Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1269: Switch to Battle
Yuan Xi personally welcomed Zhuge Liang at the city gate. He held Zhuge Liang's hand and said, "You have made great contributions in defeating the Xianbei this time. Thank you for your hard work, military advisor."

Zhuge Liang quickly returned the greeting and said modestly: "This is my responsibility, and I am glad I have fulfilled my mission."

"It's just a pity that Zhu Luohou got away this time."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. They are almost completely wiped out and can no longer cause any trouble."

"It is said that they have fled to the Gongsun family's territory. I just want to take this opportunity to see their reaction."

The two rode side by side towards the city. Zhuge Liang said, "The situation with the Gongsun family is very delicate. They were originally attacking Goguryeo, but since General Guo Rang conquered the Three Kingdoms of Han and blocked Goguryeo's retreat, the Gongsun family has taken a defensive stance."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Gongsun Kang is a wise man. He is afraid that Goguryeo will be forced into a corner by Guo Rang, so he will place the main force of the counterattack on his side."

"Now that the road leading to the peninsula in the south of Goguryeo has been blocked by Tian Yu, they can only collude with the Xianbei if they want to break the impasse."

"But Goguryeo and Xianbei also have a feud, so they must have been quite conflicted internally, and were hesitant about which side to bow to."

"Jin, Xianbei, Gongsun family, these parties do not want to bow their heads, nor do they want to be enemies. They are even more afraid of being divided by us."

"And I don't want to push Goguryeo too hard, lest I force them to rebel against the other side."

"So the situation surrounding Goguryeo is a mess right now. It can't be cleared up in a short time. In this case, it's better to put it aside for now."

"More than 100,000 Xianbei people were annihilated this time. In addition to Lou Ban's death and the return of Wuhuan to Tadun, the balance of power in the north has also changed. If I intervene rashly, it will only stimulate them to unite."

Zhuge Liang said, "I thought so too. So this time when I returned, I placed Qian Zhao at the Xuwu Pass. On the one hand, I wanted to observe the Wuhuan's attitude in the future, and on the other hand, I wanted to prevent the Xianbei from invading again next year."

"I always feel that Kobe is not a simple person. Although he killed more than 100,000 Xianbei people, he had enough food to survive the winter. It can be said that he sacrificed his own car to save his own driver and cut off his own arm to save his life."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right, this person is not simple, so we can't let him become powerful, otherwise he will become a serious threat sooner or later."

"I will send someone to contact Budugen and Suli, and try to get them to join forces to deal with Kobinen first."

"Of course, this will cost some money and goods, but compared to the death of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Jin people, it is still worth it."

"Besides, the Xianbei were defeated so badly this time, Kobe's prestige will definitely be damaged. In the next one or two years, he will act more cautiously. If he wants to invade again, he must first consolidate the voices within the tribe. So during this period of time, I will take advantage of this time to recuperate and solve the problem of Wu as soon as possible."

Zhuge Liang said, "My lord, do you want to attack Wu?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's right. Sun Quan wants to make a last-ditch effort. If we don't pin him down, it will be even more troublesome in the future."

"It's a good time to let the soldiers in the north take a rest for a year or so, so that they can farm and recuperate. The soldiers in Jianghuai have been resting for two years, so it's time for them to move around."

"I will leave the defense of Yecheng to the military advisor. I will go to Shouchun and discuss with Boyan how to deal with Sun Quan."

"By the way, the military advisor has made great contributions this time, and no one can doubt it. After arriving in Yecheng, I will appoint the military advisor as the left prime minister, and he will lead the Sili Xiaowei and open a government."

"When the time comes, the affairs of Jizhou and Yanzhou will be handed over to the military advisor."

Zhuge Liang was shocked and said, "I am so young, and I have only won once or twice by chance. How can I be qualified for such a great task?"

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "Military Advisor, there is no need to be modest. Now that Jin is able to be thorough in military and political affairs, the military advisor should take the lead."

"And..." He suddenly thought of something, slowed down his pace, waited for Zhen Mi's carriage to come, lifted the curtain and asked, "Is Rui'er still in Jicheng?"

After getting Zhen Mi's answer, Yuan Xi thought for a moment and said, "I was negligent."

"Rui'er has learned a lot of words under the Queen's instruction. It's time for her to learn some common sense."

He then said to Sun Li: "Take your men to Jicheng now and bring Yuan Rui over."

"Also, bring the military advisor's wife along as well."

Yuan Xi turned to Zhuge Liang and said, "For a period of time, what the military advisor needs to do is to stay in Yecheng and stop the attack on Cao's army."

"The last thing is to ask Kong Ming to be Rui'er's teacher and arrange an official position for him in the mansion, starting from the bottom."

Zhuge Liang heard this and said hesitantly: "I am not very knowledgeable, but since you have asked me to, I will teach you everything I know."

"But isn't it a little too early for the prince at this age?"

Yuan Xi sighed: "Although he is a little earlier than his peers at this age, he was born in my house and the burden is naturally heavy."

"The responsibility is there. If you can't bear it, the people will suffer. If you don't have the qualifications to sit in this position, you will repeat the mistakes of the Huan and Ling dynasties."

Zhen Mi, who was listening nearby, was startled, knowing that Yuan Xi was serious this time. At the same time, she became worried, wondering if Yuan Xi was a little anxious.

Now that Wei and Wu have not yet been destroyed, how do you think the war for the world will continue for another ten or twenty years?

But he really didn't know that after thinking about it, Yuan Xi felt that the Wu Kingdom no longer had any need to exist.

Wei also had Yizhou, Sili, Liangzhou and Jingzhou. These places had retreat routes and were not easy to destroy. They could be dealt with slowly. However, Sun Quan was too aggressive now and Yuan Xi was already overwhelmed by him. Now that the Jin navy had the help of steam engines, it could divide the Wu navy in a short time. It was time to settle accounts with them thoroughly. He said to Zhuge Liang: "The soldiers in the north should rest so as not to delay the use of troops in the south."

"Many people may think that I am warmongering, but if the war ends one day earlier, many fewer people will die. In this case, it is better to suffer a short pain than a long one."

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "That is true, but please take care of yourself, my lord. You have been sick several times this year, right?"

Yuan Xi smiled awkwardly, "I understand, I will pay attention."

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang sighed in his heart that with a lord like Yuan Xi, his subordinates would not dare to slack off for a single day.

Everyone rested in Yijing for a few days, and only set out again and headed towards Yecheng when Sun Li brought people to escort Yuan Rui and Huang Yueying over.

Zhuge Liang was very cautious along the way. He first sent spies to investigate the surrounding area for dozens of miles before letting the soldiers open the way. He explained to Yuan Xi: "Although the Wei army lost Yecheng and retreated to Chang'an, there were still more than 10,000 Wei troops in Jizhou who did not have time to withdraw with them."

"Some of them later surrendered the city, while others abandoned the city and fled, becoming bandits."

"When Liang was in Yecheng before, he also sent people to capture the bandits, but there were still nearly a thousand of them roaming around Jizhou."

"Because it's winter, the trail is hard to find. We will intensify the search after daybreak."

After thinking about it, Yuan Xi said, "After the spring comes, have people work harder to avoid hurting the people and delaying the spring ploughing."

"But don't push them too hard, or they might end up doing something desperate."

By the time everyone arrived in Yecheng, the weather had begun to warm up, the snow had melted, and the land of Jizhou began to show a scene of reconstruction.

Yuan Xi took Zhen Mi to sit in the car. The two looked at the outline of Yecheng in the distance and could not help but feel a lot of emotion. Yuan Xi sighed and asked, "How many years have we been away?"

"Seven years, or eight years?"

Zhen Mi said, "More than nine years, almost ten years."

"Time flies by so fast. I feel like my youth is fleeting and I am no longer young."

Yuan Xi turned his head and looked at Zhen Mi's face which showed almost no trace of time, and smiled: "No, the queen will always be young, whether in reality or in my heart."

He looked at Yuan Rui who was reading a book quietly and said, "But Rui'er is growing up day by day. He has become this tall in the blink of an eye."

"To be honest, I am not a good father. I have only seen you very few times in the past few years."

Zhen Mi whispered: "Your Majesty is my husband, and the king of all people in the world. I am already very satisfied."

Yuan Xi thought of his wedding day with Zhen Mi and was deeply moved. He held Zhen Mi's hand tightly. The two looked at each other and smiled. Everything was expressed without words.

The gate of Yecheng slowly opened, welcoming the two back to where it all began.

The beginning of spring was quite peaceful. Zhen Mi donated a large amount of wealth on behalf of the Zhen family, and also transported a large amount of materials through caravans to start rebuilding Yecheng.

As the weather warmed up, the ground became softer, and with the help of steam-powered excavators, Yecheng soon underwent a major renovation, widening the roads, digging deeper ditches, reinforcing the embankments of rivers along the way, and adding underground ditches for water diversion.

This siege was originally quite massive. In the past, it would have taken several years and would have been a huge undertaking that was extremely costly and labor-intensive. However, under Zhuge Liang's plan, the conscripted labor was combined with spring plowing, thus solving the food problem for many refugees.

And because the Zhen family took the lead in donating money, the Jizhou gentry also reacted quickly. They donated money and materials to express their attitude towards the State of Jin. After all, everyone could see that the trend of the State of Jin was already set. If they did not take the opportunity to show their loyalty to Yuan Xi, they might never have another chance in the future.

With the help of the steam engine, as spring passed and summer was about to begin, the reconstruction of Yecheng had taken shape, and the bandits in Jizhou had been wiped out one by one. The entire Jizhou became full of vitality and everything was flourishing.

As for the Wei State, they were very honest. Except for Ma Chao who harassed Huaicheng in Sili twice and was driven away by Zhao Yun in Heishan, the situation was very peaceful and both sides were recuperating.

On this day, Zhuge Liang was analyzing the situation in the world with Yuan Xi. After hearing Yuan Xi talk about Sima Yi being the most troublesome person in Wei State, Zhuge Liang felt the same way and said, "My lord, you are right. Sima Yi is very intelligent. Although he is a civil servant, he is also very talented in military and political affairs."

"If he were to take charge of Wei's military affairs, I'm afraid it would take a lot of effort in the future."

Yuan Xi pondered for a moment and said, "A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Send people to spread rumors that he is planning a rebellion."

He then laughed and said, "If the king and his subjects knew each other, this strategy would be useless. But after Cao Cao's death, undercurrents surged within the Wei Kingdom, and many people were fighting against each other."

"I heard that many people from the Cao and Xiahou families were also being ostracized, and some were even arrested?"

"Cao Pi is courting death, so let's add fuel to the fire."

Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly, thinking that his lord really did things in an unconventional way.

While the two were talking, a guard said that there was an urgent letter from Lu Xun in Jianghuai.

Yuan Xi took the letter, opened the fire seal, glanced at the letter casually, then his face changed drastically and he suddenly stood up.

(End of this chapter)