After listening to the lecture of the Yecheng envoy, Yuan Tan suddenly broke out of anger, his eyes exuded a fierce gaze, he stroked the hilt of his sword, and asked in a deep voice: "My father is sick in bed, where is the general?" ”

Seeing Yuan Tan's reaction, the envoys on the horse were a little frightened, dismounted one after another, hugged their wrists and said: "There is an order from the imperial court to let the prince Yuan Shang temporarily assume the post of general and control Ji Qingyou and the four states!" ”

"Shit, General! Without my permission, he Yuan Shang is not a bullshit! ”

Yuan Tan couldn't care about anything under his anger, and burst out with a foul mouth, drew his sword, and slashed at the messenger headed by him.

The sword flashed, and a human head fell to the ground!

The leader was beheaded, and all the entourages were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground one by one, kowtowing like pounding garlic and begging for mercy: "The eldest son spares his life, and the order is sent, I dare not disobey it, and I ask the son to be merciful under the sword, and forgive me!" ”

Yuan Tan held the long sword in his hand, and his anger was still unsubsided, and he wanted to kill these followers again, but he was dissuaded by Guo Tu: "The eldest son temporarily rests the wrath of the thunder, the two armies are fighting, and if they don't kill them, it is useless to kill them, and they will be empty, let them go!" ”

Yuan Mai wished that Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang would become fire and water, fight to the death, and take advantage of the fisherman's profits, and echoed Yuan Tan next to him: "What is the edict of the imperial court? It's just a puppet under Cao Cao's control, if it weren't for the nod of his brother, Yuan Shang would dare to call himself a general, and I Yuan would be the first to disagree! ”

Yuan Tan was very satisfied with this little brother's attitude of being the first to look at himself, and nodded and said: "In terms of achievements, brother, I chase my grandson in the north and reject Cao thief in the south, and I have made great achievements, besides, I am still the eldest son, and he Yuan Shang is only the son of a concubine; Later, the mother-in-law used ruthless methods to become the main room. This Yuan Shang also dared to inherit his father's title without shame? ”

After praising it, he felt that he should praise Yuan Mai by the way, and changed his words: "Of course, although the fourth brother joined the army late, his record is not comparable to Yuan Shang, Pingyang, Hanoi, and Hedong were all won by you, and the battle to break through Yijing was also commanded by you. ”

The meaning in this discourse is that in terms of seniority, I, Yuan Tan, am the most qualified person to inherit the Yuan family's business; In addition to me, you Yuan Mai also have a certain amount of credit. is stronger than Yuan Shanglai.

"What my brother said is very true. Yuan Shang must not be satisfied! The corners of Yuan Mai's mouth were slightly upturned, adding oil and vinegar.

"Wait for you to get out of here, go back and report to Yuan Shang, if you dare to call yourself a general in front of me. I will kill them! ”

Yuan Tan wiped the blood stains on his sword. ordered Yuan Shang's envoy's entourage to get out; More than a dozen followers were already frightened. If you don't die, you can't take care of Shane, and your ass urine burst out of Yuan Tan's camp. Get on the horse and go straight to Yecheng.

Yuan Tan put away the sword and returned it to the sheath, and said with a grim face: "My father fell from his horse for no reason, there may be something strange in this, Yuan Shang is plotting against him, I should lead 10,000 armor soldiers into the city to visit my father!" ”

Yuan Mai hugged his wrist and said: "I am willing to obey my brother's orders, but my brother is the first to look forward!" ”

At that moment, Yuan Tan left his generals Jiang Yiqu and Cen Bi to garrison the camp, and ordered Wang Zhao to pick up 10,000 horses and march towards Yecheng, with Guo Tu and Xin Ping in the middle; Yuan Mai also took Zhang He, Tian Feng, and Fu Zhi to lead 500 people from the headquarters to mix in the team.

Yuan Tan's camp is only three or four miles away from the city gate, and he comes to the east gate without a stick of incense, only to see the drawbridge pulled up, the city gate is closed, the banners on the city wall are all over, the soldiers are numerous, and the defense is strict.

"Bold Yuan Shang, my father fell off the horse for no reason, and I, as the heir, came to visit my father, how dare you close the city gate and turn me and my fourth brother away? Could it be that you are the one who caused the harm to my father? ”

Seeing that Yuan Shang had already prepared, Yuan Tan urged the horse to come out of the ranks and scolded under the city.

Yuan Shang peeked out from the city wall and scolded back: "I think you are the wolf ambition, since you claim to have come to visit your father, why did you bring heavy troops?" It's clearly ill-intentioned! It's really beyond my power to plan to bring troops into the city, if I hadn't seen my father's face, believe it or not, I would have sent troops to destroy you immediately? ”

"Speak wildly, you have the ability to go down to the city and fight me for three hundred rounds!"

Listening to Yuan Shang's disdainful remarks, Yuan Tan was furious, shouting loudly, his face was full of anger, and he looked like he couldn't behead Yuan Shang under the horse.

Seeing that the two were arguing, Yuan Mai hid behind without saying a word to watch the excitement, quarreling if he loved to quarrel, fighting if he wanted to fight, and he was happy to reap the benefits of the fisherman.

Guo Tu rode out of the queue and bowed his hand to Yuan Shang in the city and said: "The third prince is above, Guo Tu is polite!" You are brothers, so why do you force each other so much? The lord fell from his horse and fell unconscious, and the prince closed the city gate tightly, not letting me wait to enter the city to visit, but I was afraid that it would not make sense, right? ”

Since Guo Tuxiao is reasonable, Yuan Shang is also embarrassed to scold, and hugged his wrist on the city wall and said: "Mr. Gongze, my father is seriously injured and unconscious, Jizhou can't be left without an owner for a day, Shang is the assassin of Jizhou, and it is not wrong to replace his father as the state pastor, right?" Besides, I, the acting general, was also ordered by the imperial court, and it was only for a period of time, and when my father woke up, he would eventually return the seal ribbon to him, but Yuan Tan killed my messenger, and he was guilty of rebellion, but he turned around and beat me and slandered me for having bad intentions, which is really unreasonable! ”

"Shang Gongzi is going to be angry, and the eldest prince is just angry for a while, please open the city gate, let me and others enter the city, and pay homage to the lord!"

Seeing that Yuan Shang had iron teeth and bronze teeth, and was able to speak well, Xin Ping also urged the horse to come out of the ranks, bowed his hand, and defended Yuan Tan for a few words, hoping to open the city gate and go in to see Yuan Shao before making plans.

Yuan Shang returned the salute to Xin Ping and said loudly: "Mr. Zhongzhi, I'm sorry, it's not that Yuan Shang doesn't sell your face, but Yuan Tan Chen Bing is under the city, and his intentions are ill; If it weren't for my view of the face of you and Mr. Gongze, I would have sent troops down to the city a long time ago, and killed all of your Qingzhou soldiers without leaving a piece of armor! ”

"Thou hast spoken wildly, but thou hast opened the gates of the city and come down to fight me in a great battle? Those who dare not come to fight are cowards, hand over the general's seal as soon as possible! ”

Yuan Tan was immediately enraged by Yuan Shang's arrogance, scolded loudly, and even beckoned his subordinates to bring him bows and arrows, and wanted to shoot Yuan Shang down the city with his own hands.

"Lu Kuang, Lu Xiang, order 30,000 horses for me, and go down to the city to fight him!"

Yuan Shang was also angered by Yuan Tan. turned around and beckoned the Lu brothers to send troops, preparing to go down to the city to share the victory with Yuan Tan.

Or judge Lao Cheng seriously, and hurriedly stopped Yuan Shang's impulsive move: "Don't be angry, don't be angry, let him take advantage of his tongue, anyway, now the general's seal is in our hands, and there is an edict from the Son of Heaven, you are the rightful master of Hebei Hebei." No matter how much he roars and scolds, Yuan Tan can't change this fact, and if he takes the initiative to send troops to fight, he will fall into the mouth! ”

"What Zhengnan said is extremely true, Gongzi doesn't have to be angry with Yuan Tan!"

Feng Ji next to him also agreed with the judge's opinion: "Look how smart Yuan Mai is." Hiding in the crowd all the time and not talking! Gongzi or Yuan Tan took the initiative to use force first. It is morally untenable, but finds itself in a disadvantageous position. ”

The judge agreed: "What Yuan Tu said is extremely true, Shang Gongzi only needs to act according to the previous plan and tell Yuan Tan and Yuan Mai. If they really came to see the Lord. A maximum of 200 people can be brought into the city. Otherwise, it is ill-intentioned, without a father and a mother. If they ride into the city, let them be arrested. Imprisoned in prison, so that you can easily control Qingzhou and Bingzhou! ”

"Thank you two gentlemen for your teachings!"

Yuan Shang nodded, indicating that he knew it in his heart, suppressed his anger, stood at the head of the city and shouted loudly: "Yuan Tan and Yuan Mai under the city listen well, my father fell from his horse and fell into a coma, and the people of Yecheng are all sad." Both of you have brought troops into the country, and your intentions are unpredictable; If you still have your father in your hearts, go into the city to visit his old man; But if you want to lead your troops into the city, you can't think about it, you can only bring 200 guards at most, otherwise you will spend it under the city! ”

After finishing speaking, he shook his cloak and went down to the city with the trial and the discipline; Instructed the Lu brothers to guard the city, and if Yuan Tan really dared to attack the city, he would shoot arrows indiscriminately, so that they could taste the power of the Jizhou soldiers.

Yuan Tan scolded under the city for a while, and when he saw that Yuan Shang was nowhere to be found, he couldn't help but be greatly discouraged, turned his head and asked Guo Tu and Xin Comment: "This must be the idea of the two of them, what can I do?" ”

Guo Tu thought for a while: "Yecheng is now a tiger's den in Longtan, if you don't let the troops, you must not enter the city; Since Yuan has not yet opened the city gate, I will go into the city to see what the lord's injuries are, and whether they are really caused by falling from a horse? ”

"Well, that's it, I'll retire back to the camp for the time being, and wait for your news!"

Yuan Tan nodded in agreement with Guo Tu's opinion, turned his head and glanced at Yuan Mai behind him, and asked, "What does the fourth brother mean?" Are you going to go into the city yourself, or will you send someone to take your place? ”

The breeze blew, and the white scarf that Yuan bought swayed in the wind, looking calm and relaxed: "Since you have come to the city, you naturally want to go into the city to visit your father, and my brother doesn't dare to enter the city, so let the younger brother go!" ”

"Okay, the fourth brother really has the guts!"

Yuan Tan was secretly happy in his heart, and stretched out a thumbs up to Yuan Mai to praise him, but he was secretly calculating in his heart that if Yuan Mai was arrested by Yuan Shang after entering the city, he could catch the charge and justifiably call on people and horses from all over Hebei to attack Yuan Shang on the grounds of usurping power and seizing the throne and killing his brothers. And in the name of avenging Yuan Mai, you can pull the people from the state over, which is really a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!

"But I need to go back to the camp first to make arrangements, and I'm going to leave for the time being!"

Yuan Mai bowed his hand to Yuan Tanyi, beat his horse back to the camp, followed by Fu Zhu, Tian Feng, Zhang He and others, and five hundred white feathers rode west and returned to the camp of the Bingzhou army.

After a while, the group returned to the camp and gathered to discuss.

Zhang He was the first to speak, and said with a heavy face: "Yuan Shang has been guarding the city with heavy troops, and he has shown his bad intentions, according to my opinion, the prince should not enter the city, and he should send someone to enter the city to visit the lord in place of you like the eldest son; If Yuan Hao, Gong and the two are unwilling to enter the city, Zhang He is willing to go into the city instead of Gongzi! ”

"Huh...... Might as well as not! ”

Yuan Mai stroked the beard with a sparse chin, and looked confident: "Although Junyi can rest assured, even if Yecheng is a tiger's den in Longtan at this moment, he Yuan Shang will not dare to do anything to me, I will definitely be able to retreat when I enter the city this time." Besides, as a son of man, his father was seriously ill and in danger, but he didn't dare to visit the city, leaving a laughing stock! ”

He nodded in approval and said with a smile: "Gongzi is not only bold, but his judgment is far better than Yuan Tan's. In my opinion, going to Yecheng here can not only return safely, but also earn a good reputation as a filial son, dwarfing Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang! ”

Zhou Cang has been following Yuan Mai inch by inch today, and he has a lot of feelings about the swords of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang brothers; At this moment, seeing that Yuan Mai insisted on entering the city, and the frustrated military advisor was also in favor of letting Gongzi take risks, he immediately shouted against it: "This Yuan Shang is uneasy and kind, and he clearly set up a Hongmen banquet, and Gongzi can't enter the city!" ”

"Huh...... Although Yuan Fu is relieved, if Yuan Tan and the fourth prince enter the city together, it is very likely to be plotted by Yuan Shang. But Yuan Tan was hiding outside the city, so Yuan Shang didn't dare to act rashly! With a smile on his face, he took the tea and moistened his throat.

Zhou Cang still looked puzzled: "What kind of truth is this, why don't I understand?" Why is it dangerous for you to enter the city with the eldest son, but it is safe to enter the city alone? ”

"Haha...... Zhou Heiniu, it seems that your head is really stupid, isn't it pretending? ”

Zhu Gongdao stretched out his big palm like a fan and patted it on Zhou Cang's shoulder, "Mr. Gong and Mr. have analyzed it so clearly?" Don't you understand? If the two sons enter the city together, Yuan Shang will have no scruples and can do whatever he wants. But if Yuan Tan didn't enter the city, Yuan Shang would throw a rat trap, and he didn't dare to be unfavorable to the buyer, for fear that Yuan Tan would catch the handle and fall into a moral disadvantage, I explain it like this, do you understand? ”

"Hehe...... Zhou Cang scratched his swarthy head and laughed: "I understand, this time I really understand!" ”

Having said that, but Yuan Mai didn't dare to be careless, in case this Yuan still didn't play his cards according to common sense, desperately arrested himself, or directly killed himself, then the organ had mistaken Qingqing's life, and he must do a good job!

"Wang Ziquan, you selected two hundred soldiers from the team, and Zhu Gongdao and Zhou Cang, and followed me and Mr. Gong and Mr. into the city together!"

Yuan Mai put on his armor and gave an order to Wang Shuang.

"The last general commands!"

Wang Shuang agreed, went out of the camp with Zhu Gongdao, and selected elite soldiers.

Zhang He said sincerely: "Let's let He go into the city with his son, and leave the prince to lead the soldiers and horses behind!" ”

Yuan Mai decisively raised his hand and rejected Zhang He's proposal: "No, although we are calculating like this, we must also prepare for the worst and be prepared for the worst in order to be invincible." If Yuan Shang really detains me in the city desperately, I will lead my retinue to kill the city and forcibly lower the drawbridge. When the time comes, you will lead the troops to pick us up from the city, and in terms of the ability to command the troops, Wang Shuang is far inferior to you, so if we are trapped, you will have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of attacking and rescuing the city! ”

Only then did Zhang He understand Yuan Mai's intentions, and said convincingly: "The son is thoughtful, and Zhang He can't do it!" If Yuan Shang dares to act rashly, I will definitely swear to break the city and rescue my son! (To be continued......)