Chapter 344: Unpredictable

Seeing Qu Yi's appearance, Lü Bu thought he might die at any time, and sighed: "The situation in Dezhou is like this. If I travel hundreds of miles, I'm afraid it will be difficult to return alive."

Qu Yi laughed and said, "If I die in the mansion, I'm afraid it will cause trouble to Marquis Wen. I might as well try my luck and die on the road."

After hearing this, Lü Bu realized that Qu Yi was determined to leave, so he said, "In that case, I will have someone pack up the carriages and horses, and send him to Dezhou tomorrow."

Qu Yi laughed, "Thank you, Wen Hou, for that."

Lu Bu sighed, "There aren't many warriors I look up to in my life, but Dezhou is definitely one of them."

"Now that Dezhou has saved Bu's wife and daughter, Bu has no way to repay him, which makes Bu feel quite uneasy."

Qu Yi laughed: "Thank you for your high regard, Lord Wen. I don't have any great ambitions in my life, but Lord Wen is different."

"If we take the right path in the future, Marquis Wen may be able to dominate the world again."

After hearing this, Lu Bu's face became solemn and he said, "I will remember what Dezhou said."

Lu Bu came out of Qu Yi's room and thought that Qu Yi was in a hurry to return to Youzhou, probably because he knew that he would not live long, so it would be inappropriate for him to keep him.

When he returned to the house, he heard the guards report that Yang Chou wanted to see him. Lu Bu heard this and said, "Let him in."

He thought that Yang Chou was honest. There was a chaos in the city a few days ago, and Lu Bu once suspected that Yang Chou was the mastermind behind it. However, Yang Chou came to Lu Bu every day to talk about the situation in the city and responded calmly, so Lu Bu's suspicion gradually faded.

Because several of his generals were more suspicious than Yang Chou.

Lu Bu asked Chen Gong to collect evidence secretly, but Chen Gong discovered in the past few days that several generals under Lu Bu had some problems, especially the most suspicious one, the highly respected Hao Meng!

Lu Bu still couldn't believe it. Hao Meng had followed him for many years, how could this be possible?

Of course, the evidence collected by Chen Gong was insufficient, and it was possible that someone had framed Hao Meng, so Lu Bu told Chen Gong not to speak out for the time being and to make plans after collecting solid evidence.

The guard brought Yang Chou in, and Yang Chou bowed and said, "Marquis Wen, I have something important to report."

After hearing this, Lu Bu asked his attendants to leave and said, "What's the matter? Just tell me!"

Yang Chou reached into his bosom and took out a scroll of silk. He said anxiously, "I accidentally got some evidence, but this matter is serious, so I can only report it to Lord Wen."

Lu Bu took the silk book and looked at it carefully, and his face suddenly turned gloomy.

This silk book contains a private letter between Hao Meng and Yuan Shu, and his words reveal his dissatisfaction with Lu Bu!

He slammed the table in anger and yelled at Yang Chou: "How did you get this thing?"

Yang Chou lowered his head hurriedly, "Someone sent this to my house, I don't know!"

Lu Bu held the silk in his hand, stared at Hao Meng, and said, "Really?"

Yang Chou said quickly: "It is absolutely true. Even if I had ten times the courage, I would not dare to deceive Marquis Wen!"

Lu Bu's tone slowed down, "Thank you for your hard work. I hope the general will keep it a secret for the time being. I will definitely get to the bottom of the matter."

Yang Chou wiped his sweat and said respectfully, "I respect the order of Marquis Wen."

He took the opportunity to say, "There is one more thing. The governor's food is almost used up."

"I have already gathered food and supplies and will leave for Hanoi tomorrow."

After hearing this, Lü Bu frowned and said, "You are the only general under Zhang Yang. If you leave, who will take charge of Huaicheng?"

Yang Chou smiled and said, "When I followed the governor to Henei, Marquis Wen was in charge of Huaicheng and everything was fine. But after I came back, the city was in chaos. I feel deeply ashamed and have failed Marquis Wen and the governor."

"The governor also told Chou that he felt more at ease with Marquis Wen around than when he was alone."

Lu Bu was flattered by Yang Chou's flattery and laughed, "Since Zhang Yang trusts me so much, I will keep an eye on Huaicheng for him!"

Yang Chou said goodbye and got on the carriage, feeling cold sweat on his back.

If it weren't for his future and family, he really wouldn't dare to take such a risk.

The day before yesterday, Lu's mansion was not captured, Lu Bu's family members were not killed, and the plan to frame Yuan Xi failed for some unknown reason. This was all beyond Yang Chou's expectations.

Although Yang Chou was not the one who directly ordered the mobilization of people, he was still very worried about being discovered and wanted to find a chance to escape at any time. However, after Cao sent a secret letter, Yang Chou decided to take a gamble and stay.

As it turned out, Cao Cao had guessed Lu Bu's thoughts thoroughly, and he was not held accountable. Instead, Lu Bu started to investigate his own generals.

The reason why Lu Bu suspected his subordinates more than Yang Chou was due to Lu Bu's own personal character.

As Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo's confidant, he betrayed them twice, so Lu Bu himself was most wary of being betrayed by his confidants.

Therefore, the more capable the confidants are, the less likely they will be valued by Lu Bu. Instead, they will be guarded against. This is the case with Gao Shun and Zhang Liao. The fact that they were sent outside the city to confront Zhao Yun may not be without this factor.

However, people like Hao Meng, Wei Xu, etc., who have relatively less abilities, are more likely to be trusted by Lu Bu.

Unfortunately, it was these people who were trusted by Lu Bu who betrayed him in later generations.

Now Cao Cao has the evidence of collusion between Hao Meng and Yuan Shu. When the turmoil in Huaicheng is still unsettled, he lets Yang Chou, the real mastermind of the turmoil, come out in order to make the chaos in Huaicheng even worse!

In this way, even if the alliance between Lu Bu and Yuan Xi is not broken, Lu Bu will be forced to clean up his own house and deal with Yuan Shu. In this case, Lu Bu will not have time to rush to Henei, and Cao Cao's army, which has already marched to Sili, will be ahead of Lu Bu!

After Yang Chou figured out the whole cause and effect, he felt a sense of fear in his heart. Cao Cao's advisers were too terrible!

He secretly rejoiced in his heart that his mission had been completed this time and he had to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Accidents could happen in the city at any time, and it would be bad if I was affected!

At the same time, a secret letter was sent to Hao Meng's mansion.

When Hao Meng opened it, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

There is only one line of words on it.

Your affair with Yuan Gonglu has been exposed. Only if you start the uprising early will there be a glimmer of hope.

He quickly burned the silk cloth with the secret letter on it and paced back and forth in the house anxiously.

He had no doubt about the contents of the letter, because he had indeed received a promise from Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu promised that if he raised an army and killed Lu Bu, he could replace Lu Bu's position!

Now, within a few days, it will be the best time to start an uprising, because at that time, Yuan Shu's army will be able to enter Sili, go north to Henei, and approach Huaicheng.

In name, Yuan Shu wanted to intimidate Lu Bu, but in reality he wanted to cooperate with Hao Meng to capture Huaicheng!

Hao Meng originally thought that this matter was extremely confidential. How could he not panic when he suddenly learned that his plan had been exposed?

Can't wait any longer!

Inside the tent at the Black Mountain Passage, Yuan Xi felt increasingly uneasy, and he called Guo Jia over again.

He first apologized: "I have hidden something from you, sir."

He told the story of how he pretended to be Yinhu, and finally said: "I sent Brother Qu out using the name of Yinhu. I was afraid that Lu Bu would suspect me, so I concealed this matter."

"Now that Brother Qu is on the verge of death, it doesn't matter whether we keep it a secret or not. So I want to ask you, sir, I always feel that something strange happened in Huaicheng the other day. Is it just to frame me?"

Guo Jia finally understood the situation after hearing this. He thought for a long time before speaking, "You did the right thing by hiding this matter for the sake of Dezhou's safety."

"But the matter of Huaicheng is indeed a bit strange."

He raised a finger, "Sir, what do you think is the most important thing right now?"

Yuan Xi answered subconsciously: "To welcome the emperor?"

Guo Jia nodded, "Yes, sir, do you think the riot in Huaicheng is related to this matter?"

Yuan Xi pondered, "If there is unrest in the city, Lu Bu will not be able to act rashly. It may take quite some time to rectify the spies in the city."

"Zilong and Gong Yu may also have to follow Lu Bu's pace and delay their departure..."

His body suddenly trembled, "If there is another riot..."

"Who will benefit in the end?"

Both of them thought hard, who is closest to the emperor's carriage now?

The two said in unison: "Yuan Shu!"

Guo Jia then shook his head and denied it, "Not likely. Yuan Shu wants to be emperor, he doesn't need to go through so much trouble."

"Wouldn't it be enough if he just mobilized the army and killed the emperor?"

Yuan Xi suddenly had an idea, "Sir, are you saying that those who want to ruin the relationship between Lü Bu and us also want to welcome the emperor?"

"Cao Cao?"

He then asked in confusion, "Cao Cao's army will go from Chenliu to Sili and will run into Yuan Shu's army at the border of Yuzhou. Isn't he afraid of being stopped?"

Guo Jia couldn't figure it out either, and both of them were confused and puzzled.

But half a day later, the urgent information sent by the scouts made the two men realize their mistake and regret it too late.

Cao Cao's army secretly crossed the river and joined forces with Yuan Shang's army returning from Dongwuyang, and went all the way from Weijun to the border of Bing and Ji.

Yuan Shang led his troops north to the pass leading to Black Mountain in Zhaojun, while Cao Cao's army went south and entered Sili!

Yuan Xi and Guo Jia finally understood. It was not their fault. Without intelligence, they could not make any reasonable inferences.

Who knew that Cao Cao's army attacked Chenliu openly, but like Yuan Xi, they secretly attacked Chencang?

Tian Yu looked ashamed: "This time, Cao's army kept their intelligence secret very well. They crossed the river and mixed into Yuan Shang's army, all the way to the border of Bingzhou, and then they went straight to Sili with light equipment and few horses."

"At this time, the spies we planted on the border quickly sent back information, but it was too late. Cao Cao should have arrived in Sili by now!"

Guo Jia sighed, "Cao Cao must have reached a deal with the Third Master Yuan, otherwise he wouldn't have covered up for him like this."

"In this way, Cao Cao got ahead and everyone was tricked!"

"The mastermind behind the Huaicheng Rebellion is about to be revealed, and the biggest beneficiary is obviously Cao Cao!"

"And since he hasn't achieved his goal yet, he shouldn't have given up yet!"

Yuan Xi clenched his fists. Cao Cao was really difficult to deal with!

In comparison, I am still much younger!

He asked aloud: "What do we do now?"

Guo Jia said decisively: "The situation has changed. We need to change our plans immediately."

"Sir, you should send troops and horses to rush to Hanoi to help."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "I thought you would advise me to defend the Black Mountain Pass."

Guo Jia said: "Things have priorities."

"The most important thing for you right now is to welcome the emperor, but without Lu Bu's support, Zilong and his lone army cannot face Cao's army and Baibo's army."

"The Black Mountain Pass has become useless. Third Master Yuan is determined to get it. We cannot quarrel with him for the time being."

"In that case, why not go with the flow and do me a favor."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi asked Tian Yu, "Where is Yuan Shang's army?"

Tian Yu said: "They have entered the heart of the Black Mountain, more than a hundred miles southwest of us. They obviously want to cut off our way south."

Yuan Xi was stunned. So close?