When the girl heard what Yuan Xi said, she was quite unconvinced and argued: "My father has a very good reputation among the scholars in Qingzhou. Everyone says that my father is a famous person in the world."
Mrs. Kong Rong quickly pulled the girl's arm and whispered: "No need to say anything."
Yuan Xi smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter, the daughter is very interesting. I quite like reasonable girls."
After hearing this, the girl blushed slightly and shrank towards her mother.
Yuan Xi raised a finger: "Girl, do you think the Yuan family in Runan is more famous, or the Wenju public? If scholars evaluate both sides, who can be right?"
The girl hesitated for a moment: "It should be the Yuan family in Runan? But I think my father should be about the same."
Yuan Xi had a question: "What about adding a Taiyang family to the Yuan family? What about a Xun family from Yingchuan?"
Only then did the girl react and stammered: "How can it be calculated like this?"
"With so many families, isn't it unfair to my father?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "But as the girl just said, Wen Jugong's reputation among the scholars was also promoted by the scholars."
Mrs. Kong Rong was thoughtful after hearing this.
"So the reputation of scholars may be just one-sided. No matter how many people speak one-sidedly, it is still one-sided and has nothing to do with whether it is correct or not."
The girl hesitated and said: "Does the young master mean that the reputation of scholars cannot be used as a benchmark for judgment?"
"Not necessarily, it doesn't mean that it definitely won't work." Yuan Xi said: "What I mean is that words and actions are not necessarily consistent."
"Then the rumors about the young master in Yecheng are all false?" The girl was very happy. She remembered that the rumors about Yuan Xi among the nobles were a bit unbearable. She thought that they were all rumors. The young master was so handsome, how could he bully an orphan and a widowed mother?
!
"No, most of it should be true."
After hearing this, the girl shrank back in fear.
Mrs. Kong Rong held the girl in her arms and glanced at Yuan Xi with some resentment, "Master, please stop scaring the little girl."
She said in a low voice: "I know that the young master is quite disdainful of my husband abandoning me and my daughter."
"But even if my husband really did something wrong, I can only accept it."
"This matter does not violate the etiquette and law, and the world can't criticize it, but I am still very grateful to the master."
Only then did the girl understand, and couldn't help but open her eyes.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Mrs. Kong Rong was really smart. She sighed and said, "It's because of my will."
He shouted and the carriage stopped. Yuan Xi closed the door, asked the guard for a horse to ride on, and the convoy started moving again.
Mrs. Kong Rong hugged her daughter and thought to herself that Mr. Yuan, the second master, was really just motivated.
She was a little resentful.
If you have been so bold and bold, you will only be in Tancheng. Now you are neither up nor down, what does this mean?
Although Yuan Xi's trip was very secretive, the news of his trip to Xuzhou still spread to Juancheng in Dongjun.
Now in Cao Cao's mansion, Cao Cao is sitting at the top, and the counselors and generals are sitting at the bottom, discussing the truce with Lu Bu.
After obtaining Yuan Shao's troops, horses, and food, Cao Cao finally pushed back Lu Bu again and blocked him between Chenliu County and Dongjun.
Now that both sides have been exhausted from the fight, they have begun to contact each other privately and secretly, and have temporarily ceased fighting and started bargaining.
The mastermind is still playing Zhicai, but the smell of gunpowder among the counselors is a little stronger.
Xun Yu was very angry when he learned that Cheng Yu secretly kidnapped Guo Jia and gave it to Yuan Xi in order to meet Yuan Xi's conditions during the negotiations in Dongwuyang, and now he mentioned the matter again.
He snorted coldly: "Zhongde, I really misjudged you!"
"How could you do such an unjust thing?"
Cheng Yu's expression remained unchanged: "It's just a son of the Guo family. Why can't we exchange it for the master's heirs?"
Xun Yu said angrily: "You are doing whatever it takes!"
"If word gets out about this, Ming Gong's reputation will definitely be damaged!"
Cheng Yu said coldly: "I did this alone and had nothing to do with Mr. Ming."
"If there is any criticism in the world, it is only due to me."
"I heard that Wen Ruo and the Guo family are familiar with each other. It can't be a personal relationship. Let's abandon the official relationship for personal reasons!"
Xun Yu became even more angry after hearing this: "Zhongde, you have changed. You were not so bottomless in doing things before!"
Cheng Yu also became angry, "It's useless to say these words. I have a clear conscience and everything I do is for the sake of justice."
Xun Yu wanted to talk again, but Xi Zhicai suddenly coughed violently several times. After listening to both sides, he calmed down.
Xi Zhi coughed for a while, then slowly regained his breath and said, "Don't argue anymore. The matter has reached this point. We can only look forward."
"I'm afraid that my life is not long. In the future, I will have to rely on you to assist Duke Ming and achieve great things."
When all the counselors heard this, they felt uncomfortable in their hearts.
Xi Zhicai said slowly: "Now we have internal and external troubles. If we can't work together, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to go forward in the future."
"To the north, Yuan Shao has been trying to annex us. To the west, Lu Bu's lion has opened his mouth. To the east, Tao Qian has been replaced by Liu Bei. To the south, although we occupy most of Yuzhou, we are surrounded by Zhang Xiu, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu at the same time, making it difficult to expand."
"I called you here this time on behalf of Duke Ming. I want to hear what you think. What should we do next?"
Everyone looked at each other and Xun Yu said: "Now it is difficult to defeat both the north and the south. The two easier ways are to completely defeat Lu Bu, and the second is to attack Xuzhou."
All the counselors nodded.
Xi Zhicai said: "In that case, which one is easier?"
Everyone fell silent.
Some time ago, everyone agreed that Yanzhou should be pacified first, because this is the foundation of Cao Cao's foundation.
That's why Cao Cao did not hesitate to send his family to Yecheng to exchange soldiers' money and food with Yuan Shao, hoping to defeat Lu Bu in one fell swoop.
But until now, Cao's counselors were surprised to find that Lu Bu's preparations were much more adequate than they imagined!
According to the news sent back from Xizuo, Zhang Miao and Lu Bu, like a prophet, had stocked up a large amount of food in advance, so when the locust plague came, the losses were very small.
In comparison, Cao Cao's side was in a much more embarrassing situation. If Yuan Shao hadn't borrowed food, their side would have collapsed long ago.
Moreover, although Cao Cao's army was united and defeated Lu Bu several times, the opponent somehow, as if he had taken reassurance, did not lose his composure and counterattack rashly, but instead defended Chen Liu tightly, leaving Cao Cao with something to say.
feel.
Later, Cao's counselors received news that Lu Bu seemed to have help from an expert!
Cheng Yu spoke up: "Is the rumor about Hidden Tiger true?"
"Is there really a prophet, an expert who foresaw the locust plague and the death of Tao Zhou Mu?"
Everyone felt even more uneasy. If that was the case, wouldn't the other party know their movements well? How could they still fight?
At this time, Cao Cao, who was in charge, spoke for the first time.
"I just wish I couldn't let this person be used by me."
The counselors felt even worse.
Xi Zhicai said: "Now it seems that Lu Bu cannot be defeated in a short period of time."
"The other way is to negotiate a truce with them first and then attack Xuzhou with all their strength."
"Although Liu Bei has gained Xuzhou now, he can't suppress the Danyang soldiers. What's more, he has just been defeated by Yuan Jun. He is weak and is far easier to deal with than Lu Bu."
"When the time comes we occupy the land of Xuzhou, we can advance to attack, retreat to defend, and then turn back to deal with Lu Bu. What do you think?"
Xiahou Dun also spoke out: "Although the revenge of the eyes has not been avenged, I also agree to attack Liu Bei first."
A few days ago, when he was rescuing three cities, he was shot blind by Lu Bu's army, which made the generals feel sorry for him.
Xia Houyuan said bitterly: "Liu Bei is really cunning. I don't know what means he used to take over Xuzhou, and now he is negotiating with the Yuan family in private!"
"If he really succeeds in negotiating, wouldn't that mean we have no excuse to take action?"
"I also heard that it was the Yuan family's fierce tiger who went to Xuzhou for peace talks!"
Everyone looked at each other in shock when they heard this, because Yuan Xi's name had gradually spread privately in the Cao family camp.
This man was originally a little-known man, just a little-known concubine of Yuan Shao, but he rose like a meteor and made the Cao family suffer the loss of silence several times!
First, Xuzhou rescued Cao Song, destroyed the excuse to attack Xuzhou, and robbed a large amount of property. Then he became famous in the battle of Qingzhou, defeated Tian Kai and Kong Rong, helped Yuan Tan occupy Qingzhou, and expanded Yuan's territory to Xuzhou.
!
Moreover, during the negotiation, the Cao family suffered a lot of humiliation, but the Guo family was insignificant. The key point is that Yuan Xi actually took away Mrs. Huan and her daughter and kept them in his own house. Doesn't this mean that he has put a hat on his lord?
Thinking of this, no one dared to look at Cao Cao. Although Mrs. Huan was a widower, she had been taken as a concubine by Cao Cao. Now that fierce tiger is doing this, it is like a naked slap in Cao Cao's face!
Only Cao Cao accepted other people's wives and daughters, but how could anyone have seen their wives and daughters taken in by others? When everyone thought of this, they suppressed their expressions, fearing that Cao Cao would be furious.
Cao Cao sighed: "I really didn't expect this son's ability at first."
"If Ang'er can be like him, what else do I have to worry about?"
"If he can really be of use to me, why not give him a few concubines?"
Everyone's heart is worthy of being an Ming Gong, and he is indeed generous.
Xi Zhicai's face was solemn: "This man is hiding his secrets. We must be on guard. There is news that he is approaching Xiapi Tan City. In all likelihood, he wants to negotiate with Liu Bei."
"There is not much time left for us to use troops against Xuzhou."
Cheng Yu said flatly: "Zhicai is right. If the Yuan family and Liu Bei make peace, we will have no excuse to use troops against Xuzhou!"
"I suggest negotiating peace with Lu Bu immediately, then quickly attacking Liu Bei and occupying Xuzhou!"
Xun Yu hesitated and said: "Is there no other way?"
Xi Zhicai said in a deep voice: "The current situation is very bad."
"Yuan's purpose is to keep us occupied so that we can attack Gongsun Zan with all our strength next year."
"If Gongsun Zan fails, the Yuan family will definitely expand southward. Whether it is from Xuzhou in the east or Sili in the west, we will not have a foothold in the future. We can only be trapped in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, with no possibility of turning around."
"If Xuzhou Yuan and Liu reconcile, we can only seize the last opportunity."
Cao Cao heard this and said: "What opportunity?"
Xi Zhicai said flatly: "No matter what happens to the Yuan family in the coming year, as long as his army attacks Gongsun Zan and the two sides are in a stalemate in Yijing, we have only one choice."
"Gather all your troops, cross the Yellow River, and attack Yecheng!"