Chapter 130 Sister, what's wrong with you?

Zhao Yu and Xue Li were both individuals Liu Bei had initially sought to win over. Now that they had both been killed by Ze Rong, Liu Bei naturally felt extremely distressed.

Moreover, Ze Rong not only murdered these two important Xuzhou officials, but also allowed his troops to plunder wealth and kill civilians, leaving the local people impoverished. Liu Bei still had to figure out how to handle the aftermath.

However, Ze Rong was very cunning. After killing people, he would change locations. Now, he continued to flee south, running to Yangzhou and seeking refuge with the Inspector of Yangzhou, Liu Yao.

Now that the heavens were high and the emperor was far away, Liu Bei couldn't pursue him even if he wanted to. Furthermore, Liu Yao and Yuan Shu were at odds, so naturally, he wouldn't hand over Ze Rong.

Liu Yao was a member of the Han imperial clan, loyal to the current Han court, and didn't get along with Yuan Shu, who had ambitions of independence. The point of contention between the two was the position of Prefect of Yuzhang Commandery, subordinate to Yangzhou.

Yuan Shu privately appointed Zhuge Xuan, a member of the Langya gentry, as the Prefect of Yuzhang, provoking dissatisfaction from the Han court. Therefore, Zhu Hao was dispatched to Yuzhang Commandery to assume the post and replace Zhuge Xuan.

Zhu Hao, courtesy name Wenming, was from Kuaiji. He was known for treating people with sincerity and had the demeanor of an elder. His father was Grand Commandant Zhu Jun.

Zhu Hao sought troops from Liu Yao to attack Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Xuan was no match and retreated into Xicheng. Zhu Hao entered Nanchang, and the two sides were at a stalemate.

Just as Ze Rong came to rely on Liu Yao, Liu Yao sent him to assist Zhu Hao. Zhu Hao had long known of Ze Rong's reputation for piety towards Buddhism and treated him with the respect due to an honored guest.

At this time, the renowned scholar Xu Shao ran to Liu Yao and said that Ze Rong was a petty man, extremely dangerous, and that Zhu Hao should be wary of him, but Liu Yao didn't believe it.

Now, Liu Bei was in a dilemma.

He wanted to get closer to the Han court, but because Gongsun Zan had killed Liu Yu, he was regarded as a rebel by the Han court, putting Liu Bei in a difficult position as well.

Although everyone privately understood what was going on, the fact that Gongsun Zan had been abandoned by the Han court was undeniable.

Tao Qian was dead, and Tian Kai had been driven out of Qingzhou. Now, Liu Bei's only ally in the open was Yuan Shu, this rebel.

Even rebels have contradictions. Yuan Shu's biggest enemy now was his brother, another rebel, Yuan Shao.

Now, Liu Bei was in a very awkward position in Xuzhou. To the north was Yuan Tan of Qingzhou, to the west was Cao Cao of Yanzhou, and to the south was Liu Yao of Yangzhou. If he didn't rely on Yuan Shu, who occupied parts of Yangzhou and Yuzhou, he would truly be surrounded!

Liu Bei was actually still loyal to the Han Dynasty, but the current situation left him at a loss. Because his subordinates had many disagreements, he didn't know who to side with and couldn't see a way out.

This was why Chen Qun didn't agree with Liu Bei taking over Xuzhou. It was honey containing poison, and if not handled properly, it would be suffocating!

However, from Chen Deng's perspective, Liu Bei had no other choice. Eating it might lead to death later, but not eating it would lead to death now.

The disagreement between the two sides was not only about the Ze Rong affair, but also about hearing that Yuan Shao had sent an envoy to Xuzhou.

Liu Bei coughed and said, "Regarding the matter of Yuan Benchu sending someone to Xuzhou, I would like to hear your opinions."

He was also a little depressed. He didn't have many subordinates, but they were divided into several factions.

Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, and these Xuzhou gentry were betting their lives on following him, so their relationship was naturally closer.

Similar to this faction were Sun Qian, who had just been recruited as an aide, and Jian Yong, who had followed Liu Bei since childhood.

The other faction was the Yuzhou gentry recruited by Liu Bei.

Although Liu Bei's title of Governor of Yuzhou was somewhat dubious and he hadn't occupied any actual territory, he had a great advantage.

He could establish his own office and recruit subordinate officials.

One was to recruit Chen Qun as a Chief Clerk.

Chen Qun was the son of Chen Ji and hailed from Yingchuan Commandery in Yuzhou. Chen Ji had served as the Chancellor of Pingyuan. After Yuan Shao and Tian Kai started fighting in Pingyuan, Chen Ji didn't want to get involved and returned to his hometown, leaving the position of Chancellor of Pingyuan vacant, which allowed Liu Bei to take the position.

Because of this relationship, Liu Bei also returned the favor and recruited Chen Qun.

The second was to recommend Yuan Huan of Chen Commandery as a Maocai (Outstanding Talent).

Yuan Huan was a member of the imperial clan. His father, Yuan Pang, and Cai Yong were cousins. Yuan Pang had served as Grand Tutor during the reign of Emperor Ling. It could be said that Yuan Huan's status was, in some ways, higher than Chen Qun's.

The remaining two were Liu Yan and Chen Dao.

In later history, these two always followed Liu Bei and could be said to have been loyal from beginning to end.

These people were vaguely divided into two factions, simply because their starting points were different.

The Xuzhou gentry naturally tended to develop in Xuzhou, while the Yuzhou gentry tended to conquer the world in Yuzhou. This was where the gentry's local sentiments and interests lay.

Because of this reason, they had subtle differences regarding future development strategies.

Because Yuan Shao's lackey, Cao Cao, slaughtered Xuzhou, the Xuzhou gentry were more disgusted with Yuan Shao, while the Yuzhou gentry were the opposite.

Now that Cao Cao occupied half of Yuzhou, the Yuzhou gentry naturally didn't want to offend Yuan Shao and involve their families.

Therefore, they had been arguing endlessly about Yuan Shao sending an envoy to Xuzhou.

Seeing that everyone couldn't come to a conclusion, Liu Bei had to turn to Kong Rong, who had been silent all along, and said, "What do you think, sir?"

The opinions of the Xuzhou and Yuzhou gentry had to be mediated by a neutral party. Kong Rong was a famous scholar of the time, with a detached status. It was most appropriate for him to make the final decision.

Chen Deng and Mi Zhu were both overjoyed to hear that it was Kong Rong. Kong Rong had just been defeated by Yuan Shao's two sons in Qingzhou, and the one visiting Xuzhou this time was Yuan Xi, the second son who had participated in the battle. How could Kong Rong not object?

To their surprise, Kong Rong thought for a while and actually said, "Although that Yuan family brat defeated me, I can't let the people of Xuzhou be implicated because of my personal grievances."

"Xu Province cannot afford to make enemies on all sides. Since the other party is willing, it's good to see what conditions they offer,"

Liu Bei listened and nodded, "Lord Wenju is right. Yuan Shao sending his son here in person shows some sincerity. If we rashly refuse, Yuan Shao might use it as an excuse to send troops."

Seeing that both Kong Rong and Liu Bei said so, everyone knew that this matter was settled. They all agreed and supported welcoming Yuan Xi's peace talks delegation to Xu Province.

The crowd dispersed. Chen Qun and Yuan Huan walked out side by side. After they had gone some distance, Chen Qun smiled at Yuan Huan and said, "Yaoqing, this time the Yuan family's son is coming, you can take the opportunity to build some connections. You might need them in the future."

Yuan Huan said sternly, "Changwen, you are wrong. Not to mention that our Chen Commandery Yuan clan does not rely on the Runan Yuan clan, and I am now under Lord Xuande. How can I secretly collude with foreign enemies?"

Chen Qun shook his head after listening, "Yaoqing, you are still so rigid."

Chen Qun was quite dissatisfied that Liu Bei did not adopt his suggestion, and he wanted to complain a few words, but seeing Yuan Huan's loyalty to Liu Bei, the words in his stomach reached his mouth and then he swallowed them back.

Chen Qun had already faintly determined in his heart that Liu Bei was not the best candidate for his lord, but he was also hesitant about what to do in the future.

Yecheng, Wei Commandery.

Gao Lan was training soldiers in the military camp day and night. Zhen Rong had nothing to do, so she went to the Zhen mansion to chat with Zhen Mi again.

At this time, Yuan Shao had already received Liu Bei's reply agreeing to the peace talks. Because this matter was carried out in secret, he sent Yuan Xi with a convoy to quietly visit Xu Province.

Zhen Rong's mood was a little low, knowing that she was worried about Yuan Xi, she couldn't help but tease Zhen Mi.

When she heard that Yuan Xi had come to Zhen Mi's small building before leaving, her face was a little subtle, "He and you were alone in the small building?"

Zhen Mi nodded shyly, "I originally thought he was a gentleman, but I didn't expect that he would also make moves and have an impolite side."

Zhen Rong's heart skipped a beat: "What did he do to you?"

Zhen Mi smiled and said, "Besides touching my hand privately, he also did the same thing to Fourth Sister."

"What!" Zhen Rong was struck by lightning. Doesn't this mean that he touched her whole body, which is almost equivalent to losing her virginity!

She exclaimed, "How could he be so rude and bold!"

"Yes!" Zhen Mi nodded, "When he touched my face, I almost fainted."

Zhen Rong was stunned, "Only the face?"

"Yes, otherwise what else?" Zhen Mi nodded, "When he touched my hand, I felt my face was hot. I thought I was sick, so Young Master Yuan Xi stretched out his hand and touched my forehead."

"This caught me off guard. I don't know why, but my face became even hotter."

"I heard Wu Zhao say last time that the young master didn't touch my sister when she was framed, but I always feel that she was lying to me."

"When my sister was helped into the carriage, she was also burning all over. I'm afraid Young Master Yuan Xi also touched my sister's face, right?"

Zhen Rong became at a loss, stammering: "I can't remember clearly at the time, it should, it should be like this, right?"

Zhen Mi frowned, "That's not right. When the young master's hand touched my forehead, my face became hot. My sister was burning all over, wouldn't that mean…"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Zhen Rong gritted her teeth and said, "I was burning all over because I was drugged! Drugged, do you understand!"

Hearing this, Zhen Mi quickly smiled apologetically, "I was wrong, sister, don't blame me."

Zhen Rong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she had finally fooled her. Her little sister is sometimes very smart, but sometimes very naive.

A convoy departed from Yecheng, Wei Commandery, passed through Qinghe Commandery to Jibei Commandery in Yanzhou, then to Lujun Commandery and Pengcheng Commandery in Xu Province, and finally arrived at Tancheng in Xiapi Commandery.

The advantage of passing through Yanzhou was that there were no wars along the way, and they used the identity of a Jizhou merchant caravan, and they also had a road permit issued by the Yuan family, so they were unimpeded in Yanzhou.

When they arrived in Xu Province, the road permit was changed to that of Xu Province.

Yuan Xi was in the carriage at this time, with two women sitting opposite him.

A middle-aged beautiful woman, with a restrained expression, and a young girl in her teens, secretly looked at Yuan Xi with her big, dark eyes.

When Yuan Xi looked over, the girl quickly hid her face behind the beautiful woman's sleeves.

Yuan Xi turned his head to look out the window and said, "This trip is to cover people's eyes and ears, but it has caused a lot of inconvenience to Madam and Miss. Please forgive me."

The beautiful woman quickly said, "Young Master is too modest. If it weren't for Young Master's rescue, I and my daughter would have lost our lives long ago."

Yuan Xi thought that this was true. The beautiful woman and the girl in front of him were Kong Rong's wife and daughter.

Kong Rong is very eloquent, but he didn't expect to reveal his true colors when he fled, even abandoning his wife, who was captured by Yuan Tan.

After Yuan Xi learned about this, he asked Yuan Tan for them as a bargaining chip for the Xu Province negotiations.

He had previously sent a secret letter to inform Kong Rong. Kong Rong valued his reputation very much. If his wife did not return, he would become a laughingstock to the world, so he fully supported the Yuan-Liu peace talks.

The reason why Yuan Xi was a little curious about Kong Rong's daughter was not because of her appearance, but because of her future identity.

Yang Dao's first wife, Lady Kong.

After Lady Kong passed away, Yang Dao's second wife was Cai Zhaoji's younger sister, Cai Zhenji.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh at the wonder of fate.

The Three Kingdoms, this family of love and killing, is really full of relatives.