Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 901: Giving up the good and pursuing the weak
It snowed again in Jicheng. A hundred miles outside the city, one group of scouts met another group.

This place is not a war zone, and most of the teams are on routine patrols, so as usual when they meet, they mostly say hello, exchange information, and compare the game they caught.

This envoy had all the migratory birds going south to spend the winter, so the birds were almost invisible, so the animals they hunted were almost all animals. In one team, there was even a black bear with its internal organs eviscerated on the back of the horse.

Among the two teams of scouts, one led by Sun Li and his good friend, the same ones who met Yuan Xi at the city gate last time.

This man's name was Huo Zhi, and he came from a relatively wealthy family, so he had martial arts skills. Although he was not as good as Sun Li, who had been taught by famous generals, he had grown up on horses since he was a child, and he also had a unique skill in archery.

He was actually quite depressed when he came in. The last time he interrogated Yuan Xi by mistake, although it seemed that he was fine, Yuan Xi did not ask his name in the end. This was tantamount to losing an excellent opportunity.

So he thought about it and returned to the scouting force. There should be a war soon in the coming year. He couldn't miss this opportunity again!
It happened that Sun Li was ordered to assess the scout teams, but this time he followed Huo Zhi's team. Now Sun Li is serving as the governor of Qu under Tian Yu, with 500 soldiers under his command. This is already the highest status among Tian Yu's deputy.

Of course, it was not only Sun Li who was in charge of the assessment, but also some of Yuan Xi's capable guards. In fact, these people were secretly competing with each other, especially Sun Li and others who did not participate in the Battle of Qingzhou.

The reason for this is that in this battle of Qingzhou, the interleaving tactics used by Yuan Xijun's scouts were brilliant. Each cavalry team of dozens of people had the ability to fight alone, find food on the spot, and replenish themselves. The leaders of each team have proven that they are worthy of training!
This battle was very exciting for Sun Li, a veteran scout who had not participated in the battle. He thought that he could do it if he went into battle, but he was not given a chance to prove it. , when seeing his peers who couldn't hide their proud look, there was quite a complex feeling of envy and jealousy in their hearts.

Huo Zhi saw that the opponent had shot the black bear, so he rode over. He only glanced at it, then his expression changed slightly and he said, "What a precise shot!"

Sun Li returned the greeting sourly: "I've met the sect governor."

Seeing that Sun Li still didn't understand his intentions, he came closer and said, "Director Zhang Qu, it doesn't matter if we spar in private on weekdays. Now we are all leading troops. No matter who loses, it will breed distrust among our subordinates."

"If you want to compete, it will be a competition to kill the enemy, just like the day when my lord bet with General Zhao to kill the Huns."

"Why is your marksmanship so good?"

This black bear, which weighed at least 200 kilograms, was killed by a spear. There was only a small wound around the eye on its body. Apparently, the shot had shattered its brain.

The scout said embarrassedly: "It wasn't me, it was my subordinate who beat me."

Zhang Fang shook his head, "I am indeed not as good as Qu Du. If I lose, I will lose face. Why don't we find a chance to compete in private?"

Zhang Fang smiled and said: "I have been following my lord for a long time, and I have seen many generals with extraordinary martial arts training and performing martial arts. I watched from the side and gradually learned a little bit."

Zhang Fang's current official position is that of the subordinate governor, and he is the subordinate supervisor of thieves throughout the whole process. This is an official position that has existed in the Han Dynasty. He is a direct official in the general's mansion and is responsible for commanding the guards.

When the scouts on both sides heard this, they all became friendly and took the opportunity to surround him. However, Zhang Fang still resisted, saying that he had injured his arm while riding, so he just gave up.

He looked at the wound on the black bear's eye and said, "Don't you use a knife?"

He became more competitive and said to Zhang Fang, "Just as this round of patrol is over, how about I ask my subordinate for advice?"

This official position seems to have a hard-to-pronounce name, but it is the most core guard commander, similar to Zhi Jinwu beside the emperor, which shows that Zhang Fang is now highly regarded by Yuan Xi.

But if you get close, the horse will be frightened, so if you want to get a complete bear hide, you have to either use a clamp or close up.

After hearing this, Zhang Fang looked troubled and said, "I still have some things to do here. How about another day?"

Sun Li, who was following, was startled when he heard this. Then he saw Zhang Fang from the opposite team coming over to salute him and said, "I've seen Governor Sun Qu."

Bear skins are quite valuable, but black bears are difficult to fight, because they hibernate in winter, and those that come out occasionally are starved, very ferocious, and extremely difficult to deal with. To deal with such black bears, usually He was shot to death with a bow and arrow, but the bear skin would often be damaged in several places and its value would be greatly reduced.

Sun Li was a little reluctant, "It's already dinner time. It doesn't take much effort to decide the winner while cooking."

To be fair, Sun Li's official position as Governor of Qu was one level higher than that of Zhang Fang, but Sun Li was a little jealous because Zhang Fang had repeatedly made military exploits and was highly appreciated by Yuan Xi. He seemed to have surpassed Sun Li.

Sun Li was stunned, self-taught?
He still didn't believe in himself, and he also saw that the skill of this shot, both in strength and technique, was just right. If he could learn it by himself, wouldn't he look very incompetent if he had been taught by Zhao Yuntai Shici?

After hearing this, Sun Li became angry and said coldly: "Do you think Li is not qualified to ask for advice?"

"After this battle, my lord and General Zhao turned enemies into friends and established a huge foundation. We have the best in front of us, so why choose such a strategy where one side is bound to lose?"

"There will be battles to fight in the coming year, and I will be willing to compete with Governor Qu when the time comes."

"Farewell."

Watching Zhang Fang leading the people away, Sun Li stood blankly in the snow, and for the first time he began to think, has he been too unprogressive in the past few years?
What Guo Jia said before echoed in Sun Li's ears again, "It's not a good thing if you don't want to use your brain. No matter how brave you are, you are just a common man on the battlefield."

"Only those who can really use their brains can become strong generals. Do you think any one of the Lord's bodyguards is not a smart person?"

"Not to mention anything else, Cao Cao's bodyguards first included Dian Wei and then Xu Chu. They are both smarter than ordinary generals. Otherwise, how could they identify assassins and protect the lord?" At that time, Sun Li was quite disapproving, feeling that Guo Jia was treating him badly. The requirements are too high. The targets are all Zhao Yuntai Shici. Those are all famous generals with outstanding talents. How can I compare with them?

However, Zhang Fang's words today made Sun Li suddenly wake up. Zhang Fang, whom he had looked down on before, was now ahead of him in terms of martial arts and overall outlook, but he was still standing still!

In comparison, Zhang Fang is more like a Qudu, but can he be qualified as a subordinate?

Zhang Fang has made such rapid progress. Even if he returns to Yuan Xi, can he really do better than Zhang Fang?

And now that he has been away for a year, Yuan Xi has already conquered two states. His speed is so fast, can he still meet Yuan Xi's requirements?
Huo Zhi saw Sun Li in a daze and went up to comfort him: "Brother, if you want to compete with him, there will be many opportunities in the future..."

Sun Li sighed: "That's not the case."

He got on his horse and said, "Go back to the city now."

Huo Zhi quickly asked someone to ride a horse to follow him, and he said: "When I return to the city, I will invite my elder brother to the wine shop..."

Sun Li shook his head and said, "No, hurry up and train your troops. I want to go back and read the military books."

He looked at the horizon in the distance and said, "If you don't work hard, you won't be able to keep up with big brother."

At this time, Yuan Xi and Mi Zhen were checking the goods in the store. The two of them watched the shopkeeper introduce the specialties of Youzhou one by one. Then several shopkeepers under Mi Zhen went up to check and compare the specialties of Youzhou and Xuzhou. different.

As the furs, wild ginseng, hairy grass and other items were taken out one by one, several shopkeepers of the Mi Family Trading Company couldn't help but said: "Although the Mi Family Trading Company has been purchasing goods from Youzhou, I have to say that this place is full of treasures. "

"In the past, the roads were inconvenient, and the prices of goods in Youzhou were very high. But now that you have opened up the trade route from the north to Liaodong, and built waterways and land routes. With smooth roads, transportation costs will be reduced, and the price of goods has been reduced to half of the previous price. .”

"These specialties from Youzhou are very popular in Xuzhou. It would be great if they could be reduced in quantity."

Yuan Xi sighed: "It's bitter cold in Youzhou. Whether it's fur or wild ginseng, the locals risked their lives to go into the mountains to find it. When the merchants bought it and sold it at a higher price, they actually made most of the profit. I just tried to reduce the cost of the trade route. If I suppress it, The purchase price is just a matter of giving up the good and chasing the bad. There is no reason to build a road and make people poor."

"This is the basis for establishing a foothold in Youzhou. You must remember this, otherwise merchants will become the enemies of the people and will inevitably suffer backlash."

Several shopkeepers were frightened when they heard the warning in Yuan Xi's words, and quickly stood up and agreed.

Yuan Xi asked the waiter on the side to bring the fish soup that had been cooked to everyone, and said: "This is the sea fish from the Liaodong sea, you can try it."

When everyone took the fish soup into their mouths, they felt it was extremely mellow, and their eyes suddenly lit up. They were all experts. Only a little salt was put in this fish pond, but it was so delicious!

A shopkeeper opened the fish meat, put it into his lips and chewed it carefully, and said in surprise: "This seems to be different from the fish in Xuzhou."

"There seems to be a hint of sweetness in it, which is completely different from the flavor of Huaishui and Yangtze River."

Yuan Xi said: "Because the place where the fish is caught is in cold waters all year round."

"For fish, the colder the water, the more delicious the meat. It is said that the fish and crabs produced in the far north are the best in the world."

A shopkeeper suddenly said: "It is true. Mi's Trading Company has also collected fish caught from Jiangdong, but the place of production is warm all year round, and the fish in the water do not seem to have this kind of taste in their meat."

"If this fish were shipped to Jiangdong, the price would be several times higher."

Yuan Xi sighed: "It's difficult. The fish is almost dead when it comes out of the water, so it can only be kept in winter."

"Furthermore, the waters in the North are cold and you will die if you fall into the water. The risk of fishing is much greater than that in Jiangdong, so the cost is also higher."

"Risks are always accompanied by opportunities. The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. We also face difficulties. These border residents in the land of Youyan, who fight for food with their lives, will definitely be rich. The people of Xuzhou can endure hardships. This is caused by the environment, and who It doesn’t matter, the people of Xuzhou can also endure hardships when they arrive in Youzhou.”

"The people of Youzhou have experienced hardship, so they know how to be grateful. However, in comparison, Jiangdong's life is too comfortable, so their thoughts have an ambiguous smell of decay."

Mi Zhen knew that Yuan Xi was referring to what he said, so she said, "I will turn my business from Jiangdong to Youzhou as much as possible."

Yuan Xi laughed, "Madam, I know in my heart that in the long run, doing business with the border people in Youzhou is much better than doing business with those treacherous people in Jiangdong who don't know when they will fall out."

Mi Zhen believed that her husband had indeed not forgotten Jiangdong's sneak attack, and he was afraid that Jiangdong would not be able to escape after the Beidi was pacified.

It's not good for Jiang Dong to offend anyone. He insists on offending the vengeful Yuan Xi. I don't know what he thinks.

(End of this chapter)