Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1432 Raising Wolves
The person who proposed this plan of driving the tiger to devour the wolf was an unknown young clerk. At the same time, he also proposed that the State of Jin should take corresponding actions. It should not sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, but should decisively send people out of the pass to occupy the territory left by the Central Xianbei, so as to avoid being taken advantage of by the Eastern and Western Xianbei.

When this statement was first put forward, it was not taken seriously by the officials of the Jin court, because the strategy proposed by Yuan Xi at that time was to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers, letting the Xianbei kill each other. If the Jin State intervened in the grassland affairs at this time, it would not only waste a lot of manpower and material resources, but also make Bu Dugen, Suli and others vigilant.

To be fair, this worry does have some truth to it. After all, Jin's intentions were too obvious. The Xianbei tribes, which were originally fighting each other, might cease fire and unite to jointly block the infiltration of the Jin army.

However, the situation on the grassland was becoming clearer faster than expected, and letting them fight among themselves would not achieve much effect. So the letter of this minor official was dug out by Xin Ping and others and put on Yuan Xi's desk again.

Yuan Xi was holding this memorial and comparing it with those of several other officials. He was thinking hard and saying a few words from time to time, and Cao Ji, who was standing beside him, hurriedly wrote it down.

Among Yuan Xi's concubines, Cai Zhaoji and Cao Xian were previously responsible for recording and organizing documents. Now, in addition to raising children, the two women have their own things to do, so Cao Jie gradually took over this job.

Although Cao Jie is not Yuan Xi's wife in name now, everyone knows that she has stayed in the mansion for so many years and it is impossible for her to marry someone else. There is only a layer of window paper between her and Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi thought about this memorial for more than an hour before he sorted out several key points that could be improved. He took the bamboo slips from Cao Jie and prepared to convene Lu Su and others in the afternoon to discuss and make directional changes to Jin's foreign policy.

Seeing Cao Jie flexing his wrist, he said, "Thank you for your hard work over the years."

Cao Jie's heart tightened, and she said, "Your Majesty has been away from Jicheng most of the time these years, and I have only done something insignificant."

Yuan Xi said: "Sometimes, the small things we do are the big things that determine the fate of the people."

"I have come this far step by step over the years. If it weren't for the help of the people around me, I wouldn't be here today. Your sister and you have helped me a lot."

Cao Jie lowered his head and shook his head silently, then he heard Yuan Xi say, "Actually, I understand your feelings, but I really couldn't get away from it in the past few years, and I didn't give you an explanation."

"I plan to go to court tomorrow and make you my wife and formally marry you. Are you willing?"

Cao Jie's fingers trembled slightly. She raised her head and looked at Yuan Xi, then lowered her head again, "I... am willing to do so."

She couldn't help but look up at Yuan Xi's face again, and found that he was staring at her. She quickly looked away, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "Can I hug your majesty?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Of course you can."

Cao Jie stood up and took two steps, then went around to the back of Yuan Xi and hugged him from behind. Yuan Xi couldn't help laughing and said, "The way you hug me is different from others."

Cao Ji whispered, "Because what I am most familiar with is your Majesty's back."

"I am a few years younger than my sister. What I see most is the backs of Your Majesty and my sister, standing side by side with the other ladies."

"I have never dared to step forward, and only dared to look at Your Majesty from behind. Over time, I seem to have become familiar with this feeling, and I am not used to it when I face Your Majesty."

"Over the years, what I fear most is that Your Majesty would ask me to get married. I even woke up from my dreams every time. So I didn't dare to talk to Your Majesty much, for fear that the nightmare would come true."

"Over time, I no longer dare to look at your Majesty directly, for fear that he would say the words I fear the most. At this time, what makes me feel most at ease is your Majesty's back, because when your Majesty turns his back to me, he will not speak."

Yuan Xi finally understood why Cao Jie had run away whenever he saw him and only dared to look at him from a distance all these years. Yuan Xi naturally did not think that the other party hated him, but only thought that he was shy. He did not expect that there was such a reason.

He said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, as long as I am alive, I will never say anything that will make you sad."

After hearing this, Cao Jie couldn't help but feel tears in his eyes and nodded vigorously.

Hearing the slight sobbing sound behind him, Yuan Xi couldn't help but think of the girl he met in Xuzhou. She had also hugged him from behind and cried silently, but now she was sleeping in the ground. Separation from life and death was such a cruel thing.

Now, in just over a decade, I have already sent away Mrs. Kong and Mrs. Wu. I really don't want to have this feeling again. Cao Jie should be the last woman I marry, right?
When he went to court the next day, in addition to announcing to all the ministers that he had married Cao Jie as his concubine, Yuan Xi also gathered Lu Su and Zhang Zhao together yesterday to discuss the revised strategy outside the Great Wall with all the officials.

After hearing this, all the officials looked at each other in surprise, because this plan was an extremely novel idea, and the key point was to set up military towns outside the Great Wall.

Although it cost a lot, its new form was inherited from the Tang Dynasty, the same feudal system that caused the Anshi Rebellion and led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

Only Yuan Xi knew how much harm this thing could cause if it backfired, so he was so cautious.

The most critical link is to control the direction of the destructive force of the vassal states and turn it from south to north.

To achieve this, there must be a prerequisite, that is, the benefits of going north must be greater than those of going south.

This was also the focus of discussion among the ministers. They believed that if they created such an unknown thing on the grassland that might become a major threat to the Central Plains, what would happen if it got out of control in the future?
Moreover, invading the interior of the country to the south will obviously bring much greater benefits than invading the northern desert. There is rich land, population and food in the interior of the country, but what does the bitter and cold north have?
Zhang Zhao explained to his ministers: "Your idea seems to be correct, but you have overlooked a subtle point."

"To be precise, a force does not attack the richest place, but the place where it can gain the most benefits." "Now Youzhou is becoming more and more prosperous under your majesty's governance. It seems that looting does bring great benefits, but don't forget that you have to be able to rob it."

"Now Youzhou has deployed its military power and defeated numerous powerful enemies. Even the million-strong Xianbei army was defeated. How many years will it take for the emerging forces to accumulate strength before they can match the strength of the Central Xianbei?"

"Although the north is bitterly cold, the further north you go, the more brutal the tribes are, and it is much easier to attack them."

"As long as the ratio of gains and losses from fighting northward is greater than the ratio from attacking the interior, the tribes will naturally choose to go north."

At this time, an official stepped forward and said, "That being said, I have been in the north for many years and I know the thoughts of the barbarians outside the Great Wall. Most of them think that the environment in the north is too bad and there is no money to be made. It is far better to grab a big fortune in the south."

Xin Ping said, "That's right, so we have to do this on both fronts."

"On the one hand, we will strengthen the defense inside the Great Wall and improve our defense capabilities. On the other hand, we will continue to adopt a high-pressure retaliatory policy against the Hu tribes outside the Great Wall who want to plot evil, so that they will feel that there is no profit in it."

"At first, Wei Huo defeated the Xiongnu and drove them far away to the desert. The remaining Xiongnu tribes in the northern desert split into the Northern Xiongnu and the Southern Xiongnu. They have not posed a major threat since then."

"The same is true for the Xianbei now. The next step is to completely control the buffer zone thousands of miles outside the Great Wall, so that even if the Xianbei pose a threat, it will be difficult for them to raid and plunder over long distances."

"On the other hand, it helps the Hu people outside the Great Wall develop the technology to survive in the bitter cold."

"For example, digging underground caves, selling warm clothes at affordable prices, processing and growing northern food, and even providing some related technologies so that they can adapt to a more northern life."

An official asked: "Where is north?"

Lu Su said: "According to your majesty's estimate, it is about three thousand miles."

Everyone was shocked. Where had this happened?
Only Yuan Xi himself knew that this was roughly the longitudinal distance of 15 degrees north latitude, which was also the latitude difference between Jicheng and Moscow in later generations.

What Jin State ultimately wanted to do was to help these Hu people outside the Great Wall cross the Siberian frigid zone, reach that still wild area, assimilate with the locals, and create a new path.

Yang Xun said, "So this vassal state is actually a trap that can divide people outside the Great Wall into three categories."

“Those who are unwilling to plunder will move north with their technology and build new homes.”

"Those who are loyal to the Jin State will go inside the pass, grow their hair and change their clothes to become Han Chinese."

"The remaining people who want to obtain the title of king are the ones who are most eager for power and are also the most dangerous."

"Whether they fight or have different ideas, it's all normal. After all, there were Tan Shihuai and Ke Bineng before. People like this can never be eliminated."

"Concentrating them is certainly dangerous, but as long as it is kept within a controllable range, it will in turn promote Jin's sense of crisis."

"As long as our economy, technology, and military strategy are stronger than the enemy, there is nothing to fear. On the contrary, this external threat can help Jin to be prepared for danger in times of peace and keep moving forward."

"Your Majesty calls it raising wolves."

"If you don't raise a tiger, it will cause trouble. But if you raise a wolf, Jin will be able to kill it."

"And if wolves can't find food, they will just be replaced by new wolves. The new wolves will eat the old wolves, and they will never become strong."

"Your Majesty's ultimate plan is to turn this thousand-mile grassland into a place that is close to an uninhabited area."

"Your Majesty believes that the Chinese people of Jin only need to farm. Nomadic peoples will be eliminated by the times sooner or later. If they cannot be eliminated, Jin will help them."

"Outside the Great Wall, there are only cattle and sheep. There is no need for a people on horseback."

After listening to this, everyone suddenly realized that this was what His Majesty was thinking. He was really decisive.

Someone asked: "The East and West Xianbei believe that the Great Xianbei Mountain is their ancestral land. Sooner or later they will learn of your Majesty's plan. Will they have a violent reaction?"

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I will change the way and tell them how to protect their ancestral land."

(End of this chapter)