Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1335 State Affairs
At Dong'an Wharf, Yuan Xi's fleet was setting sail. Dozens of ships were preparing to first head north into the Yangtze River, and then go up the river to Nanchang.

It was just after the Spring Festival at this time, and Yuan Xi stayed in Yong'an for quite a long time, more than two months. During this period, he and Liu Ji and Wu Jing took a boat to Yizhou opposite Dong'an several times to look for a location to build a port.

With steam power, ships could travel back and forth very quickly, but choosing a port took quite a bit of effort. With the help of local natives, Yuan Xi found several locations suitable for building ports and marked them on the map. He then left the rest of the matter to Liu and Wu. The purpose of this trip south to Dong'an was achieved.

After several trips back and forth, it was almost the New Year, so Yuan Xi simply spent the Spring Festival in Dong'an. When everything was settled, he led the fleet on the return journey.

Yuan Xi stood at the bow while Liu Ji and others saluted and saw him off at the dock. Seeing the dock getting farther and farther away until it turned into a black dot, he said to Master Bu Lian beside him, "It's still cold, let's go back to the cabin."

Master Bu Lian supported Yuan Xi as they walked back and suddenly said, "Mrs. Cai didn't come today."

Yuan Xi's face froze, and he smiled awkwardly: "Everyone has their own ideas, and they can't be forced. Are you blaming me for not taking her away?"

Bu Lianshi smiled slightly, with a sly look on her face, "I didn't say anything?"

Yuan Xi burst out laughing after hearing this, "Master Trainer, I didn't expect you to become even more eccentric."

"I am not a gentleman to begin with. Madam Cai and I just get what we want. She has been like a widow all these years. I think she is close to me not because she is greedy for power."

Bu Lianshi sighed, "I also understand this, so I feel that Madam Cai is very pitiful."

"Before she and the king parted ways, I'm afraid she told the king not to worry about it and that she didn't care at all, right?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right, women understand women better..."

Bu Lianshi said slowly: "Does the king really think that she is speaking from the heart?"

"Anyway, I can't think of a woman who doesn't seek eternity, but only desires daily pleasure."

Yuan Xi was stunned. He couldn't help but look back at the back of the ship, but the Dong'an Wharf had disappeared into the waves from his sight.

He stood there for a moment before he said, "Let's talk about it later."

"The next stop is Nanchang. After we appease the Jiangdong nobles, we will return to Shouchun from Wankou. After this tour, I may not come to Jianghuai for a few years."

"Maybe when I come back here, the world will be at peace."

Many days later, Lu Xun was talking to Lu Su in the official residence in Nanchang. He said, "The lord's fleet will arrive soon. I should return to Shouchun with the fleet. Next, it should be time for the governor to show his strengths."

"Speaking of which, if Xun hadn't relied on the governor to mediate during this period, the Jiangdong nobles might not have been so easy to cooperate with."

"Most of the credit for the reconstruction of Nanchang goes to Mr. Zijing."

Lu Su said modestly: "What are you saying, Commander-in-Chief? Although I am much older than you, I am not as talented as you in military strategy and government affairs. I am just doing some work as your deputy."

"The education of the governor's family is amazing. The Lu family has been loyal and heroic over the years. From Lujiang to Nanchang, they all sacrificed their lives to protect their master. It's just a pity that Lu Gongji died at such a young age."

Lu Xun was silent. Although Lu Ji was his uncle, he was five years younger than Lu Xun. He was only 20 years old when he was assassinated in Nanchang. He was at an age with great potential, but he died in a conspiracy. It can be said that he had entrusted his talents to the wrong person.

He said in a deep voice: "It is indeed better to destroy the Wu Kingdom."

"The court is full of intrigue and they will do anything to achieve their goals. They treat other people's lives as worthless. For their own selfishness, they can even sacrifice the lives of their peers and even their subordinates. This kind of court has no meaning to exist."

Lu Su smiled bitterly and sighed, "The wars in the past few years have been too brutal. Only one in ten of Jiangdong's original veterans survived. Except for Gong Yiwen and a few others, all of them died in the battle. It's really sad."

"I feel old now. The future of the world will belong to your generation."

"Lord Sun... Although some things were not done right, I met the king. Even Cao Cao couldn't do anything about it. I can only say that I was born at the wrong time."

As the two were talking, a guard came over and said that the Jin prince's fleet had already arrived at Poyang Lake in the south. After hearing this, the two hurriedly got up and went out to arrange the fleet to welcome Yuan Xi. On the way, Lu Su was a little surprised, "This is ten days earlier than expected. I'm afraid that the king's fleet is full of steamships, right?"

Lu Xun nodded and said, "That should be the case. Although I calculated it before, I still underestimated the speed of improvement and replacement of this steamship."

"I'm afraid that not only are all the ships in the King's fleet this time steamships, but the steam engines have probably also been improved a lot. Now a thousand miles of water travel only takes a dozen days at the fastest. Who would have thought that crossing China from east to west, north to south, could actually compress the time to within one or two months?"

Lu Su agreed, "Yes, times have really changed. The days when news from the south took a year to reach the north are gone forever. The thirteen states will be more easily accessible. This grand unification will be far better than the Qin and Han dynasties."

The next morning, Yuan Xi arrived at the Nanchang Wharf. When he saw the city, all traces of destruction left by the war years ago were gone, and the city walls and towers were in a brand new state.

Although soldiers were deployed at the gate of Nanchang to enforce martial law, a passage was left open for the people to enter and exit. It was still winter, but the crowds of people coming in and out were bustling, some carrying bags, some pushing carts, and some carrying loads, and many people had smiles on their faces. When the boat docked, Yuan Xi got off the boat and said to Lu Xun, Lu Su and others who came to greet him, "You have worked hard. Nanchang has recovered to this state in such a short time, all thanks to your contributions."

Lu Xun and his companions said a few polite words and were about to welcome Yuan Xi to the carriage. Yuan Xi said, "I will ride a horse this time to see the scenery inside the city."

Someone had already brought a horse over, and Yuan Xi got on the horse, and everyone else followed. Yuan Xi saw that the general leading the way was not only Jiang Qin, but also Xu Sheng, so he rode forward and said with a smile: "What have you thought about Wen Xiang these days?"

Xu Sheng looked a little embarrassed. He was captured in the battle to destroy Wu. He didn't want to surrender at first, but there were a lot of disgusting things during the internal strife within Sun Wu during the Battle of Nanchang, which made him a little disheartened. In addition, he was born in Langya, which actually made him very awkward among the faction of Jiangdong generals. So he had been neither up nor down for all these years. Finally, after being persuaded by Lu Su, Jiang Qin and others, he surrendered.

Seeing Yuan Xi asking questions at this time, he looked a little embarrassed, but still said honestly: "In the past six months, Sheng has seen a lot and thought a lot, and can more or less understand the reasons for Sun Wu's failure."

"Although the king is not in Jianghuai now, the atmosphere in Jiangdong is far better than when the king of Wu was in charge. It must be said that the gap between the two is incomparable."

"Now Sheng just wants to make up for his sins and do what he can."

Yuan Xi smiled and patted Xu Sheng on the shoulder. "At that time, each served his own master. What crime did the general commit?"

"On the contrary, it is Wen Xiang's loyalty that I value. It's a pity that Sun Quan didn't cherish and utilize so many elite soldiers and generals of Sun Wu, and many talented people died in vain."

"Let's not talk about Lu Ji. If Sun Quan hadn't appointed a villain like Zuo Rong, Ding Feng wouldn't have died."

Xu Sheng and Ding Feng were good friends, but after hearing this, their faces turned gloomy. "He was so young and had a lot of potential, but he died like this. It's such a pity."

“I hope this kind of thing will never happen again in the future.”

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice, "I promise you that I will act fairly and justly, treat the world with justice, and be kind to the people, so that wars will be eliminated and the world will be governed."

After hearing this, all the generals bowed and said, "We sincerely follow Your Majesty!"

Yuan Xi rode on his horse, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind. Twelve years was neither long nor short, but he had finally reached this day.

Compared with Emperor Gaozu who took seven years to pacify the world, Yuan Xi, who has not yet destroyed the State of Wei, is indeed a few steps behind. However, what Yuan Xi is proud of is that while he is conquering the world, he is also developing science and technology, and industrial and agricultural production has not been left behind.

This is the case in Nanchang today. Several rivers flow through the city, with water wheels and mills lined up by the rivers. Shops are lined up on both sides of the road, dotted with crafts. From handicrafts to daily necessities, the variety of products is so wide that it is even better than that in the north.

Yuan Xi could not help but sigh that the Jiangdong gentry were rich and had more leisure time, and as long as there was no war, the speed of development of their humanities and arts would be faster than that of the Central Plains.

He suddenly remembered something, turned his head and said to Lu Xun: "Is there any news from Hannan Kingdom recently?"

Lu Xun said, "Last year, the King of Hannan passed away. The governor of Lu went to Changsha to offer condolences. He knows much more about the matter than I do."

When Lu Su saw Yuan Xi turning to look at him, he said, "After the death of King Hannan, his youngest son Liu Chan inherited the throne."

"The transition was very peaceful. After all, Hannan had Prime Minister Xu Shu for civil affairs and General Guan Yu for military affairs, both of whom had high prestige."

"More importantly, the succession ceremony was presided over by the former Han emperor, which is the most legitimate status for the Hannan Kingdom."

Lu Xun said, "I am a little worried that Hannan will become ambitious in the future and declare himself emperor, which will cause chaos in Jingzhou."

Yuan Xi looked at Lu Su, "Zi Jing, do you think this is possible?"

Lu Su said, "When I was in Changsha, I did notice that some officials had some signs."

"But there shouldn't be many people who think this way, and most of them are officials who initially followed Liu Bei. The current officials in Jingzhou are mostly concerned with living in peace."

"In comparison, their Prime Minister Xu Shu seems to have some ideas, but Guan Yu's attitude in Wujiang is a little hesitant. Otherwise, if the two of them could support it, I'm afraid that Hannan would have proclaimed himself emperor long ago with the title of the former Han emperor, right?"

Yuan Xi knew why Guan Yu hesitated. He was a man who valued friendship and loyalty. He had helped Guan Yu many times but did not give him a chance to return the favor. So Guan Yu must be worried about falling out with him, so he has not taken such a move yet.

He thought for a moment, "How is Pang Tong's injury?"

Lu Su replied: "Although he saved his life, I heard that his health has not been very good and he rarely attends court. I am afraid that his life has been damaged."

Yuan Xi thought that if there were any changes in Hannan Kingdom, they would depend on these few people. Now the situation seemed relatively stable. After all, the other party was still his ally. Apart from the Wu Kingdom, there should be few people who would be so shameless as to stab their ally in the back.

(End of this chapter)