Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 787 Uninvited Guest

Yuan Xi looked at Da Qiao seriously and said, "I actually like girls..."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Xun hurried in and said, "Brother, there is..."

Only then did he notice Da Qiao in the room and said quickly: "It's an unlucky time for me to come. I'll go out first."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Da Qiao quickly stood up and said: "I didn't dare to delay the important military affairs, so I retreated first."

As if escaping, she walked backwards out of the house, and then ran away as fast as she could. After returning to her own house all the way, she closed the door panting.

She leaned against the door, wondering why she ran away.

Shouldn't you listen carefully to Yuan Xi's words?

Da Qiao knew that what Yuan Xi said next was nothing more than two situations, either to express his good opinion of him or to reject him politely.

But for some reason, the moment before Yuan Xi spoke, Da Qiao was vaguely afraid, fearing that Yuan Xi was saying something that he didn't mean to him. How should he deal with himself at that time?

So she ran away.

Looking back, I actually had an unexpected fondness for Yuan Xi, so I was worried about gains and losses. Is it because I was afraid of being rejected by Yuan Xi and couldn't accept this fact, so I ran away?

Da Qiao bit her lip, sat in front of the window, and gently stroked the Yao Qin on the table. The clear and tinkling sound of the Qin made her slowly calm down.

She looked out the window in trance. She was not very interested in these musical instruments before, but recently, for some unknown reason, she became more and more fond of the slightly melancholy sound of the piano.

When Yuan Xi saw Da Qiao running away, he couldn't help but shook his head, thinking that it was hard to force him to stay in front of Lu Xun, so he could only find a suitable opportunity later.

He turned to Lu Xun, who looked embarrassed, and said loudly: "What's the matter with Boyan being in such a hurry?"

Lu Xun hurriedly said: "Brother, Jingzhou has sent a secret envoy here, and he is waiting outside the door now."

Yuan Xi was startled, then lost his voice and said: "Jingzhou?"

"They came here...?"

Lu Xun said in a deep voice: "We are here to discuss an alliance against Jiangdong."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi slapped the table and sighed: "Liu Jingsheng is very human, with such accurate vision and good timing."

Lu Xun nodded, "Indeed, any later or even earlier would not be as critical as the current moment."

"Jiangdong was talking and dilly-dallying, but Liu Jingsheng sent people here at this time. He is really skillful in controlling the situation."

Yuan Xi also agreed, because from Jingzhou's perspective, he did not want Yuan Xi and Jiang Dong to join forces under any circumstances, which meant that Jingzhou was likely to become the next target of a joint effort.

Cao Cao alone is troublesome enough, plus Yuan Xi and Jiang Dong, it is impossible for Liu Biao to withstand the three-party attack unless he can summon a Star Destroyer from the sky.

Liu Biao must have seen this and approached Yuan Xi, who was most likely to join forces.

Jiang Dong's desire for Jingzhou is too strong. He wants to go further or even spy on the world. Jingzhou cannot be avoided, so there is an irreconcilable conflict between Jiang Dong and Liu Biao.

Originally, Huang Zu's defense in Jiangxia could barely block Jiangdong and caused him to suffer a lot. However, in general, Jingzhou's strength was not as good as Jiangdong's, and it was strategically defensive.

With the layout of Yuan Xi in the Jianghuai area, the situation has changed again. The Yuan family where Yuan Xi lives, especially Yuan Shao, has a good relationship with Liu Biao. At first, Yuan Xi and Sun Ce had some disagreements, but they adopted a certain degree of cooperation in private. This made Liu Biao worried all the time.

That's all. After Cao Cao occupied Yingchuan, he began to take advantage of Jingzhou, which made Liu Biao even more difficult, because it was obviously difficult for Jingzhou soldiers to resist Cao's army.

However, God seems to be favoring Liu Biao. Zhang Ji died in the battle while plundering Nanyang. His nephew Zhang Xiu not only did not continue to fight with Liu Biao, but expressed his intention to surrender. Of course, Liu Biao readily accepted it and asked him to guard Wancheng.

Afterwards, Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and joined Liu Biao and was stationed in Xinye. He and Zhang Xiu guarded the two gates of Nanyang, so Liu Biao could sit back and relax for the time being.

However, the situation in Jingzhou has always been a huge threat from foreign enemies, so Liu Biao was very sensitive to the movements of surrounding forces, and his attitude towards Yuan Xi was also very hesitant.

Because Liu Biao saw that Yuan Xi had cooperated with Jiangdong to a certain extent in Jianghuai, and that Yuan Xi might not be willing to help Jiangdong attack Jingzhou, so although he was very polite to the messengers sent by Yuan Xi at the beginning, he did not make his position clear. After all, He is not qualified to negotiate at all. If he wants to form an alliance, he may have to make a lot of concessions.

It wasn't until Jiangdong's attack on Chaohu was thwarted and he returned in disgrace that Liu Biao began to send envoys. Calculating the time, he should have sent envoys immediately after receiving news of Jiangdong's defeat.

It has to be said that this timing was extremely good. Both Lu Xun and Yuan Xi could see it. Liu Biao must have wanted to join forces with Yuan Xi to fight against Jiangdong, so he sent the envoys over before the Jiangdong envoys arrived to destroy Yuan Xi and Jiangdong. See the peace.

Yuan Xi sighed: "I still underestimated Liu Jingsheng."

"If he joins forces with us, it will be like adding another lock to Jingzhou's defense line, which is of course the most beneficial to him."

Lu Xun also agreed: "Yes, he is very good at calculating. At that time, we will be his forwards and charge into the battle for him, just like Zhang Xiu and Huang Zu."

"So how should we respond to the envoys they send?"

Yuan Xi thought for a while and said, "I want to hear Boyan's thoughts."

Lu Xun thought about it for a while and said: "The purpose of envoy is to conquer the world, right?" "But anyone who is interested in the world cannot avoid Jingzhou."

Yuan Xi heard about it and said aloud: "Does Boyan mean to refuse He Qi's alliance and then carve up Jingzhou with Jiangdong?"

Lu Xun shook his head and said, "No, Liu Jingsheng is not only a member of the clan, but he is also on good terms with the deceased Benchu ​​Gong. There is not much benefit for the young master to do this, and he will also be criticized."

"Although Jingzhou is important, it is not the most important to the current young master."

"The top priority, young master, is to connect the territories. In this regard, Qingzhou is now much more important than Jingzhou."

"So I suggest that for Liu Biao's envoys, just deal with the delay. Jiangdong and Jingzhou, no matter which side they lean towards, will be involved in the whirlpool. It is better to wait for the price and let both sides beg us and be forced to cede conditions."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded and said with a smile: "I understand what Boyan means. You can follow me later."

He paused and said, "I'll ask Kong Ming to come over, and we'll go see the envoy together."

Lu Xun nodded in agreement. Brother Xindao really valued Zhuge Kongming, nicknamed Wolong, and even vaguely surpassed him. This made Lu Xun feel slightly sour in his heart.

Because unlike Lu Xun, Zhuge Liang had been in charge of the Lu family for a period of time and was a novice in military affairs. Moreover, Lu Xun heard that Zhuge Liang was actually just an ordinary descendant of the Langya Zhuge family and did not have any energy to lead an army and a family. Where does your confidence come from?

Lu Xun had an idea in his mind, maybe it's because his sworn brother's nickname is Tiger, so he especially appreciates people who lead dragons?

When the maid sent by Yuan Xi went to the next room to invite Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang was asking Guo Jia for advice.

Guo Jia's head was about to explode, and he complained: "Why are your questions even weirder than that kid Zhijun back then!"

"I'm just good at strategy. I don't understand it at all, and I don't want to understand your strange thoughts. You are much better at these than me!"

"Sometimes I can only regret letting you hold the discipleship ceremony. Your talents are no less than Boyan's, but you are really not suitable for me!"

"Speaking of which, your first stop as a fledgling was solved with your fists. If word spreads that you are my disciple, I don't even have the shame to admit it!"

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang said with an innocent face: "I was inferior to Jia Wenhe in terms of strength and ingenuity at that time. I couldn't win without flipping the table."

"Don't you always say that in order to win, you have to do whatever it takes?"

Guo Jia waved his hand and said: "Forgive me, you said my previous plan was harmful to Tianhe several times, right?"

"Your bottom line is too high. You are not suitable to be a counselor, but you are suitable to be a critic."

Zhuge Liang still wanted to talk, but the maid came in and said that Yuan Xi was inviting him. He had to stand up and bow to Guo Jia: "Sir, Liang will go over first and come back later to ask for advice."

When Guo Jia saw Zhuge Liang going out, he depressedly picked up the wine and took a big sip.

During this period of time, although Yuan Xi intended for Guo Jia to accept Zhuge Liang as his disciple, in Guo Jia's view, Zhuge Liang was really not suitable for him.

He has a very stubborn set of rules of conduct that are incompatible with Guo Jia. On this, the master and the disciple had many heated debates.

That's all, but Guo Jia discovered that Zhuge Liang was indeed very talented. Not only did he have a wide range of knowledge, but he was also very eloquent. When arguing with Guo Jia, he quoted a lot of other things, which made Guo Jia often unable to resist.

Guo Jia was discussing a certain issue with Zhuge Liang just now. He almost choked to death due to the words spoken by the other person. He was still unable to refute, which made Guo Jia even more depressed. Why did this disciple not give him face so much?

After teaching him for several years, I am afraid that I will be pissed to death!

When Zhuge Liang rushed to the guest room, Yuan Xi and Lu Xun were already waiting. Lu Xun explained the situation to Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang just said: "As expected, I thought Jingzhou should send someone over in the next few days."

"Otherwise, if we join forces with Jiangdong, Jingzhou's situation will be very passive."

"Liu Jingsheng is not an ordinary person."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Bo Yan and I think so too."

"But since the other party is showing good intentions, there is no reason to block it out. Let's see what the other party says first."

After a while, the maid led the envoy from Jingzhou in. After introducing him to me, Yuan Xi suddenly discovered that the person who came had a high status!

Kuai Yue.

He thought that Liu Biao even sent this person here, which showed that he attached great importance to this matter.

Kuai Yue was born in the Kuai family of a prominent family in Nanjun, Jingzhou. He was resourceful, tall, strong and handsome. General He Jin heard of his reputation and hired him to serve as Dongcao's governor.

When He Jin had conflicts with the eunuchs, he advised He Jin to take a preemptive strike and kill the eunuchs as soon as possible. However, He Jin hesitated. Kuai Yue expected that He Jin would be defeated, so he asked He Jin for the order of Ruyang and left. Later, He Jin was killed by the eunuch, and Kuai Yue escaped.

In the first year of Chuping (190), Liu Biao, who was still the middle prince of the Northern Army, responded to the imperial edict and went to serve as the governor of Jingzhou alone. He invited Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang to a banquet in Yicheng to conspire with Cai Mao on major events.

Liu Biao adopted Kuai Yue's suggestion, ensnared and killed dozens of bandit leaders, annexed their tribes, and asked Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang to lobby the Jiangxia bandit party to surrender. Liu Biao then grew stronger and took control of Jingzhou.

Therefore, Kuai Yue was to Liu Biao what Jushu Xunchen was to Yuan Shao, and he was a mastermind. Coming here now shows Liu Biao's sincerity.

(End of this chapter)