Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1439 Thoughts

As Wei began to engage in large-scale warfare with Hannan, reports of the battle were sent from Jingzhou to Jicheng. After receiving the news, Yuan Xi's advisers immediately reported it. They knew that Yuan Xi would definitely summon everyone for questioning, so they gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

Because the merchants of Bingzhou were causing trouble in the business and trade routes, Zhang Zhao and Lu Su were sent to Bingzhou by Yuan Xi. The only ones left were Yang Xiu, Ni Heng, Xin Ping and Yang Xin. Everyone was familiar with each other, so they spoke without reservation and went straight to the point.

Xin Ping frowned and said, "Wei is really stubborn. I'm afraid they would rather die than surrender. Are they planning to drag Hannan down with them?"

Naturally, he also had concerns. According to previous intelligence, Xin Ping's brother Xin Pi was now in the Wei army, serving as Xiahou Dun's military advisor. Xin Ping was not optimistic about this and was deeply worried about Xin Pi's safety.

Because the enemy this army faced was Guan Yu, the most powerful warrior in Southern Han. If the Wei army was defeated, there was a high probability that Xin Pi would die in the chaos.

Yang Xiu knew what Xin Ping was thinking as soon as he looked up. He was a man without scruples, and he immediately laughed at him, "Xin Zuozhi is a smart man."

Xin Ping didn't react for a moment, and asked aloud: "Smart?"

Yang Xiu smiled and said, "Of course he is smart. He knows that if he leads his troops to attack the Jin army, His Majesty will not forgive him in the future, and Xin Biejia will be implicated. So he probably tried his best to attack Hannan, which led to the current situation."

"The current war between Wei and Han is beneficial to Jin, and Xin Zuozhi is a meritorious minister. When the world is pacified in the future, Your Majesty may reward him."

Xin Ping couldn't help blushing when he heard the mockery in the words, and said forcefully: "Everyone serves his own master. My brother is loyal to one master, and His Majesty didn't say anything..."

Ni Heng on the side could not help but burst out laughing. Looking at Yang Xiu's smirk, Xin Ping realized that he had fallen into the verbal trap set by the other party. Xin Pi had been loyal to Yuan Shao at first, but now he was in Wei State. How could he be faithful to one person?

He said angrily: "Your father was once an official in Cao's camp, so he naturally knows that there are things that are beyond one's control. If they become enemies with the State of Jin in the future, I will go to the front line and fight against them. I will not let your majesty down, and heaven and earth can bear witness to this!"

Yang Xiu smiled and said, "Don't be angry, my dear. I didn't say anything. Besides, my Yang family has been Han officials for generations. Now I have joined the new dynasty. Logically, I am also a traitor and have no right to criticize others."

Yang Xin knew that if Yang Xiu continued to talk, Xin Ping would be angry to death, so he quickly tried to smooth things over, "This time, Wei State sent troops and risked everything. If they can't conquer Hannan State, won't they die in Yizhou?"

Ni Heng said, "If they continue like this, they will die sooner or later. Now they can't defeat the Jin army head-on, so they have to find another way."

"But this will put Hannan in danger. They are not as strong as Wei. If they cannot stop the two advances, I am afraid that even if Jin wants to help, it will not be able to rush from Jiangxia and Nanyang to Changsha in time."

Yang Xun hesitated and asked, "Will Your Majesty send troops to rescue us?"

Everyone hesitated, guessing what Yuan Xi was thinking. Yang Xiu said coldly, "When I see His Majesty later, I will firmly oppose saving Hannan."

"Your Majesty, it is not easy to attack Hannan directly now, so it is better to let Wei be the bad guy."

Yang Xun said, "This is not good. We can make suggestions, but the Yang family has been Han officials for generations. If we say this, we will probably be criticized by others."

Yang Xiu said nonchalantly: "What does being a Han minister for generations have to do with Hannan? The emperor of the former Han dynasty abdicated, so what legal succession does Hannan have?"

"Besides, this incident was caused by Hannan's greed. They insisted on occupying the Shangyong-Fangling line. We cannot threaten Hanzhong from two directions, and Wei will not attack from two directions in return."

"Without Jin to share the pressure, I want to see how long Hannan can hold out."

Ni Heng nodded and said, "That's true. When Prime Minister Zhuge went to attack Chang'an, he gave the Shangyong line to Hannan. I thought Hannan would give some rewards, but I didn't expect them to accept it so unceremoniously."

"Do they really think they can defend the two Yizhou passages of Hanzhong and Chengdu at the same time by themselves?"

Yang Xiu sneered, "Considering that the other party's prime minister is Xu Shu, I can guess what he is thinking with my butt."

Xin Ping's eyes flickered. "Xu Shu is a man of great ambition and talent, and he is not inferior to me. I cannot guess his thoughts. Does Dezu know what he is thinking?"

Yang Xiu said, "My dear, you think things are too complicated. I am not a god, nor can I observe the stars like the prime minister, so I naturally cannot know everything."

"What I rely on is to find out what the other party is obsessed with and what the other party is most likely thinking. It's just a game of betting on the size of the bet."

"Just like Xu Shu, he was once called one of the Four Friends with Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, so his ambition and talent must be high. Now they are both one of the Four Friends, and both of them have become prime ministers, but the size of Jin State and Hannan cannot be compared."

"It is impossible that Xu Shu does not have a desire to compare himself with others. Judging from his experiences in the first half of his life, he is an extremely conceited person. So the most likely thing he can do now is to create a career in Hannan that will impress the world."

Yang Xun couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by looking at me with new eyes?"

Yang Xiu smiled and said, "Of course we can compete with the State of Jin."

Xin Ping shook his head and said, "How is this possible? What strength does Hannan have that can compare with the State of Jin?"

"unless……"

His body suddenly shook, "Take the Wu Kingdom's route?"

Ni Heng also reacted, "I've heard that Zhou Yu once proposed to Sun Ce and Sun Jian that the Sun family could first take Jiangdong, then Jingzhou, and finally plot against Yizhou, dividing the country with the northern regime by the river. This is the strategy of dividing the world in two." "Jiangxia happened to be blocking the key point of Jingzhou in this strategy, so it was beaten by the Sun family for more than ten years, and Envoy Huang died because of it."

Everyone also felt that they agreed with this. However, it was precisely because Huang Zu resisted so fiercely that he ruined two generations of the Sun family. In addition, the State of Wu was treacherous that he was chosen by the State of Jin as the first target for elimination. It can be said that this was retribution.

Xin Ping said, "If it is true as Dezu guessed, Xu Shu has big plans. No wonder I heard that he seems to be quite resistant to Jin State and is one of the few diehards in Hannan State."

"If it weren't for these people, perhaps Hannan would have already bowed to Jin."

Ni Heng sneered, "They really overestimate their own strength. They want to divide the country by the river, but they don't even consider whether they have the capital to do so."

"When I meet the king, I will not agree with Jin State to rescue Hannan. If they are so ambitious, they should defeat Wei State independently."

Yang Xun said, "You said that Prime Minister Zhuge slowed down the offensive in Hanzhong Road and asked Wei to withdraw the remaining troops to attack Hannan. Was this situation caused by the king on purpose?"

Yang Xiu smiled and said, "If you want to know, you can ask me in person when His Majesty summons you."

Yang Xun turned pale and said, "How dare I ask such a question in the court? Isn't this tantamount to accusing Your Majesty of being unrighteous?"

Yang Xiu said leisurely: "It's the same if I ask here."

Yang Xun reacted and immediately realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said. He wanted to use this question to bring everyone closer together, but how could he guarantee that no one would relay his words to His Majesty?
In the past few years, I felt that I could get closer to His Majesty because of my wife, but in fact, I lost the sense of the boundary between the monarch and his subject. This is not a good sign!
Thinking of this, he said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you Dezu for reminding me."

Everyone was clear in their minds that it was impossible for His Majesty to be unaware of the current situation. He did not gain the throne by sitting in the court, but went through countless bloodshed and intrigues to reach his current position!
Sure enough, in the afternoon, Yuan Xi summoned several people to the study in the palace and questioned them for most of the day. Only when night fell did he wave his hand and let the hungry people go back to rest.

This time, because Yuan Xi asked a lot of questions, several counselors also said a lot, ranging from the situation of the Three Kingdoms to the future response measures of Jin State. Everyone took turns to speak. Cao Jie could not record it all by himself, so Yuan Xi called Madam Du, who lived nearest, to come and help.

The two women wrote more than a dozen bamboo slips without stopping. After the counselors left, they breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed their sore wrists. Seeing this, Yuan Xi said, "You have worked hard."

"I need to think about it for a while, you guys go back and rest first."

"Of course, it's also possible for the two of you to stay with me."

A blush appeared on Cao Jie's face as she said, "I still have to help my sister take care of the children tonight, so I'll take my leave first." After that, she ran out of the door and disappeared without a trace.

Madam Du couldn't help but smile and said, "Madam Cao is so shy that she can't tell that Your Majesty is teasing her."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "What if it wasn't a joke?"

Madam Du glared at Yuan Xi and said, "Your Majesty is going too far. Madam Cao has only been married for a short time."

"Besides, your majesty has a heavy burden now, not like when he was young."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "Madam is right. I am already powerless now."

The two of them joked for a while, and finally relieved their fatigue a little. Madam Du sorted out the bamboo slips and said, "Over the years, the world has changed so fast, just like running, all driven by your majesty."

"But is Hannan Kingdom really as ambitious as your Majesty's ministers have guessed?"

Yuan Xi said calmly: "There's nothing wrong with being ambitious. When the world is united and the dust settles, the finale should be more exciting, so that it will be interesting."

"The world has changed rapidly over the years, and people's hearts have changed rapidly too. After all, Hannan is not a vassal of the Great Jin, so it is normal for them to have their own ideas. However, they must take corresponding actions and be aware of them."

"Anyway, I am the least anxious person right now. The line of the fishing net is in my hands. As long as I follow the procedures, I will be the one to collect the net."

Madam Du sighed, "These two big fish in the net are the sacrifices for the unification of the world, right?"

"I think some of the advisers are saying that Your Majesty is intentionally promoting this situation?"

"How could His Majesty be such a person..."

"No," Yuan Xi said in a deep voice, "They are right. A large part of the current situation is indeed caused by me intentionally."

"I have never concealed this fact."

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"I have never been a good person in the true sense of the word."

(End of this chapter)