Chapter 46 Heavy and Brilliant Ideals

Yuan Xi didn't even think before saying, "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and it was Wu Zhao who entered.

She thought Yuan Xi was alone in the room, but when she looked up, she saw a woman kneeling in front of Yuan Xi, her body lowered, and Yuan Xi with a strange expression.

Wu Zhao was stunned, not knowing what the two were doing, and then her face flushed red.

The gentry class favored drinking and consorting with prostitutes. Most young masters from noble families were like this. Since Wu Zhao entered the mansion, she always felt that Yuan Xi had no women around him. Even the dozens of dancing girls who were later selected had never been summoned to his bed.

Only today did Wu Zhao confirm that no wonder Yuan Xi usually seemed pure and desireless. It turned out that he really liked married women!

Fortunately, her face was mottled with black and red, so her embarrassment was not visible. She hurriedly turned around and walked out, saying as she walked, "I've come at a bad time."

Yuan Xi stopped her and said, "You've come at the perfect time."

He was worried about how to deal with Lady Ma, so he had to say, "I have some things to discuss with Wu Zhao. I will think carefully about your matter."

Lady Ma had no choice but to get up and bid farewell to Yuan Xi. Before leaving, she secretly glanced at Wu Zhao and closed the door behind her as she left.

Her action didn't seem intentional, but the two people in the room felt awkward, and both felt that the air had frozen.

Yuan Xi also reacted at this time and said in a hoarse voice, "Things are not what you think."

Wu Zhao was even more flustered and said softly, "I didn't think anything."

Yuan Xi was helpless. Your expression is obviously wrong!

But he couldn't explain himself. It wouldn't be realistic to say that he didn't have any impulsive thoughts about Lady Ma.

Because of the influence of later generations, Yuan Xi felt that women in their twenties were just the right age.

In this era, women of this age were already married, and their children could already work in the fields.

The unmarried maids were all younger than the last, which always made him feel strange.

However, Yuan Xi was just thinking about Lady Ma. He couldn't bring himself to take advantage of a widow and her child.

Yuan Xi cleared his throat, "What is it, Madam?"

Wu Zhao hesitated and said, "I don't want to stay in Beixin City."

Yuan Xi was quite surprised to hear this, "Do you want to go home?"

He showed a look of regret, "Madam's talent is rare among the women I have seen. It's really a pity."

"In the future, I still want to establish charity schools in Youzhou, so that Madam can specialize in teaching women, so that women can also have books to read."

"To be honest, I really can't bear to let Madam leave."

"However, since Madam has been kind to me, I can't force you to stay."

Wu Zhao felt sour and happy as she listened.

She whispered, "I don't want to leave you, but I want to go to Yanzhou with you."

Yuan Xi was stunned.

Wu Zhao lowered her head and said, "When you were talking secretly with your brother just now, I happened to be next door, and there happened to be some gaps that transmitted the sound."

"I don't know how much of what you said is true, but I probably already understand what you want to do. It is indeed quite dangerous."

"But relying only on Mr. Gongren's letter, I'm afraid there will be many variables."

"Do you understand that Zhang Miao and Lu Bu are your father's mortal enemies? If you are exposed, you will be in danger of being killed."

"Especially Zhang Miao, he is one of the Eight Friends and has a very good relationship with Cao Cao. Yuan Gong sent Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao refused."

"If you want to persuade him to oppose Cao Cao, you should start with the Yanzhou gentry and persuade them with the matter of Cao Cao killing Bian Rang, but that should not be enough."

Yuan Xi was shocked to hear this, "You can understand the twists and turns?"

Wu Zhao whispered, "I lied before. I am actually a servant in Cai Zhonglang's family. I have some understanding of the affairs between the gentry."

She was also going all out. Her experiences during this period made Wu Zhao understand that Yuan Xi had great ambitions and ideals, which were completely opposite to those of the gentry.

When the world was in chaos, the gentry said that there was nothing wrong with the Han system, but the people were wrong, and the world was wrong.

Yuan Xi said that the Han system was wrong, the people were not wrong, and the people were the world.

These were extremely rebellious words, but Yuan Xi said them lightly. When it came to his ultimate goal, Wu Zhao saw light in Yuan Xi's eyes.

End the troubled times!

It sounded simple, but it was extremely heavy, and it might not be possible to achieve it in one's lifetime.

But compared to those gentry who only knew how to talk, Wu Zhao saw a keen and burgeoning hope in Yuan Xi.

That was the brilliant light that she had never seen in her father, who was known as a model for scholars in the world.

She wanted to see with her own eyes whether Yuan Xi could reach the end.

Yuan Xi thought to himself after hearing Wu Zhao's words, so that's how it is. Cai Yong was a world-renowned Confucian scholar. Almost all famous gentry visited Cai Yong. Later, when he arrived in Luoyang, he also held a high position. Naturally, he knew the gentry of the world like the back of his hand.

It was reasonable that Wu Zhao, as a servant in Cai Yong's family, had long listened to his conversations and knew the intricate relationships between the gentry.

I found a treasure!

Wu Zhao continued, "The matter of Yanzhou is extremely complicated. Bian Rang's death alone cannot make Zhang Miao turn against Cao Cao."

"So I think, maybe I can help you."

Yuan Xi suddenly woke up when he heard this. He was still too confident!

He did know the general history, and he also knew that Zhang Miao would betray Cao Cao, but he ignored how many hidden joints there were in it?

If Zhang Miao and others were the ones who brought this about, and he, who did not know the truth, revealed his flaws, would he be considered a spy and killed directly by Zhang Miao?

He bowed solemnly, "Please enlighten me on the key points, Madam."

Wu Zhao quickly bowed in return, "I am ashamed. These are just some wild words. Please listen to them."

She slowly opened her mouth and began to talk about the situation of the Yanzhou gentry.

Of course, she was very familiar with this place.

From the sixth year of Xiping (177 AD) to the sixth year of Zhongping (189 AD), Cai Yong took his family to live in the Wu and Yanzhou areas for twelve years, relying on the Yang family of Mount Tai to avoid disaster.

It can be said that Wu Zhao's childhood was spent here.

As Wu Zhao spoke, Yuan Xi became more and more surprised.

The Yanzhou gentry, there are so many twists and turns inside?

Wu Zhao's simple words revealed many internal problems of the Yanzhou gentry. It was not a monolithic whole, and there were many factions.

Listening to Wu Zhao's words, Yuan Xi's thoughts gradually became clear.

Cao Cao's killing of Bian Rang was just a trigger. The fundamental reason was that Cao Cao had touched the fundamental interests of the gentry at the same time.

The Tuntian system.

Yuan Xi and Cao Cao had both chosen to strike at the gentry from the bottom of the pot, but Cao Cao used the Tuntian system and other means to restrict the gentry's land.

Although this slave-like method was very effective in raising military rations in this chaotic world, it also accurately targeted the labor shortage left in the local area after the Yellow Turban Rebellion massacred the gentry.

Yuan Xi chose Youzhou as his base, where there were few gentry and they were unwilling to live.

To establish a centralized force, one must both use and restrict the gentry. This coincided with the ideas of the emperors of the Han Dynasty.

It was said that the eunuchs were in chaos, but the eunuchs could only stand on the emperor's side from beginning to end.

The eunuchs had to fight against the gentry.

However, the gentry and the eunuchs were also inseparable. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's ancestors were all members of the eunuch party.

The emperor, the eunuchs, and the gentry were intertwined, forming a complex situation that had lasted for hundreds of years.

However, now that Cao Cao's power was not stable, he could not wait to kill Bian Rang, causing the Yanzhou gentry to become vigilant.

Zhang Miao, Chen Gong, Tao Qian, and others were not fools. They should have seen the signs.

Taking this as a breakthrough, the possibility of persuading them would greatly increase!

Although Yuan Xi had to admit that many of his ideas were very similar to Cao Cao's.

But he still couldn't accept Cao Cao's methods.

The more similar they were, the more they had to compete.

Although his ability was far inferior to this number one treacherous hero of the Three Kingdoms, his greatest respect for him was to fight against him with all his strength and leave no regrets.

Moreover, Cao Cao fought against the gentry all his life. After his death, the recommendation system was replaced by the even more excessive Nine-Rank System, and the world still entered the era of gentry restoration.

Could he slightly change the course of history and make the world a better place?

In Yuan Xi's heart, it seemed that a fire was burning fiercely.

He bowed down and said, "If Madam can help me, there will be more hope of success. I am very grateful."

"This trip is dangerous, and life and death are unpredictable."

"Whether to go or not is entirely up to Madam."

Wu Zhao smiled brightly when she heard this, "I will advance and retreat with you."

Yuan Xi saw that although her face was mottled with color, this smile made her look elegant and the whole room was filled with fragrance.