When Yuan Xi and Sun Li arrived at the room where Qiao Rui was imprisoned, Taishi Ci and Tian Yu had already arrived.
When Qiao Rui saw Yuan Xi coming in, he snorted coldly, "I won't say anything!"
Yuan Xi had come here once before and found that Qiao Rui was unmoved by any persuasion or persuasion. Thinking of the historical records that Qiao Rui had great respect for Sun Ce, he temporarily gave up the idea of persuading him to surrender.
Although he knew that the other party might be the father of the famous Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao in Jiangdong, but considering the time, Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao were only of childhood age and had no appeal to Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi saw that on the table in front of Qiao Rui, there were more than a dozen bright oil lamps lit in a row. The lamp shafts were as thick as chopsticks, and fist-sized flames danced in front of Qiao Rui's eyes, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
Qiao Rui, who had not even had dinner, had obviously never experienced such a method that was ahead of its time. Not only did he feel extremely hungry, but he was also extremely anxious because of the flames in front of him. He could not help but shout angrily, "Ambush the city and use evil methods to force a confession. Is the Yuan family so shameless?"
Yuan Xi smiled slightly and sat down in front of Qiao Rui, but found that his eyes were also dazzled by the oil lamp. "It seems that Sun Ce was the first to attack Guangling City. Do you have the right to say that?"
Qiao Rui snorted: "Bofu is a hero of the time. How can you be compared with him if you rely on your family background?"
Yuan Xi said calmly: "I don't know if he is a hero or not, but Sun Ce is really good to Brother Qiao. He is willing to lead the soldiers and attack the city at the risk of great casualties. I really admire him."
After hearing this, Qiao Rui was shocked and confused. He had been locked up in the house for the past few days and heard the deafening shouting and killing outside the city. He didn't know what had happened. It turned out that Sun Ce was leading his troops to attack the city?
He became confused. Could it be that besides himself, Zhou Yu was also captured?
But if Zhou Yu was captured, why did Sun Ce pay such a high price to attack the city instead of negotiating with Yuan in exchange?
He couldn't figure it out for a moment, but he knew that he must not let Yuan Xi see what he was thinking, so he snorted coldly, closed his eyes and remained silent.
When Yuan Xi saw this, he thought to himself, Qiao Rui is so stubborn, does he really have to use force?
He looked around, and when Sun Li saw him, he was eager to try, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Brother, let me do it!"
"Look! I'm going to use the same methods I used against the northern bandits on him. In no time, he'll be begging for mercy!"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi fell into silence.
After all, horse thieves are different. Their hands are stained with the blood of a lot of Han people in the north, so any means used to treat them are not excessive.
But Qiao Rui was a general of Yuan Shu, with a similar status to Sun Ce, and was also a member of the noble family. If he was tortured and the news spread, it would only make his relationship with Sun Ce worse.
The reason he came this time was to find an opportunity to lift the siege of Guangling from Qiao Rui, not to let the two sides fight to the death.
The key is, can we really force something out of them?
What if Qiao Rui has no idea what's going on?
At present, he and Sun Ce have not reached the point of no return, he just wants to find out why Sun Ce is so obsessed with Guangling City.
Yuan Xi didn't believe that Sun Ce really wanted to rescue Qiao Rui?
Or is there another important person in the city?
Yuan Xi suddenly had an idea, and he said calmly, "Brother Qiao, when Sun Ce went to Xia Pi, who else did he leave behind besides you?"
Qiao Rui sneered: "Even if I know, do you think I will tell you?"
Yuan Xi smiled slightly, "Brother Qiao, do you think you are right?"
"But it seems that Yuan Shu, whom Brother Qiao relies on, is not that good either."
"When Yuan Shu was young, he was fond of flying hawks and running dogs, and he wandered around without restraint. His reputation is far inferior to that of Benchu Gong."
"Brother Qiao is attached to the Yuan family, but he chose a company with a bad reputation. I am confused."
Qiao Rui snorted coldly: "You are eloquent, but you don't understand that the person I admire is Sun Bofu!"
"Bofu is a hero with great ambitions. Compared with his father, he is even better than his father. He will definitely achieve great things in the future!"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I quite agree with what Brother Qiao said."
"Sun Ce is indeed a hero, so I plan to let Brother Qiao go back tomorrow and bring him a letter so that both sides can make peace. How do you think?"
After hearing this, Taishi Ci and the other three were stunned. They thought that even if they waited until dawn, there was no guarantee that they would be able to get anything out of him. So why did Yuan Xi let the person go after just saying a few words?
Qiao Rui was also a little confused. What kind of medicine was in the other party's gourd?
But since the other party was willing to let him go, he would not be so stupid as to offend the other party, so he said, "Since the young master is willing, I will definitely convey my message."
Yuan Xi nodded and turned to leave. As he reached the door, he said, "I heard that Brother Qiao has two daughters. How old are they?"
Qiao Rui subconsciously said, "The big ten..." He suddenly felt something was wrong and angrily said, "Why are you asking this?"
Yuan Xi laughed and went out with Taishi Ci and the other two.
Walking outside, Tian Yu asked, "Just let him go like this?"
Yuan Xi said: "It's useless to keep him. How strong is he?"
Tian Yu looked at Taishi Ci, who said, "His experience is acceptable, but his talent is only average."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's it. Let's release him tomorrow and see how Sun Ce reacts."
Taishi Ci and Tian Yu listened and seemed to be thinking about something.
Sun Li saw it and asked in confusion: "Do both brothers understand?"
Taishi Ci said, "I understand a little bit."
Tian Yu hesitated and said, "I understand a little bit."
Sun Li couldn't figure it out at all, and asked hurriedly: "What's going on?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't tell him anything. Let him figure it out himself."
After hearing this, Sun Li scratched his head and thought to himself, I just don't believe it and I can't figure it out!
Early the next morning, Sun Li had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't sleep well the previous night. He thought about it all night, but he couldn't understand why Yuan Xi let Qiao Rui go!
It can't be because of Qiao Rui's two daughters or something, right?
He asked someone to escort Qiao Rui out of the cell and took him behind the South City Gate.
The soldiers on the wall indicated that Sun Ce's army had not yet attacked the city, so Sun Li ordered the soldiers to open the city gate, leaving a crack.
He untied the rope on Qiao Rui's hand, pushed him out of the city gate, and said, "Go!"
Qiao Rui saw the city gate slam shut behind him and rubbed his sore wrist, as if he were in a dream.
Why couldn't he understand why the other party really let him go like that?
At this time, Sun Ce was selecting his troops and generals in the camp, preparing to attack Guangling City again. At this time, a soldier came to report that Qiao Rui had been released!
Sun Ce and several of his generals looked at each other in confusion. What was going on?
In Guangling City, Yuan Xi was hugging Cai Zhaoji, basking in the sunlight coming in from outside, thinking that they were both good at their own things.
Although Zhen Mi could be said to be just right, she was a little immature and a little young, which made Yuan Xi reluctant to bully her too much.
But Cai Zhaoji was different. At the age of more than 20, she was like a peach that would juicy out of juice when pinched. Her whole body exuded a mature and attractive charm, and she was more receptive to some rather ridiculous requests.
Cai Zhaoji had woken up a long time ago. She faced the wall and felt Yuan Xi approaching her again. She whispered, "Are you not going to defend the city today?"
"If people knew I was still pestering you so early in the morning, I would be scolded by the soldiers."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, if it's really as I expected, Sun Ce won't be able to attack the city for at least half a day."
The two rolled around in bed for a while before getting up to wash. Yuan Xi was combing Cai Zhaoji's hair when he suddenly said, "I know you are proud and arrogant. Even if you don't want a title, you don't want to be a concubine."
After hearing this, Cai Zhaoji was silent for a while before she said softly, "Since I have taken back my name, I have to consider the reputation of the Cai family."
"Mrs. Zhen did not hesitate to leave her home, and the mother and daughter of the Huan family also did a lot for the young master. I have been thinking about how to use the Cai family's connections to help the young master in the future."
"As for status and stuff, I've already stopped caring about it."
Yuan Xi said in a barely audible voice: "Under the heavens, except for the emperor and the king, concubines have low status."
"I will have to get a king of a different surname in the future. At least I can be your wife, so you won't be wronged."
Cai Zhaoji was touched and said, "Don't worry, I would rather you be safe and sound."
Yuan Xi pulled Cai Zhaoji's hair up, pinned a hairpin on it, and said, "The princes of this world can't turn back."
"Yuan Benchu, Yuan Gonglu, Cao Mengde, Liu Xuande, and Lü Wenhou are all like this."
"If you don't advance, you will die."
At this time, Sun Li returned to the mansion and heard the voices coming from Yuan Xi's room. He thought to himself that he had not slept all night, and the young master had a woman to accompany him, so he must have had a great time.
I thought about how I hadn't seen my wife in Beixincheng for several months, and I didn't know how my mother and children were doing.
Sun Li understood that he might be separated from his family for a longer period of time in the future, perhaps not seeing them for a year or even several years.
But this is the path he chose himself, and as a promise to the young master, he must stick to it.
At this moment, the door of a room in the corner creaked open, and Guo Jia came out with his arms half open, hugging two beauties.
When Sun Li saw this, he was furious. However, Guo Jia was more open-minded. Just a few days after arriving in Guangling City, he bought two singing girls from a singing house and had fun every night. He was so dissolute!
Guo Jia raised his head and saw Sun Li's contemptuous look. He said, "What's the matter, Sun boy? You haven't seen your wife for half a year. Are you feeling pent up?"
"Do you want me to give her to you?"
When Sun Li heard this, he said, "You nobles are so shameless!"
Guo Jia sighed, "Sun Li, I am certainly not a good person, but this gift to a concubine is a good story among the nobles."
"If it weren't for Benchu Gong's father..." He suddenly realized that this was not appropriate and coughed, "Sun Li, you are young and energetic. Fighting is easy to accumulate resentment. Finding a woman is not a bad thing."
"If you are short of money, I have some here. It's enough for you to buy a few in the city."
Sun Li waved his hand and said, "Forget it. I'm annoyed."
When Guo Jia heard this, he asked the beautiful girl in his arms to go back to the house first, and he came over and put his arm around Sun Li's shoulders, saying with a smile: "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Are you attracted to Kong Rong's daughter or Liu Bei's daughter?"
At this time, from another house came the voice of Mrs. Liu Bei: "If you continue to make up stories about my daughter, I will beat you on the head with a stick."
Guo Jia shrank his head in fear and muttered, "You haven't been out all day, but your ears are quite sharp."
He turned to Sun Li and asked, "What happened?"
Sun Li told him about Yuan Xi letting Qiao Rui go last night, and said depressedly: "I can't figure out why the young master did this, and he didn't let Brother Taishi and Brother Tian tell me."
After hearing this, Guo Jia thought for a moment and laughed, "Boy, you didn't want to learn military tactics from me in the beginning. Now you are in trouble, right?"
"This move, young master, is indeed very thoughtful."
Thank you very much for Beiluo Shiba's reward!