Taishi Ci asked to take Lu Ji across the river as a pledge, but the Lu clan would not let him do so. When the two sides were in a stalemate, Lu Xun proposed that he should take Lu Ji's place.
As soon as these words came out, the Lu family members felt that it was inappropriate, but for them, they had no choice. After all, Lu Ji was the real head of the family, and Lu Xun would have to give up the position of head of the family sooner or later, and he and Taishi Ci
We already know each other, so we may not be treated harshly after crossing the river.
Lu Ji was still pondering and hesitating, but Tai Shi Ci had already turned to the guards on his left and right and said, "In that case, tie him up and send him to Jiangbei now!"
Amid the weak protests from the Lu family, Lu Ji watched helplessly as several personal guards came up, tied up Lu Xun, and escorted him into a carriage.
Taishi Ci waved his halberds and said, "Guangling is recruiting officials. Do you want to join us across the river and get an official position?"
Everyone secretly murmured, "You are like this. I'm afraid you have a good chance of not being imprisoned in Jiangbei, right?"
At this time, a young man came out and wanted to leave with Lu Ji. When everyone took a closer look, it was Lu Xun's younger brother Lu Hao. As soon as he took a few steps forward, Lu Xun's voice came from the carriage, "You stay."
After Lu Hao heard this, he did not dare to disobey and could only stay where he was.
Seeing that no one from the Lu family came out, Tai Shici ordered the soldiers to drive the carriage and headed towards the dock under the complicated eyes of the Lu family members.
The carriage rushed all the way to the dock. There was a large ship waiting there. The soldiers on the deck were holding long spears and short knives, wearing leather armor, and their postures were strong. This was the navy trained by Guangling, and it had initially formed a good combat power.
Taishi Ci ordered people to take Lu Xun on board, followed him onto the deck, and then called the soldiers to sail the ship.
In the distance on the river, Sun Ce's navy had defeated Liu Yao's navy and was retreating steadily. They were huddled at the dock and did not dare to come out.
Sun Ce's navy warships were showing off their power on the river. When they saw Taishi Ci's warship sailing out of Qu'a Pier, two Sun Ce navy warships came out to intercept it.
The two warships were light and swift, and soon they arrived at the shooting place behind Taishi Ci's warship. The sergeants above bent their bows and ready arrows, preparing to shoot at this place. The soldiers on Taishi Ci's side also bent their bows and ready arrows.
Always be ready to fight back.
When Taishi Ci saw this, he walked to the stern of the ship, took out the big bow from his back, looked at the mast of a warship in front of him, drew the bow and shot with a whoosh.
There was a snapping sound, and the ropes tied to the sails of the warship in front were cut off by an arrow. The huge sails fell down and covered the deck. The soldiers and sailors above suddenly started shouting and running around in chaos.
At this time, neither warship dared to approach. Taishici's warship took the opportunity to fill up its sails and headed for Guangling Pier.
Taishi Ci faced the admiring gazes of the soldiers and walked down the deck. Lu Xun's hands had been loosened in the cabin, and there was no trace of embarrassment on his face.
When Taishi Ci saw it, he said to Lu Xun, "Bo Yan is very brave."
"Aren't you afraid that the Lu family and the Young Master will be enemies in the future and will be implicated?"
After hearing this, Lu Xun said calmly: "If Fierce Tiger is this kind of person, he will not be so loyal to the general."
Taishi Ci was stunned, then laughed and said, "Actually, when I forced the Lu family this time, Boyan actually had a way to deal with it, right?"
"Why is Boyan willing to be a hostage?"
After hearing this, Lu Xun replied: "Because I want to see the fierce tiger in person."
"The general is forcing the Lu family so hard, isn't it just to get my service?"
"I don't know why Fierce Tiger values me so much that he lets the general use such methods, so I'm very curious."
After hearing this, Taishi Ci laughed and said: "Bo Yan is so young but he is already so powerful. It is hard to imagine what Boy Yan will be like in ten years!"
"Don't worry, Boyan, you won't be disappointed when you meet the young master!"
Lu Xun moved the wrists in his sleeves, thinking that the future was uncertain. Who knew what would happen in the future? All he could do was try his best to conform to the general trend of the world.
In Huaicheng, Yuan Xi received news that the Emperor's chariot had already set off from Anyi and would arrive in Huaicheng in a few days.
Cao Cao's army, Lu Bu's army, Youzhou army, Dong Cheng and others jointly protected the emperor's chariot along the way.
Yang Feng, who had previously fallen out with Cao Cao's army, did not dare to enter the city for various reasons. Liu Xie knew that Yang Feng was timid and did not force him, so he issued an edict to garrison Liang County.
Yuan Yaojun, who had been spying in the south of Huaicheng, heard that the emperor's carriage was escorted by all the troops, and thought that he could not fight, so he went back home, and the siege of Huaicheng was finally lifted.
According to other rumors, Han Xian escaped from the city after being defeated by Cao Jun that day, and went to Yuan Yao in desperation.
Yuan Yaojun mobilized his troops and traveled thousands of miles to attack Huaicheng. Not only did he fail to accomplish anything, but he also lost thousands of soldiers and bridges. When he left, he looked like a lost dog.
Yuan Xi stood on the top of the city, watching Yuan Yao's army break up camp and leave. Many materials and equipment were thrown away. He was envious in his heart, thinking that Taoists and people are really incomparable.
Yuan Shu claimed to have a crowd of 300,000, and there were many heroes in the Jianghuai area, even faintly surpassing Jizhou. It must be said that he had a profound background. If not, Yuan Shu would not have the confidence to claim the throne.
However, Yuan Xi thought that the higher he climbed, the harder he fell. Yuan Shu would regret this reckless decision for the rest of his life.
How could the emperor Liu Xie tolerate Yuan Shu's behavior? In order to rectify the reputation of the Han Dynasty, he will definitely pass the edict and make all the princes in the world fight against it. No matter how strong the Yuan family is, they can't stop the siege. This is the best opportunity in the next two years.
, how much flesh can be torn off Yuan Shu's body depends on each person's ability.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi had to admire the later Cao Cao. After Yuan Shu became emperor, he occupied the front line closest to Yuan Shu's territory. From Yuzhou to Xuzhou, all the border areas were Yuan Shu's territory.
In this way, he received the most benefits after Yuan Shu's failure. At the same time, he was married to Sun Ce and had a very close relationship with Jiangdong. If Sun Ce had not died early, it is hard to say what would have happened in the future.
Although the situation in this world is better, it is not much better.
When Yuan Shu becomes independent, all the passages leading to Yuzhou and Yangzhou will be shortcuts for the heroes to share the cake.
On the eastern front, Yuan Xi occupied Guangling in advance and could assist Liu Bei in Xiapi and threaten Shouchun in Jiujiang at any time.
Although this passage is very narrow, it still has the upper hand. In the future, the question will be how to divide Jiujiang with Liu Bei.
The northern front is Cao Cao's Yanzhou, which no one can cross, and it is destined to be Cao Cao's only possession.
The western front is very problematic.
In Yuan Xi's original idea, Huaicheng was occupied by Lu Bu. With the popularity of Emperor Liu Xie, Lu Bu was able to get out of Hanoi and expand south to the south of Sili, thus bordering the northern part of Yuzhou.
In this way, after Yuan Shu becomes independent, Lu Bu can invade Yuzhou and take advantage of the opportunity to expand.
If the Black Mountain Army in the north is eliminated, the Bingzhou Channel is opened, and connected to Youzhou, the situation on both sides will be revitalized, and Lu Bu can greatly improve his strength to the point where he can compete with Cao Cao.
But this expectation was shattered when Liu Xie appointed Cao Cao as Sili Xiaowei to guard the Gyeonggi area, because in this way, Cao Cao could station troops in the south of Huaicheng to stop Lu Bu's expansion.
In addition, Liu Xie also wanted to mediate the Montenegrin Army. If the two sides really stopped fighting, the northern channel to merge the states would also be blocked.
With the Black Mountain Army to the north of Huaicheng, Yuan Shao to the east, and Cao Cao to the south, they would be suffocated to death in Hanoi.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi sighed in his heart. He had done his best for Lu Bu, but the general trend of the world did not change according to personal will.
He was in a trance when someone slapped him hard on the shoulder, which made him grit his teeth in pain. Then he heard Lu Lingqi say from behind: "Why are you so dazed?"
Yuan Xi turned around and saw Lu Lingqi standing behind, wearing a short Hufu jacket that was quite common among border residents in the north.
Lu Lingqi didn't like women with limited mobility wearing dark clothes, but she liked the shepherd's robes of border people that allowed her to move freely. However, as the weather began to get hotter, this robe seemed quite thin and light, which perfectly accentuated Lu Lingqi's figure.
Yuan Xi glanced upwards and determined that there must be countless tanglings inside the robe, so that the most prominent figure advantage was not exposed. This slightly flat line was definitely not what he had personally verified.
Seeing Yuan Xi's rude look, Lu Lingqi said angrily: "You don't want your head anymore?"
Yuan Xi quickly covered it up: "I think I got distracted."
Of course Lu Lingqi didn't believe it. She grabbed Yuan Xi's collar and shouted: "You lied!"
"With your evasive eyes, what good things can you think of?"
"If you don't admit it, I'll throw you off the top of the city!"
Yuan Xi has a headache. Lu Lingqi's character is indeed outgoing, which is very pleasing, but the attack is really neither light nor heavy.
He sighed: "Even if I tell you what I am thinking, you may not understand."
"Nonsense!" Lu Lingqi looked suspicious, "Tell me what you're talking about!"
Yuan Xi had no choice but to explain what he was worried about in simple words, and finally said: "I will return to Youzhou soon, but I am worried that once I leave, Marquis Wen will not be able to defeat Cao Cao, and I am afraid he will be in danger."
Lu Lingqi looked like her brain was shut down. She tilted her head, shook it, and then tilted her head again, as if she wanted to pour out too much information from her mind.
She was confused for a while, then she managed to understand what Yuan Xi said, and asked in surprise: "Do you usually think about this?"
"I see that you are extremely lustful, and I thought you usually only think about women's thighs."
Yuan Xi thought to himself, of course I have thought about it, but I am a person with a lot of processes and can think about many things at the same time. Unlike you, I am obviously confused now.
He said: "So I want you to advise Marquis Wen."
"At the very least, we need to find a way to open the Black Mountain Passage. If Cao Cao launches an attack, we can have an escape route back to Bingzhou, and we can be successful in the future."
Lu Lingqi hesitated and said, "Can't you stay and help my father?"
Yuan Xi sighed: "I also have my own territory and people."
"The whole world is so big that there is more than just one Huai City."
He hesitated for a moment, "How about you come with me."
"If the last uprising happens again, you may not be able to escape the second time."
Lu Lingqi thought of Qu Yi who died in the battle and whispered: "But I can't abandon my father."
Yuan Xi sighed: "In this current situation, how can you help Marquis Wen if you stay?"
Lu Lingqi bit her lips. Yuan Xi's words were very hurtful, but she couldn't refute them.
Yuan Xi sighed, stopped talking, and looked into the distance outside the city. In the distance were mountains, lush forests, and flowing rivers and streams.
However, under the nearby city, there are dilapidated camps everywhere, with mutilated and rotting corpses of soldiers interspersed, and no one cares about them anymore. This ugly scene forms a strong contrast with the beautiful mountains and rivers in the distance.
Great rivers and mountains, I don’t know how many times they have to withstand the ravages of war before peace can be restored.
Lu Ling was full of sadness. She and Yuan Xi both had something on their minds. They stood side by side at the top of the city, silently looking into the distance.
The red remnants of the setting sun, like the last afterglow of the late Han Dynasty, fell on the two of them. Looking from a distance, it seemed as if they were about to be set on fire.