Yuan Xi had not expected to meet Zhen Rong at this time, so he turned aside and saluted, "Meet the Madam."
Zhen Rong returned the greeting in a daze, neither sitting nor standing. Just as he was in a daze, Zhang coughed and said, "Why don't you come and greet Miss Wenhou."
Zhen Rong had no choice but to greet Lu Lingqi, and then he gradually realized that the rumor that Yuan Xina was marrying the daughter of Marquis Wen was actually true!
She noticed that even when Lu Lingqi was sitting, she couldn't hide her curves. Although her appearance was slightly inferior to Zhen Mi, her charm and demeanor were very unique. She was completely different from Zhen Mi, but they each had their own strengths.
She couldn't help but think sourly that although her brother-in-law was lustful, he had a good eye and the key was that he could really trick people!
Yuan Xi said to Zhen Rong, "I saw Brother Gao the day before yesterday. He was indeed working very hard."
"I'm afraid he'll have to stay in Dongwuyang for a few more days."
Zhen Rong listened to Yuan Xi's words, but she didn't dare to look up and whispered, "I just got the news, so I hurried to tell mother."
"I have also heard that Dongwuyang surrendered, all thanks to the mediation of the envoy, which saved my husband from a fierce battle."
Yuan Xiqian said, "It's my responsibility. If it weren't for Lord Benchu's nod, I wouldn't be able to make the decision on my own."
Zhen Rong said softly, "My husband has been fighting outside for a year, and I haven't even seen him. Now that Dongwuyang has been pacified, I'm afraid he will be able to return to Yecheng for a few days. I have to thank you for your hard work."
Yuan Xi did not dare to respond, because Gao Lan's subsequent deployment would be military intelligence. Even if he returned to Yecheng, he would go to Heishan to support Yuan Shang under the pretext of mobilizing food and troops. During this period, he might not even have time to see Zhen Rong.
He could only remind her: "The world is in chaos, and the war is hard to stop. Even I haven't seen my wife for half a year."
Zhang had been waiting for Yuan Xi to talk about Zhen Mi, and asked hurriedly, "How is Mi'er?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Everything was fine when I left. I also got the news later that she was pregnant when I left."
"What!" Zhang and Zhen Rong were both surprised and happy. If Zhen Mi gave birth to a child, her status would become more stable. For the Zhen family, it would be like taking a reassurance pill.
Zhen Rong felt even more sad. She had been married two years earlier, but she only saw Gao Lan a few times a year. This time, her younger sister had gotten ahead of her!
Zhang's eyes turned red, and she kept saying, "Okay, okay, okay."
She thought that Zhen Mi had gone to Youzhou and she didn't know when she would see her again, and she couldn't help feeling sad. It was even common for a woman to marry far away and never see her mother again in her life.
Seeing this, Yuan Xi comforted her, "When the war is over, I will let her bring the child back to see her mother."
Zhen Rong listened and sighed, "I don't know when the world will be at peace with the situation it is in now."
"With Jizhou being so powerful, my husband has been fighting outside for many years. I feel like the war has never stopped, but it seems that not many places have been conquered."
Yuan Xi thought that it was normal to have such a feeling since he was in Yecheng. Jizhou's expansion to the south was blocked by the Yellow River. Although Youzhou was conquered in the north, it was not taken seriously by the Central Plains. That's why Yuan Shao was in a hurry to wipe out the Black Mountain Army and open up a passage to Bingzhou.
If they could occupy Bingzhou, they would be able to occupy the most prosperous Hetao Plain, and use it as a springboard to eye Liangzhou.
If they could occupy Bingliang, they would have the most powerful horses and cavalry in the world, and thus form a huge cavalry to push southward to Sili, and then point their troops to Yizhou, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou.
If these three states are pacified, they will almost occupy the entire world, and at that time there will be only an isolated Jiangdong left.
Then, if they wanted to take over Jiangdong, they only needed to go downstream in Jingzhou and cross the river in Yanzhou and Xuzhou at the same time. Jiangdong would not be able to resist attacks from multiple directions.
This is what Yuan Xi inferred about Yuan Shao's thoughts based on the military developments in Jizhou in recent years and his conversations with Yuan Shao.
I have to say that this idea is very orthodox and upright, and it is also the best choice for Jizhou to use troops at present.
But the key is that there can be no variables in the middle.
Cao Cao is one of the variables.
Yuan Xi also used astrology as an excuse several times to talk about Cao Cao's future hidden dangers, but Yuan Shao did not really believe it.
If it were someone like Yuan Shu who was superstitious about prophecies, he might have believed it. However, Yuan Shao did not seem to be too keen on prophecies, so Yuan Xi had to think of another way.
Thinking about how the Yuan family was at its peak in later generations, but was defeated by the army of Cao Cao, whom they had always looked down upon, in the Battle of Guandu due to various unexpected factors, and their backbone Yuan Shao subsequently died of illness. The two sons fought with each other, and in the end Cao Cao took advantage of the situation. Yuan Xi also felt that the world is unpredictable.
What he was worried about was that when Yecheng fell, Cao's army massacred the entire city. Now, he didn't know how many civilians and women in the city would survive. Not to mention the Yuan family, he was afraid that the Zhen family would not have a good ending either.
Yuan Xi thought for a moment, took Lu Lingqi's hand, and said, "I came here this time to ask a favor from you, mother."
"I want my mother to adopt her as her adopted daughter."
Zhang thought for a moment and then realized what was going on. Her expression was complicated. "Your Excellency means that if anything happens to Mi'er, you will make the daughter of Marquis Wen your legal wife?"
Zhen Rong felt uncomfortable after hearing this. His younger sister was still pregnant, but Yuan Xi was already thinking about the candidates for his wife. This was a bit too much.
Lu Lingqi whispered, "I don't care about being the legal wife or anything like that."
Yuan Xi explained: "This has nothing to do with the legal wife, mother, please don't worry about it."
He talked about the matter of adopting the heir of the Lu family, and finally said: "Mi'er and Lingqi are not in competition with each other. I did this just to reassure Wen Hou who is far away in Huaicheng."
"After all, he was willing to hand Lingqi over to me and didn't even ask for her position as his legal wife. He was very determined, so I have to return the favor."
Zhang suddenly realized what was going on after hearing this. She took Lu Lingqi's hand and said, "It's hard for this child."
"As for the ceremony, just go through the motions."
After a while, Lu Lingqi served tea and kowtowed, and the ceremony was completed. Both sides became closer.
Zhen Rong held Lu Lingqi's hand, thinking about how Yuan Xi had also cut the Gordian knot when he got married, and couldn't help but ask, "Is your Excellency always so hasty in doing things?"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "I'm afraid something unexpected will happen in the future."
"The war shouldn't get too bad in the next one or two years, but it's hard to say after that."
"If a major war breaks out near Yecheng, the city will likely be besieged, and we won't be able to escape even if we want to."
"The Zhen family should prepare for a rainy day and make early preparations. If the situation changes, they can seek refuge in Youzhou."
Zhang and Zhen Rong both looked solemn. Yuan Xi's words made it clear that he was not optimistic about the situation in Jizhou.
Why?
Isn't Yuan Shao the strongest person in the world now?
If it were someone else, Zhang Zhenrong might have sneered at it, but if it was said by Yuan Xi, who had won several battles and was famous, they could not help but consider it carefully.
Zhang hesitated and said, "I can make preparations early, but I heard there are many Hu people in Youzhou. Is it safe?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Youzhou will be safe for at least a few years."
He thought that although he was often short of manpower, he had his sights set on conquering the whole world. Just looking at Youzhou, it was already full of talented people.
Guo Jia, Ju Su, Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, Gao Shun, Yan Rou and Xian Yu Fu, this group of strategists and brave generals gathered in Youzhou. If they cannot develop several counties in Youzhou within a few years, that is their own problem.
After hearing this, Zhang and Zhen Rong believed it to about 70%. After all, Yuan Xi's reputation in recent years was not gained in vain.
Yuan Xi also talked to Zhang about the focus of the Zhen family's trade routes. After all, even though the Zhen family had moved, the trade routes in Yecheng could not be abandoned.
Now the trade route built by Yuan Xi relying on the Zhen family is based on three locations, forming a triangle.
Haixi in Guangling, as a seaport for ocean trade, imported the necessary crop seeds and specialties from the open sea and exported special products such as porcelain from the Han Dynasty.
Yecheng in Wei County of Jizhou was the richest, so it was chosen as the place for selling goods.
Youzhou produces iron ore and salt mines and has multiple ports. It is in the early stages of development and is constantly absorbing money from trade routes to build water conservancy and farmland.
These three places are interconnected, the trade routes are stable, and the losses are minimal. Every trade can make Yuan Xi a lot of profit, which is also the confidence for Yuan Xi to often mobilize thousands of armored soldiers to fight.
Of course, there were only a few hundred elite soldiers in iron armor, and most of the others wore light and cheap armor such as leather armor and armor. But even so, it was difficult for other princes to do so. They all used human wave tactics, with tens of thousands of people going into battle. Most of the soldiers had no protection and only had a weapon in their hands.
It is this weapon that has gradually widened the gap with the weapons forged in Youzhou using the new iron smelting method.
The war was fought with economy and technology. Before, everyone was of the same lineage, the technological gap was not that big, and everyone was generally short of food. It was very effective to conscript local civilians to serve as soldiers.
But this situation will not last forever. Long-term militarism will cause the economy of the territory to collapse. This is what happened to the Black Mountain Army. Even a wealthy state like Jizhou was stretched to the limit after several major battles.
So this has become a vicious circle. The longer the war, the poorer it becomes. Although the base has expanded, the consumption will also increase, creating many hidden dangers, just like the current Jizhou.
Although some advisers saw it, they had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter, because most of the advisers in Jizhou still regarded Yuan Shu as their only opponent.
Only after Yuan Shu was defeated in later generations, Cao Cao gained huge benefits from it. Both in terms of territory and military strength, he was able to compete with Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao realized that something was wrong and began to deal with Cao Cao.
But if Jizhou wants to attack Yanzhou, it has to cross the Yellow River, which means giving up many of its advantages. But if it lets Cao Cao go and waits for him to take over Jingzhou and Jiangdong, Jizhou will no longer have the advantage.
Therefore, it is difficult to say who is right or wrong among the two factions of advisers in later generations, whether to fight a quick battle and win a quick victory or to use harassment warfare to drag down Cao Cao's economy.
At this time in Nanyang, Jingzhou, the mountains had just been rained. Inside a thatched cottage in the mountains, Zhuge Liang was staring at a linen map in deep thought.
After a long while, he shook his head and said to himself, "Why are there more and more variables in today's world?"
"Especially this fierce tiger, his actions are totally unreasonable. He occupies Youzhou in the north, controls Guangling in the east, and goes down to Black Mountain in the west. Is he planning to draw a circle around the world?"