"Why is this happening? Was it because we misunderstood Li Li, or was he looking at his lord differently and taking care of him deliberately?"

After insisting on calming down, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and Han Dang were full of questions, and they still couldn't believe that Li Li was so generous.

Sun Ce shook his head gently, took the edict and put it in his arms, then frowned and pondered: "Why is this happening? I have been puzzled before, unable to understand why Li Li treated me well, and even guessed whether he was confused. He even gave me the official title that Yuan Shu wanted but could not get. This matter had tortured me for more than two months, but I still couldn't understand what Li Li wanted and why he was so generous?"

Speaking of this, Sun Ce paused and turned his tone suddenly: "But when I received a secret letter written by Li Li again, all the questions were solved and I completely figured it out.

There has never been a beautiful thing in this world that is worthless. If you want to get something you have never had before, you have to pay a price you have never thought of. Li Li is still Li Li after all. He has not changed at all. Although he is about the same age as me, he is scheming, cunning and vicious. Every move has an unpredictable meaning, and it is irresistible. Even though he knows that being plotted by him, the one in front of him was a huge trap, but he still couldn't help but jump down, because the bait in the trap is too tempting and no one wants to miss it."

While speaking, Sun Ce took out a stack of letters and silk from his sleeves and handed them to Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and the other two, and said to himself: "At the time of the discussions of the princes just now, Yuan Shao ordered me to return to Hedong, replace Liu Bei to station in Hedong County, and escort the Allied Army's food, grass and supplies to ensure the safety of the food route."

After Sun Ce finished speaking, no one answered Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, as if they had not heard the exciting good news. The three of them looked confused and looked horrified on their faces. Cheng Pu's right hand holding the secret letter was still trembling, as if they were too frightened. The shock was still unsure.

After being stunned for a long time, Huang Gai sighed in horror: "Li Zhe is indeed Li Zhe. This move is too cruel! It is simply a demon who eats people and does not spit bones. It turns his hands into clouds and rain, which makes people unable to guard against it!"

Cheng Pushen continued with consent, "Yes! Li Li'er is young and ranks as a general, with 400,000 Xiliang Army. He is in charge of the world's power, which is not a lucky draw. He is indeed a shocking and extraordinary ability. This time, we know that he is using it, but we have to work hard for him, and we have to find ways to accomplish this. Otherwise, when we return to Jiangdong, it will be a day of ruin. All the efforts and efforts we have made before will be wasted and meaningless."

"It's not the case?" Han Dang shook his head slightly with anger and said hesitantly: "Even if Li Li really did this, who would listen to him in the towns of the princes, and who would follow the order? If the princes in the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns of the towns, what's the point of doing this? Wouldn't it be an irrelevant decree of the imperial edict and had no effect on the princes?"

Huang Gai and Cheng Pu looked at each other. Then he sighed helplessly. Then Cheng Pu looked at Han Dang and shook his head slightly and whispered: "You are right. Perhaps Li Li's move does not pose a threat to the princes in various towns, but it is a fatal blow to the lord and us. After all, our foundation is too shallow, and our soldiers are few and few. The most important thing is that we have no foundation to establish a foothold, and no food supply; and, once we have a clear flag to leave Yuan Shu, we will be enemies with Yuan Shu. It is precisely these reasons that force us to rely on the emperor's edict to accomplish things; if the edict is recalled or deposed, we will be in a state of internal and external troubles. Not only can we not gain a foothold in Jiangdong, but we may be wiped out by Yuan Shu and Jiangdong gentry. Therefore, Li Li's trick may not work for others, but it is a fatal threat to us."

After hearing the words of Han Dang and Cheng Pu, Sun Ce nodded with a gloomy face and said in a deep voice: "The success is the king and the loser is the thief. This is an eternal rule in the battle between turbulent times. If the Allies win this battle of Sili, we will get nothing except some food and supplies. If Li Li wins the final victory, then this trick will have an impact on all the princes in the alliance and even shake their foundation; and we are undoubtedly the first group of people to die under this trick. So????????”

Speaking of this, Sun Ce showed a strong helpless look on his face. After a brief pause, he murmured: "So, we have no choice but to do what Li Li said in his secret letter, and there is no other way. And the only thing we can do is to complete the agreement with Li Li cleanly and neatly, and then leave quickly and strive to return to Jiangdong as soon as possible. Only by returning to Jiangdong can we be safe, and the victory or defeat of the Battle of Hangu will not affect us for the time being.

What's more, Li Li pointed out a clear path to us in the letter. We have nothing now. Even if we return to Jiangdong, we will not be able to do much in the short term. However, if we follow what Li Li said in the letter, we will get a lot of baggage, recruit soldiers along the way back to Jiangdong, and then show our strength in Jiangdong, and grow rapidly."

Cheng Pu nodded thoughtfully and said, "What the lord said is right, now we have no choice. Li Zhe is a truly smart man. He promises high officials and generous salaries, while intimidating them, and also shows us the benefits that can be obtained by working for him. This move is perfect, sinister and vicious. No matter who meets him, he will have a headache. If he is an enemy of him, his fate will be even worse. This time, we have experienced Li Zhe's power, and he has to take on this favor when he is used. A person who is treacherous to Li Li can be called a 'hero of the world'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Pu suddenly remembered what Sun Ce had said just now: "The lord just said that Yuan Shao asked us to retreat to Hedong and replace Liu Bei to protect the rations of the Allied Army. I wonder if this matter is correct, there will be no more variables, right?"

"No." Sun Ce affirmed: "We will set off early tomorrow morning and take a ferry to Hedong County, and then replace Liu Bei and Zhang Yang to station in Hedong and the two counties of Henei. This is something that the princes unanimously agreed. How could Yuan Shao change his orders every day?"

"It's such a coincidence? What Li Zhe said in his secret letter became a reality so quickly. There is something strange about it!" Cheng Pu frowned and said in a deep voice.

Sun Ce was shocked when he heard this, his eyes were filled with worries and doubts: "What Demou said is reasonable. Late at night two days ago, this secret letter suddenly appeared on my commander's case. Less than two days later, I was sent to Hedong County to protect the grain road this afternoon. If there was nothing strange here, I'm afraid no one would believe it, but where is the problem? Did Li Li know that I was going to Hedong County to garrison two days ago, so he sent someone to send this secret letter? But how did he know? And he had already received the news two days in advance? Such a mysterious thing is really incredible and unsolvable!"

"What the lord means is??? Li Zhe has placed an inner support beside Yuan Shao?" Cheng Pu said in shock.

Sun Ce shook his head gently: "No, it is definitely not as simple as putting a fine liner around Yuan Shao. Just imagine, just doing it, how can you get in touch with such a secret military situation? And how did he get close to Yuan Shao? And how did he learn from Yuan Shao that has not been released yet? Therefore, if I was not wrong, this was definitely not a fine work, but someone among the Allied princes secretly contacted Li Li, and he had known that Yuan Shao wanted me to go to Hedong County. Even??? I suspect that it was this prince who secretly colluded with Li Li to instigate Yuan Shao to send me to Hedong to replace Liu Bei. The whole thing was planned by this man, trying to show kindness to Li Li and then make a profit from it!"

"This??? This is too incredible!" Huang Gai said in shock.

Cheng Pu thoughtfully said, "It's indeed a bit incredible, but it's not impossible. People's hearts are unpredictable in the troubled times, and the alliance between princes is forced by the situation and a temporary solution. In fact, the princes are not the same in the same mind at all. There are many people fighting openly and secretly, intrigue, and have different ambitions. Perhaps when the Allied forces were going smoothly, no one secretly colluded with Li Li, but now the Allied forces have been greatly damaged and the situation is not good. At this time, it is difficult to say that no one betrays the Allied forces in exchange for Li Li's forgiveness or seeking Li Li. To put it bluntly, isn't this what we are like? Since we all do this, will we not be the second prince who secretly contacted Li Li?"

After hearing this, Sun Ce looked very ugly and waved his hand and said, "Okay, this matter has ended here, so there is no need to discuss it anymore. No matter what, these things have nothing to do with us, and it is not our turn to worry about it. At the moment, our top priority is to arrange the departure matters tomorrow morning as soon as possible. Time is tight and we cannot delay for a moment!"

"What are the best arrangements for this? Just go out to camp tomorrow morning, why do you need to prepare in advance?" Huang Gai continued.

A cold and stern look flashed in Sun Ce's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "The General's thought of overthrowing is too simple. Our Yuan Shao and Yuan Alliance Leader are not good at it! Nowadays, the two counties of Hedong are all his territory of Yuan Shao, so how could we let us go to guard without any warning?"

Huang Gai was stunned when he heard the sound: "What the lord means is??? Is Yuan Shao worried about us and still beware of us?"

Cheng Pu and Han Dang's expressions changed drastically when they heard this. Cheng Pu said with a pale face: "Yuan Shao has never believed in any princes. I believe that this time we ordered us to station in Hedong, and he would not let us protect the rations of the Allied Army. Please make clear what the details are."

Sun Ce had a gloomy face and nodded slightly, "As Demou said, although Yuan Shao sent us to Hedong County, he did not trust us. He only asked me to lead 15,000 soldiers across the river, and the remaining more than 10,000 soldiers in my army will continue to stay in the camp and temporarily be under Yuan Shao's personal control. When the order is issued next time, if there is any change, he will return the remaining troops to me."

"Ah!" Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others were shocked. Han Dang said angrily: "After Yuan Shao was born into the Yuan family, he was the third prince of four generations and acted so despicable. He was really a ruthless leader, which was heartbreaking!"

Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were both indignant. Cheng Pu said: "Lord, what should we do? Can't we let Yuan Shao slaughter? We finally recruited more than 10,000 new recruits and expanded our troops to 30,000. Now, with the order of Yuan Shao, he actually asked us to leave half of the troops. It's really outrageous and too much to deceive others!"

"What else can I do? The situation is urgent, so how can we question it? For the sake of this plan, we can only select 15,000 elite soldiers at night. We must prepare tonight and take all the food and supplies to Hedong County tomorrow morning!" After saying that, Sun Ce glanced at Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, and then left.

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Chapter completed!