In April of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 years), Yuan Shao ambushed Yanjin, and at the end of the same month, Yuan Tan led the remnants of the army into Liyang, hastily ascended the throne and succeeded to the throne, and issued a holy edict to the four states of Hebei, ordering Yuan Shao's troops to obey the order in Liyang and gather troops and horses to resist the Cao Cai coalition army. When the news reached Yecheng, the city was in an uproar. Liu, who had become the empress dowager, angrily reprimanded Yuan Tan for killing his father and seizing the throne, and on the grounds that Yuan Shao had left an edict to crown Yuan Shang as the crown prince, he supported Yuan Shang as the emperor in Yecheng together with the trial and others.

Two Great Chen Emperors popped up at once, making the remnants of Yuan Shao north of the Yellow River quite confused. As the eldest son of Yuan Tan and the last person by Yuan Shao's side, Yuan Tan has an advantage in theory. However, rumors circulating that Yuan Tan abandoned his father and absconded made his throne full of controversy. On the other hand, the edict provided by the Empress Dowager Liu in Yecheng is also difficult to argue. However, it is a fact that Yecheng is richer than Liyang.

Compared with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, who both claimed to be emperors, Yuan Xi, who was also Yuan Shao's son-in-law, did not participate in this battle for the throne. After receiving his father's holy edict asking him to lead troops to rescue Jizhou, Yuan Xi immediately recruited the Xianbei and Wuhuan departments in Youzhou, and gathered 20,000 soldiers and horses to go south. Where did you ever think that Yuan Xi would send troops on the front foot, and Yuan Shao would die on the back foot of the Yellow River. And Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi have been proclaimed emperors, which makes the already chaotic future of Jizhou even more confusing. In desperation, Yuan Xi had no choice but to settle down in Zhongshan County, on the border between Jizhou and Youzhou, and formed a confrontation with the Taishi Ci Department between the rivers.

"Second Highness, according to the report from the spies, a team of Qi troops has entered Yishui from Jinxi." In the big tent of the Chinese army, Youzhou didn't drive Han Heng and reported to Yuan Xi the latest movements of Yishui Port.

In fact, Yuan Xi is not ignorant of the two cities built by Cai Ji in Youzhou. It's just that Cai Ji's attitude of asking for food and food under Yuan Shao and sending troops made Yuan Xi regard Cai Ji as an ally for a long time. What's more, these two cities are located in wild places, not only Yuan Xi, but also the civil and military officials of Youzhou Mansion have not taken them to heart. Until Yuan Shao ascended the throne. Cai Ji publicly announced that he had parted ways with the Yuan family, and Yuan Xi realized that he had an enemy behind him. However, at this time, the Cai Ji Department had grown from the two cities of Yishui and Jinxi to the entire territory of Youbeiping and Liaoxi County, and it was also closely related to the collapse of Liaodong's vassal states.

Just when Yuan Xi threw a rat trap at Cai Jibu in Youzhou. From Liaodong, the news came that Gongsun Du was conquering Jinxi. However, due to the remoteness of Jinxi and the fragmentation of the news that came, Yuan Xi finally chose to stand still. Although it was later confirmed that Jinxi and Gongsun Du fought the information. But Yuan Xi had already missed the best opportunity to attack Cai Jibu from the north and south with Gongsun Du. In addition, soon after, Tai Shici went north from Donglai to threaten the counties of Jizhou. Yuan Shao sent 800 li to Youzhou to support Jizhou. Yuan Xi, who couldn't take care of Youzhou, had to send people to monitor Yi Shui's movements on the one hand, and rush south to help Jizhou on the other.

At this moment, hearing that the Qi army in Youzhou was assembling towards Yishui Port, Yuan Xi, who was dressed in plain clothes, couldn't help but show a helpless wry smile, "Gongsun Du is not Cai Anzhen's opponent." ”

Han Heng, who is also a military advisor, heard Yuan Xi's words and seemed to have the meaning of giving up Youzhou, and couldn't help but say anxiously. "Since His Royal Highness Qi's army has already transferred troops to Yishui, I am afraid that the next step will be to send troops to Yuyang. If Your Highness doesn't return to Youzhou, I'm afraid we will become a lost dog! ”

But Yuan Xi didn't take Han Heng's advice to heart, but asked disapprovingly, "Why did Han Beijia say this?" Isn't it just when we go south to return home? ”

"Jizhou is a home for His Highness. But for the soldiers of the whole battalion, Youzhou is the hometown. If Youzhou is lost, the whole battalion will be in turmoil. At that time, how will His Highness deal with the Qi army? Han Heng was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

Han Heng's words hit Yuan Xi's weakness. Indeed, the vast majority of the soldiers and horses under Yuan Xi's command were Youzhou people. In particular, the two generals he relied on, Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch, were both well-known local heroes in Youzhou. As Han Heng said, once the Qi army attacked Youzhou. Most of these people will clamoring to go back to Youzhou to protect their family business. The so-called family is such a realistic group of people. When you are strong, they will invest in you with their whole family, providing you with talents, food, and even soldiers. But when you are too weak to provide for their benefit, they will not hesitate to abandon you. It doesn't matter if you're a hegemon. is still the son of the Han Dynasty, and they are all treated equally. In the eyes of the wealthy family, "home" is always in front of the "country". Because there are only genealogies in this world that can be traced back to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and there are no unchanging dynasties.

Yuan Shao was born in a famous family, and naturally he also likes to recruit talents. Many of the strategists and generals around him are from famous families. No matter how talented a person from a poor family is, there will always be a bumpy career in Yuan Shaoying. Gao Ran and Zhang He are the most direct examples. But after all these years of ups and downs, Yuan Xi felt that people from humble families like Han Heng were far more loyal and pure than some so-called famous people.

Therefore, in the face of Han Heng's painstaking persuasion, Yuan Xi also calmly stated his difficulties, "If Xi withdraws to Youzhou, won't he abandon Jizhou?" ”

When Han Heng heard Yuan Xi say this, he immediately turned his beard and asked, "Second Highness also wants to earn a big unification?" ”

"Han Beijia didn't say this. Hee never thought of earning a big position, and he was not qualified to earn a big position. Yuan Xi's words were not acting, but what he really thought in his heart. As the second son, Yuan Xi has always believed that he does not have the status of the eldest son like Yuan Tan, nor is he favored by his father like Yuan Shang, so he has never considered competing for the position of the head of the Yuan family, let alone the idea of ascending the throne and becoming the emperor.

Yuan Xi's confession made Han Heng feel a little relieved. In fact, after several years of contact, Han Heng also knows that although Yuan Xi is brave in battle, his temperament is quite gentle. This kind of temperament is acceptable for the general, but the main is not enough. What's more, where is the current position of the lord of Da Chen, what kind of pearl is it, it is clearly a poison. However, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang still vied with each other to hold this scourge in their mouths and hold it in their arms, for fear of being snatched away by others, which is simply unattainable. In Han Heng's opinion, Yuan Xi, who is kind by nature, is still as far away from this chaos as possible.

After thinking about this, Han Heng changed his tone and calmly persuaded Yuan Xi, "Since His Royal Highness has no intention of fighting for the unification, why should he go south?" Do you want to help His Highness crusade against the Three Highnesses? Or help the Third Highness crusade against the Great Highness? ”

"Hee doesn't want to be crusaded." Yuan Xi shook his head with difficulty. Although he also knew that with the current situation, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang would have to go to war sooner or later.

"Since no one in the Second Highness wants to crusade, then let's listen to Heng and go back to Youzhou." Han Heng pushed the boat down the water and said, "Your Highness can go south to attack and disturb the Qi army if you sit in Youzhou, and you can divide one side when you retreat." If Jizhou falls. His Royal Highness can also coerce Youzhou to ...... to the imperial court"

"Shut up! Cao Cao, Cai Ji Naixi's enemy who killed his father, Xi will never ask the court to surrender! Without waiting for Han Heng to finish. Yuan Xi interrupted him with a loud shout.

Han Heng was drunk like this by Yuan Xi, so he naturally didn't dare to continue. However, thinking of the current chaos in Jizhou, Han Heng couldn't help but sigh. This sigh was quite heart-wrenching to Yuan Xi's ears. But I saw that he calmed down a little after the relationship. He said to Han Heng in a slightly hoarse voice, "Retreat to Youzhou." Hee will seriously consider it. But please surrender the matter, Han Beijia will not mention it again. ”

Han Heng silently waved his hand at Yuan Xi, and agreed to his request. But just when Yuan Xi said that he wanted to consider retreating to Youzhou, he suddenly heard a notice from outside the tent, "Your Highness, the special envoy of Yecheng asks to see you." ”

When Han Heng heard this, he thought that it was not good, Yuan Shang must have sent a special envoy now to win over Yuan Xi to deal with Yuan Tan. So he turned his tentative gaze to Yuan Xi. Surprisingly, Yuan Xi did not immediately let the envoy into the big tent. Instead, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and then ordered, "You will first place the envoy at the post station, and say that the war is busy and I have no time to summon him." ”

"Second Highness, what do you mean by this?" Han Heng asked in surprise.

Yuan Xi said with both hands behind his back, "Mr. Xi can't just listen to the words of the third brother. ”

On this side, the Yuan brothers were busy fighting for power and profit in Jizhou, and Cai Ji, who had finished cleaning the Yanjin battlefield, finally arrived at Baimajin, which had just been repaired, under the escort of the sailor. As for Liyang City, opposite Baimajin, he put away the warships, closed the city gate, and put the whole city on guard, for fear that Cai Ji would rise up and lead the sailors to attack the army. In fact, the tension between Yuan Tan and Jiang Yiqu in Liyang City was completely superfluous. Before the spoils sharing meeting with Cao Cao, Cai Ji didn't want to open the water gate to Wei County for Cao Cao for free.

Of course, Cao Cao also knew that Cai Ji would not provide a sailor to transport Cao's army across the Yellow River. So as soon as I saw Cai Ji step off the warship. Cao Cao warmly hugged his fists and said, "Qi Hou has come from afar, and he has worked hard all the way. ”

As the saying goes, the national rite comes first, and the family rite comes last. What's more, Cai Ji is only engaged to Cao Pi now, and is not officially married. Therefore, facing Cao Cao, who greeted him in person. Cai Ji still bowed to Cao Cao and said, "Cai Ji has seen Sikong. ”

"Qi Hou doesn't have to be polite. Thanks to Qi Hou's help this time, Lone Fang was able to escape. Cao Cao smiled and raised his hand to help Cai Ji.

Cai Ji responded humbly, "How can I say this. Sikong recruited traitors for the imperial court, and he should send troops to help him. However, Ji failed to rescue Guandu in time, and your army fell into a bitter battle for many days. Fortunately, God bless the Han, and now Sikong has achieved a great victory in Guandu safe and sound, otherwise Ji is really to blame. ”

It's a good Cai Anzhen who is cheap and well-behaved. Cao Cao sneered in his heart. Although Xiahou Yuan saved Cao Cao's life with the reinforcements transferred by Cai Ji at the last moment, he still smelled the smell of conspiracy from the series of battle reports he received later. In particular, Guan inherited the white horse, in Cao Cao's view, it was completely forcing Yuan Shao to break the cauldron and storm Cao's camp. If it weren't for his Cao Mengde's fate, Guandu would probably have been conquered by Yuan Shao before reinforcements arrived. At that time, Xiahou Yuan and the others would only be annoyed that they didn't catch up, and they would not suspect that Cai Ji had done something behind his back.

Of course, this kind of thing can't be taken out to question Cai Ji now. So at this time, Cao Cao still made excuses for Cai Ji with a spring breeze on his face, and said, "Qi Hou's words are wrong. Lonely's hard battle was forced by current events, how could Qi Hou be blamed for this. ”

Cai Ji saw that Cao Cao had revealed the matter of the sailor's attack on the white horse in a few sentences, so he also handed Cao Cao a high hat and said, "Sikong is really the prime minister's belly can support the boat." ”

"Can the prime minister hold the boat in his belly? Qi Hou's witty words are like pearls, and witty words are like pearls. Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed twice, and then turned his eyes to the boat that Cai Ji was riding, and inadvertently showed a look of envy and said, "Gu Su heard that the Qi army and sailors were the best in the world, and this time he made a contribution to killing Yuan Shao in Yanjin." When I saw it today, it really lived up to its name. ”

"If Sikong is interested, you can get on the boat and have a look." Cai Ji generously made a gesture of please.

"Oh? That lonely is respectful, it is better to obey fate. Cao Cao didn't say anything, but he didn't shirk it, and took a big stride directly, and let Cai Ji lead him to board the ship. He was accompanied by Xun You, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Pi and others.

As for Cai Ji, he carefully introduced them to Cao Cao and others one by one, "The name of this ship is Chengfeng, ten zhang high, it can carry up to 1,000 people at a time, and it is the flagship of the Qi Army's naval division." ”

"Flagship? What is a flagship? Cao Cao asked casually while looking at the heavy building on the ship with great interest.

"The flagship is the ship commanded by the naval division, and it is called the flagship because the naval division orders the ships with the command flag." Cai Ji stepped forward to explain. She is not exaggerating what she said, "Riding the Wind" is indeed the flagship of the Qi Army's Naval Division, and it is also the largest warship of the Naval Division. Of course, Cai Ji will not say much, she only has a warship of this size to ride the wind now. The more the sailor can deter Cao Cao, and the more he will negotiate later, the heavier the chips in Cai Ji's hand will be. To be more precise, Cai Ji wanted to create the illusion that the Qi army relied on the sailors in front of Cao Cao. Let the sailor put on a strong posture to cover up the many advantages of the Qi army in foot and cavalry.

Sure enough, after Cai Ji's explanation, the generals of the Cao army, including Cao Cao, once again showed envy. This also includes Cao Pi. Although Cao Pi had accompanied Cai Jixi to Qingzhou as a guard before, it was the first time he had been on the Qi army's ship. The huge hull, wide deck, and towering mast all impressed the teenager. However, just as Cao Pi was looking around curiously, Cao Cao beckoned to him and said, "Pi'er, come here." ”

Cao Pi hurriedly stepped forward and respectfully bowed his hand to his father, "What does your father command?" ”

Cao Cao touched Cao Pi's head in a fatherly manner, and said, "You have been in Cao Ying for many days, and now you should go back to Qi Hou's side." ”

Cai Ji didn't expect Cao Cao to make a sudden 180-degree turn, jumping from the sailor to Cao Pi, and he was almost speechless. However, she quickly reacted, and instead laughed dryly and said, "It's okay, Pi Gongzi can stay with Sikong for a few more days." ”

"Since Pi'er is engaged to Qi Hou, she should protect Qi Hou's left and right." After that, Cao Cao pushed Cao Pi with his hand.

Cao Pi was pushed by his father, knowing that it was impossible for him to stay in Cao Ying for another day, so he had to stand behind Cai Ji with his head down. Although Cai Ji was also a little depressed, she still said to Cao Cao on her face, "Sikong rest assured, Ji will take good care of Pi Gongzi." ”

"Qi Hou doesn't need to treat him preferentially, just hone more for Gu." After Cao Cao waved his hand, he turned his gaze to Lou Chuan and laughed loudly, "It's really an eye-opener to see such a huge ship." Why don't Qi Hou eat in Cao Ying today? ”

"It's an honor to be invited by Sikong." Cai Ji bowed obediently.

Xiao Cai was proud: Sikong, Ji's water master is powerful enough. Make a price~~~

Cao Cao summoned the turf: The lonely Pi'er is also very cute~~~

Xiao Cai: Hey, hey, hey! There's nothing better than that!

Cao Cao touched the stubble: Then Lone will make a big move!

There is a change on Sunday, and those who have tickets have to get tickets~~~ (to be continued)