Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1132 Surprise
When Lu Xun heard the other party introduce himself, he had no reaction, because Yuan Xi had never mentioned this name to him.

The reason for this is that, as the governor of Jianghuai, Lu Xun has not been idle in recent years and has been involved in all military affairs. Even if Yuan Xi wanted to recruit talents, he would not specifically ask Lu Xun to do it.

On the other hand, in Yuan Xi's eyes, Wei Yan was considered a talent in the middle period of the Three Kingdoms period. His name appeared in history books after 213 AD, which was still ten years away from now. Therefore, Yuan Xi did not expect to find Wei Yan in this period, so he did not discuss it with Lu Xun.

Lu Xun asked Wei Yan a few more questions and found out that he was not from a noble family. Although he was familiar with military affairs, he was obviously not qualified to be a general in marching and fighting.

He originally wanted to send Wei Yan to guard the city for a few years and start as a junior officer, but suddenly he remembered that he still needed a guard, so he asked Wei Yan: "How is your martial arts?"

Wei Yan said, "I know a little bit of boxing and kicking."

Lu Xun pointed at the two guards in the hall and said, "Try it?"

Wei Yan did not respond, but immediately bowed, walked to the courtyard outside the hall, and said to the two guards, "Please come in."

When the officials and generals in the hall saw this, they all looked over with great interest. They had been talking for a long time and were already a little tired, so they were naturally happy to see that there were some entertainment programs.

The two guards took off their sword sheaths and were discussing who would go first. Wei Yan said, "The commander-in-chief wants you two to go together, right?"

One of the guards laughed dumbly, "Since we can be guards, we must be the best in the army. Do you really think you can beat both of us at the same time?"

It's no wonder that this guard is so arrogant. Those who can become the guard of Shouchun official residence are all masters who have defeated countless opponents. Even if it is a sparring match, if the opponent is too heavy-handed, the opponent's life may be in danger.

The Wei Yan on the opposite side had rough hands and feet and did not look like an expert at all. He came up to challenge the two men without knowing his own limitations and might die without even knowing how.

Wei Yan acted calmly and said, "It's okay. I've also taken lives when I was in the army. Just be careful and don't get hurt."

As soon as he said this, the two guards became angry and sneered, "What a big tone!"

"Since you are so confident, we won't be polite. Watch out!"

Before he finished speaking, two men rushed up from the left and right and attacked Wei Yan's arms on both sides.

A man swayed a few times, leaving a shadow, and was already three feet in front of Wei Yan. Then he suddenly punched Wei Yan's temple. The sound of the sleeves raised by the punch was as imposing as wind and thunder.

His punch was extremely powerful, and the strong wind created by the fist caused Wei Yan's eyes to narrow slightly.

That’s not all. This person has his other hand hidden behind his back, clenched into a tiger claw. If Wei Yan blocks his right fist next, the tiger claw of his left hand can take advantage of the situation to grab Wei Yan’s arm and buckle his joints!
The other person, on the other hand, had already circled to the side of Wei Yan. Unlike his companions who were moving in a loud and majestic manner, his footsteps were very light, almost silent. Seeing that Wei Yan's attention was all on his companions, he turned around, kicked up and kicked out close to the ground.

His toes were slightly pointed upwards, and his heel was like an iron spike, rubbing diagonally at the sole of Wei Yan's foot. If this kick was strong enough, a large piece of flesh would be rubbed off from Wei Yan's foot!
Several generals in the hall were knowledgeable and nodded repeatedly when they saw this. They thought that even if they went down, they could only avoid the limelight temporarily. If they were present, they might not even be able to see the two guards' back-up killing moves and would suffer a great loss.

Wei Yan was not in a hurry. He had an idea as soon as he saw it. He took a step forward, took a big step, and came in front of the guard.

This step was so huge that it almost snatched the guard's arms. Not only did his kick miss, but it also frustrated his spirit. How could the opponent break into his empty goal so easily?
He didn't have time to think, and subconsciously locked his arms horizontally across his chest, just in time to block Wei Yan's hook punch towards his chin.

But then there was a loud cracking sound, and the huge impact force dislocated his joints, and his whole body flew upwards. Before he could remember to change his body shape, he was kicked in the lower abdomen, flew sideways, and fell heavily to the ground.

The guard wanted to stand up, but after struggling for a few times, he suffered from unbearable pain in his abdomen and could hardly move. He was so angry that he lay on the ground and punched the ground hard, feeling extremely depressed.

The guard who was punching suddenly felt his eyes blurry, and the next moment he saw Wei Yan had left his attack range. In just two breaths, he saw Wei Yan knocking down his companion in front of him. He couldn't help but become alert, as he was famous for his swift steps, but the opponent easily jumped out of his attack circle!

Seeing that his companions were too weak to fight anymore, the guard roared like a tiger and rushed towards Wei Yan. Before he arrived, his two fists were like two hammers, smashing hard on Wei Yan's vest.

At this time, Wei Yan had just retracted his feet, and his body posture had not yet fully recovered. Seeing that the guard's fist was only half a foot away from hitting his vest, Wei Yan lunged forward and leaped forward diagonally.

When the guard saw Wei Yan trying to escape, he subconsciously jumped forward and punched the other party with both fists. However, the next moment, the guard felt darkness in front of his eyes, and could not see anything.

He waved his arms twice, and then his body collapsed to the ground. He barely sat on the ground, waving his arms, and had no idea what was happening. Qin Yi and other generals on the scene saw clearly that Wei Yan's body was diagonally thrown out, but only the upper body moved, while the lower body remained in place. At the same time, his feet drew an arc backwards, and his heels kicked out in the direction of his back.

The kick hit the guard right on the chin, making him lose his ability to fight.

Qin Yi and the others were knowledgeable and saw that the opponent's kick was similar to a sudden attack on the battlefield. They couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines, because if they were to take over, they would not be sure of defending themselves against this extremely insidious killing move!
However, Wei Yan obviously held back. If he had not held back, the two guards would have been killed long ago.

Qin Yi and others felt doubtful. How could a man like Wei Yan have been in the army for so many years and still be a small sergeant?
Lu Xun obviously saw it too, and said, "Even if the Jingzhou Army is not good at judging people, they shouldn't let you waste time in this position of leader. I'm afraid there is something else going on, right?"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "In some battles, the military achievements were taken by people with backgrounds."

"I have a bad temper and offended many people. No one spoke up for me. Finally, I was so angry that I killed the person who stole my credit and fled to the mountains to hide."

When everyone heard this, they thought, "So that's what it is." They couldn't help but look at Lu Xun to see how he would deal with it.

Because even if Wei Yan's words were true, killing peers was an extremely taboo thing. If you keep such an unstable factor, who knows what kind of thing he will do one day?
Lu Xun had the same idea in his mind, and subconsciously wanted to send Wei Yan away, but thinking of his extraordinary martial arts, it would be a pity to send him away like this, so he changed his mind and said, "I will go to the border of Yanzhou and Xuzhou soon, but I still need a vanguard. However, this journey is dangerous, do you dare to go?"

Wei Yan did not hesitate any more, clasped his fists and said, "I will go."

Lu Xun nodded, but Wei Yan said, "I have another favor to ask of you."

Lu Xun said, “You say.”

Wei Yan said: "I would like to take out a year's money and food and send it to my mother in Tongbai Mountain, so that she will not starve to death after I die."

Lu Xun smiled and said, "My Jin State is a country of benevolence and justice. All the families of soldiers who died in battle will receive compensation, which is enough to support them. Don't worry."

Wei Yan had held his head high from beginning to end, and then he bowed slightly, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief. I will remember your kindness."

Lu Xun didn't care and said, "Okay, you go to the military camp and wait, and I will go with you in two days."

Two days later, Lu Xun set out from Shouchun with his fleet and sailed along the Huai River towards Xuzhou. When he set out, he probably had no idea how much trouble he would encounter next.

In Yecheng, Cao Cao stood up in surprise and said, "Yizhou has been taken?"

Xun You and others could not hide their joy and congratulated in unison.

No wonder everyone in Cao’s camp was so surprised that they captured Yizhou more than a year earlier than the best expected case scenario!

Previously, Cao Cao went to attack Yizhou because he had no choice but to pick on the weak. After all, there were not many places left in the world that he could occupy. The territory of Jiangdong was not connected, and the people of Liangzhou were tough and suitable for appeasement. If it were not for the occupation, the remaining Yuan Xi and Liu Bei would be like hedgehogs, difficult to fight and easy to get hurt by them.

Cao Cao knew that his territory lacked stamina. If he continued to fight with Yuan Xi, he would be the first to collapse. So he set his sights on the treasuries of Jingzhou and Yizhou, which had not seen a major war for ten years. Yizhou in particular was said to have accumulated wealth from Shu for hundreds of years. Even if he took half of it as military expenses, it could support Cao's army for two or three more years!
But this move was undoubtedly very risky, mobilizing tens of thousands of troops and spending huge amounts of money and food. It might also be taken advantage of by the enemy, just like Yuan Xi is now seizing this opportunity to go to war with Cao Cao.

If Yizhou could not be captured, Cao Cao would be in great trouble, so he was under great pressure before. Now that Yizhou had been captured in advance, it not only freed up Cao Cao's military strength, but also gained a huge amount of wealth. By capturing Chengdu, he opened up Liu Biao's rear passage in southern Jing.

Next, whether Liu Biao lives or dies, taking over Jingzhou is a foregone conclusion!

Cao Cao was delighted and laughed heartily, "Miaocai really lived up to my trust!"

It’s no wonder that Cao Cao was happy. For some reason, his feelings for Xiahou were even stronger than those for Cao.

Now that Xiahou Dun has defeated Zhang He in Jizhou, he has gained military merit and prestige and has stabilized his position. Xiahou Yuan has also won the merit of capturing Xichuan. The status of these two people in the court will be greatly improved in the future, which will be of great help to Cao Cao in entrusting his son to assist the court after he selects a crown prince.

Zhong Yao said, "Liu Zhang surrendered so quickly because of General Xiahou's good leadership, but it is also amazing that Zhongda has made many contributions at such a young age."

(End of this chapter)