After a few more days, Yuan Shao arranged everything properly and finally broke camp and returned to Yecheng.
More than half of the troops had already left first, and Yi Jing left several thousand more troops to garrison, led by Chunyu Qiong, to prevent the remnants of Gongsun Zan from Youzhou from harassing Jizhou.
Although Yijing is located at the junction of Hebei Province and Hebei Province, it is strictly within the scope of Zhuo County and is logically under the jurisdiction of Yuan Xi.
Now the most trusted general of Yuan Shao's faction was once stationed by Chunyu Qiong, one of the eight captains of Xiyuan. The name was to help defend against Gongsun Zan's remnants, but it was quite intriguing. It may not have some intention of guarding against Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi truly felt that Yuan Shao was trying to express his position in front of everyone and distance himself from him.
But Yuan Xi didn't care. If he wanted to stand on his own, he couldn't eat both sides and had to make some choices.
As for Liu He and Gongsun Zan's family, Yuan Shao decided to let Liu He return to Yecheng, and Yuan Shao would report to the Han court and grant Liu He an official position.
However, everyone knows that the Han Dynasty is on the run now and has no time to deal with the seal. Yuan Shao's move is almost semi-forced to be Liu He's leader in order to gain nominal leadership over Liu He.
As for the few surviving family members of Gongsun Zan, after Yuan Shao thought about it, he asked Yuan Xi to take them directly back to Beixin City for resettlement.
If he was brought back to Yecheng, people in the world would criticize him for taking Gongsun Zan's family as hostages. Yuan Shao had a good reputation, so he would not cause trouble for a few insignificant people.
So Yuan Shao simply threw these hot potatoes to Yuan Xi. As for whether these people would be used by Gongsun Zan's remaining forces in the future, that was something Yuan Xi needed to consider.
One after another baggage carts were pushed out from the Yijing warehouse by Yuan Jun's soldiers and civilians, containing food, weapons, and gold and silver goods.
Yuan Xi stood at the gate of the city, swallowing saliva, three million stones of food, and tens of thousands of weapons and armor!
If this is all his, are you afraid that you won't be able to conquer Youzhou in a few years?
However, Yuan Xi could only think about it. After all, it was defeated by an army of 100,000 people, and he only had a few thousand subordinates. Based on the number of people, he could only get very few.
In terms of military merit, he can indeed get a lot of credit, but he used his military merit to vouch for Liu He and others in front of Yuan Shao.
Yuan Xi sighed inwardly, hoping that Liu He could be worthy of the price he paid in the future, otherwise it would be too heartbreaking.
But the good thing is that Zhao Yun's appreciation for him has increased visibly from his words. If he had ignored Liu He's life and death at that time, he might have had a rift with Zhao Yun.
In the end, Yuan Shao did not spend any money and allocated 200,000 shi of grain and thousands of weapons and armor to Yuan Xi.
After all, after the battle in Yijing, Yuan Xi will start from Zhuo County next year and wipe out all the counties in Youzhou.
This number is also very subtle. It can ensure that Yuan Xi can pull up an army of less than 10,000 people and have the strength to expand in Youzhou without posing a threat to Jizhou.
After Yuan Xi sent Yuan Shao's army away, he planned to return to Beixin City to settle everything, and then return to Ye City to prepare for the adoption.
He rode in the center of the team, with Zhao Yun on the left, Tai Shi Ci on the right, and Sun Li and Tian Yu behind.
He is full of ambition. Now he has eliminated Gongsun Zan, his great enemy, three years in advance. After that, he will have his own window of opportunity. How much territory he can conquer before Yuan Cao completely turns his back depends on his future plans!
A team of thousands of people and thousands of baggage trucks marched for half a month before returning to Beixin City.
There were family members of the sergeants outside the city who had already come out, waiting to find their relatives. Naturally, some were happy and some were sad.
Qu Yi led people to greet him and entered the city with everyone, but there was obviously a look of disappointment on his face. As an opponent who had fought several big battles with Gongsun Zan, Qu Yi was naturally very regretful that he could not see Gongsun Zan's destruction with his own eyes.
.
But after returning to the mansion, everyone sat down and reviewed what happened in Yijing, and Qu Yi burst out laughing.
He cupped his hands in front of Yuan Xi and said, "I just surrendered to you today!"
"I killed Gongsun Zan and even snatched his mother-in-law away from me!"
Yuan Xi, who was drinking tea, spit it out and coughed repeatedly. Wu Zhao and Cao Xian behind him quickly came up to give him a slap on the back.
Yuan Xi said angrily: "A brother can talk like that?"
"I'm not so cowardly, am I?"
Wu Zhao and Cao Xian couldn't help but look at each other and smile.
Guo Jia said: "Saving Liu He and Gongsun Zan's family will be very beneficial to the young master's expansion in Youzhou."
"Gongsun Zan's family and Liu Yu's son Liu He were originally at odds with each other, but they were saved by the prince at the same time, so they can make an issue out of it."
"If handled properly, counties can be captured without bloodshed."
"Otherwise, if we attack each city one by one, we don't know how much manpower and material resources it will cost."
After hearing this, everyone nodded one after another, and began to mobilize their troops to attack the city. If they really had to attack the city one by one, there would not be enough people to fill the gap.
Taishi Ci spoke up: "Now that everyone in the world knows that the Yuan family defeated Gongsun Zan, will his subordinates really come to join the young master?"
"Even if they have the intention, they won't be able to save face due to the hatred of the Yuan family and the Gongsun family, right?"
Guo Jia nodded and said: "Normally, this is indeed the case."
"But the young master's previous decision laid the groundwork. Although it seemed that he didn't intend it at the time, now it seems that he can make good use of it."
"That's adoption."
"After the young master passed away, he established a clear relationship with Yuan Shijun, so his status will naturally be different."
"In this case, Gongsun Zan's remnants will naturally have less worries."
After hearing this, Qu Yi smiled and said: "I have long seen that the young master is rebellious, and now I finally break with him!"
"happy!"
Everyone was speechless, thinking that you really still hate Yuan Shao.
Yuan Xi sighed: "This is also a helpless move. If my identity remains in the Yuan family, no matter how well I do, I will be suppressed."
Guo Jia said, "Indeed, without the suppression of the same clan after adoption, the sea and sky will be as broad as Yuan Shijun's back then."
"But the road ahead will have to be walked by the young master alone."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "How can I be alone? I have brothers to help me."
"After the adoption, I will be an orphan without a father and a mother. I hope that for my pity, you can give me a hand, little brother Dora."
Everyone couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed one after another, saying: "Is this what the Lord should say?"
However, in everyone's minds, it was as if a layer of window paper had been opened. From now on, Yuan Xi would be their real lord, not the concubine of the Yuan family who made wedding clothes for others!
Yuan Xi said: "The Yuan family's ancestral hall is in Yecheng. I plan to leave back in a few days."
"This time I plan to bring Zilong Ziyi and Fengxiao to the capital. Brother Qu and Guorang will be aggrieved and sit in Beixin City while recruiting troops for the coming year."
Tian Yu on the side accepted the order as instructed, but Qu Yi was dissatisfied and said: "Why is it me again?"
Yuan Xi sighed: "My father specifically said that I will not let my brother step into Jizhou again."
After hearing this, Qu Yi muttered: "What a bitch."
Everyone's faces froze, and then Qu Yi realized that Yuan Shao was still Yuan Xi's father at this moment, so he immediately shut up.
Yuan Xi shook his head helplessly, "There is another big problem."
"Now our power is not weak. If we recruit all our troops, we can recruit nearly 10,000 troops."
"However, Beixin Town is too small."
"This city can only accommodate tens of thousands of people even if it is full. Now there is already a situation where there are not enough houses."
"I would like to ask, what do you think of this?"
After hearing this, everyone started discussing, and finally divided their opinions into two groups. One was to move Zhuojun's seat to another big city, and the other was to expand Beixin City.
Guo Jia finally said: "It is not appropriate to change cities now."
"Beixin City guards the passage to Taihang Mountain and Daijun. If the troops are moved away, I am afraid that people will be panicked and unrest."
"You must know that the master's foundation is Zhuojun, and now he must hold on to it."
After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
Yuan Xi added: "In this case, we can only expand the city."
"I have to leave temporarily. Who among you knows better about building the city?"
Everyone looked at each other, and Zhao Yun spoke up: "When Guorang and I were under the command of Liu Shijun, Guorang built the city."
When Tian Yu saw everyone looking at him, he immediately said, "Yu thought that the current Beixin City could be used as the inner city, and the newly expanded city could be used as the outer city."
"Although building a city is very troublesome, it is not without its benefits."
"After the city was expanded, important and dangerous areas were included in the city, making it more difficult for the enemy to pass."
"And you don't have to do it all in one step in the early stage. First, drive tree trunks into the ground to form a long wall for the camp. Later, you can use it as a foundation to build earth and build a city wall to form a protection."
"Just build several long walls in sequence at the back, and then build the city tower fortifications."
"The terrain around Guanbei New Town is complex, and we can completely rely on the natural terrain to do something about it."
Yuan Xi saw that Tian Yu's words were clear and logical, and immediately said: "In this case, it's up to brother Lai Guorang."
"I also ask my brother to take charge of Beixin City for the time being."
Tian Yu heard this and quickly thanked him.
Qu Yi took out the official seal, put it in Tian Yu's hand, and sighed: "I have been dismissed from office again!"
"It's only been a few months since I snatched this seal from Zilong, and it's still not warm enough."
Everyone laughed.
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry, there will be plenty of positions in the future, I'm just afraid you'll be tired."
"My ambition is to make everyone in the world have enough to eat and live a good life."
"Of course, we must first start in Zhuojun and even Beixin City."
"This crucial first step depends on everyone working together!"
Everyone agreed with a roar.
After everyone dispersed, Yuan Xi took Wu Zhao and Cao Xian back to the back house and asked the two women to take a bath.
He sat in the huge wooden barrel and sighed: "It's been three months since then. Not to mention taking a shower, I couldn't even find time to wash my hair. Instead, I rolled in the mud several times.
Everyone is going to stink."
Cao Xian said softly: "When will this dangerous day end?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Who knows, after all, there are many heroes in the world now, and none of them are easy to compare with. We can only do our best and obey fate."
"This time I go back to Beixin City, and you two will come back with me. After the adoption, I have to give you a status no matter what."
Cao Xian was happy, but Wu Zhao looked worried.
Yuan Xi turned to Wu Zhao, "After that, you can justifiably use your original name."
Wu Zhao worriedly asked: "Where is the Wei family in Hedong?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "I will send someone to tell you."
"Anyway, after I adopt the throne, I will no longer be a Yuan family son who cherishes his reputation, but will become a local king who rules over a land. Who dares to mess with me?"
The two women laughed in unison after hearing this, "Young master talks so lazily, he looks like a bandit."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi stood up from the bucket and said, "Why don't you come and serve me soon?"
He grabbed the arms of the two women and pulled them into the bucket. There were two plops, and the two women's screams came from the room.