In the first year of Jian'an, June was still young.
When Wang Zheng was having a fierce battle with Sun Ce, Yuan Shu in Shouchun was also in a state of moodiness and anger.
Although the Xuzhou army was powerful and had reversed the previous decadent situation of losing consecutive battles and losing ground when they first arrived, Sun Ce's troops were still unstoppable. Even with the power of Wang Zheng and the strength of the heavenly army, they could only hold on to Shu in the beginning.
County, Hefei and other places.
When Sun Ce ran thousands of miles to defeat Liu Xun and captured Wancheng, Yuan Shu was so shocked that he even had the idea of moving his capital to Runan to avoid his attack.
Even though he was finally dissuaded by the counselor Yang Hong, Yuan Shu was still in a very bad mood. He was often drunk and unconscious, and would often kill the maids and slaves in the palace for trivial things. Even several of his wives and concubines were often killed.
After being reprimanded, the Shouchun Palace was in a state of turmoil and everyone was frightened.
It was not until the end of the month that the situation finally changed.
On this day, Yuan Shu came to the room of his favorite Mrs. Feng. He did not drink for a rare moment. He even asked his daughter proactively: "Why haven't you seen Xue'er?"
His two sons and daughters were both born to Mrs. Feng. The son’s name was Yuan Yao and his daughter’s name was Yuan Xuan. Together they are called Xanyao, which means brilliant and beautiful.
While Mrs. Feng asked the maid to hand over the refreshments, she secretly glanced at Yuan Shu's expression. Seeing a smile on his face, she calmed down a little and replied: "Reporting to my husband, Xuan'er has felt stuffy in the palace these days, and I have been feeling sick."
Let him go and stay at Yao'er's house for a few days."
"Nonsense, it's time for her to cultivate a virtuous character." Yuan Shu frowned and scolded her when he heard this: "If she continues to be so willful, how can she develop a woman's virtue, and how can she get married in the future?"
Getting married?
At this time, Mrs. Feng was about to pick up the tea cup and bring it to Yuan Shu. When she heard this, her hands shook and she almost spilled the water.
Xuan'er is only eight years old now. Why did she mention things like getting married? It's too early in the future, right?
You should know that although women in this era got married much earlier than later generations, they still had to be at least fifteen years old and after their hair. Even among the people, because life was not easy, they had to be at least twelve or thirteen years old.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Mrs. Feng was favored by Yuan Shu, not only because she was one of the famous national beauties in the world, but also because she was the daughter of Shangshu Feng Fang. Her knowledge was extraordinary, and her heart was moved immediately.
While handing over the tea cup, she lowered her eyebrows slightly, suppressed the surprise and dissatisfaction in her eyes, and asked softly: "I know, by the way, husband, has the rebellion of the Sun thief been put down?"
Speaking of Yuan Xuan's marriage, Mrs. Feng immediately thought of the two warring parties, Wang Zheng and Sun Ce.
Yuan Shu had previously ordered Sun Ce to send an envoy to Kaiyang, and in order to induce Wang Zheng to send troops to attack Liu Bei, he also promised marriage, but at that time he did not formally ask Mrs. Feng for her opinion. After all, Yuan Xuan was too young, so it was impossible.
If they get married in time, Wang Zheng, Yuan Shu and even Mrs. Feng all know that this is just a blank check.
But this time Yuan Shu mentioned it in private, which alarmed Mrs. Feng and made it even more difficult for her to agree and support...
Since Yuan Xuan is far from the age of marriage, Wang Zheng, a yellow turban bandit, is definitely not her ideal son-in-law.
"The Sun thief is ambitious and has attracted the support of the Jiangdong gentry. Now he has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. How can he be pacified so easily?" Yuan Shu shook his head, "But now another group of Xuzhou soldiers and horses has also successfully entered the country. Now there are even more soldiers."
Linliu'an City, I think it is possible to recover."
"The Xuzhou Army has reinforcements coming again?" Mrs. Feng asked, "But I don't know how many troops there are?"
"There are more than ten thousand, and the main general is Wang Zheng's general Wu Sheng."
"That being the case, it is expected that there will be chaos among thieves soon."
When Mrs. Feng heard this, she was convinced that since she and Yuan Shu were husband and wife, they naturally shared weal and woe, and she also hoped that the rebellion would end soon. She couldn't help but lean in and said in a coquettish voice: "I congratulate you, my husband."
"Hey, where can it be so easy?"
Unexpectedly, Yuan Shu, who would have been excited by this gentle approach in the past, was unmoved today. He just patted her lightly, then stroked her forehead and said with a bitter smile: "Ten thousand horses is a lot less, but not a lot."
There are many, but now that Sun Ce has become powerful, it may not be enough in front of him."
The conversation changed and he said displeasedly: "Wang Zheng has six counties, including a large and rich country like Beihai and a powerful army like Mount Tai. He probably has more than 100,000 troops, but he only dispatched less than 20,000 troops.
The centaurs are really stingy!"
After saying that, Yuan Shu stared at Mrs. Feng and sighed: "I think it's because the relationship is not close enough."
Hearing this, Mrs. Feng, who had her head lowered, raised her beautiful eyebrows, with a sarcastic sneer on her lips: The implication was that she wanted to marry Wang Zheng in order to get Xuzhou to reinforce its troops again?
She said softly: "In this case, your husband should try to continue to marry Wang Zhengcai."
"This is what I mean too."
Yuan Shu perked up after hearing this, clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Madam, Wang Zheng is not yet married. He is now the Mu of Xuzhou and the Marquis of Liyang. He is still young and has a weak title. In terms of his noble status, he can match our family."
At this point, Yuan Shu glanced at Mrs. Feng, coughed dryly, and said: "Although Xuan'er is a little young, she usually makes meat soup and milk cakes all the time. She looks older than her real age. Madam, please tell me.
..”
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Feng cut her off: "Husband, this is absolutely not allowed!"
"Forehead..."
Yuan Shu frowned at first, then smiled, and while he was waiting for further persuasion, he saw Mrs. Feng saying: "Husband, it's not that I don't understand the importance of my life and ignore the overall situation, but Xuan'er is indeed not a suitable candidate."
"The sages have said that there is nothing that can be obtained without being caged by what you like."
She carefully considered her words and said: "Although I live deep in the palace, I have heard some of Wang Zheng's deeds. Regardless of his personality or age, it is difficult for Xuan'er to like her. If she forced herself to get married, maybe she wouldn't get married in person.
, which creates resentment."
Yuan Shu was startled when he heard this. This sentence was a famous saying by Zhuangzi, and he naturally knew the meaning. It said that it is impossible to win a person's favor and return to him without trying to attract him with what he likes and desires.
She couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Madam, our daughter can't even catch the eye of that prince, how can you start talking about this?"
"Husband, according to what I know, Wang Zheng's preference for women is quite strange."
"Generally young girls are not attracted to her, let alone our Xian'er, especially since she is spoiled and has a unruly personality."
Speaking of this, Mrs. Feng's pink face also turned slightly red: "And in this regard..."
"Actually, there is a more suitable candidate among my husband's relatives."
"You mean..."
Yuan Shu suddenly realized that considering Wang Zheng's current status, not only had he never married, he had not even taken any concubines, and only one widowed sister-in-law was the leader.
There are only wives and widows, and Yuan Shu has heard about this.
Of course, not all widows can do it. At least Huo's beauty is considered stunning by everyone who has seen her.
So what is the favorite person of the royal government? To sum up, it is a widow with outstanding beauty.
Hmm... Yuan Shu rubbed his chin, it seemed like this was true, and Mrs. Feng said that there was such a candidate among his relatives, which was indeed correct.
Sister-in-law is of course considered a relative!
You can give it a try, he thought. If he had a choice, Yuan Shu wouldn't want his daughter to get married too early.
After all, he is just such a daughter.
This means that he can only choose an in-law through her.
While I was thinking about it, the guards from outside came to report. Yang Hong and another big fu Linchen Weiye came hand in hand. They seemed to have something to ask for.
"At such a late hour, Military Advisor Yang came to see my husband, and together with Prime Minister Fu, could it be that the situation in Lujiang has changed again?" Mrs. Feng asked, looking confused.
Seeing that she was so concerned about state affairs, Yuan Shu was deeply pleased, and even more touched. Caring about state affairs was not just about caring about himself, so he quickly comforted him and said: "There may be changes for the better. Madam, don't worry. Let's rest first and don't have to wait for her husband."
"
He immediately got up and went out, walking away in a hurry.
After he left, Mrs. Feng was tossing and turning, because her little girl's life-long event had never fallen asleep. She saw that it had been dark for a long time, the moon was bright, and she was drowsy, half asleep, and half awake, but the sound of powerful footsteps sounded again outside the hall.
.
Mrs. Feng looked up and saw that Yuan Shu was back again, with a smile on her face. She couldn't help but ask: "Husband, what's wrong?"
"It's settled!"
Yuan Shu shouted excitedly: "Madam, we have good news from Cheng De ahead. Lu'an and Hefei have been recovered. Xuzhou's army and horses have been forced outside Shu County, forming an encirclement against Sun's army and horses!"
After hearing the good news, Mrs. Feng was also quite happy, but then she thought about it and became suspicious. If it was just a good news, Yang Hong would not be so impatient to report it, so she asked: "Besides this matter, what about Military Master Yang and the others?"
Any other reports?"
"Madam is really smart as ice and snow."
Yuan Shu glanced at her appreciatively and said: "Wang Zheng's subordinate Guo Jia sent envoys to Chengde. He wants to send out the city's defenders to bypass the rear, recapture the two cities of Xiang'an and Linhu, and cut off Sun Ce's retreat!"
"What do you mean, husband?"
Yuan Shu sneered, his eyes flashed with horrifying murderous intent, and he said solemnly: "According to Guo Jia's wish, all Chengde troops and horses must be dispatched. This matter is certainly risky, but..."
He looked at Mrs. Feng and said word by word: "If you can kill Sun Ce, the traitor, what does it matter if you take some risks?"
Since Sun Ce raised his army, Yuan Shu has been frightened all day long, and even caused the entire palace and even Shouchun to fall into fear and uneasiness with him.
But the hatred and anger hidden beneath this fear are getting deeper and deeper day by day.
If it was covered up deeply before, then one day, once it breaks out, it will be even more terrifying!
And this became the last piece of the puzzle that completely blocked Sun Ce's vitality.
In mid-July of the first year of Jian'an, the little overlord Sun Ce died in Xiang'an.
Soon after, Wang Zheng, a hero of the Dang bandits, led an army to Shouchun.
To show the grandeur, that night, Yuan Shu brought his wife, concubines, children, and hundreds of civil and military officials to a banquet for Wang Zheng.
...
The second time I came to Yangzhou, I felt completely different.
At that time, Wang Zheng had just occupied the territory of Langya County. It was just a beginning of success. It was not worth mentioning in front of Yuan Shu, who had three states at that time. Yuan Shu looked at him differently, but it was because of Wang Zheng's own personal bravery.
Nowadays, things are obviously very different. Not to mention the reversal of strength, it can at least be worthy of a fight.
In addition to the change in status, there was also a big change in his mind. At least this time when Wang Zheng came to Shouchun, he was not prepared to return empty-handed again!
According to the original intention, the main purpose of going south this time was to kill Sun Ce, the future founder of Soochow, in advance. Secondly, it also benefited from the Pei Kingdom of Yuzhou. Wang Zheng really never thought about destroying Guo through false means.
Plan for Yangzhou.
But this moment is the same as that moment.
After defeating Sun Ce, most of Lujiang County had actually fallen into the control of the Xuzhou Army. Coupled with the geographical proximity of Yangzhou and Xuzhou, and the most critical point... Yuan Shu's deliberate smearing of the Yangzhou Army's defeat in Xuzhou that day made
With Wang Zheng no longer carrying any psychological burden, how could he turn a blind eye to Yangzhou and refuse to enter?
So after defeating Sun Ce, Wang Zheng immediately set his sights on Yuan Shu and even Yangzhou.
However, although Yangzhou is good, how to capture it is also a problem.
After all, a great battle had just occurred, and with the troops and horses exhausted, it was not a good idea to simply take advantage of them by force.
What's more, Yuan Shu was not really defenseless after all. If he acted rashly and alerted the snake, it would be harmful but not beneficial!
So Wang Zheng thought over and over again and decided to come to Shouchun first.
Regarding this matter, both Guo Jia, Wu Sheng, Huang Zhong and others had warned him. After all, Yuan Shu was not a good man or woman. Even if Wang Zheng went to Shouchun as a great hero and ally, it would not be without risks.
Wu Sheng even said that given the current situation, why go to all the trouble and simply send his army northward to take Jiujiang? What Sun Ce, the defeated general of the Heavenly Army, could do, so why would it be difficult for them to do it? Wait until he opens Shouchun.
After the city gate, Wang Zheng went directly into the city and sat down.
Wang Zheng naturally turned a deaf ear to these arguments and did not agree.
Even in later generations, it is necessary to have a famous teacher, not to mention a big man who has higher moral standards?
His image at this time was that he was personally leading a righteous army, coming to help his allies quell the chaos. He was a benevolent and righteous gentleman who was eager for justice. But suddenly the gun was reversed. So what if he defeated Yuan Shu and captured Jiujiang?
Then in the eyes of the world, wouldn't his image become that of a wolf with ambition and long-planned plans?
The identities of the Yellow Turban bandits have not been completely cleared, and they are stained with a basin of sewage. How will Jiangdong be governed in the future?
How does the human heart surrender?
Wang Zheng has his own considerations in this regard.
The most critical thing at the moment is not how to capture Yangzhou and defeat Yuan Shu, but to get a reasonable reason first. Even if it is a mechanical one, there must be at least one to hide it!
And for this reason, he must personally come to Shouchun again and enter the tiger's den again.
How can you catch tiger cubs if you don't enter the tiger's den?
The plan was decided. Huang Zhong was appointed to control Liu'an, with Guo Jia assisting him; Wu Sheng was appointed to control Anfeng, with Wei Yan assisting him. Qiao Wan arrived in Shouchun with him and was invited to a banquet that night.