Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1417 Position
As soon as Yuan Xi entered, he saw Madam Mi smiling at him, and thought she had misunderstood him, so he quickly said, "There's nothing wrong between Madam Xiahou and me."

As soon as these words came out, Madam Mi smiled even more happily, "Your Majesty, I didn't ask anything."

Xiahou's face flushed, "I'll take my leave now."

She stood up and hurried out. Yuan Xi said, "The Hannan Kingdom envoys will come in a few days. Madam can go back with them."

Xiahou turned around and bowed, then turned around and hurried away, but was accidentally tripped by the threshold. She cried out, and awkwardly held onto the door to steady herself, then ran away like the wind.

When Madam Mi saw her disappear, she couldn't help laughing again, "Madam Xiahou seems to be very afraid of Your Majesty."

Yuan Xi shook his head helplessly. He was too lazy to explain. The more he explained, the worse it would be. So he changed the subject and said, "Your eldest brother is here too this time."

"You haven't seen each other for more than ten years, right?"

Madam Mi nodded and said, "Although I manage the Mi family caravan and travel everywhere, I can't contact you in order to avoid suspicion on both sides."

"Thanks to your majesty, I am able to see my brother this time. I am naturally happy."

Yuan Xi suddenly laughed and said, "When it comes to the two Mi family members, everyone thought Zi Zhong was stronger than Zi Fang, but in the end it was your second brother who became the king. It's really unpredictable."

Madam Mi sighed, "As long as we are safe, that's all that matters. According to Mi Tai, life in the Wa Nu Islands is actually quite difficult, far worse than in the Central Plains. I'm afraid that the second brother has been able to hold on until now only because of his strong will."

"At the same time, I heard that my elder brother has been away from the vortex in the Hannan court in recent years and rarely appears."

"I was very worried, so I hurried over here early."

Yuan Xi asked: "Is the child still in Haixi?"

Mi Zhen nodded. When Yuan Xi proclaimed himself emperor, he had already granted land in Xuzhou to the two children born to Madam Mi. Madam Mi traveled frequently, so they were taken care of by her clansmen.

Yuan Xi sighed: "As a father, I cannot see my children often. This may be the emperor's helplessness."

"If things go well in Nanchang this time, we can go back via Haixi."

After hearing this, Mrs. Mi showed a look of surprise on her face and quickly agreed.

Seeing that Yuan Xi was in a good mood, she plucked up the courage to ask, "Your Majesty and Madam Xiahou, how far have they come?"

Yuan Xi was both angry and amused, "There's really nothing going on between her and me."

"Although the late General Zhang has always been unkind to me, I still respect him very much. How could I possibly touch his widow?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Mi said with regret, "What a pity. In fact, she has lived a very ordinary life in Hannan in the past few years."

Yuan Xi was startled, "How could it be?"

"Zhang Fei is Liu Xuande's brother, and Guan Yu is still alive, what else is there to be unhappy about, Madam Xiahou?"

Madam Mi shook her head and said, "In the past few years, she has asked me to send a boat when she went to Shouchun, so I have had quite a few contacts with her."

"Although she didn't say it explicitly, her words showed that she was very worried about the current situation. As for the reason, I don't know."

The speaker may not have intended it, but the listener may have taken it to heart. Yuan Xi had been immersed in the court for many years and immediately discovered the problem. There was no need for Xiahou to deliberately act like this in front of Madam Mi, so it was very likely that she was expressing her true feelings.

But the question is, what causes him to be pessimistic about the situation?

Yuan Xi's mind was racing with thoughts. Seeing this, Mrs. Mi did not dare to disturb him and just waited quietly by the side.

After a long while, Yuan Xi finally thought of a possibility. He couldn't help but say, "No way?"

Logically speaking, since Xiahou Shi had Zhang Fei's face, Guan Yu must have respected her very much and would have found ways to take care of her. If not, it would be because Guan Yu was fighting outside all year round and was unable to take care of her.

Although this situation seems normal, what if Guan Yu was artificially transferred away from the center of the court?

This could explain why the people sent out this time all had some relationship with him. The same was true for Guan Yu. So, those who controlled the court were actually hostile to him?

Once Yuan Xi came to this conclusion, the more he thought about it, the more likely it was. He said to Madam Mi, "From now on, you should let the Mi family take care of the trade route in Hannan. Don't go to places south of Nanchang yourself."

Madam Mi understood immediately after hearing this, "Your Majesty, do you mean that Hannan might be unstable and do something that is detrimental to Jin?"

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "It's just a guess, but it's always better to plan ahead."

"The Hannan Kingdom's envoys will be here in a few days. When you meet your elder brother, you can try to find out what he has to say."

Madam Mi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you ask Xiahou about these questions?"

Yuan Xi said, "It would be hard to avoid suspicion if we do this. Madam Xiahou is a widow and she is a chaste woman. Why should I bother to provoke her?"

"But I heard that her daughter is pretty good. Would you like to arrange a marriage for our child?"

Madam Mi smiled and said, "If it really works, I will be so happy that I will die."

"I have seen his daughter once before. She is beautiful and not like the general Zhang in the rumors. She looks exactly like Madam Xiahou." Yuan Xi laughed and said, "If that is the case, then our child has taken advantage of it."

"Unfortunately, this is just talk. Madam Xiahou is in a bad situation right now. If we bring this up now, it will only make her situation worse."

Mrs. Mi joked: "Unless Your Majesty treats Madam Hou the same way he did to her."

Yuan Xi waved his hands in embarrassment and said, "How did you learn bad things from Cao Xian and the others? If you keep saying it, I won't be polite tonight."

Madam Mi's eyes flickered, "I was just waiting for your Majesty to say this."

After a few days, the Hannan Kingdom's envoys finally arrived in Nanchang. They got off the dock, got on the carriage that Jin had prepared long ago, and headed for the post station.

On the way, they were told that Yuan Xi had gone out of the city on patrol and would not be back for a few days, so they could only hold their temper and wait.

Yuan Xi was waiting outside the city. He would not show up easily before confirming the situation in Hannan Kingdom. After all, diplomacy is also a kind of battlefield. How much advantage one can gain in the negotiations depends on how thorough the preparations have been made before.

The people responsible for receiving the envoys were Lu Su and Yang Xiu. Of course, Lu Su was a cover, and the one responsible for testing was Yang Xiu.

As the future head of the Hongnong Yang family, Yang Xiu naturally had a high status among the scholars of the world. Now, with Cao Wei retreating to Yizhou and its control over the Sanfu area weakened, the Hongnong Yang family gradually broke away from Cao Wei's control. Yang Xiu no longer had any worries and could appear openly.

Yang Xiu was known as a talented man among the scholars of the world. With his family background, he was like a fish in water at the banquet, and chatted and laughed with Liu Xie, Mi Zhu and Cai Mao.

Among the three, Cai Mao was the most active. Although he defected to Hannan Kingdom, the Cai family's base was still in Jingzhou. They also needed to find a good balance between Jin and Wei. Therefore, Cai Mao was the most active among the three in this mission.

In comparison, Mi Zhu seemed to be a non-confrontational person. When he met Mrs. Mi, they both looked at each other in sadness and silence. Unconsciously, Mi Zhu also let down his guard against the State of Jin.

The most cautious person was Liu Xie. He had already owed Yuan Xi a favor, but the more so, the more careful he had to be in his words and actions. After all, he was now standing on the side of Hannan. Although he felt that the possibility of the Han Dynasty's revival was slim, his identity also meant that he could not completely side with the Jin State.

After Yang Xiu talked with several people for several days, he had almost figured out the situation. That day, he left the city by boat and found Yuan Xi's fleet on Poyang Lake. He told them about the situation in the past few days and his own speculations.

Finally, Yang Xiu said: "Among these three people, the one who is most likely to know the intention of Hannan Kingdom is undoubtedly Duke Shanyang."

"But I see that they have many concerns and obviously have some difficulties. Even if I don't ask directly, it is obvious that Hannan's attitude towards Jin should not be very sincere."

"Considering that Guan Yu, Pang Shiyuan and other key figures during the reign of Lord Xuande have all left the court circle in recent years, it is very likely that the new King of Hannan has some ideas of his own and has formed his own circle of confidants."

Then he sneered and said, "If this is true, then this young new king has no conscience. Even his loyal ministers have been abandoned. I'm afraid that the people around him have bewitched him."

Yuan Xi said, "Then who do you think might be the leader?"

Yang Xiu said: "It is most likely Prime Minister Xu Shu."

"He is the head of the civil servants entrusted by Lord Xuande before his death, and he is also the new king's mentor. I have heard of him before. He has a very stubborn temper, and this behavior is consistent with his character."

Then Yang Xiu sneered and said, "But he seems to look down on the State of Jin."

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "I'm not looking down on him. Maybe he really regarded Lord Xuande's last words to restore the Han Dynasty as the most important thing to do."

"But this will inevitably conflict with my grand plan. How do you think Dezu should deal with it?"

Yang Xiu thought about it and said, "A plan to sow discord?"

Yuan Xi was startled, "Who are you trying to alienate?"

"Guan Yu Pang Tong?"

"It seems unlikely. These two are the pillars of Hannan. Would they be so stupid as to destroy the Great Wall themselves?"

Yang Xiu said, "If it's not them, then it must be someone else."

Yuan Xi reacted, "One of them is Xu Shu?"

Yang Xiu said: "That's right, going straight to the target is the fastest."

"Of course, the other party may not be fooled, but we have plenty of time. Although it may not be effective in three to five years, as the new king grows up, he will sooner or later have his own ideas."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "No matter how you look at it, it seems like I'm playing the villain."

Yang Xiu said, "Your Majesty wants to gain the world through benevolence and righteousness, so naturally this method is not acceptable."

"But if you don't want to start a war and still want to achieve your goal, Hannan Kingdom would not have been destroyed by itself without taking these under-the-table measures."

Yuan Xi nodded and sighed, "I know, I am indeed a bit hypocritical."

"What about the other one?"

Yang Xiu mentioned a name, and Yuan Xi was surprised and asked, "What influence can this person have on Liu Chan?"

(End of this chapter)