The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 151: Li Yi's rage turned the mountains and rivers into scorched earth, and a century of prosperity was lost in the blink of an eye
But Yuan Shu was disheartened and walked up to Shu Shao with his sword in hand.

Shu Shao, courtesy name Zhongying, was appointed as the Prime Minister of Pei by Yuan Shu.

Responsible for helping Yuan Shu to unify the various counties in the southern part of Pei State.

However, after the armies of Cao and Liu moved south, the cities of Pei and Xiang counties fell one after another.

Shu Shao had no choice but to return to Yuan Shu. He was a noble gentleman, a white lotus in Yuan Shu's camp that remained unstained by the mud.

Historically, it was he who took the military rations of Yuan Shu on his own initiative to help the people.

When Yuan Shu finally found out, he calmly accepted his death and threatened:
"I know I will die, but my death can save millions of people. It's worth it!"

Yuan Shu was moved by Shu Shao and did not punish him in the end.

This was also the only human thing that the Skeleton King did before he died.

"All the generals have left, why are you the only one staying?"

Yuan Shu fixed his eyes, held his sword and looked at Shu Shao.

Shu Shao sighed:

"To betray one's master in times of danger is not what a loyal subject should do."

"Now that the troops of Cao and Liu are approaching, you can go out through the small gate, along Feishui, and go to Lujiang."

Lujiang is currently the territory of Liu Xun, who is also a disciple and former official of the Yuan family.

Previously, when Yuan Shu wrote a blank check to Sun Ce, he said that if you conquer Lujiang, Lujiang will be yours.

In the end, Yuan Shu broke his promise and handed it over to Liu Xun.

Now that the situation is hopeless, it seems the only option is to join Liu Xun.

Yuan Shu then asked Shu Shao:
"I am going to Lujiang, where is Zhongying going?"

Shu Shao said seriously:
"I will go to the top of the city to resist the coalition forces of Cao and Liu. You can leave quickly."

Yuan Shu was overjoyed when he heard this, and stepped forward to hold Shu Shao's hand, saying:

"Zhongying, do you want to enjoy the world's fame alone and not share it with me?"

Shu Shao sighed again:
"Today, the armor and soldiers are incomplete, the city walls are not strong, the army is not well trained, and the food supply is insufficient."

"The Jianghuai area is completely empty, and the people are eating each other."

"You may leave quickly, and don't be attached to Shao."

Yuan Shu thanked him and went to the inner room to see his wives and daughters.

He had hundreds of wives and concubines, but he only favored Feng Fang's daughter.

Historical records record that she was a beautiful woman who fled to Yangzhou to avoid the chaos.

Yuan Shu later brought her into the palace and doted on her.

In addition to his wives and concubines, he had one son and two daughters.

The only son, Yuan Yao, died in battle at Zhongli.

There were only two girls left, both of whom were not yet of marriageable age.

One of the daughters later married Sun Quan as a concubine, and the other married Huang Yi, a trusted general of Yuan Shu.

"……Father."

The two girls felt heartbroken when they saw Yuan Shu's haggard appearance.

They respect their father, who gave them a life of luxury.

Even though it is so destitute now.

When Yuan Shu saw the two girls' cute faces, he thought that once the city was breached, they would be humiliated by the enemy soldiers.

I couldn't help but feel sad and burst into tears.

Seeing this, the two girls were also filled with grief. They hugged their father and cried bitterly together.

What old father would be willing to see his own delicious cabbages being eaten by pigs?

What's more, once the city is breached and the enemy soldiers rush in, it won't be as simple as just taking cabbages.

It is very likely to turn into puff.

This was the feudal era after all, and the orders given to women of a fallen nation were generally like this.

rustling...

A burst of hurried footsteps was heard, and it was General Huang Yi who arrived with a dozen soldiers.

Huang Yi arrived, secretly glanced at Yuan Shu's daughter, then knelt on one knee and bowed:
"Mingsir! The coalition forces of Cao and Liu are already attacking the city gates and will soon break into the city."

"Prime Minister Shu has already led his troops to resist, but I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for long."

"Please allow me to escort you out of the city!"

Yuan Shu reached out to wipe his snot and tears and glanced at Huang Yi.

At this moment, I have been deserted by everyone and have nowhere to turn to.

Now we can only place our hopes on General Huang.

"General Huang is a man of honor and loyalty. I know you love my daughter, but you must escort us to Lujiang."

"I will marry my little daughter to you as your wife."

Huang Yi was overjoyed when he heard this and bowed his head repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Yuan Shu had no choice but to do this. This was the only way he had at the moment to win people's hearts.

Afterwards, Yuan Shu ordered his men to start packing the packages.

All the wives and concubines surrounded Yuan Shu and begged him to take them with him.

If women like them who are slightly pretty were to become prisoners, their fate would certainly not be good.

Following Yuan Shu, at least you can have fine clothes and delicious food every day.

Huang Yi advised:
"Mingsong, when you leave the city this time, you should travel light and not bring too many people with you."

The implication is that these women are all burdens.

Carrying it with you will undoubtedly hinder your progress.

Yuan Shu was also heartbroken, hugged the girls and comforted them softly:

"I also want to take all my concubines with me, but I am forced by the situation and cannot do so."

The women burst into tears and wailed sadly.

Yuan Shu had no choice but to take with him only his most beloved concubine, Feng Fangnu, three other beautiful concubines, and two daughters.

He hurriedly packed up his things and followed Huang Yi.

On the other side, since Shouchun City was very large, Cao Cao and Liu Bei each led an army to attack the city gate.

Li Yi personally led Zhao Yun and Xu Chu, each with 500 warriors, to attack the city gate.

Since many officers and soldiers had already fled the city, those who had not escaped had also given up resistance.

So the city gate was quickly breached.

After entering the door, there was no resistance from any soldiers.

Li Yi turned around and ordered the soldiers, "It is forbidden to disturb the people, it is forbidden to rape other people's wives and daughters, and it is forbidden to rob other people's property."

Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed.

The soldiers followed Li Yi's orders and entered the city in an orderly manner.

Zhao Yun was beside Li Yi and asked:
"Now that Shouchun City has been captured, may I ask the Lord to enter the city first?"

Li Yi said seriously:
"Shouchun City has just been captured, and people are restless. There are all kinds of people in the city, and there are many bad people."

"Once everything is settled, please invite the lord to enter the city."

Zhao Yun thought about it and agreed.

What's more, the lord's army is stationed outside the city. If we rashly lead the army into the city, it will only disturb the people. It is better to deal with the affairs in the city first.

Before he had taken two steps, he encountered an army.

He was Shu Shao, the prime minister of Pei.

When Xu Chu saw that he was blocking the road, he wanted to order archers to shoot him.

But Li Yi stopped him with his hand and asked:
"My name is Li Yi. May I ask your name, sir?"

Shu Shao introduced himself.

Li Yi sighed:

"It turned out to be Lord Shu. Now all the officials have fled and dare not resist my king's army."

"You lead a small army and still dare to come here to resist me. You are a loyal minister."

He immediately ordered people to reward Shu Shao with gold, silver, silk and other items.

Shu Shao bowed in thanks and led his troops to surrender to Li Yi.

"Since Mr. Ziyu entered the city, he has not harmed the people in the slightest. Shao is very grateful."

Shu Shao bowed and saluted Li Yi.

Li Yi then asked Shu Shao where the treasury of Shouchun City was, which was the issue he was most concerned about.

Shu Shao answered truthfully.

Li Yi immediately took out a token from his body, handed it to Xu Chu, and said:
"Zhongkang, you take my order and go to the location specified by Mr. Shu to take over the treasury in the city."

"Without my order, no one is allowed to take a cent. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed immediately."

"Here!"

Xu Chu took the token with both hands and turned to leave.

Li Yi turned to Shu Shao again and smiled at him:

"Shu Gong, can you take me to Yuan Shu's palace?"

Shu Shao was grateful for Li Yi's kindness, so he took Li Yi to Yuan Shu's palace.

Zhao Yun had hundreds of followers following behind him.

Yuan Shu's bedroom was magnificent. As soon as he entered the palace, he heard bursts of crying.

Li Yi followed the sound and saw hundreds of beautiful women, each covering their faces and crying.

Hundreds of warriors with ferocious faces were so frightened when they saw Li Yi that they turned pale and screamed.

When Li Yi asked Shu Shao, he found out that these people were Yuan Shu's wives and concubines.

Because Yuan Shu left in a hurry, he was unable to take everything with him.

Li Yi said loudly:

"Don't cry, ladies. I am Li Yi, the military advisor of Xuzhou."

"Our troops have never harmed the people wherever they go."

"As long as you ladies cooperate well, I will ensure that you will be safe when the city is captured."

Li Yi has a gentle complexion and is a gentleman.

After some kind words of persuasion, the women's emotions finally calmed down.

Li Yi's eyes looked around and finally landed on a woman in a light purple silk dress.

In ancient times, purple was a very difficult color to dye.

Therefore, purple often symbolizes nobility, and this is how the gold seal and purple ribbon came about.

Most nobles would choose to wear purple.

The fact that this woman can wear a purple skirt shows that her status is not low.

Li Yi stepped forward and asked in a gentle voice:
"May I ask your name, Madam?"

The woman bowed to Li Yiduanfang, her voice as clear as the sound of jade being rinsed in a clear stream.

"My name is Dong Wan. I originally lived in Lujiang. Because Yuan Shu was attracted by my beauty, he took me into his palace."

Well……

He called Yuan Shu by his real name and cut off the relationship very quickly.

Li Yixu helped her up and asked her where Yuan Shu was now.

Dong Wan answered truthfully and had already escaped from the city.

Zhao Yun stepped forward and said:

"Yuan Shu must not have gone far. Please allow me to chase him."

Li Yi did not respond in a hurry, and asked again:
"Do you know where the imperial seal is now?"

Dong Wan shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't know."

"It's just that the imperial seal is precious, and Yuan Shu never leaves it."

Li Yi put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth for a few steps.

"... In this way, Zilong and I will go after Yuan Shu together. We must be careful about what happens after his death."

Although Zhao Yun didn't understand what Li Yi was referring to after he died.

But he actually went to chase Yuan Shu in person, which showed that this matter must be of great importance. He immediately crossed his arms and said:

"Yes, I will prepare it right away."

The words fell,

Zhao Yun turned and left, ordered dozens of cavalrymen, and prepared a horse to go meet Li Yi.

Li Yi turned around and was about to leave, but Dong Wan suddenly blinked her almond-shaped eyes and stepped forward to hug Li Yi's waist.

She looked like she was about to cry, "Wu... Mr. Li... My life is miserable..."

It turned out that Dong Wan knew that Li Yi was a high-ranking figure in Xuzhou, who was young and held great power.

Now that the city is about to fall, it is better to hold on to a strong support than to become a prisoner.

Zhao Yun was shocked and angry when he saw this, and shouted: "How dare you!"

Just as he was about to step forward and pull Dong Wan away, Li Yi waved his hand to signal Zhao Yun not to do so.

He patted Dong Wan's head gently, then took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, he sighed deliberately:
"I heard that when Yuan Shu was in the palace, he lived a life of luxury and extravagance."

"Everyone in the palace is wearing gorgeous clothes. I wonder if there is a vault hidden in this palace?"

Dong Wan's eyes lit up and she immediately understood Li Yi's intention.

The sound was clear and crisp, and he shouted hurriedly:
"Yes, yes, yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you to see it."

Ok……

Li Yi nodded with satisfaction. It was easy to talk to smart people.

"No need, I still have to chase Yuan Shu."

"I'll leave this matter to Madam. When I return, I hope Madam can point out all the gold hidden in Yuan Shu's vault."

"...Yi is very grateful."

The last sentence is profound.

Dong Wan knew this was a good opportunity to express his attitude, so he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

For them, even if they knew where the vault was, where could a group of weak women run to?
I'm afraid I'll be caught after taking just two steps, and end up losing both my money and my life.

Rather than risking her life by running away, she would rather flaunt her beauty and hope to be noticed by a nobleman.

It's better than being humiliated by the lower-level soldiers.

Fortunately, they were lucky enough to meet Li Yi.

He is young and in a high position, gentle and polite.

Much better than that heartless Yuan Shu.

Li Yi ordered Tian Yu to lead 500 soldiers into the palace to guard the women and no one was allowed to disturb them.

Dong Wan and other women saw that Tian Yu and others were all doing their duties and did not offend them at all.

It turns out that Li Yi is indeed a man of his word and an honest gentleman.

So they all went to their own small vaults with peace of mind and took out all the gold, silver and jewelry inside.

Not stated.

……

The words are divided into two parts.

However, Yuan Shu took his wife and daughter, followed by the general Huang Yi, and fled south, preparing to go to Lujiang to seek refuge with Liu Xun.

Since he was traveling with his family, including female relatives, he couldn't walk very fast.

As the carriage reached a small slope, it suddenly heard a loud noise.

Yuan Shu was like a frightened bird, shouting:

"Could it be that the bandits are chasing us?"

Huang Yi said:
"The sound comes from the front, and the enemy chases from behind."

"How come the bandits are chasing us?"

Just as I was wondering, I heard a shout and several thieves with turbans on their heads, holding machetes, rushed out from the woods.

“…It’s the bandits!”

Someone shouted, and Feng Fang's daughter and Yuan Shu's two daughters were frightened and screamed.

Huang Yi hurriedly drew his sword and led everyone to form a circle, protecting Yuan Shu and others in the center.

The bandits did not move rashly and waited quietly for their leader to come out.

"……Hahaha."

A burst of laughter came from the crowd.

A burly man walked out with a machete in hand.

"God has mercy on me. I have met Yuan Shu here."

“This is why Heaven gave you to me.”

Yuan Shu felt that the voice sounded familiar, so he quickly stood up and looked, and was immediately horrified.

The bandit leader was none other than his captain Zhang Kai.

"Zhang, Zhang Kai?"

Yuan Shu opened his mouth wide and said in disbelief:

"Didn't I send you to assassinate Liu Bei?"

"Why are you here?"

Zhang Kai groaned, spat fiercely on the ground, and said in a fierce voice:
"I bother!"

"Are you treating me like a three-year-old?"

"Liu Bei is surrounded by many brave generals, and he always has followers when he goes out. Not to mention that there are many people in Xuzhou who know me."

"I would not dare to kill him unless I was hysterical."

"When I fled to Huainan and joined your army, I was afraid of Cao Cao's revenge and wanted to seek asylum."

"I didn't expect you to assign me such a life-threatening mission."

"I don't think I can kill Liu Bei. If I return to Shouchun, I will be blamed by you."

"So I brought my trusted men here and became a bandit."

"Hum..."

At this point, Zhang Kai laughed.

He had also heard these days that Yuan Shu personally led a large army and fought a fierce battle with the Xuzhou army at Tushan.

In the end, he suffered a crushing defeat.

Unexpectedly, within a few days, Yuan Shu had fallen to the point where he was left with only a few dozen people around him.

It's really like thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west...

"...Tsk tsk, Yuan Gonglu, how did things go today?"

Zhang Kai laughed grimly and looked at the women behind Yuan Shu with interest.

All the women were terrified. They hugged each other with looks of panic on their faces.

Yuan Shu was already seriously ill at this moment, and no longer had any of his former pride. He said:

"Captain Zhang, you are right. It was I, Yuan Shu, who was wrong to you in the past."

"Now I am no longer able to rule Huainan, and I don't think you will be able to stir up trouble anymore."

"Why don't we each take a step back, considering that we have worked together before?"

"If you let me go, I'll give you money and food, how about that?"

Zhang Kai laughed loudly upon hearing this:

"If I hijack your carriage, won't all your money and food also belong to me?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu was furious and cursed Zhang Kai in his heart for being a money-obsessed fool.

Huang Yi drew his sword and shouted coldly:

"You may have a large army, but if we fight to the death, you may not be able to gain any advantage!"

When Zhang Kai saw that Huang Yi was about to fight to the death, he thought to himself that he was the same.

Since we have already become bandits, there is no need to fight with Yuan Shu for a momentary anger.

He motioned for everyone to step back two steps and said:

"I'll let you go, but you have to leave the money and food behind!"

Yuan Shu agreed that today's incident would be difficult to resolve and could only be solved by spending money.

Yuan Shu ordered his men to take the money and grain away and give them to Zhang Kai.

"Now that I've got the money, can you let me go?"

Yuan Shu asked again.

Zhang Kai took a look at Feng Fang's daughter standing behind Yuan Shu. He had heard that she was a beauty.

Although she is not wearing any makeup, she is still very beautiful.

"We can let you go, but we brothers are hiding in the mountains and it's really boring."

"You can leave your women here to relieve the troubles of my brothers."

"Hahaha……"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the thieves burst into laughter.

Yuan Shu was furious and realized that Zhang Kai had no sincerity in peace talks.

"General Huang, attack them quickly!"

Yuan Shu raised his whip and ordered an attack.

Huang Yi suddenly stood up and led his soldiers to engage in a melee with Zhang Kai and others.

"Mr. Yuan, please take your women away first, and don't let them fall into the hands of the bandits!"

Huang Yi shouted loudly, saying that his fiancée was inside and could not be humiliated by the thief.

Yuan Shu also realized that swords and knives were merciless and it was not advisable to stay here for long, so he ordered the driver to drive quickly and escape from the southeast.

After running for half an hour, they finally left Zhang Kai behind.

Although there were no more bandits harassing him, there was no Huang Yi to protect him either.

Yuan Shu was tired, hungry and exhausted, so he ordered the cook to light a fire and cook.

Since we were traveling light, we didn't bring much money or food with us.

He had been blackmailed by Zhang Kai before, and a lot of property was lost in the melee.

Now there are only 30 hu of wheat crumbs left in the army.

The cook made it into porridge and gave it to Yuan Shu to drink.

Yuan Shu was extremely thirsty, so he took the bowl of porridge and swallowed it in big gulps, but he spat it out after just one mouthful.

"...Ahem."

Yuan Shu vomited non-stop, "This oatmeal porridge is really hard to swallow. It should be pig food, not human drink."

After saying this, he ordered the cook to bring honey water to quench his thirst.

The cook glanced at him and said calmly:
"Huainan was in great famine, and the people were eating each other."

"There is only blood water, how can there be honey water?"

When Yuan Shu saw that a cook dared to speak to him like that, he felt so angry that he vomited blood.

"...Is Yuan Shu really that bad?!"

Yuan Shu screamed, his eyes turned black, and he vomited blood and died.

When the women saw Yuan Shu fall to the ground, they all cried out in shock and fear.

The two daughters stepped forward, gently pushed Yuan Shu, and took his pulse again, but there was no beat.

It was confirmed that he was indeed dead.

Yuan Gonglu, who once dominated Huainan and looked down on his peers, officially withdrew from the stage of history.

It's sad to see him end up like this.

Was Yuan Shu's demise due to the fact that he had too many women?

No, Emperor Wu of Jin had more women around him, and he would sleep wherever the sheep cart stopped.

Is that because Yuan Shu lived a luxurious life?
Emperor Qianlong lived a more luxurious life than him.

Is that because Yuan Shu doesn’t know how to fight?
After all, he was defeated in almost every battle.

But Sun Quan was even worse at fighting than him, and even though the military record was poor, he was still keen on leading the army himself.

The above three points may be one of the reasons for Yuan Shu’s demise.

But the most fundamental reason is that Yuan Shu does not know how to use people.

Duke Huan of Qi, the leader of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, once asked Guan Zhong.

Tell me, I like hunting, does that hinder my dominance?
Guan Zhong replied: No problem.

Duke Huan of Qi asked again, "Is my lustful nature an obstacle to my dominance?"
Guan Zhong replied: No problem.

Duke Huan of Qi then asked: "If this is not a problem, then what is a problem that will prevent me from becoming the hegemon?" Guan Zhong replied: "The inability to discover talented people is a problem that will hinder my hegemony."

Discovering talented people but not using them will hinder your ambitions.

Appointing talented people but not letting them use their talents will hinder one's ambition to dominate.

Giving full play to talented people while at the same time using villains to restrain them will hinder one's ambitions.

Guan Zhong is truly a rare talent in the world. He revealed the key to dominating the world with just one sentence.

His words were very insightful, and every word was a slap in Yuan Shu's face.

This has nothing to do with whether Yuan Shu drinks honey water or not.

(Although drinking honey water is indeed good for the body)

But the most important ability of a monarch is to know people and appoint them to the right positions.

It doesn’t matter if the monarch cannot fight a war, he can employ good generals to fight.

No matter how weak Sun Quan was, he had famous generals such as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Xun and Lu Kang.

It doesn’t matter if the monarch cannot govern the country, as long as he appoints capable ministers to govern the country.

For example, Beibei boldly delegated power to Kong Ming, and was known as "Zhuge Liang's governance of Shu with full resources."

Compared with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu had better innate conditions and once became the number one prince in the world.

He has the best background and connections in the world, and his students and former officials are all over the world.

However, Yuan Shu was unable to employ talented people. Instead, he echoed the greedy bandits and became corrupt officials.

There are young talents like Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Zhuge Liang in the territory, but they are not cultivated.

He had powerful generals like Sun Jian and Sun Ce under his command, but he was unable to control them.

At his peak, Yuan Shu's territory once spanned four states.

However, half of the prefects were members of the Sun family, and Yuan Shu did not know how to guard against them.

Even his subordinates who were going to be bandits were unwilling to take him with them.

Yuan Shu had no capable ministers to govern the country, nor did he have trusted generals to lead troops into battle.

When the soldiers were so hungry that they went to fish in the river, and the people were so hungry that they resorted to cannibalism.

However, Yuan Shu was still living in the Spring and Autumn dream of "whoever will replace the Han Dynasty will be in high esteem".

It can be said that Yuan Shu played a good hand of cards badly.

Some people may not know how good the cards in Yuan Shu's hand are.

Just say so,
Suppose you are a time traveler and have traveled through time to the body of Yuan Shu.

The first thing you need to do is return to the circle of wealthy families, because most high-level intellectuals come from wealthy families and they only care about their origins.

And you have the best background of this era, which enables you to acquire a large number of talents.

after that,

You can promote your Juchao chief to the rank of general, and this Juchao chief is called Zhou Yu.

Then he invited a wealthy man who had come to the territory to avoid the chaos to govern Huainan. This wealthy man was called Lu Su.

Afterwards, he transferred the strategist of his general Liu Xun to his side to give him advice. This strategist was called Liu Ye.

After that, treat your subordinate Zhuge Xuan well and make sure to keep him by your side.

Then give him enough money to raise his three nephews well.

After a few years, I will make these three nephews my confidants at all costs.

The three nephews were named Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Jun.

There is nothing else after that. You just need to sit on the Shouchun throne and wait to conquer the world.

Unification was easy within fifteen years.

This is Yuan Shu’s script.

It is simpler than the script of any other lord in the Three Kingdoms.

But Yuan Shu failed to seize the opportunity, and instead committed perverse acts, abusing and mistreating the common people.

The tragic ending he ended up with was actually the best mercy God gave him.

……

……

After Yuan Shu's death, the women had no one to rely on and could only hope that Huang Yi could defeat Zhang Kai.

Otherwise, those weak women would never be able to walk to Lujiang on their own.

After a while, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the north.

The leading flag was bearing the name "Xiahou", which referred to Xiahou Dun, a general under Cao Cao.

Xiahou Dun reined in his horse, surrounded the crowd, and asked the women about their origins.

Led by Ms. Feng, they revealed their identities truthfully.

She knew there was no need to hide anything in front of these people.

In this world, it would be difficult for these women to protect themselves without the protection of a background.

It would be better to tell the truth about your identity, at least it has some political value.

Xiahou Dun saw Yuan Shu lying on the ground and asked in surprise:

"Is Yuan Shu dead?"

He immediately sent someone to identify the body, and it was confirmed that he was dead.

Xiahou Dun then asked Feng Fangnu, "Do you know where the imperial seal is now?"

Before Feng Fangnu could open her mouth, she heard the sound of horse hooves like thunder from the north, and a group of cavalrymen were approaching.

Xiahou Dun hurriedly ordered his men to form a battle formation, and he personally went out to meet them.

It turned out that they were troops from Xuzhou, and the leader was Li Yi, followed by Zhao Yun.

Li Yi glanced at Xiahou Dun and thought to himself, isn't this the perfect general? What a coincidence.

He then urged his horse forward and took the initiative to greet him, "Isn't this General Xiahou? Nice to meet you."

When Xiahou Dun saw that it was Li Yi and that there were elite cavalrymen following him, he felt afraid.

Still bowing politely, "It turns out to be Mr. Li."

"I have long heard that you are a man of great stature and bearing, and have the appearance of a celestial being."

"After seeing it today, I found it really is quite good."

Li Yi exchanged a few words with Xiahou Dun, then came to the girls and just glanced at them.

I have a rough idea of what happened.

Then he asked Ms. Feng Fang:

"May I ask your name, Madam?"

Feng Fangnu was from Sili and came from a prominent family.

It is said that Yuan Shu saw Feng Fang's daughter passing by the city wall. He fell in love with her at first sight, abducted her into the palace and made her his concubine.

She was wearing a light-colored silk dress and had no makeup on, yet she was still delicate and lovely, with her eyes raised and a hint of charm.

"My name is Feng Yu."

Feng Yu?

Li Yi raised his eyebrows slightly. If he remembered correctly, this woman was a rare woman who was recorded as a "national beauty" in history books.

According to legend, the concubines of Yuan Shu were jealous of Feng Yu's beauty, so they advised her that Yuan Shu most respected people with ambition and integrity.

If you cry from time to time, you will gain his respect.

Feng Yu followed his advice and wept every time she saw Yuan Shu.

As a result, Yuan Shu became even more fond of him.

When the ladies saw this, they took advantage of Feng Yu's pregnancy and hanged her on the beam of the toilet.

Then there were rumors that Feng Yu committed suicide out of resentment.

Since Feng Yu had often cried in front of Yuan Shu before, Yuan Shu really thought she was committing suicide.

Finally she was buried with great honor.

These women were later regarded as evil women by Cao Pi.

"Can the Imperial Seal be found in Yuan Shu's possession?"

Li Yi asked Feng Yu.

Feng Yu's voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate, clear and pleasant.

"Mr. Yuan's imperial seal is always with him."

Li Yi looked at her and said softly:
"You can bring it to me."

"Here."

Feng Yu was really very well-behaved, with her eyebrows lowered, not daring to look Li Yi in the eye.

It's a tribute.

After a while, Feng Yu took a long wooden box from Yuan Shu.

Just as he was about to give it to Li Yi, Zhao Yun took it forcefully and then respectfully presented it to Li Yi with both hands.

"……Um."

Li Yi put his hands behind his back and nodded at Zhao Yun, motioning him to open it.

Zhao Yun obeyed the order, because the box was locked and he had no key.

The box is small, and if you use a knife or an axe, you might damage the things in the box.

So Zhao Yun pulled it apart with his hands.

Sure enough, I saw a jade seal the size of a stone.

The jade seal of the Qin and Han dynasties was used for stamping. It was very small, not as exaggerated as it appears on TV.

There was a missing corner on the lower left side of the jade seal, which was filled with gold.

Li Yi took it out, opened it, and saw the eight big characters.

——"God has given us a mandate, and we shall live long and prosper forever."

This is indeed a unique imperial seal.

After Li Yi confirmed it again and again, he carefully placed the jade seal in the box and said to Zhao Yun:

"This item is very valuable. You must take it back."

Zhao Yun took the order.

When Xiahou Dun saw this, he immediately became anxious and stepped forward to ask:
"Wait a minute, Mr. Li!"

"Does the gentleman want to keep the imperial seal for himself?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Yun and the warriors behind him all looked sullen.

Li Yi seemed very calm, and smiled:

"Why do you say that, General Xiahou?"

Xiahou Dun said loudly:

"Yuan Shu escaped from Shouchun, and Cao Gong ordered me to lead the elite cavalry to chase him and take back the jade seal."

"I was the first to discover Yuan Shu's family."

Li Yi smiled and said:
"General Xiahou, this is wrong. Now your lord and my lord are fighting for the country against the enemy."

"Why should we consider first come first served?"

Xiahou Dun was startled, and before he could open his mouth to argue, Li Yi's voice continued.

"Besides, I don't want to keep the jade seal for myself, but it is of great importance."

"I must hand it over to General Liu for disposal, and then I will also hand it over to the court."

"General Xiahou values this jade seal so much, could it be that you want to keep it for yourself?"

Xiahou Dun became anxious after being outmaneuvered by Li Yi and being blamed for his crime.

"Sir, please don't accuse me. As you just said, we are all fighting for the country, so how can we talk about embezzlement?"

"But the jade seal must be handed over to me, and I will hand it over to Cao Sikong."

"After Sikong Cao verifies the authenticity, it will be submitted to the court."

Recovering the imperial seal for the court was an achievement no less than defeating Yuan Shu.

Seeing the imperial seal right in front of him, how could Xiahou Dun let it be taken away by Liu Bei?

How could he win this immortal feat?

What's more, in Xiahou Dun's view, they were the ones who discovered Yuan Shu first.

Li Yi came later than them, how dare he arbitrarily dispose of Yuan Shu's family and seize the imperial seal?

Facing Xiahou Dun's aggressiveness, Li Yi was not afraid at all, and smiled:

"The world belongs to the Han Dynasty, the imperial seal is the imperial seal of the Han Dynasty, and my master is a descendant of the Han emperor and a descendant of the imperial family."

"The current emperor grants titles according to the genealogy."

"The army is now stationed in Huainan, far away from Chendi. What's wrong with letting the imperial seal be kept by the Han royal family for the time being?"

When it comes to comparing clan relatives, Old Liu is really not afraid of anything, because besides him, there is also Liu Ye who has a purer bloodline.

Xiahou Dun was speechless after being rebuked. Logically speaking, by this day and age, the royal family members of the Han Dynasty should be everywhere.

Liu Bei, a member of the royal family, was so poor that he had to weave mats and sell shoes.

They are not as good as the Cao family and the Xiahou family.

But Liu Bei had just acknowledged his relationship with the emperor not long ago. If he did not acknowledge it, wouldn’t it be tantamount to contempt for the court?
The last person who defied the imperial court, Yuan Shu, had just been killed by the joint efforts of Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

This is slapping yourself in the face.

However, it is not appropriate to make fun of Liu Bei's identity.

Xiahou Dun could use Li Yi's identity to make some trouble, as Cao Gong had already found out all his details.

"I heard that Mr. Li came from the countryside and had no achievements."

"How can you hold such a high position when you are not even thirty years old?"

"I have heard that if one's virtue does not match the position, one's ability does not match the responsibility, one's strength does not match the action, and one's wisdom does not match the strategy, there will be disaster."

"I wonder how much you got, sir?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone behind Li Yi looked angry.

This is a blatant provocation from Xiahou Dun!
Li Yi's expression remained normal, he smiled and said:

"The public opinion is wrong."

"In the past, Xiao He and Cao Shen were both county officials."

"Han Xin and Chen Ping bore the shame of being laughed at, but they were able to accomplish their mission and their reputation will be remembered for thousands of years."

"I was born in the countryside, so why should I be ashamed?"

Xiahou Dun sneered and said:
"You are a man of great debate, and I do not wish to engage in further verbal disputes with you."

"Besides, what you just said is mostly specious and not a serious argument."

"Everyone says you are a genius and a man of great strategy, but I want to ask you what classics you are studying?"

Reading takes a lot of time, and Xiahou Dun didn't believe that Li Yi, at his age, could have read more books than those great scholars.

Li Yi raised the corners of his lips and said softly:
"Those who pick out quotations from books are the corrupt scholars of the world. How can they build a country and establish a cause?"

"In ancient times, Yi Yin, who cultivated the land in Shen, Jiang Ziya, who fished in Wei, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Deng Yu, Geng Yan, all had the talent to support the universe."

"It is also unknown what classics he studied during his lifetime."

"If you imitate the scholars, you will put ink on the inkstone, count the black and yellow, and play with words and ink."

"What's the point of talking about it?"

"Your views are those of a child, and you are not worthy of discussing them with the wise men."

"Retreat quickly!"

Li Yi shouted sharply, turned around and walked straight past Xiahou Dun, ignoring him.

Xiahou Dun was stunned and stood there, speechless.

He looked up at Li Yi and saw him approaching Feng Yu and other girls.

"Several ladies and young ladies were frightened."

"It's cold here, it's not a place to stay for long, why don't you follow me back to Shouchun?"

The girls looked at each other and Feng Yu spoke first.

Her figure is still graceful, and she is still graceful when she bows down. "I would like to follow your advice, sir."

After a long silence, Yuan Shu's eldest daughter, who had remained silent, also spoke:
"Shouchun is our home. It would be great if we could go back."

善~
Li Yi nodded and helped the two girls up.

A woman asked again: "Sir, my carriage was intercepted by Zhang Kai before, and General Huang Yi was the rear guard for us, and he has disappeared."

"I wonder if you have seen it along the way, sir?"

Li Yi replied:

"Zhang Kai was also defeated by me, but General Huang has died of exhaustion."

"I have ordered him to be buried with honours."

It was because of dealing with Zhang Kai that Li Yi was delayed and was overtaken by Xiahou Dun.

After hearing this, all the ladies sighed.

Miss Yuan bowed to thank Li Yi. Li Yi stretched out his hand to help her up and was about to take the other girls away.

Seeing this, Xiahou Dun said angrily:

"You have already taken the imperial seal, and now you want to deal with Yuan Shu's family?"

It’s no wonder that Xiahou Dun was angry.

Originally, they were the first to find Yuan Shu's carriage, so logically they should be the ones to handle it from top to bottom.

As a result, Li Yi intervened and snatched the seal first.

Now he directly bypassed Xiahou Dun and made decisions on his own to arrange for Yuan Shu's wife and daughter.

Especially Feng Yu, who is so beautiful, is A Man's type.

In addition, she is Yuan Shu's wife and has the buff of a widow, which is a plus for A Man.

Even if he couldn't snatch the imperial seal and seek credit from Aman, it would be great to present these ladies to him.

As for the two daughters, they are not married yet, so I guess A Man wouldn't like them either.

Then they brothers just divided it up.

As a result, Li Yi acted too overbearingly and wanted everything.

I don't take these people seriously at all.

"Yuan Gonglu is already dead, but his wife and daughter must be kept alive to be handed over to the court for interrogation in the future."

"I have settled it down just to prevent trouble from mediocre people."

Li Yi replied indifferently.

Xiahou Dun was furious and shouted, "Who are you calling a mediocre person?"

After he finished speaking, he drew his sword and wanted to kill Li Yi.

Zhao Yun held a silver spear and glared at him.

Seeing that Zhao Yun was strong and majestic, Xiahou did not dare to move.

He just watched Li Yi walk away with Yuan Shu's wife and daughter, carrying the imperial seal.

"Well……"

Not until Li Yi walked away did Xiahou Dun cover his chest and tremble with anger.

"General, what should we do now?"

A deputy general asked.

They were ordered by Prime Minister Cao to chase after Yuan Shu.

I have to say that Cao Cao was really good to Xiahou Dun.

Because Yuan Shu was already at the end of his rope, it was easy to capture him.

And the credit for catching him is the first credit for this battle.

Cao Cao gave this great credit to Xiahou Dun, but Xiahou Dun failed to grasp it.

"Well, let's go find Cao Sikong!"

Xiahou Dun gritted his teeth and mounted his horse angrily.

Everyone had no choice but to follow Xiahou Dun and returned to Shouchun in a unhappy mood.

the other side,
Li Yi found a fairly large carriage and placed the girls on it.

He rode side by side with Zhao Yun, leading the way.

With nothing to do, Li Yi took the initiative to chat with Zhao Yun.

As they chatted, Zhao Yun seemed to have a question in his mind. Li Yi saw it and asked him to speak out.

Zhao Yun then bowed and said, "Yes, but I am afraid that this statement may offend you, sir."

Li Yi heard this and smiled:
"I have heard that only virtue can humiliate people, making Zilong a gentleman. If I accept humiliation with words, I am not a gentleman."

Zhao Yun was relieved and said:
"Sir, you have successfully recovered the imperial seal for the country this time, which is a great achievement for the Han court."

"But I just offended Xiahou Dun."

"Oh?" Li Yi raised his eyebrows, "Is Zilong also afraid of this blind man?"

Zhao Yun replied calmly:
"If you don't dodge thousands of swords and arrows, why should you fear a single man?"

"It's just that Xiahou Dun is a veteran general in Cao's camp and a senior official of Cao Cao."

"Sir, you offended him for the sake of the imperial seal. Zilong can understand that."

"But why are they fighting again over a few female relatives?"

After all, Cao and Liu were still allies on the surface, and they had just joined forces to defeat Yuan Shu.

Xiahou Dun and Li Yi were important officials in their respective camps.

It's really not a good look to have your skin torn directly.

If the dispute was over the imperial seal, it would be understandable.

But why did they quarrel again over Yuan Shu's wife and daughter?

This made Zhao Yun unable to understand, and he could only make bold guesses in that direction.

"These ladies are truly beautiful and charming."

"Sir, you are also a man of good character. It just so happens that your wife has no children. If you can accept her, please do so."

"I think my lord and madam will agree."

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the constraints of etiquette on women were not as severe as in later generations.

Especially in times of chaos, it was common for wives and daughters to remarry, and people of Cao Cao's status did not mind.

In Zhao Yun's opinion, Li Yi might have fallen for these women, which was why he had a conflict with Xiahou Dun.

After all, even though he was a straight man, he had to admit that those women were indeed beautiful.

It just so happened that Mrs. Mi had no children, and Liu Bei was afraid that Li Yi would have no descendants, so he repeatedly advised him to take a concubine.

But everyone put it off because they thought they were too busy with work.

Isn’t this a good opportunity?

Li Yi couldn't help laughing when he heard that.

"Zilong, how many years have you been with me?"

Zhao Yun replied sternly:
"It's been more than two years."

Li Yi nodded and said:
"I remember that I asked you to go to Xuzhou to be the county magistrate."

"This move is to hone your ability to govern a place. How do you feel about it?"

Zhao Yun pondered for a while and replied:

"It's really a science, much more difficult than commanding an army."

Having said that, he couldn't help but admire Li Yi's abilities.

He felt a lot of pressure even though he was governing a small county.

But Li Yi has to govern a big state, and in the future he will even have to govern several states and counties. It’s scary to think about it.

I don’t know how Li Yi managed to survive.

That's why Zhao Yun was extremely angry at Xiahou Dun's criticism of Li Yi for being a mere figurehead.

He witnessed Li Yi's talent with his own eyes.

If General Liu did not have the talent to build up the country and maintain its security, how could he have ruled the country today?

"... Shan, Zilong still has a long way to go in his career as an official."

"Today I will teach you another way to be an official."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun bowed hurriedly.

"I would like to hear your advice, sir!"

Li Yi nodded and said:

"Remember this, no matter what official position you hold."

"As long as you don't covet money, you won't go to jail."

"As long as you are not lustful, you won't make any mistakes."

……

(I wrote a month-end summary. Brothers can take a look at the author’s words.)

(End of this chapter)