Cao Cao looked at Yuan Xi, with murderous intent rising in his heart, but after thinking about it again and again, he gave up the idea for the time being. After all, the other party had Yuan's back, and taking action rashly would probably alert Yuan Shao in advance, which was really not worth the gain.
This fierce tiger was probably sure that the Cao family would not fall out with Yuan Shao, so he was so confident, right?
Cao Cao felt a headache coming from time to time. He suppressed the irritability in his heart. What he wanted to do now was to eliminate the opposition around the emperor step by step, such as Dong Cheng, Lu Bu, Kong Rong and the remnants of Bai Bo.
After killing all these people and completely controlling the emperor, we can finally deal with Yuan Xi, and the key to everything lies with Yuan Shao.
After he and Yuan Shao decide the outcome, Yuan Xi will have nothing to worry about!
Before that, I will keep a low profile, endure and grow stronger, first defeat Yuan Shu and annex Yuzhou, and then defeat Liu Biao and annex Jingzhou. Sooner or later, my strength will completely overwhelm Yuan Shao!
Thinking of this, Cao Cao closed his eyes slightly, covering his murderous gaze, and ignored the quarrel in the court.
It's just a war of words. The real victory or defeat lies on the battlefield. Just let these people dance around for a few more days. They will die by their own hands sooner or later anyway!
Yuan Xi had been secretly observing Cao Cao's expression and found that he was indeed a little anxious at first, but after a while he regained his composure. His mind was indeed unusual.
He could only take advantage of Yuan Shao's prosperity in recent years to make a fool of himself. Sooner or later, there would be a war between Yuan and Cao. Although he would try his best to intervene, Yuan Xi had no idea what the final outcome would be.
After all, this kind of top-notch dispute in the world is full of endless variables. Dozens and hundreds of heroes of this era are competing in it. Yuan Xizhen doesn’t think that killing Xu You or guarding Wuchao can definitely change the final outcome.
.
Maybe the best way is to do it directly now?
In fact, Cao Cao didn't know that Yuan Xi had also had murderous intentions, and until this moment, he was unwilling to do so.
Ever since Cao Cao entered the city, Yuan Xi had thought about overturning the table, but since Cao Cao stayed in the military camp overnight and was protected by the Cao family's personal guards in the court hall, there was no chance for him to do anything. Yuan Xi had to give up the idea for the time being.
As a result, the two people's mutual murderous intent once again disappeared under the water and lay dormant.
In the court, the ministers argued endlessly about Yuan Xi's advice. The reason for this was because Sun Jian's reputation among the gentry was not very good. Although he made great achievements several times during his lifetime, he also killed many gentry officials, so he offended him.
Many people were involved, and Sun Ce was also implicated.
In addition, Sun Ce took refuge with Yuan Shu in the past few years and conquered a large area of land in Yuzhou and Yangzhou, many of which were guarded by the Liu clan. Liu Yao, who was now attacked by him, had a very good reputation among the clan.
He wanted to alienate Yuan Shu and Sun Ce, and he also had to mediate Sun Ce to stop attacking Liu Yao. Sun Ce was not stupid. Without favorable conditions, how could he easily fall out with Yuan Shu?
Yuan Xi saw that the ministers were still arguing about what conditions to offer, so he went out and said: "If Sun Ce's Jiangdong Tiger General returns to Yuan Shu, he will be a real threat to the Han court. I heard that there are several women in the clan who are waiting to be married, so we can give them
If the good one is betrothed to Sun Ce, he will be able to reconcile with the Han court."
As soon as he said this, Liu Xie looked strange and glanced at Zhao Yun unconsciously, as did several of his attendants.
Yuan Xi is a little confused, what's going on?
Liu Xie listened to the ministers arguing for a while, and finally said: "According to the words of Anguo Tinghou, if Sun Ce can accept the imperial edict of the Han Dynasty, I will order the daughter of the clan to marry him."
When everyone saw that Liu Xie had made up his mind, they began to express their opinions. Finally, they argued for a long time before Liu Xie decided on the matter one by one.
Yuan Shao went to Yecheng with the imperial edict, persuaded Yuan Shao and the Black Mountain Army to stop, and sent them back to Qiaorui, where he ordered Sun Ce to go with the imperial edict to the envoy.
Kong Rong sent Chen Liu as an envoy with an imperial edict, asking the Zhang Miao brothers to leave the city and surrender, and defected to the Han court.
Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, went to Heishan with an imperial edict and ordered Yuan Shang's Heishan army to temporarily stop fighting.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Wang Kuang's job was not pleasing to both sides. He was probably bullying him because there was no one behind him, but it would be fine if he was not Cao Cao's person.
Everything has been decided, and it's time to set off.
It has been less than half a year since the troops left Beixin City. The plan to eliminate the Black Mountain Army was shelved because Cao Cao took action in advance. However, the final result, with his own efforts to plan and save it, seemed to be a pretty good result.
The only regret was that Qu Yi died. Once the incident in Yecheng was over, he would return to Beixin City to arrange a funeral for him.
He looked at Lu Bu, who had been silent the whole time, and thought that his father-in-law was really worrying. Now that he has become a general, he doesn't know how many more advisers and confidants he can add to the court. If it involves a complicated situation, it won't be easy.
Caught blind?
It seems that before I leave, I have to talk to Lu Bu, otherwise how can I defeat Cao Cao?
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi felt tired for a while. With an enemy like Cao Cao, he had to be alert at all times, which really made it hard for him to sleep well.
Kong Rong returned home and started to pack his luggage. Mrs. Kong Rong saw her and asked curiously: "My husband is going out again?"
Kong Rong said: "This time I am sending an envoy to Chen Liu on behalf of the emperor. I am afraid it will take several months."
"Huaicheng may not be safe, so don't show your face unless absolutely necessary."
After hearing this, Mrs. Kong Rong said: "If something really happens, how can we women run away?"
"I can only leave it to fate."
Kong Rong knew that his wife was telling the truth. If there really was a fight in Huaicheng, it would be difficult for the ministers and ministers to keep safe, let alone their female relatives. Just like the last time he escaped from Beihai, his wife and daughter could not be taken care of.
Thinking of this, Kong Rong also sighed, "The world is in chaos and human lives are like grass. The emperor can't protect the people around him, let alone us?"
"How difficult it is to survive in troubled times."
After hearing this, Mrs. Kong Rong said: "My husband understands this truth, but why do you repeatedly offend Cao Mengde?"
"A gentleman is generous, but a villain is in trouble. What if he takes revenge on his husband?"
When Kong Rong heard this, he became very angry and said angrily: "Young man Cao Cao, I have no sworn relationship with him!"
Mrs. Kong Rong shook her head and sighed: "It's up to you. Anyway, I have a child in my belly. If something happens by then, it will probably kill two people."
"What!" Kong Rong was surprised and happy, "Madam is happy?"
"How many months has it been? Can you be sure?"
Mrs. Kong Rong showed a hint of embarrassment on her face, "It's probably less than two months. I've been feeling sleepy recently, so I wanted to find someone to look at it. Originally, most doctors couldn't tell the number of months, but there is a famous doctor in Huaicheng."
, just diagnosed.”
Kong Rong still didn't believe it, "What famous doctor is there in Huaicheng? Is he not a liar?"
Mrs. Kong Rong smiled and said: "It's Mr. Hua Tuo, the famous doctor who treated our daughter last time, Mr. Yuanhua."
"It's a coincidence that he defected to Mr. Xian Yi and happened to follow him to Huaicheng. I asked him to see a doctor to confirm that he had a happy pulse."
Kong Rong was very happy after hearing this, and then his wife Kong Rong said mysteriously: "I heard a lot about Mr. Xian Yi from Yuanhua."
"I heard that he made great achievements in welcoming the emperor and was awarded the title of general of all directions. It can be said that he is famous all over the world."
"I heard that even Marquis Wen wants to marry his daughter to him as a concubine."
After hearing this, Kong Rong felt inexplicably irritated and said, "I admit that I underestimated that boy!"
"That boy is really powerful in terms of military formation and political strategy!"
"But don't think about making your daughter his concubine. Who is Lu Bu's background, and what is Kong's background?"
"The Kong family wants to save face!"
"Besides, our daughter is terminally ill and has only a few years to live. Who is willing to marry her?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Kong Rong sighed quietly, "Of course I know."
"But our daughter's life is too hard."
Kong Rong became even more irritable, "We are traveling all the way, and if there are too many people dying on the roadside, will our lives be miserable?"
"Who knows how many years we can live in this world?"
"Maybe I will die in front of my daughter!"
"You can take care of your pregnancy with peace of mind, life or death is up to you!"
Mrs. Kong Rong stared at Kong Rong's leaving figure and murmured: "It's so unlucky to say such a thing. Curse yourself like this."
Yuan Xi took Zhao Yun to visit the imprisoned Qiao Rui in the mansion, and smiled at him: "Mr. Qiao, congratulations."
He told what happened in the court and said: "Tomorrow Duke Qiao can meet the emperor to receive the secret edict. After that, I will arrange for someone to take Duke Qiao to Guangling and cross the river to see Sun Bofu."
Qiao Rui was surprised and happy after hearing this. He didn't expect that he could still save his life!
Although Yuan Xi had made a promise to him before, Qiao Rui didn't give much hope in return. After all, Yuan Xi and Sun Ce were at odds with each other, and as Yuan Shu's subordinate, he was not the one who had the final say on how to deal with it.
But now Yuan Xi has really gotten things done!
He quickly bowed to Yuan Xi and said, "Thank you General for your great kindness. After Rui returns, she will definitely try her best to mediate and reconcile the relationship between the two parties. No matter what the outcome is, I will never be an enemy of the General again!"
Yuan Xi also felt relieved and said with a smile: "With Mr. Qiao's words, I feel relieved. I will have a good rest today. Tomorrow I will ask General Zilong to bring Mr. Qiao to meet the emperor."
Qiao Rui hurriedly thanked me again. When he saw Yuan Xi was about to turn around and leave, he couldn't help but said: "The general gave Rui a way out twice. Rui doesn't understand. My ability is low. Why does the general appreciate me so much?"
Yuan Xi thought for a moment and smiled: "Maybe it's because Mr. Qiao has two good daughters?"
Watching Yuan Xi leave, Qiao Rui thought to herself that Yuan Xi had never seen her daughter. Isn't this just for entertainment?
Thinking of some rumors, Qiao Rui wondered, could it be that the other party really knows the art of stargazing?
Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun were riding on the road. Seeing Zhao Yun hesitate to speak, he asked curiously: "Brother Zilong, what do you have to say?"
Zhao Yun sighed: "Young master, I don't want to know what the emperor said to Yun last night?"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "So that's what happened."
"If Zilong doesn't tell me, why should I ask?"
After hearing this, Zhao Yun couldn't help but shake his head and said: "Young Master is really big-hearted."
"But it doesn't make sense to say it. Master, you won't blame me, right?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "If Zilong doesn't say anything, it must be an irrelevant matter."
Zhao Yun said helplessly: "Young Master is really big-hearted."
The two of them went all the way back to the house, but saw the guard at the door coming out and saying, "Marquis Wen is here. He has been waiting for the young master."
Yuan Xi thought to himself that this was strange, maybe the sun was coming out from the west. With Lu Bu's temperament, how could he still wait for him?
Yuan Xi entered the room alone and saw Lu Bu already sitting inside. He immediately bowed and said, "I have seen Marquis Wen. I wonder why you came here late at night?"
Lu Bu said bluntly: "When will you leave?"
Yuan Xi answered honestly: "We will gather our troops and leave in the next two days."
Seeing Lu Bu swallowing his words several times, he seemed to be extremely conflicted in his heart, so he said: "If Marquis Wen has a destiny, I will do my best to fulfill it."
Lu Bu said slowly: "I have mistakenly trusted many people, so now I dare not completely trust anyone."
"I don't know if I should believe you."
Yuan Xi remained silent, as whatever he said at this time was redundant.