"Secret letter? But Ding Sanji came from Yecheng?"

Wang Jing was very curious. Did something big happen in Jizhou so soon? Or did Yuan Shao capture Yecheng so quickly?
Xun You looked at the mark on the secret letter and said, "It was not sent by Ding San. Judging from the mark, it was sent by a spy lurking beside Yuan Shao and passed to the lord through Ding San's hands."

"Hidden man? Is it Xu Ziyuan? I almost forgot about this person."

Wang Jing sneered contemptuously: "Xu Ziyuan, Xu Ziyuan, it seems that you are finally willing to work for me honestly."

As early as when Wang Jing accepted Xu You in Luoyang, he knew very well that this man was greedy and ruthless, a sophisticated egoist who even dared to assassinate the emperor for his own interests. This shows Xu You's arrogance and short-sightedness.

In the history of the Three Kingdoms, the key to victory in the Battle of Guandu was the intelligence brought by Xu You.

This can also be considered a betrayal, and it is the kind that directly kills one's former boss.

How could Cao Cao dare to use such a person given his suspicious nature?
But Xu You had no idea what was going on. He was confident of his great contributions and hung around in front of Cao Cao every day, calling him "Ami", and even dreamed of gaining power.

Finally, Cao Cao couldn't bear it anymore and finally killed him.

Previously, Wang Jing had recruited him and Yang Hong as spies in Luoyang and ordered them to do things.

Yang Hong was quite honest and kept reporting a lot of news about Yuan Shu. Although there was no key information, at least he had an attitude towards work.

But Xu You was different. After returning to Jizhou, he did not say a word and did not reply at all.

It is obvious that he neither works nor puts in any effort, and has no awareness of being a good traitor at all.

Even the news that Yuan Shao and Xun Zhan were planning to seize Jizhou was reported back by Ding San afterwards.

From this we can see that Xu You did not do anything at all, but he did not take a penny less of the activity funds given to him by Wang Jing.

This shows his greedy and shameless nature.

Now seeing that Wang Jing had overturned the entire Jizhou province single-handedly and was playing Yuan Shao around at his fingertips, Xu You remembered his identity as a traitor and hurriedly wrote a secret letter.

Xun You was quite disdainful of Xu You: "Xu Ziyuan is greedy for money and forgets his moral principles. He has a bad character, but the information he provided this time is of some value. At least the money the lord gave him before was not wasted."

Wang Jing also finished reading the contents of the secret letter and said with a smile: "It seems that Yuan Benchu ​​is still unwilling to give up. He has contacted Liu Yu in the north and Zhang Yang in the west. This strategy of forming alliances is quite good. But in the end, it is just a last-ditch struggle and it is difficult to reverse the defeat. But it is better to let him struggle a little longer. Anyway, the more chaos in Jizhou, the better it is for our army."

"The Lord's plan is very unreasonable. At first, even Feng Xiao and I couldn't guess the reason. I'm afraid that the advisers around Yuan Benchu ​​can't see through the intention behind it."

Xun You's praise was endless, but it wasn't all flattery.

When Wang Jing revealed the answer and explained the ultimate purpose of this plan to him and Guo Jia, both of them were deeply shocked by Wang Jing's plan.

Wang Jing was also very curious. He looked across the entire north and muttered to himself, "Yuan Benchu, can you answer the question I gave you?"

Xun You laughed, looking rather gloating: "In fact, even if it is seen through, so what? This situation is a foregone conclusion. Conspiracies are easy to stop, but overt plots are hard to break."

The land of Jizhou is raging with war.

On the Yecheng front, Yuan Shao personally led his troops to attack the city. His generals Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Qu Yi all led their troops to climb the city walls. Later, Han Fu's subordinates Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan fought back desperately with the help of the crossbow formation in the city and Taoists recruited in Yecheng, and finally drove the enemy out.

Confucianism and Taoism complemented each other on the battlefield, emitting a terrifying yet brilliant light. The two sides fought desperately for the city wall, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Han Fu knew that he had no way out.

When the city is broken, I will surely die.

Yuan Shao knew that he had no way out.

If Yecheng is not destroyed, it will be difficult to accomplish my great cause.

Those who advance will not retreat, and those who block will not give way. In order to survive, Yuan Shao and Han Fu fought endlessly over the ownership of Yecheng. The entire battlefield turned into a huge flesh and blood grinding wheel, constantly devouring human lives.

Han Fu's army and Yuan Shao's army are fighting each other. Only the winner can get the chance to survive in this chaotic world, while the loser will only be left with nothing.

In the north, Liu Yu suddenly attacked Gongsun Zan. Not only did he cut off the food supply to Liaoxi, he also sent troops to cut off Gongsun Zan's retreat.

Gongsun Zan originally wanted to attack Jizhou and expand his territory, but he also wanted to get back at Yuan Shao and avenge his previous humiliation.

However, Liu Yu's betrayal left him with no time to go south. In order to prevent his hometown from being stolen, he had to return north to fight Liu Yu.

The Black Mountain Army, which was supposed to attack, was suddenly blocked by Zhang Yang's troops and had to fight with Zhang Yang of Shangdang first.

Yecheng became an isolated island.

Isolated and helpless, surrounded by enemies.

The war never stopped, the states and counties were in turmoil, the princes fought each other for their own ambitions, but the people suffered the most.

The once prosperous and wealthy land of Jizhou, full of laughter and joy, is now filled with only the wailing of the people.

It is said that thieves pass by like combs, and soldiers pass by like rakes.

War disasters are often more terrible than looting bandits. Robbery and murder are everywhere, property is taken away, and wives and daughters are humiliated. As the war becomes more intense, not only the civilians, but also the wealthy families and merchants in Jizhou begin to be troubled and their lives become difficult.

As the war raged, a terrible exodus began.

Not only ordinary people, but also the rich and even some aristocratic families moved their families. The land of Hebei was in turmoil, and the only peaceful paradise was Yanzhou, which was separated by a river.

Zhongshan County, Wuji County.

A convoy of cars was parked on the road in front of the Zhen family’s house.

The second son, Zhen Yan, who is now in charge of the household, is directing the servants to load the gifts: "Be careful, don't damage them, these things are for use in Luoyang."

At this moment, a little girl about ten years old walked out from behind Zhen Yan. She was tall, with red lips and white teeth, and was dignified and beautiful. She was the youngest daughter Zhen Mi, who was the most beloved daughter in the Zhen family. She opened her red lips and said softly, "Second brother, are we really leaving?"

"Ah, little sister, why did you run out? Go back quickly and don't let mother worry."

Zhen Yan has always been very doting on his overly beautiful sister and always speaks softly to her.

Zhen Mi was still young, but at this moment, she showed a pitiful sadness. She looked around, and finally turned back to look at her own door. Her bright eyes showed a bit of reluctance: "Alas, I am leaving today, and I don't know when I can come back."

It was late autumn and the wind was chilly.

It was a desolate and uninhabited place, with only a long convoy moving slowly along the road.

"Third brother, where are you now?"

In front of the car window, the brocade curtain was half lifted, revealing half of Zhen Mi's delicate face as beautiful as jade.

Zhen Yao took out the geomancy map and compared the terrain. He replied, "In another half a day, we will reach Changshan Zhending. We can stay overnight to rest and continue our journey tomorrow."

This time, almost the entire family moved, and they also brought a large number of Zhen family members and countless wealth, so the speed of travel was not fast. It took three days to walk from Zhongshan State to Changshan State. Moreover, the journey was not peaceful. Not only were there refugees and bandits invading, but they also encountered several waves of extortion by "official soldiers", including Gongsun Zan's people, as well as Yuan Shao and Han Fu's people. How could it be described in one word "chaos"?

If the Zhen family was not considered a big family in Jizhou, and if there were not two thousand guards accompanying them this time, including many experts who were not soft persimmons that could be easily taken advantage of, I'm afraid the other party would not just be asking for "extortion".

Zhen Yao was taking care of his family, while Zhen Yan was leading the convoy in the front.

Since his father died of illness and his eldest brother died young, Zhen Yan, as the oldest male in the family, has shouldered the burden of being the head of the family at a young age.

This has also helped him develop a mature, steady and calm style, and the decision to relocate was also made after careful consideration.

But Zhen Yao was a little puzzled, and his younger sister Zhen Mi was also very curious.

"Brother, do we really have to leave?"

The Wuji Zhen family is one of the famous families in Jizhou. They have been rooted in Wuji County for generations and are a prominent family with a prominent reputation.

However, the premise of everything is the foundation and influence that the Zhen family has in Jizhou, because fame, once it loses its foundation, is like water without a source and a tree without roots.

If you want to last long, you must take root deeply in the local area and control the population and land.

But once they left Jizhou, the Zhen family would be uprooting themselves. The loss was not just the loss of gold and silver wealth, but also the network of connections that the Zhen family had established in Jizhou over generations, the land they owned in the local area, and the large population they controlled.

These invisible losses are what really hurt.

Zhen Yan had no choice but to talk to his third brother Zhen Yao and his youngest sister Zhen Mi about the current situation in the world: "Among the thirteen states of the imperial dynasty, Jizhou is the largest state in the world, with a million soldiers and ten years of grain. It has always been a place of great value in the world. If Yuan Benchu ​​can hold Yecheng, with the power he used to defeat Gongsun Bogui, he will be able to unify the entire land north of the Yellow River within five years. From then on, he will control the Yellow River in the south, rely on Yan and Dai in the north, and stare at the Central Plains. Among the heroes, except Qi Hou Wang Yuanxu, who can compete with him?"

Hearing that her second brother was praising Yuan Shao so much, Zhen Mi, who was not yet ten years old, immediately became curious: "Why doesn't our Zhen family follow Yuan Shao?"

Although Zhen Mi was the youngest in the family, she had three older brothers and four older sisters. Except for the eldest brother Zhen Yu who died in childhood, the second brother Zhen Yan and the third brother Zhen Yao had all grown up and were very outstanding. They were all selected as filial and honest officials in the county and had achieved honors.

The four elder sisters, Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, and Zhen Rong, also survived. However, among the five sisters, only Zhen Mi was precocious. She possessed talent and temperament that were no less than that of boys, and she was also very concerned about family affairs.

Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao were quite fond of Zhen Mi, so they were happy to tell her about their experiences during their travels.

Zhen Yan sighed to Zhen Mi and patiently explained the reason: "If there hadn't been the incident in Yecheng, it wouldn't have been a bad idea for us Wuji Zhen family to join Yuan Benchu. But Han Fu recaptured Yecheng, and Yuan Benchu ​​made one mistake after another. He has already lost the most important bargaining chip in the struggle for world domination - time."

Zhen Yao also echoed, "Yes, even if Yuan Benchu ​​rises up again and defeats Han Fu, Qi Hou is watching across the river, how can he sit back and watch him unify Hebei? In my opinion, Yuan Benchu ​​may not even be able to establish his own territory. In such a situation, if I, Wuji Zhen, go to him, wouldn't that be courting death?"

Jizhou today is in chaos.

After defeating Liu Yu in Youzhou, Gongsun Zan immediately led his army to invade Jizhou in an attempt to expand his territory.

The two armies fought a fierce battle at Longcou, with tens of thousands of troops fighting in chaos. The outcome is still unknown, but the local people's livelihood has suffered severe damage, the people have been displaced, and the wealthy families are all terrified.

The Black Mountain Army also allocated part of its forces to invade Sheguo, force its way to Wu'an, and threaten Handan City, in order to support Han Fu's main force trapped in Yecheng, preventing Yuan Shao's army from attacking the city with all their strength.

Han Fu, who was stationed in Yecheng, was now constantly recruiting local martial arts heroes to form rangers. He used small teams of martial arts heroes to launch sneak attacks and harass Yuan Shao's rear, avoiding head-on confrontations. He wanted to use this roundabout way to force Yuan Shao to withdraw his troops and lift the siege of Yecheng.

It has to be said that with Guo Jia giving advice to Han Fu, Yuan Shao had a very difficult time fighting this battle.

Today, Jizhou has become a situation where multiple forces are intertwined and the people are fighting each other. There is no possibility of easing or calming down the situation in the short term.

Based on the news she had heard on a daily basis, Zhen Mi asked in confusion, "Second brother, based on the current situation, Yuan Shao should still be able to achieve the final victory, right? It is said that it is better to help someone in need than to add icing on the cake. Why don't our Zhen family invest in Yuan Shao now in exchange for a greater return in the future?"

Zhen Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "If things were really that simple, that would be great."

"Ah, can't you?"

Zhen Mi opened her bright eyes wide. Although she was very smart, she was too young after all. No matter in experience, knowledge, vision or wisdom, she could not compare with her brother Zhen Yan.

Zhen Yan smiled and said, "Yuan Shao can win, but only if Marquis Qi does not take action."

"Lord Qi?"

This was not the first time Zhen Mi had heard of Wang Jing's name.

Wang Jing's heroic deeds are well-known to many people, even in Jizhou.

The Zhen family had a lot of businesses in Youzhou and had sent caravans to Yuyang County many times, and even went as far as outside the Great Wall to do business with the Hu people. Therefore, they understood even more clearly how powerful and terrifying Wang Jing was.

Zhen Yan looked at his third brother and younger sister who were still confused and had no full understanding of the situation, and said with emotion: "Who can make the decision in Jizhou? The only person who has the decision-making power has not even entered the scene. In this situation, how many people really dare to bet on Yuan Shao?"

After hearing this, Zhen Yao frowned and thought, "Brother, I heard that the change of ownership of Ye City and the resurgence of Han Fu were all planned by Marquis Qi. He has a top strategist under his command, known as a genius, who helped Han Fu recapture Ye City with a piece of paper, and then persuaded the Black Mountain Army and Gongsun Zan to send troops. He is the culprit that caused the civil strife in Jizhou. Could these things be true?"

Zhen Mi seemed to be greatly shocked: "Isn't Qi Hou a great hero? How could he do such a thing?"

During the civil war in Jizhou, many people lost their homes and became displaced.

Zhen Mi found it hard to believe that this situation was caused by Wang Jing, whom she had always admired.

Zhen Yan smiled bitterly: "Although the news was spread by Yuan Shao, it should be true. The 'genius' Guo Jia you mentioned is a famous scholar from Yingchuan under Wang Jing's command. He is now the military advisor of the Northern Army."

Taking advantage of the rebellion in Jizhou, Guo Jia has now become famous in one battle, and his reputation as a genius has spread throughout the world and is talked about by people.

"Alas, in the fight for world dominance, all means are used. Qi Hou is of course a hero. Although he was the one who brought about the situation, the real culprits were Yuan Shao, Han Fu, Gongsun Zan and other ambitious people, as well as the Yellow Turban rebels led by Heishan Zhang Yan. Even if Qi Hou hadn't been around, would these people not have started a war?"

Zhen Yan's words left Zhen Yao and Zhen Mi speechless.

The chaos in the imperial dynasty today can be said to be the result of a long period of continuous accumulation of ice. Wang Jing only ignited the fire.

Zhen Mi suddenly realized what was going on, and asked in a voice as clear as an oriole, "So that's why my second brother insisted that we move to Luoyang, right?"

Zhen Yan laughed: "Yes, you are the smartest one."

If you can't beat them, join them. Although Jizhou is the place where the Zhen family has taken root, times are different now. If you are in trouble, you have to think of change. If you want to survive in troubled times, you naturally have to know how to adapt.

Wang Jing now managed the capital city of Luoyang to be as solid as a rock. It was even said that people would not pick up things on the streets and would not lock their doors at night. Even the powerful officials in the court dared not to disobey the law.

Thanks to this, Luoyang's business atmosphere became increasingly strong and even more prosperous than before. Merchants and wealth from all over the country gathered at the feet of the emperor. The market was full of rare treasures, and the purchase of bulk goods such as raw materials and ironware attracted many people. No matter where these popular commodities were shipped, they could make a lot of money.

The Wuji Zhen family, which was rooted in Jizhou, had often sent caravans to Luoyang to purchase raw materials and ironware, so Zhen Yan was no stranger to the situation in Luoyang.

Zhen Yan even smiled and said to Zhen Mi: "The four-wheeled carriage you are sitting in now is a product of Luoyang Qiqiao Pavilion. I had to queue for half a year before I successfully bought three of them."

Zhen Mi opened her eyes wide with curiosity, her eyes bright and clear: "Really? Was this four-wheeled carriage really made in Luoyang?"

The four-wheeled carriage was ingeniously designed and used many new technologies that Zhen Mi had never seen or heard of before. She, who was already at an innocent age, could not help but admire it and become curious.

This is not surprising. After all, since the fall of Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty, the Wuji Zhen family, which was once prosperous, has now declined. Although there are still family members who can occasionally serve as local officials, they have been completely away from the central government, and their power and status have been declining, barely maintaining the status of a famous family in Jizhou.

But in fact, the Wuji Zhen family has already transformed from a noble family to a business family, focusing on various types of financial trade, and its assets have become increasingly abundant and prominent. (End of this chapter)