Chapter 642

"Then I thank you, my Lord!"

Chen Gong listened and looked deeply at Lu Bu, feeling very touched in his heart.

At the very least, Lu Bu is good to him and willing to help him vent his anger; although he is a bit blunt and incompetent, he is still a good lord.

"Eh! Why must you be like this, Gongtai?"

Lu Bu laughed and waved his hand, saying, "We have been lord and subject for a while; isn't this what I should do?"

"By the way! How did the alliance negotiations with Liu Bei go? Has everything been confirmed?"

"Is Liu Bei willing to send troops to assist me?"

"At this moment, do you think it is possible for Liu Bei to allow our army to enter the city and jointly resist Cao Cao's attack?"

"Peng Cheng fell so quickly; I estimate that Taishan Commandery has likely been breached as well!"

"We have no other choices left!"

"If we don't unite with Liu Bei in Xiapi to confront Cao Cao, we might have to flee Xuzhou!"

In fact, whether Liu Bei agrees or not doesn't matter to him anymore; at most, it's a bit of a pity that he can't properly compete with Cao Cao again, vent his anger, and have a good time.

"Naturally, he agreed!"

Chen Gong nodded affirmatively, "Liu Bei still has a great sense of the big picture! He understands that if we are defeated by Cao Cao first and he is left alone, he will be unable to contend with Cao Cao, so he agreed directly to the matter of sending troops to support us!"

"However, it may not be certain if we want to enter the city now!"

"This will have to be negotiated again;"

"But I anticipate that Liu Bei has no choice left and will definitely agree in the end!"

"Otherwise, he will still only face defeat and destruction! I believe he will make the correct choice!"

"There is no time to lose; I will go to Xiapi City now to negotiate with Liu Bei!"

Saying this, Chen Gong prepared to set off immediately.

"Very well! Then I will trouble you, Gongtai!"

Lu Bu naturally had no objections, but he still reminded him, "However, if Liu Bei's attitude is poor, or if he speaks harshly, or even sets unreasonable conditions, you don't need to agree at all, Gongtai. At worst, we will just withdraw from Xuzhou directly!"

"Anyway, if nothing else, saving everyone's lives and even giving everyone a bright future is still no problem!"

Although he wanted to fight Cao Cao before leaving, he absolutely could not suffer any grievances because of it.

Liu Bei is not worthy.

"This..."

Chen Gong understood Lu Bu's future plans upon hearing this. Although he hesitated, he nodded in agreement, "I understand, my Lord! I will not lose face for you!"

However, if Lu Bu goes to seek refuge with Su Xuan, what should he do then?

Should he also go to Su Xuan's side?

But Su Xuan's new policies place great restrictions on the gentry; to say it is suppressing those who betray their masters would not be an exaggeration at all.

And Chen Gong is a firm believer in gentry-ism, always striving for and wanting to strengthen the power of the gentry.

If he went to Su Xuan's side with Lu Bu, wouldn't that violate his original intentions and ideals?

Lu Bu's mind seemed exceptionally clear at this moment, and his eyes were also exceptionally sharp; he seemed to see through Chen Gong's thoughts at this moment all at once.

Or perhaps, the time they have spent together over the past year or more has made him understand Chen Gong very well.

Therefore, he immediately spoke up, "Gongtai! Don't think so much!"

"I roughly understand what your ideals are about!"

"But to be honest, I don't really agree with them!"

"The disorderly expansion of the gentry is definitely not a good thing!"

"You are also a great wise man! You shouldn't be unable to see through these things!"

"Boyuan's new policies are the best choice for the world, for the common people, and even for the gentry!"

"I only believe that Boyuan can make this world a better place!"

"Furthermore! Don't you hate Cao Cao very much? Don't you want to defeat him or even surpass him~~?"

"Only Boyuan can give you these things! Even Yuan Shao, I don't think can do it!"

"Besides, only by living well can there be a future! Even if you don't consider yourself, you must consider your family and children!"

"In my view, the person who will unify the world in the future will inevitably be Boyuan; it cannot be anyone else!"

"Without you, your family will likely find it difficult to adapt to the new world!"

"You are a great wise man; you shouldn't be splitting hairs!"

So, Lu Bu sometimes feels that smart people are actually quite stupid at times.

Things that even his blockhead of a brain can figure out and see through, they might not necessarily be able to see through.

So, whether it's a smart person or a foolish person, everyone has their own limitations.

Once a person falls into a self-defined trap, without someone to remind them and without external interference, it is very difficult to break out of this trap.

Chen Gong, hearing Lu Bu's words, was stunned at first, and then felt a sense of shame and sudden awakening.

Yes! When did he start limiting himself to the trap of the great gentry dream?

Is this really my dream? Is this what I want?

Is the great gentry dream really suitable for this world?

The wars and chaotic times of these years, in the final analysis, aren't they the evil consequences brought about by the disorderly expansion of the gentry?

As for the Emperor being foolish and incompetent?

Now it seems, Chen Gong feels that is not the case at all!

Was Emperor Ling really that foolish?

That depends on how you look at it!

In his early years, he was actually quite wise and martial, and he did do some things to revitalize the Han Dynasty.

Whether it was the expeditions against the Xianbei and Xiongnu, or the establishment of the Hongmeng Academy, or the compilation of the Xiping Stone Classics... weren't these all things he struggled for?

It's just that in the end, he was defeated by the great gentry led by the Yuan clan; not only did he fail to reverse the decline of the Great Han, but he further allowed imperial power to slip away and allowed the gentry led by the Yuan clan to further expand.

It even reached a point where it could not be checked or balanced.

The so-called eunuch dictatorship—now, looking at it from another angle, wasn't this just a blade pushed out by Emperor Ling to check and balance the great gentry and the relatives of the Emperor?

At this moment, Chen Gong also thought of the news he had heard in the past about the huge changes in Jingzhou.

Suddenly, he really wanted to see the situation in Jingzhou with his own eyes and, at the same time, verify the many thoughts in his heart.

As for the struggle with Cao Cao?

It seems there is no need to rush for this moment!

He is not really about to die; he can completely wait for later!

There are plenty of opportunities!

The Lord is right; if they both seek refuge with King Qian, Su Xuan, then in the future, Cao Cao will inevitably be defeated by their hands.

Of course, this does not prevent them from causing trouble for Cao Cao now and venting their anger.

Thinking this through, Chen Gong immediately felt relieved and smiled slightly at Lu Bu, "Thank you, my Lord, for your guidance and reminder!"

"Chen Gong has learned a lesson!"

"Please rest assured, I will no longer be stubborn. After this war is over, I will accompany you to Jingzhou to see for myself, how about that?"