When it comes to the prominent families at this time, the Mi family is definitely not ranked high, but when it comes to wealth, the Mi family is truly one of the richest. Compared to the Zhen family in Hebei, they are not trying to make more concessions.
Qu County is a prosperous place in Xuzhou. It is not only flat and rich in products, but also a rare seaport in the Han Dynasty. It has always had maritime transportation trade with Jiangdong in the south.
The Mi family is a wealthy businessman in Xuzhou. Their ancestors have been engaged in farming for generations. They have nearly 10,000 servants and diners, and have assets worth hundreds of millions. Historically, it was through the wealth of the Mi family that Liu Bei was able to fly.
Although it was already Haishi, the lights in the Mi family courtyard were brightly lit. Hundreds of carriages were parked inside and outside the courtyard, and many slaves were running back and forth, carrying large and small objects.
In front of the courtyard door, stood a graceful young woman in brocade and deep clothes. Accompanied by her maid, the lady directed a group of servants by the lantern. She was Mi Zhu's wife, Wei Shi.
There was a commotion in the hall, and the young woman turned around to see a beautiful girl walking out.
The girl patted this, touched that, and gave some instructions to the slave from time to time. Behind her were seven or eight samurai with swords. It was obvious that this girl had an unusual status.
Webster smiled and took the girl's hand and said, "Sister Zhen, why don't you go and rest? You are going to Xiapi early tomorrow morning."
The girl is Mi Zhu's sister, Mi Zhen. She grew up under the care of her brother. She was innocent and sweet, and said softly, "Sister-in-law, are we going to live in Xiapi permanently? No wonder we can't bear to leave here."
Webster said with a smile on his face, "You are about to get married. After all, you can't stay at home all the time."
Mi Zhen pouted her pretty lips and said, "Zhen'er doesn't want to get married. Well, if she wants to marry, she must be a great hero of the world!"
"It is true. If you are not a hero of the world, how can you be worthy of our sister Zhen?"
Mi Zhen felt ashamed and got into Wei Shi's arms.
A mighty young warrior behind Mi Zhen looked dim and reported, "Miss, it's a mess here. You'd better go back and rest. I'm waiting to take care of you, so your trip won't be delayed."
Wei Shi looked at the young warrior and said, "Mi Wei, sister Zhen is naughty. Thank you for taking care of her along the way."
Mi Wei was a soldier adopted by the Mi family since childhood. Because of his outstanding martial arts skills, he became a leader of the Mi family's soldiers. He said, "Madam, the military chaos in Xuzhou is serious now. After receiving your letter, you should immediately leave for Xiapi to escape the chaos." , but this delay lasted for several days.”
Wei Shi shook his head and said helplessly, "There are so many properties in the family. Although there are people staying behind, there are many female relatives to bring with them to salute. How can we rush on? After all, this is still the border of Xuzhou."
While he was talking, from far away from the city tower in the north of the county seat, there was a faint cry of killing. Mi Wei was alert, his face changed slightly, and he shouted loudly: "Everyone, stop! Be careful."
The slaves stopped what they were doing, and everyone heard the sound of fighting more clearly. Then, a dull vibration sounded, and the sound gradually got closer, and everyone's expressions changed.
Webster's face turned pale and he said in a trembling voice, "This. What is this, a rebel?"
Mi Wei's face changed color and he ordered to summon the clan soldiers and said, "Madam, miss, I'm afraid they are Qingzhou soldiers. They can't take care of these treasures. I will summon the soldiers at home to escort you out of the city from the south gate!"
Wei Shi and Mi Zhen were both weak women. In the chaos of the war, they had to flee for their lives. After all, the reputation of the Qingzhou soldiers was not very good.
After a while, Mi Wei summoned two hundred clan soldiers who came to the city. Each of these clan soldiers were one person and one horse. They were the elite guards of the Mi family.
Wei Shi, Mi Zhen and a maid got into a carriage. Mi Wei put on his armor and stomach and opened the way himself.
The sound of fighting gradually spread throughout the city, and the lights in people's houses were lit. They knew that the enemy troops were entering the city, but they did not dare to move.
The sound of horses' hooves and wheels was particularly clear and loud in this night. Mi Zhen lay in Wei's arms, her heart beating in panic.
Captain Nanmen of Qu County blocked Mi Wei's motorcade and shouted, "Who is it? Stop quickly!"
Mi Wei reined in the reins and scolded: "Bind your dog's eyes. We are soldiers of the Mi family. Let's open the city gate quickly."
The Mi family has a transcendent status in Xuzhou and Qu County. Normally, the people of the Mi family, even the servants, are of a higher rank. Mi Wei's scolding frightened the gate captain, who laughed and said, "It turns out it's the Mi family." Sir, there are enemy troops attacking the city, and the situation is unknown now, so don’t wander around."
Mi Wei was annoyed by the gate captain's delay and shouted, "I asked you to open the city gate. The enemy has already breached the north gate. I have protected Lord Mi's family and fled elsewhere. Don't blame me for being rude if you don't open the city gate!" "
The gate captain became even more panicked, and immediately fled with Mi Wei with more than 500 gatekeepers. After all, the Mi family had run away, so he didn't want to sit back and wait for death.
The cold wind blew outside the city, and everyone in the Mi family felt chills. Their bodies shivered unconsciously. They didn't know whether it was because of the cold or fear, or maybe. .
"Whoosh!" "Ah!"
Feather arrows struck, and the three Mi family soldiers were hit by arrows and fell from their horses. Several hundred more riders ran out of the nearby field. "Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"
Mi Wei was surprised and escorted the carriage to the west with his clan soldiers to break out of the encirclement. But he didn't know that Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun and others had laid an ambush on the road to the East China Sea in order to prevent the news from leaking.
Yuan Xi's army has gone through many cavalry battles, large and small, and can be considered to have withstood the test of actual combat. More than 500 Xuzhou defenders were their opponents, and they were instantly defeated after several cavalry shots and attacks.
"Stop the carriage!" "Surround it from the right!"
"Shoot with arrows. The person in the carriage is the leader! Catch him alive and receive the reward!"
Wei Shi and Mi Zhen were trembling with fear, listening to the shouts of the enemy cavalry, and arrows were nailed to the side of the carriage from time to time.
Mi Zhen's beautiful eyes overflowed with tears. She had never been so frightened and wronged before. For a long time, both of them were so frightened that they could no longer feel the bumps of the carriage. The number of clan soldiers guarding them gradually decreased, leaving only Mi Wei and a dozen cavalrymen.
"Master Wei, that's not right, this is the bamboo forest in the north of the county!" A clan soldier said in surprise.
Mi Wei was shocked. The enemy cavalry was extremely powerful. They were robbed and killed, and the team was completely scattered with casualties. Still lost his way, he ran to the north of the city and said angrily, "That's wrong. There seems to be a path nearby that leads to the west of the city. Go and look for it."
It was quiet and dark everywhere, and Mi Wei and others did not dare to light torches, so they could only move forward in the dark.
"No, there are enemy soldiers ahead!"
Sure enough, a small fire lit up in the dark front, and a large group of soldiers marched up.
"Who's in front of you? Stop quickly!" "Stop, otherwise we'll kill you without mercy!"
Mi Wei lamented in his heart, he never expected to escape from the tiger's mouth and meet a pack of wolves again. But he didn't think much and escaped while protecting the carriage.
It was difficult for horses and carriages to move at night, and Qingzhou soldiers gradually surrounded them, and they were about to fall into crisis.
"It's Xuzhou soldiers. Brothers, surround us from both sides and block the carriage." A rough voice shouted.
Mi Wei fiercely split open the two Qingzhou soldiers blocking the road, but his horse was tired and was chopped down by the Qingzhou soldiers. Mi Wei also rolled to the ground, but he still waved a big sword to protect the carriage, so that the Qingzhou soldiers could not get closer.
The bearded Zhou Cang snorted, but could not see Mi Wei's ferocity. He rode his horse forward, and while he was surrounded by several Qingzhou soldiers, he slashed at Mi Wei with his long sword.
Mi Wei's skills were pretty good, and he could wield the long knife at the critical moment of life and death. But his sword was also shaken away, and several Qingzhou soldiers took the opportunity to chop him several times. When he was injured and could no longer resist, he was held down by those soldiers.
"Haha, let me see who is in the carriage!" A Qingzhou soldier opened the curtain of the carriage and shined a torch into it.
Mi Zhen and Wei Shi were frightened by the sudden fire and the rebel soldiers. They wanted to cry but had no tears and could only tremble.
"Oh haha, it's two little ladies! Brothers are having fun!"
Mi Wei suddenly got angry and cursed, "You son of a bitch, how dare you touch a hair on my lady's head!"
Several Qingzhou soldiers held down Mi Wei, whose armor was damaged and was spilling blood, and cursed, "What the hell, you're amazing, I'll show you what I'm doing."
After that, a Qingzhou soldier approached the carriage, opened the curtain, and reached out to grab Wei Shi and Mi Zhen. The Qingzhou soldiers next to them also let out bursts of knowing laughter. They had done this kind of thing a lot when they were Yellow Turban thieves, so they were quite familiar with it.
Therefore, there are no good people in troubled times. Under the avalanche, no snowflake is innocent. Even the yellow scarf who was a victim in the past is still doing things to hurt others, haha.
"No!" Mi Wei shouted loudly and broke away from the big hands of the two Qingzhou soldiers. His potential was stimulated to the extreme, and he ran to the carriage in an instant and knocked the Qingzhou soldier away. Then he jumped up, got into the driver's seat, and slapped the horse's butt with his right hand.
The two horses pulling the cart were in pain and neighed "chi yo yo". The horses' hooves kicked away the four nearby Qingzhou soldiers, and then they pulled the carriage frantically and started running.
Zhou Cang watched Mi Wei escape from the side, but he didn't expect that the other party was a bloody man. He snorted, raised his sword and galloped after him, he had to regain his place.
The carriage sped away, the curtains disappeared, and the cool midnight breeze came in. Mi Zhen was frightened by the sudden change and burst into tears.
"Miss, don't be afraid! As long as I, Mi Wei, are here, the thieves can't hurt you!" Mi Wei shouted loudly.
It's a pity that Luo Hua is ruthless on purpose, not to mention that the status of the two is too different, and unequal emotions are destined to be fruitless.
Wei Shi and Mi Zhen felt a little relieved, at least they still had a loyal guard. But the three of them were not allowed to rejoice, as the two horses ran wild and pulled them into the middle of a large group of marching Qingzhou soldiers. The horses also kicked over several Qingzhou soldiers.
Suddenly, a war horse ran out from the side. On the war horse was a majestic and brave man. The strong man jumped up and got into the driver's seat in front of the carriage. With a push from his big palm-like hand, he pushed the astonished Mi Wei away. Get off the carriage.
Then the strong man held on to the reins with all his strength, and the two horses gradually stopped in pain. The strong man quickly jumped out of the carriage and stared into the carriage on guard. A large group of knights surrounded them, and torches illuminated the surrounding area.
Mi Zhen's beautiful eyes finally overflowed with tears. Looking at the ugly and handsome man, she desperately clutched Wei's hand, waiting for the ferocious Qingzhou violent soldiers.
But the cavalrymen made no move, and then a young man appeared in front of Mi Zhen on horseback. Yuan Xi's BGM sounds, and the appearance music of Demon Lord Qiye in A Chinese Ghost Story is quite suitable.
The young general who stormed the army was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He was wearing a moon-white robe and his appearance was elegant, handsome and heroic. Mi Zhen and Wei Shi looked a little dazed. She didn't expect that there was such a handsome man among the rebels.
Yuan Xi was riding on a war horse. He didn't expect that there were actually two female relatives in the captured carriage. However, with so many Qingzhou soldiers surrounding them, they must be somewhat pretty.
Zhou Cang caught up from behind, carrying the seriously injured Mi Wei in one hand, and threw him next to the carriage. He dismounted and kicked him, and replied, "Major General, this guy is very tough. In order to protect the carriage, he managed to break away from the encirclement of several brothers."
"Brother Wei!" Mi Zhen looked at Mi Wei, who was covered in blood, and finally couldn't help shouting. She crawled to the front of the car and was about to get out, but was tightly held by Wei Shi behind.
"Which family are you from?" Yuan Xi looked at them and asked.
Although Wei Shi was scared, he forced himself to be calm and said: "I am a member of the Wei family in Qu County. Because the army was attacking the city, my family did not know where they were. They fled the city to avoid the chaos. I hope the general will look at me and wait for the high-grade door." No. 2, don’t cause harm.”
"Wei family?" Yuan Xi wondered. He summoned Zhou Cang and asked about what happened. Then he sneered: "The ones who can have so many soldiers escorting them out of the city must be the dignitaries of Qu County. Why haven't I heard of Wei?" Where is home?" His sharp eyes looked directly into Webster's eyes, making her panic.
Wei's face turned pale and she defended, "The general is not a local, so he may not know." She did not dare to say that he was from the Mi family, because Mi Zhu from the Mi family was a high-ranking official in Xuzhou, and he would not let them go if he found out.
Yuan Xi rode his horse around in front of the car, raised the corners of his mouth, and suddenly said, "You are from the Mi family in Qu County! Right or wrong!"
Wei Shi was shocked. She was about to argue, but Mi Zhen scolded: "So what, my eldest brother is the Xuzhou Mu Tao Envoy Jun Biejia. He will definitely bring me, Xuzhou Renyi Master, to fight against you bandits!"
Wei's hands were trembling and he sighed in his heart, but Yuan Xi smiled and said cheerfully, "Then I'll wait for your eldest brother to come. Yuan Xi, Yuan Xianyi, I wonder what your name is, Miss?" He guessed that this girl was a famous person in history. Mrs. Mi is still a little curious about her name.
Mi Zhen's pretty little mouth pursed, "Why should I tell you my maiden name?" Just after she finished speaking, she seemed to have thought of something, "Yuan Xianyi, a talented person of the Yuan family?" Mi Zhen said in surprise.
Yuan Xi smiled faintly and said, "I didn't expect that the young lady would recognize me. The two armies are fighting with no eyesight. I am responsible for the safety of the young lady. I will return the young lady when the war is over." After that, he turned around on his horse. He still had A lot to deal with.
Mi Zhen was extremely conflicted. Yuan Xi's reputation as a talented young man, his poems, and his deeds had already spread throughout Xuzhou, and many of his female relatives admired him. Although Mi Zhen is not infatuated with fame, she has also read those beautiful poems and essays, so she cannot classify Yuan Xi as a bad person. . .
"Wait!" Mi Zhen called to Yuan Xi and said softly, "My brother Wei is injured by your soldiers. Please save him."
Yuan Xi looked at Mi Wei who was lying on the ground with serious injuries, and ordered him to be treated by an army doctor. He also asked the tiger guards to take care of Mi Zhen and Wei Shi, and then rode away.
■■■
Yuan Xi led Xu Chu and some subsequent Qingzhou soldiers into Qu County and quickly took control of the county.
After the four generals Zhao Yun, Tai Shici, Zhang Liao and Xu Chu settled their soldiers, they all went to the Mi family compound where Yuan Xi was staying to report the battle situation to him.
Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh when he looked at the magnificent and well-decorated Mi family house, let alone other people. Although the Zhen family is no less wealthy than the Mi family, the Zhen family is only engaged in business and settling land, and has not been involved in politics, so it is still relatively cautious and low-key.
But the Mi family is different. After Mi Zhu and Mi Fang entered the high-level officials of Xuzhou, the Mi family became more and more prominent in Xuzhou, and they could do things openly without any scruples.
Gu Yong handed two account books to Yuan Xi and reported, "Major General, one is the account book of the Qu County official's treasury, and the other is the captured account book of the Mi family. Their servants want to take advantage of the chaos to steal the Mi family's property." The cargo left, but it was surrounded by our troops and all the vehicles were seized.”
Guan Hai, who followed Yuan Xi into the city, smiled and said: "The Mi family is extremely wealthy. I have tried to seduce them before. I led troops to besiege Qu County twice, but they were defeated by other people at all levels in Xuzhou. How good it is now, young general. It was won with little effort.”
Yuan Xi looked at the account book. Although this was only part of the Mi family's property, the amount was astonishing. He ordered, "Announce the captured property to the entire army, promise to give half of it to the generals, and then send out three thousand soldiers." Tao will transport these treasures back to Qingzhou first, and then divide the rewards after the war."
When Yuan Xi and the others moved to fight in Donghai and Langya, they focused on speed. Apart from grain and fodder, it was really not suitable to bring these goods with them. Moreover, the goods previously looted from Langya were also escorted back to Qingzhou.
Everyone was very happy and discussed how to take Tancheng, the seat of Donghai County next.
Guan Hai slapped his forehead and shouted, "Major General, Tancheng can be said to be one of the most fortified cities in the East China Sea and even in Xuzhou. The city wall there is nearly four feet high, and there are many defenders and all the equipment. Previously, I was directly Leave it alone."
Yuan Xi thought hard and realized that there was little chance of winning by force. The city's defenses are tight, and the chance of success in a sneak attack is not high, which is quite helpless.
"Since the Xuzhou soldiers rely on high walls, without the high walls, wouldn't they be just tigers without teeth?" Zhang Liao said.
"Wen Yuan said that the defenders would be transferred out of the city?" Yuan Xi asked.
"Major General, our army might as well join General Xu Huang, pass through Tancheng with great fanfare, and then attack Tao Qian's old lair Xiapi to lure the Tancheng defenders to pursue. General Junyi can also lead his army south to Tancheng." Zhang Liao suggested road.
Yuan Xi's purpose was only to plunder Donghai County. Yuan Xi was not willing to waste his troops to attack other places. And Xu Huang's extraordinary army was Yuan Xi's last push to put pressure on Tao Qian.
Yuan Xi thought of this word, "Wenyuan's strategy is good, but no matter how strong Tancheng is, there are still loopholes. We might as well try it, and if it doesn't succeed, we can implement Wenyuan's strategy." .”
Everyone looked at Yuan Xi, wondering what plan he would come up with.
"No one else." Yuan Xi smiled lightly and said, "Fooling the city!"
■■■
Tao Qian left Liu Bei and Cao Bao to guard Pengcheng. He returned to Xiapi with five thousand Danyang soldiers and many noble families who had fled from Langya and other places.
Not long after arriving in Xiapi, there was news that General Polu led more than 20,000 elite troops to rush for reinforcements.
Tao Qian was overjoyed and led Chen Deng, Cao Hong, Mi Zhu and others to the outside of Xiapi City to greet Sun Jian, the Jiangdong Tiger.
After Sun Jian asked his soldiers to set up camp outside Xiapi City, he brought Sun Ce, Han Dang, Huang Gai, Zhu Zhi and Zhang Zhao who were accompanying the army to meet Tao Qian.
Tao Qian said with a smile on his face, "Wentai, I haven't seen you for a long time. Your bravery is still the same as before. Wentai can come to help, Xuzhou is not in danger, I am very relieved."
Sun Jian also said politely: "Brother Gongzu, you are too polite. Based on our friendship, how could Sun Jian not come to relieve Xuzhou's crisis?"
Tao Qian and Sun Jian looked at each other and laughed, pulling each other into the city. Tao Qian is definitely not a good gentleman. All his choices and decisions are just following the trend. After all, he is just a spokesperson, not a monarch, right.
