Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 562
After listening to Yuan Xi's words, Qiao Rui showed a look of relief on his face.

Over the past few days, he had vaguely guessed that he was afraid of death, but everyone was afraid of death. He always held on to a glimmer of hope, thinking that he could still be saved. It was not until Yuan Xi spoke so straightforwardly that his last illusion was broken. .

Qiao Rui sighed and smiled bitterly: "How long will it take?"

Yuan Xi told Hua Tuo's prediction, and finally said: "Mr. Yuanhua said that Qiao Gong was treated too late, and now he is seriously ill. He rashly used Dao Gui. He was afraid that Qiao Gong's body would not be able to support himself first, but would worsen earlier." The condition is so serious that the only solution for now is to supplement it with medicine and wait for one day to count."

"In the best case scenario, it should still be delayed for a month or two."

After hearing this, Qiao Rui said with some reluctance: "I thought I could last at least a year and a half, but I didn't expect the time left for me to be so short."

"Forget it, it's God's will. It's time for me to return to Wancheng and make arrangements for my funeral."

Yuan Xi nodded: "I will arrange the ship's manpower now to escort Mr. Qiao from Chaohu Lake through Wanshui River and back to Wancheng."

After hearing this, Qiao Rui cupped her hands in thanks and said, "Rui's lives were given by the Young Master. At that time, I thought that there would be a time to repay the Young Master, but now it seems that it is not possible. I am really ashamed."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said indifferently: "Mr. Qiao is too polite. He said that when my wife was recuperating in the Mansion of Qiao Gong in Wancheng, the two girls took good care of her."

Qiao Rui was startled after hearing this and asked tentatively: "Master, have you seen the dog girl?"

Yuan Xi said: "We met by chance. The two girls of Mr. Qiao were very courageous and wanted to escape by water and go to Shouchun to visit Mr. Qiao."

"But the fighting along the way was dangerous, so I still had the two girls sent back to the house."

He smiled again and said: "Mr. Qiao protects the two girls very well. It is said that they want to come without leaving home, for fear of being coveted, right?"

Qiao Rui sighed: "Isn't this all to protect their safety? Thank you, Master, for protecting them. Otherwise, there would be chaos in the city, and we don't know what would have happened."

He thought for a while and hesitated to speak. Yuan Xi met him and said, "The two ladies and Mrs. Lu get along well with each other. It doesn't matter if Mr. Qiao has anything to say."

"Does Mr. Qiao want to ask about Sun Ce's future?"

"I'm afraid you are thinking that if you die, you will ask him to take care of your family, right?"

Qiao Rui was shocked after hearing this, "Young Master's guess is so accurate. Could it be that he really knows the art of stargazing as rumored?"

Yuan Xi smiled but didn't answer. Seeing this, Qiao Rui said cautiously: "Young Master, please clarify my doubts."

Yuan Xi shook his head, "Actually, I can't say."

"In case I'm not sure, Mr. Qiao will blame me for having ulterior motives."

Qiao Rui said hurriedly: "Rui absolutely has no such intention, please give me some advice!"

Seeing that the bridge was blocked, Yuan Xi was determined and said: "I don't think that Sun Boxu or Zhou Gongjin have longevity."

"Especially Sun Boxu, it is very likely that something will happen within a year or two, but it is also possible that I am wrong. If not, Mr. Qiao will think that I am talking nonsense, so don't take it to heart."

After hearing this, Qiao Rui began to think deeply, and then said: "Can the young master see whether he is good or bad?"

Yuan Xi could only say: "I can't see myself clearly."

Qiao Rui was deep in thought. He leaned on his body and tried to sit up. He bowed to Yuan Xi and said, "Young Master's kindness, Rui must always remember it in her heart."

Yuan Xi quickly supported him and said: "Mr. Qiao is out. There will be war in Hefei soon. It's better to go back to Wancheng as soon as possible to reunite with the two girls."

"I still have something to do in the city. I'm going to arrange the manpower first and help Mr. Qiao pack his bags. Then I'll take my leave."

Qiao Rui cupped her hands and silently watched Yuan Xi say goodbye and leave.

Yuan Xi arrived at the city head and looked at the Chaohu pier in the distance.

Throughout the dynasties, if the North wanted to defeat the South, it could not do so without building ships. , if you want to build ships, you must find a tributary that flows into the Yangtze River, and build ships and train troops on it before you can plot the south.

The Yangtze River is more than [-] miles long, which seems very long, but in fact there are not many places that meet this condition.

One is the Han River originating from Hanzhong and flowing into the Yangtze River from Jiangxia in Jingzhou.

The second is the Han River, which was dug during the Spring and Autumn Period. It leads to Huaiyin in the north, connects the Huaihe River, and connects Guangling and the Yangtze River in the south.

The remaining half is Chaohu Lake, which connects to the Yangtze River through Ruxu Water.

However, because the water source of Chao Lake comes from Shishui, which is not a main river, the water channel is narrow and is not suitable for transporting the wood needed for shipbuilding.

Now, of the two and a half waterways going south, one is in the hands of Liu Biao and the other is in the hands of Yuan Xi, so Zhou Yu's worries are not unfounded.

Yuan Xi was thinking about the war, but unknowingly, the faces of Xiao Qiao appeared in his mind.

He didn't know why he didn't open his mouth to ask Qiao Rui for Xiao Qiao. Although he admitted that he did have a good impression of Xiao Qiao, when the words came to his lips, he still didn't speak, even though he knew that as long as he asked Qiao Rui, Qiao Rui would Nine times out of ten, I will definitely agree.

Maybe it was because he saw that Qiao Rui, as a father, did not hesitate to compromise with Yuan Shu in order to protect and raise his daughter, and even wanted to reunite with his family before he died. This reminded him of his parents who he could never see again, who had already been with Yuan Shu in this life. Yuan Shao, whose relationship with Xi was entangled, deeply touched Yuan Xi.

If I were to say something like "I want to take in your two daughters" in front of Qiao Rui at this time, it would be too much to take advantage of someone's situation, and it would be like a beast.

He retracted his thoughts and looked back at the sky to the north. Under that sky was where Shouchun was.

In today's world, there is not much time left for himself. He must hurry up before everyone else and find ways to get to Shouchun as soon as possible to bring an end to this war that has affected millions of people.

Yuan Shu's efforts to win over various forces failed as expected, because the conditions put forward in the replies from all parties were obviously unacceptable to Yuan Shu.

According to the conditions they proposed, it was obvious that they wanted to devour Yuan Shu's territory and leave him no scraps.

But no one else would think so. They have already defeated the city, why should they join forces with you Yuan Shu?

If you and I join forces to cease the war, will others stop?

Not only will it not happen, but it will become Yuan Shu's shield and bear the brunt of attacks from all sides!
Yuan Yin smiled bitterly. He was still too optimistic. The princes from all sides were clear-eyed and would not be blinded by the temporary benefits.

Yuan Shu sat on the throne and said to everyone with a gloomy face: "Since they look down on me so much, I will never bow to them again!"

“As the head of the Yuan family, I will never disgrace the Yuan family!

"Assemble all the soldiers and horses. I will personally lead the troops and fight them to the death!"

After hearing this, Yuan Yin said anxiously: "Zhong Gong, you can't do that."

"Not to mention that there are no weapons and guns on the battlefield, and no one can prevent accidents from happening. If Zhonggong doesn't personally take charge of Shouchun, the people in the city will be in chaos!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shu said: "Can't you just supervise the country for me?"

Yuan Yin quickly said: "Don't dare to overstep your bounds."

Yuan Shu looked around, pointed at Yuan Yao and said: "You are the prince, and you will supervise the country for me. It is in line with etiquette, so it's settled!"

After hearing this, Yuan Yao quickly accepted the order, with a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

Yuan Yin saw him at the side, but he sighed in his heart. There was no problem with the prince supervising the country, but other problems were big.Yuan Yao did not open a government, nor did he have any direct henchmen. Not only did he not make any military exploits, but he also lost battles, and his prestige was insufficient. Can the ministers really be convinced by allowing him to stay in Shouchun?

But now that the matter has come to this, Yuan Yin has no choice but to say: "Now that various forces are attacking, which one is Zhong Gong going to fight off first?"

At this time, everyone held their breath and concentrated, waiting for Yuan Shu to make a decision. After all, no one attacking Yuan Shu now is a fuel-efficient lamp!

But no matter what, everyone guessed that there was one person Yuan Shu would definitely not dare to fight.

Cao Cao.

When Yuan Shu led his troops to attack Yanzhou, Cao Cao personally led his troops to attack him. As a result, Yuan Shu did not even have the courage to fight and fled with his troops.

Now that Cao Cao is becoming more powerful, Yuan Shu has no courage to attack Cao Cao!

Jizhou Yecheng.

Yuan Shao summoned his counselors to discuss the crusade against Yuan Shu, but Tian Feng stood up in the middle.

When he spoke, his words were astonishing.

"Yuan Shu will perish sooner or later, there is nothing to worry about."

"Now is the best time to attack and destroy Cao Cao!"

"If we mobilize all the soldiers and horses in Jizhou and cross the Yellow River from Dongwuyang to the south, we can directly attack Yanzhou!"

"Now that we have entered autumn and the Yellow River has dried up, it is the time to use our troops!"

As soon as these words came out, all the counselors present looked sideways, and Xun Chen said: "Yuan Hao, at this time, Cao Mengde is ordered by the emperor to attack Yuan Shu. If we sneak attack from behind, wouldn't it be unjust?"

Tian Feng snorted coldly: "What kind of justice is unjust? Cao Cao attacked Yecheng before, so what kind of kindness is there?"

"Now Cao Cao has attacked Yuan Shu and has occupied most of Yuzhou. If he takes over Jianghuai in the future, he can compete with Jizhou on his own. We must not let him become powerful just like this!"

Xin Pi said: "Yuan Hao seems to be very prejudiced against Cao Cao. After all, he is also an ally of the Yuan family. He is always thinking about dealing with his own people. The reputation of the Yuan family in the world for benevolence and righteousness will be greatly damaged. "

Tian Feng snorted coldly: "Everyone knows what benevolence and righteousness are. The reputation of benevolence and righteousness is to attract people's hearts. What is the ultimate purpose of attracting people's hearts?"

"Don't tell me you don't know, the ultimate goal is the world!"

"The battle for the world ultimately depends on strength!"

"Sit back and watch as the power of those with evil intentions grows. Is it possible that they want to surrender this world to others!"

Tian Feng's words were so sharp that everyone present, including Yuan Shao, looked unhappy.

Although this is something that everyone knows very well, do you need to publicize it in a big way?

Xu You sneered in his heart, Tian Feng was a good man in strategy, but he was too quick-tempered and did not understand the ways of the world. He fell into Xin Pi's provocation with just a few words and offended Yuan Shao with his unscrupulous words.

He took the opportunity to say: "Yuan Hao's words are wrong."

"Even if Cao Cao had different intentions, his vitality was severely damaged this time and he is not worthy of being a deer."

"What's more, if three of Yuan's disciples come out together, how can they just sit back and watch Cao Cao succeed in seizing Yuzhou?"

After hearing this, Shen Pei said: "Zheng Nan is right. Now Cao Cao's army is fighting with the main force of Yuan Shu's army and cannot take action."

"And Mr. Xiansi is about to reach Shouchun now. If he can achieve success in one fell swoop, it will be a matter of becoming famous and establishing prestige in the world."

"As long as we send a letter to Mr. Xianyi in Hefei to cooperate, Yuan Shu will be destroyed sooner or later."

As soon as he said these words, Yuan Shao's expression changed a little.

When Xin Pi saw him, he took the opportunity to change the subject and said, "Yuan Hao has similar opinions to Young Master Xian Yi in targeting Cao Mengde. He said that Young Master Xian Yi and Cao Cao had a terrible internal fight before. Could it be that Yuan Hao came up with this idea?" of?"

Tian Feng heard this and said angrily: "It's a fart idea, don't spit on me!"

Seeing that the situation was a little out of control, Yuan Shao frowned and said, "Stop arguing."

When everyone heard this, they immediately became quiet.

If Yuan Xi, who knew the fate of all the counselors in later generations, was present, he would sigh. The situation in front of him was that Tian Feng, who was obviously single-minded, was isolated.

The other counselors, out of various motives, secretly joined forces to dismantle Tian Feng. What they were considering was not the war at all, but the internal affairs of the Yuan family!

Not to mention that Xun Chen, who had always had an ambiguous attitude towards Cao Ying, had already been friends with Cao Cao for a long time. The two parties obviously wanted to reconcile between the Yuan family and the Cao family.

Shen Pei was dependent on Yuan Shang, so he secretly undermined Yuan Tan, implying that his ambitions were very big and might threaten Yuan Shang. Yuan Shao obviously understood, so he showed an unhappy look on his face.

Xin Pi later defected to Cao Cao, but currently he defected to Yuan Tan, so when he saw that Shen Pei had disparaged Yuan Tan, and he could not blame Yuan Shao's favorite Yuan Shang, he quickly pointed the finger at Yuan Xi.

In his opinion, if Yuan Tan wants to increase his strength, he must conquer Xuzhou in order to gain a foothold in Shouchun. At this point, Yuan Tan will inevitably conflict with Yuan Xi.

So Xin Pi muddied the waters when he came up, implying that Tian Feng had already been involved with Yuan Xi, who was not on Yuan Shao's side, making Tian Feng angry and losing his temper. As expected, the plan worked.

Now these counselors are not looking at the problem from Yuan Shao's perspective at all, but have begun to secretly stand in line and find a way out for themselves!

There's a reason why they do it.

Yuan Shaogang wanted to speak, but he coughed violently. The sound was so violent that he couldn't straighten his waist due to coughing. When the maid on the side saw this, she quickly came up and beat his back.

When the counselors below saw this, they all bowed their heads deeply, fearing that others would see the expressions on their faces.

Yes, this is the reason why they started to take sides in advance. Yuan Shao has reached the age where he knows his destiny. Most people in this era will not live to this age, including scholars.

Yuan Shao's physical condition has been deteriorating in the past two years, so the counselors concluded that Yuan Shao's life span may be over within three to five years.

This is why they are anxious to find a way out. Although Yuan Shang has been appointed as the heir, he does not have overwhelming prestige and strength.

If Yuan Shao dies, the situation is likely to be reshuffled!

Yuan Shao realized he couldn't stop coughing, so he waved his hand and said, "You go back first."

Everyone dispersed as instructed. When Yuan Shao saw that people were gone, he ordered his concubine to bring tea. After taking a sip, it all squirted onto the ground, and his coughing became more severe.

The concubine panicked and hurriedly went to invite Mrs. Liu. After a while, Mrs. Liu hurried over and took out a porcelain vase from her sleeve.

She poured some powder out of it and mixed it with the tea for Yuan Shao to take. Yuan Shao quickly drank it.

But after a while, his coughing gradually stopped.

Yuan Shao gasped a few times and sighed: "Xianfu Xun's medicine is indeed very useful. He is serious about it."

(End of this chapter)