Han Zhan stayed in Guangzong City for a night, and as soon as it was dawn, he took Guo Jia, Xun You, Xiahou Lan and others to prepare to leave the city. As soon as he left the post house, he saw Gongsun Zhan's soldiers escorting a group of captured Yuan soldiers over, and everyone had to stop.

The marquis who led the team saw Han Zhan and them coming, and hurriedly ordered the troops to stop, and drove those surrendered troops to the side of the road, making way for Han Zhan and them. The military marquis also stepped forward to flatter and said: "Tinghou, please first!" ”

Han Zhan smiled at the other party and continued to walk forward with Guo Jia and them. Just as they passed by those surrendered soldiers, suddenly a descendant rushed out of the queue, rushed to Han Zhan's horse, grabbed the bridle, and shouted at the same time: "Tinghou, save me!" ”

Facing the soldiers who suddenly rushed out, Han Zhan pulled out the long sword at his waist and pointed at the other party. But when he saw the other party's face clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned, he lost his mouth and said: "You are not Yuan ......" But when he saw the other party shaking his head at him again and again, he swallowed back the words behind.

When the military marquis saw that there were troops rushing into Han Zhan, he was immediately frightened, if something happened to Han Zhan, his life would be lost. So he drew his sword in his hand, and in a rage he walked up to the soldier, and raised his sword to slash. Han Zhan hurriedly shouted at him, "Slow down!" ”

The military marquis's sword was held high in the air, and he looked at Han Zhan sitting on horseback in a daze, he didn't understand in his heart, why didn't the Marquis of Zhangshui Pavilion let him dispose of this surrender that had collided with him?

Han Zhan hurriedly explained to him, "Marquis Jun, this is an old friend of mine. ”

"Yes, yes, yes," the soldier standing in front of Han Zhan's horse also nodded at the military marquis and said, "Tinghou and I are old people, old people." ”

Although the military marquis was confused, he still put away his sword. He stepped forward and grabbed the soldier's arm, trying to pull him back into the group next to him. But he was stopped by Han Zhan: "Junhou, this person is an old man of Benhou, I don't know if you can let me take him away?" ”

"This?" The marquis scratched the back of his head and began to make trouble.

"If the military marquis feels embarrassed, I will go and ask General Gongsun, presumably he will give me a thin face and hand this person over to me for disposal." After Han Zhan finished speaking, he turned his horse's head and put on a posture of going to the Taishou Mansion to find Gongsun Zhan.

"Slow down." The military marquis may feel that it is a little inappropriate to alarm Gongsun Zhan for the sake of a small army, so he hurriedly grabbed Han Zhan's horse bridle, and said with a smile: "Since this person is the old man of Tinghou, then the little one will be handed over to Tinghou to take away, and there is no need to alarm my lord for such a trivial matter!" ”

Seeing that the marquis agreed to hand over the surrendered troops to himself, Han Zhan immediately ordered a cavalryman behind him: "You give up your horse to this brother." ”

The cavalry answered, turned over and dismounted, and handed the reins into the hands of the surrenderers, while he went to the back to squeeze a horse with his familiar brothers.

When everyone left Guangzong City and was a stone's throw away from the city, Guo Jia came to the horse that had surrendered to the army, and asked after snorting softly, "Second Prince Yuan, why are you here?" ”

"Alas, it's hard to put into words." It turned out that this soldier was Yuan Shao's second son Yuan Xi, whose whereabouts were unknown, and he said to Guo Jia with a sad face: "I have been staying in Guangzong City recently, and yesterday I heard the commotion outside, and I heard someone shouting outside: The city is broken, the city is broken. I felt like I had changed into a soldier's outfit and was ready to go out of town while I was in the chaos. Who knew that there was already Gongsun Zhan's cavalry guarding the city gate, and I had no choice but to surrender with those surrendered soldiers and find another opportunity to escape. ”

When Han Zhan heard this, he couldn't help but sneer, and then said, "Second son, it seems that your reputation among the soldiers is far inferior to your eldest brother." ”

Yuan Xi was confused after hearing this: "What does this have to do with my eldest brother?" ”

"A few days ago, we ambushed your eldest brother in the canyon, and after he was defeated, he also disguised himself as a small soldier and fled." Han Zhan recalled the situation that day: "He stood in the queue of surrendered troops, and the rest of the surrendered soldiers immediately recognized him and took the initiative to keep a distance from him, so that my subordinates recognized him as a big man at a glance. And you, Second Prince Yuan, from yesterday when you were captured to now, for such a long time, no subordinates know you, does this mean that you are a failure? ”

Han Zhan's words made Yuan Xi quite embarrassed, and after he blushed for a while, he said without words: "Tinghou, thank you for saving me, otherwise in a few more days, maybe my life will not be saved." ”

"Why do you say that?" Yuan Xi's words aroused Han Zhan's curiosity: "Could it be that Gongsun Chan has the habit of killing prisoners?" ”

"It's not enough to kill the prisoners," Yuan Xi shook his head and continued, "I heard the guards say last night that Xianbei was about to move in the north, and Gongsun Chan was ready to return to the division to fight against them. Soldiers like us, even if they are incorporated into the team, can only play the role of sending them to death. So I'm going to say thank you. After Yuan Xi said this, he paused for a moment and added: "In this way, what the two of us owe each other will cancel each other out." ”

"I don't think I owe you a favor, do I?" Han Zhan said with some puzzlement: "It's that you have been owing me a favor, and I have let you go more than once." ”

Yuan Xi didn't answer this question immediately, but asked rhetorically: "Tinghou, I think you may remember that before you led your troops to ambush my eldest brother, you should have received a piece of information, right?" ”

"That's right, I did lead my army to ambush Yuan Tan after receiving a piece of information. How do you know......" Before Han Zhan finished speaking, a terrible thought suddenly popped up in his mind, he stared at Yuan Xi and asked in surprise, "Could it be the information you sent?" ”

Seeing that Han Zhan guessed the truth of the matter, Yuan Xi's face showed a smug expression: "It seems that Tinghou is not stupid, and he can actually guess that I sent someone to send the letter." ”

"Why are you doing that?" If it was this kind of information sent by someone else, no matter what the purpose was, Han Zhan could still understand it to some extent, but now it was Yuan Xi who betrayed his eldest brother Yuan Tan, which made Han Zhan puzzled.

"What else?" Hearing Han Zhan's question, Yuan Xi blushed and said, "Don't look at everyone and call me the second son of Yuan, but no one in the Yuan family looks down on me." The eldest brother is a year older than me, but he is destined to be the successor of my Yuan family, whether it is in the government or in the army, everyone flatters him and flatters him, and turns a blind eye to me. If his father is a hundred years later, the person who takes his place will definitely be the eldest brother. ”

"Yuan Xiansi is the eldest son and grandson of the Yuan family, and it is reasonable for him to inherit the foundation of Yuan Cheqi." Han Zhan looked at Yuan Xi and asked curiously, "This is not the reason for you to borrow a knife to kill someone, right?"

"My father's advisers Guo Tu, Xin Ping, Xin Bi and others are all from the eldest brother's faction. And the likes of discipline and trial are from my younger brother Yuan Shang's faction. Yuan Xi gritted his teeth and said: "No matter who will inherit the Yuan family's family business in the future, I will not have a bright future." If that's the case, then why don't I borrow a knife to kill and get rid of the thorn in my eye as soon as possible? With that, he sneered.

Hearing Yuan Xi's laughter, Han Zhan couldn't help but shudder, he only knew that after Yuan Shao died, in order to compete for the power of Jizhou, the three brothers of the Yuan family fought to the death, and even invited Cao Cao to help in the battle. Unexpectedly, their brothers' walls were buried as early as not long after Yuan Shao entered Jizhou.

He asked casually: "Second son, I don't know how old your younger brother Yuan Shang is this year?" ”

"Fourteen years old," Yuan Xi said coldly, "He is still so young, my father actually arranged for Feng Ji and Ju to assist him, and turned a blind eye to me, the second son." ”

"Second Prince Yuan," Guo Jia couldn't help but interject when he heard this, "Do you think that by borrowing our hands and getting rid of your eldest brother, you will be able to inherit the Yuan family's inheritance?" ”

"Isn't it?" Yuan Xi's eyebrows raised upward, and he asked rhetorically: "My father will not abolish the elder and let my younger brother inherit the foundation of Jizhou, right?" ”

"Second son, this is not certain." Although Han Zhan has always wanted to kill this potential rival, he is still of great use, so he can only make a false deal with him: "Feng Ji and Juan are the right-hand men of Yuan Cheqi, since he was sent by him to assist Yuan Shang, it shows that he loves this son very much, so why not let him inherit the family business in the future?" ”

As soon as Han Zhan's words came out, not to mention that Yuan Xi was stunned, even Guo Jia and Xun You felt incredible, and said in their hearts, how could Yuan Shao do something about abolishing Chang Liyu? But neither of them could have dreamed that Han Zhan was actually a traverser, and no one could know the ending of everyone better than him.

However, he did not intend to continue to dwell on this matter, but adjusted the topic in time and said to Yuan Xi: "Second Prince Yuan, I want to tell you that your eldest brother is fine, now he is in Jizhou, and Chun Yuqiong is locked up." When we get to Jizhou, I'll send you to reunite with him. ”

When Yuan Xi just said that, he always thought that Yuan Tan had died in the ambush. At this moment, when he heard that Yuan Tan was not dead, he was suddenly shocked into a cold sweat, he raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and asked in a pleading tone: "Tinghou, can you not lock me up with my eldest brother?" I'm worried that if I stay with him for a long time, I'll show my flaws. ”

Seeing Yuan Xi acting like this, Han Zhan smiled faintly, nodded and said, "Yes, I don't have to lock you up together." But I have one condition. ”

"Tinghou, what are the conditions, just say." When Yuan Xi heard Han Zhan say this, he was like grasping a life-saving straw, and hurriedly said: "Don't say one condition, it's ten conditions, and I promise you." ”

"I want to negotiate a big matter with Ling Zun, but unfortunately there is no suitable person to deliver a letter to me." When Han Zhan said this, he turned his head to look at Yuan Xi and asked, "I wonder if the second son can work hard and be a messenger for me?" ”

"Sending a letter to Tinghou, Xi should have been duty-bound." Regarding Han Zhan's request, Yuan Xi said with some embarrassment: "But if it is to kill Feng Ji, I advise Tinghou to die of this heart." Feng Ji is a very good man, and he has won the trust of his father, and it is almost impossible to kill him. The last time I returned to Jieqiao, I persuaded my father to kill him, but my father's ears were soft, and after hearing Feng Ji cry a few times, coupled with the persuasion of several strategists, he gave up the idea of killing Feng Ji. ”

"Don't worry, second son." Han Zhan had long known that Yuan Shao would not kill Feng Ji, so he didn't plan to waste any more time on this matter, "I asked you to be a messenger this time for something else. In order to dispel Yuan Xi's doubts, he also specially added, "Don't worry, it's definitely a good thing." ”

"It's a good thing," Yuan Xi raised his hand again to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, and said with a smile: "That's good, that's good, hehehe." Although he was laughing, the expression on his face was more ugly than crying.

After a while, Yuan Xi arched his hand to Han Zhan and asked, "Tinghou, I don't know when you plan to send a letter to your father." ”

Han Zhan waved his hand at him and said, "Second son, don't worry, I don't know where the Marquis of Yi has gone now, even if I want to send him a letter, I don't know where to send it." Let's go back to Jizhou to rest for a while, and when we find the whereabouts of the Marquis of Yixiang, it's not too late to send him a letter. ”

Guo Jia waited for Han Zhan to send Yuan Xi to Zhao Yun's army first, and then stepped forward to walk with Han Zhan, and asked curiously: "Lord, I don't know what letter you plan to send Yuan Ergongzi to send to Yuan Cheqi?" ”

"Fengxiao," Han Zhan turned his head to look at Guo Jia and said with a smile: "Have you forgotten the strategy I once proposed, first gain a firm foothold in Jizhou, and then attack Qingzhou in the east, merge states in the west, and Youzhou in the north?" ”

"Remember, remember." Guo Jia nodded vigorously, and then asked, "But what does this have to do with you sending Yuan Xi to deliver a message to Yuan Cheqi?" ”

"Jizhou City is too close to Guangzong City occupied by Gongsun Zhan." Han Zhan turned his head to look at Guangzong City in the distance, and continued: "When our two sides are allies, there is no danger yet. Once we and Gongsun Chan turn against each other, as long as he sends troops from Guangzong City, it will only take a few hours to reach the city of Jizhou, and then we will not even have time to set up defenses.

Therefore, I plan to move to Yecheng instead of Jizhou City after occupying Jizhou. The city there is high and deep, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the military food in the city can last for ten years. As long as you occupy it, you can be in a favorable situation of attacking, retreating, and defending. ”

Hearing Han Zhan's explanation, Guo Jia immediately understood what was going on. He nodded and said, "Lord, I understand, after Yuan Shao's defeat from Jieqiao, seven or eight out of ten fled to Yecheng, and if we send troops to attack the city, it will inevitably be protracted." And you plan to send Yuan Xi to persuade Yuan Shao to give up Yecheng. ”

Seeing that Guo Jia had guessed his intentions, Han Zhan smiled and nodded: "That's right, that's what I thought about." ”

"My lord, please forgive my subordinates for speaking out." Xun You, who was following behind the two, heard this, and couldn't help but interject and asked, "How do you think that after Yuan Che rode to see Yuan Xi, he would take the initiative to give Yecheng to us?" ”

"Cousin Gongda, that's a good question." Han Zhan nodded at Xun Yu and said with a smile: "Yuan Shao will definitely not take the initiative to hand over Yecheng to us, so we must give him a little sweetness and let him willingly give the city to us." ”