The two of them entered the house. Yuan Xi saw Yuan Tan's worried look and comforted him: "Brother is also the head of a state now, why should he be so worried."
Yuan Tan sighed and said: "Yes, we brothers can occupy one of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty at such a young age. We are on an equal footing with my father's contemporaries. Logically speaking, I shouldn't be so anxious."
"But second brother, don't think my words are harsh. Our mentality is different."
"You are the concubine of the Yuan family. Now you have become the legitimate son and the head of the branch family. You have soared into the sky just like my father."
"But I can't. I am the eldest son, and I was expected by everyone. Now I am suppressed by my third brother. The people who stand behind me and support me are putting a lot of pressure on me."
"There are no absolutely loyal subordinates in the world. If I give them no benefit, or make them feel that there is no profit in the future, I will soon betray my family."
"It just so happens that there is a wall in front of me, and I can't get over it."
Yuan Xi knew who Yuan Tan was talking about.
Yuan Shao and Liu.
As Yuan Tan's parents, it was impossible for Yuan Tan to disobey the two of them and could only passively obey orders.
This is also the dilemma that the eldest son of a family has to face in the past generations. On the one hand, he has a promising future, but on the other hand, he is suppressed everywhere. Over time, his mentality will become unbalanced.
Not to mention anything else, since Qin Li Fusu and the title of prince appeared, there have been a total of 161 princes in the past dynasties, of which 91 have successfully ascended the throne.
It seems that the odds are actually quite high, but you must know that for a prince who has not ascended the throne, being banned from the circle is the best end, and there is a high probability that he will die.
Therefore, it is normal for Yuan Tan to be so anxious. If Yuan Shang really wants to rise to power, Yuan Tan will definitely end up in a worrying situation.
The key is that with Yuan Tan's temperament, he will never be willing to succumb to Yuan Shang.
Yuan Xi vaguely felt that Yuan Tan was referring to something, but he didn't think much about it for the moment and could only say: "It's not impossible."
"If brother can conquer the Taishan bandits, Qingzhou will become the largest state after Jizhou based on its military strength alone."
Yuan Tan sighed: "Then, where to go?"
Yuan Xi said: "Since the west is not possible, I will set my sights on the east."
Yuan Tan was stunned: "Going to sea?"
"Are you planning to build a naval army and go south to occupy Jiangdong with your second brother?"
Yuan Xi listened and said without comment, "There are other directions."
"Qingzhou is so close to Ma Han, so it may not be a retreat."
After hearing this, Yuan Tan pondered, "The second brother is talking about Gongsun Du's four counties in Liaodong, and that area further south?"
"That place is full of savage tribes. What's there to go to?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "If it's not possible now, it doesn't mean it won't be possible in the future. The products are still quite rich, not to mention using it as a springboard to go south to the Yamatai Islands."
Yuan Tan heard this and said: "It turns out that this is what my second brother had in mind when he formed a fleet."
"But those islands, with hundreds of tribes, are not as powerful as the Southern Xiongnu in total, and the Yamatai Kingdom is just one of them."
"Now that place can't even make iron and pottery. It's just like barbarians. What's the use of it?"
Seeing Yuan Tan's lack of interest, Yuan Xi had no choice but to say: "In that case, according to your eldest brother's idea, do you want to go south to attack Yuan Shu?"
Yuan Tan nodded and said: "This is indeed a way out, and it is also a helpless move. I will think about it carefully when I go back."
"But I came here this time to eliminate the Taishan bandits within a year. I wanted to ask my second brother if he could help me think of a solution."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he said, "Are you too anxious?"
"That's hundreds of thousands of people, and they're hidden in the mountains, not the plains."
Yuan Tan sighed: "I know it too, but my third brother has put too much pressure on me. His power is now growing much faster than mine."
Yuan Xi thought to himself, "I know it too, but can't even your advisers come up with a solution?"
He tested his background and said: "How about recruiting Zang Ba, the leader of the Taishan bandits, and offering him an official position?"
Yuan Tan said: "This man is very cunning. He does not openly confront any party, but he does not go out of the mountainous area. The hundreds of thousands of people under him just obey his orders."
"In this case, even if he is nominally attached to me, what's the point?"
Yuan Xi thought that this was indeed a trouble. Even if Zang Ba was promised an official position outside the scope of Taishan, he might not take office.
Suddenly he had an idea, "Brother, do you want to give Langya to him?"
Yuan Tan then smiled: "The second brother is smart, but if he does this, he may disobey the rules, harass the surrounding counties, and cause trouble to the second brother's Guangling."
Yuan Xi thought that this was Yuan Tan's intention. In this way, Zang Ba might indeed lead his troops out of Mount Tai, and Yuan Tan would be able to revitalize the Qingxu border.
But in this way, Liu Bei and Yuan Xi would have to face hundreds of thousands of Taishan thieves who might repeat themselves at any time. Yuan Tan was afraid that Yuan Xi would be unhappy, so he came here to inform them.
Yuan Xi thought that this was most likely the idea of one of Yuan Tan's counselors, and it was a very good idea to use the Taishan bandits to contain himself and Liu Bei.
Today's Xuzhou is like a small microcosm of the Three Kingdoms. Yuan Tan, Liu Bei, and Yuan Xi stick together to keep warm and deal with the surrounding forces, but they are wary of each other to avoid being taken advantage of by the other two parties. The ultimate goal is to strengthen themselves.
If Yuan Tan tried his best to deal with the Taishan bandits, his own strength would be weakened, so he simply released Zang Ba and asked him to contain the two parties for him.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that indeed in this world of struggle for hegemony, no idea is simple. There are conflicts of interest between friends, and enemies can also cooperate. Brothers may appear to be frank, but in fact they also have hidden agendas. This is the politics of troubled times.
He smiled at Yuan Tan and said, "Brother, please feel free to do it. I have no problem here."
After hearing this, Yuan Tan felt a little relieved. This trick was a clear plan, but he had to explain it clearly to Yuan Xi, lest Yuan Xi would become dissatisfied and turn to Liu Bei's side.
Of course, Yuan Xi also hinted this matter to Liu Bei in advance. Only in this way can he dominate the three parties.
After Yuan Xi sent Yuan Tan away, he thought that if he brought in a force, there would be many times more problems. Even if they were blood brothers, once there was a conflict of interests or blood ties, they had to give way.
However, in the next few years, his expansion focus will not be on Guangling. This time, Yuan Tan is afraid that his worries will be in vain.
Now that Chen Deng and Tai Shici are in charge of Guangling County, they just need to hold on firmly and wait for themselves to revitalize the situation in Youzhou and increase their strength.
Zhen Mi accompanied Yuan Xi to see Yuan Tan out. When she saw his carriage walking away, she said, "Is it settled so quickly?"
"We're not going back to Guangling right away, are we?"
Yuan Xi saw some disappointment on Zhen Mi's face, and thought that things went surprisingly smoothly this time, but it was too fast. In just one day, Liu Bei and Yuan Tan had finished talking.
It seems that the only one left is the Mi family?
In fact, whether the Mi family goes or not seems to have no impact. Now there is no problem with the sea route from Youzhou to the south and the Qingzhou port for the time being. Yuan Tan has obtained Yuan Xi's promise regarding Zang Ba's matter, so he has to sell some face.
Needless to say, the port of Xuzhou, Langya, the important port of Guangling already belongs to Yuan Xi. The Mi family does not seem to have much use value to Yuan Xi now?
Yuan Xi had just heard from Chen Deng the news about the setback of the Mi family's married daughter. It seems that this matter was disturbed mostly because he returned Liu Bei's wife and daughter.
However, Yuan Xi also did not expect that the Mi family would be willing to let Mi Zhen as their concubine in order to get along with Liu Bei. If he had known that the Mi family was so willing, he would not have been unable to do so and sacrifice his body to marry Mi Zhen.
But now that the Mi family's property has been given away, and I can't get the Mi family's dowry, there seems to be no need to bother?
Thinking of this, he apologized to Zhen Mi and said, "I originally wanted to take my wife to visit the Mi family to discuss the maritime trade route. After all, the Zhen family's trade routes are now in charge of my wife."
"However, now the three coastal counties of Xuzhou and Langya Guangling are not in the hands of Xuande Gong. Only the Donghai County in the middle is left. It seems that it is not necessary for the trade route."
"In this case, it seems there is no need for us to go to Mi's house."
Zhen Mi listened, although she was a little disappointed, but she still nodded. At this time, Guo Jia came out and said: "Young master, what you said is wrong, the Mi family still needs to go."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he smiled and said: "It's rare for Mr. to object so much. I would like to hear the details."
When the two of them entered the room, Guo Jiashi sat down calmly and said, "Master, do you think that since the Mi family has been reused by Liu Bei, they will definitely not turn to us?"
Yuan Xi said: "Isn't it?"
"Now that I see Mi Zhu's expression, he is quite determined. I'm afraid he won't even let me in."
Guo Jia shook his head: "I have a different view."
He lowered his voice and said, "Jia thinks that the ambition of a young master is not limited to Guangling County, right?"
"Now that the young master is not strong enough, he has no choice but to be forbearing. If he becomes more powerful in the future, is it possible that he will be able to live in peace while being a little rich?"
Yuan Xi sighed: "But Duke Xuande is justified in taking Xuzhou's name. I will never do anything treacherous."
"Don't come here!" Guo Jia sneered: "Young master must be hiding something from me, otherwise why are you rushing to deal with the Black Mountain bandits?"
Yuan Xi sweated profusely, but he didn't expect that his plan could not be hidden from Guo Jia.
Guo Jia sneered and said: "Don't think that I don't know what the young master is thinking. The young master is very thoughtful and very different inside and outside. He can deceive others, but he cannot deceive me."
"Among other things, some people say that most of the women the young master likes are widows and wives, but I saw something different."
"The girls that the young master wants to marry are all those whose fathers have died and whose family power has been almost wiped out, right?"
"Do you think it's easy to control this way and you won't cause trouble to your relatives in the future?"
Yuan Xi sweated profusely and quickly lowered his voice and said, "Sir, don't speak so bluntly!"
"Although I have some thoughts like this, I didn't kill their father!"
Guo Jia smiled proudly. Yuan Xi only partially denied what he said, but did not clarify the word "foreign relative"!
This guy is indeed very ambitious, but he talks about helping the Han Dynasty all day long!
But it is more interesting to follow the young master and watch how the Han Dynasty comes to an end!
Guo Jia felt in his heart that the Han Dynasty was in such a state that it would be impossible to save it.
Although it was once glorious, it was corrupted to such an extent by the subsequent generations of foolish kings that it had already lost the support of the people and could collapse at any time.
If the flesh is rotten, it may be possible to cure it, but if it cannot be cured and it spreads to the entire body, the person will die. Not to mention how many loyal ministers of the Great Khan are left in the Thirteen States?
Thinking of this, Guo Jia straightened the hat on his head and said, "There are a lot of things that can be discussed about the Mi family."
"Being friends with the Mi family has more advantages than disadvantages for the young master."
(End of chapter)
