Mi Zhen is actually a person with a rather strong and stubborn temper.
What she said to Zhen Mi at that time was indeed her sincere words.
Logically, she had to cover it up no matter what, but for some reason, Mi Zhen always felt uncomfortable when facing Zhen Mi, so she spoke out on the spur of the moment.
After saying that, he vented a lot of his frustration, but after Zhen Mi returned, Yuan Xi's marriage proposal disappeared, and there was no more news.
Even if Zhen Mi goes back and doesn't add any fuel or jealousy, as long as she tells the truth, no one else would be able to stand what she said.
Mi Zhen said in her heart that she had brought it upon herself. Her two marriages had fallen through, and she was afraid that she had become a laughing stock in Xuzhou.
But she was a little disappointed. When she met Yuan Xi, she thought that he was a kind-hearted person and might be able to understand her. However, now it seems that she is thinking too much.
She looked out the window and saw the ships setting sail from the pier in the distance like crucian carp crossing the river, thinking that she might never meet such strange people again.
As a child of a noble family, he appears to be as gentle as jade, but his behavior is unexpected and deviant. He doesn't pay much attention to reputation. Rumors of his lewdness spread among the nobles.
But when such an outstanding woman as Zhen Mi talked about him, her eyes seemed to flash with light, which made Mi Zhen realize that Yuan Xi was not that simple.
It is so complicated and difficult to understand, mixed with a little mystery, all concentrated on Yuan Xi, which aroused Mi Zhen's curiosity and was attracted to him unknowingly.
But it's just curiosity.
She can't change anything.
Suddenly, her body trembled, and a huge fleet of ships came riding the wind from the direction of Haixi City.
The leading ship was particularly huge. Its shape vaguely looked like the Zhen family's ship type. There were some people standing vaguely on the bow of the ship.
Mi Zhen stood up involuntarily and leaned out of the window to see more clearly. However, the fleet was too far away, and even the big ships were only as big as grains of rice, so she couldn't see clearly at all.
Mi Zhen watched the ship disappear into the mist in the distance, covering her aching chest, feeling lost.
Zhen Mi stood next to Yuan Xi, pointed in the direction of Qu County and said, "That's the North Pier at the outlet of the Huaihe River. According to my brother, it is now run by the Mi family."
"I heard that the girl from the Mi family is also in the city."
Yuan Xi heard this and said, "Just be here. Since we hate each other, I won't ask for trouble."
Zhen Mi sighed: "My husband is so cruel. You know that the girl from the Mi family doesn't mean that."
"Maybe if your husband tries to coax her, she will change her mind soon."
Yuan Xi shook his head and said: "Forget it, what she said is right. I was indeed taking advantage of the Mi family with my marriage. I didn't reject the marriage because she exposed it. On the contrary, I admire her straightforwardness."
"It's just that the next year is very critical and there is no room for mistakes. I have to hide it from Liu Bei. The Mi family and Liu Bei have a close relationship. I am afraid that something will go wrong."
"If I really insist on marrying a girl from the Mi family, the Mi family probably won't object, but I still don't know enough about the girl from the Mi family. But who knows if the news here will leak out from her?"
"I will never put my men in danger just to get a woman."
Master Zhen Mixin is too cautious. He doesn't look like a spy, does he?
The girl from the Mi family must be a straight-laced person. She was unhappy that Yuan Xi was taking advantage of her marriage, so she just vented a few words casually. How could it be related to the big plan?
Now that Yuan Xi had made up her mind, she didn't know what to say, so she asked, "What will your husband do next, will his life be in danger?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said: "I'm fine, but there are some links that need to be kept strictly confidential."
"Except for me and the parties involved, including you and Zhao Ji, I won't tell."
"Even I can't predict how things will develop later, so I'm so cautious."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi wondered if she still had such a plan?
What’s a plan that even the mastermind doesn’t know about?
But Zhen Mi has seen the tragic battlefields, where human lives are like grass, and understands that Yuan Xi is involved in the lives of hundreds or thousands of people, so she understands that there are some things that should not be asked, and she should not pry.
So Zhen Mi wisely changed the topic, and the two of them talked while the ship under their feet rode the sea breeze, leaving Qu County far behind.
The fleet walked for half a month and finally docked at Piaoyuyi Pier.
When everyone got off the boat, it felt as if they had set off from here a few months ago and rode the wind south. They did a lot of things in Xuzhou, but now they are back here again.
Now Yongnu, Quanzhou, and Piaoyuyi have been completely occupied by Yuan Xi, and the iron ore between the three cities has begun to be mined. Carriages filled with iron ore are constantly coming to the dock, and civilians are unloading and loading them.
Yuan Xi was a little confused. He was still short of iron in Youzhou, so why did he still sell iron?
He found the officials at the dock and asked a few questions. He found out that there was a shortage of blacksmiths in the three cities, so he sent the excess ore to Qingzhou and Jizhou in exchange for materials that Youzhou was in urgent need of.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi knew that this was a helpless move. There was always ore anyway, and he could only wait for the blacksmiths here to recruit apprentices and increase the output of ironware before they could fully digest the iron ore.
The people from the fleet came down one by one, and the dock began to gradually become crowded with people. Compared with when they left, the number of soldiers was not much different, but there were nearly a thousand more craftsmen and apprentices.
Tian Yu came over and said to Yuan Xi: "Sir, should we go back to Beixin City directly or go somewhere else?"
Yuan Xi looked at the craftsmen behind him and thought that if there were so many craftsmen brought to the farthest Beixin City first and then distributed to various counties, it would not only be a waste of manpower and material resources, but also waste the most precious time.
He said: "We will start from the cities we conquered and inspect them one by one. Finally, we will return to Beixin City. Every time we visit a city, we will allocate the corresponding shortage of craftsmen."
Guo Jia on the side listened and said: "Young master is right to do this."
"If you don't understand the conditions of the people in the city you govern, you can't govern a place well. If you don't see it with your own eyes and experience it with your own eyes, you can't understand the people's conditions."
"And these few official vacancies in the city are waiting for the young master to make a decision."
While everyone was talking, a spy came to report that an army of horses was approaching.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Could it be that they were enemies?
If this is really the case, it will hit an iron plate. Although Yuan Xi's soldiers are only a thousand, almost all of them are wearing armor. Looking at the whole world, they are also a capable and powerful army.
However, when the cavalry of a hundred people arrived at the dock, everyone discovered that the leader was actually Liu He. Upon questioning, they found that he came from Jicheng, Guangyang County.
Liu He dismounted and paid homage to the young master: "He has met the young master."
Yuan Xi quickly stepped forward to help Liu He up and said, "Brother Liu has worked hard these days. It is all thanks to my reputation that I was able to conquer the two counties of Youzhou."
Yuan Xi's words are true. Liu He's efforts to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender were very effective. Otherwise, if he attacked the two counties and cities forcefully, he would lose many soldiers.
Liu Heqian said: "Young Master, I'm very grateful. Zilong and other generals are all fierce generals in the world. He is just the icing on the cake."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "I feel at ease when Brother Liu is doing things, but Brother Liu seems to be worried about me, otherwise he wouldn't come to greet me in person."
"Originally, you can just ask a general to come here. Brother Liu is afraid that if he stays in the big city and doesn't leave, I will suspect him of having ulterior motives?"
After hearing this, Liu He first had a wry smile on his face, and then couldn't help laughing, "Young Master said this so bluntly, He was speechless."
He lowered his voice and said, "Young Master knows things like a god, and He does have such concerns."
"Speaking of it, the young master is really unguarded. You must know that my father had a high prestige in Youzhou during his lifetime. Many people who are attached to him defected to me because of my late father's face."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "That's why I use Brother Liu seriously."
Liu He said helplessly: "This is a good thing and a bad thing. Some of the people who come to rely on me do have a good career."
"But some people do have evil intentions and want to make me and the Young Master an enemy. I have already locked them up."
"But there are still some things that I can't handle, so I came here to ask the young master to make a decision."
Yuan Xi knew that the matter was difficult for Liu He to handle and must be quite troublesome. He immediately got on his horse and rode alongside Liu He, walking far ahead of the team. Then he said to Liu He: "Brother Liu, please tell me."
Liu He then spoke: "Before the Battle of Yijing, several forces that opposed Gongsun Zan have now come into contact with me."
"The biggest branch is Shanyu Tadun's side."
"I heard that he has sent people to Yecheng to ask for marriage with the Yuan family. Jizhou seems to have agreed, but the candidate for the Yuan family's daughter is pending."
"I got the news that Mr. Xianfu is trying his best to marry Mr. Benchu's eldest daughter."
When Yuan Xi heard this, his face darkened.
He said aloud: "What did General Zilong say?"
Liu He sighed: "It's precisely because he didn't say a word from the beginning to the end that I wanted to ask the young master what to do."
Yuan Xi lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "Send someone to deliver a message to Shan Yutanton, saying that I want to talk to him about the marriage."
Since Yuan Shang can't count on him, it is the simplest and most direct way to go directly to Shan Yu Tadun.
Liu He worriedly said, "Will it irritate him?"
Yuan Xi sneered and said: "I am the governor of Youzhou now. I would like to see if he really dares to stand on Yuan Shang's side and go against me."
Yuan Xi thought that the fate of Shan Yu Tadun was not good in history, and from his side, he did not want Shan Yu Tadun to become powerful. The marriage was effective in the short term, but it was a hidden danger in the long term, just like the Southern Huns. Same.
"Any more?"
Liu He said: "Yes, Yan Rou sent someone to see me."
When Yuan Xi heard this name, he thought that this person was even more troublesome. Behind Shanyu Tadun were Wuhuan people, but behind this person were Xianbei, Wuhuan and Han people.
He frowned and said, "What does he want to do?"
Liu He said: "He showed his kindness to the young master and stated that he could encourage the young master, but he had to negotiate some conditions."
Yuan Xi thought that this person was indeed difficult to deal with, and immediately said decisively: "But, Brother Liu arranged a place and asked him to send his envoys to come and talk."
"Any more?"
Liu He said: "Also, according to the wishes of the young master, I personally went to Xu Wushan to invite Tian Chou."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi perked up and said, "What did he say?"
(End of chapter)
