Yuan Xi sent Ju Shou and Gao Shun away, and asked someone to take away a letter to Zhen Mi. Then he went into the palace to receive Liu Xie's edict, and went to Lu's mansion, where he talked with Lu Bu for a whole night.
After doing all this, the day to leave Huaicheng finally arrived. Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun rode side by side on horses, with Lu Lingqi's carriage behind them.
Yuan Xi persuaded Lu Lingqi for a long time before she gave up the idea of riding out of the city. He told her that if she dared to do so, Lu Bu would be the first to capture her.
Lu Lingqi had no choice but to shrink into the carriage reluctantly, feeling aggrieved like a young wife who was forced into marriage, without any awareness at all that now she was already a queen personally appointed by the emperor.
The convoy slowly passed by Liu Xie's temporary palace. The solemn voices of people and the sound of horse hooves came over the wall and faintly reached Liu Xie's ears.
Sitting below him were Yang Biao and Fu Wan. Liu Xie said to Yang Biao, "I think this fierce tiger of the Yuan family is not simple and is not easy to deal with."
"How sincere do you think he is to me?"
Yang Biao thought about it, lowered his head and said, "Even if it's only one point, it's good."
"The world is so big, and it's hard to find someone who is truly sincere."
Liu Xie laughed and said, "My dear minister, you are right. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. I am just being unreasonable."
He then sighed, "What a pity, Zhao Yun didn't leave the fierce tiger in the end. I lost half the game after all."
Yang Biao advised: "Your Majesty will surely become a famous ruler. When the time comes, all the heroes in the world will be at your service. You don't have to be obsessed with the gains and losses of one person at a time."
"Besides, this fierce tiger of the Yuan family is obviously at odds with Cao Mengde. In my humble opinion, he is a thorn between the Yuan and Cao families."
"If you can use this to turn the tide, the Yuan and Cao families will turn against each other sooner or later. At that time, Your Majesty will be able to take advantage of the conflict between the two sides, appease them separately, and make them work for Your Majesty."
Seeing that Liu Xie still had some regret on his face, he knew what Liu Xie was thinking, so he said, "Zhao Zilong is indeed a fierce general of the time. The conditions that Your Majesty offered him were quite high. It is indeed a pity that we were unable to save him from the fierce tiger."
"But his heart is with the Han Dynasty, there is no doubt about that. There are still many such people in the world today. Maybe they are living in seclusion in the mountains and countryside, waiting for Your Majesty to recruit them."
"Your Majesty, please do not lose your determination to improve yourself because of a temporary setback."
Liu Xie felt relieved after hearing this and said with a smile, "You are right, my dear minister!"
"You and I, the king and my subjects, should work together to find all these talented people one by one and let them serve me. We will surely be able to restore the Han Dynasty!"
While Cao Cao was talking to Xun You, a spy came to report that Yuan Xi had led his troops out of the city and was heading towards Jizhou.
Cao Ren heard this and said, "This fierce tiger is really bold. He dared to leave Lü Bu alone and go away by himself. Isn't he afraid that we will suddenly attack him?"
"I think this is a good opportunity. If we kill Lu Bu now, won't we be able to control the emperor?"
Cao Cao did not comment, and said to Xun You: "Gongda, what do you think of Zixiao's idea?"
Xun You heard this and explained to Cao Ren: "The time is not yet ripe."
"If we act hastily without a legitimate reason, the Cao family's reputation in the world will become like that of Li Jue and Guo Si, with a bad reputation that spreads far and wide, and no one will dare to come to us for help."
"The Han court is already weak. If we do this again, the prestige of the Han court will undoubtedly be destroyed, and our plan to command the princes by the emperor will completely fail."
"So the most urgent task is to use the title of the Son of Heaven to shock the world, and at the same time enhance the prestige of the Han court and strengthen the power of the Cao family."
"The two complement each other and are indispensable to each other."
"We must be patient and wait until we are strong enough to suppress the Han court. Only then can we take over the emperor's position and make him serve us completely."
"At that time, all the people inside and outside the Han court were ours. All those who came to rely on the Han court were bought by us. This is the success of commanding the princes by the emperor."
"Your Excellency is well aware of this, so you asked us to lie dormant for the time being, paralyze the Emperor, and wait for the right time."
After hearing this, Cao Ren suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"
"Sir, you are wise. My Lord, you are wise!"
"But it's a good deal for the fierce tiger. It can let him jump around for a few more years."
Xun You sighed, "This fierce tiger is not ordinary."
"I think I understood this, so I acted without fear."
"Moreover, he should have had a plan in advance. Making friends with Liu Yu's son Liu He in advance might be a precaution."
"If we act against Lü Bu and Dong Cheng without a legitimate reason, and are eager to control the emperor, Xiong Hu can just follow the same path as his father Yuan Shao, using the excuse that the Han court has been controlled by someone else and establish a new emperor."
Cao Ren finally came to his senses after hearing this and said angrily, "This vicious tiger is so abominable!"
Cao Cao sighed and said, "Yuan Xianyi, the fierce tiger of the Yuan family, and Sun Bofu, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, are both outstanding young people. It's a pity that they were not born in my Cao family."
"Xionghu is a very vigilant person, and he has Yuan's backing. It is not easy for us to bribe him. For now, we just need to deal with him on the surface."
"But Sun Ce and Yuan Gonglu are already at odds with each other, so we originally had a chance."
"It is understandable that there is no clear answer on the matter of marriage. After all, Cao's power is far less than Yuan Gonglu's."
"I originally thought that once Yuan Gonglu proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Ce would surely rebel. This would be a good opportunity for us to take advantage of the situation and increase the chances of marriage between the two families. If this were to happen, Jiangdong would most likely fall into our hands in the future."
"Now, I didn't expect that Xionghu could persuade the emperor to marry Sun Ce with a royal daughter. This is a bit troublesome."
Xun You listened and said, "I do have some ideas about this matter."
"If Sun Ce surrenders to the Han court, we will have trouble sleeping and eating."
"So we must destroy the marriage promised by the Han court."
"In fact, it is not difficult to do this. Since it is Qiao Rui who brought the imperial edict, we just need to find a way to deal with him."
"He is about to die. Who will continue to deliver imperial edicts for the emperor?"
Cao Cao listened and nodded, saying, "This plan is feasible."
"As to whether to send someone to assassinate him or to take advantage of Yuan Shu's suspicion to kill him, it is up to Gongtai to decide."
Xun You immediately accepted the order.
Cao Cao then asked, "What direction should we take next? Does Gongtai have any idea?"
Xun You thought for a moment and said, "If the Zhang Miao brothers in Chenliu listen to mediation, Yanzhou can be stable, and we can get rid of a major threat."
"Yuan Shu in Yanzhou is too powerful to make any plans for the time being."
"There are several feasible directions around Yanzhou Sili."
"The Black Mountain Army in the north can be used by us. We must not let it be annexed by the Yuan family."
"Liu Biao of Jingzhou in the south left Zhang Xiu to guard Nanyang. This is the gateway to Jingzhou and is a place that must be taken."
"Liu Bei in Xiapi, Xuzhou, is expanding his power very quickly. He will threaten us sooner or later. We have to be on guard."
"But as to which one is more important, it is impossible for You to tell the difference by yourself. I would like to ask you to gather all the counselors and gather their ideas."
Cao Cao heard this and said, "We will make a final decision on the latter two after we return to Yanzhou."
"The matter of the Montenegrin Army cannot be delayed any longer."
"Contact Zhang Yan now and ask him to find a way to defeat Yuan Shang so that we can act!"
"We must find a way to muddy the situation in Black Mountain before Yuan Xi returns to Yecheng and convinces Yuan Shao!"
"As for Wang Kuang's mission to Black Mountain, he is not a suitable choice. I am meeting the emperor now. Now that the fierce tiger has left, no one will hinder me!"
Yuan Xi was walking on the mountain road. He turned his head and watched the outline of Huaicheng at the foot of the mountain getting smaller and smaller, and gradually being left behind by the convoy.
From time to time, there were slight sobbing sounds coming from the carriage beside him. Yuan Xi lowered his head and approached the window, saying, "If you miss home, I can always have someone escort you back."
After a while, Lu Lingqi's voice came from the car, "You still have some conscience!"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's right, I can be a very good person, naturally I have a big conscience, pure like a flower."
Lu Lingqi snorted coldly, "I'm afraid this flower has more than eight petals, one petal for each lady, right?"
Yuan Xi laughed out loud, "I didn't realize you were so sharp-tongued before. Are you jealous before you even get married?"
Lu Lingqi said proudly, "Of course, I am the Lord of Pingyang now. If your concubines dare to bully me, humph!"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was good enough that you didn't bully others, and the title your father asked for you was too obvious a warning, wasn't it?
The fiefdom and title that Lu Bu asked for Lu Lingqi was named after Pingyang City in Youzhou, but Pingyang Pingyang, doesn't this mean that he wants to be on an equal footing with himself?
Look at what you are capable of, Lu Bu. When Lu Lingqi and I get married, I will let her know what the husband's authority is!
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi felt a little guilty. He definitely couldn't beat Lu Lingqi standing, but he could at least beat her in bed, right?
That should be possible, right?
Inside Yecheng, several advisers under Yuan Shao were still arguing about the Han court's imperial edict. The situation in Huaicheng changed so quickly that everyone had no time to react, and everything was settled.
Moreover, the influence of Huaicheng will inevitably spread to the whole world, but the aftermath is still spreading and the consequences have not yet appeared. Although the counselors are good at strategy, they cannot predict the future, so there are great differences of opinion on many things.
And when they heard that Yuan Xi was about to return to Yecheng, people began to argue endlessly. Some advocated severely punishing Yuan Xi, some advocated reducing his power, and some advocated appeasing him.
Finally, Tian Feng couldn't stand it anymore and snorted coldly: "After all, isn't it because the envoy is dissatisfied with the reward from the Han court?"
"If the envoy is appointed as a general, will he not accept the imperial edict?"
When everyone heard this, they cursed in their hearts. Everyone knew the truth but just didn't say it. Now you just point it out directly. Aren't you making it final?
But when they saw Yuan Shao's ugly face, they secretly felt lucky in their hearts. Fortunately, they had Tian Feng, a young man like him, otherwise they would have to speak vaguely and unclearly.
Shen Pei said coldly: "Whether Jizhou obeys the imperial edict is up to you, my Lord."
"Master Xianyi received the imperial edict in advance, putting the Yuan family in a passive position. Has he ever asked the envoy?"
"Moreover, his collusion with Lu Bu to welcome the emperor together was obviously premeditated. Before this, did he reveal the slightest hint to the envoy?"
"He is acting so secretly, does he have any other ideas?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Yuan Shao. Shen Pei's words were extremely harsh, and he was clearly accusing Yuan Xi of having ulterior motives.
Tian Feng said, "If you have any other intentions, why did you come to Yecheng?"
"When he arrives, let him personally defend himself and you will make the decision."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded and said, "It's settled."
"Wait until he enters the city, and then have him come to see me."
Everyone agreed. At this time, the chief clerk Chen Lin said, "The letter sent by the young master in advance said that Zhao Zilong, who was just appointed as the governor of Youzhou and the general of Pingbei, and the daughter of Marquis Wen, who was appointed as the Lord of Pingyang, will also be arriving."
"What kind of etiquette should be used to receive this?"
Everyone was getting a headache. Yuan Xi's behavior was really erratic. Other things would have been fine, but these two people were troublesome figures who embarrassed the Yuan family!