Only when Yuan Xi raised his head did he have the opportunity to look directly at Liu Xie and see his appearance clearly.
Liu Xie had a handsome appearance, a full forehead, and clear facial lines. He looked like a man with strong ideas.
But if you look at him more closely, you can see that he is pale and thin, with a hint of childishness. The crown and robes seem to be too big for him, making the body underneath appear thin, like a scarecrow in tattered clothes in the field.
Yuan Xi thought that Liu Xie might not have had a good life in the past few years. He glanced around and then lowered his head. The moment he withdrew his gaze, he seemed to vaguely feel that there were two women kneeling behind Liu Xie's seat.
After hearing what Yuan Xi said, Liu Xie let go of Yuan Xi's arm, returned to his seat and said, "General, since you came to see me at this time, I thought there must be something wrong."
"Please speak frankly, General."
Yuan Xi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the area around Huaicheng is not safe right now. Yuan Shu is lurking in the south, and the Black Mountain bandits are causing chaos in the north. Please order Jizhou to send troops to protect the emperor."
Someone nearby snorted, "The Black Mountain Army was appointed by the Han court, but the Yuan family attacked without authorization. Who is causing the rebellion?"
Yuan Xi glanced sideways and found that the person who spoke was about forty or fifty years old, with five long beards, sparse hair, and a large forehead.
Yuan Xi didn't know the identities of the officials around Liu Xie, and thought it would be nice if Ju Shou was around. But now this person was obviously against the Yuan family. He wondered if it was Ding Chong, Zhong Yao, or someone else?
Just as he was wondering, he heard someone next to him say, "Minister Zhong, the matter of the Black Mountain Army has not yet been finalized. Your Majesty needs to make the decision."
After hearing this, Zhong Yao snorted coldly and stopped talking.
Liu Xie said to Yuan Xi, "I heard that the Yuan family and the Black Mountain Army are attacking. What is the reason for this?"
Yuan Xi thought that Liu Xie was indeed extraordinary. This sentence brought the issue to the crux of the matter.
The key conflict of interest between the Yuan family and the Black Mountain Army was the competition for territory, but the direct cause of the hatred between the two sides was the rebellion in Yecheng that was initiated by the Black Mountain Army.
Going back further, the cause was that when Yuan Shao had just entered Jizhou and had not yet established a firm foothold, the Black Mountain Army, instigated by Gongsun Zan at the time, launched a surprise attack on the Yuan family.
The Han court might have had some intentions behind this matter. Considering that it was Dong Zhuo of the Liangzhou Army who controlled the Han court at that time, this matter became extremely confusing.
Yuan Xi didn't believe that Liu Xie was completely unaware of the matter. The other party might know more about the inside story than he did. The other party's purpose might be to see how he responded.
If Yuan Xi had criticized the Black Mountain Army from Yuan Shao's perspective throughout the article, he would certainly not have achieved the desired effect. Instead, Liu Xie might have strengthened his confidence and helped the Black Mountain Army to clear its name.
He thought for a moment and said, "The Black Mountain Army is the remnant of the Yellow Turbans. Although they surrendered to the Han court, they did not concentrate on production. They repeatedly plundered and, under the pretext of the imperial court, they harmed the counties of Hebei, causing great suffering to the people."
"If things continue like this, the prestige of the imperial court will be damaged. Keeping the Black Mountain Army will do more harm than good."
"The Black Mountain Army has spread lies to confuse the people, and used the Taiping Dao to worship Huang Tian, undermining the emperor's dignity. With such actions, how can we see that they are loyal to the Han court?"
"Last year there was a great famine. The Black Mountain Army looted Jizhou, Youzhou, Sili and other places, causing refugees and damaging the reputation of the Han court. We should eliminate them as soon as possible."
At this time, someone snorted coldly, "It is true that the Black Mountain Army used the name of the Taiping Dao to deceive people. I heard that the rumors about the general's Huang Tian are also widely spread?"
Yuan Xi heard the voice and it was another unfamiliar one. He thought that this person must be Cao Cao's spy. He knew the internal affairs of Heishan so well. He didn't look like someone who had been wandering with Liu Xie. There must be someone who informed him.
Yuan Xi laughed and said, "This rumor came out of nowhere. Who knows if it was framed by someone with ulterior motives?"
"As for the rumors in the Black Mountain Army, I remember that General Cao's reputation among them is much higher than mine, right?"
"Could it be that Envoy Cao is also spreading rumors under the guise of the Taiping Dao?"
Yuan Xi's words were extremely vicious, and the man immediately fell silent.
Liu Xie said to Yuan Xi, "According to your opinion, how should we deal with the Black Mountain Army?"
Yuan Xi immediately said: "Let the Black Mountain Army hand over their territory and soldiers, punish the main culprits, and recruit the young and strong among them to protect the emperor."
As soon as these words were spoken, some of the ministers present were delighted, some fell into deep thought, and Zhong Yao and others were about to curse, saying that it was under the jurisdiction of the emperor, and there was an 80% chance that the military power would fall back into Lu Bu's hands!
Lu Bu and Cao Cao were not on good terms to begin with. If he grew stronger, would those who supported Cao have a good ending?
Liu Xie added: "I'm afraid the leader of the Black Mountain Army won't hand over his troops so easily, right?"
"Why didn't I issue an imperial decree to have him lead troops to defend the capital, but instead use this less direct method?"
Yuan Xi said, "Forgive me for speaking frankly, but the Black Mountain Army harbors evil intentions and cannot be trusted."
"First, the Black Mountain Army is colluding with the Southern Xiongnu. If they open the Black Mountain Passage, Huaicheng will be in danger."
"Secondly, there are people behind the Black Mountain Army. If they have other intentions, they will get out of control and repeat the same mistake that led to the fall of Chang'an."
"The evidence is that his rebellion in Yecheng is no different from the current rebellion in Huaicheng. It is obvious that he is plotting to capture the emperor's carriage, and he has been planning for a long time."
"Nonsense!" Zhong Yao became anxious. Yuan Xi's next sentence was a typical case of putting the cart before the horse. When the Huaicheng Rebellion broke out, Liu Xie had not yet decided to move his capital to Huaicheng. How could there be a rumor that the Black Mountain Army was plotting to capture the emperor's carriage?
But the disgusting thing about Yuan Xi's words is that when the Black Mountain Army was in chaos before, Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan led their troops to attack Huaicheng. This clearly means that Cao Cao is behind the Black Mountain Army!
Zhong Yao did not know the inside story of the Huaicheng Rebellion, but as smart as he was, he had long guessed that Cao Cao was definitely behind it. If he could guess it, other ministers could guess it too, not to mention Liu Xie, who often communicated with his confidants.
On the surface, Yuan Xi was talking about the Black Mountain Army, but in fact he was making a veiled accusation, saying that Cao Cao had evil intentions. Cao Cao was already very powerful, and if he controlled the Black Mountain Army, no one would be able to control him!
Zhong Yao believed that with Liu Xie's intelligence, he would be able to hear the hidden meaning behind Yuan Xi's words and thus become suspicious of Cao Cao!
That's why he hurriedly jumped out to stop Yuan Xi from continuing to speak. Now the situation seemed to be getting out of control, he had to muddy the waters immediately, end this meeting quickly, and then notify Cao Cao to be prepared to respond in the court tomorrow!
Yuan Xi smiled slightly, thinking that it seemed that Zhong Yao was very optimistic about Cao Cao. However, the more anxious Zhong Yao was, the more Liu Xie should understand.
At this time, a sarcastic voice sounded, "Minister Zhong interrupted the emperor's answer three times. If you don't know, you would think that Minister Zhong is a high official."
This remark was secretly directed at Cao Cao. Since Yuan Shao, the Grand Marshal, was not here, who else could he blame?
When everyone looked, they found that it was Dong Cheng who had not spoken for a long time. It seemed that he was attacked and killed by Cao Cao's generals in Anyi City. He was scared at the time and now he finally had the courage to destroy Cao Cao.
Moreover, he was rescued by Zhang Liao, a general under Lu Bu, and Zhang He who was sent by Yuan Xi. Now that he has jumped out to support Yuan Xi, it can be regarded as repaying a favor.
Zhong Yao's face turned red and he was speechless for a moment. At this time, Liu Xie spoke, and what he said was beyond everyone's expectations.
"I heard that Lu Bu wants to marry his daughter to the general as a concubine?"
Yuan Xi was shocked. It was not surprising that Liu Xie knew about this, but the marriage between the two sides had not been finalized yet. Liu Xie knew about it as soon as the news leaked out. Moreover, he was willing to know about such things, which showed that he was not a person who would easily make decisions based on personal likes and dislikes.
Liu Xie is a person who likes to get to the bottom of things and investigate the causes and consequences!
Yuan Xi answered honestly: "It's just that I have this intention and have mentioned it to Lord Wen. As for Lord Wen, I haven't received a reply yet."
He thought that he couldn't hide it, but if Liu Xie thought that he and Lu Bu had joined forces, it would be troublesome.
But this is not the worst. If Liu Xie thinks that Lu Bu and Yuan Shao are actually joining forces, that would be a real big trouble.
Because now Liu Xie is much more wary of Yuan Shao than Cao Cao, after all, Yuan Shao really did try to establish a new emperor!
Liu Xie fell into silence, and everyone was waiting quietly.
After a while, Liu Xie said, "I remember that the general got married not long ago, and your wife is very famous in Jizhou?"
Yuan Xi wondered why Zhen Mi was brought up again, and immediately replied, "We have been married for more than half a year, and my wife is indeed very beautiful."
"Oh?" Liu Xie said with a smile, "General, look up and see how she compares to my queen."
Yuan Xi raised his head in surprise, and then he saw clearly that there were two women kneeling behind Liu Xie, one wearing the clothes of a noble lady and the other wearing the clothes of a queen.
The one wearing the queen's clothes is Queen Fu Shou. She should be about the same age as Liu Xie, and the two of them must have been married not long ago.
She has a beautiful nose, beautiful eyes, picturesque eyebrows, and delicate facial features. She is indeed a rare beauty. He thought to himself that the legend that Langya produces beautiful women and handsome men is indeed true.
Fu Shou sat behind Liu Xie at first, listening to the conversation between the crowd. She could already vaguely hear the fighting within and felt that it was extremely dangerous. As she listened, she felt her head swelling.
She was originally tired from the journey and wanted to have a good rest as soon as she entered the city, but she didn't expect that Liu Xie would meet the mysterious Yuan family's fierce tiger overnight, and also asked Fu Shou and Concubine Dong to come along.
Fu Shou didn't quite understand why women should be involved in such matters?
When Yuan Xi came in, Fu Shou secretly peeked at him and found that he had a strong face, a dignified appearance, and, unusually, no beard. Compared with the previous time she saw Cao Cao with a big beard, Fu Shou even had a very absurd idea: who is the descendant of the eunuch?
She immediately drove this rude thought out of her mind and listened to the conversation between Liu Xie and Yuan Xi. She couldn't help but feel happy that Liu Xie was becoming more and more skilled in controlling the situation.
But what surprised her was that, as a minister, Xionghu responded calmly to the repeated questioning from the emperor and ministers, and even Zhong Yao was provoked and lost his composure.
She was listening carefully, but suddenly found that the conversation turned to Mrs. Yuan Xi, and then to herself!
She raised her head in surprise, her eyes wide open, and happened to meet Yuan Xi's gaze. She felt that there was some murderous intent in the other's eyes, as if he could see through something.
She had never seen anyone other than Liu Xie look at her so unscrupulously, and she lowered her head in panic.
Liu Xie seemed unaware of Fu Shou's embarrassment behind him. He stared into Yuan Xi's eyes with a calm expression.
Yuan Xi tilted his head to think about it, then smiled and said, "Based on appearance alone, I'm afraid she is not as good as my wife."
When these words were spoken, everyone stared in astonishment. How could Yuan Xi dare to do this, one dared to ask, and the other dared to answer?
Isn't he afraid of Liu Xie's anger?