Yuan Xi leaned against the carriage wall and relaxed his limbs.
When Wu Zhao saw it, he leaned forward, put his hands on Yuan Xi's temples, and kneaded them gently.
Yuan Xi felt Wu Zhao's softness trembling on his shoulders, and couldn't help but feel a little distraught. He quickly calmed down and said, "When I was in Beixin City, I was always doing things. When I returned to Yecheng, it was just words."
Wu Zhao smiled and said: "When fighting on the battlefield, you stand in front of you and use your strategy, and when you use your mouth, you are also fighting."
Yuan Xi was stunned: "The number of battles is too many. It's really not as good as the days of farming in Youzhou."
Wu Zhao sighed: "But if we don't fight, we can't farm with peace of mind."
Yuan Xi was deeply touched: "It's true that if you can only gather food, others can gather troops, but in the end you still get nothing."
“In the end, it’s the battlefield that has the final say.”
Wu Zhao said softly: "I believe that Young Master is more qualified than others to end the troubled times."
"What happens after the troubled times?" Yuan Xi suddenly asked: "What will happen if another Han Ling Emperor appears?"
Wu Zhao was startled, "Then..."
Yuan Xi sighed: "Having a child is like opening a blind box. No one knows what his father will become like after he dies."
"The same goes for the Emperor."
Wu Zhao asked curiously: "What is a blind box?"
Yuan Xi just woke up and explained: "It's similar to..."
"gamble?"
"You never know if the die under the bowl is one or six."
Wu Zhao chuckled: "If you say that, I can understand."
"As you said, the king is the king, and the minister is the minister. If you are unlucky and encounter a foolish king, the whole world will suffer."
Yuan Xi shook his head: "There is no eternal dynasty. Even Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said that those who succeeded the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao. Obviously he can understand better than future generations."
Wu Zhao laughed after hearing this and said, "It's this prophecy that makes the Third Young Master deliberately plan to deal with you."
Yuan Xi wanted to sigh: "This Yecheng is really depressing, but the people in Beixin City are kind. I kind of want to go back."
Me too.
Wu Zhao thought to himself.
Because that's where we met.
She was a little envious of Zhen Mi, who would be able to stand openly and openly with Yuan Xi in the future, while she could only hide in the dark.
But it's good like this now. If he really wants to regain his identity, the Wei family will take him back.
Wu Zhao didn't want this. Everyone close to him had died. Yuan Xi might be the only person in the world who cared about him.
No matter how many concubines he has in the future or how many people like him, he doesn't care.
Just being by his side is enough.
The two returned to Yuan's Mansion, only to see officials and guards coming in and out from time to time inside and outside the mansion's gate. It was obvious that something had happened.
Yuan Xi took Wu Zhao into the mansion, but saw Yuan Shao hurriedly walking out with several counselors.
When Yuan Shao saw Yuan Xi, a strange look appeared on his face and he said, "Xian Yi, you've got it right again."
"A major locust plague occurred in Sili. It came very quickly and has already entered Jizhou and Yanzhou."
"A few days ago, I urged all counties and counties to harvest autumn grains early. In some places, the nobles were obedient and disobeyed, and they were the ones who suffered in the end."
"But this time, you have made a meritorious service again. I want to meet the stranger behind you when I have time."
"You come with me now."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he explained a few words to Wu Zhao and then followed Yuan Shao and Yuan Shang out.
Yuan Shang followed Yuan Shao, gnashing his teeth. There really was an expert behind Yuan Xi!
Yuan Xi pretended not to notice that his third brother was getting into trouble, and since he couldn't do anything about him for the time being, he treated him as if he was being stared at by a dog.
Yuan Shao took Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to summon officials and counselors from all sides, and at the same time arranged for soldiers to pass orders to various places in Jizhou to report the emergency and order the wheat harvest immediately.
Within a few days, the locust plague swept across the entire territory of Jizhou and Yanzhou, and rushed into Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Wherever it went, there was no growth and no crops were harvested.
Yuan Xi sorted through the disaster reports from various places, and felt a little uncomfortable. The locust plague had indeed happened. Now I am afraid that many people would be displaced and have a hard time surviving the winter.
As for not informing the world about the locust plague in advance, he doesn't feel guilty about this boring thing.
He owes nothing to the world, he can only do what he can do at the moment.
If you calculate this, Lu Bu and Zhang Miao should start an uprising. Xuzhou can save hundreds of thousands of people from dying, which is the limit of what Yuan Xi can do.
He sorted the bamboo tubes into categories and asked Tian Feng a few questions. Then he sat down, took out his brush, and began to write down the response to the locust plague.
Yuan Shao launched disaster relief not only to prevent Jizhou from becoming unstable, but also to win over people's hearts. After all, if the food cannot be harvested, there will be a lot of big trouble later.
Yuan Xi felt more and more proficient as he wrote down the financial and food coordination affairs of all parties.
In the past few days, he had followed Yuan Shao's advisers to deal with the locust plague, and learned a lot of things that Beixin City had no access to.
The operation of the bureaucracy, how the upper and lower parties implement it, the role of each official position, the advice of counselors, and how to judge whether it can be adopted, these are all things Yuan Xi has never learned before.
Now that he knows the operating rules of the county, he will be able to do it even if he becomes the lord of a place in the future.
Yuan Xi understood that Yuan Shao was deliberately cultivating himself.
This is what Yuan Xi has worked hard for himself.
Although Yuan Shao was tricked by Yuan Shang once, and Yuan Shao may be a little disappointed with Yuan Xi's failure, Yuan Xi has impressed Yuan Shao in other aspects.
Three years in Beixin City and a trip to Xuzhou proved his ability to command battle formations.
Predicting the rebellion in Yecheng and the locust plague showed that he had the strategy and decision-making skills of a counselor.
Yuan Xi estimated that in Yuan Shao's heart, his current evaluation of himself was not as good as that of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, but he had begun to be taken seriously and he had been cultivated with care.
It is estimated that Yuan Shang hates himself even more now.
Sure enough, when Yuan Xi returned to the mansion, Yuan Shao ordered someone to visit him in the study.
Yuan Xi met Liu and Yuan Shang on the road. Yuan Xi saluted respectfully, and Yuan Shang's mother and son also smiled in return.
When Yuan Xi lowered his head, he clearly heard the faint sound of Mrs. Liu gritting her teeth.
He bowed to send Yuan Shang mother and son away, feeling a headache in his heart. It seemed that the mother and son were still determined to give up.
He had a hunch that Mrs. Liu would definitely block her marriage to Zhen Mi.
This was Yuan Xi's biggest headache. No matter how much Yuan Shang targeted him, he could counterattack a little and not be helpless.
But not Mrs. Liu.
She is his mother in name only, and in this era where filial piety governs the world, her wishes must never be violated.
Especially the Zhen family's marriage, if Mrs. Liu is determined not to let Yuan Xi marry Zhen Mi, Yuan Xi really can't think of any way to deal with it.
Although Yuan Xi admitted that he was greedy for Zhen Mi's body, it was the Zhen family's property that had the same temptation for him.
That was the starting point for transforming Youzhou into a rich granary in the future, and he would never give it to others.
Similarly, if Yuan Shang controls the Zhen family, he can have tens of thousands more troops.
Both brothers understand this, so neither will give up until the end.
Yuan Xi was a little irritated. Damn it, if that was really the case, why not just assassinate Mrs. Liu?
The simplest and crudest method is often effective, but it also has serious consequences. If someone is traced, Yuan Xi will lose everything, including Youzhou and the Zhen family.
So he didn't want to take this path unless he had to.
Yuan Xi's headache became more and more serious. He couldn't get around his parents' orders to marry a wife!
Not only the marriage, but also the territory.
No matter how well he built Youzhou, he could take it back with just a word from Yuan Shao. He had no ability to resist his father's orders.
This is why he wants to leave the Yuan family as soon as possible.
If he were to adopt Yuan Ji's branch, although he would lose a lot of support from Yuan Shao, the relationship between father and son would still be there after all.
The biggest benefit is that all of Yuan Ji's family are dead. After the adoption, he becomes the head of Yuan Ji's family, and there is no one to restrict him in anything he does!
At that time, between him and Yuan Shao, it will be the head of the family versus the head of the family.
When the time came to really break up the relationship, Mrs. Liu would just kill him. Even if he was exposed, he wouldn't have to bear the reputation of being unfilial.
Just like Yuan Shao versus Yuan Shu now, it's just an internal conflict within the family.
Therefore, even if Yuan Xi has many trump cards, he cannot show them to avoid making a wedding dress for others.
Only after he adopts the throne and truly gets Youzhou can he use all his cards to improve his strength in the shortest possible time.
Yuan Xi walked to the door of Yuan Shao's study and knocked on the door. There was a cough from inside and Yuan Shao's voice came: "Come in."
Yuan Xi opened the door and saw Yuan Shao already kneeling on the couch, so he went in and closed the door, bowed and said, "I've met my father."
Yuan Shao nodded: "Sit down."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi took off his shoes and knelt down on the spot. Yuan Shao said: "Get on the couch."
Yuan Xi was a little surprised, but he still followed the instructions and got on the bed, kneeling down opposite Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao was silent for a while and sighed: "You have done a lot of things in the past three years, and I don't know how to talk about it."
"You know there are some things, but if you are treasonous, I can kill you!"
Yuan Xi's heart suddenly trembled, but his expression remained unchanged, "If this is true, the child should be killed at the neck."
Yuan Shao laughed angrily: "Why did I, Yuan Benchu, give birth to a scoundrel son like you, just like Cao Mengde when he was young!"
Yuan Xi said softly: "I would like to teach you, father, that everything I do is for the Yuan family."
Yuan Shao snorted coldly, "Even if you take Qu Yi in?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Yuan Shao knew everything, and said: "Father should understand that Qu Yi has nothing to do with the rebellion in Yecheng."
Yuan Shao nodded and said: "Of course I understand, but General Bingliang cannot be defeated. Just like Lu Bu, although he has taken refuge with me, he still often robs the people of Jizhou and affects the reputation of my Yuan family, so no matter how hard he fights, he cannot stay."
"Qu Yi's first man died, and he only listened to his orders. Who can control him in the future?"
"Instead of you taking action, why don't I do it first."
Yuan Xi was silent and said slowly: "This is not fair."
"How can there be fairness in the world?" Yuan Shao shouted: "If the disease of mustard moss is not eradicated, it will only become a nuisance to the people!"
"Just like Cao Mengde, he recruited tens of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers. It seemed like a good thing, but in fact he couldn't completely suppress them, so he slaughtered the city every time just to appease them."
"Given time, it will become a serious problem."
Yuan Xi thought that Yuan Shao was quite accurate.
But father, you did not persist until that day.
(End of chapter)
