After the General's Palace.

In the courtyard of the West Wing, a sentry bicycle hurriedly ran in and came straight to the main hall of the courtyard.

"Whew! Yu, Yu general, found it, found it! ”

As soon as he stepped into the main gate, the sentry rider didn't have time to breathe, and immediately said urgently, his tone was filled with a hint of joy.

"What did you find?" Le Jin, who was dressed in armor, got up when he heard this, walked quickly to the sentry horse, lifted him up, and asked urgently.

"I've found General Xiahou!" The sentry rider with his feet in the air hurriedly replied, for fear that he would be strangled by his neck and suffocated to death.

"General Xiahou is still alive?" Le Jin let go when he heard this, and said in surprise inexplicably, and the sentry rider who was lifted by him fell to the ground and screamed "oops".

However, when the sentry heard Le Jin's words, the screams of pain stopped abruptly, Ma slipped up, and said in a trembling voice: "This 、、、 general, it's not that General Xiahou is still alive, but that we have found the body of General Xiahoudun." ”

After speaking, the sentry rider instinctively took two steps back, lest he repeat the mistake of the past again and be killed by Le Jinqian's anger.

"Corpses?" Le Jin's voice changed, his face was pale, and he was stunned at the door of the lobby, stunned.

"General Xiahoudun was not spared after all, how can I stay on the main bus!" After standing for a long time, Le Jin sighed worriedly.

The sentry stood at the corner of the door and didn't dare to make a sound at the moment, and the soldiers who had been following Le Jin slowly stepped forward and said softly: "Didn't the lord send me and others to find the body of General Xiahoudun this time, and now that I have found it, why can't I explain?" ”

Le Jin shook his head when he heard this, slowly walked to the side and sat down rather melancholy, and said in a deep voice: "You don't know, General Xiahoudun and Li Li thieves fell into the water together, a month ago, we have learned that Li Li is safe and sound, so it is inferred that General Xiahoudun should not be killed." Otherwise. Why did Li Li and the thief survive alone? Therefore, I wrote a letter to the lord to report that it was very likely that General Xiahoudun was still alive, but the lord believed it to be true and ordered us to find General Xiahoudun wherever we wanted.

As of today, we have been in Yuan Shufu for nearly two months, searching hundreds of miles along the river, and then searching along the river, searching for thousands of miles of rivers before and after, which lasted one and a half months. Now it's hard to find it. But not living people, but corpses. If this reaches the ears of the lord, then I will commit the crime of deceiving the lord, and this trip is not only fruitless, but has been done. How good is that? ”

"This 、、、" the soldier hesitated for a moment. Good words persuaded him: "The general was just speculation before, and he did not intend to deceive the lord. In the opinion of the last general. The lord can also understand. The general will not be blamed for this. Please let the general rest assured and not worry too much. The most urgent thing at the moment is to rush to identify the corpse and confirm whether it is General Xiahou, and don't admit it again. ”

Le Jin nodded lightly and said in a low voice: "Now it can only be like this." I hope the soldiers are not mistaken, otherwise the days of living in Yangzhou are not over. Until General Xiahou is really found. As for how the lord punishes me, I can't control so much for the time being, whether it's a blessing or a curse, and I can't avoid it. Let's take it one step at a time! ”

After speaking, Le Jin got up, took his weapons and personal soldiers and followed the sentry out of the back door, and rode straight to the river where Xiahoudun's body was found.

——————————————————

"What did you say, found it?"

In the main hall of the front yard of the General's Mansion, Yuan Shugao sat on a wide and handsome seat, accompanied by a beautiful young woman on the left and right sides. Below, a scout team led almost at the same time as Le Jin's sentry cavalry to report the progress of the search to the various autonomous princes and generals.

"It's amazing! It's been nearly two months, and they can still find Xiahoudun's body, how did they confirm the body, and why are they sure that the body is Xiahoudun, not other people who drowned? Yuan Shu held the wine bottle in his right hand and asked curiously.

The scout team didn't dare to raise his head to face Yuan Shu, and replied when he heard it: "Back to my lord, it is said that General Xiahoudun was cut off by the great general Li Li before his death, and the leg bone of one leg was also broken. In addition, General Xiahoudun was quite tall, and I heard that he had a disability in his left foot in his early years, which was also due to the general. Combined with so many obvious features, it is very easy to identify whether the corpse is General Xiahoudun, so the last general thinks that there should be no mistake this time, it must be the corpse of General Xiahoudun! ”

"Well, that makes sense." Yuan Shu nodded slightly, waved his hand and said, "Okay, you go down, and tell the scouts not to monitor the whereabouts of Le Jin and the others anymore, and all of them should be withdrawn." ”

The scout team responded to the order, immediately got up and exited the lobby, and left quickly.

"Military advisor, before you strongly advised this general not to hunt down Li Li, but now Li Thief has already returned to Chang'an, and is still sitting on the throne of the hussar general. Now that it's over, shouldn't we do something about it? After the scout team left, Yuan Shu waved his hand to signal the two beauties to retreat, immediately got up and walked to the hall, and asked in a low voice to the military advisor Yan Xiang.

"I don't know what the lord means? We are quite far away from the princes of the Central Plains, thousands of miles away from Xiliang, does the lord want to take this opportunity to participate in the battle of the Central Plains? "Yan Xiangqi is indeed talented, but he is upright by nature, speaks straightforwardly, and has a bit of a taste of loyalty and rebellion.

Yuan Shu's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and then he stood in the center of the hall, caressing his beard, a pair of small eyes turned quickly, and he was silent.

At this moment, there are only three people in the lobby, one of them is Yuan Shu, and the other two are: the military advisor Yan Xiang and the Huwei general Ji Ling. These two people can be regarded as Yuan Shu's right-hand men, one writer and one martial arts, and they have always been deeply relied on and trusted by Yuan Shu.

When Yuan Shu was drinking for fun, he did not shy away from the two, and specially ordered someone to invite them to drink together.

It can be seen that Yuan Shu is not as greedy and stingy as rumored by the outside world, and he is by no means pure arrogance. The reason why he is arrogant is because there are few people in this world who can make him respect, let alone win his admiration. Never obey anyone, in the eyes of most people, it is natural to think very highly of themselves, and no one is in their eyes.

In fact, Yuan Shu is quite good to the generals under his command. For the generals who are loyal to him, he has always been generous, with gold and silver brocade silks, and beautiful women in the house, and he has never been stingy. In addition, Yuan Shu's military control was relatively relaxed. He is not harsh at all on the generals under his command, and sometimes even if some ministers and generals make big mistakes, he will not punish them severely, only a little punishment.

It is worth mentioning that Yuan Shu himself is a kaleidoscope, very assertive, many things do not need the advice of a strategist, he has his own ideas, quick mind, and a lot of eyes. Often once he has made up his mind. will not change, no matter who comes to persuade it is in vain, quite a willful disposition.

At this point, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are completely different, with diametrically opposite personalities and ways of doing things. There is one biggest difference between the two brothers. That is Yuan Shao's appearance and appearance. Yuan Shu, on the other hand, is slightly short. The appearance is unsatisfactory, far less good-looking than Yuan Shao.

At this moment, Yuan Shu was standing in the center of the lobby, but he saw that he was about seven feet five inches tall, his body was slightly thin, his temples were already white, and he was lying on silkworm eyebrows. The eyes are small, but they are extremely attentive, and when they smile, their eyes are narrowed into a line. The bridge of the nose is not high, and the nostrils are quite large. The corners of the mouth are two strands of black whiskers, but they are quite sparse, and a half-foot-long beard on the lower jaw is slightly yellowish. When he was solemn, he was quite capable and capable, and when he laughed, he looked quite treacherous, creepy, and shuddering.

Therefore, in terms of appearance alone, Yuan Shu looks really like a grandmother who doesn't love his uncle and doesn't love him, compared with Yuan Benchu, who is dignified and upright, it is really a huge gap, as long as the two stand together, they can see at a glance and make a judgment. In fact, Yuan Shu is not much younger than Yuan Shao, and he is a descendant of the main family, and his identity is far more noble than Yuan Shao, who was born to the maidservant. It's a pity that his appearance is not as satisfactory as he wants, so he is not liked by his father and the elders in the family when he is young, and Yuan Shao is a good baby who is loved by everyone in the family, and the gap is very big. Over time, Yuan Shu formed a quirky and isolated character, and he was incompatible with his brother Yuan Shao.

However, it is difficult to draw conclusions about who is more talented than the Yuan brothers. Yuan Shao is both civil and military, Yuan Shu is also capable of literature and martial arts, and he has always led the army to fight, and his record is not inferior to Yuan Shao. Now the strength of the two brothers is not weak, and Yuan Shao is slightly better, that is because Yuan Shao is more famous than him, and he is the first to occupy the rich land of Jizhou, which is outstanding.

It is precisely because the Yuan brothers have always been at odds that when Yuan Shu learned that Li Li had dug a corner of Yuan Shao in Jizhou and ran to Yangzhou, although he received letters from Yuan Shao and Cao Cao one after another, he ignored them and let Li Li leave calmly.

A month and a half ago, Cao Cao sent his subordinate general Le Jin to Yangzhou with 300 armor soldiers to search for Xiahoudun's body. However, Yuan Shu did not have a good impression of Cao Cao in Yanzhou, and last year, together with Jin Shang, the Southern Xiongnu Yu Fuluo and the Black Mountain thief Zhenggu and others, they attacked Cao Cao's lair, but the sneak attack failed, but was defeated by Cao Cao. Subsequently, Yuan Shu had to evacuate Nanyang, stationed in Runan, and then captured Yangzhou, and then transferred the nest to Jiujiang.

Now that Yuan Shu has captured Shouchun, it can be regarded as a complete foothold in Yangzhou, and his strength is in a period of rapid rise. In the past six months, the army under his command has continuously attacked the city and pulled out the village, and the territory has expanded day by day, and the situation of separating Yangzhou has tended to be stable.

At present, Yuan Shu's biggest enemy is Liu Xuan, the assassin of Yangzhou, who has nearly 100,000 troops under his command, occupying most of Yangzhou, especially the six counties of Jiangdong are still in the hands of Liu Xuan. However, Yuan Shu is not afraid of Liu Xuan. Because he now occupies most of Yuzhou and has a firm foothold in Yangzhou, he will be able to defeat Liu Miao in time and become the most powerful prince along the river.

Today, Yuan Shu has nearly 200,000 troops, hundreds of generals, and there are not a few Wenchen celebrities. The other four princes are: Xiliang Li Li, who is at the top of the list, the second is Yuan Shao of Jizhou, the third is Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and the last seat is Liu Zhang of Yizhou.

As for the three princes of Yanzhou, Cao Cao, Xuzhou Tao Qian, and Youzhou Gongsun Zhan, the situation is now unclear and they have not been able to enter the top five. Cao Cao has now been killed by Lü Bu and is currently fighting fiercely with Lü Bu in an attempt to retake Yanzhou. Gongsun Chan killed Youzhou Mu Liu Yu, causing civil strife in Youzhou, and now Gongsun Chan is busy pacifying the civil strife and is too busy to take care of himself. Xuzhou Tao Qian was defeated by Cao Cao repeatedly, and now although Cao Cao withdrew his troops, Tao Qian could not afford to be ill, so Xuzhou's strength was greatly damaged, and the prospect was bleak.

Standing in the hall, Yuan Shu had a clear view of the situation in front of him, and he knew it in his heart. The reason why he didn't send troops to rob and kill Li Li before was not that he didn't want to kill Li Li, but that he had no bottom in his heart and was not sure of victory. After all, Li Li easily escaped from Yuan Shao in Jizhou, and then beat the Xiahou brothers sent by Cao Cao to death or injury, and defeated the robbery and killing of the princes of the two roads twice in a row, which shows that Li Li is extremely fierce and extremely strong. In view of this, after careful consideration, Yuan Shu decisively gave up chasing and killing Li Li, and the right to ignore the matter, out of sight, let Li Li leave freely.

Today, there is news that Li Li has returned to Xiliang, and usurped the high position of the hussar general, and personally led 100,000 iron cavalry to the Northern Expedition, in response to the 150,000 army of Fuluo. In this regard, Yuan Shu watched coldly, sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight, and was happy.

Now, Yuan Shu's mind is in a hurry, and the matter he is thinking about happens to be related to Li Li. More than half a month ago, he received a secret letter from Yuan Shao, and the content of the letter was extremely tempting. Correspondingly, the risk is also very large, and if the plan fails, it will lead to unpredictable consequences. Therefore, Yuan Shu delayed for half a month, and he still hasn't made up his mind. It's not that he's indecisive, it's that he's not in a hurry at all, because the person who benefits the most is not him, but someone else. In this case, why should he be in a hurry, just think about it slowly and deal with it calmly.

"Yan Xiang, instruct to go down, and order someone to prepare a good Nanmu coffin, collect the remains of Xiahoudun, and escort Xiahoudun's body out of the country with the gift of a prince. In addition, Dai Ben sent a handwritten letter to Cao Cao, stating that Ben General had sent a large army to chase and kill Li Li, but as a result, Li Li escaped. And said in the letter that I basically agree with Yuan Ben's original intention, and I will send troops with Meng De to participate in great events together! After pondering for a long time, Yuan Shu suddenly spoke.

"Ahh Yan Xiang was shocked when he heard this, raised his head and stared at Yuan Shu, and said in surprise: "The lord's move is intriguing!" seems to have something to say, but in fact it is perfunctory and prevarication, implicitly ridiculing Cao Mengde. Yanzhou Cao Cao is currently unable to protect himself, how to send troops to participate in major events, but the lord pushed Cao Cao to the front, using this as an excuse to refuse to send troops. The lord is clever! ”

Yuan Shu grinned and said, "Since the military advisor has no objections, let's do it immediately." After writing the letter, he asked Le Jin to take it back and hand it to Cao Cao. This time, Cao Mengde can be regarded as stealing chickens and rice, not only forming a big enmity with Li Li, but also losing two henchmen. In addition, his Yanzhou foundation was taken away by Lu Bu, and several concubines and clansmen fell into the hands of Lu Bu, which can be said to be even worse, and the losses were heavy! ”

While gloating, Yuan Shu sneered: "The Central Plains shape is so complicated, the situation is obscure, and if you are not careful, you will suffer a heavy blow. We are thousands of miles away in Yangzhou, why do we have to mix such thankless idle things? What's more, Yuan Benchu and Cao Cao have always been angry in one nostril, calling them brothers and brothers, and repeatedly thwarting my plans with Gongsun Zhan. This time, they provoked this war, and they wanted to pull me Yuan Shu to help them, it was really wishful thinking, and they couldn't do it themselves! If they don't have this strength, then obediently be a grandson, why bother jumping up and down and tossing! ”

Yan Xiang nodded lightly when he heard this, and said thoughtfully, "What the lord said is extremely true. Now that we are far away from the main battlefield in the Central Plains and live in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River, it is imperative to concentrate our strength to pacify the rear. As for the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains, for the lord, it is indeed beyond the reach of the whip, and his efforts are thankless, and the soldiers and horses are lost in vain, and no actual benefits can be obtained.

Since this is the case, then I will simply sit on the wall and watch and wait to see how this Central Plains war ends. At the same time, the lord also needs to send additional troops and horses to attack Liu Xuan, accumulate grain and grass, collect and surrender troops, and take the opportunity to strengthen his strength. In this way, no matter how the situation in the Central Plains changes in the future, the lord sits on the two states along the Yangtze River, backed by the Yangtze River moat, and seems to be in an invincible position. In time, when the lord's strength grows stronger, he can become the king and become a great cause of his own fame! ”

"Hahaha! Good, good, good, what the military advisor said is exactly what I want! Yuan Shu laughed heartily, a pair of small eyes narrowed into a slit, and his very casual facial features were extremely distorted, which made people unforgettable and impressed at first sight!

In Yuan Shuhaha's laughter, Yan Xiang and Ji Ling bowed down and retreated, each following orders. From beginning to end, the general Ji Ling never interjected, because he was a hardcore confidant of Yuan Shu, and he had always obeyed Yuan Shu, and today is no exception.

—————————————— (To be continued)(To be continued......