After entering Wei County, they first passed through Shexian County and were greeted by the officials in the city.
Bai Xiaowen asked the magistrate of Shexian County, how is the situation in Jizhou?
The county magistrate replied: "After the death of Grand Sima, the third son Yuan Shang and the military advisor came to Liyang on the right occasion. They passed down Grand Sima's legacy orally and made the third son his heir to inherit the throne. All the officials in the cities of Jizhou received the order, but most of them
Hesitating and hesitating, not knowing whether it is true or false.”
Bai Xiaowen showed a hint of ridicule on his face and said: "My third brother, do you really think you are so popular? He pretended to pass on his inheritance and tried to steal his father's throne. It's ridiculous."
The current situation is different from that in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Originally, Yuan Shang relied on his good skin and the strength of a second-rate general to inherit Yuan Shao's legacy with the reputation of "Li Xian".
But now, with Yuan Xi suddenly coming out of nowhere, Yuan Shang's turn will not be around at all.
Officials in various cities in Jizhou were hesitant to obey the order, mainly because they doubted the authenticity of the order.
Dong Zhao, who was beside him, scolded the magistrate of Shexian County: "The second son has been ordered by the emperor to be named Grand Sima and Mu of Jizhou to inherit the great cause! Since you are the magistrate of this city, why don't you pay me a visit quickly?"
The county magistrate quickly prostrated himself again.
Bai Xiaowen said gently: "No courtesy. Does my third brother have any other actions?"
The county magistrate said: "The Third Young Master somehow persuaded General Jiang Yiqu, the defender of Liyang, and gathered many defeated troops from the Battle of Guandu. He claimed to have a hundred thousand troops and was marching towards Yecheng."
Dong Zhao on the side immediately said: "My lord, what Yuan Shang lacks in reputation, he makes up for it with force. Wherever he goes, Jizhou city officials are afraid of the military power and can only obey his orders. I wonder who is in charge of Yecheng at this time?
"
The magistrate of Shexian County said: "In the midst of governance, don't drive, judge and distribute."
Bai Xiaowen nodded and said: "I know this person Shen Pei. He and Feng Ji have always assisted my third brother Yuan Shang; my late father also has two counselors, one Xin Ping and one Guo Tu, who assist my brother Yuan Tan.
."
Dong Zhao said: "It seems that Yecheng is almost undefended against Yuan Shang. My Lord, it is better to make a decision as soon as possible!"
Bai Xiaowen said: "I have my own opinion."
While they were talking, suddenly a group of ten cavalrymen, all wearing fine iron armor, came galloping towards them.
Bai Xiaowen recognized that this was the winged cavalry he sent out, and said with a smile: "A messenger has arrived from Yecheng."
The sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped, and ten winged cavalry dismounted and prostrated themselves, presenting a secret letter.
Bai Xiaowen opened it and read it directly. After reading the letter, he smiled and said:
"When I first arrived in Bingzhou, I sent my generals Qiao Rui, Han Yang and Bai Sanniang to lead the winged cavalry to Yecheng. The purpose was to report to my father and make room for the emperor to stay.
"Although Qiao Rui is a female general, she makes quick decisions and has the style of a general. After receiving the bad news of her father's death, she immediately led the winged cavalry to the prison in Jizhou and rescued Tian Feng. Tian Feng ascended and shouted, and the soldiers and people of Yecheng
They all surrendered wholeheartedly. Even if Shenpei wanted to mobilize troops, no one responded, and he is currently under house arrest. Yecheng is already in the palm of my hand."
Tian Feng's reputation is much higher than Shen Pei's.
The civil servants and generals beside him were all surprised and happy.
Some people praised General Qiao for his decisive decision, while others congratulated "Yuan Xi" for his great fortune.
But only Xun looked at Bai Xiaowen with squinted eyes for a while, thoughtfully.
Bai Xiaowen knew that he could not hide it from Xun. All these planning and planning, including entering Yecheng in the name of the emperor's residence; after the news of Yuan Shao's death was received, Tian Feng was immediately released and placed under house arrest for trial... these were all his arrangements in advance.
But there is nothing surprising. From the time Sizhou Army tried its best to intercept, a wise person could guess that the Guandu War was going to be unfavorable to Yuan Army.
Yuan Jun was defeated. Can Yuan Shao survive? No one can say.
Therefore, from Xun's perspective, Bai Xiaowen sent winged cavalry into Yecheng to make arrangements in advance as a precaution.
If Yuan Shao was still there, then the task of the winged cavalry would really be to station themselves for the emperor and free up his residence.
If Yuan Shao dies, the mission of the winged cavalry will naturally change accordingly.
No matter what, it would be difficult for Xun to guess that Bai Xiaowen had already foreseen Yuan Shao's inevitable death, because he did not know the existence of the Awakened One or the existence of Shenting. This was a limitation of vision caused by information asymmetry, not a lack of Xun's wisdom.
But... in Xun's eyes, "Master Yuan Xi" is even more intelligent and capable of understanding ghosts and gods. Is this man really only in his twenties?
Not to mention Xun's shock, there is another news in Qiao Rui's letter, that is, the eldest son Yuan Tan.
After the defeat in Guandu, Guo Tu originally wanted to join Yuan Shao, but unexpectedly Yuan Shao was defeated. After thinking about it, he decided to go east to Qingzhou and continue to assist Yuan Tan.
With the support of Xin Ping and Guo Tu, Yuan Tan proclaimed himself a general, raised 30,000 soldiers from Qingzhou, and entered Qinghe County (or Qinghe Kingdom) in the east of Jizhou.
Yuan Tan also marched in a hurry, not stopping in Qinghe County, but heading west. According to Qiao Rui's calculations, at most tomorrow, the Qingzhou Army led by Yuan Tan will enter Julu County, and the next target will naturally be Wei County.
Yecheng.
"The three sons separated their families..." Recalling this part of the novel, Bai Xiaowen felt a little emotional. In fact, after the defeat of Guandu, the foundation of Hebei was not damaged. After all, Jizhou was too wealthy and had a large population.
In addition, about 100,000 Yuan's troops were killed or wounded in Guandu, and the rest followed the generals of various ministries and fled in disarray.
According to the novel, when the news came out that Yuan Shao was still alive, all the defeated troops "regrouped". Together with the reinforcements from Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Bingzhou, there were still 200,000 to 300,000 troops. In terms of military strength, it was enough to compete with Cao Cao.
contend.
Moreover, Cao Cao needed to go back to stabilize the situation and could not take advantage of the victory to expand the results.
Of course, in Cao Cao's view, Yuan Shao is dead, and the three sons will inevitably compete for the family property. As the saying goes, "If you attack him with troops, you should use all your strength to meet the enemy. Don't rush to attack; if you slow down, you will have to fight against him." (Note).
After the Yuan clan's disciples fought and their strength was depleted, Cao Cao just stabilized Henan, and then crossed the Yellow River to the north to attack, which would definitely save effort. This was a strategy of watching the fire from the other side of the bank.
Bai Xiaowen knew that now was the time to hurry up and not to begrudge props. He once again used Meng De's new book - The Strategy of Speedy Soldiers to speed up the whole army and march quickly to Yecheng. When the sun turned west, they rushed to Yecheng.
In front of the door.
Qiao Rui led his troops to guard Yecheng. After inspecting it, he opened the city gate.
Tian Feng led the civil and military officials of Yecheng to kneel down along the road to welcome him. In fact, this time he knelt down to greet him, not just for Bai Xiaowen, but to welcome the Emperor Luanjia.
Emperor Liu Xie met him in the car and was quite pleased with him.
The emperor's envoy read out the imperial edict and granted Yuan Xi the title of Grand Sima and Jizhou Shepherd, inheriting his father's duties.
All civil and military officials in Jizhou were given rewards. The negative impact of Yuan Shaoxin's death on people's hearts was immediately reduced by most, and he was delighted to receive promotions and promotions.
After the edict was promulgated, Bai Xiaowen met Tian Feng and said with emotion: "Without the help of my husband, how could I easily conquer Xudu and welcome back the emperor? If Xudu is not broken, Cao Cao's rear is stable, and he will definitely take advantage of the victory to advance to Jizhou. I
It’s hard for everyone in the family to save their lives.”
Tian Feng did not take credit for it and said: "This is a strange strategy of the young master, and the old man is just doing his best."
Bai Xiaowen immediately asked the emperor to report that Tian Feng was in prison that day and gave up his family's business to help him secretly raise troops to attack Xudu, and asked the emperor to reward Tian Feng with food and a city.
Tian Feng firmly declined: "Jizhou has not yet been pacified at this time. My Lord, there is no need to rush to reward the old man, lest the ministers outside become jealous."
Bai Xiaowen said: "Sir, your conduct is noble, but those who have meritorious service must not refuse to be rewarded, and it is in accordance with the law." So he ordered Qiao Rui to inspect the treasury, and gave the Julutian family a hundred yi of gold (two thousand four hundred taels). Wait until Hebei is settled, and then discuss the seal.