Yuan Xi said goodbye to Yuan Shang and went to Luoyang to meet Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and also wanted to understand the situation in Luoyang. It has been half a year since the last farewell, and Luoyang has developed a lot compared to before, and it has the appearance of the capital of the Han Dynasty. Although Yuan Xi did not come often, the people of Luoyang were very grateful to the general, and it was with his support that the people of Luoyang could live a stable life. No one wants to attack Luoyang, Luoyang is where the emperor of the Han Dynasty is, unless he wants to be the enemy of the entire Han Dynasty, even if it is Cao Cao, who dares to attack the general's Yecheng, he does not dare to attack Luoyang, which does not have many troops.

Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty warmly received Yuan Xi and crowned him as the pastor of Xuzhou in recognition of his contribution to pacifying Xuzhou. Yuan Xi did not refuse, and with the reward of Emperor Han Xian, he was more justifiable. Nowadays, above the court, there are many talents, the generals have Gao Gan, Zhang Xiu, Ma Teng, Zhaozhao, Pang De and others, and there are Xun Yu, Zhong Xuan, Kong Rong, Hua Xin, Sima Fu and others, the ministers perform their duties, there is no external pressure, and the natural development is very smooth.

At present, Luoyang's army has 50,000, which is a powerful force, although it is still under its own control, but Luoyang may not be able to meet the ambitions of the ministers, such as Ma Teng, he is very unwilling to lose Xiliang, and always wants to recapture Guanzhong and Xiliang. Yuan Xi came for this matter, and said to Emperor Han Xian: "Your Majesty, Luoyang now has 50,000 troops, which is enough to deal with Cao Cao, but I heard that General Ma Lao has always been angry about Han Sui snatching his Xiliang, if you deal with Cao Cao and Han Sui, I'm afraid it won't work." The last time Cao Cao attacked our Yecheng, Jizhou was seriously damaged and has not yet recovered, and it will take a while to recover. After regaining my strength, I will take revenge on General Ma. ”

Ma Teng secretly thought, although he had the intention to seize Guanzhong Xiliang, it was also Ma Chao and Zhao Yun who had troops available, and now that Ma Chao had voted for Yuan Shang, and Zhao Yun had also been recalled to Hebei by Yuan Xi, he was powerless. Yuan Xi also gave himself face, and secretly reminded himself, Ma Teng stepped forward and said: "What the general said is extremely true, the last general has been fighting horses for half his life, and he is tired of fighting on the battlefield, and he just wants to spend his old age in peace." As for Cao Cao and Han Sui, they were naturally disposed of by the generals. ”

Yuan Xi was quite satisfied with Ma Teng's answer, so he did not pursue the responsibility for the Battle of Chang'an. Emperor Han Xian naturally took Yuan Xi as the main leader, and said with confidence: "The affairs in the army are all up to the general, and the general has not suffered defeat since he sent the army, and I am quite trusting!" ”

Although Ma Teng was recruited into the palace by Yuan Xi, he did not belong to Yuan Xi's forces, but was regarded as a royalist force by the ministers, but with the failure of Ma Chao, Ma Teng also acquiesced to Yuan Xi, and the people in the court were biased towards Yuan Xi. Hua Xin was also recruited by Yuan Xi as an official, although he had no intersection with Yuan Xi before, he was also quite optimistic about Yuan Xi, and said for Yuan Xi: "Your Majesty, the general is trying to turn the tide, is loyal to the Han, and uses soldiers like a god, why not add the title of the Great Sima, lead the soldiers and horses of the world, and pacify the rebellious ministers and thieves as soon as possible." ”

Although most of the people in the court supported Yuan Xi, there were also opposing voices. Xun Yu is most worried, and then crowning Yuan Xi as the Great Sima, in the future, he will be building a meritorious career, wouldn't it be a tearing of the earth and sealing the king, which will only increase Yuan Xi's ambitions? objected: "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years, no one has concurrently held the positions of Great Sima and Great General, and I ask the emperor to consider it carefully." ”

Emperor Han Xian didn't have much opinion on the addition of Yuan Xi as the Great Sima, Yuan Xi compared to Dong Zhuo, Li Xuan, and Cao Cao, he treated himself most sincerely, but Xun Yu was his most trusted minister, so he inevitably hesitated, but soon understood who he should choose to support.

Just when Emperor Han Xian was about to open his mouth to reward him, Yuan Xixian proudly declined: "Thank you Ziyu for recommending, I just inherited my father's will, and I am already terrified of being a general, how dare I covet the position of the great Sima again." Yuan Xi said this, and everyone praised him, even Xun Yu thought that he couldn't stop Yuan Xi from taking over as the Great Sima, but he didn't expect him to give up and look at Yuan Xiling. Emperor Han Xian also nodded, and said with a smile: "The general is modest, you will remember the merits of the Han Dynasty in my heart, and I will never forget it." ”

Yuan Xi is not a person who loves vanity, for the position of a great Sima, let the people of the world think that he is coercing the Son of Heaven, then the gain outweighs the loss. Although he did not regard Emperor Han Xian as his top boss and obeyed his orders, he never coerced him, but he was more polite and courteous.

After leaving the court, Yuan Xi returned to his mansion in Luoyang, which Zhang Xiu specially built for himself, he felt that the general could not have his own mansion in Luoyang, and every time he came to live in his own Taishou Mansion, it was too unseemly. Although Zhang Xiu is a military general, he still understands the world, and he is also very particular about the surrounding environment of the General's Mansion, which is quiet and quiet, and is not far from the downtown area. Yuan Xi was looking at his new residence, and a personal soldier came to report, Ma Teng and Pang De asked to see him.

Yuan Xi learned that it was Ma Teng Pound, and he should have surrendered to him, so he also put on the appearance of Corporal Lixian, and his parents and children went out to greet him. Ma Teng Pang De saw that Yuan Xi could be so approachable as a general, and he did not hate that he had offended him, so he saluted sincerely: "General, Ma Teng came today to ask for something, my son Ma Chao acted recklessly, although he was a general, he also asked the general to take care of me for one or two." ”

It turned out to be for Ma Chao, Ma Chao's ability to command the army is first-class, but it is easy to be confused, and after this lesson, he should not be so blind. Yuan Xi remembered that his third brother Yuan Shang had also experienced setbacks and tribulations, only to realize that he was ignorant before, and comforted Ma Teng: "I can understand the heart of General Ma's beloved son, my third brother is also spoiled by my father, and they will only grow up after experiencing failure, they should be able to understand their father's hard work!" General Ma Lao rest assured, since I promised you to recapture Xiliang, I will definitely let Meng Qi fight back to Xiliang and eliminate Han Sui in the future. ”

Ma Teng nodded and thanked: "Thank you General, as the court said, Ma is old, Pang De is the first warrior in my Xiliang, brave and strategic, I hope the general can give him a chance to perform." I don't have a way to teach my son, so I don't want my nephew Ma Dai to be as brave and resourceless as Meng Qi, I hope to join the Jizhou Army, follow the general, and hone it. After speaking, Ma Teng asked Pang De and Ma Dai to visit Yuan Xi.

Pang De and Ma Dai are both famous generals in Xiliang, especially Pang De, who is the first general in Xiliang, Yuan Xi was happy in his heart, and naturally agreed to Ma Teng's request, Pang De and Ma Dai joined the Hebei camp by the way, Pang De and Ma Dai were both appointed as cavalry commanders to assist Zhao Yun in training cavalry.

Yuan Xi's trip to Luoyang this time harvested Pang De and Ma Dai, two fierce generals of Xiliang, and it was not in vain. Pang De and Ma Dai joined Zhao Yun's cavalry training camp, which immediately relieved Zhao Yun's pressure, and also learned a lot of Xiliang cavalry tactics from them, which also greatly improved the cavalry strength of Jizhou.

Xuchang, Sikong Fu. Since Cao Cao was edicted by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, he was removed from the post of prime minister and demoted to commonplace. At first, he was reluctant to accept it, thinking that the Luoyang court was completely controlled by Yuan Xi, but later after the persuasion of Xun You, Guo Jia and others, Cao Cao decided to obey the holy decree and not give Yuan Xi any excuses.

What is strange to everyone is that Yuan Xi really did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and take Xuchang directly. Cao Cao didn't believe that Yuan Xi was so kind, he should still be stabilizing Xuzhou, and he was also stepping up his secret development of strength, expanding his cavalry team, and even learning the tactics of the Xiliang cavalry from Han Sui. However, with his defeat at the hands of Yuan Xi twice, the morale of his subordinates is also quite low, and the population of the Central Plains is getting smaller and smaller, so sooner or later it will be swallowed up by Yuan Xi.

In order to develop his strength, Cao Cao actively carried out reforms in the Central Plains. In order to solve the financial source, the school captain was set up, who was specifically responsible for the theft of the mausoleum. In terms of population, childbearing is even more encouraged, and women at the age of 15 should get married and have children, and those who give birth before the age of 20 can be rewarded, and more children will be rewarded; If you are over 20 years old and unmarried, your parents will be guilty and will be fined heavily.

The northern duo Yuan Xi and Cao Cao are both actively developing, storing strength, waiting for the next competition, and the north has rarely ushered in a peaceful time. However, at this time, the most lively is Jingzhou, the Jiangdong Army is fighting Jiangxia with the Jingzhou Army, and Liu Bei, who is stationed in Xinye and guarding the northern gateway for Jingzhou Mu, is not idle, using the resources given by Liu Biao, constantly recruiting troops and horses, and becoming a force to be reckoned with in Jingzhou.