When Yuan Shao heard Yuan Xi's suggestion to let the Black Mountain Army rebel, he shook his head disapprovingly and said, "It's not that simple."
"The Black Mountain Army was originally a branch of the Yellow Turban Army and has always been tightly controlled by the Taiping Dao. If they could be easily turned against us, why would the Yuan family have to fight for so many years?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "So I want to cut off their roots."
"Before leaving Huaicheng, I had already disclosed the details of the Black Mountain Army to the Emperor."
"Although the Han Dynasty respected Huang-Lao, the Taiping Dao, which was backed by the Yellow Turban Army, was another matter."
"If the emperor acknowledges its legitimacy, it would be tantamount to slapping the face of the late emperor."
"So if the emperor wants to mediate, he must cut ties with the Taiping Dao in the Black Mountain Army, especially the Black Mountain Captain Yang Feng."
"If Zhang Yan wants to survive, he can only expel or kill Yang Feng, and the Black Mountain Army will naturally lose morale."
"If he protects Yang Feng, the emperor's mediation will have no reason, and we can just go all out to attack Black Mountain."
"I have transferred all the generals and advisers except Brother Zilong. If there is any change, they will immediately cooperate with Xianfu and attack Black Mountain with all their strength."
Yuan Shao was quite satisfied after hearing this. "Among all my children, you are the one who thinks the most about the long term."
"Xianfu and Xiansi both have obvious weaknesses, which really worries me."
"But the Black Mountain Captain Yang Feng holds a very special position in the Yellow Turban Army. Zhang Yan may not dare to touch him."
"What?" Yuan Xi was a little shocked. He didn't expect Yang Feng to be so powerful. He couldn't help but ask, "Who is she?"
Yuan Shao shook his head. "I only know that she has a close relationship with Zhang Jue. Everything else is well hidden and difficult to find out."
"But if Yang Feng and Zhang Yan turn against each other, the Black Mountain Army will indeed not be a concern."
"I will gather other counselors to discuss this."
"However, Xianfu's progress is not fast. Yecheng has almost mobilized all the troops that can be mobilized."
"It's not impossible to force conscription again, but Jizhou has not recovered from the battle of Yijing. If we continue to use military force, the nobles and the people will definitely be dissatisfied."
"In addition, several generals are stationed at important locations with their troops, and they cannot be easily mobilized."
Yuan Xi thought for a moment, "I remember Gao Lan led his troops to besiege Dongwuyang. Didn't that army still have tens of thousands of people?"
"How about transferring them to Montenegro?"
After hearing this, Yuan Shao's face darkened, "Wasn't the rebellious Zang Hong taking the opportunity to escape?"
"I treated him well, but he rebelled against me. If I don't kill him immediately, how can the Yuan family deter those who have evil intentions?"
"The Jizhou army is now besieging the city, and both sides are in a dilemma. Unless he surrenders, I will have an excuse. But is Zang Hong that kind of person?"
"He's just a blockhead!"
Yuan Xi sighed, "This guy is really a bit crazy. It's funny to say that his goal was to rescue Zhang Miao, the leader of the group, so he came to Yecheng to ask for help, but he was turned away."
"I don't know what he was thinking. He actually went back to raise an army to rebel against the envoy. It's really incomprehensible."
"But because of this, Zang Hong's reputation for loyalty and righteousness has spread throughout the world. If you capture the city, you must not keep him. This will also be criticized by the world, right?"
Yuan Shao always had a good reputation. After hearing this, he fell into deep thought and said, "That makes sense."
"But now he is the one seeking death. Do you want me to take a step back?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It's not like there is no chance."
"There is an opportunity right now."
Yuan Shao asked in confusion: "What opportunity?"
Yuan Xi said: "The chief architect Kong Rong was sent by the emperor to Chenliu and Puyang to mediate the dispute between Cao Cao and Zhang Miao."
"If Zhang Miao wants to survive, he will definitely abandon Puyang and surrender to the emperor."
"This way, if Zhang Miao escapes, Zang Hong will have no excuse to rebel."
"Then you can send someone to persuade him to surrender. As the emperor's envoy, I can serve as a guarantor."
Yuan Shao asked, "Aren't you here to visit Yecheng regarding the Black Mountain incident?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "If Zang Hong surrenders, Gao Lan will naturally be able to free up his hands to deal with Heishan."
"Isn't this also a Black Mountain thing?"
After hearing this, Yuan Shao couldn't help but laugh and said, "You are quite cunning."
"It was obviously not like this when you were a child."
Yuan Xi's heart skipped a beat, and he forced a smile and said, "People change."
"After fighting so many battles and seeing so many deaths, I came up with an idea: if I can reduce the number of deaths, I will do it even if the means are a little despicable."
Yuan Shao felt unhappy and said, "If Xianfu could understand this, I would be able to hand over Jizhou to him without any worries."
He suddenly asked, "Is Qu Yi dead?"
Yuan Xi nodded slightly.
Yuan Shao sighed, "Lü Bu and Qu Yi are both people who don't care about small matters."
"They may not have done anything serious at the time, but the situation at the time forced them to leave."
"This is the helplessness of being a lord."
"You will face this situation sooner or later."
Yuan Xi was silent, then slowly said: "I believe there will be a better way."
Yuan Shao did not take it to heart. He felt a little tired after talking so much, so he said, "I understand everything you said."
"You should go back and rest first."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi stood up and was about to turn around and leave, but then stopped and said, "Zilong is a man of his own ideas. A marriage with the Yuan family may not be enough to tie him down."
"In Danxi's opinion, if the two sides can form a marriage, the Yuan family will also gain a lot of benefits from it."
"If Zilong can marry my sister, the envoy only needs to leak the news and say that he has rejected the emperor's proposal and chose Yuan. Your reputation will surely rise."
"If Zilong is related to the Yuan family, Junyue can rest assured that he will guard the northern gate. Moreover, in terms of his ability to lead troops and his popularity, he is the best candidate of this generation."
"In Xi's opinion, Zilong's future achievements will be far greater than those of Chanyu Tatun and others. Even if Yuan Shi only regards him as a business deal, he will definitely not lose out in the future."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded and said, "I will consider it."
"When are you going to arrange your marriage with Lu Bu's daughter?"
Yuan Xi did not expect Yuan Shao to ask this question, and subconsciously asked, "When we returned to Jicheng?"
Yuan Shao sneered and said, "With Jicheng being such a shabby place, can it compare to Yecheng in terms of scene and etiquette?"
"Lü Bu is a great general after all. If he does it in such a shabby way, won't it bring shame to the Yuan family?"
"I think it's better to find someone to do it for you in the next few days."
Yuan Xi was deeply moved when he heard this, and he bowed quickly and said, "Thank you, sir."
Yuan Shao waved his hand, "No need to be polite, I also have my considerations."
"We still have to give face to Lu Bu, and the marriage between the two families will also be good for the reputation of the Yuan family. Otherwise, I would not bother to care about these things."
Yuan Xi smiled secretly, thinking that Yuan Shao's character was really that of a man who was hard on the outside but soft on the inside.
At the same time, he felt a little regretful. Yuan Shao now had two sons, one stupid and the other cruel. Neither of them would be good lords. He was afraid that there would be trouble in the future.
To be honest, I have gained a lot of benefits by taking advantage of the Yuan family's name, and I owe Yuan Shao a lot of favors. But now my situation is quite difficult, and I can't repay it even if I want to. I can only take it one step at a time.
He then took his leave and said before leaving: "I haven't seen my sister for a long time. Can I go and visit her?" Seeing Yuan Shao nod in agreement, Yuan Xi backed out the door and left.
After Yuan Xi left, Yuan Shao felt quite proud.
So what if Lu Bu became a general? Didn't he still marry his only daughter to his son?
And she's not even the legal wife!
Thinking of this, Yuan Shao was very surprised. He didn't know what means this kid used. He couldn't imagine how Lu Bu would agree!
It seems that Yuan Xi's ability in cheating and deceiving is even better than his ability in marching and fighting.
When Yuan Xi arrived at the door, he saw Zhao Yun still waiting outside and said with a smile, "I'm going to visit my sister. Brother Zilong, do you want to come with me?"
Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "I am afraid there will be rumors. I will wait for you outside the mansion."
Yuan Xi shook his head, thinking that Zhao Yun was really rigid and prudent. I'm afraid that after they get married, there will be no fun.
If the marriage between the two sides really goes through, would he show Zhao Yun the couple's life manual that he and Cai Zhaoji compiled?
Yuan Xi, with a lot of evil thoughts in his mind, asked his maid to take him to find Yuan Xing. As soon as he entered Yuan Xing's courtyard, he heard voices inside. Yuan Xi distinguished the voices and found that there were more than just Yuan Xing and Lu Lingqi. He thought to himself, could it be that he came at an unlucky time? There were also female relatives visiting Yuan Xing?
He stopped at the door, and the maid understood, went in to take a look, and came out and said, "Sir, we are all family, the one inside is Master Xianfu's wife."
This maidservant had been with Yuan Xing for many years and knew Yuan Xi's relationship, so she didn't take it seriously. However, Yuan Xi hesitated for a moment, thinking, is it Yuan Shang's wife, Hong?
He also remembered that when he attended the banquet, Yuan Shang asked Hong to come out and persuade him to drink. As a result, Yuan Xi fell into the trap and almost got involved with Zhen Rong. Although Cai Zhaoji rescued him later and found someone else to sleep with, he had a grudge against Yuan Shang and Hong since then.
Seeing Yuan Xi's appearance, the maid quietly went in. After a long while, she came out and said, "The eldest lady said, please come in, young master."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled bitterly. He could more or less guess what Yuan Xing was thinking. She was probably trying to reconcile the relationship between the two families. Although this idea was naive, Yuan Xi's predecessor had been taken care of a lot by Yuan Xing since he was a child, so he had to give Yuan Xing some face. He nodded slightly and walked in.
The maid led Yuan Xi into Yuan Xing's room. Sure enough, in addition to Yuan Xing and Lu Lingqi, there was also Hong, who was slightly lowering her head and bowing to Yuan Xi with an embarrassed look on her face.
Yuan Xi had to admit that Hong's facial features were very pretty and she was a real beauty. He leaned over to return the greeting, but his attention was not on Hong at this moment, but on Lu Lingqi.
Lu Lingqi actually changed into a set of deep-collared, gorgeous clothes commonly worn by women from Yecheng aristocratic families. The clothes were extremely intricately decorated, and paired with Lu Lingqi's beautiful and heroic face, they formed an extremely strong contrast, and for a moment even outshined Hong next to her.
Lu Lingqi usually liked to wear Hu clothing, and Yuan Xi was used to it. The current scene was very shocking to him. What shocked Yuan Xi the most was a tightly tied silk belt, which perfectly set off Lu Lingqi's slender waist and highlighted the amazing curve above the waist.
For Yuan Xi, who had measured the curvature himself two years ago, when he saw Lv Lingqi again, he became suspicious of the shrunk lines and thought that Lv Lingqi must have been entangled.
Yuan Xi was right in thinking this, but he didn't expect that Lu Lingqi would cling to him so much!
Now that this line was suddenly released, the explosive impact force made Yuan Xi's nostrils hot, and he felt that blood would spurt out at any time.
At this time, Yuan Xing's teasing voice sounded, "Why, you don't even look at me, you are so obsessed with the bride?"