Yuan Xi came to Tancheng this time, firstly to reach a more stable alliance with Liu Bei and Yuan Tan, and secondly to poach Chen Gong and Hua Tuo. With these two goals achieved, he was satisfied and prepared to return home the next day.
He originally planned to keep a distance from the Mi family. After all, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang have been greatly promoted by Liu Bei, and Yuan Xi feels that their abilities are average and not worth poaching.
At this time, Guo Jia put forward opposing opinions to Yuan Xi, which puzzled Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi told the story about Mi Fang going to the Chen family to discuss the purchase of land today, and finally said: "Mi Fang is greedy for personal gain and cannot distinguish between the important and the important. Mi Zhu's only strength is loyalty. It seems that there is no benefit in making good friends with the Mi family. ?”
After hearing this, Guo Jia smiled and said, "Mi Fang still does such a thing?"
"In this case, it's even more important to make friends with him."
Yuan Xi was puzzled.
Guo Jia explained: "Mi Fang is obviously greedy for small gains and forgets the great righteousness. She always puts interests first when doing things. She is in a high position. As time goes by, she will inevitably make mistakes and be criticized."
"It would be fine if this person is self-aware, but he acts very arrogantly. In the long run, he will definitely conflict with other officials, leading to resentment. In the long run, he will definitely be a hidden danger."
Yuan Xi listened carefully to Guo Jia's words, suddenly raised his head and said, "Sir, do you mean to befriend Mi Fang and let him be a nail?"
Guo Jia smiled proudly: "It's a rusty nail. If it is left on the door leaf for a long time, it may cause the door to break."
"Nowadays, the princes in the world are fighting each other. In many cases, the losses caused by wars with foreign enemies are far less than the damage caused by internal strife."
"Just like siege, it is always much more difficult to break in from the outside than to surrender to the enemy within the city."
"Lu Bu lost Chang'an, Liu Bei lost Pi, that's it."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi couldn't help but feel the same. The disputes between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, Lu Bu's loss of Chang'an, and Liu Bei's rebellion in Xuzhou were all internal problems. In other words, no matter how strong a fortress is, it is easy to break it from the inside.
Guo Jia finally said: "A person whose political integrity and talent do not match his position is likely to be dissatisfied. If he rebels at a critical moment, the effect will be unexpected."
"Looking at it now, Mi Fang is likely to embark on this path, at least the possibility is much greater than others."
He said aloud: "Sir, what you mean is that if I befriend Mi Fang now and let him think that he has a safe way out, he may have dissent in the future when he suffers setbacks?"
Guo Jia smiled and said: "Young master is smart and can understand everything at once."
Yuan Xi let out a long breath. Guo Jia was really different in his outlook.
Unlike himself who has knowledge of future generations, Guo Jia made a rough guess about Mi Fang's life trajectory purely by guesswork!
Later Mi Fang did take this path, tricked Guan Yu to death, and left an infamy in history.
Yuan Xi thought to himself: I will play the role of Lu Meng in the future?
He said aloud: "Sir, what do you mean, I still need to use wealth and benefits to make friends with the Mi family?"
Guo Jiali said confidently: "Of course!"
"Young master, don't worry about the Mi family's dowry. You're just a young master of the Yuan family. Don't you think it's embarrassing?"
"To achieve success in the future, do you still need the money from the Mi family?"
"Don't you think it's ridiculous that you still want to make a fortune from the Mi family at this time?"
Yuan Xi sweated profusely, "That"
Guo Jia said: "At least go to the Mi family. The fact that the Mi family dares to let girls from the Mi family as concubines shows that their desire to cling to the famous family is very strong."
"In that case, why don't you think about it, sir?"
"To be honest, if the Mi family is eyeing the head of a state, the young master is also a suitable candidate. This is an excellent opportunity. Why not give it a try?"
"I heard that although the girl from the Mi family is not as good-looking as my wife, she is still a beauty. In order to develop a business, wouldn't it be difficult for the young master to betray his looks?"
Yuan Xi's face stiffened. Not to mention the girl Mi Zhen, what if Mi Fang, the second brother-in-law, killed a snake and followed the stick, and relied on him?
I don’t want to accept Mi Fang as my subordinate!
Guo Jia hates that iron cannot become steel, "Young Master is very courageous on the battlefield, but now he is timid. There are many ways to deal with his relatives. When the time comes, Young Master doesn't want to get his hands dirty, Jia is willing to do it for him."
Yuan Xi thought to himself, Guo Jia is really ruthless, but this is indeed like what a counselor would say: ruthless and only looking at profit.
He had no choice but to say: "In that case, I will send someone to Mi's house to send a greeting card, and also invite Mr. to go to the town hall with him."
Seeing that Yuan Xi was finally persuaded, Guo Jia was secretly happy.
The young master still values a woman's thoughts too much. For the lord, such feelings are too redundant.
In the future, I will find a way to put more women around him. When the young master gets tired of this kind of thing, he will naturally understand that only conquering the world is the ultimate goal, and everything else is an obstacle!
In Guangling City, Cai Zhaoji said to Mrs. Wu and Cao Jie: "I have been copying for a long time. Please take a rest to avoid being too tired."
After hearing this, Mrs. Wu and Cao Jie put down their brushes.
Cao Jie rubbed her sore fingers, stood up and stretched. She was still young at this time, and she couldn't support it after copying for a long time.
Cai Zhaoji felt a little sorry after seeing it. She took out a piece of candy from her sleeve, handed it to Cao Jie, and said with a smile: "Eat it."
Sugar cane was introduced to South China during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, but for a long time after that, it was only eaten directly.
It was not until the Han Dynasty that the method of extracting stone honey from sugar cane appeared, but it had not yet become popular. The sweets people ate at that time were still mainly honey and maltose.
"Book of Rites Nei Ze" records: "For sweets, dates, chestnuts, glutinous rice and honey".
Honey is the earliest pure natural sweetener. During the Shang, Zhou, Wu and Yue periods, monarchs used honey as precious gifts to each other.
By the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, candied fruit, which was used to soak food in honey, appeared. It was a unique invention of our country at that time.
Another major category is glutinous rice flour, commonly known as maltose. It is recognized as the earliest sugar produced in the world and appeared at the end of the Shang Dynasty.
"The Book of Songs" has "Zhou Yuan is sweet and sweet, and the pansy tea is as sweet as glutinous rice", which is the evidence.
"Songs of Chu" also records, "The honey bait with heavy makeup is long. The glutinous rice is made from wheat tillers or grain buds boiled with various rice. The ancients ate more glutinous rice during cold food, so it is also used in medical prescriptions."
Cao Jie took the candy and licked it gently, with a very happy look on his face.
She suddenly thought of something and said to Cai Zhaoji: "Madam, I want to give it to my sister to try."
After hearing this, Cai Zhaoji took out two more pieces of candy from her sleeves, stuffed them into Cao Jie's hand, and said with a smile: "This does make me feel bad. You can go ahead and copy it here in the morning. Come back after dinner."
Cao Jie happily ran out holding the candy. When Mrs. Wu saw it, she felt a little warm in her heart and said with a smile: "I'm afraid it's not that Mrs. Huan can't afford it, but she doesn't allow them to eat more."
Cai Zhaoji smiled and said: "It's bad, I don't think it through as much as my wife."
Mrs. Wu has been staying in Yuan Mansion for a long time. She gradually discovered that the situation in Yuan Xi's inner house was quite different from that of other noble families.
In the relaxed environment, there is a human touch everywhere, which makes Mrs. Wu envious. This is a kind of warmth that she has never experienced since she got married.
Cai Zhaojiyin said to Madam Wu: "It's almost time to eat. Whatever Madam's daughter wants to eat, I'll let someone do it."
Mrs. Wu glanced at her daughter who was sleeping soundly on the couch next to her, and said hurriedly: "Thank you madam for thinking about it. I will just eat with everyone."
Cai Zhaoji smiled and said: "Madam is still so polite. After all, we are distant relatives. Madam and the children have suffered so much, even if we see it, we can't bear it."
"Young Master should not be delayed for a long time if you leave here. As long as we wait for Young Master to come back, we can set off."
"If Madam wants to change her mind, Young Master can send someone to take Madam back to Jingzhou at any time. If Madam doesn't want to, it would be good to go to Youzhou for a visit."
Mrs. Wu looked grateful, but she was very anxious in her heart.
She wanted to escape, so Guangling was the closest. If she really got to Youzhou, how could she trek thousands of miles back to Jiangdong?
No, we have to find a way to escape as soon as possible!
Mrs. Wu felt very sorry. She knew that Yuan Xi had given her a horse, but she deceived everyone, which made her feel guilty.
But her son Sun Ce now relies on Yuan Shu and is in the same position as Yuan Shao. She has no choice but to do this.
Over the past few days, Mrs. Wu has figured out the activities of everyone in the Yuan Mansion. She has remembered the behavior habits of Yuan Xi, Zhen Mi, Cai Zhaoji, Huan's mother and daughter, and even Sun Li, Guo Jia and others one by one.
Now half of the people have followed Yuan Xi to Xiapi, and the house is empty, which is a great opportunity.
What she lacks now is the opportunity to avoid everyone and escape, and the token to leave the city.
But there was some trouble with the tokens for people from the Yuan Mansion to leave the city. One was in the hands of Tai Shici in the military camp, and the other was in the hands of Cai Zhaoji.
There is no need to think about Taishi Ci's side, only Cai Zhaoji's side.
After Mrs. Wu observed these days, she found that Cai Zhaoji did not have her token with her.
If it's not on her body, she must be in the house. Unfortunately, Mrs. Wu couldn't find an excuse to go to Cai Zhaoji's house before. After all, sometimes Yuan Xi would stay there for the night.
But after Yuan Xi left, Mrs. Wu gradually became familiar with Cai Zhaoji. The next thing she wanted to do was to take the opportunity to stay overnight in Cai Zhaoji's house, find the token while she was sleeping, and escape with her daughter!
In Lujiang County, Jiangdong, in the Qiaorui mansion.
A girl of about the same age, with a childish look on her face and unusually lively eyes, was secretly peeking through a hole in the wall to peek at the banquet outside.
She turned around with excitement on her face and waved desperately to another older girl behind her, "Sister, come and see!"
"My father's distinguished guests today are General Bo Fu and General Gong Jin!"
Another older girl with a calm face was sitting on the couch far away, sewing a handkerchief seriously.
When she heard her sister speak, she didn't even raise her head and said softly: "What's there to see? You're doing this to be rude. Don't look at anything inappropriate."
The two women have red lips and white teeth, and their skin is extremely white and smooth, which can be broken by blowing a blow. It seems to emit a faint luster like jade grease, which makes people sigh in admiration.
Both women are outstanding beautiful embryos. Although they have not yet fully grown, they have already revealed the appearance of a fish and a goose. At this time, they are being raised in a boudoir and have no reputation, but everyone who has seen them thinks that they will become famous sooner or later. Koto.
These are Qiaorui's two daughters. They have not been named and are privately called Daqiao Xiaoqiao by the servants.
Daqiao was calm and Xiaoqiao was lively. Now Xiaoqiao saw that Daqiao was not moved at all and pouted: "Sister is too boring."
She moved her eyes to the gap again, looked at it for a while, and said, "It's strange. Why do I feel that General Bo Fu and General Gong Jin are not very happy."
After hearing this, Daqiao said calmly: "Of course I will be unhappy if I lose the battle."
"My father was arrested. Fortunately, he was released. Otherwise, our family would have collapsed."
"Thank you for being in the mood to have fun."
(For convenience later, Da Qiao Xiao Qiao will be changed to Da Qiao Xiao Qiao.)
(End of chapter)
