Ao Lie's army had not yet walked far away. A rapid sound of horse hooves came from the north with the tremor of the earth.

The lesson of setting up an ambush by Yuan Shao and others was approaching. When they heard the sound of horse hooves, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao immediately became alert and commanded the elites of the Blood Killing and Hu Ben to quickly set up their formations and wait for the battle. Lu Bu held the Fang Tian Hua Ji tightly and protected Ao Lie with other generals.

A moment later, a team of cavalry in white clothes appeared in the eyes of everyone. Gongsun Zan took the lead and ran at the forefront of the team, with an anxious look on his face clearly visible. The visitor was Gongsun Zan's elite subordinate, Baima Yicong.

Seeing that it was Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun's heart relaxed, ordered the defense to be revoked, and shouted loudly: "Gongsun Prefect, I'm Zilong." Gongsun Zan looked up and saw Zhao Yun. The worry on his face immediately turned into joy. He came to Zhao Yun's side and asked, "Where is the Lord?"

Ao Lie urged his horse to come over in the formation and said with a smile: "Brother Bogui, I'm here." Gongsun Zan turned his head and looked at Ao Lie carefully. After confirming that he had not received any injuries, he stroked his forehead and said with gratitude: "God protects you, fortunately, I'm back safely. When I got the news, I had already entered Youzhou. I was afraid that the road was too long to rescue, so I rushed over day and night." Because Gongsun Zan left Luoyang three days earlier than Ao Lie, and his troops were all cavalry. When he received the news that Ao Lie was ambushed, he had already returned to Youzhou, so he came a little late.

After a pause, Gongsun Zan waved to the white horse Yicong behind him. Five thousand white horse Yicong turned over and dismounted, bowing to Ao Lie: "See lord!"

Ao Lie looked at Gongsun Zan in shock and asked in surprise: "Brother Bogui, what do you mean?" Chang laughed, and Gongsun Zan replied: "Fat is trapped at the time. If you hadn't led your army to rescue me, Gongsun Zan would have long been a dry bone in the tomb. Now your elite troops have suffered heavy losses and are seriously injured in their vitality. They are in exchange for courtesy. Now, someone leads the army to surrender. Do you still have to refuse?"

Before Ao Lie could react, Gongsun Zan turned over and dismounted, knelt on one knee, and said loudly: "Last general Gongsun Zan, see the lord!" Gongsun Zan is the prefect of western Liaoning, and Liaoxi County is also under the rule of Youzhou. According to common sense, there is nothing wrong with Gongsun Zan calling Ao Lie a lord, but judging from Gongsun Zan's current attitude, it is obvious that he wants to be under Ao Lie's command and be willing to be the deputy general.

Ao Lie quickly jumped off his horse, pulled Gongsun Zan up, and said in confusion: "Brother Bo Gui, what do you mean?"

Gongsun Zan stood up and said loudly: "The lord brings people with kindness, and his mind is heartbreaking. I have long wanted to take the lord's command, but for a long time, the lord's command has strong soldiers and horses. Zan feels ashamed and dare not speak rashly. Now the lord is just about to use people, so I have brought the troops and horses of all counties to serve in order to help the lord." After saying this, Gongsun Zan touched Ao Lie's ear and whispered: "Actually, I have a little selfishness. With you as the little overlord of Youzhou, I can only be the prefect of Liaoxi in this life; if I join you, maybe I can be a marquis or something in the future."

Ao Lieming knew that Gongsun Zan's words were purely a joke, so he just came to him to find a reason that no one believed it. He reached out and pressed his hand on Gongsun Zan's shoulder. Ao Lie said with some emotion: "It is easy to add icing on the cake, but it is difficult to help in time. Brother Bo Gui's friendship will always be kept in mind."

The generals and strategists under Ao Lie came over to congratulate Ao Lie on getting another tiger general and playing some harmless jokes with Gongsun Zan. After a while of laughter, the two men and horses joined forces and set off on their way back home again.

A little later, Ao Lie and others walked along the way, and the city walls of Ji County were already far away.

Ten miles outside the city, all the civil and military officials stationed in Ji County came out. Ao Lie was their backbone and their spiritual leader. They were very concerned about Ao Lie's safety. Although Youzhou is located in a remote place, the news of Ao Lie being buried has long been spread. If Xun Yu, who has always been prestigious and steady, would have brought troops south to attack Yuan Shao.

Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu and other military generals stood on the left, Xun Yu, Lu Su, Gu Yong and other civil officials stood on the right, all looking forward and waiting for Ao Lie's army to return. When Ao Lie appeared in the sight of everyone, a group of civil and military officials could no longer bear it and quickly stepped forward to meet Ao Lie. Even Xun Yu, who had always been calm, ran over with excitement, with three steps and two steps.

Among the crowd, a simple carriage was quietly parked on the side of the road. In the carriage, two lines of crystal tears flowed on Cai Yan's plain face without makeup, and he murmured: "Are you finally back? I thought I would never see you again. If you die in the battlefield, what's the point of living alone..."

Beside Cai Yan, Mrs. Ao was also tearful and confused. She patted Cai Yan's back of her hand gently and said gently: "Silly child, isn't Lie'er back now? Don't worry, he will not leave Hui Mother and leave you alone."

After several months, Ao Lie sat again in the lobby of the provincial governor's mansion. Civil and military officials were lined up on both sides and listened to Ao Lie telling everything that happened in the past few months.

After briefly finishing the story, Zhang Xiu, who was sitting in the hall, was already furious and stood up and shouted: "Yuan Benchu ​​is a three-month prince in four generations, and he is really a despicable villain! Senior brother, you can swallow this tone, but you can't swallow it!"

Ao Lie waved his hand and signaled Zhang Xiu not to be excited first. Then he slowly spoke: "Youwei, everyone, after this battle, our army killed more than 70% of the elite troops of the Tiger and Ben battalions, which can be said to be severely damaged. It is really not appropriate to use military force. A gentleman takes revenge. It is not too late for ten years. Next, we have two urgent matters that must be solved. First, expand the troops and replenish the lost combat power as soon as possible; second, open a college, recruit a large number of poor scholars and ordinary people to study in the hospital, and then select the best among them, and supplement them to the army and counties in various places to become officials."

The tone set by Ao Lie made all the civil and military officials present fall into deep thought. Jia Xu nodded and agreed: "My lord is planning to recuperate, and Xu also agrees to do so. After a few years, our army will restore its combat effectiveness, and by then the first batch of students who have completed their studies will be able to take on great responsibilities. That is the best time for us to take revenge, and it is also the time for our army to compete with the heroes of the world."

After Jia Xu, everyone expressed their opinions, based on two points put forward by Ao Lie, and put forward many reference suggestions. Finally, at everyone's suggestion, Ao Lie decided to recruit, train new recruits, build a college, and recruit prestigious and capable people to serve as teachers. After preliminary division, the college will be divided into eight courses: Confucianism, medicine, military science, craftsmanship, business, agricultural science, law and miscellaneous science.

After the discussion, Xu Rong slowly stood up and sighed and said, "Xu Rong is valued by the lord, and should have led his army to travel on the battlefield to serve his lord. But now Xu Rong is a disabled person and has no ambition in his heart. Rong is willing to live in seclusion in the academy and pass on what he has learned to those with high qualifications to serve his lord with great kindness."

Ao Lie was speechless when he heard this. After pondering for a while, he agreed to Xu Rong's proposal: "Since General Xu has made up his mind, he is not forcing him. The general's salary will be paid twice as much as his original position. Please rest assured."

If an old man retreats to the second line, a new man will definitely come. Just as Ao Lie and Xu Rong were talking, a soldier came to report, and Zhuge Liang came. Ao Lie was stunned in the seat for a full half-minute. Then he laughed and said, "Someone Guan Zhong, Le Yi is here." Then he stood up and greeted him in person.

After not seeing each other for several years, Zhuge Liang has grown taller and more handsome. He has lost much less bookish energy, and replaced it with wisdom and maturity. It can be seen that over the past few years, Zhuge Liang has learned a lot under the school of Pang Degong. He has completed the transformation from a young boy to a mature man.

"Brother." Seeing Ao Lie, Zhuge Liang had only time to say these two words, and the rest was swallowed by sobs. Thousands of words were blocked in his chest, but it seemed that only by crying with joy could he express the monologue in his heart.

"Let's go, follow me to the mansion." Ao Lie replied briefly. He walked up and grabbed Zhuge Liang's hand, pulled him to the mansion. Zhuge Liang suppressed the excitement in his heart, pulled Ao Lie's arm, and pointed to the three people behind him and introduced to Ao Lie: "These are my best friends, including Cuizhouping, Boling, Shi Guangyuan, and Meng Gongwei, Runan. Because they were worried about my younger brother, they traveled thousands of miles to accompany me."

Ao Lie let go of Zhuge Liang's hand, bowed deeply to Cui Zhouping and the other three, and said, "Thank you for taking care of Kong Ming along the way. Thank you for your thanks here. Please come to the mansion to serve tea together. I was excited before when I first met Kong Ming, I was so excited that I neglected you. Please forgive me." Seeing that Ao Lie was indeed as legendary, treating people kindly and treating people with wise men, Cui Zhouping and the other two bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, I'll bother you."

After returning to the lobby, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao and others who met Zhuge Liang when they were in Nanyang came forward to greet him intimately. The rest of the people who did not know Zhuge Liang had known Zhuge Liang's name for a long time and knew that he was the first planner decided by Ao Lie, and they all stood up to greet Zhuge Liang.

After the ceremony, Ao Lie returned to the main seat, pointed to the seat beside him and said to Zhuge Liang, "Kong Ming, come here." Now Zhuge Liang has no official position, but he can be named by Ao Lie to sit next to him. It can be seen how much Ao Lie attaches importance to Zhuge Liang. Ao Lie compared Zhuge Liang to his own Guan Zhong and Le Yi, but it is not just a joke.

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, but did not sit over, but bowed to the people in the lobby and said, "Liang is the youngest, has the shortest time to join the lord's command, and has no size. How dare he stay in a high position? I hope the lord will take back his life."

Jia Xu, who was originally the first counselor under Ao Lie, nodded secretly when he saw Zhuge Liang's behavior and grand manners. Jia Xu knew that he was old and could still deal with it, but he would become increasingly unable to do so in the future. The matter of cultivating successors is naturally the sooner the better, and he can also make his successor mature as soon as possible. Zhuge Liang in front of him is not a good training target.

He stood up slowly, Jia Xu recounted the matter that everyone had discussed just now, then looked at Zhuge Liang with the intention of assessment, and asked, "Kong Ming, what do you think about this?"
Chapter completed!