Yuan Xi knew that none of the three people sent by Yuan Shao this time, the eldest brother Yuan Tan, the mastermind Xun Chen, and Gao Lan, one of the Four Court Pillars, were easy to deal with.
It's hard to fool even one of them, and the three of them have different positions!
This is like an extremely delicate chain, with three links interlocking one after another, making it difficult for people to start. They don't know where to break through in order to protect their territory in Beixin City.
My father really gave himself a difficult problem.
Therefore, from the moment he entered the mansion, Yuan Xi used various tricks to test the three of them to see which one among them was the weakest link.
Now seeing Gao Lan's abnormal behavior, Yuan Xi picked up a chopstick, put it in front of his eyes, and sighed: "What the elder brother just said is good, but I suddenly remembered that Qu Yi, who betrayed his father, was hacked to death in this room.
inner."
"At that time, I was hiding behind the wall and saw dozens of knives slashing at him. After a while, he was chopped to pieces."
"Just like this elbow in front of me."
As soon as these words came out, Yuan Tansheng spit out the elbow in his mouth with a puff.
Xun Chen chewed the elbow in his mouth a few times with difficulty, swallowed it, and said with a smile: "Young Master Yuan, this metaphor is strange, but this pork is so delicious, it cannot be compared with human flesh."
"But we have never eaten human flesh, and we don't know what it tastes like."
Yuan Xi stared at Xun Chen, but glanced at Gao Lan from the corner of his eye, and said with a smile: "Sir, it is true, but I am afraid that soon, someone will want to eat people."
What Yuan Xi was actually talking about was how Cheng Yu, a member of Cao Cao's army, fucked human flesh later. Xun Chen didn't know why, so he just laughed.
Yuan Xi discovered that some sweat seemed to be seeping out of Gao Lan's forehead, and his hands under the table tightened unconsciously.
Gao Lan has something going on in his heart!
Otherwise, he would not have reacted so greatly to the murder of Qu Yi. He thought he was hiding something, and he was afraid that he would end up like Qu Yi, so he panicked.
The weakest link!
Yuan Xi suddenly said to Gao Lan: "General Gao, you are loyal to my father. Unlike that wolf-hearted Qu Yi, I don't have much good things here. You must take away some of these maids."
After hearing this, Xun Chen applauded repeatedly and said to Gao Lan: "Second Master Yuan sincerely presents you with a beautiful concubine. This is a beautiful story. General Gao is very lucky."
Gao Lan quickly smiled and thanked him, but the smile on his face was quite stiff.
Yuan Tan couldn't bear it any longer. He was halfway through the banquet, and Yuan Xi was leading him further and further away. The method he tried to force Yuan Xi to submit when he entered the house was of no use!
He was forced to have no choice but to go straight in and said: "Second brother, I am here this time to find out for my father what happened in Beixin City."
"If it is true as my second brother said, what happens next will be very complicated."
"Especially on Gongsun Zan's side. After the Battle of Jieqiao, our army and Gongsun Zan's army ceased fighting under the mediation of the imperial court."
"None of the wars and conflicts that occurred during this period were conducted in the name of Yuan Jun and Gongsun Zan's army."
Yuan Xi was silent, Yuan Tan's words hit the point.
In the past three years of fighting around Zhuojun Beixin City, there are many hidden secrets, and the banners played by both sides are not fair and aboveboard.
That's why people took advantage of this matter, including the lack of food and grass transported to Beixin City, and someone secretly made a stumbling block.
Yuan Tan said: "Second brother, please tell me the truth. If Mr. Xun and General Gao both feel that something is wrong, I will have to take you back to Yecheng."
"First of all, since the Xiongnu bandits are led by Liu Bao, the son of Yu Fuluo of Nandan, they must be elites. The combat power of a few hundred people is definitely not low."
"How did the second brother use hundreds of recruits who had been trained for two years to achieve a great victory?"
As soon as these words came out, Xun Chen also echoed: "I am also very curious."
"I heard that hundreds of Huns were killed in the first battle, but only a dozen people died on the young master's side?"
"If this is really the case, the Second Young Master is truly a talented general. It would be a pity to stay here in Beixin City. He should return to the Lord to assist him."
Yuan Xi smiled slightly, Yuan Tan and Xun Chen sang together, and their words were flawless.
If you do not do well, you will be taken back. If you do well, you will be taken back. Isn’t your Beixin City just like this?
After hearing Xun Chen's words, Yuan Xi's expression did not change: "Sir, you are so complimentary. I'm just lucky."
"On that day, Gongsun Zan's army besieged the city, and the Southern Huns were plundering the city in the south, so I made a bet with General Zilong and counted a hundred soldiers and horses."
"There are a total of two hundred troops and horses on both sides. Compared to the Xiongnu, they are still at a disadvantage. I just wanted to delay time and wanted General Zilong to retreat when he saw the difficulties."
"I didn't expect that he actually agreed, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the troops out of the city."
"In the battle that day, the Huns were strong, but General Zilong insisted on fighting and took the lead. I just helped with some trivial things."
"General Zilong was brave and resourceful, and managed the army well. Later, he was forced to rebel by Gongsun Zan and defected to me. It is really a blessing for my Yuan family."
Whether his words are true or false, the bet with Zhao Yun cannot be hidden. Thousands of ears at the top of the city are listening, so the truth must be told.
But there are some details that he must conceal.
Xun Chen laughed and said without comment on Zhao Yun's matter, "I heard that in that battle, all the young master's soldiers were wearing armor, and there were even dozens of heavy cavalry?"
Yuan Xi admitted straightforwardly: "Yes, they are private soldiers I raised with my salary."
Gao Lan spoke, "A soldier costs a lot, let alone a cavalryman. The young master can raise so many soldiers and has the time to raise so many maids. It seems that this Beixin City is quite wealthy."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "It's not worth mentioning. I got the armor by asking someone to rob the tomb, and the food and salary are the property of the noble family that accidentally fell from the city wall. It would be a waste to leave it alone anyway, so I used it."
Everyone’s faces were stiff, but you had the nerve to say it!
Yuan Tan pondered, but there was only one thing he wanted to confirm.
Yuan Xi did not collude with Gongsun Zan.
Although it is unlikely, it is not impossible.
Because this seemingly impossible thing happened to the Yuan family a few years ago.
The murder of Yuan Wei.
The current general trend in the world is that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are competing for the position of the head of the Yuan family, and in this way they are competing for the world.
But a few years ago, the position of head of the Yuan family did not belong to the two of them, but to Situ Yuan Wei.
If Yuan Wei dies, the position of head of the family will most likely go to his nephew Yuan Ji. If something happens to Yuan Ji, it will be Yuan Wei's son Yuan Yin's turn.
However, Yuan Wei's family and Yuan Ji were all killed by Dong Zhuo, and the position of the head of the Yuan family became vacant.
Some people say that Yuan Wei was killed because Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu escaped from Luoyang and joined the jujube coalition to fight against Dong Zhuo. This angered Dong Zhuo and killed Yuan Wei and his family.
But anyone who understands the rules of the gentry circle understands that this matter is not that simple.
Because Yuan Wei is Dong Zhuo’s mentor!
Although Dong Zhuo was born in Yingchuan, his ancestors were from Liangzhou. He was at the bottom of the contempt chain of the gentry. Therefore, Dong Zhuo wasted many years and could never find an opportunity to become an official.
Later, he was recommended by Duan Jiong, the governor of Bingzhou, and was appointed as a vassal by Situ Yuan Kai, and then he officially entered the officialdom of the gentry.
It can be said that Yuan Wei was kind to Dong Zhuo.
For nobles, whoever recommends and supports them is their mentor, and their mentor is like their father, and this is true for life.
If you are disrespectful to your teacher, it is a great act of unfilial piety.
Combined with Dong Zhuo's later behavior style of making great efforts to make friends and please the nobles, it is impossible for him to kill Yuan Wei.
But it just happened.
But in any case, it was widely spread that the Yuan brothers killed the uncle of the family with a borrowed knife, and Yuan Shao caught the big pot.
The Yuan family had learned from previous experiences and naturally had doubts about Yuan Xi's inexplicable victory over the powerful Liu Bao and Gongsun Zan.