Gongsun Xun did what he said and did not hesitate.

On that day, he entrusted the camp to Cao Cao, but he only ordered the other party to carefully build siege equipment and wait for him to bring back "reinforcements" before starting the war. Then he actually took Han Dang, Guan Yu and 800 riders to Weixiang overnight.

Jiyin County, dozens of miles away in the southeast, took advantage of his family.

Such an action left Cao Mengde baffled and confused.

On the other hand, it was not until he crossed Wei Township and entered Jiyin County that Gongsun Xun had a more intuitive concept of the Jiyin Li family through the detailed description of the short and fat Dong Zhao on the road:

The family is so powerful that they have several thousand households and more than 10,000 children. This is not an exaggeration, but a fact;

The Li family is also very powerful. The Li family has Jiyin Chengshi as its core and Juyeze on the northeast side of Chengshi as its private property. Its commerce and fields have expanded along the Pu River, Jishui and Juye Ze. Its influence has spread almost throughout every county in Yanzhou.

;

The centripetal force in the family is extremely strong, and it is obviously so strong that it stretches across counties and states, but in fact the entire clan is still firmly in the hands of the main branch of the direct lineage, and there is no sign of any separation.

"Now the whole Li family is headed by the three brothers from the direct lineage." At night, when he stopped to rest and drink water on the way, Dong Zhao continued to introduce. "The eldest Li Qian, whose courtesy name is Bojian, is currently in the Cheng family.

The actual head of the family; the second, Li Zhen, also named Zhongduan, is now in Shanyang County, in charge of the Li family there; the third, Li Gen, also named Shujie, is now assisting his eldest brother and is still in charge of the Cheng family.

…”

"Who is Li Jin?" Gongsun Xun suddenly interrupted and asked. "How can you, Dong Gongren, remember him so much that you even use his name as a cover-up in Jizhou?"

Dong Zhao said seriously for a moment: "Li Jin, whose courtesy name is Jinxian, is the cousin of the three brothers of the Li family. He is also considered close to the family. He is just over 20 this year. He is usually very brave and fierce, so he is probably

He is a person who often gathers clan soldiers to do martial arts. I heard that the private salt business between the Li family and the Mi family in Xuzhou is usually done by this person... As for why I used this person as a cover-up that day? I won't hide it from you, it's not my fault.

This person has prejudices because the Li family is so powerful. Even if I promoted Xiaolian and became a court official, I would not dare to use the three direct brothers as my boss. Using the name of Li Jin would be the end of it.

Yes! And when we arrive at Chengshi early tomorrow morning, I also suggest that you just recruit Li Jin, who is in charge of military affairs, and don't recruit the three Li brothers who are the heads of the family. Otherwise, you will have no worries in the future, and my Dong Zhao family

It will also be difficult in Jiyin."

"Huh!" Before Gongsun Xun could speak, Guan Yu, who had been listening for a long time, finally couldn't help but snorted coldly. "In the hinterland of the Central Plains, there are such tyrannical people. Listening to your words, Dong Sima, even the county governor and the governor dare not

Are you provoking me? Or are you timid, Dong Sima?"

Naturally, Dong Zhao would not lose his temper with someone like Guan Yu, so even if he just laughed innocently: "Guan Sima is laughing, I am indeed timid and afraid of getting into trouble... However, it is true that county guards and governors have always dared not touch this family.

Otherwise, I would not use my power as a king to suppress this generation."

"In that case, I want to see tomorrow what kind of person he is, and he is so arrogant?!" Guan Yu frowned, half in contempt and half in anger.

There was some slight friction between Dong Zhao and Guan Yu in front of him, but Gongsun Xun didn't say much. He just looked at the stars in the sky and couldn't help but sigh secretly... In fact, at this time, he still didn't understand why Dong Zhao would secretly treat the family named Li.

Zi? Such a giant and powerful family is entrenched in the heart of the Central Plains, connecting counties across states, and doing whatever they want. No one, such as the governor or the governor, dares to control them. So how can people in the same county not feel like a thorn in their backs?

?

In fact, judging from the fact that this family is so powerful but the three brothers are only white, it is probably because of their unscrupulous behavior and extremely bad reputation that they have aroused the vigilance of the state and county, and they have wiped out the entire family of the other party in two lifetimes. career.

As for Dong Gongren borrowing his own hand to beat the family, Gongsun Xun still had nothing to say, because not to mention that Dong Zhao had no intention of covering up, but Gongsun Xun was here to quell the rebellion. It seems that he really needs a strong local force to break the barriers of the Yellow Turban Army in front of him... He has no reason to let this family go.

Of course, what Gongsun Xun didn't know was that he still underestimated the Li family.

In another time and space, after Dong Zhuo was in chaos and the heroes of Guandong came together, the family tried to stand on their own under the leadership of Li Qian. However, they really had no strength but no political reputation, so they could not gain recognition from the world. , and then defected to the country in a semi-separated state...or brought capital to invest in it, and joined forces with Cao Cao, the then governor of Dongjun.

However, even Cao Mengde was helpless in the face of the powerful and highly cohesive Li family. After Li Qian died, his son Li Zheng took over the clan soldiers, and then Li Zheng killed his cousin Li Dian in Shanyang. Taking over the clan soldiers... So Li Zheng became the governor of Qingzhou at a young age, and Li Dian became the general of Zhonglang and the prefect when he was less than twenty years old!

Finally, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and his power was unshakable, Li Dian moved his entire family to Yecheng to show his complete surrender. But at this time, after decades of war, Li Dian still retained his family in the Cheng family. With a household registration of 3,000 and a population of more than 13,000, the family’s private strength is astonishing!

In other words, the Li family is probably the most powerful family in the Central Plains, and even the most powerful family in the entire Han Dynasty!

However, even so, they still couldn't defeat the family members... Of course, this may have a lot to do with the fact that the cousins ​​Li Zheng and Li Dian died too quickly, because even Li Dian, who had the longest power in the family's troubled times, died. He was only thirty-six years old, and the Li Dian and Li Mancheng whom Gongsun Xun knew from his wife's story were actually more like the historical aggregation of Li Qian, Li Zheng, and Li Dian.

However, Gongsun Xun never thought of this family as Li Dian... This is really because the image of Li Dian in his mother's story was very good, and the Li family's powerful style in front of him, even if he has never met him, that kind of The fierce and arrogant momentum has already rushed towards him, which is really difficult for people to associate with him.

Of course, there is no point in thinking about it, because Li Dian was only three or four years old at this time, and he seemed to have been the younger brother to Zhang Liao and Le Jin since he was a child.

After galloping all night, in the morning of the next day, Gongsun Xun led eight hundred cavalry and suddenly appeared outside Chengshi County.

When the county saw soldiers and horses appearing, they were panicked at first. When they saw the banners of the Han army, they calmed down a little, but the city gates were still closed... After a long time, a county magistrate came out, leading a few people cautiously. Carrying some soup cakes came out to work for the army.

Of course, the behavior of the county is understandable. The soldiers are like bandits, and no one dares to let these cavalry into the city. However, the sky is a bit bleak at this time, and there is an obvious tendency of rain. They are afraid that if they are not allowed to enter the city, these sergeants will cause trouble again. , then a county magistrate was released who took the blame.

However, Gongsun Xun had no intention of scaring these people. He just quietly took the hot soup and biscuits and sat on a horse to eat. However, there was no need for him to scare them. When the county magistrate and Dong Zhao said

After saying a few words, he swiped at the double seals (the golden seal with purple ribbon and the silver seal with green ribbon of General Zhonglang) that Gongsun Xun wore, and then looked at the scepter next to the white horse flag.

, but he almost fainted from being frightened by himself.

So after waiting for a while, the city gates were immediately opened, and the county magistrate, a group of city officials, and wealthy leaders also lined up to greet them. This time, not only were there a lot of drinks and livestock that had not yet been slaughtered, the county magistrate even gritted his teeth and invited

Gongsun Xun went to the city to rest.

However, Gongsun Xun still didn't take it seriously, and just continued to sit on the horse, drinking hot soup and eating biscuits, letting Dong Zhao deal with it... and when he had eaten and drank in a hurry, he stood up and looked at

This group of people.

"Is there anyone from the Chengshi Li family?" Gongsun Xun had no intention of beating around the bush.

"I, Li Gen, named Shujie." A man in his mid-twenties, who looked like a young scholar, immediately stepped out of the crowd and saluted respectfully. "I have seen you, your lord!"

"I know that your second brother Li Zhen is not in Chengshi, but where are Li Qian and Li Jin?" Gongsun Xun asked sternly, expressionless. "How dare you not come to greet me?"

"Report to Junhou." Li Gen heard that the words were wrong and hurriedly leaned over to apologize. "Junhou has just arrived at Chengshi. Even the county magistrate and I also learned about it at the last moment. My brother and his disciples didn't know that Junhou had arrived.

this!"

"Do you know now?" Gongsun Xun looked down at this person and asked.

Li Gen was sweating profusely and didn't know how to respond... The other party obviously came with bad intentions, and his eldest brother had heard that there were soldiers and horses outside the city, so he only allowed himself to come out to visit out of caution. If according to this

The person in front of me wanted to let Li Qian, the eldest brother of the family, and Li Jin, the younger brother in charge of the clan's military affairs, come out together. If they were captured on the spot, wouldn't the Jiyin Li family be at the mercy of others?

However, facing a general who upholds integrity, what if he doesn't answer at this time? Not to mention the person involved, Li Gen, even the county magistrate and other powerful officials in the city are already fighting.

Afraid of immediate chaos.

"Sure enough." Gongsun Xun couldn't help but sigh when he saw this. "It must be that your Jiyin Li family has always been immoral and has no conduct. I am afraid that you have often committed illegal acts in your daily life. That's why you feel so guilty that you dare not come to see me...Li Gen!"

"

"I'm here." Li Gen, who was sweating profusely, knelt down neatly.

"I won't embarrass you." Gongsun Xun said with his hands behind his hands. "Since Li Qian and Li Jin don't want to come, I will go into the city to meet them...I heard that half of this city is your family's property. That matter

Don't bother me, Master. You can ask your family to tidy up, so that I, the eight hundred cavalrymen who have traveled all night to find your home, can have a rest, and also tidy up a clean house for me and have a rest."

The tone of General Chi Jie was still unkind, but when he suddenly heard that the other party was going to lead troops into the city to go to his home, Li Gen breathed a sigh of relief... Without him, this at least showed that the other party had no intention of sudden attack.

Otherwise, you won’t end up in danger!

Yes, although Gongsun Xun brought 800 cavalry, in Li Gen's view, as long as these 800 soldiers entered his home, they would have entered a "dangerous area", and there would be no room for direct action!

Of course, having no room for action does not mean that there is no need to continue to respect the Zhonglang general who came here with integrity. After all, although there was chaos in the Yellow Turbans, looking at the situation in front of him, Li did not feel that the authority of the Han Dynasty was enough.

It can be despised, but they are not planning to rebel... In fact, just look at the map and you will know that if the Li family's position in Jiyin had not been placed here, I am afraid that from Youzhou to Jingzhou, the Yellow Turban Army would have been able to unite.

Got it!

As for whether the Li family had some tribesmen and cronies joining them when the Yellow Turbans attacked the city in Dongjun, that is another matter.

On this side, Gongsun Xun ignored him, got on his horse, and led the troops into the city; on the other side, Li Gen hurriedly sent people to inform the arrangements, and then personally led the way; as for the Chengshi County magistrate, officials, and other powerful people outside the city gate

, but can only watch these people act straightforwardly, treating them as nothing.

Entering the city, just as Dong Zhao said to Gongsun Xun, I am afraid that most of the entire Chengshi County is where the Li family lives... and this is only in the city. I am afraid that most of the fields and manors outside the city belong to

Owned by the Li family. A powerful family of this level is in front of us. If something happens, eight hundred cavalry may not be enough.

However, it seemed that Gongsun Xun really had no intention of taking action. He didn't even look at the huge Li family settlement, nor did he care about how the Li family entertained the 800 cavalry he brought. Instead, he directly followed Li Gen's instructions.

He was guided to an extremely wide courtyard, and he dismounted and entered the inner hall!

Soon, another capable middle-aged man and a tall and burly young man hurried over and came to the courtyard to stand respectfully... However, Gongsun Xun had no intention of summoning these people, and instead went directly to the back hall.

Lying down on the couch.

Li Gen looked blankly at the general who was snoring slightly, then at the two officers with seals and ribbons standing in the hall, and finally turned his eyes to the fat black man who was actually very familiar... But in the end he could only

He had no choice but to withdraw and went to the courtyard with his elder brother and younger brother.

In this way, Li Qian, Li Gen, and Li Jin, the three most powerful members of the Li clan, stood in the courtyard, Dong Zhao stood in the corridor, Guan Yu and Han Dang stood in the hall, and Gongsun Xun slept on the innermost couch.

...Although the first two occasionally communicated, overall the situation was at a stalemate.

However, as the saying goes, there are unforeseen circumstances. It was not obvious yesterday night, but this morning when the eight hundred cavalry arrived outside Chengshi County, the sky became a little gloomy... Now Gongsun Xun couldn't sleep, and it was getting dark outside.

When I got up, the clouds were thick and it seemed like it was going to rain.

Li Jin, who was tall, young and energetic, couldn't bear it for the first time: "Brothers, why don't we go hide in the corridor? But it's not rude!"

Li Qian, who was over thirty years old but had a strong face, looked up at the dark cloud-covered sky and ignored his cousin's words.

But Li Gen, who seemed to be gentle and polite in front of Gongsun Xun before, heard this and cursed back: "Hide your ass, if you can escape this disaster by getting caught in the rain, then you should let the whole clan."

We should come out together to get wet in the rain!"

Li Jin immediately turned red from holding back the pressure and could only force his head down.

"Dong Jun." After scolding his younger brother, Li Genfu stared at the short fat man standing on the porch again. "You and I are from the countryside. Why don't we know the truth? This White Horse General with such a great reputation won't fight against the Yellow Turbans."
To be continued...