Yuan Xi came to the north of Tancheng, while Zhang He and Guo Jiazheng from the north led more than 9,000 soldiers from Langya Kaiyang to Tancheng.
The city gate opened, and Yuan Xi personally welcomed the two of them.
Zhang He dismounted from his horse and clasped his fists in salute. Guo Jia, although he was tired from work, still smiled and praised, "Young Master, you did a good job. You can easily capture such a fortified city."
Yuan Xi grabbed the two men and laughed and scolded: "It's not the result of everyone's concerted efforts, but Sun Ce is stationed outside the army city, and the situation is not optimistic."
Guo Jia had a smile in his eyes and said lazily, "General Polu? The situation is not good. Cao Cao seems to have a headache."
"Report! Major General, there is an envoy coming from Xiapi."
"Sir, go and invite him quickly. We have to fulfill our friendship as landlords! Right?" Guo Jia looked at Yuan Xi and said with a bad smile.
Cao Hong and his entourage first went to Zhang Yuan's camp outside Tancheng, and then came to Tancheng to see Yuan Xi.
Cao Hong didn't have many other abilities, but he was good at observing people's emotions and flattering others, otherwise he wouldn't have been considered a confidant by Tao Qian. For this peace negotiation, Cao Hong also thought hard for a while, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make meritorious deeds and increase his family's bargaining chips.
At the south gate of Tancheng, a bearded general was riding on a horse. He looked arrogant and said proudly, "Are you the envoy sent by Tao Qian? Come with me. Don't keep my young general waiting."
Cao Hong resented the other party's unreasonableness, but in other people's territory, showing off for no reason would only lead to death. He suppressed his anger and entered the city with the bearded Zhou Cang.
At this time, the people in the city stayed behind closed doors in fear. There were only groups of Qingzhou Army cavalry walking neatly through the streets and alleys, giving a great deterrent to the people in the city and Cao Hong and others.
Zhou Cang laughed and asked Cao Hong, "Well, sir, how are our soldiers? Are they strong and brave?"
Sun Jiajun and Xuzhou Army were recently defeated and lost Tancheng. The performance of the Qingzhou soldiers was even more brave and good at fighting, which made Xuzhou senior officials fearful of them. Cao Hong felt horrified in his heart and forced a smile and said: "Your army is really a brave army, I admire you."
Zhou Cang was very proud and led Cao Hong to the government office.
"Stop! Unhook your weapon before you can see the Major General!" shouted the Tiger Guard guarding the door of the lobby.
Cao Hong and the others were just here to negotiate peace, and their status was equal to that of Yuan Xi. It was actually a great insult to ask them to disarm. Cao Hong's angry look was also reflected on his face, and several of his followers even drew their sabers.
Xu Chu, who was guarding the door, snorted, and a large group of well-armed Tiger Guards flashed out next to them. They also drew their weapons and pointed them at Cao Hong and others, not showing off at all.
Xu Chu shouted loudly and said, "You are carrying weapons and want to assassinate our young master!" After speaking, he took a few steps forward, lifted up a big stone pier outside the front hall door, and then smashed it against the big stone pier on the other side.
With a "coaxing" sound, the stone pier that was hit broke into two halves.
"Are you as hard as this rock?" Xu Chu glared at Cao Hong and others. They really deserved the fine wine instead of the toast. It's really a shame.
Cao Hong's face turned pale for a while, and his expression changed several times. He smiled apologetically and said: "The warrior is serious. I will take off the weapons as soon as possible. It's not worth hurting the peace between the two families." After saying that, he took off his sword and made Angry and frightened. The attendants untied their weapons.
Xu Chu snorted coldly and brought Cao Hong to the lobby.
Cao Hong looked at the civil and military personnel of the Qingzhou Army in the lobby, then saluted and said, "My lord, Cao Hong, the envoy sent by Tao Xuzhou to discuss peace has kept the Major General waiting for a long time."
"Mr. Cao, please sit down. What message could Tao Shijun ask you to bring?" Yuan Xi asked, looking at the slippery Cao Hong.
Cao Hong chuckled and said, "Tao Shijun said that he had many misunderstandings with Yuan Cheqi, which led to the two families fighting each other. Now he sincerely resolves the grievances between the two families and hopes that the young general can facilitate this matter."
Guo Jia narrowed his eyes and smiled, "My young master does not want to fight with Tao Shijun, but because of the alliance between the Cao and Yuan families, my young master wants to bring about a reconciliation between the two families. However, your Xuzhou army killed many of our soldiers and then retreated." I’m afraid there are many complaints among the soldiers.”
"I sincerely come to negotiate for peace. Just tell me what you want, Major General. I, Xuzhou, will try my best to make up for it and make the Yuan family happy." Cao Hong knew that the other party would take the opportunity to blackmail, so he didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Yuan Xi waved his hand and said calmly, "I don't have any requirements. It's just that we have been out for a long time and the army has insufficient food and fodder. I'm afraid it won't be enough to support our army back to Qingzhou. Master Cao, look at this..."
"Major General, how much food do you need?"
Guo Jia smiled and said cooperatively, "It's not much, one million stones, rice, one million dollars, that's enough."
Cao Hong jumped up in shock and anger and said, "This much money and food is enough to support more than 60,000 soldiers for one or two years. I don't have so much in Xuzhou. Isn't this something that is difficult for others to do?"
Yuan Xi's face turned cold and he said sternly, "How many good men from Qingzhou have died in Xuzhou, and the cost of comforting them is more than this. Cao Cao's army is stationed in Pengcheng. If our army cooperates with the pincer attack, let alone such a small amount of food, the entire Xuzhou will be destroyed." We can take it too. Mr. Cao, please take care of yourself."
Cao Hong's face turned red and white, and he quickly calculated the pros and cons in his mind.
At this time, the herald ran into the lobby and reported, "Report! The Yanzhou Army sent an envoy and asked to see the Major General!"
Upon hearing Yuan Xi's huge asking price, Cao Hong's face turned red and white, and he considered the pros and cons in his mind.
"Report! The Yanzhou Army sent a messenger to ask for a meeting with the Major General!" At this time, the messenger ran into the lobby.
Yuan Xi and Guo Jia looked at each other and thought that Cao Cao's men had arrived just in time, and they had made such a great assist.
Guo Jia came to Cao Hong, made an invitation gesture to him, and said, "Mr. Cao, please go to the screen next door and wait for a while. Maybe you will change your mind later."
Cao Hong didn't expect that Yuan Xi would let him listen, so he had to get up and go behind the curtain to see what the Yuan and Cao families were doing.
After a while, Xi Zhong brought Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, to the lobby.
"I'm down with Yingchuan Opera Zhicai and my eldest son Cao Ang. I've met the second young master Yuan." The actor saluted.
"I came here to visit you on the order of Mr. Cao. Is it possible that Mr. Cao refused to even invite me for a cup of tea?" Xi Zhong asked casually with a slight smile on his face.
Yuan Xi bowed his hands, stepped aside and said, "Mr. Xi's words are serious, it's Xi's fault, please!"
Xi Zhong took Cao Ang and walked side by side to the meeting hall with Yuan Xi.
Entering the hall, Xi Zhong looked around and asked in surprise: "Young Master's subordinates are not comparable to those of Yuan Jizhou. I wonder..."
"Mr. Xi, why do you ask questions knowingly?" Yuan Xi smiled slightly and said, "I am afraid that nothing I do will escape your eyes and ears."
Staring at each other with Yuan Xi, Xi Zhong laughed twice and said: "Very good! Very good! Young master, it saves you and me a lot of trouble when talking."
Yuan Xi had a faint smile on his lips, but he was feeling a lot of pressure in his heart.
He dealt with the Yuan brothers, and the staff he came into contact with also had their own agendas.
There are many people who are wise and thoughtful, but they are caught up in fights and staff members criticize each other, so that although many people have talents, they are unable to show them.
Xi Zhong was under Cao Cao.
With Cao Cao's ability to employ people, there may be dissatisfaction among his staff, but they will not fight openly.
What's more, Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang has not yet died in the battle, and his only legitimate son is Cao Pi.
The third son, Cao Zhi, and the fourth son, Cao Chong, are still children and have no idea what it means to fight for power.
The Cao family is much purer than the Yuan family.
Xi Zhong lives in the Cao family and fully displays his talents and ambitions.
Then Yuan Xi came to Cao Ang and said enthusiastically, "Brother Zixiu, how could it be you? We haven't seen each other since we fought in Luoyang and the coalition forces were disbanded, right? Things are unpredictable!"
Cao Ang also had a lot of feelings, but after many things happened in the past two years, the relationship between him and Yuan Xi was no longer what it was before, and cracks and barriers naturally arose.
Thinking of Cao Cao's instructions before leaving, Cao Ang forced a smile and said with a hint of embarrassment, "Xianyi, you are so good. You have become a heroic official leading the army, while I am still a junior general under my father. This time is very special. You’re the host and I’m inviting you to drink.”
Yuan Xi immediately asked someone to prepare a banquet. He looked at his old friend Cao Ang and said, "Although it is difficult in the army, I can still afford you a meal and a meal."
Xi Zhong helped: "The second young master and the eldest young master of my family have known each other since childhood. The Cao and Yuan families are very close, so there is no need to be polite."
During the banquet, Xi Zhong asked Cao Ang to persuade Yuan Xi to drink. Yuan Xi only tasted it, but Cao Ang drank a lot because of his good drinker and his depressed mood, and he was a straight-tempered person.
"Second Young Master, first of all, congratulations to your army for taking Tancheng. Knowing that Young Master is stopping here, Duke Cao specially sent someone here... Now my General Cao is stationed in Boyang, hoping that Second Young Master will send troops to attack Sun Jian's army in Boyang." Tadashi said bluntly.
"Did Mr. Xi force him to come?" After Xi Zhong finished speaking, Yuan Xi said, "I am the second son of the Yuan family. Mr. Cao loves talents and is afraid of the Yuan family. How can he let Mr. Xi come here easily?"
From the first time they met, Xi Zhong pressed Yuan Xi on every word he said. When Yuan Xi suddenly revealed the reason, Xi Zhong was stunned for a moment.
Then Yuan Xi hesitated for a while, then continued what Xi Zhong said just now, "What you said is exactly what you said, but our army stormed Xiatan City and other places. The soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and there was a lack of food and baggage. It is difficult to protect ourselves. I'm afraid we don't have any more troops." Went to Boyang to join forces."
Xi Zhong knew that it would not work without throwing some profit. He glanced at Cao Ang, who understood and said: "Xianyi, my father said that your two families have been friends for generations, and we should help each other regardless of dangers. Before, you lacked I borrowed the military rations from my father because my father said that I was tired because I thought about Qingzhou, so I don’t need you to pay them back."
Guo Jia narrowed his eyes and stared at the two of them. This was a preemptive move. The other party was pretending to be so generous. If he bargained again, it would be unreasonable.
Xi Zhong threw out another bait and said, "I am here to offer you a good plan...Second Young Master, as long as Sun Jian's army is defeated, Xuzhou will be conquered soon. By then, Yanzhou will take over the three counties of Pengcheng, Xiapi and Guangling." , and the second young master takes over the two prosperous places of Langya and Donghai. It will be a win-win situation for the Yuan and Cao families."
Yuan Xi thought. If he could really occupy the northern part of Xuzhou, and after three or two years of training, he could connect with Qingzhou, and he would really have the capital to conquer the Central Plains.
But the disadvantages are not small. First of all, this time it offended the noble families of Xuzhou, and secondly, Xuzhou, the land of hundreds of battles, will inevitably be dragged into the quagmire of war for a long time. The most important thing is that he got advantage of Cao Cao, his great enemy.
"I only listened to half of the advice proposed by Mr. As for the other half..." Yuan Xi did not rush to ask questions, but said calmly: "I have made my own decision!"
"Mr. Yuan treats virtuous corporals, why do you do this to the young master!" Shaking his head in disappointment, Xi Zhong said: "A certain good plan, the young master actually declined..."
"Sir is a member of Duke Cao's staff, and the strategies he proposes must be more beneficial to Duke Cao!" With a slight smile on his face, Yuan Xi said: "What's more, Corporal Li Xian is a superior person. In terms of worth, Sir, standing beside Duke Cao and someone in Yuan Xi Comparing families, one is not as good as you! How can you say that you are polite and virtuous?"
"It's a very important matter. Please go down and have a rest first. How about I give you a reply after discussing with my subordinates?" Yuan Xi said, no matter what happened to Cao Cao, he must get the benefits from Tao Qian first.
After Xi Zhong and Cao Ang retreated, Guo Jia invited Cao Hong out.
Cao Hong's face turned pale, and he cupped his hands and said: "Young General, you must not listen to what Cao Cao's advisers say! Who is Cao Cao? He has great ambitions. He has swallowed up my Xuzhou and then plans to plot Yuzhou. The next one is you, the Young General. He seems to give you There are benefits, but in fact he himself benefits the most, so the young general should think twice."
Yuan Xi did not comment, picked up the wine jue and thought about it slowly.
Cao Hong took a step closer and persuaded, "Young General! Although Xuzhou is not in good condition, there are still no less than 100,000 armored warriors. Plus the tiger Sun Jian, the outcome of the fight is uncertain. Why not retreat early? Why did you sacrifice your life for Cao Cao? , How about wasting your own soldiers in vain? Qingzhou and Xuzhou are separated by water. If we join forces, we will both benefit, but if we fight, we will both lose. Please think twice, Major General."
"Langya and Donghai counties!" Yuan Xi looked at the anxious Cao Hong and said quietly.
Cao Hong gritted his teeth and said with determination, "I have agreed on behalf of Tao Shijun regarding the money and food mentioned by the Major General."
"In that case, I'll thank you sir and Tao Shijun for your kindness." Guo Jia said with a smile.
Cao Hong suddenly thought of something, so he added: "I, the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou, who were captured by your army, please return them in full."
"The prisoners captured during the battle can be returned to you at any time, but the people you mentioned, sir, are probably beyond our reach. They all fled the war and came to my Qingzhou." Guo Jia said sophistry.
Cao Hong knew that it would be useless to talk more. He had exchanged the captured soldiers, so he would not be unable to explain.
■■■
Yuan Xi pushed everyone back, leaving only Guo Jia. He thought about Mi Zhen and Wei Shi. So I told Guo Jia, hoping he could give some opinions.
"Young master, don't miss such a good opportunity!" Guo Jia said in surprise.
"I also know that Miss Mi and the others can do a lot, but they still don't know how to start. Fengxiao, please tell me how to deal with it. How to maximize their value." Yuan Xi looked at Guo Jia and asked.
"Young master should marry Miss Mi. In this way, we have buried a chess piece in Xuzhou. Although we can't use it for the time being, we can't guarantee that it won't be a wonderful move in the future." Guo Jia then said with a wicked smile: "My lord, the master is about to make rice and cook it." It must be a good thing to have a mature relationship with Miss Mi."
"Fengxiao, you really think this is a drama about the evil young man robbing a common girl. I'm not that bad. Think of other ways. Is there any better one?" Yuan Xi scolded with a smile.
Guo Jia thought for a while and then said, "Do you agree with the marriage with the Mi family? Then let Wei and Cao Hong go back first to show their sincerity. At the same time, let Cao Hong talk to Tao Qian and Mi Zhu about this matter. The marriage is for the sake of reconciliation between the two families, so they can finalize the marriage and make it public."
Yuan Xi thought of these three phrases: Mi family, Xuzhou, and wealthy people, as well as his teacher Zhang Hong's teachings that he should use the people according to the place, so he made a decision in his heart.
"Report! Major General, catch a suspicious person and tell him if he has any!" the herald ran in and said.
Seeing Yuan Xi's confusion, the herald explained: "A middle-aged man came to the city gate and said he was from Yanzhou and had a big emergency to report to the Major General. He said he was a servant of the 'Gambling House'. "
Yuan Xi was surprised. "Gambling house" was his code for contact with Zhu Ao, who was spying on intelligence in Yanzhou.
After a while, the spy was brought up.
"Sir, this is Shopkeeper Zhu's clerk." After saying that, the spy took off his shirt and tore off a piece of cloth with symbols written on it.
Yuan Xi recognized that it was the code symbol for communication between the two parties, so he asked Guo Jia to get the translation book and translate the message.
Guo Jia browsed for a while, his face full of shock, he looked at Yuan Xi and said tremblingly, "Sir, Yecheng has been lost!"
Yuan Xi took the translation book and read the entire message. He originally thought that it would only be a matter of time before Yuan Shao dominated Hebei and conquered Youzhou, but he didn't know that there would be so many twists and turns in the process. That sense of historical superiority is gone, and one wrong move in the middle could lead to the entire game being lost.
"It seems that Cao Cao has bad intentions. If we hadn't decided on the strategic direction a long time ago, but were greedy for the two counties of Xuzhou, we would have completely cut off contact with the rear and would be in a dilemma." Guo Jia said quietly. .
In addition to being shocked and angry, Yuan Xi was also deeply disappointed with Cao Ang. Although the two would always confront each other one day, Cao Ang's behavior this time immediately severed the friendship between the two, and also paved the way for Yuan Xi to bully Cao Ang later. Every family member has laid the foundation.
