Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1091 Asking for advice
After the martial arts performance, when Yuan Xi was sending Taishi Ci out of the camp, he met Yang Feng at the gate of the camp.

After defeating Baekje, Yang Feng did not return directly to Heishan, but came to Jicheng to visit Yang Wan. He stayed there for a while and was planning to leave soon.

The reason why she stayed until now was also arranged by Yuan Xi, because it was time for the Black Mountain soldiers to be replaced, and Yang Feng was needed to bring back the new recruits from Youzhou and exchange them with the old soldiers stationed there.

This is also a new approach that Yuan Xi is trying out, which is the garrison rotation system in peacetime. Although it costs more, it can somewhat prevent the military households from forming a force in the local area.

Yang Feng once complained that he had to do all kinds of odd jobs. Yuan Xi laughed and said, "Don't forget, you are the legitimate captain of Black Mountain."

Yang Feng was so angry that her teeth were itching, but Yuan Xi had already figured out her temper, so she had to stay patient. She just calculated the time and the new recruits were almost trained, so she came to the military camp today.

Taishi Ci met Yang Feng, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then said, "The day after tomorrow I will leave Jicheng and return to my hometown in Huangxian. Perhaps from now on I will never see my junior sister again."

Yang Feng also knew that Taishi Ci would not live long, so he asked, "Brother, do you regret learning the breathing technique from my father?"

Taishi Ci smiled and said, "How could that be? If I didn't have my master, I might still be unknown or even dead in a ditch."

"Everyone will die eventually, but how much one can do depends on one's ability. Ci is already satisfied."

He declined Yuan Xi's offer to see him off and struggled to get on the carriage. Taishi Xiang wanted to come over to help, but Taishi Ci stopped him and said, "You don't have to go home. From now on, follow the king and do whatever the king asks you to do."

Taishi Xiang didn't expect that he would have to say goodbye to Taishi Ci now. He walked forward a few steps in a daze. Taishi Ci didn't even look at him. He bowed deeply to Yuan Xi and asked the coachman to drive away.

Yuan Xi and Yang Feng felt mixed emotions as they watched the carriage go away. Yuan Xi called Tai Shi Xiang over and said, "From now on, you will live with me in the mansion and treat me as your biological father."

Taishi Xiang responded dumbly. Yuan Xi turned to Yang Feng and said, "Ziyi said he is not suitable for martial arts. Why do I feel that his physique is okay?"

Yang Feng looked Taishi Xiang up and down carefully several times, and was puzzled: "Strange, even if this child is not outstanding, he is still a good seedling. Why is he not suitable for martial arts?"

She came to her senses and said, "I forgot that although Senior Brother said he didn't care, he was actually still somewhat bothered by the fact that the breathing technique shortened his lifespan."

Yuan Xi also reacted and sighed: "As a father, you may not necessarily expect your offspring to surpass you, but you will always hope that your children will live long and be safe."

"I don't want to practice martial arts anymore. The world will be peaceful in the future. It would be nice to study and work as a civil servant."

Seeing Yang Feng was about to leave, he lowered his voice and asked, "How have you been in your health these years?"

"I still have a lot of medicinal herbs in my treasury. If you need them, feel free to take them away."

Yang Feng looked at Yuan Xi with disdain, "Do you think I'm as clueless as my senior brother?"

"I control my secret technique very well every time I activate it. It won't be a problem for me to live another 60 or 70 years. Why are you worrying about it?"

"Let's go, let's go. If there's anything I won't be polite to you, just don't be stingy when the time comes."

Yuan Xi held Tai Shi Xiang's hand and looked at Yang Feng's departing back, sighing in his heart, this performance was a bit clumsy, did he really think he could fool me?

In the battle at the Baekje Palace, your speed was obviously much slower than before. Moreover, you were supposed to come to the military camp for report today, so why did you go back without even entering the gate? Are you afraid that I would notice something?
Yuan Xi stood there in a daze, thinking that he had been in this world for ten years without realizing it. Many of the people who had followed him in the past were no longer around, and many were about to leave.

I don’t know how many people will be able to stay with me until the end. All I can do is to help them realize their dreams and leave them with as few regrets as possible.

He looked towards the direction of Yecheng. It was possible that a war would break out in Jizhou next year. This time, Yang Feng brought new soldiers to strengthen the defense of Black Mountain in preparation for this.

No one knows how many people will die and how many will survive when the battle for Jizhou is settled, and how many years will it take for the era of these four countries to end.

What Yuan Xi didn't know was that the days of the unification of the four kingdoms would indeed be grim, but one of them was about to collapse.

Wu State.

Although Sun Quan built his capital in Nanchang and placed the fundamental focus of his operations in Yuzhang, he now felt that he could no longer support himself.

Not to mention that Yuan Xi's navy has been tightening its control over the Yangtze River in the past two years. The combination of Lu Xun and Gan Ning has also relied on their navy to suppress the Jiangdong navy in the water fort on the south bank. I heard that Jingzhou has recently sent some naval commanders to Yuan Xi's navy, so the days to come will be even more difficult.

What made Sun Quan even more crazy was that at least he could still fight with the navy, but the collapse on land left him helpless.

It would be fine for Yuan Xi's army in the east to plan to move westward from Wu County, after all, there is Danyang County in between, which provides some buffer zone.

But the situation was different in the west of Sun Quan's territory. Liu Bei, who occupied Changsha Lingling, recruited soldiers and planned to move southward. At the same time, he was not attacking and encroaching on the territory bordering Sun Quan. Although there were Zu Mao, Huang Gai and others resisting on the border, they were obviously no match for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. They had suffered several defeats and lost two cities.

Sun Quan stood up and walked back and forth. He no longer cared about the fact that Xionghu was using Madam Wu to threaten him. The most urgent thing right now was how to stop Liu Bei, otherwise he would be destroyed!

He thought for a long time and had to admit that there were not many advisers among his subordinates who could help him in governing the world.

There were many people available before, but as Lu Su went to Shouchun and his whereabouts were unknown, Zhou Yu's injuries became serious and he spent most of his time in bed recuperating. Zhang Zhao and other Xuzhou factions were not good at fighting. Sun Quan calculated and calculated, but there was no one to ask! Sun Quan thought for a long time, and finally asked someone to prepare a carriage and went to Zhou Yu's mansion.

When Zhou Yu heard the servant's message, Sun Quan had already entered the room. He quickly got up from the couch and bowed to Sun Quan, saying, "I didn't know that the king was coming, so I didn't come to greet him. Please forgive me for my impoliteness."

Sun Quan hurriedly took two steps forward and helped Zhou Yu sit back on the couch, sighing, "Gongjin, why do you have to be so polite?"

"Seeing Gongjin so emaciated, my heart aches. What did the doctor say?"

What he said was true. Zhou Yu had been recuperating from illness, and Sun Quan had not seen him for two months. When he saw Zhou Yu's appearance today, he was shocked. He looked so thin, his clothes seemed to be hanging on his body, and he looked so miserable without wind. Was he still the handsome and energetic Zhou Yu?

Just as Zhou Yu was about to speak, he felt a little breathless again. He coughed a few times before speaking with difficulty: "I'm afraid I won't live long."

"I just feel ashamed that I didn't live to see the day when the king would achieve his great ambitions."

Sun Quan thought to himself, what is the point of pursuing hegemony? It is still unclear whether I can save my life!
He held Zhou Yu's hand and said, "How would I survive without Gongjin?"

"If you are unsure about internal affairs, ask Zibu. If you are unsure about external affairs, ask Gongjin. Now Gongjin has been recuperating for several months. Not only are external affairs in chaos, but the court is also filled with unrest. How can we talk about internal affairs when external affairs are not settled?"

"Now I have searched all my subordinates, but no one can replace Gongjin in any way. What can I do?"

Zhou Yu understood that Sun Quan came here today to recommend a candidate. He opened his mouth and then sighed, "Jin also knows the king's difficulties, but Zi Jing, who Jin had the highest hopes for, is no longer here."

"The rest of them are either too young or lack the basic military strategy. Yu has thought about it day and night, but in the end, he still hasn't come up with anyone who can plan for the world."

"Demou Youping is very useful as a commander-in-chief, but for some reason, his adviser in Jiangdong seems to have disappeared in the past two years!"

It is no wonder that Zhou Yu was depressed. In later generations, because Jiangdong occupied Jianghuai and Cao Wei did not focus its energy on the Huai River area, and many scholars fled Cao Wei to Shu and Wu, Jiangdong has never lacked counselors.

But things are different in this world. After Yuan Xi occupied the Jianghuai area of ​​Xuzhou, he poached most of the famous talents in later generations who had not yet become famous. Then he continued to recruit talents in Shouchun, resulting in very little new blood being absorbed by Jiangdong in recent years.

Therefore, after several wars, the talent pool in Jiangdong was dwindling, and by the time they discovered that there were not enough talented people, it was already too late, resulting in a shortage of staff and an inability to continue.

Sun Quan said in a hoarse voice: "Is there no one who can stand up and turn the tide?"

Zhou Yu was silent for a while before he said, "Maybe Lu Gongji can do it."

Sun Quan was surprised and asked, "Lu Ji?"

"Isn't he only thirteen?"

"What can be done?"

Zhou Yu sighed and said, "My fierce brother Lu Xun also went to battle when he was thirteen or fourteen years old."

"As the saying goes, talent is not determined by age. Lu Ji is mature and intelligent at a young age. He is not only far superior to his peers, but also more thoughtful and far better than most officials in their twenties or thirties. Given time, he will surely become a great man."

"As long as the king can train him more and wait patiently for a day or two, I believe he will be able to make a big splash."

Sun Quan hesitated and said, "But there is a grudge between his Lu family and the Sun family, and his nephew Lu Xun is a fierce and powerful official. Can I trust him?"

Zhou Yu sighed, looked around, and said, "I am about to die. Even if some things may make the king unhappy, I still want to tell the king some of my heartfelt words."

Sun Quan quickly said, "I will listen attentively to what Gongjin has to say."

Zhou Yu sighed, "When Lord Sun was alive, he was able to sweep across Jiangdong. Of course, his bravery was unmatched, but it was also because of the separatist forces in Yangzhou that he had to resort to drastic measures."

"But Lord Sun was too intolerant and acted without leaving any room for retreat, which led to his death. This should serve as a warning to others."

"After the king took control of Jiangdong, his methods were gentle and sophisticated. In fact, he was much stronger than Sun Hou. But now the situation is in decline because of the defeat in several major battles. The number of dissatisfied people in the Jiangdong nobles is also increasing."

"If we don't win them over at this time, Jiangdong will face external and internal troubles, and something big will happen sooner or later."

Sun Quan looked grim. He knew that Zhou Yu had hit the nail on the head, and Zhou Yu still gave him some face. If it were really the case, the situation would only get worse.

He whispered, "Please tell me, Gongjin, what should I do?"

Zhou Yu sighed, "Your Majesty must not make any more enemies."

"It's better to bow down temporarily. We can't fight the fierce tiger Liu Bei anymore. Even if we have to give up some benefits, we must stop the war, conserve our strength, recruit talents, and then we can make a comeback."

(End of this chapter)