Chapter 378 Dragon Meets Flying Bear

When Gao Shun was in Jizhou, he met many famous scholars and high-ranking officials, and he also understood the rules of conduct in the aristocratic circle to some extent. However, the young man in front of him, who came from a prominent family of the time and had become the governor of a state, had a completely different style of doing things.

In Gao Shun's opinion, Yuan Xi's persistent behavior did not show the demeanor of a nobleman at all, but rather seemed like someone who had risen through the ranks in the market, like a gangster and scoundrel.

Gao Shun always felt that Yuan Xi's behavior was very similar to that of a person he had read about in history books. Isn't this the appearance of the legendary Emperor Gaozu?

Yuan Xi was still chattering in front of him, "Brother Gao, you see I will soon be the son-in-law of Marquis Wen, so we are more or less close."

"Brother Gao may not know that my first wife's fourth sister married Gao Lan. You know Gao Lan, like Brother Gao, he was born in the Chenliu Gao family and is now a famous general in Jizhou."

"Brother Gao, don't you think this is a close relationship, closer than family?"

Gao Shun's head was about to explode, "Please let me go, sir. What will Lord Wen think if you make friends with me?"

"Even if the two sides join forces, it will cause suspicion."

Yuan Xi laughed, "Brother Gao, we are a family and should not be so formal when talking to each other."

"Brother Gao, have you ever thought about how you would cope if Marquis Wen really became friendly with the Yuan family again, especially with Lord Benchu?"

"Excuse me, Brother Gao's current situation is already very embarrassing. Will it be even more difficult then?"

Gao Shun said seriously, "Your Excellency may have misunderstood. Marquis Wen has been very good to me, and I have always lived a good life."

Yuan Xi still did not give up. "Brother Gao, please do not deceive yourself. If you surrender to me, I will definitely rely on you as my right hand."

"With me mediating, the previous quarrel between brother and Gao will definitely be put behind us. Isn't that good?"

Gao Shun said calmly: "Shun will not let down Marquis Wen."

Yuan Xi admired Gao Shun in his heart, he was really stubborn.

But he felt even more regretful in his heart. Lu Bu clearly had a loyal subordinate like Gao Shun, but in the end, he didn't know how he ended up in such a mess. Thinking that Gao Shun was killed in the future, Yuan Xi felt that it was not worth it.

Seeing that Gao Shun would not speak, he knew that it was not good to say anything more, so he had to strike while the snake was still in its grip, "Xi admires Brother Gao's conduct very much."

"I also hope that Brother Gao can be valued by Marquis Wen and show his strengths."

"Well, I won't mention this matter for now. I just hope that if Brother Gao encounters difficulties, he can remember what I said today."

"The door of Youzhou is always open for Brother Gao."

Gao Shun heard this and stood up, bowed and thanked him, saying, "I am very grateful for your favor, Your Excellency."

Seeing that Gao Shun had remained tight-lipped from beginning to end, Yuan Xi thought that the more loyal a person is, the harder it is to dig him out, so it would be a good idea to loosen up the soil first.

He changed the subject and said, "I came here because I heard that Yuan Shu's army was approaching Huaicheng and was only three or four days away."

"Brother, do you think Huaicheng can stop it?"

Gao Shun thought for a moment and said, "If Yuan Shu's army attacks with all their might, I will risk my life to escort the envoy and Marquis Wen's wife and daughter out of the encirclement."

Yuan Xi understood what he meant. Gao Shun had no confidence at all!

He said aloud: "What if the Xianzhen Camp is still in your hands?"

Gao Shun thought for a while, "It's just half a month longer."

Yuan Xi thought that half a month was a long time, enough time to wait for many changes, such as the return of Wenhou Zhao Yun, or the dispatch of troops from Jizhou. Of course, there was also the possibility of a worse situation.

Yuan Xi thought about it and felt that he should not just sit there and wait for death. The situation in Anyi was very complicated. If it could not be resolved in one or two months, just waiting would not be a solution.

He said, "Xi, there is one thing I don't understand. Why did Marquis Wen hand over the military power to General Wei Xu?"

Gao Shun heard the hidden meaning behind Yuan Xi's words, and his eyes flashed, "Your Excellency, do you mean that General Wei Xu has some problems?"

Yuan Xi said: "In Xi's opinion, it is most appropriate for Mr. Gongtai to take charge, but he has been pointed out by someone and is restricted in what he can do."

"I'm not saying anything about Wei Xu, but as Brother Gao said, if he were to command the Xianzhen Camp, I'm afraid he would be much worse than Brother Gao."

"That's fine. If he's happy to see it happen, then the situation will be serious."

"Brother Gao must have put a lot of effort into training the Xianzhen Camp, right?"

Gao Shun clenched his fists involuntarily when he heard this. Yuan Xi saw that the time was right and took the opportunity to say, "I would like to invite Brother Gao to go with me to see Mr. Gongtai."

Gao Shun smelled something strange and said quickly, "Marquis Wen asked me to guard the city, how could I..."

Yuan Xi interrupted him, "Brother Gao!"

"I am going to be the son-in-law of Marquis Wen, how can I have any other thoughts about him?"

Gao Shun secretly complained, thinking that Marquis Wen has not made a clear statement yet, and it is only you who is licking your face and calling yourself the son-in-law of Marquis Wen. As a descendant of the Yuan family, don't you care about the face of your family?

Yuan Xi asked again: "Brother Gao, what do you think of my soldiers?"

Gao Shun replied: "We are both good at winning battles with the Xianzhen Camp, but there are areas where the Xianzhen Camp cannot match us."

He said this in a very sophisticated way and also praised himself indirectly, which shows that he is very proud of the soldiers in the Formation Trap that he trained.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed and said, "Brother Gao is too modest. However, just as Brother Gao values ​​the Xianzhen Camp, I also value these soldiers under my command."

"They were trained by my general Qu Yi. He escaped death that day and I saved him, so he has been training under me."

"But unfortunately, he died in battle to protect Marquis Wen's daughter. When I think about it now, I feel heartbroken."

He turned sideways and looked directly at Gao Shun, "I have met with the Xianzhen Camp several times in the past few days."

"I discovered that quite a number of them were actually the first batch of warriors who died in Jizhou!"

"Brother Gao, did you know that these first-line warriors were originally trained by Qu Yi?"

Gao Shun was silent for a long time, and then he slowly said, "Qu Yi and I have known each other for a long time."

"These vanguards were his family's private soldiers when he was in Liangzhou. They were always with him."

"Later, he joined the army of Benchu ​​Gong and made many contributions, but he was always suspected."

"This is normal. The sword is sharp and useful for killing enemies, but it may also hurt its owner."

"He and I have known each other for several years, and we often discussed military training together until that incident happened."

"I took over the remaining vanguard troops and organized them into a trap camp."

"Later, because there were people in the Gao clan who were more respected than me, Lord Benchu ​​asked me to hand over the Xianzhen Camp to them."

"At that time, I was young and hot-tempered, and I couldn't swallow this humiliation. In addition, the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp were very dissatisfied with Qu Yi's ambush and murder. Instigated by several of my subordinates, I contacted Wen Hou, who was taking refuge in Bingzhou, and took the Xianzhen Camp to join him."

Yuan Xi thought to himself, "So that's how it is. If the general knew that he would have to hand over the Xianzhen Camp now, would he still leave Jizhou?"

Gao Shun looked at his feet and finally said, "At least when we fight, I will still be in charge."

Seeing that Gao Shun's tone had softened, Yuan Xi knew that the other party was already feeling a little regretful.

In this chaotic world, lords and subordinates often just use each other. How many rulers and subjects can truly understand each other?

Thinking of this, he said, "Even if Brother Gao can trust Marquis Wen, can he trust Wei Xu?"

"Brother Gao, you have also heard about the affair between Marquis Wen and Madam Wei Xu, right?"

Gao Shun paused. Everyone knew about this kind of thing in private, but the atmosphere in Liang had always been open. What could a subordinate like him who was born in Chenliu say?

Yuan Xi saw what Gao Shun was thinking and said, "Brother Gao, there are few men in the world who would willingly give their wives to others."

"If Wei Xu is dissatisfied and joins others, and lets the Xianzhen Camp die before the battle, Brother Gao will have the heart to waste all his years of hard work?"

"If Wei Xu runs away, how will we explain to Marquis Wen?"

"Besides, I'm afraid we may not be able to survive under Yuan Shu's army."

Gao Shun was even more hesitant after hearing this, "What does the envoy mean?"

Yuan Xi thought it was done, and said, "I would like to ask Brother Gao to go with me to see Mr. Gongtai."

As long as Chen Gong can be persuaded, half of the matter will be done. The rest is how to defend Huaicheng.

Outside Anyi City, Ju Su said to Zhao Yun: "Li Jue and Guo Si are both very skilled in martial arts, General, be careful."

Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Thank you, sir. I will go and test the other party's strength first!"

He rode out with a hundred cavalrymen and arrived in front of the enemy camp, shouting, "Zhao Zilong of Changshan, come and fight against the rebellion!"

The thousands of Flying Bear Army led by Li Jue and Guo Si were now blocked outside Anyi City by Zhao Yun's thousands of soldiers and horses.

The Feixiong Army was Li Jue's most proud personal army, known to be invincible. They had previously chased the emperor's convoy for thousands of miles all the way from Chang'an, winning battles one after another along the way, and annihilated the most elite Yulin Army around the emperor.

If the Baibo Army and the Southern Xiongnu had not joined forces to launch a surprise attack on Li Jue's army which was attacking the emperor's camp, forcing it to retreat temporarily, the Feixiong Army would have almost wiped out all the enemies.

Even so, after the Feixiong Army made a comeback, they defeated Yang Feng and Han Xian successively, and the emperor's convoy was forced to flee to Anyi.

However, Li Jue and Guo Si were not giving up and led their troops to approach Anyi, but they encountered Zhao Yun's army who were resisting outside.

Li Jue saw that Zhao Yun was unfamiliar, so he turned to Guo Si and asked, "Who is this?"

Guo Sihun didn't care and said, "It looks like they are not from Bingliang. Who of these people from Guandong can stop us?"

"Just send someone to kill him!"

After hearing this, Li Jue looked around and saw a general beside him. His eyes lit up and he said, "Go up and take his head!"

The general heard this and showed a proud look on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "I will obey the general's orders!"

It's no wonder that he is arrogant, he is Li Jue's right-hand man, Hu Feng.

Hu Feng was Li Jue's nephew and served as the Cavalry Commandant. This position already showed that he was an outstanding fighter in Li Jue's army which was mainly composed of cavalry.

Moreover, Hu Feng was famous for something he had done before, which was killing the right general Fan Chou at a banquet.

"Book of the Later Han, Volume 72 - Biography of Dong Zhuo, Notes [I] Chronicle of Emperor Xian says: "Kuai saw that Chou was indeed brave and had won his heart, so he hated him. He got him drunk and secretly sent the cavalry commander Hu Feng to the table to pull Chou to death."

Fan Chou was also a famous general in the Liangzhou army, just like Li Jue and Guo Si. The fact that Hu Feng was able to kill Fan Chou with his bare hands when he was surrounded by Fan Chou's subordinates showed that he was indeed an extraordinary martial arts master.

Hu Feng held his spear high, rode his horse to the front of the battle array, and shouted, "You nobody, give me your life!"