Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1410 Rotation
Madam Wu forced herself to open her eyes wide and tried to identify him for a long time before she said softly, "Your Majesty is really here."

The two of them were speechless for a while, and in the silence, it seemed that neither of them could find any more words to start with.

Yuan Xi felt that Madam Wu's hands were gradually weakening, and hurriedly said, "I have brought doctors with me, let them check on Madam."

Madam Wu shook her head and said, "No need, I know what I am doing."

Yuan Xi said unwillingly: "Madam didn't have any symptoms before, how did she get sick?"

Madam Wu sighed, "I have been traveling with Xiang'er for the past few years, which has damaged my vitality. Besides, I have lived longer than most people."

"Life and death are determined by fate. I have no regrets that you can see His Majesty before I die."

Yuan Xi hesitated for a moment, "Are you blaming me for what happened to Sun Quan?"

Madam Wu shook her head slightly, "No, I am the one who is wrong in this matter."

"Sun killed too many people in Jiangdong. When the Wu Kingdom fell, many people wanted to kill him. Your Majesty was able to save his life, which was already a great favor. This has caused Your Majesty a lot of trouble."

"Everything he did after being exiled was decided by him. No one else can be blamed for the outcome."

"It is the same with Mrs. Wu. She is grateful to Your Majesty for protecting her. After I followed Your Majesty, I did not help at all. Instead, I caused Your Majesty so much trouble. I am really ashamed."

Yuan Xi said, "There's no need to say that. You and I are one, so we should support each other. You have given a lot over the years, and I remember it in my heart."

Madam Wu held Yuan Xi's hand tightly and said, "The only thing I am worried about now is Xiang'er. After I leave, she will be in Yecheng."

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, when Rui'er comes of age, I will let them get married."

"The same is true for Qian'er. I have never forgotten his marriage to Gongsun."

"Just rest and recover, everything will be fine."

Madam Wu stared at the rooftop, lost in thought. "Back then, I was expelled from Xuzhou with Xiang'er in my arms. Your Majesty gave me a horse by chance, which saved my life and my daughter's life. The past passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye, fifteen years have passed, but I can still remember it vividly."

"So many years have passed, and I have experienced more than other people in several lifetimes. Although it has been many twists and turns, I finally met Your Majesty."

Her voice gradually faded away, "I have never regretted it."

Mrs. Xie was waiting anxiously outside the door. Da Qiao, who came with her, was not willing to go in either. The two of them just stood there silently. They didn't know how long they had been there when they suddenly heard the door behind them creak open.

The two women subconsciously looked back and saw Yuan Xi walking out with an expressionless face. He seemed not to see the two women, but looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

At this moment, the two women seemed to understand something. Mrs. Xie had tears in her eyes, Da Qiao bit her lips tightly, and leaned forward to worship the inside of the house.

A few days later, Mrs. Wu's funeral was held and her coffin was buried outside Shouchun City. Yuan Xi presided over the funeral personally. During the funeral, he strictly prohibited all officials from paying their respects except Wu's relatives. Therefore, although the funeral was solemn, it was unusually cold and simple.

Afterwards, the court issued another decree. As Yuan Qian was not yet an adult, he would be temporarily handed over to Da Qiao for raising, and Lu Xun would still be Yuan Qian's teacher.

Although the court officials were somewhat uneasy about the situation afterwards, Yuan Xi was already in a high position of power and his prestige was unquestionable, so the situation was quite stable and the matter was considered a safe transition.

Although no one thought that the Wu and Sun families had lost their power, they generally believed that they would be much weaker than before. So facing the possible power vacancy, some people began to set their sights on Da Qiao to replace Mrs. Wu.

When Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao first married Yuan Xi, they kept a low profile and did not publicize their family background. As a result, many officials in Shouchun did not know Da Qiao's origins. However, after much inquiry, they discovered that she was actually the daughter of Qiao Rui, who belonged to the old faction of Yuan Shu. They immediately became interested.

So these people, under the pretext of being old friends of Qiao Rui, began to secretly present business cards and valuable gifts to Da Qiao. At first, there was no news in the first few days, and these people were secretly happy, thinking that the new lady was easy to talk to.

As a result, one day when he went to court, the court was filled with gifts from everyone. Yuan Xi sat on the throne and looked at the officials below with a smile, "I have always heard that Jianghuai is rich, and it is indeed true."

The officials who presented the gifts were sweating profusely, their thighs trembling, and they almost collapsed to the ground. Yuan Xi changed the subject and said, "But I am grateful for your generosity. It just so happens that the Ministry of Industry has several projects that are in great need of money, so I gladly accepted them."

The officials then forced themselves to smile. Some of them looked as if they had been pardoned, while others seemed to be thinking about something.

In fact, among the three capitals, Shouchun was hardly affected by the war, and had the best conditions in all aspects. Whether it was the scale of the city or the prosperity, it was far superior to the other two cities. However, it was the city where Yuan Xi stayed the shortest. Not to mention the capital Jicheng, among the two secondary capitals, Yuan Xi spent more time in Yecheng, but rarely came to Shouchun. Was it simply because there was no war in Jianghuai?
Originally, many officials in Shouchun believed that when the world was pacified in the future, Shouchun would be the most likely to become the new capital among the three capitals. After all, it was the center of the world in terms of convenient water transportation and geographical location. How could it be compared with Yecheng, which was destroyed by war, and Jicheng, which was located in a bitter and cold place?

Moreover, many Jianghuai officials believed that Mrs. Wu's position could threaten Empress Zhen. After all, the Wu and Sun forces behind her occupied half of Jiangdong. Moreover, she had one son and one daughter, one the Crown Princess and the other the second son, who would both be extremely valuable in the future. And if there was a change in the position of the Crown Prince, wouldn't it be a sure thing for her to take over?
But now Mrs. Wu's unexpected death has disrupted many people's plans, and the new Mrs. Da Qiao revealed the gift to His Majesty, indicating that she does not seem to have the idea of ​​cultivating her own power among the Jianghuai officials, which makes many people begin to murmur in their hearts.

Yuan Xi seemed to have seen through the thoughts of many officials present. He slowly said, "It has been nearly twenty years since I led the army to conquer the world alone."

"It took Emperor Gaozu of Han seven years to conquer the world, Emperor Qin unified the six kingdoms in ten years, and Emperor Guangwu took twelve years to quell the rebellion and ascend the throne. Compared with them, I am indeed far behind."

When all the officials heard this, they all praised him, saying that the country was in chaos and in such a state of collapse, and that the enemies His Majesty was facing were more numerous and stronger. Yuan Xi listened and waved his hand, saying, "I know my abilities well, so you don't have to praise me against your will."

"I just happened to be in the right place and had better luck."

He changed the subject and said, "But I also have things that I think I should be proud of."

"Ten years ago, the whole world was still starving, with no one living for thousands of miles. But now, most people in my Jin State can already have enough food to eat."

The officials wanted to praise him, but Yuan Xi stopped them and said, "But this is far from enough."

"Now Jianghuai is the most prosperous place in the world. It is connected to Jingzhou on the left and the sea on the right. It draws water from the Huai River and the Yangtze River, making it a land of fish and rice and a granary for the world."

"With such a favorable geographical location, we will naturally recover the fastest from the war. Of course, this is also due to the concerted efforts of all of you. I will always remember your hard work and will never forget it."

After hearing this, the officials all looked pleased and proud. However, Yuan Xi changed the subject and said, "But you all know that there are still many places in Jin that are not doing well."

"There are many reasons for this, such as the fact that the Shanyue people in the south are still uncivilized, and the border areas in the north have been repeatedly ravaged by wars. In many places, people's livelihood is in decline and there are not enough households."

"Since they are all citizens of Jin, I will not abandon them, especially the border inhabitants in the north. They used their lives to block the barbarians outside the pass. If it were not for them, how could Jin live and work in peace?"

"If Jianghuai were invaded by the enemy, just like the war in the past ten years, you would all be living in danger right now, right?"

"The year before last, a million Xianbei invaded, but I led the border troops to defeat them in Dai County. Hundreds of thousands of Xianbei died in Youzhou, and the rest fled outside the Great Wall."

Liu Ye said, "Your Majesty's civil and military achievements are no less than those of wise rulers in previous dynasties. This is a blessing for our Great Jin!"

All the officials echoed the words. Yuan Xi sighed, "But few of you have seen that for this battle, tens of thousands of Youzhou soldiers died, hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced, and countless died of disease and hunger."

"They died to defend their hometown and the State of Jin. At the same time, no matter what, they also ensured the peace of Jianghuai."

"I don't ask you to do anything, I just hope that you can remember their sacrifices, and one day when you encounter the same thing, Jiang Huai can also treat Jin as one like them."

"Someone once suggested to me that the taxation in Jianghuai was too heavy, three times heavier than that in the north, or even more, and that the north and south of Jin should be treated equally."

"What I want to say is that the labor force in the north has been greatly affected by the defense against foreign enemies. Their young and strong men have all gone to fight the enemy, and there is even less labor. If I pay taxes according to the same rules as the north and the south, they will not be able to hold on. What about Jianghuai?"

"If the foreign barbarians invade Jianghuai, do you think they will only ask you for an extra three fen of grain?"

The officials were silent for a moment. Yuan Xi raised his head and looked into the distance. "Everyone has selfish desires, and I am no exception."

"But I know that if the peaceful and prosperous situation is disrupted by war, we will all face a tragic situation."

"So I hope that you can go to the north to serve as officials for a few years, see the different people's livelihood, go to the fields more often, talk to the farmers, and listen to their ideas."

"Listening to the sufferings of the people is not only the emperor's responsibility, but also a lesson that all ministers must face."

"In a few days, I will go south to arrange the affairs of Jiaozhou. No one in the thirteen states can be left behind."

"In a few days, I will reallocate the positions of officials, especially the officials from the north and south, who need to move to other places."

"I hope that you can care about the world and do things that the people will remember. If you can do this, even if your personal morality is slightly flawed, why would I care?"

(End of this chapter)