This place used to be a prison where prisoners were held by the government. After Yuan Xi arrived in Yecheng, he designated an area to specifically detain Guo Tu and Xin Pingyu, and also sent direct members of the army to guard it.
At this time, Di Guo Tu had long lost his previous glory. He was dressed in dirty prison clothes, with a long beard and a pair of dull eyes. He was sitting behind the bars of the cell. He was not miserable.
Guo Tuta considers himself a resourceful person and likes to make suggestions. But compared to planning, he is better at observing people's opinions and catering to his wishes. He has been with Yuan Shao for so long, and has already understood Yuan Shao's psychology thoroughly, and most of his strategies are to cater to Yuan Shao's wishes.
This is the reason why Yuan Shao did not pursue him strictly even after losing the battle. He was positioned as a favorite.
At this time, Guo Tu regretted that his intestines were green. Of course he understood Yuan Shao's desire to have a second son, but when he placed his bet, he believed in the distinction between direct concubines and concubines, believing that Yuan Shao would eventually pass the throne to his eldest son Yuan Tan due to pressure.
As a result, after more than ten years of speculation, I still guessed Yuan Shao's final decision wrong. This can be said to mean that one careless move will lead to the whole game being lost.
"Bang bang!" Two soldiers opened the cell door and shouted loudly: "Guo Tu, come out, the general wants to see you!"
Guo Tu was stunned, thinking he heard wrongly. The two soldiers saw that he did not move. He impatiently lifted him up and took him outside.
Guo Tu was stunned. He didn't believe himself. It was really rare to see Yuan Xi and Ju Shu.
"Haha, please come here, General, and look at me as a dying man!" Guo Tu said with a bitter smile. After all, he was Yuan Xi's enemy, and he had no hope for his future.
Yuan Xi looked at Guo Tu with a complicated look and said in a deep voice: "Guo Tu, you twice misjudged the enemy's situation and encouraged your father to take risks with troops. As a result, not only did our army suffer two disastrous defeats, but also caused my father to die from serious injuries. Including my father. You are half responsible for the death!"
Guo Tu said dejectedly: "I was the one who killed Mr. Yuan because I believed in my own plan! Now Guo Tu can only die to apologize. He just begs the general to be more tolerant and let my little one go."
As Guo Tu said this, he knelt down and kept kowtowing. He didn't stop until he was bleeding. Poor parents in the world. Even if he is a villain and a sycophant, he has a family, a wife and children, right?
"Speaking of it, you really deserve to die. Otherwise, how can you appease the resentful souls of more than 20,000 soldiers!" Yuan Xi sighed, and then said, "But now that you have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds, are you willing to do it?"
Guo Tu was stunned for a while. Although he guessed that Yuan Xi had something to do with him, he did not expect that he would be forgiven so easily.
"As long as the general can still be used, Guo Tu must do his best even though he is so messed up!" Guo Tu wiped his nose and tears with his sleeves and said excitedly, "Please give the order to the general. After Guo Tu completes it, Give me another death to make amends for my sins.”
The ants still live in vain, let alone Guo Tu, who is attached to the world.
Yuan Xi sneered in his heart. This Guo Tu was indeed a thoughtful person, but he was still useful. In the future, after the world was peaceful, if he made any mistakes again, it would not be too late to kill him.
And as a monarch, there must be someone like He Shen to serve him, right? There are some things that are inconvenient for him to do himself, right? This is the art of the emperor.
"You were recommended by Mr. Gonghe. He said that you are familiar with Wuhuan affairs. At this time, the eldest brother is fleeing from Wuhuan. He colluded with Tadun to invade Youzhou and Jizhou, so he made you a staff officer. In the future, he may ask you to be a guide to accompany the army on expeditions. ." Yuan Xi said quietly.
"Ah! Did the eldest son escape to Wuhuan Hu?" Although Yuan Xi was much more talented than Yuan Tan, and he also knew that Yuan Tan failed in the end, Guo Tu could not have imagined that Yuan Tan would be defeated so quickly.
Seeing Yuan Xi's sharp gaze, Guo Tu was horrified and replied truthfully: "Since the Wuhuan barbarians want to harm Jizhou, then Guo Tu must do his best to resist and repay the general for his kindness. .”
"You are ready for crime, so just get a military rank from the General's Mansion. As for checking your property..." Yuan Xi paused, glanced at Guo Tu, and said slowly.
It would be great if he could keep his wealth and life. Guo Tu didn't dare to bargain, so he immediately replied: "Just punish me. Guo Tu will definitely do his best to repay the great kindness of the general."
There are many talented people sharing military and political affairs. Yuan Xi's burden is indeed much lighter. With the return of Princess Wannian, Zhen Mi, Gao Yue, Diao Xiuer, Tang Ji, and Bu Lianshi to Yecheng, Yuan Xi can enjoy another period of rare leisurely luxury. rìzi.
Walking in the backyard of the Zhou Mu Mansion, Yuan Xi suddenly heard a low cry. He followed the sound to the edge of the courtyard and saw two women in plain clothes covering their faces and crying, and couldn't help but be puzzled.
"Hey? What are you crying for?" Yuan Xi asked doubtfully.
The two women raised their heads and looked panicked when they saw Yuan Xi, but at the same time there was a hint of joy.
"I've met the young master." The two women quickly saluted. They still used the previous titles. After all, this was Yuan Shao's former residence.
Yuan Xi looked over and saw that the two women were of good looks and graceful. He thought carefully and remembered that it was Yuan Shao's Kabuki and his concubine, and that concubine was Zheng Yu.
"My maid thanks you for saving your life." The two beauties bowed their thanks and looked at Yuan Xi coyly.
"Get up!" Yuan Xi said. He had saved the lives of these concubines before. It was during Yuan Shao's funeral that Mrs. Liu strongly requested that they be buried together, but he stopped her.
Yuan Xi didn't know that Mrs. Liu usually hated them. This is a good time to take the opportunity to get rid of the resentment. Fortunately, Yuan Xi persuaded Mrs. Liu to change her mind, which also saved their lives.
What's more, Yuan Xi had an agreement with his concubine Zheng Yu a few years ago, right? It was a friendship in which he would sacrifice his life for his son!
"Hey! Did something happen again?" Yuan Xi asked helplessly.
One of the dancers was timid and did not dare to speak, while the other beauty, Zheng Yu, said softly: "Madam wants to give us away, please save us."
Yuan Xi had a headache. These "legacies" left by Yuan Shao were a big trouble. In Mrs. Liu's eyes, they were a disaster, but kabuki was easy to handle. Every wealthy family would raise a batch of them, and he could save a lot of money to purchase them.
But Yuan Shao's concubines are a problem. He can't bear to kill them. With Diao Xiuer, Zhen Mi and other stunning women, he is not very interested in these women. Do he want to be like Cao Pi and take in his father Cao Cao's harem? A little bit of that.
I originally wanted to reward the meritorious soldiers as concubines, but I immediately realized that something was wrong. In this era, concubines of good friends remarried, but it was really against the rules to give away my father's concubines.
If Mrs. Liu came forward to remarry them, people would still be able to accept it at that time, but Yuan Xi could not think of anyone who would dare to take Yuan Shao's concubines under his rule, let alone Zheng Yu who had a son.
"To whom?" Yuan Xi asked curiously.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu""Mei Ji Zheng Yu cried bitterly: "I am giving it to a lowly Bingzhou merchant as a concubine. Please rescue me."
Yuan Xi sighed for a while. In this era, under the status of ordinary businessmen, only big landowners and businessmen like the Zhen family and the Mi family had political status. After all, these concubines have been in aristocratic families.
If they are asked to go to an ordinary merchant's house, they will naturally be unwilling to do so. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
"Okay, leave this to me. Get up and I'll go talk to mother." Yuan Xi ordered.
The dancing girl and Zheng Yu knelt down and worshiped. With Yuan Xi's intercession, they had a great chance of staying.
As Yuan Xi walked towards Mrs. Liu's courtyard, he smiled bitterly to himself, he didn't even have time to take care of his harem. At this time, he will also help take care of his father Yuan Shao's harem and widow. But these are poor women. If you have the financial resources, you can just support them. It’s no big deal.
In the main room in the courtyard, Mrs. Liu knelt on the wooden couch, and Zhen Mi knelt on the right side to serve her. It was obvious that Zhen Mi had done a lot of homework.
"Xianyi, you're here just in time. Mi'er has sent melons and fruits from the Western Regions. Come and have a taste." Mrs. Liu waved. Seeing Zhen Mi here, Yuan Xi didn't know what was going on.
Yuan Xi naturally knelt down next to Mrs. Liu and took the so-called precious "Western Region Fruits". Not only did he burst into laughter, these fruits were common in later generations, but at this time, although the Silk Road was opened, many imported goods were also introduced. Fewer crops.
But things from the Western Regions are still luxury goods for the nobility. In this way, he thought that after unifying the country, the Silk Road would be opened again.
"By the way, mother. Do you want to send those concubines to the traders from Bingzhou?" Yuan Xi asked bluntly.
Madam Liu's face immediately turned gloomy, she took Yuan Xi's hand and asked, "Are those cheap maids pestering you again?"
Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "I heard it from the servant." As he said that, he looked at Zhen Mi aside. Mrs. Liu didn't recognize any Bingzhou merchants, so being able to contact them, he felt that this was naturally related to Zhen Mi.
When Zhen Mi saw Yuan Xi like this, her heart skipped a beat and she lowered her head. Alas, Zhen Mi still cannot escape the fate of competing for favor in the harem.
"It looks troublesome for them to stay here. It would be a good thing to find a good home for them." Mrs. Liu replied nonchalantly.
Yuan Xi sighed and said, "Mother, they offended you in the past, but now that my father has passed away, they are just ordinary servants of the Yuan family. They are incomparable to your dignity. It will be painful to be handed over to those vulgar traders. It would be better for them to set up a courtyard specifically to accommodate them, and let them double up as female celebrities. This will not only reflect your generosity, but also won't annoy you."
Mrs. Liu was very soft-hearted towards her son, and he had already become a general, powerful and popular, so she patted Yuan Xi's hand and agreed.
"Xianyi, look at how filial Mi'er is. Every time she has something rare, she always brings it to my mother's house." Mrs. Liu looked at Zhen Mi with eyes full of relief, but after a while, she changed her voice and said displeased : "But Her Royal Highness the Princess is very noble."
Yuan Xi heard some signs, and he could guess one thing or two from them, that is, his harem was also starting to compete for favor. Although Mrs. Liu was a little jealous because she thought Zhen Mi was prettier than herself, Zhen Mi's tutoring made her well-rounded, and soon she was serving Mrs. Liu as she pleased, and she was even more favored than Gao Yue and Liu Yan.
Although Princess Wannian is also well-educated. But years of royal upbringing made it a natural for her. Exudes a haughty and noble temperament that is superior to others. And Gao Yue was her niece. Mrs. Liu said that she was used to being arrogant, so how could she tolerate others being more impressive than her. So Mrs. Liu naturally got close to Zhen Mi. And exclude Princess Wannian.
As for Gao Yue, she falls in the middle. Mrs. Liu's attitude towards Gao Yue is between that of Liu Yan and Zhen Mi. This means that Yuan Xi's harem is destined to be divided into three major factions: Gao Yue's faction, Liu Yan's faction, and Zhen Mi's. On the one side, others such as Tang Ji, Diao Xiuer, Bu Lianshi, and Cai Yan, who has not yet been taken over, are temporarily neutral.
Yuan Xi narrowed his eyes and smiled, chatting with Mrs. Liu. Although Mrs. Liu is a more difficult jealous person to deal with than when he was in Qingzhou, as long as his mind is like a clear mirror, he can act according to his own wishes. After all, he is the head of the family now, and he can pamper whoever he likes. Except Mrs. Liu, no one can tell him what to do.
"Sir, someone from outside reported that General Ju Yi has been taken to the study room in the front yard and is waiting for you to come over." A maid reported.
Yuan Xixin thought there was another trouble. He said goodbye to Mrs. Liu and Zhen Mi, and called Xu Chu and Zhu Gongdao to the front yard study.
Ju Yi was not wearing armor at this time, but was wearing the robe of the Jizhou Army. He looked a little impatient, but when he saw Yuan Xi, he immediately saluted respectfully, and there was no way he could outdo others.
Yuan Xi asked him to sit down and asked the servant to bring fruits and snacks. He was speechless for a while, and Yuan Xi just left him alone for a while.
"General Ju, you have worked hard all the way." Yuan Xi said lightly.
Ju Yi sat upright and said truthfully: "I can't say it's hard work. This journey is nothing. I just don't know what the general is calling me back for. Is there any new transfer?"
"There's no rush, let the general see something first." Yuan Xi smiled, and he asked Xu Chu to hold the nine documents next to him.
Xu Chu put the document on Ju Yi's desk. Ju Yi opened it curiously and looked at it. His expression was first surprised, then angry, and then turned pale after reading two more copies.
Ju Yijin broke out in a cold sweat. He looked up and saw a faint smile on Yuan Xi's face, showing no emotion or anger. The fierce look in the eyes of the two killing gods Xu Chu and Zhu Gongdao next to him made Ju Yi shudder.
Ju Yi immediately knelt down and apologized, "General, these are all false accusations! The last general is loyal to the Yuan family, how dare he have the slightest disobedience? Please tell me, General!"
Ju Yi did not doubt Yuan Xi's determination to kill him.
"I didn't say you were disloyal." Yuan Xi said calmly, "But what is said here about embezzling food and salary, asking for more food and grass, not following orders, and obeying orders in disguise, are these things true?"
Ju Yi broke into a cold sweat and argued: "This is all due to those civil servants stirring up trouble. When the general was guarding against Gongsun Zan in Zhongshan, he did not obey the orders. But at that time, it was Yuan Gong who was instigated by Guo Tu and others to ask me Attack rashly. The general is also a man who knows military tactics and should know when not to fight."
"Hmph! But there is always the possibility of falsely reporting soldiers and asking for extra food and grass, right?" Yuan Xi said coldly, "There are clearly listed bills here! What do you think, General Ju?"
"The general is confused. He did ask for more food and salary. It's just that the general only took a small amount. Most of them were distributed to the soldiers!" Ju Yi argued again, "General, you know that when there is no war, you don't give out more food and salary. The life of the soldiers was really miserable. But I did not send troops to plunder the local area. Most of the money and food were distributed to my subordinates, so they went to the camp first and died for the service."
The soldiers were living a miserable life at this time. It is not difficult to understand if Ju Yi really sent out more food and pay to boost morale or win people's hearts.
Seeing that the purpose of deterrence had been achieved, Yuan Xi calmed down and said, "I believe in your loyalty, General Ju, but the practices here are really bad. If every general is like you, can I still sleep peacefully?"
"General, please obey your orders. These things will not happen again. However, we need to train an elite army, and rewards are indispensable." Ju Yi said without forgetting to ask for benefits.
"I will discuss with Mr. Gong Yu and Mr. Yuan Hao about reducing the number of employees and increasing wages for the elderly and weak." Yuan Xi paused and said, "I have called you back this time to conquer Wuhuan!"
Yuan Xi handed over the documents used by everyone to impeach Ju Yi to Ju Yi, which was regarded as a heart-to-heart talk with him.
Ju Yi was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. Only then did he realize that Yuan Shao had been suspicious of him. Ju Yi really couldn't fathom the thoughts of Yuan Xi, the heir.
Just looking at Yuan Xi's handsome and elegant appearance, Ju Yi would never have thought that he was the new general with outstanding military exploits. This new monarch is more talented than Yuan Shao, and more difficult to figure out.
"General Ju, do you think this method is feasible?" Yuan Xi asked after telling him about his plan to attack Wuhuan.
"Ah! What a wonderful plan." Ju Yi praised, "To show the enemy's weakness, he imitated Maodun's attack on Donghu, and the cross-sea raid was a move that the Wuhuan people would never have dreamed of."
Indeed, this new lord does have means and strategies.
"General Ju also thinks our army has a good chance of winning?" Yuan Xi asked.
Ju Yi nodded and said, "Cavalry battles are not won simply by numbers. If there are five thousand cavalry, our Han cavalry will be better than twice the number of Hu cavalry. As long as the infantry and cavalry cooperate properly, there is no need to worry about him controlling the strings of a hundred thousand." Soldiers? But the number of infantry and cavalry in our army should be one on foot and two on cavalry."
"With the supply of food and grass, our army can only recruit 30,000 elite soldiers. Whether the Wuhuan cavalry can go out is still a question. At most, it can only be half infantry and cavalry, and some of them are infantry mounted on horses." Yuan Xi Answered truthfully.
Although the family members of Wuhuan Tuqi had all moved to Jizhou, Yuan Xi really did not dare to use the Wuhuan soldiers from the three counties to fight. The only ones that can be used with confidence are the Hu soldiers from Xianbei and Wuhuan and other tribes.
Ju Yi pondered for a while and said, "As long as there are tens of thousands of cavalry, we have a chance of winning, but we must strengthen the training of the infantry. We must also equip them with more powerful crossbows and sidecars."
"Would the general be willing to lead a surprise army and attack across the sea?" Yuan Xi looked at Ju Yi and asked.
"This. The general is not familiar with sea routes. He doesn't know where to land or how to cross the sea." Ju Yiwei said.
"Don't worry about this. There will be people who are familiar with maritime affairs to plan for you. All you need to do is land ashore and lead your troops to attack Liucheng from behind. General, will you dare to take the order?" Yuan Xi said.
"Such a general takes orders!" Ju Yi replied.
In fact, there was a reason for choosing Juyi. At this time, Liaodong was still a deserted land, and it was impossible to have a good harbor for large ships to berth.
Landing in this way became a big problem. People and supplies were easy to handle and could be carried ashore in small boats, but the horses could not carry too many. The surprise troops destined to cross the sea are mostly infantry.
And Ju Yi was very good at commanding infantry and cavalry. This can be seen from the fact that during the Battle of Jieqiao, he almost wiped out all the "White Horse Yi Cong" who made the Hu people frightened.
Yuan Xi praised Ju Yi again. Let him lead his four thousand elite infantry to Donglai for secret gathering and training.
