Liu He and Yuan Tan bid farewell to each other, crossed Yishui, turned over to the horse, and headed for Xianyufu's camp.
Yuan Tan stood on the south bank of Yishui, watching Liu He's back disappear among the green willows on the official road, and inexplicably felt a sense of bleakness in his heart. Although it was early summer in April, the wind was full of chill.
Liu He finally chose the court.
He went outside the border and naturally saw Xun You. If nothing unexpected happens, Qu Yi should be there too. Going to Zhuo County, passing Juyong Pass, and entering Shanggu is the most convenient way for Qu Yi to escape. Under the cover of Xian Yufu and others
Yuan Shao had no way to discover it, nor could he catch up.
It was unexpected for Que Yi to leave Yuan Shao. His identity as a Liangzhou native made him deeply excluded, and the emperor's victory in Liangzhou further exacerbated the disagreement between him and the Jizhou natives. Leaving was the best choice.
But Liu He finally chose to leave out of disappointment with Yuan Shao.
In order to appease the people of northern Hebei, Yuan Shao had to grant officials and reward titles and gave up his plan to compromise with the court. If Liu He did not leave, it would be equivalent to betraying the court and relying on Yuan Shao.
If it were three years ago, Liu He might have hesitated.
But now, he has no need to take risks.
Everyone knows that Yuan Shao has been trapped by the people of Jizhou and cannot get out.
As Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan also thought so, but he could not wave his hand like Liu He.
Yuan Tan sighed and returned to the carriage.
Guo Tu sat opposite, holding his cheeks, looking out the window with his eyes open. When Yuan Tan sat down, Guo Tu slowly turned his head and looked at Yuan Tan. "Xiansi, I think you should have accepted Liu Gongheng's advice just now."
Yuan Tan was stunned, raised his head and looked at Guo Tu in confusion. "Sir, do you think I should stay in northern Hebei?"
Guo Tu nodded. "This time, crossing the river, it seems that the troops are sufficient, but in fact it is exhausted and fishing. If it is setback, I am afraid that I will not be able to fight again. Jizhou is the foundation, and someone should stay behind. Xun Gongda looked at the northern border and joined forces with Xianyu and Fu, so the northern border of Ji was not allowed.
The line of life and death that is not kept."
Yuan Tan remained silent. He knew that Jibei was a life-and-death line, but he knew better that even if the people in Jibei supported Yuan Xi, it would be useless even if he stayed in Jibei. If it were just Xianyu Fu, he could still do it.
In the battle, plus Xun You, he had no chance at all.
"Do you think you can get support when you arrive in Yanyu?" Guo Tu smiled bitterly: "In the situation where the emperor Xu Tu Ze's victory, how many people dare to support you father and son and go against the court? Even if there is, Yanyu has no choice but to do so.
Only those who can watch Jizhou people make contributions in wars.”
Yuan Tan was shocked.
He knew that Guo Tu had always been conceited and would never have said such despicable words without special reasons.
"Sir, could it be..."
Guo Tu did not respond to Yuan Tan's temptation. "If you stay in northern Ji, even if Xun Gongda comes to attack, at least you can save your life." He paused and said, "If you can persuade the lord to stay Xun Xiuruo (Xun Xun)
Then you will be more confident.”
Yuan Tan thought for a long time. "What if my father advances smoothly?"
"The prince is the ruler of the country, and the ancient system." Guo Tu smiled. "If the lord advances smoothly and takes Yanyu into his pocket, Yanyu talents will enter the curtain, and they will only become your supporters. What's the point of you?
Worried?"
Yuan Tan's eyes flashed and he smiled and said, "Since that's the case, I will do it."
Liu He came to Xianyufu's camp and strangled his mount.
A personal guard came forward to report.
Not long after, Xian Yufu rushed out with great strides, shouted to open the camp gate, and walked to Liu He. "Gongheng, you are here." As he said, tears fell down.
Liu He turned over and dismounted, holding Xian Yufu's hand. "Brother Xian Yu, I..." He looked ashamed and didn't know what to say.
Seeing this, Xian Yufu laughed and pulled Liu He in. "Gongheng, since he has arrived here, don't say anything. Drinking, we will stop drinking today, forget all the previous ones, and start over."
"Okay, start over." Liu He also smiled and entered the camp side by side with Xian Yufu.
Shortly after they arrived at the tent, Xian Yuyin, Qi Zhou and others also arrived. After a while, Yan Rou also came. They surrounded Liu He, talking and laughing, and showing joy.
Liu He left Yuan Shao, and they had no worries anymore.
"Where is Kuo Yuntian?" Liu He asked.
"He has arrived in Baishan." Yan Rou smiled and said, "Xun Gongda appreciated him very much and ordered him to take charge of the infantry. Now he is also a general with thousands of elite troops."
"Is that right?" Liu He was both surprised and happy.
Even if the soldiers and civilians outside the frontier are united, the population is small, and if you can have thousands of elite soldiers, you are an important general. What's more, there are many cavalry outside the frontier and few infantrymen, and the meaning of thousands of infantrymen is no less than that of ten thousand cavalry.
"Xun Gongda hopes that he can compete with Gao Ziping (Gao Shun)." Yan Rou squeezed his eyes.
Liu He suddenly realized and pointed at Yan Rou. "You cunning Wuhuan'er, no wonder Tuo Yuntian didn't care about anything. He ran away without even notifying me, which made me very embarrassed."
Yan Rou laughed loudly, with indescribable pride.
Xun You is from Yingchuan, but the two generals under him are both old subordinates of Lu Bu. Now that he has Queyi, a native of Liangzhou, Xun You has room for balance, and it is natural to reuse Queyi.
Although Que Yi was from Liangzhou, his ancestors were from Qingzhou Pingyuan and he always regarded himself as a Guandong person. However, the real Guandong person did not recognize him. Xun You valued him, and his long-cherished wish was fulfilled, which was also a happy event.
Que Yi decided to leave Yuan Shao and defect to Xun You because he got Xun You's promise, and the person who explained it was Yan Rou.
Liu He had long had a guess, and today he was confirmed by Yan Rou, and he didn't find it strange. He took the opportunity to ask: "Zi Gang, how will Xun Dupu treat me?"
Yan Rou and Xian Yufu exchanged a look and smiled knowingly.
As they expected, although Liu He made a choice, he was still unsure and did not know what the court would deal with him.
"Do you know Xun Yun, the son of Xun Wenruo?"
"I know, I met him when I was in Luoyang."
"He followed Ke Bi Neng to the Western Regions."
Liu He was slightly stunned. "Go to the Western Regions?"
Yan Rou nodded and told Xun Yun about it. He had always had contact with Ke Bi Neng. Before Ke Bi Neng set out to the Western Regions, he wrote a long letter to him. The writer was Xun Yun. I learned that Xun Yun followed Ke
They were also surprised to be able to travel west and expand their territory in the Western Regions.
Xun Yu was the magistrate of Hedong and presided over the implementation of the kingly way in Hedong. Xun You was in Danhan Mountain and was about to serve as the gubernator of Youyan. Xun Yu's daughter Xun Wenqian became a nobleman and had just given birth to the eldest son of the emperor. The Xun family in Yingchuan was both internal and external, and Yun Wen and Yun Wu
, it is inevitable to become a powerful minister.
At this time, the emperor could still let Xun Yun follow Kebi to travel westward and expand territory thousands of miles away. He either trusted the Xun family deeply or had no choice but to do so.
No matter what the reason is, it can be explained one thing: cooperation with Xun You outweighs the disadvantages, and safety is basically guaranteed.
Even if the emperor turns against each other in the future and wants to eliminate Xun, can he still kill Xun Yun thousands of miles away?
The Xun family has a way out, so they don’t have to worry too much.
After listening to Yan Rou’s story, Liu He finally felt relieved.
As a royal family, he has advantages over Yan Rou and others. Taking a step back, even if he does not gain the trust of the emperor, he can still make achievements with Xun You, and there is no need to worry about being idle.