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

Chapter 152: How about sharing the two daughters of Yuan family with you and me?

Li Yi taught Zhao Yun how to be an official.

Zhao Yun thought to himself, a clean official is a peaceful person.

It is the duty of an official to plead for the people.

It's just a small thing, but it can't stop people.

"Yun Jin will be taught."

Zhao Yun bowed and understood Li Yi's intention.

"Since you are not attracted to these Yuan girls, why did you quarrel with Xiahou Dun just now?"

Li Yi sighed:
"The Yuan family has three officials in four generations, and their students and former officials are all over the world."

"Although Yuan Shu is dead, the affairs after his death are indeed troublesome. We must handle them properly."

There is a saying in later generations that the entire Three Kingdoms struggle was a legacy of the struggle between the two Yuans.

This statement is not an exaggeration.

Some people say that it was a very foolish move for Han Fu to give Jizhou to Yuan Shao for nothing.

In Han Fu's own words, I am a former official of the Yuan family. I am not as talented as Yuan Benchu, so I gave up my position when it was appropriate.

The reality is that most people in Hebei are loyal to Yuan Shao, and Han Fu cannot control them at all, so he can only give Jizhou to Yuan Shao.

After the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died and the Yuan family fell apart.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang attacked each other, greatly depleting the internal strength of the Yuan family.

However, it still took Cao Cao seven years to completely pacify Hebei.

The same was true of Yuan Shu.

Although he died, his son took the high position of doctor in the State of Wu.

The daughter was directly married to Sun Quan as a concubine.

Moreover, Yuan Yao's daughter married Sun Quan's son.

This means that even after the third generation, the Sun family still maintained an alliance with the Yuan family.

From this, you can see how powerful the Yuan family's influence was at that time.

Therefore, Li Yi had to properly settle Yuan Shu's descendants.

Li Yi also ordered people to collect the body of Yuan Shu himself.

Later, he would also suggest that Liu Bei give Yuan Shu a grand burial in order to win the hearts of the people.

After all, the value of these students and former officials all over the world must be put to good use.

Soon, Li Yi returned to Shouchun.

At this time, the internal situation in Shouchun was almost stable.

Liu Bei's troops, Cao Cao's troops, and Lu Bu's troops have all entered Shouchun City.

It’s just that Cao Cao and Liu Bei each stationed their armies outside the city, and only brought a small number of troops into the city.

Xiahou Dun and Li Yi each found Cao Cao and Liu Bei and told them what had happened.

Xiahou Dun was particularly emotional, and he accused Li Yi of being rude.

Cao Cao said:

"We are all fighting for the country and the imperial seal will be handed over to the court sooner or later. There is no need to argue about who comes first."

After a slight pause, he continued, "But have you taken over the treasury in Shouchun?"

Xiahou Dun replied:

"We entered the city late, and Liu Bei got there first."

Cao Cao stroked his long beard and pondered for a moment.

"Let's go see Liu Bei!"

With just one word, Cao Cao led his men towards the direction of Liu Bei's men.

Previously, Li Yi had ordered Xu Chu to take people to look after the treasury, and ordered Liu Ye to be responsible for cleaning it up.

After all the trouble, when Li Yi returned to Shouchun, Liu Ye had already completed a rough statistics of the treasury's financial resources.

You won’t know until you do the statistics, and you’ll be shocked once you do.

There were actually one million hu of grain stored in Shouchun City.

Even Li Yi was surprised.

When they arrived in Shouchun, most of the residents were starving. People were breaking bones for cooking and eating their own children.

The soldiers were so hungry that they went to the river to eat clams.

As a result, even though Yuan Shu still had so much grain, he was reluctant to distribute it to the soldiers and civilians.

If you really can't bear to give food to the people, at least give some food to the soldiers.

If the soldiers are hungry, who will fight for you?

Of course, one million hu was only enough for Yuan Shu.

It is indeed not too much for Xuzhou, and it is not even enough to cover the basic cost spent by Lao Liu on this expedition.

In addition to grain, the most abundant treasures were gold and silver, weighing as much as ten thousand kilograms.

This was within Li Yi's expectations.

Considering the wealth of Huainan and the Skeleton King's ability to drain the pond to catch all the fish, this amount of gold and silver is already considered small.

In addition, there are countless excellent Han Wuzhu coins.

There were thousands of rolls of fine silk and hundreds of pearls.

While they were counting, Cao Cao and his men came over.

"...Ah, Lord Xuande, it's been a long time."

Liu Bei immediately bowed in return.

"I have come to your presence to pay my respects to you, and we will be separated from you in the future. Now I am following your order to fight against the enemy."

"I will join forces with you to defeat Yuan Shu. When I return to the court, I will report Cao Gong's achievements to the emperor."

Cao Cao secretly thought that he had made great contributions in defeating the enemy, and Liu Bei was no less capable than him.

He immediately pursed his lips and said:
"General Liu defeated Yuan Shu's main force in the battle of Tushan, and also recovered the imperial seal that had been lost for many years."

"Your achievements will be remembered for thousands of years and your name will go down in history."

"After returning to the court, Cao should also present General Liu's achievements to the emperor."

The two exchanged greetings for a while, then entered the palace together.

Shouchun City was broken and Yuan Shu was killed. The next step was to divide up Yuan Shu's posthumous territory and political legacy.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao took their seats.

The two teams also stood on the left and right.

On Cao Cao's side, the civil officials were led by Xun Yu, followed by Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Xun Yue, Du Xi, Zhao Yan and other talented people.

Just looking at Cao Cao's team of civil officials, you will know why Xun Yu was the leader of the civil officials in Cao's camp.

Except for Cheng Yu, the rest of the talents, including Guo Jia, are all from Yingchuan.

And all of them were recommended by Xun Yu.

As a representative of Yingchuan scholars, Xun Yu almost single-handedly helped Cao Cao to build a team of civil servants.

As for military officers, they were led by clan generals headed by the Cao and Xiahou families of Qiao County.

Standing in order were Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Ren and other royal family generals.

The military generals from other families were headed by Yu Jin, followed by Man Chong, Lu Qian, Li Dian, Le Jin and others.

This lineup is truly luxurious, and just standing there is intimidating.

But Lao Liu's lineup is not much inferior.

The leader of the civil officials was Li Yi, followed by Liu Ye, Lu Su, Wang Xiu, Sun Qian and others.

The military officers were headed by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, followed by Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, Qian Zhao, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, Taishi Ci and other generals.

There are still many people who have not come and are not here.

For example, Chen Deng, and his generals such as Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, are now guarding Hefei and blocking the remaining forces of Yuan Shu.

The troops on both sides were both strong and vigorous, neither side gave in.

Although Cao and Liu appeared to be harmonious on the surface, they each had their own thoughts in their hearts.

Cao Cao smiled with a fake smile and spoke first:
"I just heard that Xuande entered the city first and ordered his men to temporarily take over the treasury. Is this true?"

Liu Bei nodded and said seriously:

"Yes, be prepared to have someone seal up the treasury to prevent anyone from profiting from it."

"...Good." Cao Cao continued, "I wonder how Xuande plans to deal with the money in the treasury?"

Liu Bei answered without hesitation:
"Since Shouchun was conquered by our two families, the spoils should be divided equally between the two families."

Cao Cao frowned, and he thought to himself that he would set out from Yingchuan, cross the Ru River, and sweep across most of Yuan Shu's counties in Runan.

It did tie up a large number of Yuan Shu's troops on the western front, making a significant contribution to the southern expedition.

Liu Bei also understood that without Cao Cao sharing the pressure on the western front, his war on the eastern front would never have been able to proceed so smoothly.

But Cao Cao said:
"Lord Xuande defeated Yuan Shu's main force at Tushan this time, and was the first to capture Shouchun."

"Why not deal with the money and grain in Shouchun Prefecture's treasury yourself?"

Cao Gong, this!!
As soon as these words were spoken, Xiahou Dun, who had just been defeated by Li Yi, could no longer stand.

The brothers fought desperately all the way to Shouchun. Seeing the city fall, the soldiers were looking forward to dividing the spoils.

As a result, Cao Cao gave in without hesitation and didn't leave him any ground. How could he remain tense?
Just as he was about to step forward to speak, Xun Yu stopped him.

Liu Bei frowned slightly. There were indeed quite a few spoils of war in Shouchun.

But for the Cao and Liu families at present, neither of them can increase their strength by occupying it.

For example, one million hu of grain may sound like a lot, but it is only enough to cover the expenses of Liu Bei's expedition.

Considering the conscription of civilians, logistical costs, and future relief to the people of Huainan, it will be completely useless.

Cao Cao understood this, and he was willing to give these spoils to Liu Bei.

That means he will demand more from other resources.

Liu Bei saw what Cao Cao was thinking and immediately said:
"Otherwise, without the combined efforts of our two families, how could we have taken over Shouchun?"

"Now that the city has been conquered, the money in the treasury should be divided equally between the two families."

Liu Bei was neither humble nor arrogant, and he fought back against Cao Cao's "good intentions".

I won't take advantage of you in this matter, so don't take advantage of me in the next thing we talk about.

Cao Cao's eyes twitched, but his expression did not change.

But Li Yi on the side keenly noticed that the corner of Cao Cao's mouth seemed to twitch slightly just now.

He was probably secretly cursing Liu Bei for being difficult to deal with.

"Now that Shouchun has been conquered, who does Lord Xuande intend to hand over to?"

Cao Cao asked again tentatively.

Then the topic turned to the most critical part, which was the division of territory.

Liu Bei was mentally prepared for this and said frankly:
"The emperor personally appointed Zhao Yun as governor of Jiujiang, and Shouchun was also included in Jiujiang."

"Now that the war has just ended, people are uneasy."

"As for personnel arrangements, they will be finalized later, so you don't need to worry about it, Lord Cao."

What he meant was that Shouchun was the entire Jiujiang County, and Liu Bei wanted it all.

hiss……

Cao Cao took a deep breath and thought to himself that Liu Bei had a really big appetite.

He directly demanded all the territory in the eastern part of Huainan.

But this was also within Cao Cao's expectations.

After all, looking at the map, Xia Pi is adjacent to Jiujiang, and it is impossible for Liu Bei not to add a screen to the southwest of Xuzhou.

Besides,

Chen Deng had already attacked Jiujiang from the back along the Yangtze River, which meant that most of Jiujiang's territory had indeed fallen into Liu Bei's hands.

Whether Cao Cao agreed or not, Jiujiang basically belonged to Liu Bei.

If you object, you have to fight.

But there was no legitimate reason to start a war, after all, Zhao Yun was the prefect of Jiujiang appointed by the imperial court.

If you hit him, it would be tantamount to treason.

What's more, Cao and Liu are allies now, not to mention that they will work together to deal with Yuan Shao in the future.

Even the current Yuan Shu has not been completely destroyed.

Liu Xun of Lujiang and Yuan Yin of Danyang were both remnants of Yuan Shu's forces.

How could the Cao and Liu families possibly fall out now?
Xiahou Dun had been feeling upset before, and seeing Liu Bei's arrogant attitude, he demanded all the territory in the eastern part of Huainan.

Feeling very unhappy, he said:
"General Liu just said that it was you and I who joined forces to defeat Yuan Shu."

"How come such a big Jiujiang has been occupied by your family?"

Seeing this, before Liu Bei could speak, Li Yi also stepped forward to respond:

"Zhao Yun was appointed as the governor of Jiujiang by the imperial court, so he should occupy Jiujiang."

"General Xiahou is also the governor of Lujiang appointed by the imperial court. Lujiang should naturally belong to General Xiahou."

What this means is that the territory in the western part of Huainan will be handed over to your Cao family.

Yuan Shu left behind too many political legacies, and it would take Old Liu a lot of time just to digest Jiujiang.

There is no way to take over Lujiang at the same time.

What’s more, Liu Biao of Jingzhou has been coveting Lujiang for a long time.

He and Liu Bei are allies on the surface. If Liu Bei occupied Lujiang now.

Liu Biao would definitely be furious, after all, Liu Bei had promised to give Lujiang and Yuzhang to Liu Biao.

Therefore, giving Lujiang to Cao Cao was also Li Yi's diplomatic strategy.

It can both shift the blame to Cao Cao and prevent Liu Biao's forces from entering Yangzhou.

At the same time, the territory bordering Liu Biao and Cao Cao became larger and larger.

Both families are quite powerful, and border frictions can easily lead to conflicts.

By that time, Cao Cao would be too busy dealing with multiple forces to concentrate a large number of troops on the front line.

The reason why Cao Cao had few soldiers on the front line during the Battle of Guandu was because a large number of troops were stationed in the west, south and east.

There was no way to be transferred to the front line to fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao.

"Humph~"

Cao Cao snorted. He was also a smart man, so he naturally saw through Li Yi's intention.

A powder keg was thrown at me, but I couldn't refuse it.

After all, Lujiang is rich and has a lot of Yuan Shu's political legacy left.

But being tricked by Li Yi in public was really unpleasant.

"What a great conspiracy."

Guo Jia touched his chin and looked at Li Yi with interest in the crowd.

This person is only about one or two years younger than himself, but he was able to become the second-in-command in Xuzhou.

Now, on the issue of Huainan, he has set a trap for Cao Cao to jump into.

As long as Cao Cao annexed Lujiang, his relationship with Liu Biao would inevitably break down.

But if he doesn't, he will just sit back and watch Liu Bei become more powerful.

At that time, Liu Bei will be able to have the best of both worlds and profit from the fact that Cao Cao is restrained by multiple forces.

As he spoke, he quietly grasped Xun Yu's sleeves and asked:
"Wen Ruo, do you know Li Ziyu?"

Xun Yu frowned, thinking that when the lord was discussing important matters, it would be best for them, the subordinates, not to speak.

This Guo Fengxiao is good in every way except that he doesn't respect etiquette.

But Cao Gong liked him very much.

After Xi Zhicai died of illness, Cao Cao asked him to recommend new talents to him.

Xun Yu recommended Guo Jia, who came from the same prominent family in Yingchuan as himself.

Guo Jia came from the Guo family in Yangdi County, Yingchuan.

The Yingchuan Guo family was actually considered a local wealthy family.

But compared with other families, it still doesn't rank.

Because just look at the composition of other families.

The four major families in Yingchuan are the Xun family of Yinying County, the Zhong family of Changsha County, the Chen family of Xu County, and the Han family of Wuyang County.

So there is a saying in the Three Kingdoms:

Prime ministers come from Guandong, generals come from Guanxi, and all the world's most talented people come from Ruyin.

Almost all of Cao Cao's civil officials came from Yingchuan, and Yingchuan's interests were basically tied to Cao Cao's.

This is also the reason why Cao Cao moved his capital to Xuchang, Yuzhou, even though most of his territory was in Yanzhou.

"What does Fengxiao think of Li Ziyu?"

Xun Yu didn't want to talk about these topics at this time, but he was particularly concerned about Li Yi.

Since Guo Jia asked, he asked for his opinion.

Guo Jia grinned and said:

"A man of high rank, a great man of his time."

"It is still unknown what his plan is."

After making a few brief comments, Guo Jia glanced at Li Yi sideways.

Then he added:
"If it can be used by us, we should use it."

Xun Yu sighed, "Prince Cao had tried to win over Li Yi before, but his heart was as hard as stone, and wealth and honor could not sway him."

Guo Jia smiled again, "I haven't finished my words yet. If he is useless, you should kill him and get rid of the trouble as soon as possible."

Xun Yu stroked his beard and frowned:
"This is difficult~"

Guo Jia raised his eyebrows and chuckled:

“We should do it just because it is difficult. If we want everything to be easy, we might as well not do it.”

The two were talking in low voices about Li Yi, and Cao Cao and Liu Bei were also arguing about it.

"How can I occupy Lujiang when Liu Xun is still alive?"

Cao Cao asked in a deep voice.

Liu Bei replied seriously:
"The governor of Lujiang is Cao Gong's man. How he took over Lujiang is not something I can interfere with."

"Let Lord Cao decide this issue himself!"

Another reason why Cao Cao was so unhappy was that there were still remnants of Yuan Shu's forces in Lujiang.

Liu Xun is still doing well in Lujiang.

Cao Cao did not take Liu Xun seriously, but how could Liu Bei take over the richer Jiujiang without any effort?

And I still have to send troops to deal with the Lujiang issue?
"Since Lord Xuande has said so, then I, Cao, have no reason to object."

Cao Cao did not hold on to the Huainan issue, but instead began to shift to another issue.

"But in the counties of Runan, Cao will submit a memorial to the emperor, asking him to appoint my generals to serve in Runan."

The implication is that Cao Cao still wants Runan.

Just like Liu Bei swept across the counties of Jiujiang, Cao Cao sent troops from Runan and naturally occupied most of Runan.

"This proposal is inappropriate!"

Li Yi immediately stood up and objected, "The governor of Runan is Lu Bu, and the counties of Runan were previously occupied by Yuan Shu."

"Now that Cao Gong has recovered the territory occupied by Yuan Shu for the court, he should return the territory of Runan to the court."

"General Lu is the governor of Runan appointed by the imperial court, so he should naturally take over Runan!"

Runan is the second largest city in the world, with a population of two million.

Of course, Li Yi would not allow Cao Cao to occupy the entire Runan.

Because Lu Bu's power was too weak at that time, he was not even qualified to enter the palace to discuss the issue of territorial division.

At this moment, he was still foolishly leading his troops to patrol the city, fantasizing about how the court would reward him after defeating Yuan Shu.

He probably never dreamed that he would actually become the powerful "Ru'nan Prefect" without knowing it.

Li Yi put his hands behind his back, looked righteous and said sternly:

"To set an example, the areas of Ruyin and Shenxian that we previously occupied in Runan will also be handed over to General Lu to command."

What the hell!
Cao Cao was so angry that he almost exploded.

Ruyin and Shenxian were previously the territories of Yuan Shu, and after being conquered by Liu Bei, they also became enclaves.

It is impossible to manage it directly, and it will be vomited out later.

The central and western territories of Runan conquered by Cao Cao were actually bordering his capital Yingchuan at that time.

It has an important strategic position, and only by occupying Runan can Cao Cao's forces border Lujiang.

If Runan was given to Lu Bu, how would he manage Lujiang?

"This proposal is inappropriate. Lu Bu is treacherous and has the intention of causing chaos."

"It would not be a good thing for the people of Runan if we handed Runan over to him."

"In my opinion, it would be better for me to take over Lu Bu's management temporarily, and then I will report to the court."

"I'm sure your Majesty will understand."

After all, in this era, anyone with a gun can be a king. Don't think that if you just use the imperial court to suppress Cao Cao, Cao Cao will have no way out.

Just find any excuse to take over the management.

Li Yi continued to argue:
"General Lu made great contributions in this campaign against Yuan Shu in the south."

"Not only did they not reward him, but they also took away his power to govern. I'm afraid this will hurt your majesty's wisdom."

Cao Cao also refused to compromise and tried to argue back:

"Lü Bu has made great contributions in defeating the enemy. Cao will report his achievements to the court."

Li Yi said: "General Lu has a large number of troops, so he must have a place to rest."

"It would be bad to let people think that the court treats meritorious officials unfairly, right?"

For a while, the two argued endlessly.

But overall, Li Yi's side is more reasonable.

After all, Lu Bu was indeed the governor of Runan appointed by Emperor Liu Xie himself.

Occupying Runan is a legitimate matter.

But it was impossible for Cao Cao to give the fat piece of meat of Runan to Lu Bu for free.

Not to mention that he was the one who conquered Runan, especially since it was connected to Yangzhou.

If Cao Cao did not want Runan, he would lose the opportunity to get his hands on Yangzhou.

After a fierce argument, the two families finally gave in.

Cao Cao only wanted the territories in the central and western parts of Runan, and could give some counties in the south to Lu Bu.

But Liu Bei also needed to hand over the Runan County that he had previously conquered to Lu Bu.

Liu Bei will definitely not lose out, after all, their target this time is Jiujiang.

Runan didn't capture many counties, so Lu Bu just gave it to them.

Instead, Cao Cao led his troops from Yingchuan into Runan and conquered most of Runan's territory.

For Cao Cao, it was not too bad.

He basically managed to preserve the Ru'nan county that he had conquered, but he was unable to continue expanding eastward and take the entire Ru'nan into his possession.

But Cao Cao always felt that Li Yi was plotting against him again.

Perhaps from the very beginning, he knew that he would not spit out Runan.

The reason why he was so aggressive was simply because he wanted to squeeze Lu Bu into Runan.

But think about it, it's okay, even though I can't expand eastward and take over the entire Runan.

But leaving Lu Bu in the middle as a buffer zone can also prevent Liu Bei from expanding westwards.

This is a win-win situation.

After the discussion, both sides sent people to notify Lu Bu outside the palace.

Tell him that the counties of Runan have been divided up, and then he can send his troops there to rest and recuperate.

For some reason, Li Yi always had the feeling that the great powers were dividing up the territory, and Lu Bu was the helpless outsider.

After the division of the territory of Huainan, the next thing to deal with was Yuan Shu's political legacy.

In terms of talent, there is actually not much conflict.

After all, the two families sent troops to fight each other, and those who should be recruited to persuade them to surrender were persuaded to surrender, and those who refused to surrender were beheaded.

As for the remaining talents in Shouchun, there is no need to snatch them away.

Because the interests of these scholars are clearly divided, all we have to do is let them choose their own side.

There is no need to force yourself to eat something.

For example, Yuan Huan was a Gongcao under Yuan Shu.

When Liu Bei was the governor of Yuzhou in Xiaopei, he recommended Yuan Huan as a talented person and could be considered his sponsor.

It was natural for Yuan Huan to join Liu Bei's camp.

As for the rest of those who were not recruited by Cao Cao and Liu Bei, such as Yang Hong.

Those who accompanied Yuan Shu in abusing power and oppressing the people in Huainan were directly executed in the market to eliminate this harm to the people.

After that, it was Yuan Shu’s family.

Although Yuan Shu had hundreds of wives and concubines, many of these women came from famous families.

For example, Feng Yu, the daughter of Feng Fang, who was favored by Yuan Shu, her father was the Minister of Agriculture and the Inspector of the Imperial Guards during the reign of Emperor Ling.

Considering that this was an era that attached great importance to family background.

These women seemed to be spoils of war.

In fact, it has great political value.

Especially Yuan Shu’s two daughters, the legitimate daughters of the Yuan family.

The Sun family even went so far as to marry into their clan.

Cao Cao was very greedy for these women.

Not only do I lust after their bodies, I also lust after the names behind them.

"I wonder how Lord Xuande plans to deal with Yuan Shu's wife and daughter."

Finally, it’s time for Cao Cao’s favorite part.

"I don't know how to deal with it either. What advice does Lord Cao have?"

In this regard, Liu Bei's experience is indeed not as good as Cao Cao's.

Cao Cao's eyes lit up. He wouldn't be sleepy if they talked about this.

"Most of these women were poor people, and half of them were abducted by Yuan Shu."

"If you ignore it, you are not a man."

"Why don't you and I each marry one of our officers, so that we can find a good home for them?"

In troubled times, women are part of the spoils of war.

It is normal to give rewards to subordinates to win their hearts.

So Liu Bei had no objection.

This is actually a good ending for those women.

Yuan Shu had more than a hundred concubines.

The Cao and Liu families each took half.

Of course, the status of these women is not as high as that of the two daughters of the Yuan family.

Because these two girls had already been settled in advance by Li Yi.

Cao Cao then took the initiative to ask Liu Bei for it.

"I heard that Yuan Shu has two daughters. I wonder if they are with Lord Xuande, the military advisor?"

Before Liu Bei could answer, Li Yi took the initiative to step forward and admit:
"At Li's place."

"Would you mind allowing me to have a look?"

Cao Cao asked again.

"These two girls had been in distress and harassed by thieves before, so they were in a state of anxiety."

"It is not appropriate to see too many outsiders. I hope Cao Gong will forgive me."

Li Yi rejected Cao Cao's proposal to see the two daughters of the Yuan family.

The political value of Yuan's daughter was the highest. Li Yi would rather give the remaining wives and concubines of Yuan Shu's harem to Cao Cao than give these two women to him.

"Oh? Could it be that Lord Xuande wants to monopolize these two girls?"

Cao Cao was immediately unhappy. He said, "Can you at least give me one of your two daughters?"

Liu Bei himself was not interested in women, and he also found it troublesome to deal with Yuan's complicated background.

I might as well give Cao Cao one directly. Just as he was about to speak, Li Yi spoke first:
"There is another girl, the daughter of the former Sili Xiaowei Feng Fang."

"If Lord Cao does not mind my humble status, you may take this girl as your wife."

Cao Cao's eyes widened and he said:

"I have long heard that Miss Feng Fang is a beauty of heaven and earth. May I go and see her?"

Li Yi ordered someone to take Cao Cao to see Feng Yu.

When Cao Cao saw that Feng Yu was indeed beautiful and a married woman, he was overjoyed.

So he asked aloud:
"I wonder if Madam would like to dine with me tonight?"

Feng Yu also knew that Cao Cao was the prime minister of the current dynasty and was in a very powerful position.

Now that Yuan Shu is dead, I need someone to rely on, so I nodded and said:
"It would be a great honor for me to serve Cao Sikong."

Cao Cao was overjoyed, and immediately ordered Cao Ren to prepare a carriage and sent 500 elite soldiers for protection.

Escort her back to Yingchuan and Xuchang.

After getting Feng Fang's daughter, Cao Cao no longer asked for the two daughters of Yuan.

He went to select concubines for Yuan Shu happily.

After taking a quick look at them all, he selected the three most beautiful ones and sent them into the palace.

The rest will naturally be selected by the military generals of the Cao and Xiahou clans.

After they have picked the remaining ones, the generals from other families will be able to choose.

As for Liu Bei, he had no royal family generals, so naturally he let his brothers choose directly.

However, the two daughters of the Yuan family had special identities and were not included in the selection.

Liu Bei found Li Yi alone and complained:

"Yuan Gonglu has three officials in his family, and his students and former officials are all over the world."

"Although I am dead now, many of my former officials are still alive."

"These two girls are too involved. If they stay with me, I'm afraid they'll cause trouble."

"Just now Cao Cao wanted it, and I wanted to give it to Cao Cao, but the military advisor dissuaded me."

Li Yi analyzed:
"It is precisely because these two girls are from famous families that the lord should marry them and use them to win the hearts of the people."

"Do I accept it?"

Liu Bei was stunned, thinking to himself that he usually acted as a matchmaker for the military advisor, but why did the military advisor act as a matchmaker for him today?

“…Exactly.”

Li Yi nodded, "My lord is the governor of a state, the left general of Han, and the Marquis of Xia Pi."

"It would be most appropriate to bring these two women into the palace."

"Besides, the lord still has no heir, so it's time to fill up the inner chamber."

Liu Bei originally had a son, but he died early in the war.

She never gave birth again after that.

However, Liu Bei was not completely childless during this period.

He actually had two daughters.

Historically, both daughters were abducted by Cao Chun, a general under Cao Cao.

Of course, these two girls are still children now.

There is no need to wander around with Lao Liu as in history.

Li Yi originally thought that the reason why Lao Liusheng had a son late was because he had been displaced in the early days.

There's no chance of doing that.

Unexpectedly, with his help, Lao Liu's political situation became stable.

But this made Lao Liu even busier.

Sometimes I work too late and just don’t go home.

Mrs. Gan has stayed in an empty room more than once.

For this purpose, Mrs. Gan even sent someone to give Li Yi some advice.

Because Li Yi was an important official in Xuzhou and Lao Liu's trusted deputy.

Mrs. Gan mistakenly thought that it was because Li Yi did not work hard enough that Lao Liu did not return home overnight.

Li Yi kept crying out that this was unfair.

Since he received the order, hasn't he been diligent and hardworking, and worried day and night?
In modern times, he is a workaholic and an involutionary.

Otherwise, everyone would laugh at him for being a rich second-generation who relied on his father to become a senior executive of the group.

In order to prove himself, Li Yi developed a very self-disciplined and introverted habit.

If you are too busy at work, you may not be able to sleep at night.

When you finish the work for the day, then you can go to bed and eat.

And this inward-looking character was also brought into this era by Li Yi.

Otherwise, why did Lao Liu always advise him to work less and not be too attached to state affairs?
It must be because Li Yi himself is either working or preparing for work every day.

"The military advisor is not young anymore, but he only has one wife, Madam Mi."

"There is still no offspring, so it's time to enrich the harem."

"How about you and I marry one of these two girls?"

Liu Bei thought of a good idea. He was neither good at having children nor at dealing with women.

If he married two young ladies who grew up in a greenhouse at the same time, Lao Liu, who came from a humble background, would definitely not be able to bear it.

His character is to live frugally, constantly improve himself, and never slack off.

But these two Yuan women, who lived with Yuan Shu, lived a life of luxury and debauchery every day.

Like father, like daughter. Liu Bei would never spoil his daughter.

What he needs is a sensible and virtuous wife who won't cause trouble for his work.

"I have seen these two girls just now. They are indeed beautiful."

"My lord, are you really not going to accept all of them?"

Li Yi confirmed again and again.

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows and said seriously:

"Sir, who do you think Bei is?"

"A real man should think about the people while he is alive."

"How can you stay in a land of girls and lose your ambition by playing with things?"

Good, what a boldness!
The corners of Li Yi's mouth curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but praise Liu Bei.

This is called perseverance and never giving up.

Be poor and strong, and never fall into the clouds.

Like the Yu Bei who played music and danced in a TV show, he really portrayed Liu Bei in a bad light.

"...Good, in that case, please choose a Yuan girl and bring her into the palace."

Li Yi agreed to Liu Bei's suggestion that they each get one daughter.

This reminded him of the time when Sun Ce conquered Wan County, and he and Zhou Yu each divided the two Qiao sisters.

There is no need to say much about the relationship between Sun Ce and Zhou Yu as king and subject.

In the words of Hu Chenggong,
——"Bo Fu and Gong Jin both died young, how many of us can live to see old age?"

Although the relationship between Li Yi and Liu Bei as king and subject did not reach the point where they slept on the same bed, he could not lose to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, right?

"I don't like the selection of female companions, so let the military advisor do it for me."

"After the military advisor has finished selecting, there will be one woman left. You can marry her."

Liu Bei gave the task of selecting a woman to Li Yi, and said:
"Be prepared to go to the treasury to see if there is anything else."

He left in a hurry as if he had been pardoned.

It seems that Lao Liu really doesn't like this kind of thing.

Li Yi had no choice but to take over and go meet the two daughters of Yuan.

Li Yi placed these two girls in the Inner Shouchun Palace, which was still their original residence.

He also ordered Xu Chu to lead three hundred tiger guards to guard outside the palace to prevent any scoundrels from disturbing it.

The eldest of the two daughters of the Yuan family was named Yuan Ying. Historically, she married Huang Yi, a general under Yuan Shu.

The little girl was called Yuan Ying. Historically, she married Sun Quan as his concubine.

These two girls come from prominent families, so their overall appearance and temperament are far superior to those of ordinary girls.

Since being placed in the palace by Li Yi, she could not go anywhere.

The two girls were bored.

The eldest sister Yuan Ying has reached the age of marriage and is much more mature.

She understood the current situation of her sisters and was worried about the future.

On the contrary, the younger sister Yuan Ying was still young and simple-minded and did not think too much.

He just lay in front of the window, with his big watery eyes open, in a daze.

"...little sister?"

Yuan Ying was afraid that her sister was frightened and that something might happen to her, so she called her softly.

However, Yuan Ying still held her chin with her hands and ignored him.

The elder sister called out three times, but the younger sister ignored her.

Yuan Ying was a little annoyed. She walked up to her sister and prepared to pinch her waist.

Suddenly I saw her expression and I understood everything.

He reached out and snatched the teacup in front of her, then poured it out of the window.

Then she glanced at her sister and suddenly said with a sweet smile:
"Little boy, I know what you are thinking."

Yuan Ying was startled, frightened by her sister, "...Are you, are you the worm in my stomach?"

Yuan Ying pinched her with a smile, and Yuan Ying begged for mercy with a smile.

Yuan Ying's hand suddenly reached into Yuan Ying's wide sleeves.

Yuan Ying laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back and panted:

"Good sister, please forgive me."

Yuan Ying was also panting, her face flushed, and said:
"I'll spare you, you look so distracted, just go ahead and tell me."

"Are you thinking about him?"

Yuan Ying blinked and asked, "Who is he?"

Yuan Ying put her hand into her sister's sleeve again.

"...Little devil, if you don't tell me, do you dare?"

Yuan Ying laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back and gasped repeatedly:
"…I'm telling you, dear sister, I won't dare to do it again."

Yuan Ying then gave up and asked again:
"Were you thinking about him just now?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying lowered her head in shame and nodded.

hum~
Yuan Ying poured herself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp.

After all the fun just now, I was already exhausted.

"…What do you think of him?"

Yuan Ying answered without thinking:

"I often hear people say that Li Ziyu has the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, and is the symbol of the sun and the moon."

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

"If it weren't for his protection, we sisters wouldn't know where we would end up."

After a pause, he added:
"Besides, Li Lang is still young, yet he has achieved such a high position today."

"I see many celebrities around my father, but most of them are boastful and have no real talent or knowledge."

"Although I have met many people, I have never seen anyone like Li Lang."

Li Yi left a deep impression on Yuan Ying.

He is different from ordinary people, free and easy and confident.

Although he is a scholar, he does not seem as pedantic as other scholars.

Although Yuan Ying had not been in contact with him for a long time, she could feel an unprecedented feeling from him.

This feeling cannot be given by anyone else.

It seems that only Li Yi can do it.

This feeling was very strange, and Yuan Ying herself couldn't figure out what kind of magical power Li Yi had.

It makes him have a temperament that is completely different from other people.

Yuan Ying got another glass of water, but she just looked at it without drinking. She glanced at her and chuckled:

"Little boy, look at your blushing face, are you in love?"

Yuan Ying bit her lip and said:

"It's you... you, your hand just now."

Yuan Ying chuckled and said:

"What's my hand? If it's his hand..."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying screamed.

He pounced on his sister and gently hit her chest.

"I didn't, I didn't..."

Yuan Ying's smile did not fade, and she imitated her sister and joked:
"You're lying, you're lying... When you were pouring tea for him just now, you couldn't even hold the teapot steadily."

Yuan Ying's face turned even redder after being exposed. She stammered, "I...I..."

Yuan Ying sighed and gently stroked her sister's head:

"Why should you be ashamed? Any girl would be attracted to a man like him."

"Now we are prisoners, and we don't know where we will go."

"Liu Shishu is still in Lujiang. Now others are the butchers and I am the meat."

"We are trapped here, and we don't know what will be waiting for us in the future."

"Now we sisters can only leave it to fate."

After hearing what her sister said, Yuan Ying thought of her father's death again, and she felt sad and grief-stricken.

He threw himself into Yuan Ying's arms and burst into tears.

At this moment, there was a noise outside the house.

……

(End of this chapter)