The brothers Xin Ping and Xin Bi left Yecheng on Yuan Shao's orders and went straight to Qingzhou.

Yuan Tan guarded Qingzhou, and since Zang Ba and others led the army to arrive from Mount Tai, the two sides were constantly fighting each other, and each other won and lost.

It was precisely because of the containment of Zang Ba and others that Yuan Tan failed to lead the army to participate in the battle of Guandu.

Plains City.

Yuan Tan was inspecting the city defense with a group of people, and a soldier ran over: "Prince Qiyu, two Xin Gongs have come to ask for a meeting." ”

Xin Ping and Xin Bi are brothers-in-law, and they often go in and out of pairs, of course Yuan Tan knows that it is them.

I have always known that Yuan Shang has the ambition to inherit the great cause of the Yuan family, although he is in Qingzhou, Yuan Tan has always been paying attention to the message of Yecheng.

Knowing that Xin Ping and Xin Bi were coming, he hurriedly asked the soldiers, "Where are the two Xin Gongren?" ”

"I have only entered the city for a short time, and I am waiting for the summons of my son." The soldier replied.

"Why don't you invite the two Xin Gong to come over and talk?" Yuan Tan commanded the soldiers.

The soldier was about to retreat, but Yuan Tan said again: "Forget it, I'll go over to see the two Xin Gongs." ”

Led by the soldiers who reported the news, Yuan Tan rushed to the gate where Xin Ping and Xin Bi entered the city.

When he reached the city gate, he saw the brothers waiting there from a distance.

Holding his fists and saluting, Yuan Tan greeted: "Why are the two Xin Gong here?" ”

Hearing Yuan Tan speak, Xin Ping and Xin Bi, who were talking, looked at him.

Seeing Yuan Tan, the two of them made a big salute, and Xin commented and said: "The two of us came to inform the chief prince on the order of Yuan Gong, and it will not be long before the army will be borrowed to Qingzhou to attack Cao Zirong, who is entrenched in Huainan. ”

"Attack Cao Zirong?" Yuan Tan was stunned: "You must know that Cao Zirong has a lot of soldiers and horses, and there are more elites than our Cao family." If it were me, I would be more willing to crusade against Cao Cao than provoke Cao Zirong. ”

"Yuan Gong proposed to crusade against Cao Zirong at that time, although we had the intention to dissuade them, but Feng Ji, Xian and others agreed with it." Xin Bi sighed and said, "Since Guandu, Yuan Gong's spirit has not been very good every day. decided to crusade against Cao Zirong, and he finally had a big heart. Although our brother didn't agree, he didn't want to disturb Yuan Gong's good interest, so he had to follow him. ”

"In the battle of Guandu, only Tian Feng and Frustration dared to disobey his father." Yuan Tan said: "If my father was willing to listen to their advice, he would not have been defeated. Where are they now? ”

Pointing to the south, Yuan Tan said: "Tian Feng and Fu Zhu have now gone to Huainan, once the army advances south, they are likely to help Cao Zirong to become an enemy of our army." You must know that there are many Hebei generals under Cao Zirong's command now......"

"Yan Liang, Wen Chou and others received a lot of favors from Yuan Gong back then, but now that the Yuan family is in danger, they actually threw themselves into the enemy, which is really hateful." Xin Ping gritted his teeth and said, "Don't let me capture them, once they fall into my hands, they will definitely be broken into thousands of pieces." ”

"Gong Xin doesn't have to care." Yuan Tan said: "The two families are fighting each other, and they feel that it is right for them to take refuge in whom. As for capturing the enemy on the battlefield in the future, what to do with it is not up to us? ”

"That's what Childe said." Xin Ping said: "I was just angry for a while, and I wasn't as calm as Childe." ”

"Two Xin Gongs, please follow me to the city wall to have a look." Yuan Tan didn't dwell much on this issue, but proposed to invite the two of them to climb the city wall.

Xin Ping and Xin Bi followed him up to the city wall.

Holding on to the battlements, Yuan Tan looked into the distance: "Before Guandu, Zang Ba led the army from Mount Tai into Qingzhou, and captured many cities along the way. Although I mobilized the army to fight back with all my might, I only controlled the situation now, and I was not able to completely drive them out of Qingzhou. ”

"Zang Ba and others already have some roots in Qingzhou." Xin Bi said: "They are suddenly in trouble again, and it is not easy for Gongzi to stop them. ”

"Didn't Gong Xin understand what I meant?" Yuan Tan said: "I am already stretched thin to deal with Zang Ba, once Cao Zirong leads the army into Qingzhou, it won't be long before Qingzhou should be surnamed Cao." ”

"Childe actually values Cao Zirong so much?" Xin Ping frowned and said: "When Cao Zirong came to Yecheng to propose marriage, he wanted to rely on the Yuan family to make Cao Cao more important, but now that his wings are stiff, he actually dares to be an enemy of the Yuan family." In terms of foundation, he is not as good as Childe, and in terms of courage, he is also worse than Childe......"

"Gong Xin exalted me too much." Without waiting for Xin Ping to finish speaking, Yuan Tan interrupted him: "In fact, Xin Gong should say these words in reverse, I am more than a little worse than Cao Zirong in terms of courage, he may not have had a foundation in the past, but now he occupies Xuzhou, Huainan and other places, and after more than a year of planning, he is no longer Cao Shuo who proposed to the Yuan family at the beginning." ”

Yuan Tan was able to rationally recognize the difference between him and Cao Shuo, and Xin Ping and Xin Bi couldn't say anything.

The two stood beside him.

After a long time, Yuan Tan said: "Before Cao Zirong came, my father and I had to drive Zang Ba out. The front drives the wolf, and the tiger comes from the back. The Yuan family's difficulty, I'm afraid they can't get over. ”

"Don't be too pessimistic, this time the Yuan family is the first to attack." Xin commented and persuaded: "Cao Zirong may still be thinking that the Yuan family may attack Cao Cao." Kill him by surprise, even if he has strong soldiers and horses, what can he do? ”

glanced at Xin Ping, and the corners of Yuan Tan's mouth hooked up a shallow smile.

He wasn't as optimistic as Xin.

Xuzhou borders Qingzhou, Cao Shuo does a lot of things, how Xuzhou is developing, he often hears about it.

Not long after Cao Shuo occupied Xuzhou, not only did many villages and towns arise there, but merchants from all over the country also came and went very frequently.

The war in Qingzhou continued, and many people moved to Xuzhou with their families in order to live a stable life.

All the people and deserters who went to Xuzhou were taken in by Cao Shuo.

Xuzhou, the land of several wars, has now more than doubled in population.

What's more, the military households and villages there are connected, and anyone who wants to take advantage of Cao Shuo's unpreparedness to suddenly attack will be blocked by the military households along the way.

Yuan Shao chose to attack Xuzhou, perhaps digging a huge tomb for the Yuan family.

Looking into the distance, Yuan Tan didn't speak for a long time.

Xin Ping and Xin Bi stood behind him, and they didn't know what to say.

At the same time, Cao Shuo was arranging troops in Shouchun to prepare for the upcoming war.

Only then did he assign tasks to the general and his staff, and one person broke into the study.

It was Zhou Hao, the general of Faqiu Zhonglang, who broke in.

Without waiting for Cao Shuo to ask, Zhou Hao was already panting and said, "Childe, something happened......

"Something happened again?" Cao Shuo was stunned: "What's wrong?" ”

Due to heavy wheezing, Zhou Hao's chest rose and fell violently and said: "We have excavated the ancient tomb outside Shouchun City......"

(End of chapter) js3v3