After seeing the gift list, Lu Bu was extremely happy and immediately introduced everyone present to Chen Gui one by one.
Among everyone, Chen Gong was the most alert about Chen Gui's visit.
If someone is too nice to you without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. Especially Yuan Xi, who is a descendant of the Yuan family. He came a long way to befriend Lu Bu, with Bingzhou and Jizhou between them. He has nothing to ask for from Lu Bu. Is he bored?
It is true that the gift sent by the other party is valuable, but if it is sent with evil intentions, it is like a sugar pill wrapped in poison. If you eat it rashly, you will be poisoned to death!
Moreover, this was a critical period when Yuan Shu and Lu Bu were secretly discussing an alliance. The intention of Yuan Xi sending someone over was self-evident, and it was clear that he wanted to interfere.
Otherwise, it is impossible that Yuan Xi would betray Yuan Shao and defect to Yuan Shu, right?
Thinking of this, Chen Gong desperately winked at Lu Bu, asking him not to agree rashly.
Unexpectedly, Lu Bu was in high spirits and did not notice Chen Gong's expression. He handed the gift list to the maid beside him and said, "Give it to Madam!"
Chen Gong secretly complained, and after the maid left, Lu Bu realized that Chen Gong was making faces, and said in surprise: "Gongtai, are you feeling unwell?"
Chen Gong suddenly felt very tired, so he could only say: "Mr. Han Yu has come from afar, so he must have something important to tell you, right?"
"Why don't you listen to the purpose of Mr. Han Yu's visit?"
After hearing this, Chen Gui remained calm and looked at Lu Bu.
Before he came, Yuan Xi had said that Chen Gong supported the marriage between Yuan Shu and Lu Bu. As for the inside story, Yuan Xi didn't know.
Chen Gui thought that this was enough. Only when you know yourself and your enemy can you act properly.
Since he knew Chen Gong's thoughts in advance, he could avoid the trap. After all, Chen Gong was Lu Bu's most trusted adviser, and he could not provoke him too much.
Seeing Lu Bu nod, Chen Gui slowly said, "I am here on behalf of Master Xianyi to make friends with Marquis Wen and become his neighbor."
Chen Gong heard this and said, "Youzhou and Henei are separated from Bingzhou, so how can they be friendly neighbors?"
Chen Gui laughed and said, "The Black Mountain Army has been attacked by the Yuan family for many years and has shown signs of defeat. When Master Xianyi goes south to Bingzhou, he will naturally connect with Hanoi."
Chen Gong laughed and said, "It's just as I expected. Master Xianyi wants to annex Black Mountain. Do you want Marquis Wen to just sit back and watch?"
Chen Gui listened and said calmly: "The Black Mountain Army has been harassing Jizhou for many years. It has long been unacceptable to the Yuan family. Its destruction is only a matter of time."
"Does Wen Hou still want to stand on the side of the Black Mountain Army?"
"What nonsense!" Someone suddenly stood up and pointed at Chen Gui and said, "Zhang Yan, the Lieutenant General of the Black Mountain Army, was appointed by the Han court himself. Do you want Marquis Wen to betray the court and instead rely on the rebellious Yuan family?"
When everyone looked closely, they found that it was Yang Chou, a subordinate of Zhang Yang. They thought, isn't it just the Black Mountain Army? Why did Yang Chou react so strongly?
Chen Gui laughed. He had learned from Yuan Xi that Yang Chou might be Cao Cao's man, so he asked, "Excuse me, General Yang, since Governor Zhang is not here, can you speak for him?"
Yang Chou's face froze, then he sneered, "Why not!"
"And now the governor is the Marquis of Anguo, and he is now the General of Anguo!"
"Since the governor and Zhang Yan were both appointed by the Han court, how can they be at odds with each other?"
Seeing Yang Chou's smug look, Chen Gui smiled and said, "If that's the case, then General Yang, do you think that the Han Dynasty's edict must be obeyed?"
Yang Chou had just been appointed an official by Zhang Yang. Although it was just an empty title, he was still more famous than all the generals under Lu Bu. He was very proud of himself and said without hesitation, "Of course!"
Chen Gui smiled after hearing this and said, "I heard that Yuan Shu wants to be emperor, and now Wen Hou wants to marry him. So where does the Han imperial edict stand?"
No one expected that Chen Gui could bring the matter up to this point. They were all stunned. Chen Gong suddenly realized that Chen Gui, the old fox, had something to say here!
Seeing Yang Chou dumbfounded, Chen Gong knew that he could not count on this simple-minded warrior, so he stood up and said, "Mr. Han Yu, you don't know that Yuan Gonglu has been a minister for four generations and has no intention of becoming emperor. Moreover, he once raised an army to resist Dong Zhuo, which coincided with what Wen Hou did that day, both for the sake of the emperor."
"Wen Hou and Yuan Gonglu were both loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, so how can we say that they had rebellious intentions?"
Chen Gui smiled slightly, took out a scroll of silk from his sleeve, showed it to everyone, and then held it in front of Lu Bu with both hands, "This is the letter Yuan Shu wrote to Han Yu that day. Please take a look at it, and you will know the truth."
"I have naturally rejected Yuan Shu's offer, and my son, who was detained by him, is still missing."
After listening to this, Lü Bu unfolded the silk book and read it. After a while, he threw the silk book to Chen Gong and said, "Gongtai, take a look too."
Chen Gong felt something was wrong, and when he finished reading the silk book carefully, a few drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
This was a secret letter from Yuan Shu, who coveted Xuzhou and wanted to bribe Chen Gui. The content of the letter was extremely explicit, promising that after he ascended the throne, he would give Chen Gui one of the three highest officials.
His seal and ribbon are clearly visible, so they cannot be fake. The head of a prestigious family like Chen Gui would not be so bored as to use forged letters to deceive people.
Chen Gong looked extremely conflicted, how could he not know that Yuan Shu wanted to become emperor?
He's just pretending to be confused.
Because in Chen Gong's opinion, the only person in the world who is truly willing to ally with Lu Bu is Yuan Shu.
Lu Bu's reputation was so bad that even the prominent and powerful families looked down on him in their hearts.
Not to mention Lu Bu, even Dong Zhuo, who was in a high position and had great power at the time, was not liked by the aristocratic families. Dong Zhuo tried every means to befriend the gentry, but with little success, so in the end he gave up on himself and completely broke with the princes.
As for Lu Bu, he was even worse off. His background was even worse than Dong Zhuo's, and he committed the evil act of killing Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, the two founders of the group. As a result, none of the princes who valued their reputation were willing to be on good terms with Lu Bu.
So when Lu Bu fled from Chang'an, he couldn't find a place to stay for a long time. If Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao hadn't taken him in, no one would know where Lu Bu would be wandering.
But even though Zhang Miao had been so kind to Lu Bu, he was now besieged by Cao Cao, and Lu Bu did not immediately go to rescue him.
From this point of view, Lu Bu has a characteristic: he is ruthless.
To put it bluntly, it is heartless and ungrateful.
In other words, the principle he followed in doing things was quite similar to the law of the jungle, which caused the princes to be extremely cautious when they interacted with Lu Bu.
Now that Yuan Shu wants to form an alliance with Lu Bu, Chen Gong has considered it again and again and feels that this will do more harm than good to Lu Bu. After all, among the princes of the world, there are not many who are willing to take Lu Bu in.
Chen Gong guessed that Yuan Shu wanted to form an alliance with Lu Bu in order to contain his powerful subordinate Sun Ce, otherwise he would not be so anxious.
It can be said that Chen Gong put a lot of effort into assisting Lu Bu. If he had asked someone else to join him, it wouldn't have been so tiring.
But the reason why he abandoned Cao Cao and joined Lu Bu was because of his own persistence and considerations.
Since Chen Gong discovered that Cao Cao's values and outlook on life were different from his own, he resolutely broke with him and deeply regretted saving Cao Cao's life that day. Especially after Cao Cao frequently massacred people in the city, Chen Gong became more determined in his ideas.
Cao Cao was a man of great determination, and Chen Gong was unable to change him. Now that he had met Lu Bu, he realized that if he left him alone, the other party would sooner or later become like Cao Cao.
Lu Bu is a man who does not act right. If no one advises him, he will act recklessly and bring disaster to the world. But Lu Bu has one good thing: he is easily influenced. As Chen Gong is his chief strategist, there is a great possibility that his advice will be adopted.
If he is given more guidance, it may not be impossible to change Lu Bu.
So Chen Gong resolutely decided to assist Lu Bu, hoping to make this chaotic world a better place in which everyone was killing each other.
But Chen Gong also has his own shortcomings.
He was only the magistrate of Zhongmu County before, and he had little knowledge in his life, so when he served as a strategist, his considerations were not very comprehensive.
He now agrees with the marriage between Lu Bu and Wenhou, but he only sees the benefits and underestimates the risks. Now that the things he wanted to hide have been exposed, he is suddenly a little panicked.
When Chen Gong saw him holding the silk book with his head down and keeping silent, Chen Gui thought that the time was ripe.
Yuan Xi had already told me so much about the inside story in advance. If I still couldn't convince Lu Bu at this time, I would be too incompetent!
He laughed loudly, "Wen Hou, let alone Yuan Gonglu's evil intentions, anyone in the world can be trusted except Yuan Gonglu!"
"His subordinate Sun Ce conquered several counties for him, but Yuan Gonglu broke his promise to be his governor several times."
"He is so kind to his subordinates who have made great contributions. Do you think Yuan Gonglu will not betray you in the future?"
When Lu Bu heard this, his face darkened. Chen Gui's words touched his heart.
He had betrayed his sponsor several times, so what he feared most was being betrayed.
Chen Gong heard this and said, "Subordinates are subordinates. Wen Hou and Yuan Gonglu are equal."
Chen Gui smiled casually: "What if Yuan Gonglu ascends the throne and usurps the throne?"
Chen Gong was speechless.
Chen Gui struck while the iron was hot. "In my opinion, Yuan Shu's coveting of Dabao is really a way to his own death. If Wen Hou gets involved, he will definitely not have a good ending!"
After hearing this, Lu Bu slammed the table and shouted angrily: "How dare you curse me!"
Chen Gui was not afraid: "Wen Hou, please listen to my detailed explanation."
"The reason why Yuan Gonglu wants to join forces with Wen Hou, even in the name of marriage, is nothing more than a few considerations."
"First, let Wenhou block Yuzhou and deal with Yuan Benchu of Jizhou and Cao Mengde of Yanzhou."
"Wen Hou, think to yourself, can you stop the troops from the two states?"
After hearing this, Lu Bu shook his head and said nothing.
Chen Gui added: "Secondly, Yuan Gonglu intends to usurp the throne. He will definitely try to deal with the Han court, and is more likely to kill the emperor."
"He won't do it himself, so he will definitely ask Wen Hou, who is closest to Luoyang, for help."
"May I ask, Lord Wen, do you dare to kill the emperor?"
Everyone present was so frightened after hearing this that they broke out in cold sweats.
Chen Gui said, "Third, Yuan Gonglu intends to become emperor, which is a rebellion. If he rebels, Wen Hou is a relative of the rebel and will not be tolerated by the world. If the princes of the world attack him together, does Wen Hou want to be an enemy of the world?"
"If Marquis Wen is defeated, can his family survive?"
After hearing this, Lu Bu could no longer sit still. He stood up and asked, "What should I do?"
In the backyard of Lu's mansion, in Yan's bedroom, Yan was happily talking to Lu Lingqi.
Yan held the gift list in one hand and opened the box with the other. The various rare treasures inside dazzled Yan's eyes.
She smiled at Lu Lingqi and said, "This fierce tiger of the Yuan family is quite sensible. He knows that my daughter will become a concubine in the future, so he rushed to curry favor with us."
Lu Lingqi was speechless, thinking that her mother's thinking was too simple.