Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 785 The so-called stargazing

After listening to Sun Quan's selection of candidates for peace talks, everyone did not react for a while.

Zhang Zhao?

Didn't he criticize Fierce Tiger a lot? Wouldn't it be a bad thing to let him go for peace talks?

After a while, everyone understood what Sun Quan meant, and they suddenly felt a sense of admiration.

That's it!

Among several counselors who are highly valued and capable of acting independently, Zhou Yu is injured, Lu Su tends to keep things quiet, and may give in during negotiations, thus damaging Jiangdong's interests. However, Zhang Zhao is hostile to Yuan Xi, so he will definitely stick to the bottom line. Indeed, is the right candidate!

However, at this time, Zhang Zhao was sweating from his vest.

What does Sun Quan mean by this, is he letting himself die?

If he offends Yuan Xi and the negotiation fails, or if he gives in too much in the negotiation, will Sun Quan punish him when he comes back?

Shouchun, Yuan Xi's official residence

"The emergence of the bud of capitalism will inevitably lead to the dilemma of shortage of raw materials, which will lead to the expansion of the desire for external plunder."

"I don't understand this sentence. I hope my lord can clarify it."

When Yuan Xi saw Zhuge Liang holding the bamboo slips and asking questions, he thought, "Isn't Zhuge Liang usually very busy? Why is he interested in this? How can he explain to him?"

Seeing that he was in trouble with Yuan Xi, Zhuge Liang said seriously: "Your Majesty asked me to come up with a way to run business and revitalize the treasury. Naturally, I have to study your lord's economic theory carefully to understand your lord's thoughts."

"My lord, no one has discovered it before, but Liang still doesn't understand the subtle joints inside, so I came here to ask for advice."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly. He had only a smattering of economic knowledge in his previous life, and he did not dare to say that his understanding was definitely correct. He had not yet formed a complete self-consistent system. It was okay to entertain himself, but he wanted to convince a smart man like Zhuge Liang. , it is necessary to draw references from other sources and cannot use examples beyond this era. It is a headache no matter how you think about it.

However, he rarely has free time recently. Firstly, he is waiting to negotiate with Jiangdong. Secondly, the situation in Yanzhou and Qingzhou is unclear. He cannot rush into the army without ascertaining the truth. So these days, he only asks Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and others to step up training of soldiers. , be ready to respond to emergencies at any time.

The only thing that Yuan Xi regretted was that Taishi Ci, who was proficient in naval warfare, was injured in the Battle of Chaohu. Although his internal organs were not injured, there were some serious external injuries and he needed to rest for at least several months.

However, according to reliable news from Jiangdong, Zhou Yu, who was not found by Taishi Ci at the time, was actually much more seriously injured than Taishi Ci. It is said that it took Hua Tuo more than an hour to dig out several pieces of meat from Zhou Yu's body. An iron nail and a steel ball, Zhou Yu has been in bed to recuperate since then, and has not shown up yet.

This must be a serious internal injury, otherwise it wouldn't be like this.

Yuan Xi did not expect Hua Tuo to kill Zhou Yu with one knife during the operation. After all, Hua Tuo was not a dead soldier, and if Zhou Yu could survive, there would actually be room for maneuver on both sides, otherwise it would only increase Jiangdong's hatred.

What depresses Yuan Xi the most is that it was Zhou Yu who took action first. In order to concentrate on dealing with Cao Cao, he had already made a lot of concessions, but the other party still kept pushing forward. He felt aggrieved.

But even so, Yuan Xi can actually understand Zhou Yu's thoughts, because Zhou Yu's loyalty and stance towards Jiangdong are unquestionable, and he is one of the few people in this era who has unique insight.

Before his death, his later generation also strongly advised Sun Quan that Liu Bei was too great a threat and must find a way to kill him.

His words were so fierce that he could be called the most hostile person to Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms era. Even Cao Cao, who had been reported by Liu Bei, felt ashamed.

In fact, if you put Yuan Xi in Jiang Dong's position, you should still understand Zhou Yu's painstaking efforts, because Jiang Dong's shortcomings are too obvious.

There is almost no possibility of success in the Northern Expedition.

In the Central Plains, cavalry is a very important strategic resource, but it is difficult to raise horses in Jiangdong.

Because horses are not ruminants, horse manure is acidic. Unlike cow and sheep manure, which can remain in the ground directly, it requires a certain fermentation process, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources.

Not only that, raising horses requires a lot of water and pasture. An adult horse requires about fifty acres of pasture, and horse manure and urine will seriously pollute the water source. This is extremely troublesome in the Jiangdong area with rich water systems and extending in all directions.

Therefore, the cost of raising horses in Jiangdong is extremely high, and the horse breeds are not good. Later Sun Quan would rather spend a lot of money to buy horses from Shuhan, Liaodong and even Cao Wei than to open a horse farm by himself.

Therefore, if Jiangdong wants to go north to the Central Plains, he must occupy Jianghuai and seize Jingzhou. At this point, the conflict between Yuan Xi and Sun Quan is irreconcilable. As long as Sun Quan is ambitious, the conflict will break out again sooner or later.

Now Yuan Xi can only beat Sun Quan painfully and make him bow his head temporarily, because Yuan Xi now needs a time window to deal with Cao Cao. Both parties should be well aware of this, but both parties have to hold their noses in this drama. Go down.

Yuan Xi suddenly woke up and was distracted. He first glanced at Da Qiao who was kneeling in the corner of the room making tea, and then said to Zhuge Liang who was waiting quietly in front of him: "Sorry, I was distracted."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "My lord, why do you need to say that? I'm afraid that my lord has too many things hidden in his heart and is busy all the time, so that's why he is like this."

"This is not the way to live a long life. I hope my lord will put your health first."

Yuan Xi said helplessly: "Although I know that the military advisor talks a lot, there are many things that I really can't let go of now."

"And the military advisor has the nerve to tell me that he has to do everything personally. I heard that the military advisor stayed up late to deal with political affairs when he came in. It's not an urgent military situation, so it can't be done the next day?"

Zhuge Liang paused after hearing this, and then said: "Liang followed his lord and discovered that the things taught by his lord in setting up a free school were very different from those in Jingzhou's free school."

"In addition to astronomy, geography, yin and yang and the five elements, the young master also came up with economic theory and other things that had not been published or clarified by previous generations. Liang was very happy to see it and just wanted to understand it as soon as possible to find out the truth."

"It's just that before that, Liang was a little confused."

"Is this what my lord is thinking about alone, or is he using other means...?" Yuan Xi laughed, "I knew that the military advisor would not be able to help but ask me, but I just opened my mouth today, and it was already beyond my expectation. "

"I heard that the military advisor likes to watch stars, and I am famous for stargazing, but the military advisor has never asked this question these days."

Zhuge Liang said solemnly: "I want to see it with my own eyes first."

"What did the military advisor see?" Yuan Xi asked.

Zhuge Liang replied without hesitation: "What my lord knows is definitely not from stargazing."

"If my lord is really good at stargazing, not only looking up to the sky to observe the stars all the time, but at least when there is a life or death crisis, or a war emergency, he will look at the stars unconsciously."

"But during the Battle of Chaohu, except for the launch of rockets and fireworks, the Lord never looked at the sky once."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly. It was indeed not easy to hide this from Zhuge Liang.

He said slowly: "I am good at stargazing, but I am not good at it."

"The military advisor can be understood as seeing things in the future in dreams, but these things may indeed happen, or have already happened."

"These things may change to a completely different outcome with my intentional intervention, who knows the process, but it may also happen as usual due to my lack of strength or other factors."

After Zhuge Liang heard this, a strange look appeared on his face, "Is this happening?"

"This is too unbelievable. If my lord hadn't been honest with others, Liang would have almost thought that my lord was trying to frustrate me."

"What did my lord see before?"

Yuan Xi thought for a while and hesitated: "Cao Song was killed, Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou twice, Gongsun Zan asked for help in Montenegro, the Central Plains was plagued by locusts, and Cao Cao went to Nanyang to recruit Zhang Xiu?"

Zhuge Liang was even more surprised, "Can you see such detailed things?"

"Is this the reason why my lord conquered the north and south and gained the upper hand time and time again?"

Yuan Xi shook his head, "Yes and no."

"In fact, the general trend of the world has undergone great changes with my intervention and the changes in the forces of all parties."

"Just like me, I thought that Cao Cao's kidnapping of the emperor and my father's death were all three years later, but they all happened early."

"What I know is more like the ending recorded in the history books of later generations, and history is full of chance. An arrow, a horse stumble, may even change the outcome of a war, or even change the entire world."

"Although I know these things, there is no guarantee that I will survive every battle. The life and death crises I encounter are all things I have not seen before, and they all require my own strength to resolve."

"And what I have done proves that history can be changed through people's active efforts and wishes. The so-called providence is nothing more than the result of the combined efforts of all people in the world."

"If there are enough people who contribute and the will is strong enough, I believe the human heart can prevail over God's will."

"No, it's not that you can, but you must."

"Man can conquer heaven."

After Zhuge Liang heard this, he solemnly said: "Liang has taken note of what my lord said."

"My lord looks at the sky but doesn't believe in God's will. He is really strange."

"My lord, do you know that if these things can be publicized to the world, it will not be a more legendary thing than the great ancestor killing the white snake. It will undoubtedly strengthen the rumors that the Han Dynasty is the leader."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said: "It's just a rumor spread through false rumors."

Then he said seriously: "But if the war in the world can be ended as soon as possible and fewer innocent people die, I am not afraid of adding fuel to these rumors."

Hearing this, Zhuge Liang's brows, which originally had a trace of worry, relaxed, "Liang just began to understand what kind of person my lord is today."

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "The military advisor is not worried that I have been acting, but in fact it is all lies?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head, "Although Liang is not talented, he can still tell the truth from lies."

He stood up and said, "Liang, I'll take my leave now. I'll come back to ask my lord for advice when I calm down."

"Otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to help but ask about my life and ending."

Looking at Zhuge Liang's leaving figure, Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh at Zhuge Liang's firmness. If it were him, he might have asked right away.

At this time, the water in the copper stove in front of Da Qiao boiled, and the copper kettle made a whining sound. Yuan Xi forgot about it, but saw Da Qiao looking at him, and said softly: "Can you tell me what you saw?" Do you want to live up to my concubine’s fate?”

(End of this chapter)