Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1168: Madman
Huang Zu, along with a group of military officers and officials, stood at the dock in Xiling City to welcome Yuan Xi's fleet.

Soon, a fleet was seen approaching from afar. It crossed the layers of fortified waterways, finally entered the city through the water gate, and docked at the pier.

Xiling was Huang Zu's new seat of government in Jiangxia. His previous seat was Xiakou. Huang Zu defended it for more than ten years under the attacks of Sun Jian, Sun Ce and Sun Quan, causing huge losses to the Sun family.

But later, as Jiangdong grew stronger, the offensive on Xiakou became more and more fierce, and Huang Zu could no longer hold it, so he had to retreat to Xiling. After that, Xiakou changed hands back and forth between several forces, and finally fell into the hands of Yuan Xi.

Huang Zu was happy to see this happen. After all, even if he took Xiakou back from Yuan Xi, he would still have to send soldiers to guard it, and then he would have to face the attack from the State of Wu. Now that Yuan Xi was helping him guard this gate, Huang Zu, who had been beaten by two generations of the Sun family and had lost his temper, was more than happy to have Yuan Xi.

Because Jiangxia is located right at the junction of the three kingdoms of Jin, Wei and Wu, all Huang Zu has to consider now is to guard the three-acre land in Jiangxia. He will be satisfied if he can keep his life.

The large ship slowly approached the shore and the planks were lowered. The first to come down were dozens of Yuan Xi's personal Tiger Guards. They were all tall and strong, carrying long swords on their heads and wearing bright armor. In the sunlight, they were so dazzling that the Jiangxia officials present were dazzled.

Ming Guang Armor appeared in the late Han Dynasty. It was originally named after the two smoothly polished armor plates on the chest. After being improved in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was perfected in the Tang Dynasty.

The manufacturing technology level in Yuan Xi's territory is now very high. Grinding and polishing are no longer done by hand, but by water- and steam-driven grinding wheels. Therefore, the efficiency of polishing armor plates has been greatly improved. The Tiger Guards around him are all equipped with armor with more than a dozen large armor plates in front and back.

This kind of armor not only has ceremonial majesty, but also can limit the enemy's vision when fighting. It can be said to be both beautiful and practical.

When Huang Zu looked closely, he saw the Jin soldiers split into two rows and made way for the middle passage. Then he saw two young men walking down from the boat, one in front and one behind. The man in front was tall, walked like a dragon or a tiger, wore light chain mail, had a handsome face, and although he looked less than 30 years old, he looked quite weathered and majestic.

The person following behind was extremely young, no more than twenty years old, with a clear and refined appearance, and wearing a crane cloak over a light lapel armor.

Huang Zu had received the news earlier and guessed that this should be the rumored fierce tiger Yuan Xi and his military advisor Lu Xun, so he hurriedly led the generals forward, bowed slightly and said: "Your Highness Huang Zu, I greet the King of Jin."

His generals followed suit and paid their respects, because Huang Zu had nominally pledged his loyalty to Yuan Xi in exchange for protection against the states of Wei and Wu.

It was also the first time that Yuan Xi met Huang Zu. He saw that Huang Zu had a big beard, broad shoulders and a sturdy body. He did not look like a civil official, but rather a military general. He took Lu Xun forward and said to Huang Zu with a smile, "This is the first time I have seen the face of the envoy. He is indeed worthy of being a fierce general of Jiangxia. He can make two generations of the Sun family suffer a setback, which shows the ability of the envoy to command the army."

Huang Zu quickly said a few words of humility and introduced the people behind him to Yuan Xi one by one. When Yuan Xi saw that a civil servant was absent-mindedly playing with something in his sleeve, he bowed perfunctorily when he heard himself being introduced.

When Yuan Xi heard the name, he realized that this person was the legendary Ni Heng. He couldn't help but feel happy. Jingzhou had been at war all the time, and Huang Zu's situation was even more difficult than in later generations, so somehow Ni Heng survived.

Ni Heng raised his head and saw Yuan Xi looking at him with a smile on his face. He couldn't help but wonder, it seemed that he had never offended this legendary ferocious tiger?
It is no wonder that a madman like Ni Heng would have doubts in his heart. Even the brave generals in Cao's camp would be worried when they heard of Yuan Xi's reputation, not to mention the officials in Jiangxia.

But Ni Heng immediately thought of something and became furious, and he couldn't help but snort coldly.

This scared the Jiangxia officials greatly. They had always known that Ni Heng suffered from mania. Even when he didn't have an attack, he would scold even Huang Zu when he had one. It was truly a miracle that he could live until now. Now he behaved in such a manner when meeting Yuan Xi. Was he afraid that he didn't want to live?
Yuan Xi was about to turn around and talk to other people, but he saw that Ni Heng seemed to be dissatisfied with him. In this position, he rarely got angry with ordinary officials, but he was also very interested in Ni Heng's inexplicable anger, so he turned around and asked: "Have I done anything to make Zhengping dissatisfied?"

Huang Zu was also a bit mean. He had been scolded by Ni Heng several times, and he had been feeling a bit upset. Seeing Yuan Xi asking questions, he took the opportunity to instigate, "Zhengping's literary talent and poetry are both outstanding. With such talent, I occasionally behave in a way that is not worthy of respect. I hope the King of Jin will not be offended."

After hearing this, Ni Heng rolled his eyes and looked up, seeking even more death.

Yuan Xi smiled. In his current position, he would lose his dignity if he argued with Ni Heng, so he walked away and said casually, "Zhengping's Parrot Poem is said to have profound meaning and exquisite words. If I have time, I will ask for your advice. I hope you will be generous with your advice."

Ni Heng was stunned. He had just written this poem not long ago and even Huang Zu hadn't seen it. How did the other party know about it?
Seeing Yuan Xi walking away without paying any attention to him, he suddenly couldn't hold back his words and shouted, "Did the king marry Kong Wenju's daughter as a concubine?"

"If Lord Wen Ju were still alive, would he allow his daughter to marry someone else as a concubine?"

"Your Majesty, what you are doing is no different from that of an animal."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present turned pale and moved away from Ni Heng. Even Huang Zu took a step back, thinking, isn't this courting death?

Yuan Xi stopped and said with a smile: "I forgot that Wen Jugong is your sponsor, so you should speak up for him."

"I also heard that with your talent, the world only admires Wen Jugong and Yang Dezu (Yang Xiu)?"

Ni Heng cursed in a fit of rage. As soon as he said that, he thought he would die today. However, the tiger did not get angry. Instead, it seemed to know him well. He felt like he had punched cotton. He could only say angrily, "Mr. Wen Ju was killed by Cao Cao and died for his country. This is a great injustice between heaven and earth. Is it appropriate for Your Majesty to treat his family like this?"

Yuan Xi said calmly, "I didn't want to tell anyone about this, but I and his family went through the six rituals to formally marry Wen Jugong's daughter. Now she is his wife, and her status is no different from other aristocratic families' first wives." "Besides, you probably don't know that I have already sent people to dig up Wen Jugong's body and reburied it in the ancestral land of Qingzhou."

Ni Heng was speechless after hearing this, and could only bow and say, "Your Majesty has done a good job in handling the affairs of Wen Jugong after his death. I admire you very much, and I apologize for my crime."

Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao in the Huaicheng Rebellion, and his body had been buried in Huaicheng until recently when Yuan Xi sent people to sneak into Huaicheng, dig out the coffin, and send it to the Kong family's ancestral land for burial. So even with Ni Heng's arrogance, he could not say anything about this.

Yuan Xi's move was to fulfill his previous promise. He had learned from Cao Cao in Youzhou before and had a private army that specialized in tomb robbing, but they only dug up the tombs of the Huns.

This was done in the beginning because the Southern Xiongnu liked to bury Han girls with them, so Yuan Xi had no pressure to dig them up. Later, after he conquered Bingzhou, he strictly prohibited burying people with them, and after severely punishing several Xiongnu chiefs, this habit was finally stopped.

These tomb-robbing private soldiers then switched careers to work as spies in the Procuratorate. It was they who were responsible for rescuing Empress Fu.

Moreover, they played a very important role over the years. Not only were the bodies of Kong Rong and others found and brought out by them, but later on, in order to cover up their tracks, they disguised themselves as tomb robbers near Xudu and robbed and destroyed many tombs on a large scale, including the tomb of Empress Fu.

This matter was suggested by Lu Xun. When he first heard that Yuan Xi had sent people to rescue Empress Fu, he immediately thought of Yuan Xi and pointed out that there were hidden dangers in this matter. If Cao Cao sent people to dig up the grave and examine the body, wouldn't it expose Yuan Xi's insider information?
After hearing this, Yuan Xi came to his senses and immediately sent these spies to Xudu. They disguised themselves as tomb robbers and destroyed a number of tombs. They also completely destroyed Empress Fu's tomb, leaving no evidence.

Later, Yuan Xi received information that Cao Ying had indeed sent people to excavate Empress Fu's coffin for an autopsy, but they naturally returned empty-handed.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. He understood that this matter would sooner or later become a suspicious point. He could only hope that Cao Cao would die soon so that the matter would slowly be uncovered.

Huang Zu saw that Ni Heng had learned his lesson, so he came over and led Yuan Xi to the city, saying with a smile: "Your Majesty, don't bother with this lunatic. Jiangxia is a mountainous place. If you stay there for too long, everyone will have the habits of a wild man."

Yuan Xi was happy. As he walked, he said, "I think Jiangxia is full of talented people."

"Besides, Xingba is already the commander-in-chief of my navy. Without him, it would be difficult for me to deal with the Wu Kingdom."

Huang Zu took Yuan Xi a few steps and saw that all the officials were behind him. He couldn't help but ask secretly, "Did the king...really marry the widow of Marquis Sun?"

Seeing Huang Zu's gossipy look, Yuan Xi could only nod helplessly. Huang Zu couldn't help laughing, "Your Majesty is such a wonderful person. I admire you so much."

"I have been oppressed and beaten by the Sun family for more than ten years. I didn't expect that the king would vent his anger for me in this way. It's really satisfying!"

Yuan Xi looked helpless. It really wasn't his intention at first!

However, the more he explained, the worse it got. He was too lazy to explain and could only change the subject: "Among the generals just now, I didn't see Lieutenant General Huang Hansheng. I'm very interested in him. Can I meet him?"

Huang Zu didn't expect Yuan Xi to suddenly mention Huang Zhong. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized, "He was blocking Cao's army at the Han River west of Xiling, so why didn't he come with us?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to...?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Let's be frank. All my generals have been transferred to Jizhou. This time we will attack the coalition forces of Liu Cong and Cao Cao, and I need a general to serve as the vanguard."

"I think General Huang is a very suitable person, and he is related to my military advisor Kong Ming, so I feel at ease using him."

"If you make it difficult for me, I am willing to exchange a city for it."

Yuan Xi naturally would not tell Huang Zu how powerful Huang Zhong was, so he used Zhuge Liang as an excuse. Huang Zu was very receptive to this statement and suddenly said, "Jiangxia can hold on until now, all thanks to the king's protection. How dare I ask for the city?"

"I can send all the soldiers and generals that Your Majesty needs, not to mention Huang Hansheng alone!"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "This is the first time I will accept your kindness!"

He was also happy in his heart. Wei Yan and Huang Zhong were both capable of standing on their own and guarding a region. Now they had achieved success unexpectedly. Especially Wei Yan, who had made great achievements in several battles. Even Lu Xun admired his talent.

At that moment, everyone entered the city, and Huang Zu set up a banquet to entertain them. During the banquet, someone suggested that Ni Heng beat the drum.

(End of this chapter)