Yuan Xi didn't really care where Mrs. Du was. After all, they had only met once.
Although Qin Yiluo's idea was proposed by Yuan Xi, without Yuan Xi, Qin Yiluo and Madam Du would not have been able to make it to the end.
What he is worried about now is what is happening in Anyi. Lu Bu is not very reliable, so he can only place his hopes on the combination of Ju Shou and Zhao Yun.
But Yuan Xi had no idea whether he could gain the upper hand over Cao Cao. After all, Cao Cao was an outstanding man in both civil and military affairs, and the chances of defeating him completely were very slim.
Because according to the intelligence reported back from Anyi, Liu Xie's trust in Cao Cao and the support of the ministers for Cao Cao far exceeded Yuan Xi's previous expectations.
Yuan Xi's bottom line was that at least he must not let Cao Cao bring Liu Xie to Xuchang, as that would be too passive.
Ideally, Liu Xie would go to Huaicheng and put him under the control of multiple forces, but it is probably impossible to completely get rid of Cao Cao's power for the time being.
With Yuan Xi's current strength, he cannot use force, otherwise he will be attacked by others.
Even Cao Cao can't do it, so for now the parties can only plot secretly.
According to Yuan Xi's calculations, in order to maintain checks and balances, Liu Xie would allow both Lu Bu and Cao Cao to intervene in court affairs, and at the same time check and balance each other, so that Liu Xie could gain greater room for maneuver.
As for Yuan Xi, his first priority was to prevent Cao Cao from becoming the only powerful force. All other empty titles and rewards were just extras. After all, in this chaotic world, money, food, and soldiers were the real things.
Of course, for Yuan Xi, Zhao Yun needs this false reputation, which is related to his commitment to Zhao Yun and his next expansion direction.
Because according to the historical process of later generations, after welcoming the emperor, the world will usher in another major event.
Yuan Shu declared himself emperor.
The mainstream of the world today is still the struggle for supremacy between the two Yuans. The two of them are divided into the north and the south. Not only do they occupy most of the world, they also have the two largest separatist forces.
In this situation, Yuan Shu was like a brainless donkey. He drove everyone to the opposite side of himself by his foolish act of proclaiming himself emperor.
The princes of the world are like a pack of hungry wolves. Seeing such fat meat, who wouldn't want to take a bite?
Yuan Xi is of course one of them.
Yuan Shu would certainly not be able to withstand the siege of the world's heroes, and his defeat was only a matter of time.
After his defeat, the territory, troops, and connections he left behind will all be the objects of contention among the heroes. In order to divide up his legacy, the world will usher in a new round of reshuffle.
At this time, the closer you are to Yuan Shu, the more likely you are to get involved as quickly as possible and get the biggest piece of the pie.
Yuan Xi went to great lengths to occupy Guangling in Xuzhou, which borders Yuan Shu's territory, just like occupying the front row seat at a play so that one can see clearly.
Because Yuan Shu occupied most of Yuzhou and Yangzhou, to attack his territory, one had to either go south from Sili or from Xuzhou.
The road from Sili to Yuzhou in the south was blocked by Yanzhou, which had already been occupied by Cao Cao. Therefore, Yuan Xi could only start from Xuzhou.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi's mind was in a mess. His idea was very clear, but this idea was linked to one another, and any problem in any link might affect the subsequent layout.
The key is to return to the present and see when the dust in Anyi will be settled.
In order to please the emperor this time, Yuan Xi paid too much. If he achieved nothing in the end, I am afraid that Qu Yi would laugh at him in his grave, right?
Seeing that Yuan Xi looked troubled, Lu Lingqi was also in a bad mood, but after thinking for a while, she said, "I will go to Master's grave when my father comes back."
Yuan Xi seemed not to have expected Lu Lingqi to say such a thing, and raised his head in surprise.
It was summer now and the weather was getting warmer. Lu Lingqi was no longer wearing the fur coat she had worn before, but a rather neat linen coat over a close-fitting silk dress. Her waist was tied with a twisted rubber belt, which made her figure look particularly graceful.
Seeing Yuan Xi staring at her, Lu Lingqi subconsciously covered her chest and angrily asked, "What are you looking at?"
Yuan Xi's eyes swept over her and looked up at the sky. In the clear sky, there were a few white clouds floating very slowly on the sky.
He turned his gaze back to Lu Lingqi and said, "He is a very strange person."
"My personality is quite gloomy, which is almost incompatible with his cheerfulness."
"He must have something on his mind, but he never told anyone."
"He was also the first person to follow me. I remember that he was chopped to pieces by the axemen and was unrecognizable. He even stopped breathing and had no heartbeat."
Lu Lingqi had also heard about Qu Yi being ambushed and killed by Yuan Shao's assassins, and said coldly, "There are not many good people in your Yuan family."
Yuan Xi did not respond, and continued to speak, "It would be dishonorable to attack and kill him, so leave it to me to deal with his body."
"I took advantage of the night and ordered people to put him on a carriage, intending to take him out of the city and bury him."
"As the carriage jolted, he actually opened his eyes, uttered a few words, and then fainted again."
Lu Lingqi asked curiously, "What did the master say?"
Yuan Xi said seriously, word by word, "It's really a shame that I didn't die on the battlefield."
"I called in a doctor to treat him, and thanks to his strong physique and some luck, he managed to survive."
"For several months afterwards, he had several bouts of fever and was on the verge of death. He finally recovered, although not as well as before."
"I told him he could leave."
"But if he stays, I'll give him a chance to die on the battlefield."
"He didn't even think about it and just stayed."
"I remember that day, it was also this kind of weather, he laughed and said to me, 'This life saved is like living again, every day you live is a gain, what is there to be afraid of?'"
"I remember that day, it was also a sunny day like this. This was the first master I met since I was born. In fact, when I think about it now, he has had a great influence on me."
Lu Lingqi was silent for a while before she spoke: "You and Master do look a bit alike."
"I've never heard of a child of a noble family fighting someone face to face."
Yuan Xi was startled, then laughed at himself, "Really?"
"Maybe it's true."
He thought to himself, could it be that Qu Yi's words really had an impact on him?
Otherwise, how could he have the courage to fight face to face with a master like Yang Feng from Beixincheng to Montenegro?
Do you subconsciously feel that every day you gain is a profit?
He suddenly laughed.
"That's true."
Lu Lingqi bit her lip and whispered, "Master died to save me."
"Since I didn't die on the battlefield, my master must hate me as his disciple, right?"
Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "Nonsense, why wasn't it considered a battlefield at that time?"
"Where people are killed is a battlefield, where people are rescued is also a battlefield, wherever there are enemies is a battlefield."
"He went there with a smile."
"Don't look down on him."
Lu Lingqi felt tears in the corners of her eyes and nodded vigorously.
After a few chirps, they both looked up at the sky at the same time and saw a line of egrets flying straight up into the blue sky.
When Qu Yi died in battle, the two of them forced themselves to suppress their feelings. Now, more than a month has passed, but the cries of the egrets simultaneously opened the floodgates of their hearts, and sadness rushed out, drowning them both.
Yuan Xi clenched his fists, "Brother Qu is just leaving first."
"Life is a hundred years long, and sooner or later the song ends and everyone goes their separate ways."
"If you're dead, you're dead. You can't hear anything."
"What we can do now is to let go of our sorrow and sing songs to bid farewell to our old friends."
Lu Lingqi raised her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes, picked up the double halberds stuck on the ground beside her, and said, "Practice?"
Yuan Xi subconsciously wanted to refuse, but somehow, there was an urge in his heart that wanted to be vented.
He grasped the ring-headed knife handle at his waist, slowly pulled the knife out of the leather sheath, and said with a smile: "He also taught me this sword technique."
"You better be careful. Don't let me defeat you accidentally. That would be embarrassing."
Lu Lingqi smiled: "Just you?"
"Come!"
The double halberds and the long swords collided with each other, causing large sparks to fly. The intensive collision sounds continued, as if they were in harmony with each other, playing a sad and deep rhythm, like a funeral elegy.
Outside Anyi City, Li Jue and Guo Si heard good news and bad news in their tent.
The good news was that Duan Wei came with his troops from Huayin to help the two.
After hearing the news, Guo Si laughed and said, "It seems that Duan Wei can't swallow the humiliation of being framed by Yang Ding."
"Yes, why bother? This Yang Ding is also a bastard. He is obviously a general of our Liangzhou, but he wants to eat alone. How shameless."
"When we take back the emperor, won't Yang Ding, a piece of trash, be at our mercy?"
"Now we just have to wait for Zhang Ji!"
But the bad news that followed left the two dumbfounded.
Zhang Ji is dead!
Previously, Zhang Ji had gone back on his word and betrayed the emperor's convoy, instead defecting to Li Jue and Guo Si, who together led their troops to chase and kill the convoy, causing countless casualties among the convoy's soldiers, generals and ministers.
Later, Liu Xie sent a letter to reprimand Zhang Ji, who then led his troops away and headed south to Jingzhou to seize territory.
Later, due to the shortage of food in the army, Zhang Ji led his troops to plunder in Jingzhou and attacked Rangcheng in Nanyang County, where he was hit by a stray arrow and died.
He also became another general who died from a hidden arrow in Jingzhou after Sun Jian.
Li Jue frowned and said, "I originally thought that Zhang Ji was the most reliable. Once he arrives, we can join forces and those chickens and dogs in Anyi City will be vulnerable."
"I didn't expect him to die like this. This way, our chances of winning are much reduced."
Guo Si also nodded and said, "Jingzhou is a bit weird, we warriors should stay away from it."
"I heard that Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu took over his troops and even reconciled with Liu Biao!"
"Now they have stationed their troops in Wancheng and rejected our request to send troops. They are really ungrateful."
Li Jue sneered, "Who knows what this guy is thinking? I'm afraid he has fallen for Zhang Ji's widow and can't move his legs anymore, right?"
The two of them looked at each other knowingly and smiled lasciviously at the same time.
Li Jue waved his hand, "Never mind him!"
"Let's wait for Duan Wei to arrive and then take action!"
"We have people stationed in Anyi City. When the time comes, we will attack the city from both inside and outside!"
Guo Si warned: "Don't fall into their trap."
Li Jue sneered, "It doesn't matter, if we can't win, we'll go back to Liangzhou!"