Yuan Xi walked into the camp and found that except for a few people like Xu You, most of the generals and counselors were gone.
Yuan Xi guessed that there were many things to deal with in Yecheng, and Yuan Shao was sent back to Yecheng by Xunchen Guotu and others to assist Yuan Shang.
He saluted and said: "Greetings to my lord."
Yuan Shao's eyebrows moved slightly and he said, "Is there something wrong?"
Yuan Xi spoke up: "Xi came here this time to ask the lord how to arrange the family members of Liu He and Gongsun Zan?"
Yuan Shao heard this and said, "You don't have to interfere in this matter. I have my own arrangements."
Yuan Xi raised his head slightly and said in a deep voice: "When I went to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender that day, I promised to give them an explanation."
Seeing the unhappy look on Yuan Shao's face, Jushu said, "Second Young Master has created a problem for the Lord this time."
"Not to mention Gongsun Zan's family, Liu Heke is quite troublesome."
"If he is left in Yecheng, the world will definitely criticize my lord."
"If you let him return to Youzhou, it will be like letting the tiger go back to the mountain. The second young master will not be able to use his skills in Youzhou in the future."
Yuan Shao listened and nodded slightly.
After Xu You heard this, he also said: "Now the best thing is to kill Liu He, and it will be over."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said flatly: "With all due respect, Liu He cannot be killed, otherwise Youzhou will be in chaos."
"Not only cannot they be killed, Youzhou also needs to rely on its influence to pacify the Wuhuan and Xianbei forces in other counties."
After hearing this, Xu You laughed and said: "Wuhuan and Xianbei are all native chickens and dogs. How have they ever been threatened in the past hundreds of years?"
"Now that our Yuan family is so powerful, how can we still be afraid of mere foreigners?"
Yuan Xi said: "On this point, my views are somewhat different from yours."
"Now I only occupy a small half of Zhuo County. The Lelang County in Liaodong is occupied by the Gongsundu family, so I won't talk about it."
"The remaining Dai counties, Shanggu, Guangyang, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi and other counties all have a large number of Wuhuan and Xianbei residents, as many as nearly half."
"These people have settled in Youzhou for hundreds of years, and many of them already belong to the Han Dynasty. It is not accurate to say that they are foreigners, right?"
Xu You smiled awkwardly: "Haha, the young master's remarks are a bit strange."
"The purpose of setting up Youzhou in the Han Dynasty was to accommodate the tribes inside and outside the pass, prevent them from causing trouble, and to restrict each other with the foreign tribes outside the pass."
Yuan Xi said: "Sir, please tell me, now that I, the Yuan family, want to take control of Youzhou, how should we treat these foreigners?"
Xu You heard the sarcasm in Yuan Xi's words and said with a smile: "These lords have made their own decisions, why do I need to say more?"
Yuan Shao said: "Okay, it's useless to talk about these things."
He turned to Yuan Xi, "What should happen if Liu He returns to Youzhou and becomes an enemy of my Yuan family?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Yuan Shao had really hit the point with one sentence. At this time, he had no other choice and said immediately: "I guarantee that Liu He will never go against the Yuan family."
"Otherwise I am willing to be punished by military law."
Xu You said: "It's empty talk, and the young master is the heir of the lord, and the lord is a benevolent and righteous man, how can I bear to punish him?"
Yuan Xi was heartbroken and said: "I am willing to give up all military exploits in this battle of Yijing to guarantee the lives of Liu He and Gongsun Zan's family."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was slightly moved.
You must know that Yuan Xi played the most important role in the battle of Yijing. Whether it was calming the situation in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, creating an opportunity to attack Yijing, or defeating the reinforcements of the Black Mountain Army, and then luring Gongsun Zan out of the city and taking the opportunity to break the city gate, all of them came from Yuan Xi's hand.
From the beginning of planning to the defeat of Yijing, Yuan Xi's contribution is huge. With a proper first contribution, he can clearly and legitimately obtain the position of the Lord of Youzhou, just like Yuan Tan captured and took charge of Qingzhou.
And now Yuan Xi is willing to give up these achievements?
Yuan Shao stared at Yuan Xi closely, Yuan Xi lowered his head, but their eyes never met.
Yuan Shao said in a deep voice: "Is there a reason?"
Yuan Xi raised his head and looked around. Yuan Shao understood and said, "Come with me for a walk."
The two walked out of the camp one after the other, with the guards following at a distance.
It was approaching late autumn, and the sky had just dawned. The green grass was covered with dewdrops, and the fog was heavy. Yuan Shao took a few breaths of cold air, felt uncomfortable in his chest, and coughed several times.
Seeing this, Yuan Xi was about to take off the cloak behind him. Seeing this, Yuan Shao waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, my father is not so weak."
Yuan Xi said: "I hope my father will take care of himself."
When Yuan Shao heard this, he stopped and said, "I'm afraid I won't hear this title a few times, right?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Yuan Shao had guessed it, and he and Yuan Tan had done it so obviously, how could they hide it from Yuan Shao.
He felt very complicated and said, "No matter what happens, my father will always be my father."
Yuan Shao laughed and said, "I'm afraid that by then, if you dare to shout, I won't be able to respond."
Yuan Xi was speechless for a while after hearing this.
Yuan Shao changed the subject: "Do you really want to inherit that much?"
Yuan Xi whispered: "Father should understand that based on my status, I am destined to be unable to do anything big."
Yuan Shao walked slower, "I have never regarded you as a bastard."
"One state can't satisfy you?"
Yuan Xi also slowed down: "I understand my father's painstaking efforts, just like Sikong did to my father back then."
This refers to Yuan Shao's biological father, Yuan Pang, who successively served as Taipuqing, Sikong, and Zhijinwu. It was he who adopted Yuan Shao to Yuan Cheng's branch, and Yuan Shao had the capital to start a rebellion. Otherwise, he would always be treated like a domestic slave. Yuan Shu pressed down.
Yuan Shao stopped and asked, "Do you think Third Brother will be detrimental to you?"
Yuan Xi said softly: "Xi has no harmful intentions. Heaven and earth can learn from this."
Yuan Shao paused and took steps again.
The implication of Yuan Xi's words is very obvious. You must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others.
Yuan Shao knew everything about Yuan Shang's scheme against Yuan Xi, but he could not punish Yuan Shang because as his successor, Yuan Shang's prestige must not be damaged.
But what pleased him was that Yuan Xi knew the general situation well and didn't come to see him afterward. Obviously, he understood his painstaking efforts.
The two walked up the hill. Under the faint morning light, they could see the broken outline of Yijing City in the distance.
Before the city was attacked, dozens or hundreds of tall watchtowers stood up from the ground, like hedgehogs. But now, all the thorns in Yijing City have been broken and have almost turned into scorched earth.
Yuan Shao pointed and said, "Half of this city originally belonged to you."
Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "It's not mine, I won't have any delusions."
“I don’t want even an inch of land in Jizhou.”
"I just want to live quietly in Youzhou."
Yuan Shao straightened up slightly and said, "Youzhou is very bitter."
Birds chirped in the air, and Yuan Xi raised his head, "But there aren't that many worries."
Yuan Shao couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity."
"These matters for you and Shang'er are not big, how can they be unsolved?"
There was a trace of resentment in Yuan Xi's tone: "I hate seeing each other, it's better not to see each other."
Yuan Shao shook his head, "If you, monk, are like this, what if one day you become like me and Yuan Shu?"
Yuan Xi said: "As long as I am in charge of Youzhou for one day, I will never go against my third brother."
"If I violate this oath, I will be struck by thunder from the sky, and I will die badly."
Seeing that Yuan Xi had reached this point, Yuan Shao knew that Yuan Xi had made up his mind, and for some reason he felt a slight sense of loss in his heart.
According to Yuan Xi's talent, Yuan Shang could have been a great help!
But when it comes to this matter, Yuan Shang is really to blame. He targeted Yuan Xi repeatedly and made the relationship so tense. He really lacked some tolerance.
Yuan Shao stood on the ground, his figure still upright, but in Yuan Xi's opinion, he was a little more rickety than before.
After a long time, Yuan Shao said: "You want to marry the daughter of the Zhen family?"
"If you want to be the leader of a state, there are many women with higher status than her."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said resolutely: "Xi has promised the other party and will never break the contract."
Yuan Shao laughed and said, "That's what I promised."
Yuan Xi choked.
Yuan Shao sighed: "Do you want to adopt or get married first?"
Yuan Xi said without hesitation: "Adopt first."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao couldn't help but nodded and said: "If this is indeed the case, I will not be able to interfere with your marriage."
"When the time comes, you can marry whomever you want, and you really don't need to be controlled by others."
Yuan Xi felt vaguely that Yuan Shao was a little shorter.
Yuan Xi also whispered: "Father, I am already twenty years old, and I am still waiting to get married and have children."
"My father doesn't know, but I am actually very afraid of death on the battlefield. I am often afraid that if I die one day, will I have nothing left in the world?"
Yuan Shao was silent, a hint of guilt rising in his heart.
He straightened his body again, and Yuan Xi noticed that Yuan Shao's figure suddenly grew taller, and an oppressive aura rushed towards him.
Yuan Shao turned around with a serious expression, "After the adoption, you will be Yuan Ji and Yuan Shiji."
"From that moment on, you and I are only distant relatives."
"Any difficulties you encounter in Youzhou, Jizhou will not help you for free. You must pay a corresponding price."
"Without Yuan's help, for you who currently only have half of Zhuo County, it may take many years, or even a lifetime, to completely occupy Youzhou."
"From now on, whether it's your marriage or anything else, when you conflict with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, I will not stand on your side."
"Let me ask you one last time, have you thought about it?"
Yuan Xi also stood up straight with a solemn expression: "I've thought about it."
"I will never regret it."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao turned around and said, "I understand."
"When are you planning to do it?"
Yuan Xi said: "The faster, the better."
Yuan Shao heard this and said, "After you finish arranging things in Youzhou, you can return to Yecheng."
He took a step forward and was about to walk down the hillside.
Behind him, Yuan Xi fell to the ground and said loudly: "Thank you, father, for your kindness in raising me. Xi will never forget it!"
Yuan Shao strode away without any pause this time.
After Yuan Shao's figure disappeared, Yuan Xi stood up, feeling as if a stone had fallen to the ground in his heart.
Done!
In his true and false words, he finally let Yuan Shao make the decision. With the credit of the battle of Yijing, there should be no obstacles to returning to Yecheng to adopt him.
He stood in the light morning mist, feeling a touch of joy and a touch of loss in his heart.
He couldn't tell which of his words were true and which were false.
(End of chapter)
