Chapter 96 The prophecy came true

Yuan Xi leaned back against the carriage wall, his limbs relaxing.

Seeing this, Wu Zhao leaned closer and gently massaged Yuan Xi's temples with both hands.

Yuan Xi felt Wu Zhao's softness brushing against his shoulder, and couldn't help but feel a little distracted. He quickly steadied his mind and said, "When we were in Beixin City, we took action, but now that we're back in Ye City, it's all talk."

Wu Zhao smiled and said, "Fighting on the battlefield, strategizing before the battle, talking is also fighting."

Yuan Xi stretched lazily, "There are too many battles, I really miss the days of farming in Youzhou."

Wu Zhao sighed, "But if there's no war, we can't farm in peace."

Yuan Xi felt deeply, "That's true, if you only hoard grain, others will hoard soldiers, and in the end, you'll gain nothing."

"In the end, it's still the battlefield that counts."

Wu Zhao said softly, "I believe you, my lord, are more qualified than anyone else to end this chaotic world."

"What about after the chaos?" Yuan Xi suddenly asked, "What if another Emperor Ling of Han appears?"

Wu Zhao was stunned, "Then..."

Yuan Xi sighed, "Having children is like opening a blind box, no one knows what they'll become after their father dies."

"The emperor is the same."

Wu Zhao asked curiously, "What is a blind box?"

Yuan Xi then realized and explained, "It's similar to..."

"Gambling?"

"You never know if the dice under the bowl will be a one or a six."

Wu Zhao chuckled, "Now that you put it that way, I can understand."

"As you said, a ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject. If you're unlucky enough to encounter a foolish ruler, the world will suffer."

Yuan Xi shook his head, "There's no such thing as a dynasty that lasts ten thousand generations. Even Emperor Wu of Han said that the one who will replace the Han will be Tu Gao, he clearly saw it more clearly than his later descendants."

Wu Zhao smiled upon hearing this, "It's this prophecy that makes the Third Young Master painstakingly plot against you."

Yuan Xi wanted to sigh, "Ye City is really depressing, the people of Beixin City are much more welcoming. I kind of want to go back."

Me too.

Wu Zhao thought.

Because that's where we met.

She was a little envious of Zhen Mi, who would be able to stand openly with Yuan Xi in the future, while she could only hide in the shadows.

But things are pretty good as they are now. If her identity were to be restored, the Wei family would probably take her back.

Wu Zhao didn't want that. All her loved ones had died, and Yuan Xi was probably the only person in the world who cared about her.

In the future, no matter how many concubines he had, no matter how many people loved him, she wouldn't care.

She just needed to be by his side.

The two returned to the Yuan residence, only to see officials and guards going in and out of the mansion, indicating that something had happened.

Yuan Xi led Wu Zhao into the residence, only to see Yuan Shao leading several strategists out in a hurry.

When Yuan Shao saw Yuan Xi, a strange look appeared on his face, and he said, "Xianyi, you were right again."

"A major locust plague has occurred in Sili, and it's spreading rapidly, already entering Ji Province and Yan Province."

"I urged the counties to harvest the autumn grain early a few days ago, but some local clans disobeyed in secret, and they're the ones who will suffer in the end."

"But this time, you've made another contribution. When you have time, I want to meet the extraordinary person behind you."

"You come with me now."

As soon as Yuan Xi heard this, he told Wu Zhao a few words, and then followed Yuan Shao and Yuan Shang out.

Yuan Shang followed behind Yuan Shao, gnashing his teeth. Yuan Xi really does have an expert behind him!

Yuan Xi pretended not to see it. His third brother was stubborn, and he couldn't do anything about him for the time being, so he just pretended he was glared at by a dog.

Yuan Shao, along with Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang, gathered officials and strategists from all sides, and at the same time arranged for soldiers to deliver orders to various parts of Ji Province, ordering them to immediately harvest the wheat.

Within a few days, the locust plague swept through the entire territory of Ji Province and Yan Province, and rushed into Qing Province and Xu Province. Wherever it went, nothing grew, and the crops yielded nothing.

Yuan Xi sorted out the disaster reports from various places, feeling a little uncomfortable. The locust plague had really happened, and now I'm afraid many people will be displaced and have a difficult winter.

As for not informing the world about the locust plague in advance, he didn't have such a boring sense of guilt.

He didn't owe the world anything, he could only do what he could at the moment.

Calculating like this, Lu Bu and Zhang Miao should be starting an uprising. Saving tens of thousands of people from dying in Xu Province was already the limit of what Yuan Xi could do.

He classified and sorted the bamboo slips, consulted Tian Feng, who was next to him, on a few questions, and then sat down, took out a writing brush, and began to record the response matters of the locust plague on it.

Yuan Shao launched disaster relief, of course, to prevent instability in Ji Province, but also to win people's hearts. After all, if the grain could not be harvested, many big troubles would arise later.

Yuan Xi picked up his pen and wrote down the overall planning of money and grain affairs in various places, feeling more and more skilled.

In the past few days, he had been handling the locust plague affairs with Yuan Shao's strategists and subordinates, learning a lot of things that he couldn't come into contact with in Beixin City.

The operation of the bureaucratic system, how the upper and lower parties implemented it, the role of each official position, the strategists' suggestions, and how to distinguish whether they could be adopted, all of which Yuan Xi had never learned before.

Now he already knew the operating rules of the counties, and even if he became the master of a place in the future, he would be able to barely take on the job.

Yuan Xi understood that Yuan Shao was deliberately cultivating him.

This was something Yuan Xi had worked hard to obtain.

Although Yuan Shang had harmed him with medicine once, Yuan Shao might have been a little disappointed in Yuan Xi's failure, but Yuan Xi had already impressed Yuan Shao in other aspects.

The three years in Beixin City and the trip to Xu Province proved his ability to command battles.

Predicting the chaos in Ye City and the locust plague showed that he had the strategies and decisions of a strategist.

Yuan Xi estimated that in Yuan Shao's heart, his evaluation of himself was probably not as good as Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, but he had already begun to be valued and carefully cultivated.

I guess Yuan Shang hates me even more now.

Sure enough, when Yuan Xi returned to the residence, Yuan Shao ordered someone to find him to go to the study.

Yuan Xi met Liu and Yuan Shang on the road. Yuan Xi respectfully saluted, and Yuan Shang and his mother also smiled and returned the salute.

When Yuan Xi lowered his head, he clearly heard Liu's faint voice of gnashing teeth.

He bowed and sent Yuan Shang and his mother away, feeling a headache in his heart. This mother and son seemed to be unwilling to give up.

He had a premonition that Madam Liu would definitely obstruct his marriage with Zhen Mi.

This was what gave Yuan Xi the biggest headache. Even if Yuan Shang targeted him, he could make some counterattacks and wouldn't be helpless.

But Madam Liu couldn't.

She was his nominal mother, and in this era where filial piety ruled the world, her wishes were absolutely inviolable.

Especially the marriage of the Zhen family, if Liu broke her face and was determined not to let Yuan Xi marry Zhen Mi, Yuan Xi really couldn't think of any way to deal with it.

Although Yuan Xi admitted that he coveted Zhen Mi's body, what was equally tempting to him was the Zhen family's property.

That was the foundation for transforming the future Youzhou into a rich granary, and he would never let it be given to others.

Similarly, if Yuan Shang controlled the Zhen family, he would have tens of thousands more soldiers.

The two brothers understood this, so no one would give up until the end.

Yuan Xi was a little irritable, damn it, if that's the case, why not just assassinate Madam Liu?

The simplest and most brutal method is often effective, but the aftermath is also great. If someone traced it back, Yuan Xi would lose everything, including Youzhou, including the Zhen family.

So he didn't want to go this route unless he had to.

Yuan Xi was even more headache, marrying a wife couldn't bypass the orders of his parents!

Not only marriage, but also territory.

No matter how well he built Youzhou, Yuan Shao could take back Youzhou with just one sentence. He had no ability to resist his father's orders.

This was also why he wanted to leave the Yuan family as soon as possible and be adopted.

If he was adopted into Yuan Ji's branch, although he would have less support from Yuan Shao, the father-son relationship was still there after all.

And the biggest benefit it brought was that Yuan Ji's family was all dead, and after the adoption, he would become the head of Yuan Ji's branch, and no one would be able to restrain him from doing anything!

At that time, the relationship between him and Yuan Shao would be that of family head to family head.

If he really wanted to break his face at that time, he would kill Madam Liu if he wanted to, and even if it was exposed, he wouldn't have to bear the reputation of being unfilial.

Just like Yuan Shao is to Yuan Shu now, it's just an internal family conflict.

Therefore, even if Yuan Xi has many trump cards now, he can't reveal them, lest he make a wedding dress for others.

Only after the adoption and after truly obtaining Youzhou can he use all his trump cards to improve his strength in the shortest possible time.

Yuan Xi walked to the door of Yuan Shao's study, knocked on the door, and coughed inside, Yuan Shao's voice came: "Come in."

Yuan Xi opened the door and saw that Yuan Shao was already kneeling on the couch, so he went in and closed the door, bowing and saluting: "I have seen Father."

Yuan Shao nodded: "Sit."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi took off his shoes and was about to kneel on the ground, but Yuan Shao said: "Get on the couch."

Yuan Xi was a little surprised, but he still obeyed and sat on the couch, kneeling opposite Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was silent for a while, and sighed: "You have done a lot of things in these three years, and I don't even know how to say it."

"Do you know that some things are rebellious, and I can kill you!"

Yuan Xi's heart jumped, but his expression didn't move at all, "If that's the case, my child should also stretch his neck and accept the punishment."

Yuan Shao was amused by the anger: "How did I, Yuan Benchu, give birth to a rogue son like you, just like Cao Mengde when he was young!"

Yuan Xi said softly: "Let Father know, everything I do is for the Yuan family."

Yuan Shao snorted coldly, "Even if you took in Qu Yi?"

Yuan Xi thought that Yuan Shao really knew everything, and said: "Father should understand that Qu Yi has nothing to do with the chaos in Ye City."

Yuan Shao nodded: "Of course I understand, but the generals of Bing and Liang are too powerful to get rid of, just like that Lu Bu. Although he has joined me, he still often loots the people of Ji Province, affecting the reputation of my Yuan family, so no matter how good he is at fighting, he can't be kept."

"Qu Yi's first-to-die soldiers only listen to his orders, who will be able to control him in the future?"

"Instead of you doing it, I might as well do it first."

Yuan Xi was silent, and said slowly: "This is not fair."

"Where is there fairness in the world?" Yuan Shao shouted: "If the disease of mustard moss is not eradicated, it will only become a confidant's trouble!"

"Just like that Cao Mengde, taking in tens of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers, seems glamorous, but in fact, he can't completely suppress them, so he slaughters cities in every battle, just to appease them."

"Given time, it will become a big problem."

Yuan Xi thought that Yuan Shao was right about this.

But father, you didn't persevere until that day.