Cao Cao will start to attack Xuzhou at any time, and Cao Song's family may be killed at any time.
Although he had laid some plans before, he didn't have anyone completely trustworthy around him. Wu Zhao, whom he trusted the most, didn't feel comfortable letting her know many of the inside stories.
The resistance against him in Yecheng is definitely not small.
The image that Yuan Xi displayed in front of Yuan Tan was that of killing nobles indiscriminately, settling for pleasure, and winning several battles by luck. Although he had strengths and weaknesses, he also had shortcomings.
If Zhao Yun performs well in Beixin City, Yuan Tan should discover Zhao Yun's ability and feel that Yuan Xi is worthy of joining forces.
There is only such a Yuan Xi that Yuan Tan is willing to cooperate with. If he is too strong, Yuan Tan will be wary. If he is too weak, Yuan Tan will look down on him and support him less.
At present, it seems that deceiving Yuan Tan is relatively successful, but how it works depends on the support of the forces belonging to Yuan Tan in Ye City.
But for the other members of the Yuan family in Yecheng, it was not simple.
Yuan Shao, Yuan Shang, and Mrs. Liu are all difficult to deal with, especially when the three of them sit together. He has not thought about what kind of image Yuan Xi wants to show until now.
The more Yuan Xi thought about it, the more she felt some pain in her temples. She couldn't help but rub it a few times. When Wu Zhao saw it, she naturally raised her hand. At this time, the rumble of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and she quickly put her hand down again.
Yuan Xi opened the curtain and saw hundreds of troops and horses galloping towards him. The man in front of him was quite young and handsome, and what was more conspicuous was a big beard, which made him look more mature than Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi greeted and the motorcade slowly stopped.
He whispered to Wu Zhao: "This is my third brother Yuan Shang."
Yuan Shang rode up to the motorcade, dismounted, knelt down on one knee and said, "Second brother, I'm late to greet you. Please forgive me!"
Yuan Xi opened the car door and jumped out of the car, stepped forward to help Yuan Shang up, and said happily: "Third brother, I haven't seen you for three years, and you have grown so big!"
Yuan Shang had tears in his eyes: "Second brother! I miss my little brother so much!"
Yuan Xi was also full of excitement: "Me too!"
The two brothers looked at each other and laughed.
Yuan Xidao: "We brothers haven't seen each other for many years. Why don't we go together? I have a lot to say to my third brother."
Yuan Shang hurriedly said: "Originally, the younger brother should obey the second brother's words, but this time I came to pick up the second brother on the order of my father. If something goes wrong on the way, my father will not be exempted from punishment."
"Father is already waiting for the second brother. When we enter the city, the younger brother will apologize to the second brother. There will be plenty of opportunities to talk later."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he immediately said: "In that case, I will trouble my third brother."
He turned around and got into the car, watching Yuan Shang riding his horse back and forth in front of and behind the convoy, talking to everyone in the convoy, and arranging soldiers to protect him, and he did it in an orderly manner.
When Wu Zhao saw it, he thought that the third young master seemed to be very considerate in his work.
Yuan Xi lowered the curtain and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yuan Shang driving his horse outside to the front of the motorcade.
Wu Zhao saw him looking like he was facing a formidable enemy and said softly: "How is it?"
Yuan Xi shook his head: "It's very difficult to deal with, much more difficult than my elder brother. I'm afraid he will go and find out the details of the team in private."
Wu Zhao's heart skipped a beat and he whispered: "What about the things between us?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said: "Sooner or later he will know, after all we haven't shown up for so many days."
"But it doesn't matter, he can't find out where we went, just be careful."
Yuan Shang rode up to the front of the convoy and called on his troops to lead the way. He called a general and said, "Let our people and the people in the convoy speak out and ask two things clearly."
"First, when I left Beixin City, I didn't see where the guard with the scarred face went."
"Second, there is a woman with a scarred face in the carriage. Find out her origin."
General Pian took the order, and after a while, dozens of people arrived in front and behind the convoy. While they were being escorted, they started chatting with the people inside the convoy. Their tone was casual, but in fact they were carefully choosing their words.
Yuan Shang turned around and saw that the curtain of the carriage had not moved, and thought that his second brother was quite calm.
After just a few words when they met, he knew that his second brother was as good at pretending as he was.
But it doesn't matter. In Ye City, my foundation is already solid. Even if my second brother complains in front of his father, I can handle it.
Moreover, before he left the city, his mother, Mrs. Liu, had already gone to see Yuan Shao.
I'm very interested. Second brother, what are you going to do with me?
In the Yecheng Prefecture Mufu, Yuan Shao was quite surprised to see his wife, Mrs. Liu, coming in. He stood up and said, "Why are you here, Madam?"
Mrs. Liu is about thirty years old. Apart from her slightly thin cheekbones, she is also a beauty. The key is that she comes from a clan with the surname Liu, and her status is quite noble.
The ancients often said that a mother is more valuable than her son, but in fact there is a rather counter-intuitive fact.
A son is more valuable than his mother.
A mother's poor background greatly affects her son's status in the family.
Because the power of the maternal clan is a huge bargaining chip for sons in the competition for family strength.
Because the first wives were all well-matched, many princes and lords had a low status before they became famous, and the same was true for the first wives. The mother clan could hardly provide much help to the eldest son they gave birth to.
After the lord became successful, his first wife passed away, and the first wife he married at the time of the second marriage had a much higher status. Naturally, the power of the mother clan was not the same as before.
So there was a situation where the younger son overpowered the eldest son because of the different forces of the maternal clan behind him when the lord became the heir.
So everyone knows that abolishing the elder and establishing the younger is a way to bring disaster, but this phenomenon is still common among the nobles.
Now the Yuan family is facing this problem. Mrs. Liu relies on the clan and is naturally able to attract a group of nobles loyal to the Han Dynasty.
In the past three years, Yuan Shang's power has slowly begun to overwhelm Yuan Tan, which is why Yuan Tan is eager to join forces with Yuan Xi.
Mrs. Liu looked respectful, "I suddenly remembered something and came here to meet my husband."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao said warmly: "Madam, please speak."
Mrs. Liu sighed: "Soldiers have come to report that Shang'er has already greeted Xi'er outside. I'm afraid we can reach Ye City in less than half a day."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded slightly, feeling quite complicated.
Three years ago, the father and son had an almost angry quarrel, which actually caused the cowardly Yuan Xi to run to defend the city in the crisis-ridden Northland.
During this period, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought against each other and fought several battles. It was not until last year that Gongsun Zan was driven to Yijing. Although he had the intention to send more troops to Yuan Xi's side, he failed due to various reasons.
Thinking about it afterwards, Yuan Shao also felt a little regretful.
Seeing this, Mrs. Liu hurriedly said: "One more thing, Xi'er has brought dozens of concubines back to Yecheng."
"Originally, I have arranged a house for Xi'er, which is enough for seven or eight people to live in. But now it seems that it is not enough. The house can't spare any extra space for a while."
"So I want to ask my husband how to arrange these women. Should they find a residence?"
"Furthermore, Xi'er is going to marry a daughter of the Zhen family. Wouldn't it be bad if the Zhen family saw her with so many concubines?"
After hearing this, Yuan Shao's originally happy face showed a trace of unhappiness.