Chapter 40: Speaking Frankly

Yuan Xi knew that none of the three people Yuan Shao had sent this time were easy to deal with: his eldest brother Yuan Tan, his strategist Xun Chen, and Gao Lan, one of the Four Pillars.

It would be difficult to fool even one of them, and their positions were all different!

It was like an extremely delicate series of interlocking rings, making it impossible to know where to start to break through and protect his territory in Beixin City.

His father had really given him a difficult problem.

Therefore, from the moment Yuan Xi entered the mansion, he had been using various tricks to test the three men, to see which one was the weakest link.

Now, seeing Gao Lan's abnormal behavior, Yuan Xi picked up a piece of pork knuckle with his chopsticks, held it in front of him, and sighed, "What Big Brother said just now is right. I suddenly remembered that Qu Yi, who betrayed Father, was hacked to death in this room."

"At that time, I was hiding behind the partition wall, watching dozens of knives hacking at him wildly. In a short while, they hacked him to pieces."

"Just like this pork knuckle in front of me."

As soon as he said this, Yuan Tan spat the pork knuckle out of his mouth with a 'Phew' sound.

Xun Chen chewed the pork knuckle in his mouth with difficulty, swallowed it, and chuckled, "Second Young Master Yuan's analogy is unique, but this pork is so delicious, I don't think human meat can compare."

"But we haven't eaten human meat, so we don't know what it tastes like."

Yuan Xi stared at Xun Chen, but glanced at Gao Lan out of the corner of his eye, and smiled, "What you said is right, sir, but I'm afraid someone will be eating people soon."

What Yuan Xi was talking about was Cheng Yu of Cao Cao's army making dried human meat later on. Xun Chen didn't understand, and just laughed.

Yuan Xi noticed that some sweat seemed to be seeping out of Gao Lan's forehead, and the hand under the table tightened unconsciously.

Gao Lan had a guilty conscience!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly to Qu Yi's murder. He must be hiding something, afraid that he would suffer the same fate as Qu Yi, and that's why he was so panicked.

The weakest link!

Yuan Xi suddenly said to Gao Lan, "General Gao, you are loyal to my father, unlike that wolf-hearted Qu Yi. I don't have anything good here, so you must take some of these maids with you."

Xun Chen applauded and said to Gao Lan, "Second Young Master Yuan sincerely presents you with beautiful concubines. This is a wonderful story. General Gao is very lucky."

Gao Lan hurriedly thanked him with a dry laugh, but the smile on his face was quite stiff.

Yuan Tan couldn't bear it any longer. The banquet was only halfway through, but Yuan Xi was leading the rhythm further and further astray. The method he had planned to force Yuan Xi to submit when he entered the mansion was of no use at all!

Forced to do so, he had to go straight to the point and said, "Second Brother, I came this time to find out from Father what exactly happened in Beixin City."

"If what Second Brother said is true, then the following things are very complicated."

"Especially on Gongsun Zan's side, after the Battle of Jieqiao, our army and Gongsun Zan's army ceased fighting under the mediation of the imperial court."

"The battles and conflicts that occurred during this period were not conducted in the name of the Yuan army and Gongsun Zan's army."

Yuan Xi was silent. Yuan Tan's words hit the nail on the head.

The battles around Zhuo County's Beixin City in the past three years have hidden a lot of inside information. The banners they fought under were not aboveboard.

That's why this matter was exploited, and the insufficient supply of food and grass to Beixin City was also due to someone secretly setting obstacles.

Yuan Tan said, "Please tell me the truth, Second Brother. If Mr. Xun and General Gao both feel it's inappropriate, I will have to take you back to Ye City."

"First of all, since that Hunnic bandit is led by Liu Bao, the son of Southern Chanyu Yufuluo, they must all be elites. The combat power of a few hundred people is definitely not low."

"How did Second Brother achieve a great victory with hundreds of newly trained soldiers who had been training for two years?"

As soon as he said this, Xun Chen echoed, "I am also very curious."

"I heard that in that battle, hundreds of Huns were killed, and only a dozen or so of the Young Master's men died?"

"If this is really the case, then Second Young Master is truly a peerless general. It's a pity to stay in this Beixin City. You should return to the Lord's side to assist him."

Yuan Xi smiled slightly. Yuan Tan and Xun Chen sang in harmony, and their words were impeccable.

If he didn't do well, he would be taken back. If he did well, he would also have to go back. Wouldn't his Beixin City be given away for nothing?

After hearing Xun Chen's words, Yuan Xi's expression remained unchanged: "You are praising me too much, sir. I was just lucky."

"That day, Gongsun Zan's army besieged the city, and the Southern Huns were looting in the south. I made a bet with General Zilong, using one hundred soldiers as a count."

"The total number of soldiers on both sides was two hundred, which was still a disadvantage compared to the Huns. I only wanted to delay time at the beginning, and I wanted General Zilong to retreat in the face of difficulties."

"I didn't expect him to agree, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the troops out of the city."

"In that battle, the Huns were powerful, but General Zilong insisted on fighting and took the lead. I only helped him with some insignificant things by the side."

"General Zilong is brave and resourceful, and he is good at governing the army. Later, he was forced to rebel by Gongsun Zan and came to me. It is really a blessing for my Yuan family."

There was truth and falsehood in his words. The bet with Zhao Yun could not be concealed. Thousands of ears on and off the city heard it, so he had to tell the truth.

But some of the details were things he had to hide.

Xun Chen chuckled and said nonchalantly about Zhao Yun's matter, "I heard that in that battle, the Young Master's soldiers were all armored, and there were even dozens of heavy cavalry?"

Yuan Xi admitted very simply, "That's right, they are private soldiers I raised with my salary."

Gao Lan spoke, "An armored soldier costs a lot, not to mention cavalry. The Young Master can raise so many armored soldiers and still have the energy to raise so many maids. It seems that this Beixin City is quite wealthy."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It's not worth mentioning. The armor was obtained by me finding someone to rob a tomb, and the military pay was all the property of the aristocratic families that accidentally fell from the city wall. Anyway, it's a waste to leave it there, so I took it to use."

Everyone's faces stiffened. How can you even say that!

Yuan Tan pondered, but the only thing he wanted to confirm was this:

Yuan Xi did not collude with Gongsun Zan.

Although the possibility was small, it was not entirely impossible.

Because this seemingly impossible thing had happened in the Yuan family a few years ago.

The matter of Yuan Wei's murder.

Now, the general trend of the world is that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are fighting for the position of head of the Yuan family, so as to compete for the world.

But a few years ago, the position of head of the Yuan family did not belong to the two of them, but to Situ Yuan Wei.

If Yuan Wei died, the position of head of the family would most likely be given to his nephew Yuan Ji. If something happened to Yuan Ji, it would be Yuan Wei's son Yuan Yin's turn.

But Yuan Wei's family and Yuan Ji were all killed by Dong Zhuo, and the position of head of the Yuan family was vacated.

Some people say that Yuan Wei was killed because Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu joined the Sour Jujube Allied Army to jointly attack Dong Zhuo after escaping from Luoyang, which angered Dong Zhuo and killed Yuan Wei's family.

But people who understand the rules of the aristocratic circle understand that this matter is not that simple.

Because Yuan Wei was Dong Zhuo's benefactor!

Although Dong Zhuo was born in Yingchuan, his ancestors were from Liangzhou, which was at the bottom of the aristocratic contempt chain, so Dong Zhuo wasted many years and could never find an opportunity to become an official.

Later, he was recommended by Duan Jiong, the governor of Bingzhou, and was appointed as an aide by Situ Yuan Wei, and he officially entered the aristocratic officialdom circle.

It can be said that Yuan Wei had the kindness of discovering and promoting Dong Zhuo.

For the aristocratic families, whoever recommends and promotes them is their benefactor, and the benefactor is like a father, for life.

If you are disrespectful to your benefactor, it is a great act of unfilial piety.

Combining Dong Zhuo's later style of vigorously befriending and pleasing the aristocratic families, it was impossible for him to kill Yuan Wei.

But this happened anyway.

But no matter what, the Yuan brothers borrowed a knife to kill someone and harmed their uncle, the head of the family, which was widely spread, and Yuan Shao took the blame.

The Yuan family had this lesson from the past, so they naturally had doubts about Yuan Xi being able to inexplicably defeat the powerful Liu Bao and Gongsun Zan.