference, he must destroy Yuan Shu before Cao Cao attacks Xuzhou.

"This is probably difficult." Xu Shu smiled bitterly. Although Yuan Shu's power is not as great as before, he is still alive and well. Yuan Shu's current strength should not be underestimated.

"Everything depends on human efforts. Nothing in this world is absolute." Chen Mo shook his head and said, "This is also Sun Ce's only way out at present."

"My lord, I have been thinking about something these days." Xu Shu bowed.

"Oh?" Chen Mo looked at Xu Shu and smiled, "Yuan Zhi has something to say, just say it."

Xu Shu pondered, "If the north forms a three-way confrontation, the lord and Cao Cao have no time to look south. If Sun Ce abandons Xuzhou and attacks Jingzhou instead, will a new situation be formed?"

Jingzhou is also a big state, and with the Central Plains war in recent years, a large number of people have flowed to Jingzhou. Compared with the flat land of the Central Plains, the waterways of Jingxiang are more suitable for the Jiangdong Army to attack. If Sun Ce abandons Xuzhou and attacks Jingzhou instead, if he succeeds, in addition to the three major overlords in the Central Plains, there may be another force that is comparable to the three major overlords. In that case, the situation in the world will be even more unpredictable.

Chen Mo thought about it, nodded and said: "It is indeed a bit difficult, but Sun Ce is ambitious. If he has the opportunity to compete for the Central Plains, he should not easily change his strategy."

Although Jingzhou is good, it can only be regarded as a corner compared to the Central Plains. Sun Ce is ambitious and should not give up the opportunity to compete for the Central Plains.

However, if he really changes his mind and attacks Jingxiang, Chen Mo really has no way to do it for a while.

After all, it is difficult for him to reach Jingzhou.

The situation in the world, which was gradually becoming clear, seems to have become blurred again.

Chen Mo rubbed his temples. Even he could not predict Sun Ce's future. Although Sun Ce is far from being able to come to the chessboard and play chess with them, as long as Sun Ce holds Jiangdong firmly, I am afraid that Sun Ce will not be a chess piece in his hand to help him contain Cao Cao, right?

Before Sun Ce takes action, take Jingzhou first?

Chen Mo frowned and thought about the feasibility of this matter, and then rejected this idea. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would not watch him take Jingzhou, and Liu Biao was not the kind of person who would be manipulated by others. His rear was not settled yet. If he planned Jingzhou at this time, it would only disrupt his original deployment.

"Let's take Xiliang first. As for the future of the world, it depends on when Cao Cao and I can decide the winner." Chen Mo sighed and comforted Xu Shu.

To pacify Xiliang, consolidate the foundation, accumulate food and grass, and wait for the times to change. What we say now is just random guesses. Since the future is difficult to calculate, we should do the current things well.

"Yes!" Xu Shu nodded in response.

At present, Chen Mo's main energy is to continue to improve production. Even if there is another drought year, he will not have to borrow food like the year before last. The other is to pacify Xiliang as soon as possible, wipe out Ma Chao and Han Sui, so that the Qiang people dare not move rashly, and stabilize the rear.

Not only Chen Mo did this, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are also working hard to stabilize the rear.

…

Xuzhou, Xiapi.

“I and Changling Hou are acquainted.” Liu Bei held Chen Gui’s hand affectionately and said with a smile: “At that time, we hit it off at first sight. Today, I met Han Yu and Yuan Long, and I know that Chen’s family has produced many outstanding people. I envy them very much.”

“Your Excellency is too kind.” Chen Gui knew Liu Bei’s thoughts. At present, Liu Bei has been showing kindness and justice in Xuzhou to win the hearts of the people. Not to mention, Liu Bei does have a unique charm. Since he entered Xuzhou, the wealthy merchant Mi family in Donghai has helped him with all his wealth, Cao Bao has also surrendered to Liu Bei, and many scholars in Xuzhou have also joined Liu Bei’s army. Compared with when he first came, Liu Bei can be said to be more mature at this time.

As a prominent family in Xuzhou, the Chen family has the potential to become the first family in Xuzhou since Chen Mo became famous. If the Chen family can assist Liu Bei, Liu Bei's power will rise to a higher level.

Personally speaking, Chen Gui and Chen Deng still have a good impression of Liu Bei, but as the head of the family, Chen Gui and Chen Deng look at problems more rationally and will not make decisions based on emotions.

If Liu Bei had more time, he might really become a hegemon on par with Cao Cao, but unfortunately, Liu Bei started too late, Xuzhou was destroyed by Cao Cao, and he was far inferior to Cao Cao in terms of population and military strength. Moreover, Xuzhou had no strategic location to defend, and Yuan Shu was alienated by Cao Cao, so he had no external support. In this case, it was difficult for Liu Bei to defend Xuzhou!

Chen Gui naturally did not want to put the future of the Chen family on Liu Bei, but if Cao Cao really captured Xuzhou, the position of the Chen family would be very embarrassing. Apart from other things, Cao Cao would definitely be wary of the Chen family because of Chen Mo, and the Chen family would not have an easy life. This is why Chen Gui was willing to let Chen Deng serve as Liu Bei's chief clerk.

Although the official position was not high, he could still give advice to Liu Bei, and with Chen Gong assisting Liu Bei, it might not be impossible to stop Cao Cao.

"Lord Xuande." After hesitating for a while, Chen Gui looked at Liu Bei and said, "I have something to say, which may help Lord Xuande fight Cao."

"Lord Han Yu, please speak." Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he looked at Chen Gui and said.

"Reconcile with Yuan Shu. If Lord Xuande can join forces with Yuan Shu, it will be difficult for Cao Cao to attack Xuzhou." Chen Gui was actually reluctant to let Liu Bei join forces with Yuan Shu. After all, the Chen family and Yuan Shu had already formed a feud. However, in the current situation, if Cao Cao was allowed to sweep the Huai River and Huai River, the Chen family would probably be the first target of Cao Cao. Even if Chen Gui and his son joined Cao Cao, they would still be weakened by Cao Cao. This was definitely not what Chen Gui wanted to see.

"Yuan Shu attacked us without distinguishing between good and bad. It was already rude. Now he wants us to take the initiative to ask for peace with him?" Zhang Fei said dissatisfiedly.

"Yide, don't be rude!" Liu Bei hurriedly stopped him, frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Third brother, although reckless, his words are not without reason. Even if I want to join forces with Yuan Shu, Yuan Gonglu will probably not agree."

"Lord Xuande only needs to send a good debater to explain the power to him. Yuan Gonglu is not an unwise man. There are also wise men under his command. He should understand the current situation." Chen Gui stroked his beard and smiled.

Yuan Shu should still understand the principle of lips and teeth. If Liu Bei dies, how can Yuan Shu survive alone?

"Thank you for your advice, Lord Hanyu." Liu Bei bowed slightly.

"I dare not!"