Chapter 340: Working Like a Horse

In the Black Mountains, Yuan Xi was on a wooden building holding a telescope, looking into the distance, when he suddenly sneezed. He thought that the weather had become much warmer, and he sneezed for no reason. Was someone thinking about him?

The surroundings have been very quiet these days, and the Montenegrin Army seems to have not yet sent troops here, as if they have given up resistance.

Of course, it is also possible that the Black Mountain Army was waiting for Yuan Xi to lead his troops deep into the enemy's territory alone, and then take the opportunity to surround Yuan Xi.

If the Black Mountain Army really planned this, it would be exactly what Yuan Xi wanted. He would not fight now, but just starve the enemy to death. Anyway, he had fewer soldiers and more sufficient logistics. If this continued, the Black Mountain Army would definitely collapse first.

Moreover, because of the large-scale escape of Montenegro people some time ago and the release of the Montenegro surrendered soldiers by Yuan Xi, Montenegro fell into chaos, which completely disrupted its spring plowing. If there is no make-up plowing in the summer, this year's grain harvest will be ruined.

By then, it would not be as simple as starving people to death in Montenegro. The choices before the other party would be extremely cruel, so Yuan Xi did not believe that Zhang Yan could bear it.

Zhang Yan might seek to join other forces, but who can provide enough food to feed so many mouths in the Black Mountain Army?

Unless Zhang Yan doesn't care about their life or death at all.

Of course, the worst case scenario is also true. If Zhang Yan really abandons the people and soldiers of Montenegro, the fate of the Montenegro army will be extremely miserable.

Yuan Xi had hesitated at first. If this were to happen, wouldn't he be the one who caused it?

But later he made up his mind that the Montenegrin Army must be eradicated.

Perhaps their ideas were good at the beginning of the uprising, but in the face of cruel reality, they quickly degenerated into separatist forces that plundered the people, and the common people who originally came from the same family as them became victims of their selfish desires.

The Han court compromised with the bandits and had already lost the support of the people. In this case, it would be a better choice to beat them back to their original form and get back to the basics.

After all, what the people of Montenegro wanted initially was just to have food to eat and survive.

There is no need for a corrupt force like the Montenegrin Army to exist anymore. At the very least, they should be able to support themselves and not become bandits who rob others.

However, the Battle of Montenegro is just a struggle on a corner of this huge chessboard.

The real fight between the two dragons is taking place in Hedong County.

The emperor's carriage.

In this chess game, many forces are involved.

The chessboard includes Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Heishan, Sili, and even Yanzhou and Yuzhou, which has affected nearly half of the world.

The forces involved are even more complex.

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Zhang Yan, Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and maybe the Southern Xiongnu.

Among these princes, Yuan Xi was not even a force at all, he was just like a small shrimp in a school of fish.

His only advantage was that he knew the general direction of history, although with his intervention, the direction became different from that of later generations and could no longer be accurately predicted.

Yuan Xi was thinking about the current situation of his corner.

He took a small step to break into the Black Mountain passage, and with a counter-attack, he defeated Yang Feng, who was trying to behead him. Tian Yu and the reinforcements Guo Jia took the opportunity to eat up the Black Mountain army's vanguard.

Although it was a risky move, with Yuan Xi's lower four horses against Yang Feng's upper four horses, it undoubtedly achieved its goal.

Of course, he also had a backup plan in this move. Yan Rou's cavalry and the support from Beixincheng were two living eyes. If the Black Mountain Army could not block these two eyes at the same time, they would not be able to threaten Yuan Xi.

The most crucial thing was that Yuan Xi secretly made a big move, bypassing the Black Mountain Army's blockade and sending Zhao Yun and Ju Su to Hebei, turning it into a key move that determined the gains and losses on the chessboard.

However, this piece of chess is completely disconnected from Yuan Xi's current military deployment. In other words, Zhao Yun and Ju Su need to independently turn this isolated chess piece into a big dragon.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi sighed. Was this requirement too harsh for the two of them?

But at this time, all the chess pieces on the board are maintaining a delicate balance. Once one side is forced into a desperate situation, it may turn to the other side, causing the game to instantly become unbalanced.

Therefore, even if Yuan Xi could defeat the Black Mountain Army at present, it might not be beneficial to welcoming the emperor. In that case, the Black Mountain Army might be forced to surrender to Cao Cao or even Yuan Shu, thus causing greater trouble.

On this chessboard, if you make a wrong move, you may be crushed to pieces and there is no way to recover. But even if you make several right moves, you may not have the last laugh, because the chess players behind you are eyeing you and may intervene in the game at any time.

For the first time since his rebirth, Yuan Xi felt the subtle and attractive aspect of fighting for the world. This chess game, which uses all living beings as chess pieces and stirs up the world's situation, who will be the winner in the end? No one will know until the last moment!

Yuan Xi also thought about whether he could give some more support to Zhao Yun and Ju Su, but after discussing with Guo Jia, he found that there was no other way as long as the Black Mountain Army could not be completely destroyed.

Therefore, he can only check and balance the Montenegrin Army to prevent the other side from acting rashly and threatening Hanoi.

Moreover, Yuan Xi's absence from Hanoi also made the suspicious Lu Bu less worried. Otherwise, if Yuan Xi went there in person, it would make Lu Bu afraid and wonder whether Yuan Xi was plotting against Hanoi. This would be counterproductive for the two parties to join forces.

Of course, Yuan Xi was also waiting for someone to intervene.

Yuan Shang.

If Yuan Shang wanted to fight for victory, he had to break through the central pass between Changshan and Zhaojun. Yuan Xi had already pulled Yan Rou away from the vicinity, leaving a passage for Yuan Shang to enter Heishan from Jizhou.

Since it is impossible to stop them anyway, it is better to let them come in and fight among the three parties. As for how much Yuan Shang can take, it depends on his own ability.

Yuan Xi calculated how many chess pieces he still had in his hand.

Xianyu Fu in Yuyang.

Liu He was stationed in Jicheng.

And Chen Gui who has already returned.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi was a little confused. Could Chen Gui convince Lu Bu?

It stands to reason that in later history, Chen Gui was very good at fooling Lu Bu, but now the situation has changed, and it is not certain that Chen Gui will succeed, right?

The current situation in Huaicheng, Hanoi, is like a blind chess piece to Yuan Xi, who has no idea what is happening.

If Lu Bu turned against him and attacked Zhao Yun and Ju Shou, Yuan Xi's plan would completely fail, and Yuan Xi could only bet that Lu Bu would be able to figure it out.

Thinking of this, he wrote a letter to Cao Xian in Beixin City. He shook his head as he wrote. Isn't it a bit difficult for Cao Xian to be in charge of internal affairs intelligence?

But his trusted subordinates had all been sent out, so there was really no one left. He sealed the letter and gave it to the messenger to deliver it to Beixin City, hoping that Cao Xian could find a way to solve the problem.

Inside the Beixincheng mansion, Cao Xian was pulling Hou's hand pitifully, saying, "Madam, help me!"

"There are so many bamboo slips that I am exhausted!"

"When I was helping Sister Zhaoji, I thought I could handle it independently, but now it seems that this is not the case at all!"

"I boasted to you that I had learned 90% of Sister Zhaoji's skills, but in reality, I have learned only 10%!"

"If I can't sort out this information in time, the young master will definitely kick me out of the house!"

"Madam, help me collect the information. I will help you cook and take care of the children!"

Seeing Cao Xian's expression, Hou couldn't help but want to laugh. She realized that she had lost her composure, and quickly restrained her appearance and said seriously: "It's okay for me to help, but my late husband is your enemy. Aren't you afraid that I will do something bad to you?"

Cao Xian said casually: "What enemy? I have heard about what happened at that time. General Gongsun was not killed by you, right?"

"Rather, it was General Gongsun who wanted to kill the lady and the children, right?"

Seeing Hou's expression darken, she knew she had said something wrong, and quickly said, "Now that the two sides are going to become relatives, there is no hatred or grudge left. It's all in the past!"

Hou was at a loss for words. Not to mention that she hadn't agreed yet, she didn't even know when Yuan Xi would give birth to a son.

But seeing Cao Xian pulling at her sleeve with an expectant look on his face, Hou could only respond, "Okay, okay, I'll help you."

Cao Xian cheered, took Hou's child from his arms, and jumped in front of him, saying, "The intelligence of the past few days has been sent to the study. Madam, follow me!"

Seeing Cao Xian running as fast as a monkey in front of her, Hou had to lift up her skirt to catch up, shouting, "Be careful not to fall!"

Cao Xian laughed and said, "Madam is as careful as my mother!"

The two of them came to the study. Cao Xian held the child in his arms and kicked the bolt on the door open with one leg raised high, which made Hou Shi speechless and shook her head.

When Cao Xian kicked the door open, Hou took a deep breath after seeing the hundreds of bamboo slips piled up in the room. "Why are there so many?"

Cao Xian said embarrassedly: "Urgent matters are sent directly to Heishan. These are briefings submitted by various counties. There is a lot of nonsense in them. I am not sure how to classify them. That's why I want to ask Madam for help."

Hou paused and said helplessly: "Forget it, let's take it step by step first."

The two of them worked from morning to night, and after two meals, they only processed more than 30 copies, less than half of them. Seeing Cao Xian yawning repeatedly, Hou said, "How about tomorrow?"

After hearing this, Cao Xian said helplessly: "After I finished copying these documents for a whole day, I couldn't even lift my shoulders."

"I was really fooled by the young master. I thought it was a great opportunity to follow him out this time, but I ended up copying and doing hard labor every day!"

Hou thought that Yuan Xi was really an oddball. Others took concubines just to enjoy the beauty of women, but he treated people like cattle and horses!

I heard that Cai Zhaoji in Jicheng was even busier, going to charity school to teach every day?

Thinking of this, Hou couldn't help but sigh. This was too much!

Moreover, he left Cao Xian behind and went to fight. There were only two women in the mansion, and they were asked to help process intelligence. Isn't that too uncivilized?

Hou suddenly thought of something, "I remember a woman came to the mansion a few days ago?"

"That was brought back by the Master? Do you want to ask her for help?"

Cao Xian was delighted when he heard this, but then hesitated and shook his head, saying, "It's not appropriate. I don't know what the young master wants her to do."

She didn't want to tell Hou about Yuan Xi's identity as Yinhu, and thought it was better to be careful in everything.

Mrs. Du was brought back from Hanoi by Chen Gui. There must be some entanglement between them and her identity has not been clarified yet. It would be bad if the information was leaked.

But it was different for the Hou family. Now there were only orphans and widows left in the Gongsun family. Between escaping and marrying, Cao Xian felt that the Hou family would not betray Yuan Xi.

Cao Xian is usually careless, but he is very sensible in doing things, so Mrs. Du still stays in the house miserably, becoming another forgotten person in this almost forgotten mansion.