Zhao Rong: "...It doesn't matter if it's ten thousand guan. Now Youzhou's treasury is empty. If this amount of money and grain is injected, the next time the general asks for grain, he will finally be able to meet it."
Bai Xiaowen waved his hand and said: "Wait a minute. You can't just focus on the benefits and ignore the troubles... There is a big problem in the four counties of Liaodong right now."
Zhao Rong looked confused: "What's the problem?" He arrived from Peiping overnight and didn't know the news about the Yellow Turban Army.
Bai Xiaowen informed about the Yellow Turban Thief.
"Yellow turban thieves were discovered in Liaodong?! Is this news conclusive?" Zhao Rong said in surprise.
"The thief chief Guo Cai was imprisoned together with more than ten of his followers. There are also account books here, and all the witnesses and material evidence are there. How can it be inconclusive?" Bai Xiaowen said.
"Then... what the young master means is..."
"Of course they will be wiped out," Bai Xiaowen said matter-of-factly. "I, the Yuan family, are guarding Youzhou on behalf of the Emperor of Han Dynasty. How can we allow these rogue bandits to cause harm to the people? The soldiers and horses of Liaodong have not yet surrendered, so it is not appropriate to use them. This battle requires the troops of Youzhou itself.
.”
Zhao Rong secretly complained: Master, are you serious? Who doesn't know that the Black Mountain bandits in Jizhou have been entrenched for three years, and the general still turns a blind eye.
However, of course Zhao Rong could not refute, he could only nod and said: "If you want to use Youzhou troops, you must have permission from the general. You might as well write a letter and ask for the order from the general. In this way, Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan
Only three generals, including Yan Rou, dared to launch troops."
Yan Rou previously led 500 soldiers, which was extremely small. It was just that the number of guards around "Yuan Xi" was doubled, and it did not count as an expedition.
Of course, Bai Xiaowen used these 500 soldiers to do amazing things. It was better than going on an expedition. This is why Zhao Rong said "Young master has done great things" when he opened his mouth. This exclamation is roughly equivalent to the ancients' "f*ck".
To deal with more than 2,000 Yellow Turban thieves is obviously no small matter.
Bai Xiaowen had long expected that Zhao Rong would say this, so he nodded and said, "It's okay to write a letter, but it requires Zhao Biejia's co-signation."
Zhao Rong wanted to say, can I not wade into this muddy water?
But judging from Bai Xiaowen's point, it's really impossible not to wade through the muddy water. Ten thousand yuan of money and food is not for nothing.
In the end, the letter to Yuan Shao was written by Bai Xiaowen himself, and in addition to his own name, he also signed Zhao Rong's name at the end.
…
Two days later, Guandu arrived at Yuan Jun's camp.
Yuan Shaogao is sitting on the main seat. He is dressed in military uniform, has a fair complexion, and has three long beards. He is not angry and has no authority. Anyone who sees him will praise him. He is worthy of the Four Generations and Three Lords. This magnanimity is extraordinary!
There are two rows of long tables on the left and right below, and a group of counselors are sitting on the left and right, more than ten people in total.
In terms of number of people, it is several times stronger than Cao Cao's think tank.
It's a pity that although there are many people, most of them are bastards who only follow what others say.
There are only three or four people who can really make suggestions and gain the trust of Yuan Shao.
"Report! Emergency military situation in Youzhou!"
Yuan Shao's eyes narrowed: "Bring it up!"
Three Youzhou cavalrymen, dusty and exhausted, rushed into the camp.
"My lord, a letter has arrived from the second young master. I will respond to the military situation and put it all in the letter." The leader of the envoy knelt down, took out a letter from his arms, and raised his hands above his head.
A waiter had already taken the letter and delivered it to Yuan Shao.
"Oh? It's actually signed by Zhao Rong and Xi'er."
Yuan Shao took it a little more seriously and opened the paint-sealed letter.
After seeing it, Yuan Shao couldn't help but look happy and exclaimed: "I didn't expect Xi'er to be able to do such great things in Youzhou!"
All the counselors below were a little curious. One of them said: "Lord, what is the military situation in Youzhou?"
Yuan Shao chuckled and said: "Xian Yi (Biaoym of Yuan Xi) wrote a letter saying that he brought five hundred elite soldiers into Liaodong and wiped out Gongsun and his son. From then on, the four counties in Liaodong were also brought under the rule of my Yuan family."
The first reaction of the counselors was:
How is it possible?
Yuan Shao laughed and passed the letter to everyone for viewing.
In fact, Yuan Shao's first reaction was that he couldn't believe it, but the benefit of Zhao Rong's signature was reflected, which greatly enhanced the credibility of the letter.
Yuan Shao stood up, walked around in the tent, and said with a smile: "This Xi'er has always been silent, but I didn't expect that I could earn Gongsun Du and his son..."
When Yuan Shang, the third child serving his father in the camp, saw him, he couldn't help but feel envious and jealous. He looked at a counselor in the first row on his right.
The counselor's name was Feng Ji, and he was quite famous in the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Feng Ji caught a glimpse of Yuan Shang's gaze and nodded slightly. He had already read the letter and was thinking about how to speak.
At this time, Yuan Shaozheng asked the counselors: "I won the land of four counties without spending a single soldier. Xian Yi's contribution is not small. In your opinion, how should I reward him?"
Feng Ji stood up, and all the counselors who wanted to speak immediately shut their mouths.
Feng Ji bowed and saluted and said: "My lord, in my opinion, the second young master should not be rewarded for this behavior, but should be blamed."
"Oh?" Yuan Shao frowned and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Feng Ji had already figured it out in his mind and said unhurriedly: "Reporting to my lord, our army is currently at a stalemate with Cao's thieves. If we win, we can unify the north. This is a strategy that involves the overall situation and cannot be missed! Youzhou in the rear
, Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou, the top priority should be stability. The second young master’s move was too risky. To put it bluntly, it was the courage of an ordinary man. He did not consider the consequences if the matter failed. "
Seeing Yuan Shao's brows furrowed and deep in thought, Feng Ji continued: "If the incident fails and the second young master is captured or killed by Gongsun Du, Liaodong will be betrayed, and the war in Youzhou will inevitably lead to chaos in the rear! Fortunately, the second young master relies on the Yuan family's prestige.
My lord, Hong Fu, succeeded. However, if my lord rewards the second son for this, he will encourage other officials guarding the rear to take such risks. When the rear is unstable, how can our army compete with Cao's thieves?"
"Besides, the bitter cold land in Liaodong is not enough to raise an army, it is just a small profit. Compared with the lord's great cause of striving for world supremacy, which one is more important? I hope the lord will think about it carefully!"
Guo Tu who was on the side also took the opportunity to say: "My lord, Gongsun Du invited the young master to the banquet because he wanted to make friends with the Yuan family because of his prominent family. Therefore, he was unprepared and was taken advantage of by the second young master. If this matter spreads, I am afraid that the princes in the world will
, they all laugh at me, Yuan, for being dishonest and unrighteous, who dares to make friends with us?"
As a matter of fact, Guo Tu was almost Yuan Shao's most relied-upon counselor. As soon as these two men expressed their opinions, a group of melon-eating counselors behind them naturally responded in unison.
Yuan Shao slowly sat down, patted the table and said, "If it hadn't been for everyone's advice, I almost made a big mistake. I really shouldn't be rewarded for showing off this move, lest others follow suit and mess up our army's plans. I will hand over Youzhou to this fool."
With him, I originally hoped that he would be honest and loyal, but I didn't expect that he would cause trouble for me!"
From joy to anger, Yuan Shao's temperament changed so quickly that it was comparable to the change of face in a Sichuan opera. Just now he was talking about how to reward Yuan Xi, but in the blink of an eye he was thinking about how to punish and blame him.