Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1468: Letter
The reason why Liu Chan was so polite to the Xiahou family was because in Liu Bei's will before his death, he really asked Liu Chan to treat the Zhang family as relatives.

This is also the reason why Liu Chan could only endure such a move by the State of Jin. Even if Xiahou really had some private agreement with the State of Jin, could he still put him in jail?
In fact, when it comes to governing the country, Liu Chan's ability is far inferior to Cao Pi's, but the biggest difference between the two is that Liu Chan still respects Liu Bei very much, and he does not have the rebellious mentality towards the Cao clan, so when he summons Xiahou to question him, he still inquires with the attitude of a junior.

Xiahou had been quite conflicted, but now that Liu Chan asked her about it, she made up her mind and said, "Your Majesty, I asked my daughter to carry the coffin northward just to show her filial piety, and there was no other intention."

"Of course, the cause of the incident was that I did not want him to be my sidekick. This is my fault. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I have no complaints."

Seeing Lady Xiahou kneeling down, Liu Chan hurriedly stood up, helped her up and said, "Aunt, you are too kind. I was wrong first, how dare I blame you?"

"When the late emperor was alive, the three families were as close as one. That's why the late emperor left me a will, saying that I should treat my aunt as my closest relative and be filial to her. I dare not forget it for a day."

"I was too greedy about taking a concubine. I thought that the two families were close, but I ignored my aunt's thoughts. This is my fault."

"In that case, I will withdraw my previous proposal to take a concubine. I hope that you can forgive my nephew's mistake."

Xiahou said quickly, "Your Majesty, please be kind to me. It is because I am not blessed enough that I dare not marry your Majesty."

Liu Chan smiled bitterly and said, "Aunt, please don't say that. If my sister can become the Queen of Jin, she will be second only to the emperor and above all others."

Xiahou said quickly, "If Your Majesty is unwilling, I will immediately write a letter to refuse, and it will never affect the affairs of Hannan."

After hearing this, Liu Chan shook his head and said, "I have no reason to stand in my sister's way."

"In fact, I also know that the possibility of Hannan's restoration is very small now, and this is the expectation left to me by the late emperor. There is no need for me to force it on my aunt."

"I have thought it through. Not only will I not obstruct you, but I will also provide a dowry in Hannan's name so that you can have a grand wedding."

"Besides, the marriage between the two families can also ease the relationship between Hannan and Jin, which is beneficial to national affairs. Moreover, the Zhang and Liu families are one, so this is like a marriage between the two countries, which is a good thing for Hannan."

"My sister is getting married, so my aunt will definitely go there, so I would like to ask my aunt to pass on the message and convey my intention to make friends."

"What do you think, aunt?"

Xiahou was in mixed emotions. She knew that Liu Chan was giving both sides a way out, so she immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I will obey your orders."

After Lady Xiahou left, Liu Chan stood up, feeling lost. He knew that after sending Lady Xiahou to the north, she might not come back.

He thought that this was a good thing, because what was next would be a life-and-death battle between Wei and Hannan. If Wei made a desperate move, Hannan might not be able to resist. It was good that the Xiahou family left Changsha, this dangerous vortex, so that he could be said to have repaid the favor of the previous generation on behalf of his father.

The news that Wei State gave up Nanzhong and mobilized its remaining troops to attack Baidi City soon reached Yuan Xi in Jicheng.

At that time, he was talking to Miss Zhang in the study, accompanied by Zhen Mi. Seeing Miss Zhang's uneasy look, Yuan Xi said, "I know you have been very frightened."

"In fact, when Queen Zhen asked you before, you agreed directly. I was also surprised, but I thought that if you are willing, it would be the best thing."

"What I'm worried about is that you have to agree to it because of other factors, which makes you depressed and unhappy after becoming the Crown Princess, and makes you regret it for the rest of your life. That's not what I want."

"I don't want to use my power to bully others, so I'm worried that you might sacrifice yourself because of Hannan, so I came to question you. What are your true thoughts?"

"I can assure you that whether this matter succeeds or not, it will not affect the relationship between Jin and Hannan."

After hearing this, Zhang quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for asking. I am truly ashamed."

"My ancestors were born in Zhuo County. They were just good families. They were not comparable to the Yuan family at all. That's why I have always been worried and uneasy."

Zhen Mi comforted him, "It's nothing. When it comes to marriage, the emperor doesn't care about family background. If you really want to talk about it, few families can match the Yuan family, and the Zhen family is the same."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's right. The choice of queen depends on her virtue. In my eyes, Queen Zhen has always been the best candidate."

Zhang felt relieved after hearing this and said, "What I am worried about is my mother who is far away in Changsha. Zizi's marriage needs the approval of her parents. Now I am alone and I dare not take the initiative to avoid violating filial piety."

Yuan Xi said, "Don't worry about that. I have already sent a letter to Hannan, making this a state affair to avoid involving Madam Xiahou."

"Now I will wait for Hannan's reply. If he disagrees, I will not force you and will definitely send someone to escort you back safely."

Zhang heard this and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is so kind, I am deeply grateful."

Yuan Xi asked Zhen Mi to help Zhang get up and said, "Actually, I have another concern."

"You also know that when I asked the prince if he had a crush on someone, he didn't choose Miss Sun, but mentioned your name." "I was very confused at that time. You have only met a few times. Was he just being unilateral and forcing you to do it? If there is any truth, you can tell me and I will be fair."

Zhang heard this and said quickly, "That is absolutely not the case. The prince behaved politely to me, which is what a gentleman should do."

Yuan Xi thought for a moment and said, "Then you personally have no objection?"

Zhang blushed slightly and nodded gently. Yuan Xi said, "I understand. You can go back first."

Seeing Zhang leave, Yuan Xi said to Zhen Mi: "Sometimes, things are really unpredictable. After more than ten years together, it's not as good as meeting each other a few times."

"Although Xiang'er is a few years older than Rui'er, it shouldn't be like there's no love between them. I'm really surprised that they are so resolute in their attitudes."

Zhen Mi covered her mouth and smiled: "Maybe it's because we are too familiar with each other, so I feel that there is only a sister-brother relationship."

Yuan Xi thought, could it be that the childhood sweetheart cannot beat the one who came from heaven? However, since it was Yuan Rui who chose it, there was no need for him to go against his will in this matter. After all, this was a lifelong event.

He then showed Zhen Mi the military intelligence he had sent her, and said, "The State of Wei is going to make a desperate attempt."

"The prime minister took advantage of the rainy season and attacked Hanzhong ahead of schedule, causing Wei to misjudge. So after the loss of Hanzhong, Wei fell into a frenzy of fighting like a trapped beast."

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

"Since they don't have time to capture the Shu-Shendu Road in the south, and can't defeat the Jin army that is forcing their way from Hanzhong, they can only put all their forces in the direction of Jingzhou where the Hannan Kingdom is located."

"If they mobilize the whole country's troops and take advantage of the Yangtze River flowing downstream, with Hannan's current national strength, even Guan Yunchang may not be able to stop them."

Zhen Mi said, "Your Majesty, have you already discussed this situation with your advisers?"

Yuan Xi stood up and sighed: "That's right, in fact, I have become a person who will do anything to seize the world."

Zhen Mi shook her head and said, "I feel that my husband has never changed from the beginning to the end."

"Your Majesty, now, just like when you got married, you care about the people of the world."

"This approach is now only to unify the world as soon as possible."

Yuan Xi sighed: "That's what he said, but after all, it's not so fair and aboveboard."

"All I can do now is to send troops to Nanjun of Jingzhou. If Hannan Kingdom is unable to hold out, I will be ready to support it at any time."

"Of course, the premise is that they ask for help. Otherwise, the Jin army will not be able to enter Hannan territory without permission. Everything depends on how the war develops."

He changed the subject and said, "In comparison, the vitality of the foreign tribes such as the Xianbei outside the Great Wall is really strong."

"As expected of a nation that has experienced the desert wind and sand for thousands of years, they have already forged an extremely tenacious will and are not so easy to divide and destroy."

"If the Youzhou defense line in the north is lost and they enter the Central Plains or even Jianghuai, I can't imagine what will happen."

In the past few years, Yuan Xi has been raising Gu on a large scale on the grassland. Not only has he released many strange sects, he has also formed alliances between tribes, bribed them with money and titles, and suppressed the diehards who invaded the Central Plains. He has tried every possible means and achieved obvious results, but inevitably, it has also given rise to several tribes that are more diehard than before.

After the brutal killings and annexations, these emerging tribes became even more extremely stubborn than before. The increasingly prosperous Youzhou was undoubtedly very attractive to them, so the calls for invasion to the south never stopped.

Yuan Xi also took strict precautions against this. As soon as there were signs of danger, he would seek help from other tribes close to Jin to encircle and suppress them in order to prevent any danger from happening.

But after all, the northern border of tens of thousands of miles is too long. Not only are there Xianbei and Wuhuan, but also Xiongnu and Qiang. Many of these tribes are still uncivilized, so they cannot measure and compare their own strength well. They have an extremely perverted desire for plunder. At this time, neither negotiation nor appeasement policy will have a very poor effect.

This is also a problem that the Central Plains encounters when facing foreign races. When foreign races are in the barbaric tribal era, they cannot understand that the policy of peaceful relations is the way for both sides to coexist and develop. In their eyes, plundering and killing are the fastest and most convenient means, so they will not consider other options.

For such tribes, the first thing to do is to gradually civilize them through cultural exchanges so that they have basic judgment. The second thing to do is to fight them directly and beat them until they feel they are going to be destroyed, and then they will bow their heads and surrender.

Yuan Xi was also speechless about this. There is a saying that killing is the best means of negotiation. Although he did not quite agree with this, sometimes it takes two to tango.

However, the difference between Chinese culture and later colonial culture is that China used war to make the other side surrender, then absorbed and assimilated it, and finally integrated it into one, while colonial culture relied on killing, almost annihilating the other side, and then taking over the other side's nest.

Yuan Xi still wanted to try the former as much as possible. After all, the grassland was large enough to accommodate many peoples who sang and danced and pursued peace.

(End of this chapter)