Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 756 Family Reputation

Zhang Xiu jumped off his horse and saw dozens of people coming out of the camp opposite, but they were divided into two groups.

The leader of the group was Liu Bei, whom Zhang Xiu had seen when he attacked Xinye. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were standing behind him. When Zhang Xiu saw it, he unconsciously tightened his grip. He was afraid that he would be able to kill him just by relying on these few people. Can't resist it either.

The other group was smaller in number, headed by a young general wearing armor, followed by several generals, and a young scribe dressed as a scholar with a feather fan and turban. For some reason, the scribe was taller than the others. , more like a fierce general, but looking like a strategist.

Although Zhang Xiu had never seen these people before, he guessed that he and Liu Bei were walking toward him, and Liu Bei deliberately lagged half a step behind. So he went up to greet him and said, "Is this the ambassador of Xuzhou Mu Yuan?"

Yuan Xi cupped his hands and said: "Exactly, I have met General Zhang and heard about the general's name for a long time. Today I saw the general. He is so majestic and elegant that Xi is really impressed."

Zhang Xiu knew that these were just polite words, so he didn't beat around the bush and said with cupped hands: "Thank you very much for your compliments, envoy. Xiu is guarding Nanyang and has no choice but to be forced by Cao Cao's troops. He has no choice but to do so."

"Even so, Cao conspired to kill me and humiliate my family. It's really a betrayal and a huge deception!"

"Now that your envoy has defeated Cao Cao, Xiu is able to save himself. I owe it to you for your help. I am very grateful. Please accept my sincere thanks."

Yuan Xi found that Zhang Xiu was much smarter than he thought, and it was the easiest to talk to such a person, so he immediately said happily: "General, it is not too late to wake up. Today, Cao Cao is ruthless, holding the emperor hostage, and poisoning the world." , our lives are threatened by it, and it is trying to take advantage of it and wants to kill us all, which is intolerable."

"Jinxi proposes that the three parties join forces to fight against Cao Cao. Xinyewancheng is the horn of each other. I am here in Jiujiang to help. I don't know what the general will do?"

Of course Liu Bei had to express his stance at this time, "General Sui and I were at war, but it was Cao Cao's coercion. Now we are dead and cold, and only by joining forces can we overcome the difficulties."

Zhang Xiu hesitated for a moment, then said: "I have no objection to joining forces, but Cao Cao is so powerful. If he comes with a force, your territory will be far away, and rescue will be difficult to come."

Yuan Xi knew that Zhang Xiu was bargaining. After all, everyone would make empty promises and start wrangling as soon as fundamental interests were involved. He immediately said: "Yes, it is difficult to persist in being trapped in one place and can only be slowly consumed by Cao's army." Long term."

"Xi has a proposal to support the two of you in expanding towards Sili Liangzhou."

"You two also know that I am currently holding Huaicheng in Black Mountain, teaming up with Gao Gan to attack Hedong, and fighting Ma Teng and Han Sui."

"You two can go north to Hongnong and advance to the east of Hedong to contain them."

"If we can really succeed, we can take back Sili, an important territory for Cao Cao, and at the same time connect with Liangzhou, thereby suppressing or even defeating Ma Teng and Han Sui."

"When the time comes when Sili Liangzhou is big enough to accommodate the two of them, I will also ask the emperor to grant them the title of marquis."

Zhang Xiu thought about it after hearing this. Yuan Xi's words were indeed very tempting to him. He was born in Liangzhou, and Liangzhou military generals refused to obey anyone. Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou turned out to be the four giants in Liangzhou. If they were here, there would be nothing wrong with Ma Teng and Han Sui. Now Zhang Xiu felt quite uncomfortable thinking about letting Ma Teng and Han Sui, who he originally looked down upon, take advantage of him.

He tried: "Then envoy"

Yuan Xi said decisively: "I will do my best to contain the main force of Cao's army and provide backup for the two."

"Next, I will start a complete war with Cao Cao. By then, he will definitely be at his wits' end, and you two can take advantage of the opportunity."

"To show my sincerity, I haven't taken any of the weapons and equipment obtained from the attack on Cao's army this time. How about I keep two of them?"

Zhang Xiu's eyes flashed. Cao Cao's soldiers and horses stationed in Wancheng were all elites from Cao Ang's direct line. Their soldiers and armors were fully equipped. Even if they could be divided into half, it was not a small number!

Different from the promise just now, this is a real benefit. In fact, even if Yuan Xi turns against him on the spot and kills Zhang Xiu, Zhang Xiu will have no choice but to admit that he is unlucky.

Fortunately, both Yuan Xi and Liu Bei were princes known for their benevolent governance, so Zhang Xiu dared to ride alone to the meeting. If he had faced Cao Cao, Zhang Xiu would not have dared to do this.

Previously, Cao Cao asked Zhang Xiu to attack Xinye. It was clear that he wanted Zhang Xiu to lose his own strength. Although Zhang Xiu endured it, he still took minimum precautions.

One was to take away most of the main soldiers to protect themselves, and the other was to leave Jia Xu to deal with Cao Cao, but the news that came later made Zhang Xiu somewhat vulnerable.

Cao Cao secretly bribed his general Hu Che'er and even adopted his own aunt. This was really deceiving others. He treated himself like this just after he surrendered. Who knows what will be waiting for him in the future?

At that moment, Zhang Xiu clasped his fists and said, "In this case, Xiu will join forces with the two of them to fight against Cao's thieves!"

The three of them entered Cao Jun's abandoned camp, found a place, made a blood alliance, drank blood wine, looked at each other and laughed.

Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu looked around the abandoned camp. They saw traces of bloody battles everywhere. Not only did they sigh in shock, but they must know that this was a night attack. Both sides just filled in people, and no one knew the final outcome.

Yuan Xi also fought in person and won the battle in the end. With such fierceness, how many children from aristocratic families can do this?

Therefore, both of them subconsciously regarded Yuan Xi as an opponent of the same level as Cao Cao. Since Yuan Xi defeated Cao Cao, they did not want to be enemies with Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi suddenly remembered something, pointed to a tent not far away and said: "I forgot one thing. It was a coincidence when we were setting up camp, but we saved the general's family, Mrs. Zou, who was kidnapped into the camp by Cao Cao."

After hearing this, Zhang Xiu's expression changed and he said, "This matter is a disgrace to the family. The reputation of the Zhang family has been insulted. To preserve their reputation, it is better to die."

He immediately said to his left and right: "Go get a torch and burn it."

Everyone did not expect Zhang Xiu's reaction to be so violent, and they were all stunned. Liu Bei seemed to understand, and said with a smile: "General Zhang said that this is indeed the best result for the Zhang family."

After hearing this, Guan Yu hesitated to speak. He looked at the tent with a complicated expression and turned his head slowly and casually.

This is a family matter of the Zhang family. As Zhang Xiu is the head of the family, others present are not able to comment, and the atmosphere becomes silent for a while.

Lu Lingqi muttered: "The woman was coerced, and she did not do so willingly."

Zhang Xiu had already known that she was Mrs. Yuan Xi, so she didn't want to offend her, so she just said in a deep voice: "This is the family reputation."

For him, as Zhang Ji's widow, if Zou was the main wife, considering filial piety, Zhang Xiu would not be able to do this, but since she was a concubine, Zhang Xiu had the right to deal with it, and no outsider could do anything. Zhang Xiu also knew that his behavior was inappropriate. He approached the tent and said, "Are you here, aunt?"

His words were not only a question, but also a test to see if Zou was really there.

Zou's faint voice came from inside, "My concubine is here."

"My concubine has heard what I just said. Please light the fire quickly to clear the Zhang family's name."

Although he could hear the resentment in Zou's words, Zhang Ji felt guilty, so he could only say: "Thank you, aunt."

"And please ask my aunt to die."

A sneer came from inside.

Zhang Xiu turned around and said to the guard behind him: "Light the fire."

After a while, the camp burst into flames.

Everyone looked at the burning tent, like a blazing torch, lighting up the night sky, and they were all silent.

When the tent fire was completely extinguished, Zhang Xiu walked over and saw soldiers using long spears to open up the remains of the ruins, revealing a burnt and blackened corpse. Although it was difficult to distinguish the face, judging from the size, it was undoubtedly a woman.

Only then did his doubts disappear and he spoke out: "Aunt Zhang Xiu fought against Cao's thieves and was unfortunately killed by him. However, she preserved the reputation of the Zhang family. Xiu deeply regrets and admires her."

Liu Bei sighed at the side: "This woman is really a model for women in the world, and I will appoint her as a high-ranking official to commend her for her integrity."

Zhang Xiu nodded, quite satisfied. This was the best result for everyone.

Lu Lingqi saw this and cursed in her heart, thinking that people in Liangzhou really didn't care about anything. They had a bad reputation, but they cared about reputation the most, just like her father.

Then she woke up, why did she say that to her father?

Zhang Xiu then showed a look of relief and said to everyone: "Everything is over now. Xiu is setting up wine in the city, waiting for everyone to come."

After Liu Bei heard this, he laughed and said: "Bei will send the general into the city first, and he will arrive soon."

Yuan Xi also said: "General, please enter the city first."

Zhang Xiu knew that Yuan Xi was asking him to dispel his doubts, and immediately responded: "Thank you two envoys for your love. I will go back and lead the troops into the city."

Liu Bei watched Zhang Xiu leave, but turned around to see that Guan Yu was not very interested, and couldn't help but wonder: "What are you thinking about, second brother?"

"Zhang Xiu puts out the wine, let's go together."

Guan Yu said dullly: "It's nothing. I have to guard the camp tonight and won't go."

When Yuan Xi saw Guan Yu's expression, he guessed it. He asked everyone to wait for a while, but took Lu Lingqi and Zhuge Liang to a tent not far away.

Inside, Guo Jiazheng was drinking wine contentedly. When he saw Yuan Xi coming in, he smiled and said, "How is it? I watched a good show."

Yuan Xi sighed: "Sir, he has a good grasp of people's hearts. I really didn't expect Zhang Xiu to be so decisive."

Guo Jia said calmly: "It's just the human heart, there is always a reason."

He looked behind Yuan Xi and Yuan Xi realized what he was doing. He quickly pulled Zhuge Liang forward and said, "I bet that Kong Ming is the most suitable person in the world to be your disciple!"

"Please sir, please give him more advice in the future."

Previously, Guo Jia was supporting from the rear, but he arrived yesterday. Zhuge Liang came up to pay homage. Guo Jia looked at Zhuge Liang's appearance and asked doubtfully: "He?"

"You don't look like a strategist, but more like a general."

Yuan Xi couldn't help but laugh and said: "Sir, you are an old man. You are a military advisor who wants to march and fight. If you are not in good health, you will not be able to survive."

When Guo Jia heard this, he muttered, "Isn't this more suitable for Ju Shou?"

"I don't know anything about military matters, how can I teach him?"

He looked at Zhuge Liang, "Let me ask you, what was the conversation with the envoy just now about?"

Zhuge Liang listened and said calmly: "Sir, he must have foreseen that Zhang Xiu would not let his aunt live, so he made arrangements with the envoy in advance, right?"

After hearing this, Guo Jia's eyes flashed, "You can see it, how did you guess it right?"

(End of this chapter)