Hebei is divided into three parts, the three sons of the Yuan family each have one side, Yuan Shang is the strongest, Yuan Xi is the second, and Yuan Tan is the weakest. Yuan Shang did not eat the strength of Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan in one go, so the three parties unanimously maintained a delicate balance. But as Yuan Shang asked Cao Cao to send troops to help, this balance was also broken.

Yuan Shang thought that he was sure of victory this time, but he did not expect that since the news of Cao Cao's dispatch of troops to attack Yuan Tan spread all over Hebei, the families that had maintained neutrality in the Hebei dispute began to support Yuan Xi or Yuan Tan one after another, and those who had already expressed their support for themselves also expressed their dissatisfaction with Cao Cao's dispatch of troops.

For a while, Yuan Shang experienced the taste of betrayal and separation. He was very annoyed, thinking that the people around him did not understand him, and decided to ask Cao Cao to send troops in order to end the civil strife in Hebei as soon as possible. It's just that Yuan Shang's ideas have not been recognized by others in a short period of time, and in the eyes of these people, Yuan Shang is a loser, and he is also an unfilial son. thinks that his father Yuan Shao regards Cao Cao as both a confidant and the biggest enemy in his life, and he, Yuan Shang, who is a son, not only did not earn face for his son, but went to ask Cao Cao for help, because of this matter, even Yuan Shang's biological mother Liu Shi has not given Yuan Shang any good face recently.

Yuan Shang was aggrieved and angry, but he did not regret it. At this time, Yuan Shang was young and vigorous and refused to admit defeat, in layman's terms, he was a little rebellious, he wanted to do what you didn't let him do, and he was reckless. Judge, Xun Zhan and other wise men who served in the Yuan clan in Hebei persuaded Yuan Shang to guard against Cao Cao more than once, believing that Yuan Shang's invitation to Cao Cao to send troops was purely to lure the wolf into the room, and even Feng Ji, who had always been not very good at dealing with the trial, was also consistent with the judge's point of view on this matter. In Feng Ji's words, if Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan are compared to vicious dogs, then Cao Cao is a fierce tiger. Previously, he had no excuse to send troops to Hebei, but now that Yuan Shang took the initiative to invite him, he must know that it is easy to invite God and it is difficult to send God, and how can a mere Qingzhou satisfy Cao Cao's appetite.

Good medicine is bitter, loyal to the ear, Yuan Shao is unwilling to listen to the opinions of his subordinates, and his son is the same. Historically, Yuan Shao decided to start a war with Cao Cao, but Tian Feng tried his best to stop it, and was imprisoned. And now the trial, Xun Zhan and others persuaded Yuan Shang to guard against Cao Cao, but he was also guilty, the trial was put in prison, Xun Zhan was idle, and Feng Ji was better, so Yuan Shang was sent to Bingzhou to assist Gao Gan.

Yuan Shang's biological mother Liu wanted to persuade her son's subordinates to be merciful, so as not to chill people's hearts, but she didn't want Yuan Shang to be in a high position, so she got carried away, turned a deaf ear to Liu's advice, was stubborn, and was so angry that Liu fell ill.

Since Yuan Shang invited Cao Cao to send troops to Qingzhou, Yuan Xi, who occupied Youzhou, publicly announced that he would join forces with Yuan Tan to defend against foreign enemies, and in this way, Pingyuan County, which separated Youzhou from Qingzhou, became a battlefield. At this time, let the trial match go to Pingyuan County to serve as the county guard, which is to send the trial to death.

On the day that the trial left Yecheng, Xun Zhan, who was idle at home, returned to his hometown in Yingchuan with his wife. And Xun Zhan's departure seemed to be a signal, and many people who were dissatisfied with Yuan Shang and Cao Cao's alliance also left Yecheng with their families, either returning to their hometowns or living in seclusion. By the time Yuan Shang reacted and ordered someone to stop him, he was almost gone.

"Damn!" Yuan Shang couldn't help but scold hatefully in the mansion. The people who left were basically famous, and when they left, they drove more people to flee Yecheng. Fortunately, Yuan Shang sent people to stop him, so that Yecheng did not flee, but those elites left a lot, which caused Yuan Shang's strength to suffer a lot.

"My lord, the two generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou ask to see me."

"Please." Yuan Shang hurriedly commanded when he heard this, and he even got up to greet him. Yan Liang and Wen Chou are generals in the army, and they are also Yuan Shang's right-hand men who can control the army, and for this alone, Yuan Shang must treat the two of them well.

"The last will meet the lord." Yan Liang and Wen Chou saluted Yuan Shang.

"The two generals are exempt, I don't know what I want to see?" Yuan Shang hurriedly helped the two of them up and asked.

"Lord, the last general and Wen Chou want to take a few days off, so I came to say goodbye to my lord." Yan Liang opened his mouth and said to Yuan Shang.

"Huh? …… Two generals, but what does Yuan do to snub the two generals on weekdays? Yuan Shang was stunned for a moment, and then asked tentatively.

Yan Liang shook his head and replied: "No, the lord treats me and the two of us well, but there is something at home, so I am here to resign." ”

"I don't know what?" Yuan Shang didn't believe it and asked.

"The death day of the family teacher is approaching, and the last general and Wen Chou want to go to pay respects." Yan Liang replied in a deep voice.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou's master is Han Rong, the king of guns in Hebei, when Yuan Shao used the Qing Jun's side as an excuse to attack the imperial court, Han Rong accompanied him on the expedition, but he met Zhao Yun and lost his life. After the body was sent back to his hometown for burial, Yan Liangwen Chou was busy with things and couldn't find time to pay respects. It is human nature to go to worship the master, but the time chosen by Yan Liangwen is really a little sensitive.

"Two generals, now that the big war is imminent, can you wait for Hebei to stabilize, and then Yuan and the two generals will go to the river to pay homage to the old general Han Rong?"

“…… Lord, it is only a few days to go to the river, and there is no major delay, so please ask for the grace of the lord. Yan Liang thought about it and asked Yuan Shang again.

Yuan Shang stopped talking, and the more Yan Liang asked to leave immediately, the more Yuan Shang suspected that the Yan Liangwen ugly in front of him was planning to give up on himself. Young people don't have a city, let alone Yuan Shang, who came to this world with a golden soup spoon in his mouth, and wants the wind and the rain to get the rain. In Yuan Shang's opinion, he is already a very polite corporal, but Yan Liangwen is ugly but he doesn't know how to lift.

"Okay, since the two generals must go, then Yuan is not easy to stop, I don't know if the two generals have to bring their families here?"

"Uh...... That's not necessary. Yan Liang was stunned for a moment, and then replied.

"Now this Yecheng is not very peaceful, in order to avoid the families of the two generals from being harassed, before the two generals come back, Yuan will send someone to protect them, and the two generals don't have to worry about this matter."

Wen Chou on the side was about to get angry when he heard this, but he was quietly stopped by Yan Liang, and Wen Chou, who had always listened to his brother's words, was silent, and listened to Yan Liang say: "Thank you for your careful consideration, and the last general will retire." ”

"Hmm." Yuan Shang snorted, and didn't get up to send him off like in the past.

When Wen Chou was pulled out of the Yuan Mansion by Yan Liang, he couldn't help but ask Yan Liang: "Brother, why did you stop me?" That Yuan Shang ......"

"Shut up, don't say much, if you have anything to say, go back and talk about it." Yan Liang glared at Wen Chou and shouted.

When they returned home, Yan Liang and Wen Chou were like brothers, so the two families were also close neighbors. There were no outsiders at home, and Yan Liang didn't stop Wen Chou from talking, and Wen Chou, who was free, asked the question in his heart. Then Yuan Shang said that he would send someone to protect his family, but in fact, didn't he take his family members hostage and not allow him to leave?

"Brother, I went to see Yuan Shang with you today, first, I want to see if Yuan Shang is worthy of your and me's assistance, and secondly, I want to give myself an explanation."

"Brother, I understand the first of your reasons, and why is the latter?" Wen Chou asked puzzled.

"You and my brother were able to have today's achievements thanks to the old lord's attention, so for the heir set by the old lord, morally speaking, we should continue to be loyal to Yuan Shang. But this Yuan Shang is really ......" Speaking of this, Yan Liang shook his head and continued: "Today's experience is not because we are unwilling to obey the old master's deathbed orders, but because Yuan Shang is not the master of the Ming Dynasty, and he is not worthy of the service of you and my brother. ”

"Who did the brother choose?" Wen Chou asked.

"Yuan Shang self-destructed the Great Wall, it is not worth dying for it, and Yuan Tan himself is difficult to protect, even if he survives this catastrophe, I am afraid he will not become the final winner. Brother, I'm going to go to the second son, Yuan Xi, I don't know if you would like to go with your brother? ”

"Where the elder brother goes, the younger brother goes. It's just our family......"

"Order the people of the family to put on the master's clothes and confuse others here, and you and my family members will disguise themselves as guards and go out of the city together." Yan Liang replied without hesitation.

"Brother, this is a good way, and the younger brother will arrange it." Wen Chou nodded, turned around and went home to prepare.

……

Cao Cao sent troops, which had a huge impact on the three forces in Hebei, and Yuan Shang, who was originally the strongest, suffered heavy losses, and it was Yuan Xi who got a big bargain. Yuan Xi was originally Yuan Shao's concubine, and not many people were optimistic about Yuan Xi. But Yuan Shang destroyed the Great Wall and provoked Cao Cao, a tiger, to Hebei. The Yuan family can dominate Hebei, in addition to the Yuan family's own strength, it is more supported by the Hebei heroes who are also a family.

In the eyes of the powerful in these places, Hebei belongs to the Yuan family, and it is also theirs, anyway, there is no part of Cao Cao, an outsider. But Cao Cao is here now, and it is Yuan Shang, who is scheduled to be the future master of Hebei, who provides him with a legitimate excuse to send troops, which makes those local heroes feel dissatisfied and disappointed.

Originally, Yuan Shang was the heir designated by Yuan Shao, and the heroes of Hebei did not want to participate in this matter, no matter who was in charge of Hebei in the end, they needed their own support, that is to say, no matter who was the winner in the end, they would treat themselves and others well. But now that there is one more Cao Cao, then things are not so simple.

It's good to divide the pie, it was originally divided by three people, but now it has become four people, even if the later one hacked the original three, the bread that can be divided may not be more than the original one. The meat is rotting in the pot, and the best way to make sure you get enough portions is to reduce the number of meat portions.

Yuan Shang followed Xu You's advice and contacted Cao Cao, which in the eyes of Hebei Haoqiang was equivalent to a betrayal of their collective, and it was about vital interests, who cares if you are the lord or not.

However, Hebei Haoqiang's change of attitude towards Yuan Shang is also a good thing for Cao Cao. Perhaps the more chaotic Hebei is, the more beneficial it will be to Cao Cao. At present, Cao Cao concentrated his forces on attacking Yuan Tan in Qingzhou, although Yuan Tan accepted Chen Gong's suggestion and defended Qingzhou. But Cao Cao's offensive was too fierce, and Yuan Tan did not have a general who could get his hands on it, Han Meng was hacked to death by Cao Cao's general Xu Chu not long after he went into battle, so Yuan Tan should not call for the Cao army outside the city, and only hoped that Yuan Xi, who had promised to send troops to help, arrived as soon as possible.

And Yuan Xi did send troops, but he was stopped by the newly appointed Pingyuan County Guard, which was very good at guarding the city, although Yuan Xi was anxious about the battle situation in Qingzhou, but he didn't dare to let the army bypass Pingyuan County and rush directly to Qingzhou.

Now Hebei Sanyuan, with Yuan Shang losing people's hearts, Yuan Xi is considered to have made a lot of money, first won the recognition of Zhang Jaw and Gao Ran, and then got Yan Liangwen Chou's family to vote, during which Tian Feng ran back and forth, if Hebei's strength is compared to ten percent, the current Yuan Xi has already gotten fifty percent, enough to compete with Yuan Shang.

However, Yuan Xi did not choose to attack Yuan Shang at this time, but decided to aid Yuan Tan and drive the invading Cao Cao out of Qingzhou first, so as to ensure that the foundation of the Yuan clan in Hebei was not lost. Although this decision made Yuan Xi miss the opportunity to solve Yuan Shang, it earned Yuan Xi enough people's hearts, and the identity of the concubine is no longer mentioned, and Yuan Xi is more mentioned for his consideration of the overall situation, Corporal Lixian.

And Yuan Shang, at this time, can only hold on to the end, Cao Cao has already sent troops, even if he changes his words and tears up the alliance with Cao Cao, Cao Cao can still use the excuse of retaliating against Yuan Shang for tearing up the alliance without authorization to launch an expedition to Hebei. Yuan Shang made Xu You miserable this time, but at the moment Yuan Shang has no one available, so he can only use Xu You, according to Xu You's suggestion, continue to maintain the alliance with Cao Cao, and only wait until Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan are eliminated before considering driving Cao Cao out of Hebei.

But Cao Cao is also not a fuel-efficient lamp, he has already listed Yuan Shang as a target to deal with before sending troops, and he was ready to face Hebei San Yuan at the beginning, at this time Yuan Shang did not tear up the alliance with himself, then he had time to completely solve Yuan Tan first, occupy Qingzhou as a foothold, and then attack Youzhou, and Yuan Shang worked together to solve Yuan Xi, leaving one Yuan Shang, at that time, Hebei's internal strength was seriously consumed, and I believe it will not be his opponent.

Cao Cao's wishful thinking crackled, Yuan Tan guarded Qingzhou very hard, a large number of cities were lost, a large number of soldiers were consumed, and more importantly, there were few available people around him, except for the turtle in the city, Yuan Tan had no way to face the Cao army outside the city.

The great loss of strength made Yuan Tan disheartened at this time, he realized that the position of the lord of Hebei had left him with Cao Cao's troops, even if he could escape this time, he would probably have to live under Yuan Xi's wings in the future. This made Yuan Tan a little unacceptable, he was Yuan Shao's eldest son, and he always considered himself the successor of his father Yuan Shao, but first Yuan Shang, and now Yuan Xi, who was not valued by himself before, was trampled on his head in turn, so that Yuan Tan even had the urge to die.

It's better to die than to live, and before it's boring, Yuan Tan doesn't want to end his life too early. What's more, even if Yuan Tan wants to die right now, he can't die, and the strategists around him, Guo Tu, Xin Ping, and Chen Gong, have worked hard for Yuan Tan's safety, and they are afraid that Yuan Tan will not look at it for a short time.

Guo Tu and Xin Ping care about Yuan Tan's life and death, and maybe there is a trace of friendship between monarchs and ministers, but Chen Gong completely intends to use Yuan Tan as a stepping stone to his future. Chen Gong didn't expect that Yuan Xi in the third son of the Yuan family would have today, originally in Chen Gong's opinion, it was either Yuan Shang or Yuan Tan who would be able to rule Hebei in the future, but he didn't want to look away, and in the end, Yuan Xi, who was not favored by himself, became the final winner.

It is impossible for Chen Gong to surrender to Cao Cao, since the Yanzhou incident, Chen Gong and Zhang Miao, the two masterminds who led Lu Bu to Yanzhou, have become Cao Cao's target of killing. Now Zhang Miao has become a dry bone in the grave, and Chen Gong is left who is still alive, and there are not many options left for Chen Gong.

Originally, Chen Gong's way out was not only the Yuan family, but also a good choice for the imperial court in Chang'an, but when he learned that Lu Bu was appointed by Liu Xie, the son of the Han Dynasty, as the new chief general of the begging army, Chen Gong dispelled the idea of taking refuge in Chang'an. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty will appoint Lu Bu as the chief general of the begging army, which means that Liu Xie still reuses Lu Bu, and the contradiction between himself and Lu Bu is not small, he went to Chang'an, in case Liu Xie wants to take himself as a favor, then what should he do then?

In addition to the imperial court in Chang'an, Chen Gong also had a way out of Jiangdong, but Hebei was far away from Jiangdong, and it had to pass through Xuzhou, which was controlled by Cao Cao, and in Xuzhou, the face of Chen Gong was not unfamiliar to many people. In order to avoid the situation of falling into the net, Chen Gong could only temporarily give up his plan to go south to Jiangdong.

There is also a way out is to take refuge in Yuan Xi, but Chen Gong had no contact with Yuan Xi before, and it was easy to be criticized if he rashly went to invest at this time. But if Yuan Tan is dragged along, then he can avoid being criticized. But the question is whether Yuan Tan is willing to bow to Yuan Xi, but whether Yuan Tan is willing or not, Chen Gong must save Yuan Tan's life.

In order to hold on until Yuan Xi's reinforcements arrived, Yuan Tan couldn't think about the future at this time, and first got through the difficulties in front of him. The door to the treasury was opened, and the money that had been intended for military use was moved out. Under the heavy reward, there must be brave men, and under the stimulation of the silver money, the Yuan army under Yuan Tan repelled the brave offensive of the Cao army again and again.

Plains County

"Sir, why take the risk yourself, just order one person to go and deliver the letter." Yuan Xi dissuaded Tian Fengdao, who insisted on going into the city to talk to the trial.

"My lord, Zhenzheng Nan has an upright temperament, and Fei Tian can't be convinced. Don't persuade again, if Tian has not returned before dark, then the lord does not have to hesitate, but he can order Yan Liang and others to storm this city, and he does not have to worry about Tian's life. ”

"Mr. Tian......" Yuan Xi didn't know what to say for a while, so he could only watch Tian Feng, who had helped him achieve a career, enter Pingyuan City.

After Tian Feng entered the city, he was taken directly to the county guard's mansion, and when he saw an oil pot placed at the gate of the mansion, Tian Feng couldn't help but smile slightly, and shouted at the mansion: "The dignified trial is also a move to pick up people's teeth and wisdom, which is really an eye-opener for Tian. ”

"Tian Yuanhao, what are you doing here?" The judge appeared, looked at Tian Feng and asked.

"I'm here to teach you what it means to be a servant."