Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 689
Lu Xun stood at the top of Guangling City, looking at the vast misty river, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

It has been three days since Yuan Xi's letter was sent, but it seems like it has disappeared into the sea, with no news at all. Logically speaking, this should not be the case. The hints in every line of the sworn brother's words are obvious, and Sun Ce should have responded to it at least.

Later, Lu Xun and Tai Shici had to rush back to Shouchun to reorganize the Jianghuai defense line. However, Mrs. Wu's matter was very involved. If the handover could not be carried out safely, unfavorable changes would occur, so he could only wait for now.

On the fifth day, Lu Xun couldn't wait any longer. He was wondering whether he should get in touch with the Lu family or use spies in Jiangdong to find out what kind of medicine Sun Ce was selling in the gourd. Jiangdong finally sent a letter. , saying to send a ship over tomorrow.

After Lu Xun heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief, but at the same time, Jiangdong's spies also sent news that Sun Ce was tracking down those who conspired to rebel. Many people were implicated and imprisoned, and even members of a wealthy family were arrested on the spot. Behead.

After hearing the news, Lu Xun thought about it, what does this mean?
How dare Sun Ce risk the unrest in Jiangdong and kill people wantonly at this time?
Is he crazy, or is he confident enough?
Moreover, he resorted to such drastic measures when rumors spread that Sun Ce was seriously injured in an assassination. Could it be that Sun Ce's injury was not serious?

Or was it Sun Ce's deception, deliberately using this behavior to cover up the truth about his injury?
Lu Xun thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with a clue. He thought that the name of the opponent, Jiangdong Tiger, was indeed well-deserved. Not only was he extremely brave on the battlefield, but he was also so overbearing and domineering in strategy and foreign affairs. He was completely unreasonable and made people uncomfortable. Can't tell the truth.

When Mrs. Wu heard from Lu Xun that someone from Jiangdong would be coming tomorrow, she said to Lu Xun, "Thank you, General, for taking care of me along the way. I am very grateful."

"When I return to Jiangdong, I will repay the Lu family."

Lu Xun quickly returned the gift and thanked him, then left and went out, saying, "I will arrange for the ship's sergeant to escort Mr. Yuanhua and his wife across the river."

Mrs. Wu waited for Lu Xun to go out and walk far away, and then her calm expression showed anxiety.

Sun Ce kept her waiting for several days, not necessarily because he didn't believe the news was true, but because he might be planning something.

Normally, Mrs. Wu would not be in a hurry, but it was different now. Sun Ce was probably poisoned. If he delayed for one more day, he would be one step closer to death.

If these four or five days drag on, who knows how Sun Ce's condition will deteriorate!

Early the next morning, Mrs. Wu and Hua Tuo were waiting on the bow of Guangling Pier, but they saw several large ships slowly sailing out of Dantu Pier opposite.

Arriving near Guangling Pier, Lu Xun saw the soldiers on the opposite ship with their bows and arrows bent and heavily guarded, but he didn't take it seriously. He immediately gave an order to let his warships get out of the way.

He looked through the telescope and saw several generals standing on the bow of the ship, surrounded by elegant scribes wearing fan and silk scarves. He thought to himself, could this be the legendary Zhou Gongjin?

When the Jiangdong warship arrived at Guangling Pier, the scribe on the bow said loudly: "I am Zhou Yu, the guard of the army, and I have come to greet the lady by order of Marquis Sun."

Seeing this, Lu Xun also stepped onto the bow of the ship and said: "I am Lu Xun, the supervisor of the army. I will escort my wife across the river now."

Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "I accept your kindness, but Jiangdong has its own warships. Please ask my wife to come on board."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wu stepped forward and said, "Mr. Gongjin, long time no see."

When Zhou Yu saw that it was indeed Mrs. Wu, he felt mixed. He bowed his head and said, "Seeing that Mrs. Wu is well, Yu feels very at ease. I also asked Mrs. Wu to change the ship."

Mrs. Wu hesitated and said, "There is also Yuan Shijun's special envoy here. How about letting him cross the river with me?"

Zhou Yu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will follow Madam's orders."

Lu Xun got off the boat and sighed inwardly when he saw that his own ship was carrying Mrs. Wu and Hua Tuo, following the Jiangdong warship sailing towards Dantu Pier.

Judging from Zhou Yu's expression, he was still extremely defensive about his side. This was determined by the positions of both parties. If it weren't for the common foreign enemy, the two parties might have already turned against each other.

But even so, the road to future cooperation will be full of difficulties. It would be great if both parties could cooperate sincerely and join forces to bring peace to the world.

Sending Mrs. Wu back to Jiangdong now is Youzhou's effort to release goodwill, and it may also be the best opportunity. Lu Xun once imagined that if Jiangdong could willingly surrender to Yuan Xi in the future, the unification of the world would be a certainty.

But Lu Xun understood that this kind of thing could only exist in fantasy and would never happen.

When Mrs. Wu got off the pier, there was a carriage waiting for her. She and Hua Tuo sat in the carriage and headed to Sun Ce's mansion one after another. Mrs. Wu looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar scenes along the street, feeling uneasy.

After two years of absence, both the world and the situation in Jiangdong have changed too much. Moreover, when he comes back this time, how should he treat Sun Ce?

With the sound of the door opening and closing, the carriage slowly stopped. Mrs. Wu knew it had arrived. She opened the door and saw Sun Ce standing not far away before she even got off the ground.

Mrs. Wu saw that Sun Ce was holding his head with a linen cloth, with blood oozing faintly from it. His face, which was once mighty and majestic, now looked pale and weak.

He looked at Mrs. Wu and said softly: "Mom, I'm finally back."

Mrs. Wu's tears flashed and she said in a trembling voice: "I'm back." A gust of cold wind seemed to bring something between the two of them, and the scenery blurred. Sun Ce and Mrs. Wu raised their heads at the same time, and saw something unexpected in the sky. Snowflakes are falling.

Sun Ce took a deep breath and sighed to Mrs. Wu: "It rarely snows in Jiangdong. It seems that my mother's return is a good sign."

The snowflakes brought by the cold wind not only covered Jiangdong, but also the Central Plains, including Youzhou.

The further north you go, the heavier the snow and the colder the climate.

Because the weather was too cold, areas where the fighting had been fierce had withdrawn their troops and returned to the city, trying to find ways to survive the severe cold first.

When fighting in winter and encountering heavy snow, it is not only difficult to transport food and supplies, but it is also difficult for soldiers to withstand the cold.

In this bitterly cold weather, not only lighting a fire was a big problem, but also whether the clothes on the body could withstand the cold winter wind became a big problem. At this time, it was lucky to be able to save one's life in the cold, let alone fight.

Yuan Shang, who was originally planning to lead his troops across the Yellow River, was forced to stop. The counselors in Jizhou once again had differences on what to do next.

Xin Ping and others suggested that it is not advisable to attack, but to defend on the north bank of the Yellow River, trying to survive the winter first and fight again next year.

Tian Feng felt that at this time, most of Cao's army was concentrated in Yingchuan to fight Liu Bei's army, and there were not enough troops to defend. He should take the opportunity to cross the Yellow River and occupy Dongjun.

Shen Pei said: "It is too difficult to attack the city in winter. Cao Jun only needs a small number of troops to defend the city. The chance of victory is not high."

"If we delay for a while, the siege soldiers will die in large numbers. By then our power will be weakened, but the enemy will be able to recharge his batteries and counterattack us next year."

"Besides, there is Qingzhou who is eyeing Qingzhou next to us. If Jizhou's strength is greatly reduced, it may not be interested."

After everyone listened, they had to admit that Shen Pei's view was indeed very reasonable.

But Xu You said: "Cao Cao held the emperor hostage and I heard that he placed him in Xudu."

"Cao Cao is now fighting on both sides, and Xudu's defenses must be empty. If he sends a light force to advance and attack overnight, Xudu can be captured."

"After occupying Xudu, we will welcome the emperor to attack Cao Cao. We will surely capture Cao Cao. If he is not immediately defeated, he will be unable to take care of both ends and will be exhausted, so we will definitely defeat him."

After hearing this, the counselors thought that this strategy was very interesting. A long-distance attack?
After hearing this, Shen Pei shook his head and said: "That's not right. There are enemies everywhere in Yanzhou. In such weather, they can attack for nearly a thousand miles. Not to mention the lack of logistics, and no matter how they can hide it from the enemy, even if they can reach Xudu, how much will be left?" People attacking the city?"

"Now most of the generals in Yecheng are injured. The only one who can take on this important task is Wen Chou and Zhang He. But once they leave, if something changes in Yecheng, who will take charge of the overall situation?"

At this time, someone said: "I heard that General Gao Lan is almost recovering from his injuries. What if we are afraid that he will go?"

Everyone took a closer look, but it was Yuan Yao who had become Yuan Shangyu's subordinate who spoke. Just as Tian Feng was about to speak, Yuan Shang said: "We will discuss this matter later."

"I have decided to temporarily retreat and recuperate. The weather this year is very cold and different from the past. The most important thing is to ensure the strength of Yecheng in a limited way."

"It's not easy for us, and it's not easy for the other side, but Jizhou's heritage is much deeper than Yanzhou's. As long as we survive this winter, our strength will definitely be stronger than the other side."

After hearing this, all the counselors took the order and left. In the end, only Yuan Shang and Yuan Yao were left.

Seeing that Yuan Shang was about to get up and leave, Yuan Yao quickly smiled and said: "My lord, the relationship behind Gao Lan's life is quite complicated. He even sent his wife to Youzhou. If he has different intentions, it will be trouble. Let's take this opportunity to test it." It’s not a bad idea to show his loyalty.”

Yuan Shang stopped and said calmly: "Such a small move is meaningless. Xian Yi is not that easy to hide."

"I thought you would restrain yourself after suffering a loss. Haven't you seen that you are not qualified to be Xian Yi's opponent?"

After saying that, he ignored Yuan Yao and went to the back hall. Yuan Yao's eyes were gloomy and he gritted his teeth. A 16-year-old child, more than ten years younger than himself, had such an air!
However, I also miscalculated. I thought that Yuan Shang was young and had no independent opinions. As time went by, he would be able to control his thoughts on the ground. But now it seems that the other party is much more mature!

Yuan Yao lowered his head and slowly walked out, with this unwilling flame surging in his heart. The situation was originally very good, but in the end, he was ruined by his father, and he became the servant of the Yuan family slave's youngest son!

If you are not willing to give in, you must find a way to change the current situation. You must not be a domestic slave of the Yuan family's slaves for the rest of your life!

His eyes flashed, thinking in his heart, and suddenly his eyes flashed.

I have long heard that Shen Pei is arbitrary and intolerant. Today he rejected the suggestions of Xu You and others. Xu You must be dissatisfied, right?
Now that my father and Cao Cao have joined forces, Xu You has an old relationship with Cao Cao. If I can persuade Xu You...
Yuan Yao secretly made calculations in his heart.

(End of this chapter)