Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1310 Thoughts

Zhuge Liang expressed his concerns and concluded, "My lord, you should be careful when dealing with your current situation."

"If the lord didn't care so much about the lives of the Liu clan in Xudu, the situation wouldn't be so passive."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "What the Prime Minister said is true."

Zhuge Liang immediately interrupted Yuan Xi and said, "I have already made it clear before that you cannot be the prime minister. You are much more qualified than me."

Seeing Zhuge Liang's firm words, Yuan Xi thought that Zhuge Liang was indeed a little young. Although he was not much behind in terms of merit and qualifications, it was indeed difficult to convince others based on his age alone.

He thought about it and said, "Let's put this matter off for a few days. If I wasn't afraid of provoking the State of Wei, I'm afraid now would be a good time to become emperor."

Zhuge Liang had to admit that Yuan Xi was right. "The emperor's call from the high platform in Xudu this time has a far more far-reaching impact than the lord imagined."

"This time, the lord publicly petitioned to replace the emperor, which was a brilliant move. Now everyone in the world is watching, and Wei is in a dilemma. It is now caught in a dilemma, and can be said to have been forced into a dead end by the lord and Hannan.

"If he agrees, whether the emperor comes to Hannan or the lord, he can suppress Wei in name only."

"If they don't agree, it means that Wei has admitted to forcing the emperor. We will have a legitimate reason to destroy Wei."

"The emperor was forced to do this, and it was a move that put him in a desperate situation. It can only be said that the State of Wei suffered the consequences of its own actions."

"But no matter how I look at it, I don't think Wei will hand over the emperor. After all, without the emperor in their hands, the meaning of Wei's existence will be lost."

"That's why Liang said that there are many variables. If Wei can't get it, they will take extreme actions and target the Liu clan."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right. That's why I came to discuss this with the military advisor. I want him to come up with a plank road to secretly attack Chencang."

Zhuge Liang understood immediately, "My Lord, are you saying that we are sending a cavalry force to approach Xudu in the name of negotiations, so as to cause chaos in Xudu, just like the battles of Yecheng and Nanchang?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right, but this time it's a real surprise attack. After we break into the heart of Cao Wei, there is no way to retreat. We can only succeed and not fail. It is indeed quite risky."

Zhuge Liang pondered and said, "My lord is more adventurous than I am. If the Wei Kingdom is prepared, I am afraid that our plan will fail and we will suffer heavy losses."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right. Cao Wei will definitely send Sima Yi and others. After all, Xudu is their last resort in Guanzhong."

"So we have to anticipate their predictions. Good strategies have always worked. Although this is risky, we also have two advantages."

"First, Wei Yan has become more and more proficient in long-distance surprise attack tactics in the past two days. The Battle of Nanchang was won by him. As long as we are familiar with the deployment of Wei troops in the Fancheng and Xudu areas, and the water and land routes cover each other, we should be quite confident."

"Secondly, we have Guan Yu's help this time. He is extremely persistent in rescuing the emperor, and he is a great threat to Cao Wei. With him in the frontal attack, we should be able to attract most of the Wei army's forces, and our invisible pressure will be much less."

"I am also preparing to launch a feint attack, that is, to surround Luoyang from Huaicheng and Yecheng and pull the Wei army's defense line."

"It would be best if we could achieve one or two great victories. If we can defeat the coalition forces of Xiahou Shang and Ma Teng, things will be much easier."

Zhuge Liang wrote down everything on the bamboo slips and said, "I will go back and gather my subordinates to discuss and come up with a plan for you tomorrow."

Yuan Xi waved his hand and said, "Don't be too hasty. Make plans before you act. Think carefully before you act. There are so many things to do that we can't finish them all at once. We should put our health first."

Zhuge Liang agreed, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "My lord, are you considering becoming emperor?"

"Now that the Emperor of Han has personally confirmed it, it seems that the Lord is justified."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "I always feel like I got a bargain, but I feel guilty about it."

"But I won't hide it from you, Advisor. Since Wei can brazenly declare itself emperor, the moral pressure on me is much less. I've even thought of a new year title."

Zhuge Liang subconsciously asked, "What is it?"

"Cheng Han." Yuan Xi said: "Although I am considered a traitor, I am confident that I can inherit the will of the Han Dynasty and lead the Chinese people to a better future."

Zhuge Liang remained silent after hearing this. Yuan Xi took the opportunity to say, "Military Advisor, since the fall of the emperors Huan and Ling and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the people of the world have suffered too much."

"Dynasties change, the sun and the moon rotate, this is the unchanging truth of the world. It is not a good thing for the emperor to be in the same family. The Jin Dynasty will sooner or later become corrupt and perish. At that time, the people of the world will naturally have better choices."

Zhuge Liang raised his head and said, "Although I won't see that day, I have a feeling that what the lord said is true. I will help the lord realize his wish."

The king and his ministers smiled at each other. There was no need to say anything else.

Zhuge Liang saw that he had almost finished talking about things, so he began to pack up the bamboo slips and say goodbye. Yuan Xi suddenly remembered something, "How is the progress of firing transparent glass?"

Zhuge Liang said, "I have gathered hundreds of craftsmen from Jizhou and are now conducting experiments." "It is not difficult to obtain transparent glass, but to achieve the colorless and impurity-free glass required by the lord is limited by the raw materials and requires some technical improvements."

"What we are thinking of now is to add alkali, wood ash, red lead, limestone and other combustion aids to make the glass into a more suitable liquid."

"Although transparent flat glass has been around since the Spring and Autumn Period, many of the technologies have been lost. Now we are exploring from scratch, and a lot of things need time to settle down."

Yuan Xi knew that this matter could not be accomplished overnight, so he nodded and said, "Many times, it is limited by the raw materials. Only Liangzhou has large deserts. It must be said that the glass technology of this era may be one step ahead of Central Asia. Perhaps only after the world is pacified and the road to the Western Region is reopened, can we improve some details."

"With the help of glass blowing technology, I believe that sooner or later we will be able to make transparent glassware. This is the most suitable medium for observing chemical reactions. Whether China can take the lead or even make a breakthrough in agriculture depends entirely on this."

"But you can't force anything, just take it one step at a time."

"Military advisor, please take care of yourself. In the next few decades, we, the emperor and our subjects, will have to wait and see how the world changes."

Zhuge Liang agreed. He packed up the bamboo slips and was about to leave when he heard Yuan Xi ask, "By the way, how is Madam Huang? Is she pregnant?"

Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and said, "Not yet. Mr. Yuanhua has seen my wife and said that she is in good health, but she is born with a cold body and it is difficult for her to have children. We can only take it one step at a time."

Yuan Xi said, "Military Advisor, we have known each other for several years. I remember that the Military Advisor is already twenty-five, right?"

Zhuge Liang said, "It's almost twenty-six."

Yuan Xi said, "The military affairs in Yecheng are so busy, and it is also my fault. Has the military advisor ever considered taking a concubine?"

Zhuge Liang was startled and said quickly: "My wife is still young, I don't have such intention."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi no longer insisted. He sent Zhuge Liang out, then went to the back room and said to Zhen Mi with a wry smile: "This matter is really difficult to handle."

Zhen Mi also said helplessly: "I will tell you."

"The military advisor and Madam Huang have a very good relationship. When I asked my husband for help, I felt that it was not very kind. Isn't this just causing trouble for others?"

"I just see that the girl from the Yuan family has no appetite all day in Jicheng. She is now several years older than the age to get married, but she refuses to agree to anyone. If this continues, your husband will also be criticized for treating the women of the clan poorly."

"But if it is really as Miss Yuan thinks, my husband will be criticized even more, so I can only shamelessly ask my husband to speak up. Now it seems that Zhuge Military Advisor will not easily agree."

Yuan Xi sighed. In later generations, Zhuge Liang didn't give birth to a child until he was nearly fifty years old, and the child was born to a concubine. The problem must be with Huang Yueying.

But the two of them had a good relationship, and Yuan Xi always felt that his actions were destroying their relationship. The more he thought about it, the more helpless he became. He could only wave his hand and said, "Forget it, let's wait and see if I can rescue the emperor this year. If I can take this opportunity to become emperor, there will be much less criticism for what I do."

Zhen Mi worriedly asked, "You won't rush it, will you?"

"Yecheng is not close to the border of Wei. My husband was able to raid Xudu. Cao Wei may not be unwilling to do such a thing."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "Madam, your vision is getting better and better. You are right. Wei must have such a plan, so I will sit back and wait for the other side to make a move."

"Once both sides have played all their cards, it will be time to decide the winner."

At the same time, Sima Yi was summoned privately by Cao Pi and expressed his thoughts.

Just as Yuan Xi and Zhuge Liang had expected, Sima Yi prepared to send troops towards Fancheng, while ambushing soldiers along the way in an attempt to intercept and kill the enemy's surprise attack on Xu Du.

Cao Pi snorted coldly after hearing this: "They are so bold, do they really think that there is no one in my Wei Kingdom?

Sima Yi said: "Xionghu's advisers like to make strange plans. This kind of troops is a drop in the bucket for them. The cost is not big, but if it succeeds, the benefits will be great."

"Ruyi is also preparing to send out surprise troops to harass Yecheng and disrupt his intention to attack Luoyang. The opposing military advisor will definitely think of this. Now both sides have their cards open. The way and timing of playing the cards will be the key to determining the final victory or defeat."

"Now both sides are using strange strategies, which are originally adopted when the weak defeats the strong. Now that Wei is the weaker party, the reason why Jin also uses strange strategies is probably because of the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty."

"So I think we can use the same trick against the enemy and trick them. Even if Jin may not take the bait, Guan Yu will be more likely to be fooled."

"If we can use the former Han emperor as bait to attack the city and kill Guan Yu, we can not only force the Jin State to retreat, but also retake Jingzhou."

"As long as Guan Yu dies, the four people who pose the greatest threat to Hannan, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Pang Tong, will not be able to play their roles, and the rest will be a motley crowd. Wei can take the opportunity to seize Jingzhou and divide the world with Jin, greatly increasing the chances of a comeback."

Cao Pi nodded and said, "Among all the civil and military officials in the court, no one can compare to Zhongda!"

"Tomorrow I will appoint Zhongda as the military advisor and prime minister. I will leave the important task of defeating the two thieves to Zhongda!"

(End of this chapter)