Outside the gate of Huaicheng, Yuan Xi sent someone to find a carriage and send Qiao Rui back to Guangling.
At that time, the news of Sun Ce's conquest of Wujun had not yet reached Sili, otherwise the Han court's plan might have undergone tremendous changes, and they might have taken advantage of the situation to grant Yangzhou to Sun Ce.
Although Liu Yao was also a relative of the Han royal family, if he failed, the Han court would be of no help at all.
After thanking Yuan Xi again and again, Qiao Rui got on the carriage and left.
Yuan Xi did not return to the city, but took Sun Li and went directly to the military camp outside the city to find Ju Shou and Zhao Yun to discuss the matter of splitting the troops and returning in two groups. He had already received news that Cao Cao had sent most of the troops back to Yanzhou, and it was obvious that there were more urgent matters.
This made Yuan Xi alert. Cao Cao acted too quickly!
Moreover, he does what he says without any delay. I'm afraid he has already started to plan the next step in advance!
This also made Yuan Xi feel the urgent pressure. After all, at this time, those who could see the situation in the world clearly were racing against time.
Liu Bei in Xia Pi was stepping up his recruitment of soldiers and horses, while Yuan Tan in Langya, Xuzhou, began to expand southwards and had several conflicts with Mi Fang in Donghai.
This made Yuan Xi smell something unusual. When Yuan Tan wanted to do something so blatantly, he must have a big plan!
While thinking, Yuan Xi rode into the military camp. Outside the tent, Ju Shou and Zhao Yun were organizing the troops, and Gao Shun was also standing there.
To Yuan Xi's surprise, he thought it would take a lot of effort to persuade Gao Shun, but Gao Shun agreed after a little consideration.
Perhaps it was because he had a very unhappy life under Lu Bu. His status was not as good as Zhang Liao and Chen Gong, but Song Xian and Wei Xu were also above him. This made the arrogant Gao Shun have some thoughts in his mind.
But Gao Shun had never been able to bring himself to change his allegiance. Now, when he heard Yuan Xi say that Lu Bu had nodded first and allowed him to leave Huaicheng in the name of escorting Lu Lingqi, it was obviously an excuse to make him work under Yuan Xi.
If he refused to leave, he would be asking for trouble. So Yuan Xi granted Gao Shun the title of general of the county in the name of opening a government office, and Gao Shun readily agreed.
As the war in Heishan was getting tense, Yuan Xi planned to let Ju Shou and Gao Shun lead the army north first, back to the central pass of Heishan, to support Guo Jia and Tian Yu.
Regardless of whether Liu Xie succeeded in mediating or not, and whether Yuan Shao agreed to a ceasefire or not, Yuan Xi would deploy the most powerful troops in advance to ensure that he could reap the benefits first.
Moreover, he would never give up the 200-mile passage he had conquered to others.
In addition to Gao Shun, Hua Tuo was also among them, preparing to go with the main force. When everyone saw Yuan Xi coming, they all came up to greet him.
Yuan Xi made arrangements for everyone and said, "The army will be assembled today. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Gongyou will lead the army, together with General Gao and Mr. Yuanhua, to Black Mountain."
"Then Zilong and I led a hundred guards to go on a diplomatic mission to Yecheng on behalf of the emperor."
After hearing this, several people all bowed and said, "Yes, sir!"
When Yuan Xi saw how respectful everyone was, he suddenly realized that his current status was already far superior to his peers.
Not only does he have his own territory, he has the support of the powerful Yuan family and has also been granted a title by the Han court. He has become a real warlord!
After he had made all the arrangements, he saw that Hua Tuo wanted to say something to him, so he pulled him into the tent and said, "Mr. Yuanhua, what advice do you have?"
Hua Tuo whispered, "I examined Mrs. Kong Beihai a few days ago."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Mrs. Kong Beihai?"
"I heard that she is pregnant. Kong Beihai is still strong despite his age."
Hua Tuo whispered, "Madam wants you to go to her house."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he felt a headache. "Doesn't she know that the way Kong Beihai looks at me is as if he wants to kill me?"
"If I knew she had met me in private, wouldn't she report me directly?"
Hua Tuo couldn't help laughing after hearing this, "I thought you were fearless."
Yuan Xi touched his nose awkwardly, "I was just impulsive back then. In fact, Kong Wenju was considered a good person among the nobles. I did something a bit too much at that time."
Hua Tuo whispered, "You are overthinking. Madam Kong Beihai knows that you will leave Huaicheng soon, and wants you to meet her daughter."
"She said that her daughter's health was deteriorating, but she kept thinking about you. She was afraid that you would never see her again after you left, and she didn't want her daughter to regret it for the rest of her life."
Yuan Xi felt upset after hearing this and sighed, "I understand. I will go to the Confucius Mansion to hand in the visiting card in a while."
Hua Tuo stood up and said, "The matter here is over. I am ready to follow you back to Black Mountain. I bid you farewell now."
He walked to the entrance of the tent and suddenly stopped. He hesitated for a while and finally said, "There are some things that I may have said too much."
"Although Madam has repeatedly told you not to tell the young master the truth unless it is absolutely necessary, so as not to affect his decision-making strategy, I think that now that the overall situation has been decided, I should not hide it from you."
Yuan Xi hadn't reacted yet, "Madam? Which Madam?"
Hua Tuo said, "It's Madam Zhen."
"Before I left Jicheng, she was already pregnant."
Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, and then his head was dazed by the great joy.
Is Zhen Mi pregnant?
He was both happy and annoyed, "Mr. Yuanhua kept it a secret from me!"
Hua Tuo stroked his beard and smiled, "You can't blame me for this. Madam has repeatedly warned me."
Yuan Xi hurriedly made careful inquiries and confirmed that the disciples Hua Tuo left in Jicheng were quite reliable, and only then did he feel relieved.
He was eager to return home and wanted to fly back to Jicheng, but there were still many things waiting for him to do in Yecheng. Only after all these were done could he return to Jicheng.
He thought that Zhen Mi really understood him. When he heard the news, he immediately lost his composure. If he had needed to make a decision before, he might have been greatly affected.
He felt happy but also a little heavy. Including the baby in Mrs. Wu's belly, he would soon be the father of two children.
Thinking that if he died, he would leave behind two widows, Yuan Xi suddenly became afraid of death. He thought that he had concerns and might not have the courage to face death as before on the battlefield in the future.
With mixed feelings, Yuan Xi walked out of the tent with Hua Tuo, but saw Gao Shun talking to a dozen civilians dressed in sackcloth clothes at the entrance of the camp.
Yuan Xi only felt that these people were tall and strong. After looking at them a few more times, he found something was wrong. These people exuded a murderous aura and stood very upright. They did not look like ordinary people at all, but more like veterans who had been through many battles.
He walked over and asked, "Who are they?"
Gao Shun turned around and said with a puzzled look: "They are from the Xianzhen Camp."
Yuan Xi was confused. "Why are the soldiers from Xianzhen Camp here?"
Gao Shun made a gesture to a soldier, who stepped forward and saluted, saying, "My Lord, General Zhang came to the camp this morning and said that Marquis Wen has issued an order that those in the Xianzhen camp who wish to surrender to you and General Gao can leave their weapons and armor behind and leave the camp empty-handed."
"At first the brothers thought it must be a mistake and were very hesitant, but some of us who were brave enough thought of giving it a try."
"As a result, we left the camp empty-handed, and there was really no one to stop us, so we rushed over."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi asked in confusion: "Wen Hou is a general, his position is much higher than mine, how could you think of joining me?"
The soldier hesitated for a moment and said, "On the one hand, we are convinced by General Gao and are willing to obey his orders."
"On the other hand, we were the first to ascend the battlefield with General Qu. When we heard that the general had died in battle, the envoy asked for a posthumous title of marquis for him. We are all very grateful."
"Among the seven hundred people in the trap camp, there are still about two hundred who have advanced first. They should all arrive one after another."
At this point, the other dozen people all bowed and said, "Thank you, envoy, for requesting a posthumous title for the general!"
Yuan Xi had mixed feelings, so he pulled them up and said, "Okay!"
"Since you have come to me, I will treat you like brothers, just like I treat Brother Qu!"
After hearing this, everyone knelt on one knee and shouted, "We are willing to die for you, my Lord!"
In Lu Bu's camp, Chen Gong saw that the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp were leaving one after another, and he couldn't help but say to Lu Bu in front of him: "The Xianzhen Camp is now missing a small half, which has a significant impact on its combat effectiveness."
After hearing this, Lu Bu said calmly: "It doesn't matter. My fame is not earned by fighting in the trap camp."
"Without them, would I no longer be Marquis Wen?"
"Just a hundred or so people, just consider it as my daughter's dowry."
After hearing this, Chen Gong smiled bitterly, thinking that Lu Bu's last words were probably what he really thought.
Different things were happening in Huaicheng, from national feuds to family affairs, from the disputes among princes to ordinary greetings. These intricately intertwined emotions made Huaicheng, which had been torn by war, seem to have regained its vitality.
Yuan Xi went to Kong Rong's house, but Kong Rong was not there. Yuan Xi stayed there for half a day before coming out. When he left, there were a few more tear marks on his sleeves.
Yan asked Lu Lingqi to try on the wedding dress that had been prepared long ago. According to the rules, the wedding could not be held in Huaicheng, so Yan could only fold the wedding dress carefully and put it in a mahogany box with a distressed look on her face. She told Lu Lingqi to lock it well and not let it get wet by the rain on the road. As she spoke, she hugged Lu Lingqi and started crying.
Liu Xie took out the seal and stamped the edict with a bright red seal. He looked at it carefully before handing it to Lu Bu, who was standing below him. He smiled and said, "From this moment on, Lady Wenhou will be the first female monarch I have personally appointed since I ascended the throne."
The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, which allowed women to be granted the title of lord. Not only did they have an exclusive status, but they also had fiefs. The women who could be granted the title of lord were either members of the Han royal family or the wives and daughters of meritorious officials.
Lu Bu took the imperial edict and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Liu Xie joked: "Marquis Wen loves his daughter so much, but I don't understand why Marquis Wen chose Marquis Anguoting when there were families all over the world who wanted Marquis Wen's daughter as their principal wife, except for Huaicheng?"
Lu Bu was silent for a while, then said, "I don't know either."
"It's a rare occasion for my daughter to be willful. Maybe I don't want to disappoint her."
Liu Xie also fell silent.
After a long while, he finally said, "I can somewhat understand Marquis Wen's thoughts, but only a little bit."
"After all, my mother passed away when I was very young."