When Yuan Xi saw Jushu talking about it, he wondered: "How could there be such chaos in Huai City?"
"Attack the city outside, rebel inside the city, and cooperate with the outside?"
When Jushu sent the letter before, he only said that the rebellion in Huaicheng was put down, but the specific situation could not be detailed in the letter. Now when Jushu said it, Yuan Xi immediately realized that something was wrong.
To say it is a coincidence, it is too coincidental to be possible!
Jushou sighed: "If Zilong hadn't blocked Cao's army, I'm afraid Huaicheng would have been lost."
He told how Hao Meng was ordered by Yuan Shu to rebel in the city. Cao Jun, Cao Ren and Xia Houyuan, took the opportunity to attack the city outside the city, but were blocked by Zhao Yun through the camp.
When Yuan Xi heard that the two generals of Cao's army were these two, he quickly asked, "Is there anything wrong with Zilong?"
"How are the soldiers damaged?"
Jushou heard this and replied: "I was attending a banquet in the city at that time. Thanks to Zilong's blocking of Cao's army, I suffered hundreds of casualties. This is considered the best situation for a night battle."
Yuan Xi thought about it, and according to Lu Lingqi's story, when she and Qu Yi escaped from the city that day, they were chased by rebel troops behind them and blocked by enemies fighting Zhao Yun in front, so they fled north in a panic.
He was shocked and said to Ju Shu: "Will Cao Cao and Yuan Shu join forces?"
Jushou thought for a while, shook his head and said, "It doesn't look like that."
"If the two sides join forces, the cooperation will never be so full of loopholes."
"If Hao Meng colluded with Cao Jun, he should have opened the city gate to welcome Cao Jun into the city instead of burning the city gate. He should have chosen the north gate where Zhao Yun and I were stationed for confrontation."
"It's as if Cao Cao knew in advance that Yuan Shu was taking action and took advantage of the situation to rob him."
Yuan Xi wondered: "Isn't the purpose of burning the city gate to prevent us and Gao Shun from entering the city to rescue the siege?"
Jushu said: "No, according to the confessions of several arsonists caught by Zilong later, they did not take orders from Hao Meng, but from Yang Chou."
"What!" Yuan Xi became confused, "Yang Chou is Zhang Yang's man, but he has done so many things before and after!"
"He was ordered by Zhang Yang?"
Jushou denied it again, "Zhang Yang is on good terms with Lu Bu and would not do such a thing. Yang Chou should have been ordered to cause trouble."
"The most direct evidence is that Zhang Yang, who was serving the emperor in Hedong, had already set off for Hanoi after hearing about Yang Chou's rebellion."
"If he was the mastermind behind it, he would definitely not come back so calmly."
Yuan Xi wondered: "How did Mr. Gong and Mr. know so much inside information?"
Jushou smiled and said, "This is the good opportunity I said."
"Many generals under Marquis Wen are suspected of this rebellion, which makes him afraid to trust his subordinates now."
"On the contrary, we blocked Cao Cao for him and helped him a lot in quelling the rebellion. Now the young master has saved his daughter and shot Yang Chou to death."
"More importantly," Jushu sighed, "Dezhou also died because of this. For Lu Bu, if we really acted to deceive him, the price we would pay would be too high."
"So now that he is coming here in person, it may not be that he is personally showing his goodwill to the young master and wooing the Youzhou Army as support."
"In the middle of the process, he told me a lot of inside information, and it seemed like he was asking me to help him make decisions."
After listening to Jushou's words, Yuan Xi suddenly realized, "Indeed, if you are desperate and betrayed by someone you trust, you will be more likely to trust outsiders."
But he immediately said doubtfully: "There are many mysteries about Yang Chou."
"He fled to Montenegro, and Yang Feng came to rescue him. Moreover, when I shot him to death, Yang Feng reacted extremely violently. I guess the relationship between the two is quite close."
"This Black Mountain Army is really good at launching rebellions in the city."
Jushou knew that Yuan Xi was talking about the sneak attack on Yecheng that year. His expression changed, he looked around and whispered, "Shou has something unknown."
Yuan Xi saw his serious expression and immediately said: "Sir, may I ask."
Jushou said seriously: "Master, who do you think is the mastermind of the Yecheng rebellion?"
Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said: "I have no evidence, but I want to say that the most suspicious person is Cao Cao. Sir, you will definitely think that I am talking nonsense, right?"
Jushou's face showed surprise, "Why do you think so, Master?"
Naturally, Yuan Xi could not tell Jushu. Most of the basis for his guesses came from later records of the fall of Yecheng, which included the betrayal of Shen Pei's nephew Shen Rong.
When he first read this piece of history, he was very confused. Shen Pei was the main guard guarding Ye City, and his nephew Shen Rong was the captain of the east gate of Ye City. This position was so critical that he would definitely not be a confidant or a close person.
Entrust this important responsibility.
But it happened that this nephew had a problem. He rebelled, opened the city gate, and led Cao's army into the city. The reason was that Qi Su was on good terms with Xinpi, and he was dissatisfied with Shenpei because he killed Xinpi's family?
Among aristocratic families, blood relations are extremely important. Yuan Xi really doesn't understand the idea of killing his own clan members for the sake of outsiders.
Yuan Xi suspected that Shen Rong was definitely not an impromptu move, because Yecheng had been guarded for more than half a year, and it was definitely not his suggestion that Kaicheng had betrayed that his subordinates would gather to respond.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. The real reason is probably impossible to verify.
Now that Yuan Xi wanted to explain why he doubted Cao Cao, he naturally couldn't use this kind of explanation, so he thought for a long time and decided to find another reason that would convince Ju Shou.
He started from Cao Cao's position in Taoism and said that many scholars in the world were loyal to him and served as his eyes and ears, and Yecheng was no exception. The same was true for the remnants of the Yellow Turbans such as the Black Mountain Army, the Baibo Bandits, and the Qingzhou Army who believed in Taiping Dao.
He also mentioned that Cao Cao had evil intentions against Ye City several times, including when he attacked Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, crossing the river to sneak attack on Ye City, etc. This shows that Cao Cao has long been unwilling to rely on Yuan Shao.
Finally, Yuan Xi said: "So I suspect that Cao Cao has already ambushed many secret chess players, including those around the emperor."
Jushou's eyes flashed, "Young master, who do you think is Cao Cao's person around the emperor?"
Yuan Xi thought for a while and said: "Dong Cheng, Zhong Yao, Ding Chong."
After hearing this, Jushou's face showed a look of relief, "Young master's abilities are somewhat beyond my expectation."
"Although I also think that Cao Cao is ambitious, there is actually no evidence. It is all just speculation."
"But I am still aware of the fact that Cao Cao has already ambushed the chess pieces beside the emperor."
"Cao Cao relied on the Cao family's connections and indeed secretly recruited a group of people, who were of great help to him."
"Dong Cheng, Zhong Yao and Ding Chong are the people who may collude with Cao Cao. I'm afraid they have already started planning to please the emperor."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said aloud: "My lord and sir are so sure, I'm afraid there are people around the emperor, right?"
Jushou sighed, "It does exist."
"What a pity."
Yuan Xi's heart moved, "But it was Ju Jun, the commander of the Shesheng Academy who was killed by Li Jue to protect the emperor?"
Jushou raised his head in surprise, and then his expression returned to normal, "Yes, the young master is great."
"Ju Jun is an outstanding member of our Ju family. His death is a loss to the Ju family."
Yuan Xi heard this and said: "This is why I asked your husband and Zilong to welcome the emperor."
"Sir, you now have the most elite soldiers and horses in Youzhou. If you can get to the emperor, you will definitely find an opportunity to kill Li Jue and take revenge."
After hearing this, Jushou's face showed excitement. He sat up straight and said: "In the eyes of other counselors, I am incompatible with them and my ideas are ridiculous."
"But it was Jujun who told me what was going on around the emperor, so I can be sure that Cao Cao will definitely be the Yuan family's enemy in the future."
"It's a pity that Duke Benchu doesn't believe me. When he wakes up, I'm afraid he won't be able to control Cao Cao."
"Young Master can be said to be the only one of the Yuan family's children who agrees with me in terms of his views on Cao Cao."
"Young Master feels that I can be trusted, so I will do my best to help you."
Yuan Xi knew that several of Jushu's successful strategies had not been adopted, so he felt quite unsatisfied and wanted to prove to others that he was right.
Yuan Shao didn't give him this opportunity, so Ju Shou could only place his bet on Yuan Xi, which was an advantage for Yuan Xi.
You must know that it is very difficult to win the loyalty of a person like Jushu who has a higher eye than his own. If he had not had no way to take revenge and was forced into this situation, he would not have put down his body and showed his loyalty to Yuan Xi!
On the other hand, Yuan Xi also proved his ability in conquering Guangling, attacking Heishan, and laying out Huaicheng. If he had acted badly, Jushu would not be so open and honest.
He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and bowed deeply to Jushou three times, "Thank you for your appreciation, sir, and I will live up to your honor."
When Jushu saw him, he also solemnly paid his respects.
The two of them straightened up, with expressions of relief on their faces.
Jushou was in a good mood and said: "Master, this opportunity is once in a lifetime."
"Whether we send troops to Hedong or invade Montenegro, without Lu Bu's help, it will be difficult to succeed alone."
"Although Youzhou nominally joined forces with Lu Bu in the previous series, Lu Bu was suspicious and his promise was not completely credible."
"It's different now. Lu Bu is in urgent need of our help. Although he is capricious, if we take the opportunity to form a close relationship with him, Lu Bu will not betray him easily."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi asked doubtfully: "Intimate relationship?"
Jushou said: "Sir, Marquis Wen's daughter is an excellent bond."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Did Mr. Gongyu discuss this with Mr. Fengxiao in advance?"
Jushou stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Fengxiao's vision is no less than my father's. Since we all agree with this move, why is the young master so resistant?"
Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said: "I already have a wife, how could Marquis Wen let his daughter be a concubine? You can't let me divorce my wife, right?"
"Mr. Fengxiao had this idea, but I really can't do it."
"Imagine if I can divorce my wife, will the world still dare to trust me?"
Jushou heard this and said with a smile: "So this is what Fengxiao thinks?"
"But I have another idea."
"As for whether Marquis Wen agrees or not, it depends on what he thinks."
"Of course, in order to impress Marquis Wen, the young master has to offer some extra benefits."
In the tent nearby, Lu Bu held Lu Lingqi's hand distressedly, "What's the matter with your injuries?"
"Whoever hurts you, I will cut him into pieces!"
Lu Lingqi thought to herself, not to mention the soldiers who were chasing her, there were several things done by Yuan Xi, how could you tear him to pieces?