Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 404
Tai Shici asked to take Lu Ji across the river as a hostage, but of course the Lu clan would not allow him to do so. When the two sides were in a stalemate, Lu Xun proposed to replace Lu Ji himself.

As soon as this remark came out, although the members of the Lu family felt that it was inappropriate, for them, they had no choice. After all, Lu Ji was the real head of the family, and Lu Xun would give up the position of head of the family sooner or later. We already met each other, so we may not be treated harshly after crossing the river.

Lu Ji was still pondering and hesitating, but Tai Shici had already turned his head and said to the left and right guards: "In that case, tie him up and send him to Jiangbei now!"

Amidst the faint protests from the Lu family members, Lu Ji watched helplessly as several personal guards came up, tied up Lu Xun, and escorted him into the carriage.

Tai Shici waved his two halberds, "Guangling is recruiting officials, do you still want to follow across the river and find an official position?"

Everyone secretly slandered, with you like this, I'm afraid it's a good chance not to be locked up in prison when you arrive in Jiangbei, right?

At this time, a young man came out and wanted to leave with Lu Ji. Everyone looked closely, but it was Lu Xun's younger brother Lu Hao. He had just stepped forward when Lu Xun's voice came from the carriage, "You stay here."

After hearing this, Lu Mao didn't dare to disobey, so he just stood there.

Seeing that no one came out from the Lu family, Tai Shici ordered the soldiers to drive the carriage, and headed towards the pier under the complicated eyes of the Lu clan.

The carriage rushed all the way to the pier, and there was already a large ship waiting there. The soldiers on the deck were armed with spears and short knives, and wore leather armor.

Tai Shici ordered someone to bring Lu Xun aboard, followed him onto the deck, and called the soldiers to set off.

On the river in the distance, Sun Ce's navy had already defeated Liu Yao's navy, and they retreated to the pier and dared not come out.

The warships of Sun Ce's navy were showing off their power on the river. When they saw the warship Taishici sailing out of Qu'a Wharf, two warships of Sun Ce's navy came out to intercept it.

The two warships were light and fast, and they rushed to the shooting spot behind Taishi Ci's warship, the soldiers above bent their bows and set up arrows, ready to shoot at this place, and the soldiers on Taishici's side also bent their bows and set up arrows, Always be ready to fight back.

When Tai Shici saw it, he walked to the stern, took out the big bow on his back, aimed at the mast of a warship in front of him, drew the bow and shot with a whoosh.

With a bang, the rope tied to the sail of the battleship in front was cut by an arrow, and the huge sail fell down, covering the deck, and the soldiers and sailors on it suddenly shouted and ran, in a state of confusion.

This time the two warships did not dare to approach, so the Taishici warship took the opportunity to fully sail and headed for Guangling Wharf.

Tai Shici met the reverent eyes of the soldiers, and walked down the deck. In the cabin, Lu Xun's hands had been untied, and there was no sign of embarrassment on his face.

When Tai Shici saw him, he said to Lu Xun, "Bo Yan is very courageous."

"Aren't you afraid that the Lu family and the young master will become enemies in the future, and you will be implicated?"

After hearing this, Lu Xun said calmly, "If the fierce tiger were this kind of person, he wouldn't be so loyal to the general."

Tai Shici was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Actually, I'm persecuting the Lu family this time. Boyan actually has a way to deal with it, right?"

"Why is Boyan willing to be a hostage?"

After hearing this, Lu Xun replied, "Because I want to meet the fierce tiger in person."

"Isn't the general persecuting the Lu family just to get my service?"

"I don't know why the fierce tiger values ​​me so much that the general uses such means, so I'm curious."

Tai Shici laughed and said, "Bo Yan is so young, but he is already so powerful. It's hard to imagine what he will be like ten years from now!"

"Don't worry, Boyan, you won't be disappointed when you see the young master!"

Lu Xun moved the wrists in his sleeves, thinking that the future was uncertain, who knows what will happen in the future, all he can do is to follow the general trend of the world as much as possible.

Inside Huaicheng, Yuan Xi got the news that the emperor's chariot had already left Anyi and would arrive in Huaicheng in a few days.

Cao Cao's army, Lu Bu's army, Youzhou army, Dong Cheng and others jointly protected the emperor's chariot and traveled all the way.

However, Yang Feng, who had fallen out with Cao Cao's army before, did not dare to enter the city due to various reasons. Liu Xie knew that he was timid and did not force him, so he ordered him to station in Liang County.

Yuan Yaojun, who had been spying on the southern part of Huaicheng before, heard that the Emperor's chariot was escorted by the army, and thought he could not fight, so he returned home, and the siege of Huaicheng was finally lifted.

There is also gossip that Han Xian escaped from the city after being defeated by Cao Jun that day, and defected to Yuan Yao when he was desperate.

Yuan Yao's army mobilized many troops and traveled thousands of miles to attack Huaicheng. Not only did they fail to achieve an inch of success, but they also damaged Qiao Rui and thousands of soldiers.

Yuan Xi stood on the top of the city, watching Yuan Yao's army leave the camp, throwing away a lot of supplies and luggage, he was envious in his heart, he really couldn't compare with others.

Yuan Shu claims to have a crowd of 30 people, and there are many heroes in the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River, even faintly surpassing Jizhou. It has to be said that the background is profound. If it weren't for this, Yuan Shu would not have the confidence to call himself emperor.

However, Yuan Xi thought that the higher he climbed, the harder he fell, and Yuan Shu would regret this reckless decision for the rest of his life.

How can the emperor Liu Xie tolerate Yuan Shu's behavior? In order to rectify the prestige of the Han Dynasty, he will definitely issue an imperial edict to order the princes of the world to fight together. , How much flesh can be torn from Yuan Shu's body depends entirely on each person's ability.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi had to admire Cao Cao of the later generations. After Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he occupied the front line closest to Yuan Shu's territory. From Yuzhou to Xuzhou, it was all bordered by Yuan Shu's territory.

In this way, after Yuan Shu's failure, he received the most benefits. At the same time, he married Sun Ce and had a very close relationship with Jiangdong. If Sun Ce hadn't died early, it's hard to say what would happen in the future.

The situation in this world, although better, is not much better.

At that time, Yuan Shu will stand on his own, and all the passages leading to Yuzhou and Yangzhou will be shortcuts for the heroes to share the cake.

On the eastern front, Yuan Xi occupied Guangling in advance, who could assist Liu Bei in Xiapi and threaten Shouchun in Jiujiang at any time.

Although this channel is very narrow, it has taken the lead after all. In the future, it will be a question of how to carve up Jiujiang with Liu Bei.

The northern front is Cao Cao's Yanzhou, which no one can cross, and it is destined to be Cao Cao's only.

And the western front is very problematic.

In Yuan Xi's original conception, Huaicheng was occupied by Lu Bu. With the prestige of the emperor Liu Xie, Lu Bu was able to go out of Hanoi and expand south to the southern part of Sili, thus bordering on the northern part of Yuzhou.

In this way, after Yuan Shu became self-reliant, Lu Bu could invade Yuzhou and take the opportunity to expand.

If the Black Mountain Army is eliminated in the north, the Bingzhou passage is opened, and it is connected to Youzhou, the situation on both sides will be revitalized, and Lu Bu will be able to greatly improve his own strength and reach the point where he can stand up to Cao Cao.

But this expectation was shattered with Liu Xie's appointment of Cao Cao as the captain of Sili to guard the Gyeonggi area, because in this way, Cao Cao could station troops in the south of Huaicheng to prevent Lu Bu's expansion.

In addition, Liu Xie still wants to mediate the Black Mountain Army. If the two sides really stop fighting, the northern passage to Bingzhou will also be blocked.

Huaicheng has the Black Mountain Army in the north, Yuan Shao in the east, and Cao Cao in the south, so they will be suffocated to death in Hanoi.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi sighed in his heart, he had tried his best for Lu Bu, but the general trend of the world does not change with his personal will.

He was in a trance when someone slapped his shoulder hard, causing him to grit his teeth in pain, and then he heard Lu Lingqi say from behind: "Why are you in a daze?"

Yuan Xi turned around and saw Lu Lingqi standing behind wearing a short Hufu jacket that is quite common among people living in the northern borderlands.

Lu Lingqi doesn't like deep clothes for women with limited mobility, but prefers this kind of border folk pastoral clothes that can move quickly, but the weather is getting hotter, this robe looks quite thin and light, and it perfectly complements Lu Lingqi's figure.

Yuan Xi glanced upwards, determined that the robe must have been entangled so many times that the most prominent figure advantage was not revealed, and this slightly flat line was definitely not the one he had personally verified at the beginning.

Lu Lingqi saw that Yuan Xi's gaze was quite rude, and said angrily, "You don't want your head anymore?"

Yuan Xi quickly covered it up and said, "I've lost my mind."

Of course Lu Lingqi didn't believe it, she grabbed Yuan Xi by the collar and shouted, "You're lying!"

"You have dodgy eyes, what else can you think of?"

"If you don't admit it, I'll throw you off the wall!"

Yuan Xi had a headache, and Lu Lingqi's character was indeed forthright, which was very pleasing, but the attack was really not serious.

He sighed: "I told you what I was thinking, but you may not understand it."

"Nonsense!" Lu Lingqi looked skeptical, "Let's hear it!"

Yuan Xi had no choice but to express the worries in his heart one by one as simple as possible, and finally said: "I will return to Youzhou in a few days, but I am worried that if I leave, Marquis Wen will not be able to defeat Cao Cao, and I am afraid that I will be in danger."

Lu Lingqi looked like her brain was down, she tilted her head, shook her head, and then tilted her head again, as if she wanted to pour out the information that was stuffed in her mind.

She was confused for a long time before she managed to understand Yuan Xi's words clearly, and asked in surprise, "You always think about this?"

"I see that you are extremely lustful, and I thought you usually only think about women's thighs and bodies."

Yuan Xi thought to himself, of course I have thought about it, but I am a person who has a lot of progress and can think about many things at the same time, unlike you, who is obviously confused now.

He said, "So I want you to persuade Marquis Wen."

"At the very least, the Black Mountain Passage must be opened. If Cao Cao is in trouble, there will be a way to retreat back to Bingzhou, and we will be able to make a comeback in the future."

Lu Lingqi hesitated: "Can't you stay and help Father?"

Yuan Xi sighed: "I also have my own territory and people."

"The whole world is so big that there is more than one Huaicheng."

He hesitated, "Why don't you come with me."

"If the last rebellion happens again, you may not be able to escape the second time."

Lu Lingqi thought of Qu Yi who died in battle, and said in a low voice, "But I can't abandon Father."

Yuan Xi sighed: "In the current situation, what can you do to help Marquis Wen by staying?"

Lu Lingqi clenched her lips. Yuan Xi's words were hurtful, but she couldn't refute them.

Yuan Xi sighed, stopped talking, and looked to the distance outside the city. In the distance, there were mountains, dense forests, and rivers and streams.

But under the nearby city, there are dilapidated camps everywhere, interspersed with mutilated and rotting corpses of soldiers, and no one cares about them anymore. This ugly scene forms a strong contrast with the beautiful mountains and rivers in the distance.

Great rivers and mountains, I don't know how many times they have to endure the ravages of war before they can restore peace.

Lu Ling was full of sadness. She and Yuan Xi both had something on their minds. They stood side by side at the top of the wall, silently looking into the distance.

The red glow of the setting sun, like the last afterglow of the late Han Dynasty, fell on the two of them. Looking from a distance, it seemed as if they were about to ignite them.

(End of this chapter)