Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1329 Visit
Yuan Xi talked to Zhen Mi for a few words, then picked up the bamboo slips on the table and flipped them open. He found that they were Yuan Rui's daily homework. He read a few lines and said, "Rui'er's handwriting is getting better and better. It's almost better than mine."

Zhen Mi smiled and said, "When I was in Yecheng, I asked Madam Cai to teach him how to write. A good teacher will produce a good student, so this is the way it will be."

"Moreover, his greatest strength recently is learning political affairs and national strategy from Prime Minister Zhuge. In this regard, Prime Minister Zhuge is no worse than Madam Cai in calligraphy."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Of course. If I can't learn well from the Prime Minister, I won't be able to learn well from others."

"I plan to let him study for another year, and let him be responsible for some of Yecheng's affairs next year."

"Cao Cao trained Cao Ang and Cao Pi, who were about this age. If he can take on the responsibility, I can go to the north to deal with the Xianbei with peace of mind."

Zhen Mi once saw Yuan Xi and Zhuge Liang talking about the military strategy to deal with the Xianbei, and she couldn't help but feel nervous, because according to this plan, Yuan Xi would stay in Youzhou for at least several years.

During this period of time, she had to accompany Yuan Rui in Yecheng and became alone again.

She opened her mouth, but in the end it turned into a sigh, "I will guard the rear and wait for my husband to return victoriously."

Yuan Xi took her hand and said, "I know you have had a hard time these years."

"I do this because I want my descendants and the people of the world to live a few more years of peace. Compared with tens of millions of people, my few years of personal time are really insignificant."

Zhen Mi had heard Yuan Xi talk about the horror of the northern barbarians more than once. She whispered, "Are the barbarians outside the Great Wall really that scary?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "It's terrible."

"It was so terrible that I had nightmares several times, in which I would dream of millions of barbarians entering the pass and slaughtering all the civilians in the Central Plains of Han. The mountains and rivers were shattered, and the people were forced to flee. The tragedy was far worse than the sum of the wars and disasters in the past few decades."

"So I must stay in the North. Even if Rui'er takes my place, I will still go back to Jicheng."

"If we lose the North and the Central Plains, everything will no longer make sense. We will just be a separatist force in a corner."

"A complete Huaxia is the world of the Han people. The territory can only be expanded outwards and there is absolutely no reason to give it up."

Zhen Mi responded, "I will tell Rui'er everything the king said without missing a word."

Yuan Xi sighed and said, "You have worked so hard these years. By the way, the Emperor of the Former Han Dynasty will arrive in a few days. After I meet him, I will go to Jiangdong."

"As Mi Fang annexed the Wo Nu tribe, the population of Mi State has increased, the amount of ore mining has increased, and the demand for raw silk and ironware here has also increased."

"But the two sides have always been engaged in single-line trade. With the advancement of coastal production technology, Mi State can no longer absorb the large amount of goods from Jin State. It is time to open up new trade routes."

He casually spread out the map and drew a circle in the south of Kuaiji County. "There are islands in the South China Sea. Although they are backward, some of the spices and crops there are still very interesting, such as the rubber that I have always wanted to get."

"It just so happens that rubber trees can only be planted in the southernmost part, so sending people out to sea to open up a seaport has become a top priority."

He pointed to a vaguely shaped large island overseas and said, "This place used to be called Yingzhou, then it was called Dongyu, and now the fishermen along the coast call it Yizhou."

"This is a good springboard to the South Sea. I plan to follow the example of the Japanese. I will first send people to build a port there, and then slowly send people to live there."

"For this purpose, I plan to select a large port in Kuaiji County as a transit point for the sea route. I am the only one who knows the location, so I will go there in person."

"Yizhou is a wild place. I will let one of my descendants take charge of it in the future. I hope to turn it into a good overseas land for China within a hundred years."

Zhen Mi pursed her lips, "Even my husband said it was wild, which shows how bad its shape is."

"I don't know whether it is a blessing or misfortune to be your husband's child."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "They, including Rui'er, should be content. At least they have something to eat."

"Besides, by the time they grow up, the world will probably be pacified, and they won't have to gamble their lives like I do now. Look at the descendants of the Yuan family who are my age, how many of them are still alive?"

Zhen Mi felt the same way. "Yes, those years were terrible. If it weren't for my husband's efforts to turn the tide, Yuan Shi would have died long ago."

"Cao did so many things to offend Yuan, but your husband still treated her with tolerance."

Yuan Xi sighed, "In the fight for the throne, we often have to do it out of necessity. It would be best if as few lives as possible were lost. Cao Cao is already dead, and I feel a little lonely now."

"Now that the princes of the previous generation are almost all dead, my generation can no longer cause any trouble, including the former Han emperor who is about to come."

"He should have realized that even if he ran to Hannan and proclaimed himself emperor again, it would be meaningless, so he came to see me openly."

He thought that with Liu Xie's intelligence, he would be a formidable rival if he were in the Cao family. It was a pity that he was born at the wrong time. It could only be said that the Han Dynasty had run out of luck. No matter how powerful the dynasty was, it would eventually decline and end.

A few days later, when Yuan Xi was watching from the Tongque Tower, he saw a convoy with the flag of Hannan coming from the distance, and knew that Liu Xie had arrived.

As the convoy entered the city, cavalrymen immediately went up and led the convoy to the Bronze Sparrow Tower.

Yuan Xi thought about it, and then took Zhen Mi down from the Bronze Sparrow Tower and waited at the gate of the palace. Not long after, the carriage came over, the guards opened the door, and Liu Xie helped Empress Fu get off. The two bowed to Yuan Xi and said, "Your Majesty."

Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi returned the greetings. He considered his words for a few seconds before saying, "I am very pleased that you two have come to Yecheng. The current situation in Jin is all thanks to your Majesty and your wife."

Liu Xie smiled bitterly and said, "I am not qualified to be called that now. Your Majesty, please do not test me."

"In Hannan, I have conferred the title of Duke of Linxiang on him. With Hannan's current situation, it is just struggling to maintain itself. How can it still be called Your Majesty?"

He looked at the high platform in front of him and said, "Is this the Bronze Sparrow Tower?"

"Can you let me have a look?"

Yuan Xi said: "Of course."

He was about to ask the guards to prepare the sedan chair and carry the two men up, but Liu Xie said, "Your Majesty, it's not necessary. We can just walk up."

Yuan Xi glanced at Fu Shou, and Fu Shou said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help. My legs and feet have recovered a lot in the past two years, and I can now walk normally."

Liu Xie said gratefully, "I have to thank Your Majesty for letting Mr. Yuanhua teach my wife medicine. Not only did it allow her to save herself, it also helped her understand a lot of medical classics, and in turn taught me a lot."

"When we were in Hannan before, we went to the fields and villages to treat patients. When we return this time, we will open a clinic and treat patients and give medicine to spend the rest of our lives there."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi praised them, saying, "You two are a virtuous couple who care about the people. You are my role models."

Liu Xie sighed, "Your Majesty, don't be too modest. I can only save a few hundred people, but Your Majesty is saving the people of the world."

Led by Yuan Xi, several people went up to the Bronze Sparrow Tower. Liu Xie said, "Thanks to your majesty, after I left Changsha, I first went to Shouchun to pick up my wife, and then along the Huai River to the Yellow River, I passed many cities and saw the current situation of the Jin State."

He paused, shook his head and sighed, "What your majesty has done is far beyond my imagination. Although I am somewhat unwilling, I have to admit that the destiny lies with your majesty."

"Your Majesty comforted me earlier, saying that Xie was unlucky, but after waking up, I realized that Your Majesty really has a longer-term vision than anyone else. If it were me, I would never be able to do that."

Yuan Xi naturally understood that because of his policy inclinations, the production technology had been improved, and the Jin State began to flourish in recent years. Not only was productivity increasing, but production tools were also changing with each passing day. The promotion of steam power had become the driving force for the rapid development of the times.

Liu Xie must have been shocked by the scenery he saw along the way, which was different from that of Wei and Jiangdong, and came up with such an idea.

Everyone climbed up to the high platform and looked back. The view below them suddenly became clear and the scenery of Yecheng was in full view.

The avenue was neat and clean, with wide drainage ditches on both sides. There were shops and restaurants lined up along the street. Men and women stood on both sides shouting their wares. Common people and scholars walked in and out of the avenue with leisurely expressions. Children walked among the crowd. The noisy laughter could be heard from far away, floating onto the high platform and echoing in everyone's ears.

Liu Xie sighed, "I wonder if the Han Dynasty, at its most prosperous and powerful, was not as good as this scene before me."

"When I think about how this place was a battlefield where hundreds of thousands of people died a few years ago, and how it was transformed by Your Majesty into something so vibrant a few years later, I can't help but admire it from the bottom of my heart."

"I have seen too many unknown things along the way. After slowly understanding them, while I admired Your Majesty, the doubts and reluctance in my heart also completely disappeared."

"Your Majesty deserves the title of inheritor and exemplifier of the Han Dynasty's future of 500 years."

"I am meeting Your Majesty this time to thank You for freeing me from the burden I have been carrying for many years, so that I no longer have to bear the self-blame and guilt for losing the Han Dynasty, because I know Your Majesty will do better."

"If Cao Wei really takes over the world, I will die with regrets."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I have to thank Lord Linxiang for giving me this title."

"Cao Wei has not been destroyed yet. It occupies three states, especially with Liangzhou and Yizhou behind it. It is not so easy to destroy it."

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I believe in your majesty's ability. In my lifetime, I will definitely see the fall of Cao Wei. By then, I will be able to face my ancestors in my grave."

Yuan Xi hesitated, "Then Queen Cao."

Fu Shou realized that Yuan Xi had misunderstood, and said, "Madam Cao did not come with us this time because she is pregnant. Her husband was worried about the fatigue of the journey, so he let her rest in Changsha and take care of the baby."

"Your Majesty also knows that I have been sentenced to confinement and cannot bear children. Now that Madam Cao is pregnant, I can finally put my mind at ease."

Yuan Xi sighed: "Madam is very generous, she is really a role model for women."

Fu Shou said calmly: "Although Cao Wei has committed atrocities, Madam Cao is a good person, and this is true for any family. I have also let it go, and there is no need to pass on some hatred to others."

"And I have met His Majesty several times and found that His Majesty is not as bloodthirsty as the rumors say. On the contrary, he is a soft-hearted person."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said helplessly: "Madam, there are few people in the world who dare to comment on the name of the fierce tiger. Now that Cao Wei has heard my name, many people can't sleep well."

Everyone couldn't help laughing.

(End of this chapter)