Qu Yi was fond of bowing, horse riding, and shooting since he was a child. When he grew up, he was ordered to lead his family's soldiers to fight against the Qiang and Hu for a long time. He knew the Qiang's fighting methods very well, and the troops he trained were also very brave and good at fighting.
In the seventh year of Guanghe (AD 184), the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out across the country. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty sent General Zuo Zhonglang, who was born in Anding County, Liangzhou, to quell the rebellion.
In the third year of Zhongping (186), Huangfu Song went to Liangzhou to recruit troops. Qu Yi led thousands of people from his family to respond. Since then, he repeatedly defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Bingzhou and Jizhou, which was highly appreciated by Huangfu Song.
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion was put down, Huangfu Song returned to Luoyang to resume his duties, and Qu Yi stayed as a general under Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou. However, because of his strong subordinates, Qu Yi was jealous of Han Fu. It happened that Yuan Shao came to Jizhou, and Qu Yi Yi then defected to Yuan Shao.
After that, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought against each other. Qu Yi became famous in the battle of White Horse. After that, he fought against Gongsun Zan's army many times, always winning more than losing.
However, fate once again played a joke on Qu Yi. Because he was suspected of participating in the Yecheng Rebellion, Qu Yi was ambushed by Yuan Shao.
But Qu Yi survived the catastrophe and was rescued by Yuan Xi. Although he was left with hidden injuries, he survived at least.
Although Qu Yi knew that the rebellion in Yecheng was just an excuse, and the reason why he was ambushed and killed was extremely complicated. He could not rule out the possibility of being framed and Yuan Shao pushing the situation, but so what?
He can't do anything, and his tribe is gone. Even if he finds that the person who framed him is a counselor in Jizhou, or even a descendant of the Yuan family, can he still take revenge?
Qu Yi found out that his heart had been slowly drained away by the cruel facts.
Huangfu Song, whom he once regarded as a role model, was also from Liangzhou. Although he was powerful in the world, he almost died at the hands of Dong Zhuo because he offended Dong Zhuo.
Of course, Huangfu Song always retained the spirit of a Liangzhou warrior. After Dong Zhuo forced Huangfu Song's aunt to death, Huangfu Song tolerated it until Dong Zhuo was killed by Lu Bu, and then he launched a bold attack and wiped out Dong Zhuo's family.
And Huangfu Song, who was such a hero, died in the Chang'an Rebellion this year for no apparent reason. No one knows whether he was angry to death or was killed by Li Jue, Guo Si or others.
Even if someone knew, who would complain about it?
Thinking of this, Qu Yi smiled mockingly to himself. His life was saved by Yuan Jiazi. Will he kill Yuan Shao's whole family in the future to take revenge?
He no longer wants to think about such boring things. He just wants to have a chance to visit his hometown again in the future.
Nowadays, Qu Yi has met fewer and fewer people from Liangzhou. Except for Sun Li's mother, who was born in the Fufeng Ma family, Qu Yi has almost never met any of her fellow villagers. Did they return home or died somewhere?
Qu Yi felt bursts of pain in his chest and abdomen. He picked up the wine bottle hanging from his waist and took a gulp of wine.
The newly brewed wine was a bit strong, which made him grin. The burning of the strong wine mixed with the pain in his body, making him feel a fire burning between his chest and abdomen.
He braced his hands on the city wall and tried to stand up straight, knowing that he might not have much time left for him.
As Young Master said, the best destination for a warrior is to die on the battlefield.
Before that, what should he leave to the world?
He recalled what Yuan Xi said to him once.
The strong bullies the weak. He cannot avenge all those who suffer injustice in the world, but he wants to give those people the strength to resist.
At that time Qu Yi asked back: "Including Bingliang people?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said firmly: "Everyone."
Qu Yi took another swig of wine.
Yuan Xi was sitting in front of the table, looking at the bamboo slips piled up like a hill. Wu Zhao and Cao Xian were sitting on both sides.
He unfolded the books one by one. They were introductory books for all walks of life, covering classics, criminal law, agriculture, crafts, construction, and even the art of war.
Wu Zhao was responsible for presiding over the compilation, and tried his best to summarize the introductory knowledge of various categories in the most simple and concise words, quite like an encyclopedia of later generations.
Yuan Xi turned to a volume of military training methods, and Qu Yi's name was marked at the beginning of the volume, indicating that this was what Qu Yi described. He couldn't help but find it interesting and said to the two women: "You are interested."
Wu Zhao said: "It's not the two of us, we are not that capable."
"Nearly all the officials and craftsmen from Beixin City came to help after hearing that their children would read these books in the future."
"Especially when they know that these enlightenment classics may be passed down to future generations and can be signed with the names of participants, they work even harder."
Cao Xian also nodded. Mr. Xindao's method really speaks directly to people's hearts. Who doesn't want to let his name, deeds and lifelong learning be passed down to future generations a hundred years later?
Yuan Xi thought to himself that this naming right is indeed attractive. From ancient times to the present, from state affairs to family affairs, from papers to books, being able to leave one's name has always been a huge temptation.
Compiling such a set of things was inspired by Guo Jia's incident. Even if his own generation cannot complete it, as long as this set of spirit is passed on, sooner or later he will compile a set of One Hundred Thousand Whys suitable for the people.
Wu Zhao added: "People from several cities in Zhuo County have become much more active since they learned that the young master is going to compile such a set of classics."
"The most obvious one is the craftsmen who improved paper. They understand that if paper suitable for long-term storage can be produced in large quantities, it will not be an unattainable dream for everyone to have books to read."
"The pace of paper improvement is very fast now. I estimate that there will be a big breakthrough in a year and a half."
"In comparison, woodblock printing is not difficult. It only requires special drying treatment on the target wood board to prevent deformation."
"On the other hand, research on inks that will not fade for decades or even hundreds of years still requires a lot of improvement and waiting. After all, it will have to undergo long-term testing."
"Speaking of which, the formula of this ink might be on my face."
When Wu Zhao said this, he actually laughed. Yuan Xi and Cao Xian couldn't help but look at Wu Zhao's face.
Now more than a year has passed since Wu Zhao used cinnabar and pine ink to cover his face when he was taken captive.
The red cinnabar patches on Wu Zhao's face have almost completely disappeared, but the black pine ink has penetrated deeply into the skin, leaving a faint layer of ink on Wu Zhao's face.
Yuan Xi guessed that the pine ink at that time was mixed with other materials to create an ink-like effect. This will last for so long without fading.
If there is no comparison, the skin color is just darker, but if compared with the fair neck skin, the difference can be clearly seen.
Caoxian said regretfully: "It's such a pity for my sister. If she recovers completely, she won't be much worse than the girl from the Zhen family."
Yuan Xi comforted him: "The time is still short, and it will definitely subside in the future."
Wu Zhao smiled and said: "I'm very satisfied with this, don't worry."
"Besides, otherwise, those Huns wouldn't know what to do to me."
Yuan Xi nodded: "To be honest, I was surprised later on why the Southern Xiongnu never retaliated. It turns out there was something wrong with them internally."
The loyal minister of the Han Dynasty of the Southern Xiongnu, Chan Yufuluo, actually died.
His younger brother Huchuquan succeeded him as Shanyu. According to the original history, Yufuluo's son Liu Bao should have been established as King Zuoxian.
However, Liu Bao died at the hands of Yuan Xi last year and his ashes were raised.
It can be said that Yuvluo had two sides in his life, betraying his allies many times, but he was very firm in one thing, that is, he supported the Han Emperor.
When Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was in power, he defected to the Han court. After the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, he helped Dong Zhuo, who had hijacked the Han Emperor, to deal with the princes of the world. He was defeated by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao one after another, and finally returned to Bingzhou.
However, so-called loyal officials of the Han Dynasty like Yu Fuluo and the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan used their titles from the imperial court to legitimately invade and plunder the people. They were called Han officials, but they were actually rogue bandits.
This was the consequences of Emperor Ling's loss of moral integrity. The fact that rogue bandits could still become imperial officials showed that the Han Dynasty had lost its moral integrity and gave the princes an opportunity to rebel.
As for the aristocratic families and the common people, they all turned to the princes from all over the country, because only the princes with armies could protect their safety.
As for the Han court, which could not protect their lives and property, how could it possibly win their allegiance?
Therefore, the Han Dynasty at this time was already in name only, and it seemed that it would collapse with just a slight push.
At this time, all the princes in the world, including now Yuan Shao, thought so.
The Kwantung Allied Forces led by Yuan Shao established Liu Yu as emperor. Yuan Shu even dared to proclaim himself emperor, but he felt that the Han Dynasty was no longer good, so it was better to start a new one.
The current situation in the world is also like this. Under the command of the two Yuans, a large number of nobles who have lost confidence in the Han court have gathered.
Including the later attempts to flatter the Han Emperor. Although Liu Xie issued an edict, almost no one in the world responded, including Lu Bu, who was the first to receive the edict.
Except for Jushou, almost all of Yuan Shao's subordinates believed that the Han Emperor was a burden. If he came to welcome him, he would be causing trouble for himself, which would instead affect the internal operations of Jizhou.
But only Yuan Xi, who knew the history of later generations, understood that things were not that simple.
When the emperor returned eastward, Cao Cao went straight to Han Emperor Liu Xie, picked up the big leak, and squeezed out the use value of Liu Xie in the following decades.
The nobles all over the world who were loyal to the Han Dynasty slowly gathered under Cao Cao's command.
Yuan Shao did not expect such a change and regretted it too late. He probably did not understand until his death that these nobles loyal to the Han Dynasty had disappeared for more than ten years, why did they suddenly appear?
As a later generation, Yuan Xi did not understand this truth. This matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed.
If the gentry truly supported the Han Dynasty, they would not have appeared until the Han Dynasty declined to this point.
Yuan Xi guessed that maybe they just needed a righteous reputation.
In this way, they can convince the world and themselves, and then lean on the Cao family to obtain the capital for the family's survival.
Of course, there were real loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, such as Kong Rong, Xun Yu, and Wei Xi, but they all ended badly.
It is easier said than done to sacrifice one's life for righteousness, but it is difficult to do it. Who doesn't want to live?
The loyal minister Humphrey disappeared in the river of history, but Bingzhou was still occupied by hundreds of thousands of Southern Huns.
There are not many Han people in Bingzhou, and Lu Bu is one of them. Now Yuan Xi is trying to lure Lu Bu northward, on the one hand to deal with the Black Mountain bandits, and on the other hand to let him suppress the southern Huns in Bingzhou.
He asked Wu Zhaodao: "I sent someone to contact Lu Bu some time ago and said that I could send food to him in exchange for the conditions for an alliance between the two parties. I don't know if he will agree."
After hearing this, Wu Zhao remembered Lu Lingqi's aggrieved look last time when she was pinned down by Yuan Xi. He suppressed a smile and said, "I think it's very possible."
"Marquis Wen and Cao Cao have been fighting for more than half a year, and they are probably all out of food. However, the Hanoi County he went to also has a poor harvest this year."
"Not to mention the Black Mountain bandits, they don't have enough to eat all year round."
"In this case, I guess Lu Bu will send someone over by the end of the year at the latest."
(End of chapter)
