Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1332 Port
The winter of the twelfth year of Jian'an was a rare period of peace in the world in recent years. All forces stopped fighting and rested. Of course, this was led by the State of Jin. After all, other opposing forces were on the defensive.

The era name of Jian'an is now only used by the Kingdom of Southern Han, because Liu Chan did not proclaim himself emperor. The two new era names of Jin and Wei appeared in that year.

The first year of Huangchu in Cao Wei and the first year of Chenghan in Jin.

Both of these era names are very interesting. Huangchu obviously refers to the Huangtian prophecy at the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was an attempt to gain status for the Taiping Dao.

The Taiping Dao forces affiliated with Cao Wei took control of the situation. They were now present throughout the Cao Wei court, and many officials and ministers believed in the Huang-Lao doctrine.

However, Yuan Xi, who had previously been supported by the Saintess of Taiping Dao, did not involve Taiping Dao in the process of establishing the reign title. His use of "Cheng Han" was somewhat inconsistent with the purpose of the Yellow Turban Rebellion to destroy the Han Dynasty.

In addition, after Yang Feng left, Yuan Xi did not intervene to control the Taiping Dao. Instead, he let it go. For various reasons, the strange consequence was that the Cao Wei era name seemed to have inherited the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Strictly speaking, the reign title of Jin was not that particular. Many officials and ministers had suggested changing the title, but in the end Yuan Xi said to his ministers: "The reign title is actually not important."

"The important thing is that this year is the first year, and everything starts from scratch, but it also connects the past and the future. You must not forget the efforts and sacrifices of your predecessors. Without Gaozu, there would be no China for the next four hundred years."

"We should inherit the aspirations of our ancestors and pass on the spirit of the Han Dynasty. That is enough."

The Central Plains today is a place where Jin and Wei are competing for supremacy. With the death of Liu Bei, Hannan has been marginalized. As for the Wu State, it is even more ironic. Sun Quan has actually made ceremonial chariots and was ready to become emperor at any time, but his fantasy was shattered by Liu Bei and Yuan Xi. He can only eat roasted lamb with horse manure in the north.

At this time, the instigator of all this went out to the sea from the Yellow River, passed Guangling along the sea route, and then continued south to Dong'an in Kuaiji County.

The county seat of Dong'an is Quanzhou in later generations. It has a very long history. People have settled here since the Zhou Dynasty. Residential communities of a certain scale began to form in the Qin Dynasty. It belonged to the Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it had already taken shape as a port city.

However, Quanzhou really developed during the Five Barbarians Invasion of China in later generations, when a large number of nobles and common people from the Central Plains moved south and settled in Quanzhou, which boosted the development of this place. After hundreds of years of development, it became an important seaport city on the southeast coast, and finally by the Song and Yuan dynasties it became the world's largest port.

Quanzhou at this time was still in a relatively barbaric and backward period. Because it was far away from the war in the Central Plains, the city walls of Quanzhou were not high, and there was no fixed ocean shipping route, so the port was also quite crude.

Yuan Xi naturally understood this before. When he conquered Wu County, he asked Wu Jing to lead the troops and join forces with the Shanyue leader to attack in the direction of Kuaiji. At that time, although Kuaiji County was under the jurisdiction of Wu State, it had been divided into enclaves and was isolated and helpless, and was soon occupied by Jin State.

Afterwards, Yuan Xi appointed Liu Ji in Guangling as the prefect of Kuaiji, and asked him and Wu Jing to settle down there to establish trade routes along the coast and open up seaports and docks. Among them, Dong'an, as the most important transit center of the route, naturally invested a lot of manpower and material resources in its construction.

Now, a few years have passed, and Wu Jing reported that the expansion of Dong'an's city wall and wharf has been completed. Yuan Xi took advantage of the peaceful winter season to come to Quanzhou for inspection.

At that time, the fleet was sailing south along the coast. Under the blowing of the biting northwest cold wind, the fleet was moving at a very fast speed and it seemed that it would reach the destination in more than half a day.

Although there was a charcoal stove burning inside the cabin for heating, the winter cold still penetrated through the window lattices, so that the people inside could only wrap themselves tightly in quilts and huddle together for warmth.

Bu Lianshi sat in Yuan Xi's arms, blushing as she reached out from under the quilt to grind ink. Yuan Xi put one hand over Bu Lianshi's shoulder and wrote on the bamboo slips, while the other hand was hidden in the quilt, and it was unknown what he was doing.

Bu Lianshi couldn't help twisting her body and uttering a cry. She said with a shy look on her face: "Your Majesty is very skilled. You must have done this many times before, right?"

Yuan Xi said seriously: "That's right. When I was in the north, I often hugged Xiao Qiao to keep warm."

"When I first met Madam, I noticed that she had a slender waist. It was not until I got to know her better later that I discovered that she was as talented as Xiao Qiao."

Bu Lianshi naturally knew what this talent referred to. Her face turned even redder, and she thought to herself that no one in the world would guess that the ferocious tiger, who was famous all over the world and had a great reputation, could be so lazy and rogue in the boudoir?

But Bu Lianshi didn't hate this feeling. On the contrary, she sometimes looked forward to it. After she realized this, she cursed herself for being shameless. As if to divert the embarrassment, she said, "I heard that the two wives of the Qiao family went to Wankou to visit the graves?"

Yuan Xi said, "Yes, Madam Wu took them there. I'm afraid they will return to Shouchun around the New Year."

"Then we can go around to Nanchang, and then head north to Shouchun to meet them."

"Speaking of which, during your trip to Guangling, you went to the Bu Clan Ancestral Hall to pay homage, but you still couldn't find the graves of your biological parents?"

Bu Lianshi's face was gloomy. "No, my parents were missing when Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou. When Cao's army attacked, the Bu family fled and were separated. I was taken away by my uncle. I'm afraid my parents have died, so now I can only pay tribute to them in front of the tablet."

"So I am very grateful to the king for helping me to avenge myself."

"Speaking of which, almost all of the king's wives have grudges against Cao Cao."

Yuan Xi laughed at himself, "From this point of view, I should thank Cao Cao for not interfering?" "Speaking of which, Cao Cao is indeed ruthless to the people of the world, but he is not completely heartless. At least he still cherishes the Cao family."

Bu Lianshi asked, "Is it because the king is worried about us that he stays away from Princess Qinghe?"

"I have met that person several times before. He obviously has some feelings for the king, otherwise he would not have run to a place like Handong County out of anger."

Yuan Xi sighed: "Now, the things I have to consider are not so simple."

"Sitting in this position, many things cannot be done as you please. Every move you make affects the thoughts and safety of officials and the people."

"The Six Strategies say that the world does not belong to one person, but to everyone in the world."

"As the ruler of the world, the emperor cannot act as he pleases, but must set an example for the people."

"The foundation of the Jin State was to inherit the Han Dynasty and oppose Cao. If I marry Cao Cao's daughter, wouldn't that be denying the Jin State itself?"

Bu Lianshi shook her head and said, "I think the king is overthinking it. Princess Qinghe is just a woman. How can she represent the Cao family?"

"I always feel that the king has other concerns."

Yuan Xi's face froze, and he thought to himself that it was really hard to hide things from the person next to him. Master Bu Lian was smart, and after staying by his side for a long time, she would have learned to read his words and expressions and guess what he was thinking.

Yuan Xi was afraid of Cao Qing because she was afraid that she would dare to betray and frame her husband in the future. Although the truth was unknown, keeping Cao Qing by her side was indeed an unstable factor. Now Yuan Xi only hoped that Cao Qing could stay in the north for a few years so that she could gradually untie her knot and lose interest in her.

There were shouts of sailors and soldiers outside the cabin, and from the sound it seemed that the fleet was approaching the Quanzhou wharf. It seemed that the wind had been strong in the past few days, and they would arrive several hours earlier than expected.

Yuan Xi pulled his hand away and helped Bu Lianshi button up her collar, which made Bu Lianshi glare at Yuan Xi.

He lifted the quilt. Although both of them were wearing clothes, they still shivered from the cold air. Yuan Xi stood up, handed the fur coat to Bu Lianshi, and said, "Wear more clothes to avoid catching a cold."

Yuan Xi took off his outer clothes, revealing his inner clothes. Yuan Xi felt even colder, but he still frowned and picked up the leather armor lining beside him.

Master Bu Lian hurried over to help Yuan Xi put on the inner armor, then fastened the buttons from the back, and then helped Yuan Xi put on the outer armor.

This was not the end. Yuan Xi picked up a pair of light chain mail and put it on, and then put on the outer robe.

After Yuan Xi put on these pieces, he was done. Bu Lianshi already had a little sweat on her forehead, but this was already Yuan Xi's usual attire when he went out on patrol.

This is a habit that Yuan Xi has developed over the years. Even a strong man like Sun Ce could be assassinated, so Yuan Xi would not be complacent, especially in a place like Kuaiji where he was unfamiliar with the place, so he had to be doubly vigilant.

The ship slowly approached the dock. Yuan Xi walked out of the cabin with Bu Lianshi and saw that Liu Ji, Wu Jing and a group of officials and generals were already waiting on the dock.

The ship lowered the deck and Yuan Xi was the first to get off. Everyone saluted and called him "Your Majesty", which made Yuan Xi feel dazed for a moment.

It turns out that I have become the emperor without realizing it.

He motioned for everyone to stand up, and at the same time walked quickly towards Liu Ji and Wu Jing, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

He looked at the crowds of people crowded at the dock and said, "It's cold in winter, you don't have to wait here, go back to the city and wait at the official residence first. The governor and I will come to question you after we have inspected the dock."

After hearing this, the officials dispersed. Yuan Xi saw a mother and son whom he knew in the crowd who were about to turn around and leave. He stepped forward and said, "Long time no see. I hope you two are doing well."

The mother and son were none other than Madam Cai and Liu Cong. Two years ago, Liu Cong was conferred the title of Marquis of Ping'an by Yuan Xi, and then exiled to Kuaiji. As it had been so long, Yuan Xi had even forgotten about it. Only now did he remember it after seeing them.

He couldn't help but ask awkwardly, "Madam, are you used to living with Marquis Ping'an?"

Liu Cong was already freezing so much that his nose was running, but he naturally didn't dare to complain. He just kept saying that he was used to it. Madam Cai, on the other hand, looked at Yuan Xi with a rather resentful look, and then she said, "The cold here seems to be no different from that in Jingzhou."

When Master Bu Lian saw this, she thought to herself that there was a 99% chance that this Madam Cai and the king had something going on in private!

(End of this chapter)