Chapter 508: Bingzhou Xiongnu

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, then realized: "I didn't think it through. Ling County is at the forefront of Xuzhou, and Yuan Shu's army often attacks the city. It is too dangerous. If I send you there at this time, I am afraid you will be harmed."

After hearing this, Mi Zhen sighed inwardly and said softly, "I'm afraid that if I stay here, I will cause a lot of trouble for you, young master."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "How could that be? Thanks to you for taking care of Liu Yuzhou's wife and daughter and handling the affairs of the mansion these days, otherwise I would be too busy to handle it."

"If the girl leaves, I don't know what to do."

Mi Zhen's eyes showed a hint of joy and she raised her head, "Really?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Of course it's true. The Mi family caravan also used girls before. It's true that women are just as good as men."

"And the significance of getting cotton seeds is extraordinary. In the future, people all over the world will definitely thank you, girl."

Mi Zhen whispered, "I am ashamed. Actually, I am not as good as you think."

"When you led your troops to rescue me, I was actually very scared. I thought it was the enemy army coming."

"So I subconsciously wanted to commit suicide by jumping into a well. In fact, I am... a very incompetent person."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "No, Madam, you are already very brave. If a woman falls into the hands of the enemy during a war, her fate will be very miserable."

"This time I just happened to save the girl, but there is no telling how many such incidents may happen in other parts of the world. I am powerless to do that."

"So I want to put an end to this chaotic world as soon as possible so that the people can live a stable life again, and this kind of tragedy will become less and less."

After hearing this, Mi Zhen sighed and said, "Young Master, you have great ambitions...

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I don't deserve your praise. In fact, I have many flaws. I'm not as good as you think."

Mi Zhen bit her teeth and said, "Sir... why do you belittle yourself like that?"

"In my heart, you are more powerful than anyone I have ever met."

Yuan Xi was stunned. He didn't expect Mi Zhen to think so highly of him. In fact, in Yuan Xi's view, he just knew some things about future lives in advance, so he took advantage of it.

But when things go off the rails, he gets thwarted, as they did this time.

In fact, Yuan Xi has been brooding over the affairs of Xuzhou for some time. He felt that it was because of his incompetence that he ignored many clues, leading to the current situation of Xuzhou.

So Mi Zhen's words, no matter what, did ease his worries a little. He stared at Mi Zhen blankly. Mi Zhen felt Yuan Xi's gaze, and her heart started to panic. Her ears felt hot, and she quickly lowered her head.

Seeing the other person's slender white neck, with the curve extending to the slender shoulders, Yuan Xi suddenly found that he seemed to have a weak resistance to this part of women.

Mi Zhen lowered her head and didn't notice. She mustered up her courage and said something, but her voice was so soft that Yuan Xi couldn't hear it clearly. He could only take a few steps forward and said, "What did the girl say?"

Mi Zhen saw Yuan Xi approaching too close, and she panicked. She took a half step back and bit her lip and said, "Sir, do you really hate me?"

Yuan Xi asked aloud: "Why would the girl think so?"

"Among all the women in the world, there are only a few who can compare with you in terms of appearance or talent. Why do you think so little of yourself?"

Mi Zhen stared at Yuan Xi with resentment, her eyes flashing with an inexplicable light. She hesitated for a while before she opened her red lips and asked, "Why did you embarrass me again and again, young master?"

Yuan Xi was completely confused. "Me? Really? Why did the girl say that?"

Mi Zhen took a few deep breaths, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "When you first proposed marriage to me in the Mi Mansion, and now that Liu Yuzhou has discussed it with you, I have been through marriage negotiations twice, but you rejected it both times in the end."

"I don't really care that I've become a topic of conversation among the nobles, but what I care about is that I'm so unbearable in your heart that you want to avoid me?"

"I also know that there is no shortage of noble ladies around you. Even Mrs. Lu, who is so noble, cannot be your legal wife. In comparison, I, a daughter of a merchant, am really dreaming."

"But now the whole world knows about my relationship with you. How can I cope with your leaving me alone like this?"

Yuan Xi thought to himself that this was the case, and quickly explained, "The girl misunderstood."

"When I proposed marriage to the Mi family, it was certainly not just a casual remark."

"It's just that the Mi family didn't express their views at that time, and I had experienced several life-and-death battles. I thought that I couldn't protect myself, so I hesitated. I was afraid of delaying the girl's future, so I put the matter on hold."

Mi Zhen bit her lip, "What about Madam Zhen?"

Yuan Xi was stunned. "She has already married me. If I die, I am afraid she will have a hard time."

"But the girl is not married yet, so she can always turn back..."

Mi Zhen interrupted Yuan Xi and said, "So, you just don't like me."

"Come to think of it, which of the women around you is worse than me?"

"I am really delusional. From now on, I will never marry a gentleman again."

"Well, I will return to Ling County tomorrow."

After saying that, she reached out and was about to close the window between herself and Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi quickly reached out his hand to block the window, and sighed: "The girl really misunderstood."

"The reason is actually that I feel very guilty towards the girl."

"The first time I proposed marriage, I wanted to bribe the Mi family. The second time Liu Yuzhou proposed marriage, he wanted to use the girl as a bond to maintain the relationship between the two parties. In fact, the initial motivation was not so pure."

"I just felt that it was really unfair to the girl to be exploited like this, so I didn't make up my mind."

Mi Zhen pulled the window a few times, but found it firmly blocked by Yuan Xi. She could only sigh and said, "This is just wishful thinking, young master."

"Sir, have you ever asked me what I really think?"

Yuan Xi was stunned. Yes, it seemed that he had been talking to himself all the time but never asked Mi Zhen. Isn't this a kind of arrogance?

He calmed down and asked, "What does that girl think?"

Mi Zhen whispered, "I am also very confused right now. I will tell you after I calm down in a few days."

"Before that, I am also thinking about sorting out the routes and transaction records of the Mi family's caravan. These things should be useful to you, young master."

Yuan Xi was delighted. The Mi family and the Zhen family had different trade routes. These things were indeed what he needed very much. If the two could complement each other, he would avoid many detours in maritime trade.

He asked aloud: "What about the Mi family caravan in the future?"

Mi Zhen sighed softly, "Without the people and the boats, there will be no Mi family caravan anymore."

Yuan Xi wanted to say that after he repaired the Mi family's merchant ship, he would return it to the Zhen family, but Mi Zhen had already taken advantage of the situation and boarded the window, isolating the two of them.

Yuan Xi shook his head, thinking that he was indeed a little worried. As a woman from a noble family, it was rare for Mi Zhen to muster the courage to lift the window paper.

In fact, Mi Zhen herself is a good person, but the Mi family is the one that is troublesome, especially Mi Fang, whose train of thought is too strange. The main responsibility for the fall of Qucheng last time was due to Mi Fang's inappropriate response, which led to the collapse of the situation in Qucheng and then caused a series of negative chain reactions in the East China Sea.

If Mi Fang was under Yuan Xi, Yuan Xi would have to think twice before making him a county magistrate, but putting him in the position of county governor, isn't that obviously a trap?

A few days later, Tian Yu's ship arrived. He not only brought Yang Feng, but also brought good news.

The Southern Xiongnu sent envoys to contact Youzhou.

Although the Southern Xiongnu claimed to have hundreds of thousands of people, they were extremely scattered in the Bingliang area. Moreover, as pawns used in the policy of control over the Northern Xiongnu, they were sandwiched between the Han court and the Xiongnu, and their situation was actually not good.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion led to chaos throughout the country, the Southern Xiongnu also split into several factions, and even those in power were brothers, and were often in conflict and opposition.

This was the case with the former Chanyu Yufuluo and his brother, the current Chanyu Huochuxuan.

While Han Sui and Ma Teng were attacking Chang'an and Li Jue and Guo Si were fighting among themselves, Yu Fuluo allowed his son Liu Bao to repeatedly plunder the Luoyang and Chang'an areas, harming the Han people and being extremely arrogant.

Later, in a surprise attack by Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun, Liu Bao was killed and the Southern Xiongnu was frightened. In addition, Yuan Xi used the name of the Yuan family at that time, and Yu Fuluo had been affiliated with Yuan Shao but later betrayed him. The Southern Xiongnu were afraid of Yuan Shao's revenge, so they became much more honest since then.

Not long after, Yu Furuo died suddenly, and Huchequan took the throne. He began to make peace with the Han court. When Liu Xie's convoy was in danger, he sent Youxian King Qubei to assist the Baibo Army in rescuing the emperor's convoy and successfully defeated Li Jue and Guo Si.

But later Qubei was driven away by the Baibo Army, who wanted to kill him after he had done his job, and he didn't get any benefits, which made the Southern Xiongnu very resentful.

However, because the Baibo Army was too impatient, they were defeated in the Battle of Dongjian by Li Jue and Guo Si, who had reorganized their troops. Their strength was greatly reduced, which laid the groundwork for their subsequent conspiracy against Cao Cao.

It can be said that the Baibo Army and the Southern Xiongnu, including Dong Cheng and others who initially followed the emperor out of Chang'an, failed to become the ultimate winners.

Especially the Southern Xiongnu, they were eager to find someone to rely on, otherwise when the world was in chaos, if they did not rely on the princes of the Central Plains in advance, they would definitely be attacked when the Central Plains was pacified.

After discussing with Yuan Xi, Guo Jia and others, they believed that the Southern Xiongnu would definitely contact Youzhou in the near future.

There is no other reason, because the Southern Xiongnu had no better choice.

First of all, the Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu had been fighting for hundreds of years. The two hundred years of hatred was even deeper than the hatred with the Wuhuan and Xianbei. What's more, life in the Hetao Plain was half farming and half pastoral, which was much better than pure grazing outside the Great Wall. Therefore, the probability of the Southern Xiongnu defecting to the Northern Xiongnu outside the Great Wall was very low.

Secondly, Yuan had sent Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou, who entered the southern part of Bingzhou from Weijun of Jizhou through the Heishan Passage and began to occupy the most prosperous Taiyuan County.

As a result, the Southern Xiongnu in the relatively poor five northern counties of Shuofang, Wuyuan, Yunzhong, Dingxiang and Yanmen would be in a difficult situation. These places had low grain production, and losing the grain-producing area of ​​Taiyuan would seriously threaten their survival.

Given that the Southern Xiongnu had once betrayed Yuan Shao, they were eager to find a mediator who could speak their mind, and Yuan Xi became the most suitable candidate.

Of course, the most important reason was that the battle between the Youzhou army and the Northern Xianbei during the New Year shocked the Hu people and made them never dare to underestimate the Youzhou cavalry again.

Therefore, the Southern Xiongnu came to show goodwill to Yuan Xi at this time because they were afraid that Youzhou would expand and the next target would be themselves. If Yuan Xi and Gao Gaogan attacked from both sides, the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou would probably have nowhere to go.

Dai County in Youzhou borders Yanmen in Bingzhou, so the royal court of the Southern Xiongnu sent envoys into Dai County and first contacted Yan Rou. After receiving the envoys, Yan Rou sent them to Tian Yu.

It happened that Yuan Xi wanted to take Yang Feng to Haixi at this time, so Tian Yu brought the envoy's documents with him.