After a few more days, Yuan Shao arranged everything and finally moved camp back to Yecheng.
More than half of the soldiers had already left, and Yi Jing left thousands of people stationed there, led by Chunyu Qiong, to guard against the remnants of Gongsun Zan in Youzhou from harassing Jizhou.
Although Yijing is located at the junction of You and Ji, strictly speaking it belongs to Zhuo County and should be under the jurisdiction of Yuan Xi.
And now Yuan Shao has sent his most trusted general, Chunyu Qiong, who was once one of the Eight Commandants of Xiyuan, to garrison there, nominally to help guard against the remnants of Gongsun Zan, but it is very intriguing that there may be some intention of guarding against Yuan Xi as well.
Yuan Xi truly felt that Yuan Shao was trying to make his position clear in front of everyone and distance himself from him.
But Yuan Xi didn't care. He wanted to establish his own faction, so he couldn't have the best of both worlds and had to make some choices.
As for the families of Liu He and Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao decided to let Liu He return to Yecheng, and Yuan Shao presented a memorial to the Han court, granting Liu He an official position.
However, everyone knew that the Han court was on the run and had no time to deal with the memorials. Yuan Shao's move was almost semi-forced to become Liu He's sponsor in order to gain nominal leadership over Liu He.
As for the few surviving family members of Gongsun Zan, after some consideration, Yuan Shao decided to let Yuan Xi take them directly back to Beixin City for resettlement.
If he brought them back to Yecheng, people all over the world would criticize him for taking Gongsun Zan's family as hostages. Yuan Shao wanted to gain a good reputation, so he naturally wouldn't cause himself trouble for a few insignificant people.
So Yuan Shao simply threw these hot potatoes to Yuan Xi. As for whether these people would be used by the remaining forces of Gongsun Zan in the future, that was something Yuan Xi needed to consider.
One after another, baggage carts were pushed out from the Yijing warehouse by Yuan's soldiers and civilians, carrying food, weapons, gold, silver and other valuables.
Yuan Xi stood at the city gate, swallowing his saliva continuously. Three million dan of grain and tens of thousands of weapons and armors!
If all of this were his, would he still be afraid that he wouldn't be able to conquer Youzhou within a few years?
However, Yuan Xi could only think about it. After all, this was conquered by an army of 100,000, and he had only a few thousand subordinates. Based on the number of people, what he could get would be very little.
If it was judged by military merit, he would indeed have received a lot, but he used his military merit to guarantee Liu He and others in front of Yuan Shao.
Yuan Xi sighed in his heart, hoping that Liu He would be worthy of the price he paid in the future, otherwise it would be too painful.
But the good thing was that Zhao Yun's appreciation of him increased visibly from his words. If he had ignored Liu He's life or death at that time, he would probably have a rift with Zhao Yun.
In the end, Yuan Shao did not give a penny stingyly and allocated 200,000 shi of grain and thousands of weapons and armor to Yuan Xi.
After all, after the battle of Yijing, Yuan Xi will start from Zhuojun and conquer all the counties in Youzhou next year.
This number is also very subtle, as it can ensure that Yuan Xi can gather an army of less than 10,000 people, which has the power to expand in Youzhou without posing a threat to Jizhou.
After seeing off Yuan Shao's army, Yuan Xi prepared to return to Beixin City first to settle everything, and then return to Yecheng to prepare for the adoption.
He rode in the center of the team, with Zhao Yun on his left, Taishi Ci on his right, and Sun Li and Tian Yu behind him.
He was full of confidence. Now that he had eliminated Gongsun Zan, a powerful enemy, three years ahead of schedule, he would have his own window of opportunity. How much territory he could conquer before Yuan and Cao completely turned against each other depended on his future plans!
A team of thousands of people and thousands of baggage carts marched forward for half a month before returning to Beixin City.
The families of the soldiers had already come out from outside the city, waiting to find their loved ones. Naturally, some were happy while others were sad.
Qu Yi led his men to meet them and entered the city with everyone else, but there was an obvious look of disappointment on his face. As an enemy who had fought several major battles with Gongsun Zan, Qu Yi naturally felt regretful that he could not witness Gongsun Zan's demise with his own eyes.
But after returning to the mansion, everyone sat down and reviewed what happened in Yijing, and Qu Yi burst into laughter.
He bowed to Yuan Xi and said, "Today I am convinced, sir!"
"Not only did they kill Gongsun Zan, they also snatched his wife away!"
Yuan Xi, who was drinking tea, spat it out and coughed repeatedly. Wu Zhao and Cao Xian behind him hurried over to give him a back massage.
Yuan Xi said angrily: "Is there any brother who speaks like this?"
"I'm not that bold, am I?"
After hearing this, Wu Zhao and Cao Xian couldn't help but smile at each other.
Guo Jia said, "Saving Liu He and Gongsun Zan's family will be very beneficial to your expansion in Youzhou."
"Gongsun Zan's family and Liu Yu's son Liu He were originally two enemies, but they were both saved by the prince, so we can use them to make a fuss."
"If handled properly, we can seize the counties without bloodshed."
"Otherwise, if we attack each city one by one, we don't know how much manpower and resources it will cost."
Everyone nodded after hearing this. The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, and the worst strategy is to attack the cities. If they really want to take the cities one by one, no matter how many people there are, they will not be enough.
Taishi Ci said, "Now that everyone in the world knows that Yuan defeated Gongsun Zan, will his subordinates really come to join you, young master?"
"Even if they wanted to, they would be too embarrassed to do so because of the hatred between the Yuan and Gongsun families, right?"
Guo Jia nodded and said, "Normally speaking, that's true."
"But the decision you made earlier laid the groundwork. Although it seemed like you didn't mean to do that at the time, it seems like you can make good use of it now."
"That's adoption."
"After the young master was adopted, he severed his relationship with Envoy Yuan's branch, so his status naturally became different."
"In this way, the remaining troops of Gongsun Zan will naturally have fewer concerns."
After hearing this, Qu Yi laughed and said, "I've long seen that the young master has a rebellious nature, and now he has finally broken with his father!"
"happy!"
Everyone was speechless, thinking that you still hold a grudge against Yuan Shao.
Yuan Xi sighed, "This is also a helpless move. If I stay in the Yuan family, no matter how well I do, I will be suppressed."
Guo Jia said, "Indeed, after being adopted, there will be less oppression from the same clan, and you will be able to have a broad mind like Envoy Yuan did in the past."
"But you will have to walk the road ahead on your own."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "How can I be alone? I have all the brothers to help me."
"After being adopted, I will be an orphan without a father or a mother. I hope you can look upon my pity and help me more."
Everyone couldn't hold it back any longer and started laughing, saying, "Is this what the lord should say?"
However, it was as if a layer of window paper was pierced in everyone's hearts. From then on, Yuan Xi was their real lord, and not a bastard son of the Yuan family who was serving as a scapegoat for others!
Yuan Xi said: "The Yuan family ancestral hall is in Yecheng. I plan to leave for it in a few days."
"I plan to bring Zilong, Ziyi and Fengxiao with me this time. Brother Qu and Guo Rang will have to bear with it for a while and stay in Beixin City. I will also recruit soldiers and horses for next year."
Tian Yu at the side followed his orders, but Qu Yi said in dissatisfaction: "Why me again?"
Yuan Xi sighed, "My father specifically told you not to set foot in Jizhou again."
After hearing this, Qu Yi muttered, "This is a damn thing."
Everyone's faces froze, and Qu Yi finally realized that at this time Yuan Shao was still Yuan Xi's father, so he kept silent.
Yuan Xi shook his head helplessly, "There is still a big problem."
"We are already quite powerful now. If we recruit soldiers with all our strength, we can raise nearly 10,000 soldiers."
"But Beixincheng is too small."
"This city can only accommodate tens of thousands of people at most, and there are already not enough houses."
"I would like to ask, what do you think about this?"
After hearing this, everyone started discussing the matter. In the end, opinions split into two camps: one was to move the seat of Zhuo County to another large city, and the other was to expand the North New City.
Guo Jia finally said, "It's not appropriate to change cities now."
"Beixincheng controls the passage to Taihang Mountain and Dai County. If the army is moved away, people will be in panic and unrest."
"You must know that the foundation of your career now lies in Zhuo County, and you must defend it with all your might."
After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
Yuan Xi added: "In this case, we can only expand the city."
"I'm going to leave for a while. Who among you knows more about building a city?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhao Yun said, "When Guo Rang and I were both under the command of Envoy Liu, Guo Rang built the city."
Tian Yu saw that everyone was looking at him, so he said, "I think we can use the current North New City as the inner city, and the newly expanded one as the outer city."
"Although building a city is troublesome, it is not without benefits."
"After the city is expanded, the important roads and dangerous places will be incorporated into the city, making it more difficult for the enemy to pass through."
"And in the early stages, you don't have to do it all at once. You can first use tree trunks to drive into the ground to form a long wall for the camp. Later, you can use this as a foundation to build a city wall to form a protective structure."
"We will build several long walls in sequence, and then construct tower fortifications."
"I think the terrain around Beixincheng is complex, and we can definitely do something with the natural terrain."
Yuan Xi saw that Tian Yu's words were very convincing, so he immediately said, "In this case, it will depend on Brother Guo Rang."
"I would like to ask you to temporarily take over the post of the Northern New City Guardian."
After hearing this, Tian Yu hurriedly thanked him.
Qu Yi took out the official seal, put it in Tian Yu's hand, and sighed, "I have been dismissed from office again!"
"It's only been a few months since I snatched this seal from Zilong, and it's not even warm enough yet."
Everyone laughed.
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother. There will be plenty of positions in the future. I'm just afraid you'll find it tiring."
"My ambition is to ensure that everyone in the world can have enough food to eat and live a good life."
"Of course, we must first start in Zhuo County, and even Beixin City."
"This crucial first step depends on your unity!"
Everyone responded with a roar.
After everyone had left, Yuan Xi took Wu Zhao and Cao Xian back to the rear residence and had the two women help them take a bath.
He sat in a huge wooden barrel and sighed, "It took another three months to go back and forth. I couldn't even find time to wash my hair, let alone take a shower. Instead, I rolled around in the mud and water so many times that I almost stink."
Cao Xian whispered, "When will this dangerous day end?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Who knows? After all, there are so many heroes in the world now, and none of them are easy to deal with. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."
"I will go back to Beixin City this time, and you two should come with me. After I adopt you, I will give you a status."
Cao Xian was delighted, but Wu Zhao looked worried.
Yuan Xi turned to Wu Zhao and said, "After that, you can legitimately use your original name again."
Wu Zhao asked worriedly, "What about the Hedong Wei family?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I'll send someone to tell them."
"Anyway, after I am adopted, I will no longer be a member of the Yuan family who values his reputation, but a local tyrant who rules a certain area. Who dares to mess with me?"
The two girls laughed in unison, "Young Master, you speak so lazily, just like a bandit."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi stood up from the bucket and said, "Why don't you come and serve me, the king?"
He grabbed the two women's arms and pulled them into the bucket. There were two splashes and the two women's screams were heard from inside the house.