When Yuan Xi saw the guest from Xuzhou in the guest room, he saw that his face was full of fatigue. It was obvious that he had not rested well during this period.
Chen Deng.
He took the teapot, filled Chen Deng's teacup, and said, "I really didn't expect that Mr. Yuanlong could come to Yecheng in person."
Chen Deng's face was full of bitterness, "Deng didn't hide it from the young master. Now Liu Shijun's situation is in a precarious situation. He has reached the stage of life and death."
"Right now, Deng is really desperate, so he has no choice but to shamelessly come to ask for help from the young master."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said: "Mr. Yuan Long is loyal to Duke Xuande. How can he be so shameless?"
"Besides, I was originally the guarantor of the Yuan Liu Alliance. It is reasonable for you, sir, to come to me."
Chen Deng sighed: "Although the young master is the guarantor, at this time, the ones we should look for are Mr. Yuan Zhoumu and Mr. Xianfu."
"But I have been here for several days, but I can't get in. It's obvious that the Yuan family is planning to give up on Xuzhou."
"I have nothing to do now. I can only try my luck with the young master."
Yuan Xi thought for a while and then said: "I would also like Mr. Yuanlong to inform me of the current situation in Xuzhou so that we can make plans."
After hearing this, Chen Deng quickly explained the current situation in Xuzhou.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi pondered for a long time. He did not expect that Xuzhou would no longer have the fierce dragon Lu Bu, but would have the fierce tiger Sun Ce.
Sun Ce was also a fierce general in the world, and now he was at his most powerful, not to mention Cao Cao's army. Yuan Xi estimated that with the same force, he could not defeat Cao Cao's army now.
These two families are fighting over Xuzhou. How can I have the strength to get involved?
Chen Deng saw that Yuan Xi was in trouble and sighed: "On the one hand, I am working as a lobbyist for my lord, and on the other hand, because Xiapi is the ancestral land of the Chen family, seeing Sun Ce and Cao Jun attack here, there will definitely be countless casualties. I really
I can’t bear it.”
Yuan Xi spoke up: "When Mr. Yuan Long left, it was Sun Ce who led Zhang Xun to defend the city in Xiapi, and it was Zhou Yu and Qiao Rui who were guarding the city in Guangling?"
Chen Deng nodded and said: "That should be the case at present. Although Sun Ce is fierce, the man named Zhou Yu is also full of wisdom and tricks. He can use tricks to block General Guan. He is really formidable."
Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was really troublesome, that was Zhou Yu.
One is Xiapi and the other is Guangling. Neither is easy to fight!
He asked: "Now is Duke Xuande in Haixi?"
Chen Deng nodded and said: "My lord has suffered several defeats and is recruiting troops in Haixi. Before I left, Zizhong (Mi Zhu) wanted to marry his sister to the lord."
Yuan Xi was shocked when he heard this, "Did Duke Xuande's wife pass away?"
Chen Deng looked hesitant, "When General Zhang Fei lost Xiapi, his wife and Duke Wenju's family were all trapped in the city."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi thought that this was really a miserable situation. He didn't know what would happen if they fell into Sun Ce's hands.
But if it falls into the hands of Cao Jun, I'm afraid it will end up like Huan's mother and daughter.
He thought about it, whether to rescue Xuzhou or not was no longer a purely moral issue.
Now, as a prince, he must calmly consider the gains and losses. It would be truly irresponsible to let his subordinates throw themselves into a place like Xuzhou without considering sacrifices.
But if this continues, Xuzhou may be divided between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, and Chen Deng is also likely to defect to Cao Cao. If such a versatile person comes to Cao Cao, it will be a big trouble.
He accidentally raised his head, saw Chen Deng's face, and suddenly came to his senses: "Mr. Yuan Long seems to look better than last time?"
After hearing this, Chen Deng stood up and thanked him: "I only talked about Xuzhou, and I haven't had time to thank you."
"I followed the young master's advice and found Mr. Hua Tuo. After taking a few medicines, I vomited out several pots of worms."
"Mr. Hua Tuo also said that there are still many bugs hidden in my internal organs, but they are difficult to eradicate."
He was still frightened, "Young Master really didn't lie to me. I really can't eat those fish skins anymore."
"After I said what I said about the young master, Mr. Hua Tuo was quite curious and said that he would like to meet the young master if he had a chance."
Yuan Xi's heart moved, "Mr. Hua Tuo is also in Haixi?"
Chen Deng nodded: "Exactly, the officials who escaped from Xiapi in Guangling are all temporarily living in Haixi, but now people are also in panic."
"Because whichever side Sun Ce and Cao Cao win will march to Haixi, it will be difficult for the lord to resist."
Yuan Xi pondered. Later, after Liu Bei married Mi Zhen, he raised his army again with the help of thousands of slaves sent by Mi Zhu and sustained it for a while, but in the end he still failed to retake Xuzhou from Lu Bu.
However, although Lu Bu stabbed Liu Bei in the back, he opened his eyes to the family members and returned Liu Bei's wives.
Yuan Xi remembered that she should be Liu Bei's official wife. So when Liu Bei married Mi Zhen, did he use a wife-marriage ceremony or a concubine-taking ceremony?
If it was a wife, wouldn't Mi Zhen be forced to change from wife to concubine after Liu Bei's wife returned?
Or something else happened?
He shook his head. He had no time to take care of Liu Bei's family affairs now, because in order to solve the siege of Xuzhou, he had to capture several key cities.
But siege requires a large number of soldiers and equipment, and he simply does not have such a strong force now!
He told Chen Deng his difficulties, and finally said: "Mr. Yuanlong also knows that I have just finished beating Gongsun Zan and my vitality has been severely damaged."
"The troops that can be mobilized now are hundreds of cavalry and three thousand infantry. Sir, do you think it can change the situation in Xuzhou?"
After hearing this, Cheng Deng lowered his head and thought for a long time, then looked bitter and shook his head slowly.
Yuan Xi said: "I will try my best to persuade Yuan Shijun and Mr. Xianfu. At present, only Jizhou can help Mr. Xuande."
Chen Deng said in a seductive voice: "Master, there is no need to hide anything from me. Master Xianfu probably won't send troops for some reasons."
"And even if the young master can persuade them, he will not be able to mobilize troops, horses and equipment to rush to Xuzhou in a short period of time."
Yuan Xi said: "I understand what Mr. Yuan Long means."
"Even if Jizhou sends out a large army now, it will have to pass through Qingzhou and go south through Mount Tai before it can reach Langya County."
"The mountainous area over there is rugged and crisscrossed, and there are hundreds of thousands of Taishan bandits. I'm afraid it will be difficult to get through, right?"
Chen Deng listened and remained silent.
When Yuan Xi saw this, he said: "If Liu Shijun loses Xuzhou, where will Mr. Yuanlong go?"
When Chen Deng heard that Yuan Xi was trying to recruit him, he sighed: "Young Master's good intention, I accept it heartily. I have been treated very kindly by you. Moreover, the idea of seizing Xuzhou was done by Deng Yiyi. If you betray your master at this time, you will be punished by everyone in the world."
A shame."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he thought that Chen Deng had a very good bottom line, so he asked, "What are your plans, sir?"
Chen Deng gritted his teeth and said: "The envoy once said that whoever can relieve the siege of Xuzhou will divide Xuzhou equally with him."
"I also brought this to Mr. Xianfu, but Mr. Xianfu was obviously not interested."
Yuan Xi thought the same thing, Yuan Shang would starve to death if he only had Jizhou, so why bother getting involved in Xuzhou, a place of disputes? Who knows how much food and soldiers would be invested in it to get back the money.
He took a breath and said: "I will discuss this matter with my advisor and give Mr. Yuan Long an answer tomorrow. How about that?"
After hearing this, Chen Deng suppressed his anxiety and nodded in agreement.
Yuan Xi asked Chen Deng to take him to the guest room to rest, and he made some plans in his mind.
Half of Xuzhou, that is, two counties, looks like a lot, but Xuzhou cannot rest at all. It has to face harassment from Yuan Shu and Cao Cao all the time, and a large number of soldiers are needed to deal with the war that comes at any time, so it is very
It may be a loss-making business.
Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds?
He went out, quickly summoned Guo Jia, Zhao Yun, and Tai Shici, explained the situation in Xuzhou, and finally said: "Is it worth it for us to rescue Xuzhou now?"
Guo Jia said: "It's not worth it."
"Even if we defeat it, I don't have the strength to defend Xuzhou now."
"Moreover, Tancheng, Guangling and other large cities are all fortified cities. Unless there is internal riot, there is no way to defeat them without several times the number of troops."
"So if you want to win, you must use cunning tactics, but if you are not careful, you will find yourself in trouble and the whole army will be annihilated."
"Not to mention anything else, how will the young master transport troops from Youzhou or even Jizhou?"
Taishi Ci saw Yuan Xi looking over and said, "I just thought of one thing. The ground in Xuzhou is plain, which is suitable for cavalry to attack."
"It's just that the enemy also knows this and must be guarding the main road."
After hearing this, Zhao Yun said: "I am not as good as Mr. Fengxiao when it comes to marching and fighting."
"I just want to know whether the young master made any promises when he negotiated peace with Liu Shijun on behalf of the Yuan family."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed: "What I insist on saying is actually true."
Guo Jia spoke up: "No one in this world can completely fulfill their promises, especially when it comes to striving for hegemony."
"And at that time, the young master represented Yuan Shijun. Now that he has been adopted, Yuan Shijun should be responsible for the affairs of Yuan and Liu."
This is indeed the way everyone thinks, but if you look at it from Liu Bei's point of view, it seems a bit hard to accept.
Yuan Xi said: "When we leave next month, where are we going to fight?"
Zhao Yundao said: "Originally we were going to capture the three cities of Yongnu, Quanzhou and Piaoyuyi in the south of Yuyang County (the three cities are located in what is now Tianjin). Now Quyi and Tianyu have recruited 3,000 men and horses from Rongcheng.
From Yijing to Qionghe City, it is only over 200 miles away from the nearest Piaoyu City."
"Piaoyuyi is a small city. It was originally occupied by the remnants of Gongsun Zan. There are only a few thousand people. It shouldn't be difficult to capture it."
According to the original plan, Yuan Xi would leave Yecheng within three days, take Guo Jia and others, go directly north to the south of Piaoyu Yi, and personally take charge of the battle.
The reason why we want to attack here is that firstly, it is at the junction of Jizhou and Youzhou, so there are no worries, but there are iron ore and salt mines between Quanzhou and Piaoyuyi, which are very important to Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi said: "How is the food and grass?"
Taishi Ci said: "The food and grass are all ready, and the Zhen family's fleet is transporting them at sea. The east side of Piaoyu is close to the sea. There will be no problem with food and grass within a month."
Zhen Mi's dowry was all the Zhen family had, and together with hundreds of carts of goods stolen by Yuan Xi, they built a fleet of dozens of large and small merchant ships.
This is Yuan Xi’s true family background.
Yuan Xi muttered and suddenly raised his head, "Is Piaoyu Yi close to the sea?"
Everyone was startled for a moment, then came to their senses.
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "It's too risky to take risks."
Yuan Xi's eyes were bright, "But I want to give it a try. After all, I have a promise to Liu Shijun."
"I still have to trouble you, sir, to plan this time."
Seeing that Yuan Xi had made up his mind, Guo Jia had no choice but to agree: "Jia will do his best."
Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun looked at each other and said in unison: "I would like to be the pioneer for you!"