Chapter 395: Isn't it nice to have a wife and children? Go east through the Three Gorges, take Jingzhou, and share the world with the State of Chu!
"The brutality of Cao is even worse than that of Liu Bei!"

"Moreover, when the previous king went south to attack the Central Plains, he drove Cao Cao to Guanzhong and almost forced him into a dead end. How could Cao Cao not bear this grudge?"

"If the Second Young Master surrenders to Cao Cao now, who can guarantee that Cao Cao will not remember the old grudge and settle accounts with the Second Young Master later?"

"If that is the case, then wouldn't the Second Young Master be like a piece of fish on the chopping board, helpless at the mercy of Cao Cao?"

Guo Yuan, Yuan Xi's confidant who had remained silent, stood up at the critical moment and questioned Sima Yi's plan.

Yuan Xi's expression was shocked, and the hesitation in his eyes faded a lot because of Guo Yuan's words.

Sima Yi frowned and was about to open his mouth to refute, but Guo Yuan spoke first:
"Besides, the situation in Youzhou may not be irreversible at the moment."

"Hasn't Tadun led 40,000 Wuhuan cavalrymen south to Yijing to help the Third Prince hold the Yijing defense line and prevent Liu Bei from crossing the river?"

"With the Wuhuan cavalry here, even if Liu Bei has a million troops, how can he cross the Yishui River?"

"If he can't cross the Yishui River, Youzhou will still be in the hands of the Third Young Master, and the big-eared thief will not be able to destroy our Great Wei!"

"In that case, instead of surrendering to Cao and handing your life to Cao Cao, why not stay in Bingzhou and lead your own troops?"

Guo Yuan's words touched Yuan Xi's heart and made his eyes light up.

After all, he had no ambition. He had no intention of competing with Yuan Shang for the throne, nor did he want to compete with Cao Cao and Liu Bei for the world.

His only ambition was to sit in a corner of Bingzhou, guard his little piece of land, and become a local emperor.

Since Yuan Shang was leading the way and able to hold the Yijing defense line and ensure that Liu Bei could not attack Bingzhou, why would he surrender the entire state to Cao Cao?

He can sit in a state, hide in the mountains and be a local emperor. Wouldn't he be happy with his wife, children and a warm bed?
"Guo Zifu's words make sense. Tadun has dispatched 40,000 cavalry. With such a strong foreign aid, it will be no problem for my third brother to hold the defense line of Yijing."

"If my third brother can still hold on, why should I give up being the ruler of Bingzhou and surrender to Qin and live under Cao Cao's protection?"

Yuan Xi nodded slightly, agreeing with Guo Yuan's proposal.

Sima Yi became anxious and tried to persuade him again.

"Let's stop discussing the surrender to Qin today. Zhongda, you don't need to persuade me anymore."

"I have made up my mind. Let's see how the battle in Yijing goes first, and then we can make plans."

However, Yuan Xi raised his hand and interrupted Sima Yi's advice.

Sima Yi had no choice but to swallow the advice that was about to come out of his mouth, and glared at Guo Yuan with an unhappy look.

His thoughts were racing as he was thinking about how to persuade Yuan Xi to surrender to Cao.

Hurry footsteps were heard, and the guards rushed into the hall holding a silk book high and knelt at Yuan Xi's feet.

"Sir, urgent news from Yi Jing!"

Yuan Xi's heart shuddered as he looked at the silk book, and an ominous premonition came to his mind.

He stretched out his hand and hovered over the silk book for a long time, but he did not dare to pick it up.

After hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and took the silk book.

He opened it slowly and looked down with bated breath.

Then his eyes suddenly widened, his hands began to tremble, his breathing became rapid, and big drops of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Sir, what happened to Yi Jing?"

Guo Yuan also had a bad feeling, and his voice became slightly hoarse.

"Third brother, third brother, you think you are extremely smart and always look down on me, your elder brother, but you still died before me..."

Yuan Xi sighed with sadness and irony, and the silk book in his hand fell out of his hand.

Guo Yuan was greatly surprised and hurriedly picked up the silk book to take a closer look. He took a deep breath and his face turned pale with shock.

Yijing fell and Yuan Shang was beheaded!
There are only eight short words in the silk book.

These eight words were like thunder from the sky, striking Guo Yuan on the head and causing him to stagger back half a step.

"How can this be?"

"The Third Young Master has 40,000 elite soldiers under his command, and the Wuhuan people are helping him. How could he be defeated so quickly?"

"Not only did Yijing fall, but he also died and his reputation was destroyed?"

"This doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense—"

Guo Yuan's voice trembled and he kept shaking his head, unwilling to believe this unbelievable fact.

Sima Yi, who was standing aside, calmed down from his initial shock first, and even a hint of secret joy flashed across his lips.

"Sir, Wen Chou has come alone to the outskirts of Jinyang City, and wants to see you!"

The guards at the city gate sent someone to report.

A ray of light flashed in Yuan Xi's misty eyes, and he hurriedly ordered Wen Chou to be released into the city to meet him.

A moment.

The famous general from Hebei, who was covered in dust and had a gloomy look on his face, walked into the hall exhausted.

"General, I am honored to meet you—"

"Wen Ziqin, how could Yijing fall so quickly? Didn't my third brother have the Wuhuan people to help him in the battle? How could his entire army be annihilated and he was even killed by Liu Bei?"

Yuan Xi didn't wait for Wen Chou to finish his visit, he helped him up and asked impatiently.

Wen Chou was stunned and looked up at Yuan Xi's expression, only to realize that the other party had already known the outcome of the Battle of Yijing before him.

"The fall of Yijing began with Tadun's tens of thousands of Wuhuan cavalry being defeated by the Chu army's Queyue formation..."

Wen Chou silently explained the whole process.

From the annihilation of the Wuhuan army, the killing of Tadun, to the full crossing of the Chu army and the capture of Yijing...

Then Chunyu Qiong was killed, Shen Pei was killed, and then he escorted Yuan Shang to flee westward, but was intercepted by Zhao Yun...

The whole process of Yuan Shang's defeat was recounted one by one.

"Tens of thousands of Wuhuan cavalrymen, can we destroy them just like that?"

"How could Liu Bei be so incredibly strong?"

"This, this, this..."

Yuan Xi was so frightened that his face turned pale as paper, his body trembled, and he fell to the ground.

Wen Chou's face was filled with grief and indignation, and he clasped his hands and said:
"The eldest son, the late king, and the second son all died at the hands of the big-eared thief!"

"That big-eared thief's hands are stained with the blood of your father and brother. You and I have an irreconcilable feud!"

"Please send troops eastwards through Taihang to avenge the late king and the two princes. I, Wen Chou, am willing to be the vanguard and swear to cut off Liu Bei's head for you!"

Far from being aroused to revenge, Yuan Xi was filled with fear when he heard Wen Chou mention that Yuan Shao, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang all died at the hands of Liu Bei, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Father and the others are not Liu Bei's opponents, how can I be Liu Bei's opponent?"

"You want me to lead a mere 20,000 troops to attack Liu Bei from Taihang Mountains. Do you want me to die?"

"I am the only one left in the Yuan family. I cannot die. I must live. I must live~~"

Yuan Xi seemed to be stimulated by something. He suddenly became excited and yelled at Wen Chou almost hysterically.

Wen Chou was so embarrassed that he froze where he was, not daring to say anything.

Originally, he had no intention of being a pioneer to avenge Yuan Shang.

The request for battle just now was just a pretense to show loyalty to Yuan Shao and his son, and to the Yuan family.

Otherwise, should we persuade Yuan Xi not to avenge Yuan Shao and others, but to guard Bingzhou and save his life?

This is not quite appropriate.

Who would have thought that I was just pretending but it would provoke such a big reaction from Yuan Xi.

"It seems that God is not on our side. Even the Wuhuan cavalry was destroyed by Liu Bei."

"Second Young Master is right. At this point, the three states of You, Ji and Qing have all been taken by Liu Bei. The downfall of our Great Wei is inevitable. The Second Young Master and the mere 20,000 Bingzhou soldiers are simply powerless to reverse the situation."

"What the Second Young Master should think about now is how to save his own life, the lives of our subjects, and the lives of the 20,000 soldiers!"

After Sima Yi laid the groundwork, he saluted and said seriously:

"Second Master, I still say the same thing. Submitting Bingzhou to the King of Qin is the only way for you to survive."

"The King of Qin will certainly not care about the previous grudges with the Yuan family because of the Second Young Master's contribution to the surrender of the state. He will certainly treat the Second Young Master with courtesy and give him wealth and honor to show the King of Qin's generosity to the world."

"And if we don't surrender to Qin, the Chu army of hundreds of thousands will attack, and Bingzhou will certainly not be saved."

"At this time, the Second Young Master has only two choices: either die at the hands of Liu Bei, or surrender to the King of Qin."

"Please think twice before deciding what to do next!"

Sima Yi took the opportunity to persuade him to surrender to Qin again.

This time, Guo Yuan no longer had the confidence to object and could only shake his head and sigh helplessly.

As for Wen Chou, as a man who had come here in poverty, he naturally had no say here and could only listen to Yuan Xi's decision.

Yuan Xi slowly stood up, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and fell into deep thought, weighing the pros and cons.

After thinking for a long time, Yuan Xi looked up to the sky and sighed:
"Zhongda is right. If we defend Bingzhou, we will die."

"If I surrender my entire state to the King of Qin, I will also be a rich man."

"Just follow what Zhongda said and surrender to Qin."

Sima Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

...

Chengdu, the main hall of the provincial capital.

Cao Cao sat high on the throne, looking very happy, as he accepted the seal and ribbon presented by Liu Zhang and surrendered Yizhou.

Flipping through the map of the counties of Yizhou, Cao Cao couldn't suppress the smile on his face, his pride and joy were all written all over his face.

"Chengdu has been taken, Liu Zhang has surrendered, and the counties in Shu can be conquered by issuing an edict."

"Except for the two remnants of Ma Chao and Fa Zheng, who refused to listen to my advice and fled to Baidi City with their defeated troops, the entire territory of Yizhou has been taken by Your Majesty."

"I congratulate the king on taking Yizhou!"

A scholar with shifty eyes and a weird appearance standing at the foot of the stairs congratulated Cao Cao with a smile.

The one who congratulated him was Zhang Song, Liu Zhang's deputy driver and the biggest guide in Yizhou.

Looking at that clown-like smiling face, Cao Cao felt sick.

However, thinking that the successful capture of Yizhou was all thanks to Zhang Song's help, Cao Cao could only suppress the disgust in his heart and put on a smile of approval on his face.

"Yongnian, the credit for my conquest of Shu must go to you!"

"When you follow me back to Chang'an, I will definitely reward you handsomely!"

Cao Cao pinched his nose and Zhang Song made a big promise.

After all, he also had to put on a show for the surrendered officials in Shu, so that they would surrender to the Qin Dynasty peacefully and work for him, the new master of Yizhou.

Zhang Song was delighted to receive Cao Cao's promise, and took the opportunity to speak up:
"Your Majesty, I think you should take advantage of the victory to march eastward, flatten Baidi City, and wipe out the two remnants of Ma Chao and Fa Zheng."

"Then, Your Majesty, you can take advantage of the fact that Liu Bei's entire army is in Hebei, and march eastward through the Three Gorges to capture Jingzhou in one fell swoop!"

"If we can take Jingzhou, the power of our Great Qin will increase dramatically. Not only will we be able to compete with the Pseudo-Chu in terms of power, but we will also have geographical advantages from north to south!"

Cao Cao's eyes sparkled, and his vision and perspective were immediately broadened by Zhang Song's advice.

(End of this chapter)