Chapter 124: Diplomatic Mission to Xuzhou

Yuan Xi didn't expect it to be this family. He was shocked and couldn't help but point at the baby in swaddling clothes and ask, "Is her name Cao Hua?"

Lady Huan was surprised and said, "How does the young master even know that?"

Yuan Xi thought to himself that no wonder Cao Cao married all three sisters to Emperor Xian of Han in later generations. It turns out they weren't his own daughters, but adopted daughters.

But on second thought, Cao Cao treated his adopted sons and daughters well, at least not as ruthless as Cao Pi. Of course, the price was a mother with good looks.

Seeing the expectant looks in the eyes of Lady Huan and her daughter, he felt a headache coming on.

These people were of sensitive status, and they even knew a lot. How to properly arrange them was also a troublesome matter.

He simply got out of the carriage, found a horse, and rode side by side with Zhao Yun. Perhaps because he had been too comfortable in the carriage, he sneezed several times in a row from the cold wind.

Seeing this, Zhao Yun said, "Young master, you should go back to the carriage. It's enough to have Yun outside."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It's good to be cold for a while. I'm not that pampered."

"Speaking of which, I'm troubling you again this time, brother. It's just that Ziyi's (Taishi Ci's) mother followed us back to Ye City and fell ill from the journey. I asked him to stay and take care of his elderly mother, so I didn't let him come."

Zhao Yun said softly, "The young master is generous and filial, which is a virtuous act."

Yuan Xi asked, "Have your parents already passed away, brother?"

Zhao Yun nodded. "Yun was raised by his elder brother since childhood. Recently, a letter came from home saying that my brother's health is also not very good."

Yuan Xi suddenly remembered that Zhao Yun had left for a few years to observe mourning for his brother's death, and thought that this was troublesome. He said, "If we defeat Gongsun Zan next year and You Province is stable, Brother Zilong can bring your elder brother to live in Beixin City, which would also be convenient for you to fulfill your filial duties."

Hearing this, a trace of gratitude appeared on Zhao Yun's face. "In that case, Yun will thank the young master."

Feeling relaxed, and also becoming more familiar with Yuan Xi, he said, "My elder brother always urges me to get married. I have repeatedly used the excuse that the Xiongnu have not been exterminated, so how can I have a home? I'm afraid that when we meet, I will be scolded by my brother again."

Seeing that the opportunity had come, Yuan Xi said, "What do you think of my elder sister?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yun was shocked and said, "The young master is joking. Yun is just a commoner, seeking a virtuous and virtuous woman is enough. How can I dare to imagine marrying into a prestigious family!"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "The Yuan family wasn't one of the Four Generations and Three Dukes from the beginning. It was built up generation by generation."

"Now the situation in the world is turbulent, and there are opportunities for dragons to emerge from the wind and clouds at any time. It depends on how you can seize them."

"The new year is just over a month away. Next year will be a crucial year."

"Whether we can occupy a territory and open up a path forward depends on this one move."

Zhao Yun listened as if he understood, and said, "Is the young master talking about the attack on Gongsun Zan next year?"

Yuan Xi pondered for a while and said, "There's still one step missing."

"Everything is ready, but there is still one side that has not been settled."

Zhao Yun blurted out, "Xu Province?"

Yuan Xi nodded: "That's right, Xu Province."

"Now Qing Province has just been pacified, and the situation is unstable. Although Xu Province is also like this, its foundation is much better."

"If, when attacking Gongsun Zan, Xuande Gong once again harasses Qing Province, I'm afraid things will fall short."

Seeing Zhao Yun hesitate, he smiled and said, "Was it the last battle in Qing Province, when you faced Liu Bei, that made you very embarrassed, brother?"

Zhao Yun said in a deep voice, "If I didn't hesitate at all, then Yun would be lying."

"But Zhang Fei is indeed difficult to defeat. Yun has a clear conscience in that battle."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I know."

"It's just that I really had no one else to use, so I put you in a dilemma, brother."

"To be honest, I also admire Xuande Gong's character and don't want to fight him to the death like this. In the end, it will only be a lose-lose situation."

"So, this time I'm going back to Ye City to talk to Father about going to Xu Province to see if the two sides can turn hostility into friendship."

Zhao Yun's eyes narrowed. "It's unwise to personally venture into the enemy camp, especially since the young master has fought several bloody battles with Liu Yuzhou. This step is a bit risky."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It's okay, Xuande Gong is not that kind of person."

Seeing Yuan Xi's confident look, Zhao Yun didn't know why, but he felt as if a stone had fallen from his heart.

For him, this was the best. If Yuan Xi and Liu Bei ended up killing each other until only one side survived, he would probably find it difficult to accept.

Yuan Xi changed the subject, "Brother Zilong, let me ask you a question."

"What do you think will happen to the world if the current Han court is controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si and continues like this?"

Zhao Yun was stunned, pondered for a long time, and said, "Yun can't think of it for a while."

Yuan Xi nodded. The world today is indeed in chaos, and it is difficult to see the way forward.

The reason why he is so painstaking in planning for the Yuan family is, in the end, for himself.

If he doesn't defeat Gongsun Zan, he can't occupy You Province. No matter how much money and food he has, it's useless.

Only by obtaining the right to govern You Province can he tap into its potential.

It doesn't matter if most of the aristocratic families can't be relied on. There are always poor families willing to join.

It doesn't matter if the people are recuperating and can't recruit more soldiers. There is still a huge group with untapped potential.

Liang Jiazi (Good Family Sons).

The so-called Liang Jia, also known as Hao Ren Jia (Good People Family), refers to the children of those who are not within the Seven Classes or are not the children of doctors, witches, merchants, or craftsmen.

Most of these people come from wealthy farming and reading families with land. They are slightly less well-established than aristocratic families, but they are definitely not poor people.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Feather Forest Army was established, which specifically recruited Liang Jiazi into the army. After becoming the Feather Forest Imperial Guards, those with "talent and strength" could be selected as officials.

The so-called "talent and strength" mostly refers to military ability, either excelling in martial arts or being good at using military tactics, etc. Literacy is the most basic of basics.

Once they have made meritorious service, it is easy to be promoted, eventually spreading throughout the Han army and becoming the backbone of the military generals.

Because they come from wealthy families, have a clean background, and aim to make meritorious service and be granted nobility, the biggest advantage of the Han army, with Liang Jiazi as the backbone, is that they have a bottom line in their behavior.

However, its threshold is also extremely high.

Expensive.

The Imperial Guards Liang Jiazi need to provide two war horses themselves, a large halberd or spear, a long sword, a bow, two quivers of arrows, half a set of iron armor or a set of leather armor, and military rations for a month of marching.

With such equipment, Yuan Xi could only support dozens of people in Beixin City.

Therefore, if Yuan Xi wants to expand his power, he must obtain military power in one place in order to give Liang Jiazi enough military positions.

But without soldiers, he cannot expand quickly. The two restrict each other, so Yuan Xi is racing against time in Ye City, painstakingly trying to get You Province into his hands as soon as possible.

In the eyes of other members of the Yuan family, You Province is a hot potato. Although it has salt and iron resources, brave soldiers, and rich horse farms, there are also many problems.

There are too many forces.

In addition to Gongsun Zan, there are also the Wuhuan and Xianbei, the Gongsun family of Liaodong, and none of them are easy to deal with, so no one is vying with Yuan Xi for You Province, because no one is confident that they can do better than Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was a pity. Gongsun Zan was also a hero of the time, but now he and the Yuan family are irreconcilable, with no room for maneuver.

Xia Pi, the seat of government of Xu Province.

Liu Bei held a letter in his hand, looking at it back and forth.

Zhang Fei was curious and asked, "Brother, whose letter is this?"

Liu Bei sighed, "It's from the expert who sent me a message last time, Mr. Yin Hu (Hidden Tiger)."

Hearing this, Zhang Fei shook his head and said disdainfully, "What Hidden Tiger? He almost caused us to be ambushed by Yuan Shao's army and Cao Cao's army and unable to return. I think he's just a liar."

Guan Yu said, "Didn't everything he said in the letter that day come true?"

Zhang Fei hummed a few times: "Anyway, I think this person has a problem and cannot be trusted!"

Liu Bei sighed, "This person should have great talent. It was he who foresaw the locust plague in Yan Province, and Lü Bu and Zhang Miao took the opportunity to start an incident, ambushing Cao Cao in the rear, so that we could protect Xu Province."

"What's even more amazing is that he also foresaw that Governor Tao of Xu Province would die within three months."

"What!" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were shocked, their expressions flickering.

Liu Bei sighed, "It's a pity. If I had the help of this expert, I would be able to open up a career."

Seeing that Liu Bei was still looking at the letter, Guan Yu said, "Since that's the case, what did Yin Hu say in the letter?"

Liu Bei handed the letter to Guan Yu and said, "He said that Xu Province now seems calm, but in fact, there is a hidden danger of overturning. If we fight against the Yuan family again, Xu Province will not be guaranteed."

"He observed the stars at night and said that the Yuan family may send someone to secretly negotiate in the near future, and we must seize this opportunity."

Hearing this, Guan Yu asked suspiciously, "Why do I feel that this Yin Hu is a trick by the Yuan family to deceive people?"

The three looked at each other, and Liu Bei hesitated at last, "Shouldn't be, right?"

"He has no reason to support Lü Bu to deal with his ally Cao Cao."

Hearing this, Guan Yu thought for a while before nodding, "That's true, what big brother said makes sense."

"Unless that Yuan family is crazy."

Liu Bei said, "Second brother, third brother, if someone from the Yuan family comes, what should we do?"

Zhang Fei snorted, "Meet soldiers with generals, and water with earth. Anyway, it's them coming to Xu Province. We'll just wait and see what happens."

This time Guan Yu also nodded slightly: "That's right, third brother said something reasonable for once."

Zhang Fei: .

Ye City, Yuan Shao's official residence.

Two rows of people sat at the lower seats, one row was strategists, and the other row had only three people.

Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan, and Yuan Xi were seated in order.

Judging from the order, one could already see the status of the three. Now Yuan Shang's momentum has completely overwhelmed Yuan Tan.

However, most of the strategists' eyes were focused on Yuan Xi, and the meaning contained in them was completely different from when Yuan Xi first arrived in Ye City a few months ago.

Yuan Xi's limelight in Ye City in the past few months has been unmatched, especially this time, exchanging hostages with Cao Cao, he even brought back Cao Cao's father!

Although everyone knew what was going on, after all, in the eyes of the people in Ye City, it represented that Cao Cao had temporarily completely submitted to the Yuan family.

Yuan Shao said, "Xianyi did a good job this time."

Yuan Xi secretly glanced at Yuan Shang out of the corner of his eye and found that the other party was expressionless. He thought that this kid must be plotting something bad.

Yuan Shao continued, "And as Xianyi expected, Liu Bei, who stole Xu Province, also agreed to a temporary truce between the two sides."

"Since Xianyi wants to go, then set off in the next few days. Talk about whatever you want to talk about. Liu Bei wouldn't dare to do anything to my Yuan family."

Hearing this, Yuan Xi bowed and said, "I obey the lord's command."

When he got up to leave, he found that Yuan Shang had pulled Yuan Tan to leave first. He thought that the third brother was quite capable.

He left the official residence and got into the carriage. Now he has a separate small courtyard and moved out of the Yuan family's mansion to avoid Yuan Shang plotting bad ideas all day long.

He returned to the mansion and entered the house, but Wu Zhao was not inside. Cao Xian and Cao Jie were kneeling at the door, welcoming him back.