Yuan Xi stood on the carriage, speaking loudly, and the crowd burst into laughter from time to time.
Yuan Xi got excited and pulled Zhao Yun, who was beside him, onto the carriage.
"This is General Zhao Zilong, does everyone know him?"
The crowd was silent for a while, and then a voice said: "Isn't this the Gongsun Zan's military general who led troops to attack us a while ago?"
As soon as this was said, the crowd began to talk.
"That's right, he looks a bit familiar. I saw him when I was guarding the city. Why did he come to the city?"
Yuan Xi heard this and shouted: "That's right!"
"General Zhao abandoned the darkness and came to us from Gongsun Zan's army!"
"In the past few days, the Hun bandits and the White Horse Brigade were all defeated with General Zhao's help!"
"If we hadn't repelled them, our thousands of acres of wheat outside the city would have been robbed and destroyed like in the previous two years, and we would have to starve through the winter again!"
"But this year, we have recovered all the wheat!"
"Enough to feed us through the winter!"
"Tell me, is General Zhao, who protected our food, a good person or a bad person?"
The crowd shouted in unison: "A good person!"
"Moreover!" Yuan Xi struck while the iron was hot, "General Zhao wanted to join the Youzhou Governor, Lord Liu!"
"Has Lord Liu been good to our Youzhou people these years!"
The crowd shouted in unison: "Good!"
Youzhou Governor Liu Yu was a member of the Han imperial family and had a very high status, equivalent to the Clan Affairs Director of the Han Dynasty.
During his years in Youzhou, he reduced taxes and corvee, restored production, and the salt and iron industry in Youzhou flourished, attracting tens of thousands of people from Qing, Ji, Yan, and Bing provinces to seek refuge in Youzhou.
Youzhou is a bitterly cold place, yet it can attract so many people, which shows that Liu Yu is deeply loved by the people.
"But Lord Liu was killed by Gongsun Zan!" Yuan Xi shouted.
"Gongsun Zan dared to kill a member of the Han imperial family and looted us with his troops. Is he still a parent official of a state!"
Among the crowd, many were poisoned by Gongsun Zan, and after hearing this, they gritted their teeth and shouted: "No!"
"How many years has it been!" Yuan Xi shouted: "In these years, which year have we been able to live in peace!"
"We just want to farm well, eat well, and live well. Is there anything wrong with that!"
The crowd was excited: "There is nothing wrong!"
"We are not wrong!"
Many people sobbed and said: "Why is it so difficult to have a full meal?"
Yuan Xi shouted: "If Gongsun Zan is not eliminated, we will have to live in fear!"
"So I am going back to Ye City to persuade my father to bring the army back as soon as possible and completely wipe out Gongsun Zan!"
"Of course, I admit that I really want to marry a wife."
The crowd laughed again.
"As long as Gongsun Zan is eliminated, our Youzhou people will be able to live a stable life again!"
"Even better than when Lord Liu was here!"
The crowd cheered loudly after hearing this.
Yuan Xi raised Zhao Yun's hand high: "I will never abandon you. During the time I am away, General Zhao will act as the city guard on my behalf!"
"What he does is the same as what I do!"
"If he does anything to betray you, I swear on my head that I will definitely give you an explanation. If I violate this oath, may I be struck by lightning!"
As soon as this was said, not only was the crowd shocked, but Zhao Yun was also shaken.
Yuan Xi said this in front of everyone, which is equivalent to betting his reputation for the rest of his life!
Yuan Xi actually trusts himself so much!
A complex and inexplicable feeling surged in Zhao Yun's chest. This kind of trust is so similar to the brotherhood of Liu, Guan, and Zhang!
He said in a deep voice: "Zilong will definitely not let down the Young Master's words!"
Yuan Xi was smug in his heart, it's done!
Zhao Yun is the kind of person who repays you ten feet for every foot you give him.
Now Zhao Yun will definitely guard Beixin City diligently and wholeheartedly!
This is Yuan Xi's base, and he can only rest assured if it is in the hands of someone like Zhao Yun.
Amidst the cheers of the people, Yuan Xi also raised his hand high: "I will be back as soon as possible!"
The people of Beixin City dispersed contentedly.
Yuan Xi was a little regretful. In this way, his disguise in front of Yuan Tan would be slightly damaged, and the other party might become alert to him.
But sometimes, he must stand upright. Being timid will only lose more.
However, with Zhao Yun and Yuan Tan in charge, Beixin City should be fine.
Not to mention Zhao Yun, his eldest brother Yuan Tan was definitely underestimated by later generations.
In the Battle of Nanpi in later generations, Cao Cao personally took command, dispatched two major counselors, Xun You and Guo Jia, Cao Chun, and four of the Five Good Generals, ambushing Yuan Tan after breaking the agreement, attacking the few with the many, and actually once fell into a disadvantage, forcing Cao Chun to want to retreat, and finally Cao Cao personally went into battle before he could hardly kill Yuan Tan.
Yuan Tan and Xun Chen returned to the house, and Yuan Tan said with a wry smile: "My second brother, is he really such a person?"
"Before he left Beixin City, he had always been cowardly. Why does he seem like a different person now?"
Xun Chen's expression was solemn: "We misjudged him. This trip to Beixin City was worth it."
"The Second Young Master Yuan must have a master behind him to help him."
Yuan Tan was shocked: "If this is the case, is there a third force in Ye City?"
Xun Chen raised his eyes: "There is only one force in Ye City, and that is loyalty to the Lord."
Yuan Tan quickly bowed and said: "This kid misspoke."
Xun Chen was actually even more unwilling.
He is nominally a neutral faction in the Yuan family, but privately supports Yuan Tan.
If Yuan Xi wanted to win him over, Xun Chen thought that he could pretend to agree, deceive Yuan Xi's trust, and then be able to find out Yuan Xi's details.
As a result, Yuan Xi sent him two maids and never said a word to him again.
Am I so unworthy of being won over?
What Xun Chen didn't know was that Yuan Xi had already guessed that the Yingchuan gentry had defected to Yuan Tan to fight against the Jizhou gentry who had defected to Yuan Shang, so he didn't want to waste his efforts.
Yuan Xi is now very clear that he has no capital within the Yuan family to make people defect to him.
So he must rely on leaving Beixin City and returning to Ye City to open up the situation.
Xun Chen said in a deep voice: "We must be careful."
"I learned that the Second Young Master Yuan has been guarding the city himself for the past three years, risking danger. Many times he eats and lives with the soldiers and is deeply loved by the soldiers and people. To be able to do this, his plan is not small."
"His degree of forbearance is comparable to the Lord's six years of mourning."
Yuan Tan sighed: "What the Master said is very true, but Yuan Shang is now powerful. If we don't join forces, I won't be able to break the situation. The support of the Second Brother is very important to me now."
Xun Chen said: "That's true, but we must be wary of the Second Young Master."
"To be able to kill Gao Lan, one of the Four Pillars of Hebei, shows that the Second Young Master's subordinates are not weak. If he really goes crazy, we will also be in danger."
When Yuan Tan thought of Yuan Xi's calm expression when he talked about throwing the gentry off the city wall, cold sweat broke out.
Seeing this, Xun Chen comforted him: "Don't worry, the Eldest Young Master is, after all, the eldest son of the Yuan family. The Second Young Master will not mess around for the time being."
"The Second Young Master is not without weaknesses. I see that he likes beautiful concubines, and we can prescribe the right medicine in the future."
"Moreover, the Second Young Master's departure is also an opportunity for the Eldest Young Master."
Yuan Tan hurriedly said: "Please enlighten me, Master."
Xun Chen nodded and said: "Youzhou is likely to be given to the Second Young Master in the future. This place is surrounded by foreign tribes on three sides, so it is indeed not easy to develop, but it has great potential."
"Salt and iron, horses, soldiers, and land are all top choices."
"Originally, the thousands of soldiers outside the city were under Gao Lan's control. Now that he is missing, we have a good opportunity."
"The Eldest Young Master has the talent to lead troops. He can take over these soldiers and fight against the White Horse Brigade. If he can defeat and incorporate them, he can use war to support war and strengthen our power."
"If we can take advantage of the opportunity to occupy a few cities, we will have more capital to bargain with the Second Young Master."
"I guess this may also be the Lord's purpose in sending the Eldest Young Master to Beixin City, to test whether you can independently lead troops to take down Qingzhou!"
After hearing this, Yuan Tan bowed and said: "Master is wise. After the Second Brother leaves, I will meet the White Horse Brigade!"
He was a little unconvinced in his heart. The White Horse Brigade that the Second Brother could defeat should not be a big problem to deal with, right?