Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1346 Thoughts

Tian Yu brought people from the Procuratorate and personally interrogated Xie Guini for several days. Although he did not get much key information from him, he did get some evidence to support the speculations of Jin's advisers about Kobineng's thoughts.

Yuan Xi was certain that Xie Guini was nothing more than a chess piece in Kobineng's eyes. Kobineng himself was playing a game of chess. Although the pattern might not be very big, the people involved were as cunning as some of the princes in the Central Plains.

Kobe is not as upright, fair and generous as previously rumored. His style of doing things is somewhat similar to that of Dong Zhuo. But it is normal to think that in a place like outside the Great Wall, how can he win people over by relying solely on loyalty to make a fortune from a small tribe and climb to his current position?
Dong Zhuo was able to subdue the Han and Hu border people in the northern area of ​​Liang Province. His reputation, strength, and skills were all indispensable. He was able to make all the civil and military officials of the Han court run around in circles by himself. How could Kobinen, who climbed up in the even harsher environment outside the Great Wall, be a naive naive person?
Yuan Xi had previously learned that Sun Quan had secretly sent someone to contact Kobineng, and that Kobineng had rejected Sun Quan and the conditions he proposed. He also knew that Jia Xu had already met with Sun Quan.

In Yuan Xi's mind, it is true that Sun Quan is good at conspiring and scheming, but his strategies are not top-notch. In addition, he has only a few mediocre ministers under his command, so it is difficult for him to defeat Kobe. Now that he has Jia Xu's help, it depends on their luck how much success they can achieve.

If Jin State attacks the Central Xianbei forcefully, it may end up with more losses than gains. Even if it destroys Kobineng's main force, it is possible that the Eastern and Western Xianbei will absorb Kobineng's remnants and become even more powerful and difficult to control. On the contrary, if Kobineng is retained, both the Eastern and Western Xianbei will choose to temporarily join forces with Yuan Xi because they are afraid of Kobineng.

This is actually another form of harboring an enemy to protect oneself, but it is the best choice at the moment, just like the Suli branch of the Eastern Xianbei, which occupied the ancestral land of the Xianbei, claimed to be the true descendants of Tan Shihuai, looked down on the other two tribes, and therefore wanted to use the power of Jin to suppress the two tribes.

If the two tribes become weak, Suli will naturally have other ideas. Yuan Xi knows this very well. What he has to do now is to take advantage of the conflicts between the three Xianbei tribes and let them continue to consume each other. Therefore, Yuan Xi has not chosen a radical approach at present. He beat Xie Guini severely several times, then drove him out of Jicheng and let him go back to see Kobineng.

Xie Guini was also annoyed by this. He had revealed information that was unfavorable to Kobineng both in the court and in prison. Now that Jin State asked him to go back, wouldn't that kill him?
Qian Zhao, who had driven him out of the city, sneered, "You have offended the emperor, and you deserve death. Sparing your life is already a mercy beyond the law."

"If you're afraid that Kobe will investigate, there's no place in the world you can't go to."

Xie Guini had no choice but to lead his men out of the border. When they reached Yanmen Pass, they turned west and fled to Budugen for refuge.

He already knew that if he went back, he would not have a good ending. He was Budugen's nephew, so naturally he went there to establish a relationship with him. Moreover, he had intelligence about the Kirbyn camp, so he could still be of use.

Xie Guini's choice was not beyond Yuan Xi's expectations. He just smiled slightly after learning about it. It would be good to maintain this balance outside the Great Wall for the next two years. After all, the next direction of Jin's troops would be Liangzhou, where there were the most variables.

The siege of Chang'an led by Zhuge Liang years ago went quite smoothly. Now, the Jin State has entered the Liangzhou Sili and established a camp line that made Cao Wei quite uncomfortable. Now it is time to wait for the harvest.

Under such circumstances, this year's New Year in Jicheng seemed much calmer and more peaceful than the turbulent wars of previous years. After Yuan Xi led the ladies to worship their ancestors, he returned to his room and wrote a letter to Zhen Mi in Yecheng, and sent it away along with other military intelligence via the post station.

He stood in the yard, looking up at the heavy snow in the sky, and thought that the place of Youzhou might need hundreds of years of development before it could truly take shape as it would in the future.

In this era, although Youzhou has undergone several large-scale road and bridge constructions, it is still difficult to travel in winter. Days with deep snow are very common, and transportation is extremely inconvenient.

The post station just now used to deliver letters, not with horses, but with a sleigh equipped with a steam engine. However, the road was sparsely populated, so the speed could be increased very quickly.

However, steam power ultimately lacks some prerequisite technologies. For example, rubber tire tracks are difficult to replace with other things. This is why Yuan Xi is looking forward to developing Izu and the Southeast Asian islands.

A woman came out from behind with a fur coat and said, "Your Majesty, the weather is too cold, please take care of yourself."

Yuan Xi turned around and saw that it was Cao Jie. He couldn't help but smile and said, "You really feel sorry for your sister. She usually does this kind of thing."

Cao Jie snorted and stamped his feet, "If your majesty doesn't want to wear it, I will go back."

Yuan Xi saw that her clothes were quite thin, so he took them and put them on her, saying with a smile, "I'm not cold, but you should be careful of getting cold."

Cao Jie blushed and snorted, "Your Majesty always makes fun of me. I'm going back first."

After saying that, she turned around and left. Yuan Xi looked at Cao Jie's back and suddenly realized, "You are now..."

Cao Jie stopped and said quietly, "I am twenty years old this year." After she finished speaking, she went back to the house without looking back.

Yuan Xi was ashamed. He had been busy fighting wars over the years. Could it be that Cao Jie had grown up so big without him noticing?

He suddenly realized that because Cao Jie had been living in the inner house, he was afraid that the officials of Jin State would speculate about her relationship with him and would not propose marriage to her at all. Was it because of him that he delayed her?
He seemed to be thinking about something, and as he walked, he unknowingly arrived at the marquis's courtyard.

He thought for a moment, then knocked on the door and walked in. Over there, Madam Hou was teaching her daughter Gongsun Jing needlework. She came out when she heard the voice and saw that it was Yuan Xi. She was surprised and said, "Your Majesty came suddenly today. I haven't cleaned up yet, so the house is a bit messy."

Yuan Xi saw that the room was full of unfinished clothes. Gongsun saluted him and stood aside timidly. She was tall and slender, almost like a girl of marriageable age. He calculated her age and said, "Jing'er is already fourteen years old this year?"

The Marquis's wife smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I am glad you remembered that her birthday was a few months ago, and she will be a 15-year-old next year."

"I have been preparing wedding clothes with her these days. We need to make more than a dozen pieces, so the room is a little messy." Yuan Xi was sweating. Fifteen is the age for girls to get married. It turns out that Gongsun Zan's orphan has grown up so much without anyone noticing.

He said with full of guilt: "I have only been fighting these years, especially in the past few years, I have only been in the inner house for a short while and then left. I am really not up to the standard."

"I do remember her marriage to Yuan Qian, but Yuan Qian is two years younger than her, so she may have to wait for two more years."

Madam Hou asked Gongsun Jing to go back to the inner room, then she smiled bitterly and said, "I don't mean to urge Your Majesty, but I am not as busy as Madam Cai and the others these days, and I have nothing to do. With this child by my side, I can talk to her."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi felt even more upset. He sighed and said, "These years have passed by too fast."

"Back then, I accidentally reached out my hand and rescued Madam and Jing'er from the high building in Yijing, but I didn't expect that more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye."

The Marquis's wife came up and helped Yuan Xi sit down. She also said with deep emotion: "Your Majesty didn't have a beard at that time. When I first saw Your Majesty, I thought you were a child from some family. After all these years, Your Majesty's beard has turned a lot whiter. I can see that and know that Your Majesty has been working hard for the country all these years."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi touched the several-inch-long beard on his chin. He still had a short beard, but one-tenth to twelve-tenths of it was already white. From a distance, he didn't look like a man in his thirties, but more like a man in his fifties.

He said self-deprecatingly, "The wind and frost of the north have dyed my hair and beard white, but Madam has always looked quite young, and her appearance has not changed much from ten years ago."

Madam Hou was actually only a few years older than Yuan Xi, and indeed looked young. She leaned her head on Yuan Xi's shoulder and whispered, "People say that women are most afraid of aging, and will do anything to preserve their looks."

"But after going through so many things, I have become more indifferent. What is the use of having a beautiful face if a woman has no one to accompany her?"

"I hope to use my beauty to keep your majesty young and healthy, and if you can see me for a few more days, I will be satisfied."

Yuan Xi said with emotion: "Don't worry, the day of world unification is not far away."

"When I have some free time, I will take you to various places in the country to see different scenery."

The Marquis's wife couldn't help but laugh, "Your Majesty was the ruler of the world at that time, how could he have time to spare?"

"But just listening to it makes me feel very satisfied."

Yuan Xi said seriously: "I'm not lying to you."

"Without a leader, the world may still be in great order."

"I have already figured out some tricks to be lazy. We'll just have to wait and see."

Cao Xian, with her bulging belly, saw Yuan Xi go to the Marquis's room through the crack in the window. She couldn't help but point her finger at Cao Jie who was making clothes, and said angrily: "I asked you to go out and deliver the clothes, but you really did come back after delivering the clothes?"

"You said that you have had very few opportunities to meet His Majesty in these years, yet you still squandered them like this. What can I say about you?"

Cao Ji sewed quickly, "Sister, don't make a fuss. This is for the baby in your belly. If there is any leak in the embroidery, don't blame me."

Cao Xian shook his head. "Second sister, you have been so stubborn these years. If you had been more proactive in the past few years, you would have been a lady. Why are you still like this now?"

Cao Ji said calmly: "I don't care, it's fine now."

"Why do I have to kowtow to Your Majesty? Can I live without kneeling?"

Cao Xian covered his forehead and sighed, "Second sister is obviously someone your majesty loves, and your majesty has not avoided you, why can't you be more honest?"

"To put it softly, can you spare a piece of meat?"

"You are the only hard person in the world except your mouth!"

Cao Jie was a little defensive, and waved the needle in front of Cao Xian a few times, "I'll stab you again."

(End of this chapter)