Yuan Xi hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and, calling for Qu Yi, headed straight for the military camp, telling Wu Zhao to return to the residence on her own.
Wu Zhao stood there, bewildered in the wind. He just left like that?
This Young Master Yuan always did things unexpectedly, always in a hurry, as if time was never enough.
Helpless, she had no choice but to take up the reins, trying her best to control the horse, and return to the city lord's mansion.
As she walked, she discovered the city's unique characteristic.
There were no beggars in this city.
Even in prosperous Luoyang, this was unimaginable.
Her doubts were mixed with curiosity, so she stopped the carriage and asked several passersby, finally understanding the difference between this New North City and other places.
Because of the years of war, most of the grain was transported from outside the city. The buying and selling of grain was prohibited in New North City and was instead managed and distributed by the City Lord's Mansion.
The farmland outside the city had been reclaimed quite a bit in recent years, but for some reason, it was now all managed by the City Lord's Mansion.
The city would provide each person with a basic ration, but it was hardly enough to fill their stomachs.
The surplus grain would then be taken out and distributed based on the work done by the residents.
If they wanted to eat their fill, they had to work hard to earn these remaining portions. If they took on relatively important or dangerous work, such as building the city walls, making city defense equipment, or various craftsman jobs, they would be allocated extra grain, enough to support their families.
Wu Zhao understood that this distribution seemed simple, but in reality, there were many laborious and thankless tasks involved, which could easily be criticized.
Of course, there were also benefits, such as preventing the hoarding and reselling of grain during wartime, as well as famine and unrest in the city.
This Second Young Master Yuan seemed to have carefully considered every move, completely different from ordinary aristocratic children.
This made Wu Zhao even more curious.
Zhao Yun was leading his troops back to Yi Jing.
Since Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at Jie Bridge, although he often sent out his generals to counterattack, he himself hid in Yi Jing and refused to come out.
"Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Gongsun Zan": He built ten layers of trenches, and built a capital in the trenches, all five or six zhang high, with buildings on top; the middle trench was the capital, especially ten zhang high, where he lived, storing three million hu of grain. Zan made iron gates and lived on the upper floor, dismissing those around him, with only maids and concubines serving him, pulling up documents.
He was surrounded by maids and concubines, with no men around. The soldiers could only guard outside, and official documents had to be pulled up from the city below by the maids and concubines using ropes.
It was evident that Gongsun Zan had no direct contact with his subordinates, but even so, he could still withstand Yuan Shao's several attacks, proving his wealth and power, and his potential to contend for the world.
But Zhao Yun knew that Gongsun Zan was finished.
He had lost his ambition and was trapped in one place. Even if he could repel Yuan Shao's attacks several times, one failure would lead to his utter destruction.
Zhao Yun did not want to think about whether Gongsun Zan was colluding with the Southern Xiongnu. He only needed to look at the expressions of the soldiers behind him to know the feelings of the soldiers after yesterday's battle.
Yesterday, he only took a hundred men. Now, those who participated in yesterday's battle were excitedly bragging to those who didn't, while those who didn't participate were beating their chests and regretting it endlessly.
These soldiers, who had become increasingly dispirited because Gongsun Zan was trapped and refused to come out, had regained their vitality because of yesterday's battle.
Even if the Great Han was declining internally, when faced with foreign invasions and conquests, the sons and daughters of Han could always erupt with amazing power and resist.
Zhao Yun, leading his troops, was about to reach the city of Yi Jing when he shaded his eyes and his expression became serious.
Outside the city of Yi Jing, there seemed to be hundreds of cavalrymen rushing towards Zhao Yun!
Zhao Yun stepped forward and said, "Zhaozilong, the Cavalry Commandant, who are you?"
The leading general sneered, "Zhao Yun, you are no longer the Cavalry Commandant!"
"You openly colluded with that Yuan Xi in New North City, which shows that you have betrayed General Gongsun!"
"If you know what's good for you, surrender and follow me into Yi Jing to plead guilty to General Gongsun!"
Although Zhao Yun was loyal, he was not stupid. He knew that if he entered the city, his chances would be slim.
Now, Gongsun Zan was extremely sensitive to everything, and besides, he usually didn't even see his generals, so how could he give Zhao Yun a chance to explain in person?
Thinking of this, Zhao Yun cupped his hands and said, "Please reply to the General, Yun has no intention of betraying him. Please allow my subordinates to be stationed here, and I will enter the city alone to plead guilty to the General."
Strictly speaking, these soldiers under Zhao Yun belonged to the private soldiers that Liu Bei asked Zhao Yun to recruit and were not completely under the jurisdiction of Gongsun Zan, so Zhao Yun did not let them enter the city, also to give Liu Bei an explanation.
The Gongsun Zan general sneered, "No, the General has ordered that all of you be arrested!"
As soon as Zhao Yun saw this, he knew that Gongsun Zan intended to catch them all in one fell swoop, and immediately said, "Now that the General is suspicious, Yun has no face to serve under the General, so I will bid farewell here."
After saying that, Zhao Yun turned his horse around and was about to leave.
When the general saw this, he shouted, "Where are you going!" Then he raised his spear and rode his horse to catch up, stabbing Zhao Yun in the back.
Zhao Yun heard the wind behind him, dodged the spear, and shouted, "For the sake of the General, I will spare you once, go back quickly!"
The general missed his strike and felt ashamed, so he shouted, "Zhao Yun! You have been surrounded, surrender obediently!"
He spurred his horse to accelerate and stabbed Zhao Yun in the chest again!
At that time, the soldiers on both sides shouted. When the White Horse Volunteers saw this, they rushed into Zhao Yun's formation and charged and killed wantonly. Zhao Yun's subordinates were caught off guard, and dozens of people died instantly.
Zhao Yun's heart was on fire. Seeing that the general was relentless and only wanted his life, he immediately rode his horse to meet him, and his spear flashed out like lightning.
The two horses passed each other. The general dropped his spear, covered his throat, and blood spurted from between his fingers. He fell off his horse and died.
When the White Horse Volunteers saw this, they shouted and surrounded him. Zhao Yun raised his spear and roared, "Those who are willing to follow me, break through!"
His subordinates immediately shouted, "We are willing to follow the General!"
Half a day later, the horse under Zhao Yun's crotch had begun to sway and was unable to stand firmly.
Zhao Yun had stabbed more than a dozen White Horse Volunteers to death with his silver spear and led his troops to break through, but the White Horse Volunteers were indeed the strongest soldiers in the world. Under the leadership of another general, they kept chasing relentlessly behind him.
In the past half day, Zhao Yun had escaped for dozens of miles. Many of his subordinates had died in the pursuit of the White Horse Volunteers. Now, he was exhausted, and he was about to be overtaken and surrounded by the enemy.
If he had not been decisive in killing earlier, deterring the White Horse Volunteers and making them only dare to follow from a distance, he would have been wiped out by now.
But calculating, if he ran another ten miles like this, his horse would die of exhaustion.
Zhao Yun's subconscious direction of breaking through was towards New North City, but it was still dozens of miles away, and even if Yuan Xi knew now, it would be too late to help him.
Besides, he was not familiar with the other party at all. Would the other party risk facing hundreds of White Horse Volunteers to save him?
Zhao Yun shook his head and saw that his subordinates were all exhausted. He thought, could it be that he would die here today?
He looked to the rear. The White Horse Volunteers in the distance had begun to spur their horses and accelerate, preparing to charge Zhao Yun's team and deliver the final fatal blow.
There was no escape. Zhao Yun sighed and ordered his subordinates to form a formation, while he turned to the front of the formation, standing in front with his horse.
But at this moment, the White Horse Volunteers began to gradually slow down, and finally stopped hundreds of feet in front of Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun was wondering when he heard the sound of horses' hooves rumbling behind him.
He looked back and saw an army with the Yuan army flag was rapidly approaching!
Zhao Yun shaded his eyes and found that the leading general was Yuan Xi!
Yuan Xi also found Zhao Yun, waved his hand and laughed, "Brother Zilong, I'm here!"