Having made up his mind, Ma Chao looked at Chen Deng and said: "In the past, I sent my confidant General Meng Da to Xiapi to visit Mr. Yuanlong and sent him a letter written by me. I wonder if you have ever met Meng Da. "Da, have you ever received a personal letter from me?" Chen Deng clasped his fists and said, "So that the general can know that Deng was in trouble and traveled far away, and my father received General Meng Da. Here is the personal letter from the general. I have seen him before, but I am overly praised." Ma Chao thought, since Chen Deng was able to seek refuge with Cao Cao in history, he can also seek refuge with him this time. It is not difficult to win over these aristocratic families as long as they are promised fame. Immediately he said: "I have heard about the talents of the Chen family father and son. Today, I will bring up the old matter again. On behalf of the imperial court, I will recruit Yuan Long as the Secretary of Dian Nong, with a rank of two thousand stones. He will be in charge of the country's farming affairs. I wonder if you, sir, are willing to serve the world. For the sake of the common people, Chen Deng was greatly moved when he heard this. He has had the ambition to help the world and benefit the people since he was young. In the past few years, he has initially realized some of his ideals in Xuzhou, and now Ma Chao has undoubtedly provided him with It would be a lie to say that I am not excited about a bigger stage. But he did not dare to agree easily to this matter, because his father Chen Sui was extremely dissatisfied with Ma Chao's attack on the aristocratic family. As members of the aristocratic family, they had never been very optimistic about Ma Chao. Therefore, Chen Sui tried his best to prevent Chen Deng from joining Ma Chao. But now that Ma Chao not only controls the imperial court, but also regained the northern lands, it is inevitable that his troops will attack Xuzhou and attack the Xuzhou family. These local aristocratic families either sought refuge with Ma Chao, or they packed up their wealth and fled to the south. But if he can run away, the monk cannot run away from the temple. What if Ma Chao really dominates the world in the future? The Chen family will have no way to escape, and by then they will have no chance to seek refuge. Chen Sui naturally thought of this. The Cao family had a relationship with Ma Chao through Cao Bao's daughter. Knowing that Xuzhou would fall into Ma Chao's hands sooner or later, she sighed and nodded slightly to Chen Deng. Chen Deng couldn't hide his excitement when he received his father's permission. He clasped his fists and said, "The general is benevolent and loves the people. The people under his rule can live and work in peace and contentment, which is far beyond the comparison of the southern princes. Chen Deng is not talented. He is willing to serve the general!" Ma Chao felt happy in his heart. . After taking over the Chen family, Xuzhou will be in his pocket sooner or later, and with Chen Deng in charge of agricultural production, the food output will definitely increase a lot after the introduction of corn, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other crops. This kind of special talents who are good at agriculture are needed for management. "Yuanlong can help." It is truly a blessing to the people of the world! I will immediately send a handwritten message to the governor of the northern states. Yuan Long is solely responsible for developing agriculture! In addition, within ten years, several excellent crops will be introduced from the land of Fanbang. If this happens, it will definitely improve the living standards of the Han people! " Chen Deng said: "The general suppressed the powerful families in the fields, supported the common people, and took in the refugees. This move has made countless people alive and won the hearts of the people. I can't see it anymore! Today, if you can follow the general and work for the benefit of all people, how dare you not do your best? But I don¡¯t know what the benefits of the new crops mentioned by the general are! "Everyone is also curious. They have also heard that Ma Chao has the intention to send people to the other side of the ocean, but they don't know the details. Ma Chao has no need to hide it from them. At present, corn, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cotton are being cultivated. The benefits were explained in detail. Everyone was shocked when they heard the words, but their faces were full of disbelief. Ma Chao knew what everyone was thinking, so he took off his coat on the spot to be more convincing. The pure cotton underwear she was wearing was shown to everyone. They saw that this kind of underwear was soft and comfortable, breathable and warm, and it was neither silk nor linen nor fur. Moreover, there was farming in Yecheng. They had no choice but to believe it. Then they thought of the legend that Ma Chao is a god. The rumors of reincarnation only regarded Ma Chao as a god. They did not mention Ma Chao's poaching in Xuzhou, but said that Xi Zhicai rushed to Shouchun, Yangzhou's headquarters, with Cao Cao's personal letter. After more than two years of development. , nominally included Yuzhou and Yangzhou, and ordered Sun Jian to send troops to attack Jingzhou Liu Biao. Just as the unlucky Liu Biao took a breath, he encountered Sun Jian leading troops to attack Pengze, Chaisang, Jiujiang, and the Jiangdong area in Jiangxia. Liu Biao quickly ordered General Huang Zu to lead troops to fight against Sun Jian. Huang Zu built a defensive offensive in Jiangxia and deployed heavy troops. He fought with Sun Jian several times and suffered injuries. Although he could not defeat Sun Jian, he could not make any progress. Seeing that Sun Jian was restraining Liu Biao's troops in the south of Jingzhou, he planned to send troops from Yuzhou to Jingzhou, intending to remove Zhang Xiu's cancer first. At this time, news came from the north that Lu Bu had entered Yanzhou and Ma Chao had sent troops to Qingzhou. Yuan Shao never forgot it. As the fourth generation and the third prince, Xi Zhicai waited for three days before seeing Yuan Shao after arriving in Shouchun. He then presented Cao Cao's handwriting and said: "My master is busy dealing with Lu Bu, but Ma Chao took the opportunity. Qingzhou was captured and troops arrived at Xuzhou a few days ago. If he were allowed to capture Xuzhou, the alliance leader's Yuzhou and Yangzhou would be bordering Ma Chao's forces, and Lu Bu would also?Ma Chao strongly supports me. Once my lord is defeated, Ma Chao can point the finger at Alliance Leader Yuan, and we are all under a dangerous wall! " Yuan Shao nodded, opened Cao Cao's autographed letter and read it, frowning, and after a long time he said: "Meng De's words are very pertinent, and what you said is not unreasonable. However, the horse is strong and the troops are well-prepared. You are enough, with fierce generals like clouds and advisors like rain, far beyond the comparison of any other princes like us! To send troops to superpower, we need to unite the princes from all over the world who are loyal to the Han Dynasty to achieve this. However, we have been running the place for less than three years, and various affairs are not yet mature. Is it too early to decide whether it is male or female? " Xi Zhicai said: "The words of the leader are wrong. We need time to develop our strength, but Ma Chao will never be idle. This person's ability to govern the local area is well known. His various decrees have won the hearts of the people, and all measures have been taken step by step. What's more, the people under his rule account for more than half of the Han Dynasty, and there are countless talents of all kinds. The development speed is far beyond our comparison. The longer it drags on, the lower the chance of winning. It is better to go all out, strike first, and fight with it with all its strength immediately! " Yuan Shao was convinced, but he had just pacified Yu and Yangzhou, and the good times had not passed for a few days, so he really didn't want to send troops immediately to fight Ma Chao to the death. While hesitating, Yuan Shao's counselor Feng Ji interrupted: "My lord, you can't do it anymore. Hesitate, come and make every word clear, who knows Ma Chao's intention to conquer the world? How can we tolerate the separatist rule of princes like my lord? The so-called one step ahead, step by step lead, if it drags on, the gap between the lord and other princes and Ma Chao will only become wider and wider. In less than ten years, the lord may not even have the strength to fight, and it will be too late to regret! " Yuan Shao was greatly moved when he heard this. If Ma Chao only occupied Bingzhou and Jizhou, he would not be anxious. After all, he was separated from him by Jingzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou and Xuzhou, so he could not be threatened at all. But once Ma Chao successfully captured Xuzhou, The situation is very different. Xuzhou is adjacent to Yangzhou, and most of them are plain areas with little natural protection. If Ma Chao marches into the Jianghuai area from Xuzhou, his life will be in danger. (To be continued)