Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 981 Guests do as they please
The news that Guan Yu went south from Fancheng, repelling Cao's army north of the Han River along the way, and then rushed all the way to attack the Jiangdong army that defeated Xiakou, and finally occupied Baqiu in Lukou, subsequently reached Shouchun, and Yuan Xi was extremely amazed after hearing it.

He thought in his heart that Guan Yu was indeed Guan Yu. Although he was dormant for a while, you never knew where his upper limit was. Just like this time he sent troops, his ideas were wild and unconstrained, and he managed to make a life-and-death move to defend Fancheng, which frustrated Cao Cao and Jiangdong. It can be said that the plan to attack Jingzhou from the north and the south was completely unexpected by everyone in Jianghuai.

Yuan Xi also noticed that Guan Yu did not abandon Fancheng. Even if he left Fan and took the initiative to attack, Liu Beijun who stayed behind still defeated Cao Jun's offensive several times. The generals who remain should be talented people who can take charge of their own affairs.

However, Guan Yu's magical move brought unexpected variables to the Jingzhou Jianghuai battlefield, which not only disrupted Cao Cao and Sun Quan's plans, but also disrupted Yuan Xi's pace.

Because according to Yuan Xi's previous plan, he wanted to take the opportunity to hold back the Jiangdong Army and make it unable to attack Huang Zu on the Jiangxia battlefield for a long time, thus falling into a quagmire. He would then take advantage of the opportunity to act.

But now that Jiangdong Army was defeated by Guan Yu, it became a frightened bird. The entire army retreated to Chaisang east of Xiakou, hoping to join the reinforcements sent by Sun Quan later.

If they join forces, the number of naval forces will reach 60,000 to 70,000, and there will be more than a thousand warships. However, even if Yuan Xi adds up all the naval forces in his Jianghuai area, the number will only be 20,000. For the current situation, The scale of the Jiangdong Army was difficult to swallow for a while.

Therefore, the pace of action that Yuan Xi originally wanted to take was forced to slow down again. He could only wait and see what Jiangdong Army would do next before deploying troops.

Moreover, Yuan Xi speculated that with the changes in the battlefield situation, the Jiangdong Army might not be able to bear it any longer and exposed its true intention early, which was to seize Yuan Xi's Jianghuai territory!
However, with the surrender of Gan Ning, the dilemma of the shortage of naval generals under Yuan Xi's command has been somewhat alleviated. Now Taishi Ci and Gan Ning are training together in the waters of Chaohu Lake, and they are already the best prepared for defense.

As Cao Hong and Le Jin desperately mobilized migrant workers to build fortifications in Yuzhou and strengthen the defense on the north bank of the Huai River, Zhang He and Xu Huang could not find many opportunities, so Yuan Xi asked them to withdraw to Shouchun.

Yuan Xi had previously wanted to wait for an opportunity to do some work in other territories, but Tian Feng sent a letter reporting that he had discovered the Liangzhou cavalry coming from the direction of Sili. Yuan Xi knew that Cao Cao had temporarily settled the internal strife in Liangzhou, and he could not find it at the moment. What opportunity has come.

Then the news of Xu Du also came over. Cao Cao granted the title of Wei Gong, and Sun Quan granted the title of Wu Gong. Yuan Xi wanted to laugh when he heard this name, but then he couldn't laugh anymore, because Cao Cao gave him the title of Duke of Wu with the hand of the emperor. Yuan Xi was granted the title of Duke of Jicheng.

This is very funny. Both Cao and Sun are the destiny of the country. When it is Yuan Xi's turn, he ends up with a city, which is obviously disgusting to Yuan Xi. Moreover, Yuan Xi inherited the legal principles from Yuan Shao's Yuan family, so the title should be based on Ye City. Feng, now Cao Cao is clearly telling the world that Yuan Xi has nothing to do with Jizhou.

Therefore, Yuan Xi would not accept this title either emotionally or rationally. However, it was given by Cao Cao under the guise of the emperor. Yuan Xi could not openly break his heart, so he had to send someone to Xudu, and he refused to accept it.

He had carefully considered this step. Even if his subordinates were dissatisfied, he could not compromise, because legal inheritance is a very serious issue. If the name is not justified, the disaster will be more serious in the future, and the foresighted subordinates , should understand this.

So in the past few days, Yuan Xi was also very angry. He remembered that he had not seen Mrs. Ding brought back by Zhang He. It happened that the military affairs were all handled today, so he left the study and walked to the southwest of the mansion.

On the way, he met Feng who was drying clothes. When Feng saw him, he came up with a smile and said politely: "Where are you going, young master?"

Yuan Xi pointed to the front, "I'm going to examine Mrs. Ding, will you come with me?"

Feng didn't react at first, but then she suddenly understood and waved her hands quickly: "I won't delay the good things of the young master. You can enjoy yourself as much as you want."

"I'm leaving now."

Yuan Xi looked depressed. Feng ran away in a hurry without even giving him a chance to explain. He thought to himself, where did you think you were going?

But speaking of it, if you capture the enemy's wife, some things seem to be logical. Didn't you do the same to Yuan Shu?
Yuan Xi shook his head and walked slowly to the corner of the mansion. It was a small courtyard. There were several guards guarding the door and the door was locked. This was where Mrs. Ding was imprisoned.

When Zhang He brought Mrs. Ding and others back, Yuan Xi didn't think of how to arrange them for a moment, so he vacated a separate courtyard in the mansion and locked Mrs. Ding in. Guards were placed at the door so that she could not escape. This level lasts for one month.

He walked to the door. The guard saw Yuan Xi coming and saluted him. Yuan Xi heard voices in the Taoist courtyard and said to the guard: "Open the door."

In the small room in the courtyard, Cao Qing was talking to Mrs. Ding. No one had come this month. She, who was initially nervous, gradually got used to it and her mentality became much more relaxed.

She complained to Mrs. Ding: "Mom, do you think we will be locked up here for the rest of our lives?"

Mrs. Ding was shaking the spinning wheel and was spinning a piece of linen. She thought she was going to die at first and had no scruples. Over the years, her habit of resolving worries was spinning, so she simply asked the guard for a spinning wheel.

She originally thought that this request would not be met, but what she didn't expect was that a brand new spinning wheel was delivered the next day, along with a lot of twine.

Since then, Mrs. Ding has been spinning every morning and evening. She has been through many things, so she can naturally stay calm. However, Cao Qing is still young, so her ability to calm down is far behind. Now when Mrs. Ding heard Cao Qing ask about it, she said: "You No matter how you think about it, it won’t help. Now we can only leave it to fate.”

Cao Qing complained: "My daughter is not afraid of death, but I am afraid of getting dirty. I am so dirty now!"

"I have been imprisoned for a month. It takes ten days and a month for someone to bring hot water for a bath. The last bath was seven or eight days ago. I feel like my body stinks!" Mrs. Ding said calmly: "As a prisoner, You are still too busy, find something to do so that you don’t think about it all day long.”

Cao Qing pouted and said: "There are only a few rooms in this courtyard. Apart from my mother and two maids, there is nothing in the room except the bed and this spinning wheel. What can I do?"

Mrs. Ding said: "I can ask for another spinning wheel. You have learned very little about weaving and you are not too young. You will be laughed at when you marry in the future."

When she said this, Cao Qing became even more uncomfortable, "Mom, you don't have to comfort me. How can I get a chance to get married?"

"The ferocious tiger that captured us is my father's mortal enemy. The best outcome for me in the future is to be rewarded as a concubine to someone else, right?"

"As for the worse scenario, I don't even dare to think about it, what if, what if." The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and she couldn't help but throw herself into Mrs. Ding's arms and sob.

Mrs. Ding hugged Cao Qing and said softly: "If you are humiliated one day, if I can't protect you, I will give you a relief."

After Cao Qing heard this, her body couldn't help shaking and she burst into tears.

At this time, a voice sounded outside the door, "Madam, you are decisive, but Cao Cao killed so many innocent people, what do their wives and daughters think?"

"Maybe they don't even have a chance to talk?"

Both Mrs. Ding and Cao Qing were shocked. They looked out the door and saw an Angzang man wearing a straight robe standing at the door. Although the two women did not know Yuan Xi, they also knew that they could come in at this time. She must have a distinguished status, so Mrs. Ding subconsciously protected Cao Qing behind her and said, "Who are you? I don't know your name. You speak abruptly. Do you know the etiquette?"

Yuan Xi smiled: "Madam, I am a little impressed, but when the guests come to visit, the host does not greet them. Instead, he asks, is this a courtesy?"

Mrs. Ding had already guessed the identity of the visitor, so she stood up and said coldly: "I am in prison, how can I dare to call myself master?"

"The husband is the real master. He can come in and out as he pleases, so why bother asking the concubine?"

Yuan Xi clicked his tongue and praised: "My lady's demeanor is really extraordinary. It's a pity that she married Cao Cao."

Mrs. Ding said seriously: "Although I have reconciled with him, I have never regretted it."

Yuan Xi stepped in and looked at Mrs. Ding. He saw that she was less than forty years old. She didn't know whether it was because of good maintenance or because she had not given birth. She looked like she was in her early thirties, and her facial features were beautiful and straight, exuding an awe-inspiring look. With an inviolable temperament, he thought, no wonder later Cao Cao was reluctant to leave Madam Ding.

He looked down at Mrs. Ding, saw her shoulders trembling slightly, and knew that she was pretending to be calm, but she was far from being as free as she appeared.

And a girl of fourteen or fifteen years old was hiding behind Mrs. Ding, her body was stiff, and her two white hands were tightly grasping Mrs. Ding's robe. She knew that this was Cao Cao's daughter Cao Qing.

He lowered his head slightly and said to Mrs. Ding: "Madam, do you know what I am here to do?"

As soon as he said these words, Mrs. Ding got the wrong idea, her face changed drastically, and Cao Qing behind her couldn't help sobbing.

Yuan Xi was startled, knowing that the other person had misunderstood. He was about to explain, but then he shut up and looked at the two women kneeling in front of the spinning wheel with an expressionless face, almost huddled together.

Mrs. Ding's face changed several times. She couldn't help but touch the spindle hanging on the spinning wheel, but then she found that Yuan Xi's eyes had been following her hand, and she suddenly realized that the seemingly elegant and younger person opposite her was A young man who is not even a few years old is a ferocious tiger who is famous all over the world and whose hands are stained with the blood of countless people!

Mrs. Ding heard a lot of rumors about Yuan Xi when she was in Cao Cao's inner chamber. Those were the years when Yuan Xi was building his reputation. Because the rumors spread by word of mouth and by the time they reached Cao Cao's inner chamber, they had completely changed their meaning.

According to rumors, Fierce Tiger was not only sinister and cunning, but also an unparalleled warrior, capable of splitting tigers and leopards. It is said that Gongsun Zan died under his fists, and his most famous battle took place with a Under the plundering formation of young general Dong'a, he fought alone against more than a dozen Jiangdong generals including Sun Ce and defeated them all!
This rumor is so outrageous that it appears to be more true. If not, it would be difficult to explain why everyone in Cao camp has changed their expressions when the name of the fierce tiger is mentioned over the years.

If Yuan Xi knew this rumor, he would probably spit out a mouthful of blood. Who spread this rumor? He is so talented?

But obviously the rumors had an effect, Mrs. Ding's face changed several times, and finally she seemed to have made up her mind, and said with difficulty: "Master, please ask me to avoid you, I have something to tell you."

(End of this chapter)