Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 544 Physical and mental illness
Yuan Xilu met with Liu Xun's former subordinates one after another, and learned more about the terrain surrounding Wancheng in more detail. He gradually realized that he had underestimated the importance of Wancheng.

The ancient city of Anhui was roughly located near Anqing in later generations, bordering the Yangtze River to the south, the Dabie Mountains to the northeast, and the Wannan Mountains to the southwest. It was located in a narrow strip of hundreds of miles between the two mountainous areas, guarding the north and south of the Yangtze River from Hubei to Jiangxi. The throat leading to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Transportation in ancient times relied on water transport most of the time. Not only was transportation in mountainous areas inconvenient, but even if people lived in clusters, their lives were often very difficult. After all, only in plain areas with developed water systems can food production be guaranteed to the maximum extent.

In ancient times, those who competed for supremacy in Jiangdong generally focused on three cities: Nanjing in Jiangsu, Wuhan in Hubei, and Jiujiang in Jiangxi.

In the late Han Dynasty, Nanjing was Jianye, Wuhan was Jiangxia, and Jiujiang was Chaisang. Now Chaisang is in the southeast of Wancheng, only a hundred or two hundred miles away, and was attacked and occupied by Sun Ce.

This was a private agreement reached by Yuan Xi and Sun Ce. If Yuan Xi took Chaisang down, Sun Ce could only attack Jingzhou from Yuzhang County on the south bank of the Yangtze River, but the navy would not be able to get through. This was undoubtedly something Sun Ce could not bear.

Even after Yuan Xi gave up Chaisang, the two sides went through extremely difficult bargaining over the ownership of Wancheng. In the end, Sun Ce reluctantly gave up Wancheng temporarily due to various reasons and considerations.

Wancheng has been a very important strategic location for thousands of years, and many wars broke out in later generations. Therefore, after Yuan Xi gradually understood the importance of Wancheng, he began to waver in his previous ideas.

In his initial expectation, Wancheng was only used as a temporary fortress. If it couldn't be defeated, it would be fine to give up. At worst, he would go to Hefei to set up defenses in the future.

But now it seems that the cost of relying on Wancheng to defend is far lower than that of Hefei. If Wancheng cannot be defended, Hefei will be even more difficult to defend. In later generations, it was only after Wu conquered Wancheng that he planned to launch several attacks on Hefei. Massive attack.

However, the importance of Wancheng's location is mainly to prevent Jiangdong Northeast. Both sides know this well. As a result, the two sides are bound to have some conflicts in the future.

The importance of Wancheng to Yuan Xi is that starting from Wancheng, one can directly enter Jingzhou along the southern part of the Dabie Mountains. This is undoubtedly much more convenient than Yuan Xi's previous idea of ​​occupying the south of Black Mountain and moving to Sili Jingzhou.

However, Yuan Xi and Jushou Lu Xun discussed for a long time, and could not think of the possibility of marching westward at the moment. After all, with Yuan Xi's strength in the Jianghuai River, it was an unexpected surprise that he could occupy Lujiang County. If he planned to plot Jingzhou, he would be able to do so. No more arrests.

He looked through the list of officials in Lujiang, and among hundreds of names, he saw an official named Jiao Zhongqing.

Yuan Xi thought for a while and then burst into laughter. In the Han Dynasty, brothers and families were often named after their brothers and uncles. This kind of name is very common. It must be a coincidence, right?
He and Jushou Lu Xun talked for a long time before sorting out the government affairs in the city. Seeing that the sun was about to set in half an hour, he smiled at the two of them and said, "You two have worked hard today. You will go back in the evening." Everyone’s temporary residence, have a good night’s rest, and come back to discuss matters tomorrow.”

He took Sun Li and was escorted by soldiers all the way to Qiao Mansion. On both sides of the road, soldiers and doctors were still busy.

Although food rationing has begun in the city, there are still people dying of cold, starvation and diseases. At this time, under the command of the doctor, the soldiers, their hands and mouths wrapped with several layers of linen, carefully moved the bodies to carts and sent them to Landfill at high places outside the city.

Most of the people who died on both sides of the road had no trace of their relatives and no one was able to bury them. However, it was not good to leave the corpses to rot. Therefore, the previous practice was to throw them outside the city, either into the river, or to leave them exposed in the wilderness. .

There are many water systems around Wancheng, and corpses that pollute water sources after decay are also an important source of diseases, so Yuan Xi specially organized a group of sergeants and doctors to deal with the corpses in the city.

In the long run, the benefits of this kind of move are far greater than the energy spent. Just like Yuan Xi concentrated on food rationing, if the people were allowed to starve to death, it would not only lead to unrest, but also make diseases rampant in the city, forming a vicious cycle.

Under the leadership of Hua Tuo, the doctors of Youzhou Yixue began to study the methods of epidemic prevention and treatment, and now they have achieved initial results. I think if they are promoted throughout the world, the number of deaths due to such causes will be greatly reduced, right?

Everyone arrived at the Qiao Mansion, and the soldiers knocked on the door. Yuan Xi led the people in, only to find two unkempt young girls in tattered linen clothes kneeling at the door to greet Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi said: "Where is Madam?"

The older one said softly: "Reporting to your Majesty, Madam is feeling a little unwell, so please take a rest first."

Yuan Xi heard the woman's clear, soft and pleasant voice, and asked in confusion: "Who are you?"

The woman whispered: "I am the daughter of Mr. Qiao."

Yuan Xi suddenly said: "Are you two big or small Qiao?"

"Why do you dress like this when you have a beautiful and fragrant appearance?"

It was Da Qiao who spoke. His face paled when he heard this. As expected, this fierce tiger found out about his sisters from his father. Otherwise, how could he and Xiao Qiao know about it if he and Xiao Qiao stayed in the boudoir?
Yuan Xi said casually. He was worried about Lu Lingqi's situation, so he walked away. As he left, he said casually to Da Qiao: "You go back and find some clean clothes to freshen up. I will talk to you guys later."

As soon as these words came out, not only Da Qiao, but also Xiao Qiao suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart. Is this a naked hint?
The two of them were kneeling on the ground with their heads lowered. When they heard Yuan Xi's footsteps disappearing, they raised their heads anxiously. They both saw the fear in each other's eyes.

Yuan Xi found Lu Lingqi's room, opened the door and went in. He saw Lu Lingqi sleeping on the couch with her clothes crooked, her halberds and armor thrown casually in the corner, so she walked over and sat on the couch.

Lu Lingqi opened her eyes slightly and said to Yuan Xi, "I am dragging my husband down."

Yuan Xi felt guilty, took Lu Lingqi's hand and said, "I am the one who is sorry for you."

He suddenly felt that the palm of Lu Lingqi's hand was a little hot, and he quickly put his hand on Lu Lingqi's forehead, only to find that her forehead was a little hot, and said in surprise: "Are you sick?"

"Why don't you ask someone to talk to me?"

Lu Lingqi shook her head and forced a smile: "My husband has many things to do, these minor illnesses are nothing."

Yuan Xi was silent, Lu Lingqi must have contracted an illness, but it had something to do with her state of mind. People who are depressed are prone to illness.

He hurriedly called for Hua Tuo. Hua Tuo rushed over and took Lu Lingqi's pulse and said, "It should just be the wind and cold, but there are many people dead in the city now. If there is an epidemic, it is not easy to detect it when it first develops."

"Now I just need to take two doses of medicine to let my wife rest for a few days."

When Hua Tuo came, he brought medicinal herbs. Yuan Xi took them and asked Sun Li to ask the mansion to find two maids to boil the medicine. After a while, the maids arrived.

Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was indeed more convenient to live in a wealthy family's house. If he were in a military camp, who else could take care of Lu Lingqi more conveniently than himself?

He sent Hua Tuo out all the way, and when he reached a deserted place, Yuan Xi lowered his voice and said, "Sir, my wife's illness..."

Hua Tuo sighed and said, "It's not that I'm talking about the young master, but the young master's heart is too big." "There are very few people who don't change their expressions before the collapse of Mount Tai. And among these people, who can know whether they are in the dead of night?" , recalling that terrible scene?”

"A natural disaster like this, let alone killing with my own hands, I don't know what you think, but I feel guilty when I can't save the patient and watch him die, let alone kill with my own hands."

"In the past few years in the military camp, I have discovered that most soldiers are somewhat affected by the matter of killing people. The situation is so serious that they stay up all night and are mentally fragile. In fact, they are no longer suitable for continuing to serve in the army."

"If such a person encounters some accident, it is likely to have a bad impact. If the camp is bombed at night, it will be troublesome."

When Yuan Xi heard this, he was horrified, but he had ignored this. In this era, many soldiers fought just to have food to eat, and there was no lofty goal to motivate them. It seemed that a solution had to be found for the hidden dangers Hua Tuo raised. The solution is.

He quickly thanked him and said, "Thank you sir for reminding me."

Hua Tuo nodded and sighed: "Madam is indeed superb in martial arts, but she is still a human being after all."

"Master, think about it, can you really completely forget those people you killed with your own hands afterwards?"

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said: "Of course not, so I can only force myself to do a lot of things to keep myself busy, so that I will have no time to think about many things."

Hua Tuo nodded and said: "Young Master's idea is indeed valid, but Madam is a woman and has a delicate mind, so it will be more difficult to get out after she is trapped."

Yuan Xi sighed: "I know, so I found some women to accompany her to relax and unwind. Unexpectedly, she got sick again."

Hua Tuo said: "The physical illness can be easily cured, but the mental illness cannot be impatient. The young master knows it well. I don't have anything else to say. I'd better untie my wife more often when I have time."

Yuan Xi bowed and said, "Thank you sir for your advice. I am grateful to you."

Hua Tuo waved his hand and said: "Young master, why are you so polite? I will come back in a few days. During this time, I just want my wife to have a good rest."

Yuan Xi agreed and sent Hua Tuo out. After a moment of silence, he returned to Lu Lingqi's room. The maid outside was squatting beside the stove cooking medicine. Seeing Yuan Xi come in, she quickly knelt down to salute. Yuan Xi waved his hand and said, "No need for these false gifts." , I have troubled you to take care of my wife these days."

Seeing Yuan Xi being so polite, the two maids were a little at a loss and quickly agreed.

Yuan Xi entered the inner room and saw that Lu Lingqi had already sat up. He hurriedly walked to the couch and said, "You need to rest for a while. When the medicine is ready, I will wake you up."

Lu Lingqi shook her head and said, "I'm not tired, I just miss my father and mother a little."

Yuan Xi comforted him and said, "After this battle is over, I will accompany you back to Huaicheng."

He added, "Don't say you went to the battlefield with me, otherwise Marquis Wen would kill me."

Lu Lingqi burst out laughing, "Look how scared you are!"

She then shook her head and said: "The battlefield is indeed not as good as I thought before."

"Why are General Zilong Ziyi and others so strong?"

Yuan Xi sighed: "They are inherently determined, one-in-a-million people."

"And they all have goals they want to achieve. Why did Madam go to the battlefield?"

Lu Lingqi thought for a while and said with a wry smile: "It really... I didn't think of it at all."

"When my master died in front of me, I just wanted to avenge him and vent my anger."

"Later I discovered that the matter was not that simple. Yang Feng was not the real culprit. The man behind the scenes, Cao Mengde, was my husband's biggest enemy. It was difficult to even get close, let alone kill him."

"I was so angry that I suddenly felt that killing people was a bit boring."

Yuan Xi sighed: "It's my fault. At your age, you should be carefree and enjoying the beauty of life."

"You should rest in peace and recuperate first, and relieve your worries. We are not in a hurry to leave."

After hearing this, Lu Lingqi nodded slightly.

Not long after, the medicine was cooked. Yuan Xi saw that there were soothing herbs in the prescription, so Lu Lingqi drank half a bowl of porridge before taking the medicine. Not long after, Lu Lingqi fell asleep on the bed.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi covered Lu Lingqi with a quilt, stood up and said to the two maids: "I'm going to trouble you to take care of my wife these few nights. If anything happens, just come to me directly."

The two maids responded and sent Yuan Xi out before they returned.

One person whispered softly: "This makes you have a good temper."

Another person worriedly said: "Let's take care of the madam, what will happen to the two girls?"

Another person said helplessly: "We can't leave now. We can only let the two girls suffer for a few days, and then report to the emperor."

At this time, Da Qiao looked out the window, worried in his heart. The ferocious tiger had taken away both himself and his little sister's maids. What he was going to do next was self-evident!

(End of this chapter)