That night, Yuan Shang was having a banquet with the Wuhuan kings.
Like his father Yuan Shao, after several years of fighting, Yuan Shang gradually transformed from a Han son who liked to write poems to a black-haired knight with both civil and military skills. Therefore, Yuan Shao valued him very much and entrusted him with everything to appease Wuhuan, which meant that he valued and cultivated him.
And Yuan Shang is also not popular. He was handsome and knowledgeable, and after traveling with his father on military campaigns, he became even more regal. Therefore, Yuan Shang sat upright among the kings, cutting deer and drinking juice as if there were no one around, and scolding the mountains and rivers. In the eyes of everyone, he was like a bright and solitary jade among the mountains. All Wuhuan tribes admired him greatly, drove him, and then sent Yuan Shang to his side. Xi called him "Yuan Yulang".
But on this night, Yuan Shang suddenly felt uneasy. He had never felt like this before. His chest felt like someone was holding it tightly, and he could hardly breathe. This made him think that he had drunk too much, so he confessed to Tadun and others on the grounds of physical discomfort, and led his guards back to the camp to rest.
But even so, Yuan Shang was still tossing and turning on the bed, unable to fall asleep. The thoughts in his mind were out of control, rushing back and forth like a rising tide, and his breathing was like a lingering alarm bell in his ears. As a result, after lying there for nearly half an hour, his consciousness became increasingly clear.
Since he couldn't sleep, Yuan Shang decided to get up, call three of his followers, and take a walk around the camp among the hills. Just two miles south, Yuan Shang suddenly saw the faint sound of fire on a low level in the distance. A group of birds flew towards the north and made a croaking sound. They turned out to be crows. Yuan Shang had an unpleasant thought in his heart. He pointed at the fire and asked his attendant, "Where is that?" The attendant hesitated and said, "It seems to be General Qu's camp."
Yuan Shang was shocked when he heard this and thought: Could it be a mutiny? More than a hundred knights were quickly mobilized, and they rushed out of the camp and rushed south.
When he walked to a small slope, he saw more than 20 riders running from the direction of Quyi Camp. When they got closer, they saw that the leader was Chunyu Qiong, and they were about to step forward to greet him. Unexpectedly, Chunyu Qiong rolled off the saddle before the horse stopped, and ran to him staggeringly. Chunyu Qiong was originally wearing a silver lacquered gold bag engraved with tiger patterns, but now it has disappeared, and even her bun has come loose and is scattered on her head, as if she was snatched over it by others.
"Uncle Chunyu, what's going on with you?" Yuan Shang quickly rode forward to ask.
Chunyu Qiong cried and said: "Shijun, Shijun was killed by Qu Yi!" At this time, Jiang Yiqu and Jiang Qi caught up, jumped off their horses and hugged Yuan Shang's horse and cried bitterly.
Yuan Shang was dizzy for a while and almost fainted, but he still managed to calm down and asked in a hoarse voice: "Envoy? Which envoy is it?" He looked at the three of them with longing eyes, hoping to get what he wanted. Answer.
But he was disappointed. The sorrow in the eyes of the three people told him that it was his father who died. He immediately shouted loudly: "Qu Yi is so bold! How dare you kill my father!"
Jiang Qi said: "Qu Gong said that he had followed the imperial court's secret order to question the envoy's crime. Only one person was punished and the others were not punished. Chun Yu Gong cried bitterly and begged, so Qu Gong returned the Marshal's headless body to us and allowed us to do so. Put down your bows, arrows, and armor and leave the camp. People were distracted along the way, and most of the soldiers dispersed on horseback. Now these are the only ones left."
Jiang Yiqu wiped away his tears and said angrily: "What the hell, Mr. Qu, he took credit for Shi Jun's bloody head! If you hadn't been so cowardly and cowardly, I would have chopped off his head to avenge Shi Jun!"
Yuan Shang stopped listening and dismounted from his horse and slowly walked towards his father. He saw his father's body wrapped in linen and tied to a horse, and saw the black blood stains on his neck. He couldn't help but hugged him, his heart was cut, and tears welled up.
At this time, Tian Feng, who was in disheveled clothes, also came over, held Yuan Shang's hand and said: "Sanlang, I know you are a good man who values friendship. But after today's incident, we can't cry to death here for Qu Yi. Let's go back to the camp first. , and we will make a decision after discussing with Duke Zhu." Yuan Shang knew that what he said was reasonable, but he still harbored hatred in his heart. He looked to the south and said, "I will kill Qu Yi to take revenge for the rest of my life!"
At this moment, Qu Yi's tribe had led the troops to march, openly raising torches, and marching northwest along the edge of the army. It was obvious that they wanted to go straight to Juyong Pass, join Duan Xuan, and go to Bingzhou to pay tribute to the imperial court. But Yuan Jun didn't know the reason at this time and could only watch Qu Yibu leave. Yuan Shang had no choice but to fear that someone was still ambushing him in the south, so he summoned his knights. After breaking the sword with his bow and arrow, he, Chun Yuqiong and others protected the body and hurried back to Wu Zhong's base camp.
When they arrived at the camp, it was already early morning, and everyone was surprised to see that there was no trace of the military officials on duty outside the camp. When I entered the camp, I saw all kinds of weapons and items scattered on the ground, being trampled on at will. There were soldiers everywhere fighting for war horses and other items, and even drawing bows, arrows and cutting knives at each other.
Yuan Shang was shocked and grabbed a sergeant who was holding a horse to escape. The sergeant said in a panic: "When I heard that Lord Shijun was killed, the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes immediately withdrew, and Gongsun Kang also disappeared. All the armies and battalions have lost morale. They say they want to return to their respective bases, and they are afraid that Duan Zhongming will attack. Now most of them are packing up. I heard that they are going to evacuate to Zhuoxian overnight." It turned out that Yuan Shang was heading south. At that time, Qu Yi had already sent people to the north.
Yuan Shang was furious. He threw his hand and pushed the man to the ground. He pulled out his knife and raised his head and sighed: "Your Excellency, you raised an army from the Bohai Sea to unify Hebei. How much money you spent on food to raise the army over the years, you never thought you could raise such a mob! Who do you dare to teach? I will avenge my father!" Liang Qi, a confidant, suggested: "It is better to summon brave men who dare to die and attack Qu Yi tonight. Maybe we can succeed." Yuan Shang shook his head and said, "People's hearts are broken. Those who dare to avenge you are probably no more than a hundred of us. The remaining people. To rush into Qu Yi's elite formation is like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth, seeking death."
Liang Qi advised him: "It is better to go back to Yezhong first. That is the foundation of Jizhou. Otherwise, how can we gain a foothold?" But Tian Feng interrupted and said, "Now the dragons are leaderless and the world is in turmoil. If we go back to Yezhong, people's hearts will be in chaos. Why should we fight against the imperial court? Since the princes have agreed to withdraw to Jixian before, we should go to Jixian first to stop the princes and persuade them to unite as one!"
Yuan Shang was quite convinced. When he asked Chunyu Qiong and Jiang Qi, they both said yes. Chunyu Qiong said: "Now that you have been killed, we must first transport your body back to Yezhong for burial. I don't want to care about the rest." He asked Jiang Yiqu again, but he just covered his face with his sleeves and cried.
Yuan Shang ordered people to enforce martial law, count the items in the tent, and load them on horses overnight. They found another cart, hitched up the horses, placed Yuan Shao's body on it, and covered it with cattle felt. There were about two thousand people riding on foot in a hurry. They didn't wait to eat, and when the sky turned white, they walked towards Jixian.
It was late July, and the weather was getting colder and a bit more bleak. There had been heavy rain before, and now waterlogged mud puddles and puddles can still be seen everywhere, making it even more difficult for the soldiers who went down the mountain to return south. But my heart was depressed and my future was uncertain. Even though the scenery was similar, my mood was completely different from when I came down the mountain. Along the road, there was a lack of food and clothing, and many people fled.
Ranwen
When they arrived at Baoqiu Water, Jiang Yiqu's horse fell and broke his leg, so he had to dismount and walk. When crossing the river to the west, he stepped on a stone at the bottom of the river and crushed his toes. He had to rely on a long silk stick as a walking stick. After walking for a whole day, his boots and robes were all rotten and his hands were covered with blood blisters. Looking back at the mountains, I can't see the shadow of eternity. All the followers around him have long since dispersed, and there are hungry and unfamiliar faces everywhere. He couldn't help but despair, thinking: "I regret not killing the thief that day. Even if I die, I will be brave. Unexpectedly, I will end up like this." With this thought in mind, he followed the army to Yushui. In his mind, he was arrested and questioned by the court. The scene of the execution was confusing for a moment, and he didn't know where to go. When everyone swam through the remaining water, he had stayed in the river forever.
Yuan Shang and others finally returned to Jixian after going through hardships. Looking up, stars were falling everywhere, and the armies coming back from the mountain gradually gathered together again. When people in Gu'an, Fanyang, and even Zhongshan and Hejian heard that Yuan Shao, the governor of the state, had been killed by Qu Yi, they all took the initiative to go to the streets to pay homage to Yuan Shao. Unexpectedly, they were met by scattered troops who pushed him down. After they came back, they searched for food and firewood along the way. Most of the residential temples and temples have been demolished beyond recognition. The once peaceful Zhuojun and Hejian areas were now in chaos and disorder, as if they had suffered a major disaster.
After lingering for about three or four days, Fenwu General Jushou summoned everyone to discuss the trip. It turned out that among the generals, Jushou was the oldest and had always been a prudent man, so he was temporarily elected as the new leader to take charge of all the armies. Yuan Shang led his subordinates Li Fu, Liang Qi, and Hebei warrior Zhang Nan to discuss with the generals.
At that time, Yuan's staff and generals gathered in the tent, but Yuan Shang only brought Li Fu into the tent.
Jushou looked at the crowd. After being noisy for a while, everyone gradually calmed down and waited for him to speak. Unexpectedly, Jushou hesitated for a moment and then said to everyone: "After the envoy was killed, Jushou gathered all the troops to return to Zhuoxian in order to take revenge. This is the end of the mission of the envoy. My status is no better than that of the envoy. In fact, It’s hard to convince everyone. So for today’s discussion, I hope you can choose a new leader.”
Suddenly there was a lot of discussion, and some people said: "Who else can be the leader of Hebei, besides Ju Gong?" Ju Shang smiled bitterly and shook his head, and someone else said: "If it is not possible, you should send someone to ask the imperial court to surrender. It does not mean that the others will not care. "?" As soon as the words came out, someone refuted him: "Shut up! The Lord is dead and the minister is humiliated. You don't want to avenge the envoy, do you still have the slightest sense of shame?!" There was a lot of discussion for a while, everyone said his own thing, No one can convince anyone.
At this time, Guo Tu, the prefect of Zhongshan, came to the front desk and said to everyone: "Is it possible that everyone is confused? Your favorite Saburo is in the tent, why should you recommend someone else? It is not the easiest thing for a father to die and a son to succeed. Does it make sense?"
There was silence in the tent for a while, and everyone turned their attention to him and Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang clenched his fists and looked back with open eyes as much as possible, hoping to win the support of these old people.
Unexpectedly, Jushou shook his head and said, "No." Without waiting for Guo Tu to retort, he walked straight to Yuan Shang, looked directly into his pupils, and said slowly: "Sanlang, it must be Chen Chong's plan to kill you. I'll wait. Everyone knew that he would come up with strange strategies, but unexpectedly he only issued a secret edict and caused the whole of Hebei to fall apart. Can you really win against such an enemy and such a strategy? This is not a good opportunity to fight for power. I am convening this meeting. I sincerely want to lead everyone to seek survival and revenge!"
Yuan Shang originally wanted to promise in public, but when he faced Ju Shou's mountain-like gaze and remembered the tragic state of his father's body, his words suddenly choked in his throat and he could not utter a single word.
Jushou took two steps back, looked back at the crowd and continued: "Today, we must nominate one person as the leader, and this person must be an extraordinary person who can whip up Yunei, control the emperor's machine, and have outstanding intelligence."
At this time, someone stood up and said loudly: "I know!" Everyone looked over and found that it was Tian Feng. He looked excited at this time, regardless of etiquette, stood on several cases, waved and said: " Have you ever thought about him? When Shi Jun was alive, he often compared him to his right and left hands. Unfortunately, there was a gap before, but I was still impressed by his talent."
Tian Feng cleared his throat and said: "But in these three months, in order to fight against the imperial court, the envoy resumed contact with him and prepared to be the life and death hand to turn defeat into victory. When we, the ministers, heard about it, we all believed it." Now some people I know who he was talking about.
Xu You knew that he had been bribed by Qu Yi, and he was afraid that the matter would be exposed, and he was very worried. But after hearing about this candidate, his eyes lit up, he repeatedly said good things, and rushed to say: "This man is the most heroic and elegant person in the world. He is praised by Qiao Xuan as 'a capable minister in the world and a traitor in troubled times', so he Even when today's emperor learned of his achievements, he was regarded as the first of the 'Three Generals of ZTE'."
Now everyone knows who it is.
The Han Dynasty envoy held Jieyibi Sansi Zuo Chaqi General and was also the Mu of Yanzhou, the Marquis of Shouzhang County, and Cao Cao.
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they suddenly felt that the world was wide and the road was open. But some people asked worriedly: "But Yanzhou Mu is an important minister in the court, and he has just been married to the Bafu. He has a bright future. How can he be willing to be the leader of the rebels like us?"
Before everyone could feel depressed, Tian Feng said loudly: "No, he will definitely come!" He paused and read a poem in front of everyone: "The journey of the sun and the moon, if you go out of it, the stars will be brilliant, if you go out, In it.”
He said firmly again: "Whoever can write this poem will definitely come!"
On that day, Zhuo County sent out fast horses and sent Chang Lin, the envoy from the state government, to go south and run straight to Yanzhou.
