At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 342: Marrying the Xiahou Family

"Foreign Minister Xia Houyuan, pay homage to His Royal Highness the King of Chu!"

Seeing Zhou Qi, who has entered middle age, even Xia Houyuan bowed and saluted, and did not show any look of resignation.

It's not that Xia Houyuan is greedy for life and afraid of death, nor is it that Xia Houyuan is afraid of Zhou Qi.

As a former close friend of Cao Cao, Zhou Qi was able to build such a foundation from scratch in just a few decades. This legendary experience made Xia Houyuan still admire him even if he was on the opposite side.

It was precisely because of this admiration that Xia Houyuan saluted Zhou Qi respectfully.

"Why is the genius so talented?"

Zhou Qi stepped forward to support Xia Houyuan, and then said with some sigh: "Gu, Meng De and Yuan Rang are all old friends, and he has been famous for his talents for a long time. I just regret that I have never met each other."

"I am so relieved to be able to see a wonderful talent today!"

Zhou Qi's words were not false.

As early as in his previous life, Zhou Qi had already longed for the magnificent Three Kingdoms period, and especially liked the historical figures in it.

Love their loyalty.

I like their bravery.

I like their strategizing.

Like their tongues.

……

If we say that among the Cao Wei Group, the person who can best assume the role of righteousness is none other than Xiahou Miaocai.

In addition to helping Cao Cao avoid being imprisoned for serious crimes, Xia Houyuan also had another experience that made everyone who heard about it couldn't help but sigh.

Around the time of the Yellow Turban Uprising, there was great chaos in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and many big families suffered a huge blow.

At that time, there was already widespread famine, coupled with repeated war disasters, Xiahou Yuan's family was short of food.

In desperation, Xia Houyuan actually abandoned his youngest son, and finally left the chance of survival to his deceased brother's orphaned daughter.

Making such a choice must have been extremely painful for the father Xia Houyuan. After all, no one can watch their child starve to death without being indifferent.

Even Zhou Qi thought he couldn't do this.

However, Xia Houyuan had a deep sense of loyalty. His deceased brother's daughter was the only child in the family. He made this choice because he didn't want his brother to lose his family relationship.

Later, when the woman went out of the city to collect firewood, she was kidnapped by Zhang Fei and married. The daughter she gave birth to was married to Liu Chan and became Queen of Ji Han.

Xia Houyuan's niece was kidnapped in the fifth year of Jian'an, when she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. At that time, Cao Cao was fighting Yuan Shao in Guandu.

Given Xia Houyuan's status at the time, his niece still had to go out of the city to cut firewood in person. This also shows that Xia Houyuan's family is still relatively poor, and it can be seen that Xia Houyuan is also an honest and self-denying person.

Zhou Qi pulled Xia Houyuan to sit on a wicker chair, and had fresh fruits brought to him, and started chatting with him about home affairs.

During this period, Zhou Qi asked Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren whether their old friends were okay, and then started talking with Xiahou Yuan all over the world.

The two of them talked more and more happily, and finally even talked about their children.

"Although Zhou Ji, the son of King Chu, has not yet reached the crown, he is already able to take charge of his own affairs. It is really embarrassing for both Fengxiao and I to lose in Yizhou."

Xia Houyuan couldn't help but sigh when he thought of his incompetent children and Zhou Ji who was already able to guard one side.

Hearing someone praise his son, Zhou Qi was naturally very happy. He stroked his beard with a smile and said: "This is not the result of my step son alone, but it is all thanks to the sacrifice of Yizhou civil and military forces."

Xia Houyuan suddenly asked: "Young master has reached the step age, why are you still not married?"

In this era, it is very normal to get married at the age of seventeen or eighteen, even a little late.

Zhou Qi looked slightly gloomy when he heard this, and sighed: "Originally, my stepson and Cai Degui's daughter had a marriage contract for a long time, and they even planned to get married last year."

"Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Cai suddenly fell ill and died before the wedding day, so the wedding was delayed."

Zhou Ji's marriage is of great importance. Even with Zhou Qi's current status, he would not dare to do it casually. Instead, he would consider many interests.

Cai's sudden death also caught Zhou Qi off guard.

Originally, Cai Mao wanted to marry his niece to Zhou Ji. However, after the news that Cai died of illness before the wedding day, there were rumors that Cai was not destined to marry the prince.

The ancients were more superstitious.

With Zhou Qi's current status, as long as he can block Yuan Shao's attack, it will only be a matter of time before he becomes emperor.

Zhou Qi proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhou Ji became the prince, and he must also be the emperor in the future.

Then Zhou Ji's wife is the queen.

In this era, people believe more in destiny. If you don’t have destiny, you won’t be the queen. If you have destiny, others will compete for it.

Just like Wu Yi's sister, someone who was good at fortune-telling had already seen that she would be valuable in the future, so Liu Yan allowed his son to marry the Wu family.

However, Liu Yan's son could not suppress the Wu family's destiny and died young.

After Liu Bei occupied Yizhou, in addition to Fazheng's strong dissuasion and his desire to win over people from Dongzhou, he also coveted the fate of his queen.

Of course, in the eyes of future generations, these statements are all feudal superstition and are unfounded.

It’s just that people in this time and space firmly believe in these things.

It was precisely because of the rumors that the marriage with the Cai family was gradually put on hold. Now that Yuan Shao was going on a large-scale southern expedition, he couldn't care less about it.

However, Zhou Qi also took this matter seriously, hoping that his eldest son Zhou Ji would get married soon and have more children, so as to spread the business of the Zhou family.

At this time, Xia Houyuan transformed into the role of an old father and said: "The child's marriage cannot be delayed. If the king has time, he should let the young master marry his wife as soon as possible."

Zhou Qi nodded, then looked at Xia Houyuan strangely and said, "Why did Miaocai suddenly talk about this matter?"

When Xia Houyuan heard this, he laughed sarcastically and said, "To be honest, when I mentioned this matter, I actually wanted to ask for something."

Zhou Qi smiled and said, "There is nothing wrong with a wonderful talent, but it doesn't matter if you say it."

Xia Houyuan said sternly: "We cannot delay the important matter of our children's marriage. To be honest, my deceased brother's daughter, Xia Hou, is already sixteen or seventeen years old. I have raised her at home since she was a child, and I treat her like my own daughter."

"Originally, she has reached the age of marriage long ago, but strangely enough, several marriages that have been planned for a long time have problems when the wedding is approaching, so she is still not married yet."

"I carefully selected a family for her this time. I originally planned to get married this year, but I never thought that unfortunately I would be defeated and captured, and might not be able to go back." "Although I am not in Chang'an, my niece's marriage cannot be delayed. I hope your Majesty will allow me to write a letter and leave my niece’s marriage to my brother Yuan Rang, so as not to miss the important event of my child’s life.”

Zhou Qi couldn't help but be a little stunned when he heard this.

He did not expect that because of his appearance, Zhang Fei did not abduct Xia Houyuan's niece, resulting in Xia Houyuan's niece being unable to get married to this day.

Zhou Qi thought about it, and suddenly an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he asked: "I wonder what your niece looks like and what her character is like?"

When Xiahou Yuan heard this, he said with a hint of pride: "Xiahou's daughter is naturally of good character, virtuous and virtuous, impeccable."

Zhou Qi thought to himself: "Historically, the two daughters of Xia Houyuan's niece became the queens of the Shu Han Dynasty, which is extremely precious."

It was precisely because of this in-law relationship that after Xia Houyuan died in battle at Dingjun Mountain, his body was properly buried by the feuding Shu Han.

It is precisely for this reason that after the Gaoping Ling incident in Cao Wei, Xiahou Ba was worried that he would be liquidated by Sima Yi, so he chose to defect to Cao Wei's feuding Ji Han.

Xiahou Ba can be said to be the uncle of Liu Chan's son, so he also received great preferential treatment in Ji Han, and in the end he was even worshiped as a general of chariots and cavalry.

When Ji Han was destroyed and Guan Yu's entire family was killed, Zhang Fei's descendants received preferential treatment, thanks to the Xiahou family's relationship.

Although the State of Wei was already dominated by the Sima family, it was still the State of Wei in name.

The Xiahou family was the founding hero of Wei. Even though some of Xiahou Yuan's sons were purged by the Sima family, the intertwined marriage relationship between the Xiahou family and other nobles prevented the Sima family from going too far.

With their backing to a large family, they did not dare to do anything too extreme. Therefore, after Xiahou Yuan's seventh son Xiahou and the Sima clan usurped the Wei Dynasty, they still paid homage to Guang Luxun.

It was precisely because of this relationship with the Xiahou family and Liu Chan's voluntary surrender that Zhang Fei and his family were able to receive preferential treatment.

Zhou Qi thought about it and suddenly said to Xia Houyuan: "Since Miao Cai values ​​​​his step-son so much, how about marrying your niece to his step-son so that Gu and Meng De can get back together again?"

"If Meng De is willing to help Gu defeat Yuan Shao, wouldn't it be beautiful if Gu and Meng De share the world?"

This idea suddenly appeared in Zhou Qi's mind. In addition to wanting to ease the relationship with Cao Cao, he also wanted to leave a way out for himself.

Guo Jia's death made Zhou Qi feel that things are impermanent.

If he marries the Xiahou family at this time, even if something happens in the future, the relationship with the Xiahou family will at least guarantee that Zhou Qi will have a bloodline.

And Zhou Qi had long known that even though Xia Houyuan was a bit reckless and not good at strategy, the children he taught were extraordinary.

The four heroes of Xiahou were each extraordinary, but it was a pity that two of them died young.

Xiahou Ba was a man of literary and military skills. After surrendering to Ji Han, he was also a figure that cannot be ignored in the late Three Kingdoms period.

Xiahouhe endured the humiliation and succumbed to the Sima clan. Although he was a coward, at least he saved the Xiahou clan.

According to Zhou Qi's idea, even if he unified the world in the future, he would not kill all of Cao Cao's men. If he had this level of marriage relationship, it would be easier to recruit the Xiahou family in the future.

What's more, Yuan Shao is currently putting too much pressure on Xiangyang. If he can marry the Xiahou family to ease the relationship, even if Cao Cao is unwilling to send troops to help him, Yuan Shao will inevitably divide his troops to defend Cao Cao after learning the news.

That way, Zhou Qi would be less stressed.

Xia Houyuan couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and then said with disbelief on his face: "How could your Majesty have such an idea?"

Zhou Qi looked at Xia Houyuan with a sincere face and said: "Gu and Meng De are close friends. Even if they are at odds with each other, they respect Brother Meng De from the bottom of his heart."

"The Xiahou family and the Cao family share the same spirit, and a marriage with Miaocai is equivalent to a marriage with Brother Mengde."

"I can promise here that with this marriage relationship, no matter how the world changes in the future, as long as one of me and my step son is still alive, we can protect the Cao family and the Xiahou family from decline."

"I also hope that if one day the Chu Kingdom encounters a great disaster, the Cao family and the Xiahou family can look at this level of in-laws and preserve the bloodline of their stepchildren."

Looking at Zhou Qi's sincere face, Xia Houyuan couldn't help but be touched in his heart.

Marriage, in this era, is the second most important relationship after clan.

The reason why the Xiahou family and the Cao family are so close is that there is almost no distinction between you and me. The Xiahou family can even be regarded as a descendant of the Cao family. The fundamental reason is that the two families have been married for generations.

There are rumors in later generations that Cao Cao's father's real name was Xia Hou, and he changed his name to Cao after being adopted by Cao Teng. This view is actually untenable.

The reason why the two families are so close is because they have been married for generations. Although the two families have different surnames, they are actually almost related by blood.

If the Xiahou family and Zhou Qi marry, it will indeed be a retreat for both the Xiahou family and the Cao family.

Xia Houyuan was silent for a long time, and then said with some embarrassment: "My niece has already been engaged. If I marry the young master again, wouldn't it be unfair to me?"

Zhou Qi said sternly: "I only know Miao Cai but value righteousness. However, since the matter is serious, I would like to ask Miao Cai to write a letter. First, what do you think of Brother Meng De?"

Xia Houyuan hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded silently.

In this way, Xia Houyuan wrote the news of Zhou Qi's intention to marry Xiahou family in a letter without reservation, and then ordered people to travel to Chang'an at night.

When Cao Cao received Xia Houyuan's letter, he was stunned on the spot. He did not expect that three of his close friends would be killed in Yizhou. Among them, Guo Jiahe and Yu Jin died, and Zhou Ji was also one of the murderers.

Cao Cao was still angry, but Zhou Qi actually wanted to marry the Xiahou family with a smile on his face.

After being stunned, Cao Cao burst out laughing and said to Xun Yu: "Zhou Ziyi is indeed a great hero in the world. Just his unconstrained ideas make me ashamed."

When Xun Yu heard this, he smiled and said, "Does Mr. Ming plan to accept this marriage?"

Cao Cao stroked his beard lightly, and then said with some regret: "Two attempts to plot Hanzhong resulted in the loss of Boning, Fengxiao, Miaocai, and Wenze. This shows that Yizhou is not a good place."

"To be honest, it may be difficult for me to have the courage to plot Yizhou again in the future."

"Apart from Yizhou, we can only target Yuan Benchu. If that's the case, why not marry Ziyi?"

Xun Yu was silent when he heard this.

Cao Cao is right. Yizhou has won two games in a row, and the general trend has been established. It will be more difficult to plot in the future, and the people in Guanzhong may not be willing to attack Yizhou again.

At this time, it is the best choice to shake hands with Zhou Qi and make peace with each other, and to seek the land of the Central Plains together.

Of course, there is one thing that Cao Cao did not say, that is, not only Zhou Qi needs to consider the future of the family, but Cao Cao does the same.

The Xiahou family and Zhou Qi were married. With this relationship, even if Zhou Qi unified the world in the future, he would at least be able to preserve the bloodlines of the Cao family and Xiahou family.

After making the decision, Cao Cao planned to reply to Zhou Qi.

Xun Yu said at this time: "At this time, Yuan Benchu's offensive is fierce, and Zhou Ziyi needs foreign aid more than we do. In this case, Duke Ming might as well ask Zhou Ziyi to release Xiahou Miaocai and those who were captured at Yangping Pass on the condition of marriage. The soldiers of Guan Zhong."

When Cao Cao heard this, he couldn't help stroking his hands and laughing, saying, "Wen Ruo's words are very good!"

(End of this chapter)