Looking at Yuan Xi's departing back, Lu Lingqi stomped her feet in anger. How could this be!
She turned around angrily and got on the carriage. Mrs. Du, who was sitting inside, saw her and asked with a smile, "Sister, are you frustrated?"
The two met again after a long separation and their relationship became even better. They always felt that calling each other Madam was too unfamiliar, so when they were alone, they called each other sisters.
Lu Lingqi said bitterly, "Ignore that heartless person, let's go our own way. I don't believe that Madam Zhen can give me a warning."
Mrs. Du thought that it was hard to say. After all, the current etiquette was that the eldest wife was respected. If the other party really wanted to embarrass Lu Lingqi, and Lu Lingqi had a bad temper, wouldn't there be a huge uproar?
Thinking of this, Mrs. Du started to have a headache. She didn't know what Yinhu or Xionghu was thinking. They ran away from such an important meeting place!
Led by the soldiers, the carriage entered the Yuan mansion. When Lu Lingqi heard voices coming from outside, she had to make up her mind, pushed open the door of the carriage, and jumped out.
She landed on the ground and stood firmly. When she looked up, she saw a very beautiful woman standing a few feet in front of her. Her beauty was something Lu Lingqi had never seen in her life. Lu Lingqi immediately felt certain that this must be Madam Zhen!
She saw that the other person's belly was slightly bulging, but her figure was still slim. When Lu Lingqi saw him smiling at her, she suddenly felt charming.
The other party bowed gently and asked, "Is this the daughter of Marquis Wen?"
"My name is Zhen Mi, and I am honored to meet Madam Lu."
The other party was so polite that Lv Lingqi couldn't help it. She subconsciously bowed and returned the greeting, "My name is Lv Lingqi, nice to meet Madam Zhen."
Madam Du got out of the car, came up to greet Zhen Mi, then retreated behind Lu Lingqi and said in a low voice, "You're out!"
Lu Lingqi felt helpless, but she had to admit that Zhen Mi's appearance and even temperament were indeed on a different level from others, and she had to admit it.
She was broad-minded and straightforward, and quickly put aside her guard and said, "Madam is pregnant, but she still came out to greet me. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid I can't bear it."
Zhen Mi smiled and said, "I'm not that delicate. Besides, it's good for your health to exercise regularly."
"But I heard that Madam has helped my husband a lot and saved his life several times. It would be unreasonable for me not to come out to welcome her in person."
Lu Lingqi touched the back of her head and said with a smile, "He and I often team up to fight the enemy. We are more like peers, haha."
Seeing that Lu Lingqi was carefree, Zhen Mi thought that this woman was quite likable. She turned sideways and said with a smile, "There is another person here. You two must know her."
Cai Zhaoji flashed out and said with a smile: "Madam Lu, Madam Du, long time no see."
Lu Lingqi and Madam Du looked at Cai Zhaoji, confused at first. After recognizing her features, they suddenly realized what was going on and asked in unison, "Are you the disfigured Madam Yinhu?"
Cai Zhaoji bowed and said, "You two actually still remember me. My real name is Cai Zhaoji, the daughter of Cai Zhonglang. Nice to meet you two ladies."
Lu Lingqi and Madam Du were struck by lightning and were stunned. They thought that they had thought that Yinhu and his disfigured wife were deeply in love, but it turned out that this was not the case at all!
That's right, how could that lewd tiger fall for an ugly woman?
The two men's contempt for Yuan Xi increased even more.
The atmosphere was even more subtle when old friends met. At this time, Cao Xian led the Marquis's wife up to meet him. Zhen Mi and the Marquis's wife greeted each other and said with a smile, "The mansion is much more lively now."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. The women present all had remarkable identities and backgrounds. Any one of them would be more than qualified to be the wife of any other noble family. But now they had all become Yuan Xi's concubines!
Thinking of what Yuan Xi had done in the past two years, the women were puzzled as to how this man could fight wars and at the same time touch upon the women of the gentry without any delay.
Zhen Mi led the women inside. Cao Xian took two steps forward and supported Zhen Mi with Cai Zhaoji. Zhen Mi smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous. I can still move freely now."
She turned to Lv Lingqi and the other two and said, "Mrs. Wu was a little tired today, so I didn't let her out."
"She and I are both pregnant with my husband's child. If we calculate the time, she is pregnant earlier than me."
Lu Lingqi was a little dazed. There is another one?
Why didn't Yuan Xi ever mention it to me?
She wondered, "Who is this Madam Wu?"
After hearing this, Zhen Mi showed a playful smile on her face, "It would be better for Madam to ask in person after my husband comes back."
Yuan Xi sneezed and everyone looked over.
The people present were obviously much more respectful than when Yuan Xi left Jicheng. This made Yuan Xi realize that there were not many people in the world who were higher in status and strength than him.
He looked around. Apart from Zhao Yun and Xianyu Fu who had rushed to the north of Yuyang to deploy troops to guard the border, those present included Liu He, Guo Jia, Ju Shou, Tian Yu, Lu Xun, Sun Li and others.
Although their number seems small, each of them is very capable. Except for the two Yuans and Cao Cao, they are not weaker than any other princes, and are even much stronger than Liu Bei today.
He said, "Brother Liu, please tell me about the military situation in Youzhou."
After hearing this, Liu He started talking. He was already familiar with the situation in Youzhou. He had been in charge of the affairs of Jicheng for the past six months and was well aware of all the forces on all sides.
With his introduction, everyone understood the situation in the northern border of Youzhou in just half a moment.
It seemed that the Xianbei outside the Great Wall were invading the border in an all-out manner, but in Liu He's view, they were actually mainly testing the borders, using a large number of cavalry to harass the borders of various counties in Youzhou at the same time, waiting for an opportunity to find a breakthrough.
If the defense of a certain place is weak, the enemy may find a flaw, break into the heart of Youzhou in one fell swoop, and then plunder.
Liu He said: "After discussing with General Zilong and the envoy of Zhao, we decided to counterattack immediately and do our utmost to injure and cripple the Xianbei cavalry."
"Only in this way will the Xianbei retreat, or turn to attack the Wuhuan Gongsun Du in Guannei. This is a plan to divert the disaster eastward."
"I believe Wuhuan and Gongsun Du also think so, so they should do their best to counterattack immediately to prevent the Xianbei from attacking their territory."
Guo Jia laughed and said, "Liu Shizhong's plan is brilliant. If we show any signs of fatigue, the Xianbei will surely be like vicious wolves, waiting for an opportunity to tear flesh from us."
"What he has done now is to force the three forces in Youzhou to temporarily unite. It can be said that this is very unwise. I don't know why Xianbei Master Kobe made such a stupid move."
Ju Su said at this time: "I am also concerned about Feng Xiao's last sentence."
"In theory, although the pasture has decreased this autumn, it is not to the point of exhaustion."
"If I were Kobe, I would never do such a desperate move. Instead, I would try to make friends with Guan Nei and ask for help."
"Hasn't he thought about the consequences of failure?"
"You know, to the west of the Xianbei territory lies the Northern Xiongnu, with whom they have a very bad relationship!"
After these words were spoken, everyone fell into deep thought. Guo Jia also looked a little serious and said, "Gong Yu has enlightened me. I was too afraid of the threat from the Hu people, and my thinking was a little narrow."
"If Kobe can do this, he must not be fighting alone. There must be other forces secretly supporting him, otherwise he would never dare to do this!"
"We must not be careless in the battle, and we must find out his true purpose!"
Everyone nodded, and Yuan Xi was a little annoyed. He originally thought that it was an invasion of the border by the Hu people with a very simple purpose caused by the ice age, but now it seems that the situation is very complicated, and the forces involved also include the Northern Huns.
He couldn't help but say, "If the Northern Xiongnu might get involved, doesn't that mean that the Southern Xiongnu might even be involved?"
Guo Jia and Ju Shou looked at each other and said, "Young Master's guess is not without reason."
"If the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou are involved, then Youzhou will become a real war zone."
"The various forces involved are like a chain of nine links. If one move affects the entire chain, it will be very difficult to deal with."
Everyone shared the same feeling that these five or six forces could be hostile to each other or form alliances with each other. There were countless possible combinations.
Even some of them may have formed a private alliance now!
It's like a bunch of locks linked together. Which key is the most correct choice to open that lock?
Everyone was at a loss for a moment. In fact, when there is no best answer, the lord's decision is very crucial.
Yuan Xi looked at Lu Xun and said, "Bo Yan, tell me."
Guo Jia and Ju Shou looked at each other again. Although they felt that Lu Xun was very talented, they both believed that he might not be able to take charge of things on his own until ten years later. However, Yuan Xi had an inexplicable trust in Lu Xun, which left the two of them puzzled.
Lu Xun hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know the situation in Youzhou yet, so I dare not speak rashly."
"But Xun has heard that you defeated the armies of Tian Chou, Kong Rong, and Liu Bei in the battle of Qingzhou."
"In the battle of Yijing, the young master first defeated Black Mountain, and then rushed to the nearby area to ambush Gongsun Zan for several days, causing him to miscalculate."
"Xun carefully considered the envoy's tactics at the time and believed that the essence of the tactics lies in speed."
"You, the envoy, only faced one enemy at a time, but used the time difference to defeat several powerful enemies one by one, maintaining an advantage in military strength in every battle. This is called defeating the enemy with a small force, and you have mastered the essence of military tactics."
Guo Jia heard this and said, "Bo Yan means that while the parties are fighting, we should defeat them one by one?"
Lu Xun hurriedly shook his head and said, "This scheme could easily backfire and put us in an unjust situation."
"My suggestion is to send envoys to negotiate with all parties and win over as many as possible."
"If someone is determined to be an enemy, and you can join forces with several parties, then attack the remaining enemy and you can profit from it."
"I heard that when Lord Liu was alive, he was on good terms with the Hu people. Now we can invite all parties to come to Jicheng for negotiations in the name of Minister Liu (Liu He). On the one hand, we can delay time, and on the other hand, we can make all parties think that others have joined forces with us, which will make them more suspicious of each other."
"This is a tactic to sow discord and alienate people."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi thought that Lu Xun was right.
Guo Jia sighed: "Bo Yan really has a bright future."
Although he believed that with Yuan Xi's current ability, he was not unable to defeat the Xianbei, so he still preferred to defeat his opponent in one battle.
But Guo Jia had to admit that Lu Xun's approach had a higher tolerance for mistakes and came at a lower cost.
Seeing Yuan Xi nod, Liu He stood up and said, "Many of my father's subordinates surrendered to me, and they also had a lot of friendship with the Hu people."
"I will now arrange for them to go separately to visit the Xianbei, the Wuhuan in Guannei, Gongsun Du, and the Northern and Southern Xiongnu."
"As for what benefits to offer, I need your instructions to impress them."
Yuan Xi said, "I will petition the emperor to grant him a title. If he is willing to be registered as a resident, the conditions will be more favorable. I will also support him privately, but the specific conditions need to be discussed by him sending an envoy."
Everyone had made up their minds and left, but Liu He stayed and said, "Young Master's bottom line is..."
Yuan Xi thought for a moment and said, "If he is really sincere, he will naturally come to Jicheng to talk to me."
Liu He nodded and hesitated for a moment. "I have considered the message that the envoy conveyed to me earlier."
"If Youzhou is pacified this time, I want to leave Jicheng and go to Huaicheng to meet the emperor."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed and said, "If Brother Liu leaves, I will lose a great friend."