Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 285 Thank You Mr. Cao
When there was a commotion on the side of the road at the beginning, Yan Rou reacted much faster than the others and arrived right away.

At that time, he kept thinking in his heart that if he summoned his soldiers to clash with the refugees, he would be embarrassed.

He was already prepared for Yuan Xi to pursue him, and he was ready to cut off his wrists and hack several people to death on the spot, and he also asked for punishment.

As a result, when they arrived, they found that the costumes of those soldiers were all soldiers under Yuan Xi's command. Yan Rou breathed a sigh of relief, and felt very lucky that she was not involved.

After a while, he saw Yuan Xi rushing over to deal with the matter, thinking that he was afraid that this kind of unclear situation would eventually make a show and gently expose it, right?

However, what happened later became bigger and bigger than Yan Rou expected. Yuan Xi actually dealt with it seriously according to military law!
You know, when the Han Dynasty was strong, the military law was indeed very strict, but now it is considered a troubled time, and the armies of the princes are equal to private soldiers. Whether they are fighting the territory or farming, they are given preferential treatment. Who cares about the military law?
If it were Yan Rou's own soldiers, they would all want to eat and drink for her to work hard for herself, but Yuan Xi is fine, it doesn't hurt to fight, isn't she afraid that her subordinates will be dissatisfied?

But Yan Rou also woke up, Yuan Xi treated his personal guards so strictly, and his Wuhuan Xianbei soldiers were much more lax, if they committed a crime, could they still escape?
It's okay to do this kind of thing once or twice, but if there are too many, how can I deal with myself?

Yan Rou was secretly vigilant, when she arrived in Jicheng, she had to gather the soldiers under her command and rectify the military discipline first, so as not to cause problems and try to remedy them, it would be too late.

He suddenly realized that by doing this, Yuan Xi was taking the opportunity to hint at himself?

Those sergeants who were beaten had just stood up with a limp, and when they heard Yuan Xi wanted to punish themselves, they quickly knelt down and shouted: "It's really us who are guilty, please don't punish yourself, my lord!"

Tian Yu also said: "Young master, the commander was beaten with a military stick, which will damage the army's prestige."

Hundreds of guards around Yuan Xi cupped their hands together and said, "Please make me think twice!"

Seeing this, Yuan Xi sighed and said, "Since everyone says so, let's change it."

With a bang, he pulled out the knife around his waist, and at the same time took off the hair crown on his head, and his hair fell down all of a sudden.

He returned the knife, the light of the knife crossed, he cut off a large strand of hair and threw it on the ground, shouting: "Cut your hair as a substitute!"

This sudden incident, Tian Yu, Yan Rou and others were stunned, and everyone present trembled!
The reason why people reacted this way was because according to the Han law, cutting hair is a kind of punishment, which is equivalent to the punishment that slaves would receive. At this time, Confucianism was flourishing, and it also advocated that "the body, hair and skin should be treated by parents, and dare not damage them. The beginning of filial piety."

In other words, it's fine for the lower classes, but for the gentry who value the prestige of filial piety, this kind of behavior is extremely serious!

Seeing that everyone looked solemn, Yuan Xi was quite satisfied.

As a modern person, there is no psychological pressure to shave his head, but this effect is what he wants now, thanks to the clever Cao Cao.

Yuan Xi came up with an idea full of malice. Now that he cuts his hair to replace the army stick, if Cao Cao manipulates the horse to step on the young crops in the future, and wants to use the hair to replace the death penalty, how much hair will Cao Cao have to cut if he has his jewels in front of him?

He waved his hand and asked Tian Yu to take away the soldiers who had received military sticks, and while walking to the front of the cart, he asked the soldiers to bring some bread to the couple, and said, "I will arrange people to escort you to Jicheng. Take good care of Ah Weng on the way, and come to me anytime if you need anything."

The husband and wife quickly knelt down to express their thanks, and even dragged the young man to his knees.

Yuan Xi stopped them, touched the boy's head and said: "People say that the land of Yanzhao is full of nobles, this boy is less than ten years old, he is not afraid of sharp swords, he dares to speak out for his family, he is a hero born out of a boy."

He thought for a while, took out the dagger at his waist, handed it to the young man and said, "This knife is for you to protect your family, but don't use it for evil."

The boy took the knife, his face brightened, and he nodded vigorously.

Seeing Yuan Xi escorting the family away, Guo Jia put down the curtain of the car, and Meiji in his arms asked, "Master, why don't you go down?"

Guo Jia smiled slightly: "The Shijun has done a good job, why should I come forward again."

He thought that Yuan Xi's affairs became more and more watertight. He punished the sergeant to rectify the military discipline, cut his hair to appease and shocked everyone, and finally gave the boy a knife, but he protected the opponent's family.

No matter what Yuan Xi's real thoughts are, this performance is already quite remarkable, and it can be regarded as having the appearance of a lord.

After Yuan Xi got into the carriage, the team continued to march, and all the soldiers muttered as they walked.

"The envoy is too ruthless. It's unheard of for the gentry to cut their hair."

"We have to be careful in the future, so as not to offend the envoy."

"That is, serving as a soldier under the envoy, with land and food, life is much better than before. If you make a mistake and be beaten as a lowly citizen, you will lose everything, and your family will be implicated!"

Everyone thought it was true, and someone whispered: "You said that the emperor's virtue is so noble, is it true, as the rumors say, that a real person from heaven came down to earth?"

Everyone nodded and agreed in unison, "It really makes sense to say that!"

Inside the carriage, Zhen Mi carefully helped Yuan Xi gather up his hair, fasten the hair crown, and then insert the hairpin to fix it.

She looked at Yuan Xique with a large piece of hair in distress, and wanted to speak, but couldn't speak.

Madam Wu was indeed very emotional, Yuan Xi and her son Sun Ce, can be said to be two completely opposite types of people, the contrast in their work styles is extremely sharp.

Sun Ce was almost carved out of the same mold as Sun Jian. He is bold and forthright, full of personal charm, and is a model of the ranger in this era. As a result, he has attracted a large number of like-minded people in Jiangdong.

It can be said that Sun Ce's behavior is the demeanor of the gentry. From Yuan Shao to Yuan Shu, from Sun Jian to Cao Cao, when he was young, he was always flying eagles and lackeys, calling friends and friends, which is called character.

In all fairness, Mrs. Wu doesn't like this kind of behavior very much. She once advised Sun Ce that since she has great ambitions, she should mature as soon as possible. When those princes are going to build their careers, don't they still pay attention to their reputation?
Sun Ce didn't hear much, and still went his own way, which made Mrs. Wu quite helpless.

In contrast, Yuan Xi was extremely introverted and quiet, everything he did was thoughtful, he was young and mature, and he possessed the self-discipline that is rare among scholars of this age. In this regard, he was just like Sun Ce's fathers.

Like...carrying something heavy.

Mrs. Wu thought that she didn't know how Yuan Xi's character was formed, maybe he had encountered many things, which made him what he is today?

The key thing that makes Mrs. Wu extremely ashamed is that she has an inexplicable relationship with her, and even has a child!
Madam Wu couldn't help thinking about the situation that night, maybe it was because of being drunk, Yuan Xi was uncharacteristically domineering, and his behavior was very different from his usual behavior. Is it because of drunkenness, or the release of a suppressed nature?
Madam Wu's face became hotter and hotter, she couldn't help clamping her legs, and secretly scolded herself for being shameless, although Yuan Xi might be showing her true colors, why not herself?
Thinking of how unbearable she behaved in the end, Mrs. Wu was on pins and needles, thinking that she liked being treated like that, wouldn't it be even more abnormal?

If Zhen Mi felt something, she glanced at Mrs. Wu, and Mrs. Wu was too frightened to move.

However, Yuan Xi found Madam Wu's expression was unnatural, and asked: "Madam, is it because you have been sitting in the carriage for a long time and you feel unwell?"

"Do you want to see Mr. Yuanhua?"

Mrs. Wu hurriedly said: "I'm fine, don't worry, my lord."

After hearing this, Zhen Mi said, "Let's take a look. Madam is pregnant with her husband and child. What if the fetus becomes gassy during this long journey?"

It's good that Zhen Mi didn't mention this, but Mrs. Wu felt that her hands and feet had no place to rest, so she couldn't help but fold her hands to cover her lower abdomen, as if she wanted to press it flat with force.

Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi looked at each other, understanding that Mrs. Wu still couldn't fully accept the reality, and now they could only take one step at a time.

After another half day, near noon, the carriage stopped and camped on the spot to light a fire.

At that time when marching, it was reasonable that the only meal at night was to light a fire and eat hot food, but now there was no war and there was no need to hurry, so Yuan Xi ordered everyone to rest twice a day and start cooking at noon.

As soon as this order came out, the sergeants were all very happy. It was not long after the Chinese New Year and the weather was still cold. It was much more comfortable to eat one more hot meal a day.

Yuan Xi told Zhen Mi and Mrs. Wu to find Huan's mother and daughter to have dinner together, while he and Tian Yu and the others shared the same pot and stove with the soldiers. Seeing Yuan Xi squatting by the pot, drinking corn porridge from a wooden bowl, In the eyes of the soldiers, in addition to being in awe, there was also a bit of respect for the crowd.

The previous events let them understand that this envoy has a very bottom line in doing things, and if he touches it, he will deal with it seriously!
Yuan Xi didn't care about everyone's gaze, he picked wild vegetables and dried minced meat in the bowl, he raised his head slightly to chew, and accidentally saw the foot of the soldier opposite, his face showed doubts, and then sank down.

He stretched out his wooden chopsticks, pointed to the soldier opposite and said, "Where are your shoes?"

The soldier on the opposite side was startled, seeing that he was wearing a pair of tattered straw sandals on his feet, and his exposed toes were cracked by frost.

Tian Yu also realized that when he was in Guangling, Yuan Xi thought about going on a long-distance march, so he specially bought winter boots and asked Tian Yu to distribute them to everyone.

Those winter boots were made of rabbit skin, they were expensive, and they cost a lot of money.

Now the soldiers wear winter straw sandals, also called fei, which are usually made of straw, wheat straw, rice straw, etc. The winter straw sandals are filled with hay to keep out the cold, which are much simpler than leather boots.

Tian Yu thought the quartermaster was cheating, so he said, "Tell me the truth, have the boots been delivered to you?"

The soldier hurriedly took out a pair of boots from his quilt bag, and said: "The emissary and the supervisor of the army have arrived early, and I have been carrying them on my back."

Tian Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "Why don't you wear it?"

The soldier muttered, "These shoes are very expensive, we don't want to wear them."

"Besides, these leather boots travel through mountains and rivers, and the soles are easily worn out. Straw sandals are more convenient for walking."

After Tian Yu heard this, he turned to Yuan Xi and said, "That's true. The leather boots are not wear-resistant, and riding a horse is fine. Walking on muddy ground is indeed too inconvenient."

He turned to the soldiers again, "Having said that, the shoes you bought are for you to wear. If your feet are freezing, how do you fight?"

After hearing this, the soldier quickly put on his leather boots, carefully tied up his dirty straw sandals, and put them in his bag.

Yuan Xi thought that only when he was with the soldiers could he discover more problems. During this period of time, he was busy with diplomatic negotiations and wandering among the gentry, but he ignored many problems.

Yuan Xi also understands that he can't control everything by himself, and it's impossible to get involved in every detail, so now he urgently needs like-minded companions who can understand him.

This kind of companion is extremely hard to find, and there are only a few of Zhao Yun up to now, and it is also a way to train them personally, just like Yuan Xi deliberately kept Sun Li by his side.

But far away can't quench near thirst, and it may take several years for Sun Li to be on his own. Even so, it's far from enough.

Just like the problem with the shoes in front of us, soldiers often have to face long-distance marches, but the wear-resistant and soft sole materials are really hard to find.

Wooden soles are too hard, grass soles are not strong, leather soles are too expensive, and cloth soles have not yet appeared. Mage soles are the most cost-effective, but they cannot withstand long-distance marches.

After much deliberation, the most suitable thing is the rubber of later generations.

Yuan Xixin said that it seems that he must hurry up to develop maritime trade. The key point is, even if he gets rubber trees to plant, the soil in his own site is not suitable, right?

(End of this chapter)