Chapter 185: Determined

Yuan Xi walked into the tent and found that except for Ju Shou and Xu You, most of the generals and advisers were gone.

Yuan Xi guessed that there were many things that needed to be dealt with in Yecheng, and Yuan Shao must have been sent back to Yecheng by Xun Chen, Guo Tu and others to assist Yuan Shang.

He bowed and said, "Greetings, my lord."

Yuan Shao's eyebrows moved slightly, and he asked, "Is there anything?"

Yuan Xi said, "I came here this time to ask you, lord, how to arrange for the families of Liu He and Gongsun Zan?"

After hearing this, Yuan Shao said, "You don't have to get involved in this matter. I will make my own arrangements."

Yuan Xi raised his head slightly and said in a deep voice: "When I went to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender, I promised to give them an explanation."

Ju Su saw that Yuan Shao looked unhappy, and said, "Second Master has given the Lord a difficult problem this time."

"Let's not talk about Gongsun Zan's family. Liu Heke is quite troublesome."

"If you leave him in Yecheng, the world will surely criticize you, my lord."

"If we let him return to Youzhou, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountain. The Second Young Master will not be able to do anything in Youzhou in the future."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded slightly.

After hearing this, Xu You also said, "The best thing to do now is to kill Liu He and put an end to it all."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said firmly: "Excuse me for being blunt, but Liu He cannot be killed, otherwise Youzhou will be in chaos."

"Not only can we not kill him, Youzhou also needs to use his influence to pacify the Wuhuan and Xianbei forces in other counties."

Xu You laughed when he heard this and said, "The Wuhuan and Xianbei are just chickens and dogs. Have they ever posed any threat in the past few hundred years?"

"Now that my Yuan clan is so powerful, how can I be afraid of a mere foreign clan?"

Yuan Xi said: "On this point, my opinion is somewhat different from yours."

"Now I only occupy a small part of Zhuo County. The Liaodong and Lelang counties are occupied by the Gongsun Du family, so I won't talk about it."

"The remaining counties, such as Dai, Shanggu, Guangyang, Yuyang, Youbeiping, and Liaoxi, all have a large number of Wuhuan and Xianbei residents, and some even have nearly half of the population."

"These people have settled in Youzhou for hundreds of years, and many of them have long been loyal to the Han Dynasty. I'm afraid it's not quite accurate to say that they are foreigners, right?"

Xu You smiled awkwardly: "Haha, your remarks are quite peculiar."

"The Han Dynasty established Youzhou to settle the ethnic groups inside and outside the Great Wall, to prevent them from causing trouble, and to restrain the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall."

Yuan Xi said, "Then I would like to ask you, sir, now that our Yuan family is in charge of Youzhou, how should we treat these foreign tribes?"

Xu You heard the sarcasm in Yuan Xi's words, and said with a fake smile: "These lords have their own decisions, why do I need to say more?"

Yuan Shao said, "Well, there is no point in talking about these things."

He turned to Yuan Xi and asked, "What if Liu He returns to Youzhou and becomes an enemy of my Yuan family?"

Yuan Xi thought that Yuan Shao had hit the nail on the head with one sentence. He had no other choice but to say, "I guarantee that Liu He will never go against the Yuan family."

"Otherwise I am willing to be punished by military law."

Xu You said: "There is no evidence for this, and the young master is the heir of our lord. Our lord is a kind and righteous man, how can you bear to punish him?"

Yuan Xi made up his mind and said, "I am willing to give up all my military achievements in the battle of Yijing to guarantee the lives of Liu He and Gongsun Zan's family members."

After hearing these words, everyone was slightly moved.

You must know that Yuan Xi made great contributions in the Battle of Yijing. Whether it was pacifying the situation in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, creating the opportunity to attack Yijing, or defeating the reinforcements of the Black Mountain Army, and then luring Gongsun Zan out of the city and taking the opportunity to break the city gate, all were done by Yuan Xi.

From the initial planning to the capture of Yijing, Yuan Xi's contributions added up to a huge amount. He was definitely the first to achieve the credit and could legitimately obtain the position of Lord of Youzhou, just like Yuan Tan conquered and took charge of Qingzhou.

And now Yuan Xi is willing to give up these achievements?

Yuan Shao stared at Yuan Xi closely, but Yuan Xi lowered his head, and their eyes never met.

Yuan Shao asked solemnly: "Is there a reason?"

Yuan Xi looked up and around. Yuan Shao understood and said, "Come with me for a walk."

The two men walked out of the camp, one in front and one behind, with the guards following them from a distance.

It was nearing late autumn, and the sky had just brightened. The grass was covered with dew and the fog was heavy. Yuan Shao took a few breaths of the cold air and felt uncomfortable in his chest, so he coughed a few times.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi was about to take off his cloak. Seeing this, Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Father is not that weak."

Yuan Xi said: "I hope you take care of yourself, father."

Yuan Shao stopped walking when he heard this. "I'm afraid I won't hear this name for many times."

Yuan Xi thought that Yuan Shao had guessed it. And rightly so, what he and Yuan Tan did was so obvious, how could they possibly hide it from Yuan Shao.

He was in a very complicated mood and said, "No matter what happens, my father will always be my father."

Yuan Shao laughed and said, "I'm afraid that by then, even if you dare to shout, I won't be able to respond."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi was speechless for a while.

Yuan Shao changed the subject: "Do you really want to adopt me so much?"

Yuan Xi whispered: "Father, you should understand that with my status, I am destined to be unable to accomplish anything great."

Yuan Shao walked slower, "I never treated you as a bastard."

"Even one state can't satisfy you?"

Yuan Xi also slowed down his pace: "I understand your painstaking efforts, just like Si Kong treated my father back then."

This refers to Yuan Shao's biological father, Yuan Pang, who served as the Minister of the Imperial Household, the Minister of Works, and the Chief of the Imperial Guards. It was he who adopted Yuan Shao to the Yuan Cheng branch, which gave Yuan Shao the capital to start a rebellion. Otherwise, he would always be suppressed by Yuan Shu like a house slave.

Yuan Shao stopped and asked, "Do you think my third brother will do something bad to you?"

Yuan Xi said softly: "Xi has no intention to harm anyone, heaven and earth can bear witness to this."

Yuan Shao paused for a moment and started walking again.

Yuan Xi's words clearly implied that one should not have the intention to harm others, but one must be on guard against others.

Yuan Shao knew very well that Yuan Shang was plotting against Yuan Xi, but he could not punish Yuan Shang because as his successor, Yuan Shang's prestige must not be damaged.

However, what made him feel relieved was that Yuan Xi was very sensible and did not come to him for help afterwards, obviously understanding his efforts.

The two walked up the hill, and in the faint morning light, they could see the ruined outline of Yijing City in the distance.

Before the siege, dozens or even hundreds of tall watchtowers rose from the ground like hedgehogs, but now all the thorns of Yijing City have been broken and it has almost turned into scorched earth.

Yuan Shao pointed and said: "Half of this city originally belonged to you."

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "It's not mine, I won't have any delusions."

"I won't take even an inch of land in Jizhou."

"I just want to live a quiet life in Youzhou."

Yuan Shao straightened up slightly, "Youzhou is very hard."

There were birds singing in the sky, and Yuan Xi raised his head, "But there are not so many worries."

Yuan Shao couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity."

"The issues between you and Shang'er are not that big of a deal. How can there be a knot that can't be untied?"

There was a hint of resentment in Yuan Xi's tone: "We are tired of seeing each other, so it's better not to meet."

Yuan Shao shook his head. "You and Shang'er are like this. What if one day you become like me and Yuan Shu?"

Yuan Xi said: "As long as I am in charge of Youzhou, I will never go against my third brother."

"If I break this oath, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

When Yuan Shao saw that Yuan Xi had said so much, he knew that Yuan Xi had made up his mind, and for some reason a slight sense of loss welled up in his heart.

With Yuan Xi's talents, he could have been a great help to Yuan Shang!

But to be honest, Yuan Shang should be blamed for this matter. He targeted Yuan Xi again and again, making the relationship so strained. He really lacked magnanimity.

Yuan Shao stood on the ground, his body still straight, but in Yuan Xi's opinion, he seemed a little more hunched than before.

After a long while, Yuan Shao asked, "Are you still going to marry the daughter of the Zhen family?"

"You are going to be the ruler of a state, and there are many women with higher status than her."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said resolutely: "Xi has already promised the other party, and there is no way I will break the contract."

Yuan Shao laughed and said, "That's what I promised."

Yuan Xi choked.

Yuan Shao sighed and said, "Do you want to adopt me first, or marry me first?"

Yuan Xi said without hesitation: "Adopt him first."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded and said, "If that's the case, I can't interfere with your marriage."

"Then you can marry whoever you want, and you really don't need to be controlled by others."

Yuan Xi vaguely felt that Yuan Shao had become a little shorter.

Yuan Xi also whispered: "Father, I am already twenty years old and I am still waiting to get married and have children."

"Father, you don't know that I was actually very afraid of death on the battlefield. I was always afraid that if I died one day, I would not leave anything behind in this world."

Yuan Shao was silent, feeling a little guilty.

He straightened up again, and Yuan Xi found that Yuan Shao's figure suddenly became taller, and an aura of oppression was overwhelming him.

Yuan Shao turned around and said solemnly, "After you are adopted, you will be a member of the Yuan Ji and Yuan Shiji lineage."

"From that moment on, you and I are only distant relatives."

"Jizhou will no longer help you for free in any difficulties you encounter in Youzhou. You must pay the corresponding price."

"Without the help of the Yuan family, it may take you many years, or even a lifetime, to completely occupy Youzhou, since you only have half of Zhuo County at present."

"From now on, whether it's your marriage or anything else, when you have a conflict with Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang, I will not stand on your side."

"I'm going to ask you one last time, have you thought it through?"

Yuan Xi also stood up straight, his expression solemn: "I've thought it through."

"I will never regret it."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao turned around and said, "I understand."

"When do you plan to do that?"

Yuan Xi said: "The sooner the better."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao said, "After you have arranged matters in Youzhou, return to Yecheng."

He took a step forward and was about to walk down the hill.

Behind him, Yuan Xi fell to the ground and said loudly: "Thank you for raising me, father. I will never forget it!"

This time, Yuan Shao strode away without any pause.

Only after Yuan Shao's figure disappeared did Yuan Xi stand up, feeling relieved.

Done!

Amidst his true and false words, Yuan Shao finally made a decision. With his merits in the Battle of Yijing, there should be no obstacles for him to return to Yecheng for adoption.

He stood in the light morning mist, feeling a faint joy in his heart, but also a faint sense of loss.

He couldn't tell which of his words were true and which were false.