Chapter Thirty-Seven Uncle and Aunt

  One of the reasons why Fan Zhen, Guan Yue and Chen Di have tolerated Zhao Bi's actions all along is that they lack a military leader. After Yang Xiong left Gongyang, the military power was controlled by Zhao Bi, and even if Fan Zhen and others had some connections with the army in secret, they were not Zhao Bi's opponents.

  Now, Ying Yu suddenly threw out Li Yuan, a powerful and heroic general who could rival Liu Bang. Suddenly, the anti-Zhao alliance had its own military leader, which solidified the anti-Zhao alliance to some extent.

  "General Li and I are not close friends, I don't know when the princess got in touch with him, nor do I know if this person is trustworthy?" Chen Di still had some doubts.

  "Zong Zheng doesn't know, General Li is actually a person from the Li family——!" Ying Yu Xi's face turned red as she said with some shyness.

  "What?" Not only was Chen Dian surprised, but also Guan Yue, Fan Jia, Hou Xi and others were also shocked. They never thought that the Li family, which seemed to have reached a dead end, still had an ace up their sleeve. It seems that Prime Minister Li is indeed cunning and calculating.

  "If you don't believe me, you can ask Hou Xi and Sima. Did my husband entrust any words to me?" Ying Yu Xiu cast her gaze towards Hou Xi, who was still in a state of surprise and delight.

  At this meeting, Hou Xi did not speak much because he only represented more than a thousand people from Junyi in Gongyang, and at most added the support of Guan Yue. This was far inferior to the deep-rooted traditional forces like Fan Jia, the imperial envoy Chen Di, and the royal family member Ying Yu.

  In fact, even Hou Xi was not very clear about the intention of letting him participate in this conspiracy. Now, he finally understood.

  "When Li Junshou was trapped in Yongqiu, he indeed had his subordinates take care of Li Duiwei. However, the subordinates really didn't know the reason behind it." Hou Xi said honestly. Regarding the scene when Yongqiu was broken through, it was too dangerous, and Hou Xi always felt extremely lucky that he received Li You's order to secretly transfer the war horses of the crossbow cavalry to Li Yuan's hands, and this decision allowed him to narrowly escape death.

  "If you still don't believe me, why not ask Li's family servant, Li Bi? You and Li Yuan have been together since childhood, tell everyone about his situation." Ying Yu Xi shifted her gaze away from Hou Xi, she had brought him here for this very purpose, and before he could say anything more, this vague response was already sufficient.

  "Uh, Yuan Ge is two years older than me, born at noon on March 9th. Twelve years ago, we entered the government office on the same day!" The short and stout young man with thick eyebrows spoke in a somewhat muffled tone, but his words were very clear.

  It was only then that everyone realized that Li Bi was the young man who had entered with Gu Yun. The Li family still had a hidden card, fortunately they did not rely on Zhao Bin, this foolish guy, otherwise when the Li family counterattacked, their side would have become the sacrificial lamb.

  "I've already spoken with General Guo, and we'll do our best to escort General Li into the city as soon as possible. At that time, I'll need to trouble County Magistrate Fan and Secretary-General Guan to take extra care at the city gate." Rong Yu had calmed down and was making arrangements for the next move. Fan Jia and Guan Yue, those two evergreen trees of Yangcheng's officialdom, were the key to her persuasion this time. Without their support, Zhao Bin would be like a tiger with its claws removed.

  "Haha, don't worry, Princess. With me, Fan Jia, around, the sky of Xingyang City won't be controlled by anyone with the surname Zhao." Fan Jia smiled to himself, today's meeting had opened his eyes wide. In a situation where a great enemy was approaching, choosing the right collaborator required vision. This time, he believed he wouldn't make a mistake. As for Zhao Bi, regardless of whether the city would be breached or not, he estimated that Zhao Bi and Wang Ming's outcome wouldn't be good either. On the imperial court side, Chancellor Zhao Gao might possibly pose a threat to him in the future, but now his life was at stake, Fan Jia couldn't care about anything else.

  Fan Jia, Guan Yue and others dispersed, Ying Yu Xi suddenly felt a kind of dizzying fatigue, fortunately, Gu Yun Niang and Li Bi were still by her side, holding onto them to prevent herself from falling to the ground.

  Xiao Bi was in a panic and hastily sent to the river, where she rinsed her mouth several times before slowly regaining her composure: "Yunniang, this is a matter of utmost secrecy, it's better to be early than late. You must immediately set off with Li Bi, and when you see Li Yuan, tell him that his sister-in-law wants to meet him, he knows the place in his heart."

  Gu Yunniang nodded in response, her heart suddenly sinking. This message gave her an unreal feeling that was hard to grasp. In between the lines of Rong Yu's words, he had already acknowledged that Li Yuan was her younger uncle, so why didn't he contact her directly? Why did he need to go through her to convey this message? And what was meant by "the place in your heart knows"? What kind of mysterious place was it? Could it be that there were secrets between the uncle and aunt?

  Since Li Yuan is Li You's brother, why has the Li family never heard of such a person in all these years? What unknown hidden circumstances are there behind this?

  The raging fire of gossip ignited in Gu Yunniang's heart, and if Li Bi hadn't been by her side, she feared she wouldn't have been able to resist asking about Li Yuan's past.

  ——。

  The city of Yangcheng is mostly low and damp, with some houses made of just a few wooden boards nailed together, barely enough to block the wind and rain. Hou Xi, Hu Zhuang, and He Ping led over 1,600 residents from Rongcheng who temporarily settled here, and their days have been extremely difficult lately.

  The only decent civilian house in this area was rented by the wealthy Zhang family, with more than 30 people living together, including the elderly couple, two sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, a daughter and her husband, as well as servants and slaves. The Zhang family's retinue was no less impressive than those of high-ranking officials.

  Zhang Fu was a Yangwu native, mainly relying on the ancestral land to make a living. The old ancestor of the Zhang family had served as the Grand Minister of Wei State, and his distant uncle was Zhang Yi, a great strategist who played a crucial role in Qin State's history. Zhang Yi's contributions to Qin State are self-evident; without him, Qin State would have been destroyed by other six states long ago. Based on this, after Qin State annexed the land of Wei, the Zhang family still maintained its prosperity.

  However, Zhang Fu was not happy now. From Yangwu to Xingyang, the taste of sitting and eating empty mountains every day was unbearable. At this time of war and chaos, the income from farming could not be guaranteed. Those tenants holding hoes might rush into your house at any time, taking away all the property they saw and burning everything.

  "Ah Ping, tell me, how are we going to get through these days? If Xingyang is occupied by the outside army, won't we end up like those people in Daliang?" Zhang was over fifty years old and looked somewhat wealthy due to his good self-care, but his face wore a bitter expression.

  "Ah, I told you earlier, after arriving at Xingyang, we must leave quickly to avoid disaster." In front of Zhang Fu, a young man with a handsome face and slender figure stood with his head bowed, his face also pale, his expression somewhat unnatural.

  "What's the use of saying these now? I also thought that this Xiangyang city was strong enough, wasn't it besieged for several days last time, and nothing happened in the end. Besides, there are wars everywhere in the three rivers, where can we go?" Zhang Fu sighed and patted his thigh, saying.

  "Ah-yong, Ah-ping, Mr. Hou Xi has arrived and is currently outside the door." Just as he was saying this, a man in his thirties rushed in, speaking as he ran - it was Zhang Fu's second son, Zhang Zhong.