C222

When they were young, a cavalry unit of five hundred people appeared on the public road in the middle of the river. From their clothes, they seemed to be under Yuan Shao's command, and the pedestrians all dodged them. Although this place was already the territory of the Xuzhou, to these ants and commoners, no matter whose family's army it was, they would not dare to rashly go near.

The troop did not pay any attention to the pedestrians on the street as they leisurely headed towards the southeast direction. Soon, they disappeared behind the trees on the road.

"I have been to the Qinghe County before and seen Yuan Shao's army. Their clothes were pretty much the same as the cavalry army's, just that the cavalry army just now seemed to have better equipment. Hey, you guys tell me, Yuan Shao is currently in a fierce battle with Gongsun Zan, why did you suddenly send a team over to Xuzhou? "

"You don't even understand this? It must be because Yuan Shao was unable to defeat Gongsun Zan and had no choice but to send people to Envoy Liu to ask for help! "

"Un, you're right. That should be the case!" I heard that Gongsun Zan has a million elite soldiers, how can Yuan Shao be his opponent? "

"You guys don't know? Gongsun Zan was indeed powerful, but his son Gongsun Xu was even more ferocious than him. He heard that Gongsun Xu had a green face and fierce teeth, and was extremely strong, so on the battlefield, he liked to tear people apart. Sigh, I hope that Gongsun Zanfuzi does not attack our Xuzhou! "

"Your words are too unreasonable!" To be honest, I have seen Gongsun Xu from afar in the Ji County. He was tall and sturdy, and I can't see his face clearly, but he definitely isn't some fierce looking youth. It's said that the famous Youzhou Sea Salt is actually him? Ah, I suddenly remembered, there was a person who looked like Gongsun Xu in the cavalry troop that just went past! "

"Hehe, you're still saying that I'm unreliable, that's what you call nonsense!" That Gongsun Xu is fighting with Yuan Shao at the moment, why is he here? "

"Me, I really think that person looks like …"

"Alright, alright, let's hurry on our way. If we can't reach Xiao Pei by nightfall, we'll have to sleep in the wilderness!"

"Right, right, let's hurry!" "Let's hurry!"

Gongsun Xu did not know that the people he met were discussing him, and even more so did not know that someone had actually seen him before. Otherwise, he would have definitely ordered for them to be locked up, so that his whereabouts would not be leaked out. At this time, he had already crossed the floating bridge on the surface of the river, spurred his horse to a high slope, and looked towards the southeast. He saw that there was still a city about twenty to thirty miles away, and it should be his destination, the Xiao Pei.

"Rest here for an hour, feed the horses, arrange for a few teams to patrol the area. Report to us as soon as a large group of people approaches!" Gongsun Xu looked at Xiao Pei's County City for a while before he gave his orders.

The five hundred riders that followed Gongsun Xu to the Xuzhou were all elites of the White Horse Camp. After receiving the order, they started to move in an orderly manner.

Gongsun Xu took his big horse and came to the river side to let the horse drink its own water. Then, he personally fed some bean cakes with salt added on it. To the riders, their horses were their most loyal and important companions. Therefore, unless they were really too busy to leave, Gongsun Xu would personally take care of their horses every day.

After approximately the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed, the small patrol team that was heading towards their destination finally returned. They reported to Gongsun Xu about the group of pedestrians they met not long ago, and it seemed like they were preparing to head to Xiao Pei City to spend the night there as well.

"Bring a few smarter ones to meet this general." Gongsun Xu instructed, and led the warhorse to a grass patch at the side.

After a while, a few people from the Xuzhou were brought to Gongsun Xu, one of them saying that he had been to the Ji County. The moment he saw Gongsun Xu, his expression changed greatly and he immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at Gongsun Xu for even a moment.

Gongsun Xu looked at the man strangely, but did not ask. Instead, he prepared to leave the man to ask after understanding the situation.

"Greetings, Lord General!" Without waiting for Gongsun Xu to speak, the few of them kneeled on the ground and kowtowed one after another.

"No need for formalities!" This general is an emissary sent by Yuan Shijun, and is preparing to go to Xuzhou to meet Envoy Liu, because this general has never been there before, I wish to ask everyone about the situation, so I hope that you can tell me the truth. "

A few of them stood up, their heads lowered as they waited for Gongsun Xu's question.

Gongsun Xu looked at Xiao Pei's County in the southeast direction again, and asked: "How far is this place from Xuzhou?"

"Reporting to the general, this place is still three to four hundred kilometers away from Xuzhou. We won't be able to get there before nightfall today. If the general does not plan to travel overnight, why not stay in Xiao Pei for the night, and then head to Xuzhou tomorrow morning. "

"I agree with your words!" Gongsun Xu laughed: Xiao Pei is a land where the ancestors of this dynasty thrive, it is a land of human and earth, this general had wanted to personally see Xiao Pei for a long time, but unfortunately, I have never had the chance, and this is the right opportunity to take a look.

When the few Xuzhou people heard Gongsun Xu praise the Xiao Pei so, they all felt honored. Their fear of Gongsun Xu also lightened a lot, and they started to talk about the human nature of the Xiao Pei. These few people all lived in the Xuzhou City, and came to and fro with the Xiao Pei frequently, so they were rather familiar with the place. From their descriptions, Gongsun Xu roughly knew about the current situation of the Xiao Pei's County City.

As the place where the High Ancestor, Liu Bang, was flourishing, the Xiao Pei held a very unique and important position in the dynasty. There were often rascals amongst the literati coming to Huaigu, and the imperial government and local officials were also taking good care of the Xiao Pei. The current size of the city had been greatly reduced. The population of the city was less than five thousand, which was completely different from the prosperity of the previous era. However, this place was the gate to the north of the Xuzhou, which was why there was always a strong army stationed here.

When Liu Bei first came to the Xuzhou, he had been placed in the Xiao Pei, and Liu Bei had actually become the Xuzhou's' guard dog '. After that, Liu Bei obtained the Xuzhou from Tao Qian, and as usual, paid great attention to the Xiao Pei, so that Zhang Fei could lead a troop of horses and stay in the city, guarding against Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan who were to the north. When Lv Bu arrived, Liu Bei immediately had Zhao Fei and his team retreat to the Xuzhou, and handed the Xiao Pei over to him. They even generously promised that Lv Bu would decide on the military and political affairs of the city.

Liu Bei's actions seemed to have a lot of trust and respect for Lv Bu, but both Liu Bei and Lv Bu were well aware that Lv Bu, who was in a hopeless situation, had just replaced Zhang Fei and became the new 'dog guarding the house'. If it were a few years ago, Lv Bu would definitely not have tolerated this matter, it was just that although he was known as the world's fiercest general, and with the help of a brave general like Gao Shun, who had not accumulated even a little bit of his foundation, his lofty sentiments for the past few years had completely disappeared. He only wished to have a decent territory and live a peaceful life, and so, under Chen Gong's persuasion, he prepared to turn to Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Xu listened to the people bragging for a while, and was pleased, until they introduced the sights of the Xiao Pei City, then asked: "This general heard that the person stationed in the Xiao Pei is the world's fiercest general, Lv Bu, is that true?"

The General was right, the Xiao Pei City is currently controlled by Lv Wenhou, and Lv Wenhou is very famous. After he moved into the Xiao Pei, the wild bandits around the Xiao Pei have all disappeared, which is a great thing for us businessmen!

Gongsun Xu said with a face full of regret: "This general has admired Lv Wenhou for too long, it's just a pity that we haven't met each other before. Has everyone seen Lv Wenhou? "

"Little people are just lowly merchants, how could they have the qualifications to seek an audience with Lv Wenhou! It's just that Lv Wenhou has been patrolling around the city often, we have seen him from afar, oh no, Lv Wenhou is truly the strongest general in the world, he has a tall and strong build, and he is also very handsome. If only he could stay in the Xiao Pei, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan would not dare to offend him, and us from Xuzhou would be able to sleep peacefully. "

Gongsun Xu chuckled, and did not argue with the few merchants. He casually asked a few other questions, and then took out a few copper coins to reward them.

At first, they did not dare to accept it, but when Gongsun Xu pretended to be angry, they just kept it in their hearts and prepared to leave.

"Hold on!" Gongsun Xu called out to them.

"Is there anything else, General?" These few people were trembling with fear. They turned around, afraid that Gongsun Xu would turn hostile and not recognize them.

It's getting late, there's still a bit of distance between us and the Xiao Pei. Maybe we will meet some ferocious beasts or something similar.

"Thank you, Lord General!" These people turned their worries to joy as they all bowed to express their gratitude.

"You guys can rest first. We'll leave together later." Gongsun Xu waved his hand and ordered the few people to retreat, but he then called out to the man who had seen his face change greatly, "You came here with this general, I have something to ask you!"

This man was extremely afraid, but he had no choice but to agree respectfully and follow Gongsun Xu to the side of the river.

"Do you know this general?" Gongsun Xu looked at the river and asked without turning his head back.

"This little one doesn't know him!" The man answered with a shaky voice.

Gongsun Xu sneered: "Do you think this general is someone you can casually fool?"

"General, spare me!" Please spare my life! " The man kneeled on the ground and kowtowed continuously: "I have been to the Ji County before, and am fortunate to have seen Lord General's might from afar, it's just that I don't dare to confirm it."

"Why are you going to the Ji County?" Gongsun Xu asked indifferently.

"This little one will go to the Ji County to buy sea salt and return to the Xuzhou to sell.

Gongsun Xu looked at him in surprise. He never thought that although this fellow looked sincere and honest, he was actually a reckless salt dealer. He suddenly thought of the lack of a middleman for Lv Bu this time. Although the guy in front of him had a lowly status, he was a native of Xuzhou, so it wouldn't be conspicuous for him to enter or leave the County City of Xiao Pei. He could give it a try.

Just then, a few White Horse Camp Cavalry s who were on patrol rushed over, the hurried sounds of horse hooves interrupting Gongsun Xu's train of thoughts.