Upon hearing that Ye City was sending someone, Dong Zhao and Qu Yi came to Yuan Xi at the same time.
Yuan Xi first spoke to Dong Zhao, who nodded and said, "This matter is simple. I will write to Dong Fang immediately."
Seeing that Dong Zhao looked worried, Yuan Xi knew what he was concerned about and said, "Sir, there is no need to worry. I will have Qu Xiong take twenty men to escort you to Hanoi to see Zhang Yang."
Dong Zhao was taken aback, then looked ashamed, "The Young Master has already thought of this. I am really afraid that Governor Yuan will settle accounts with me."
Yuan Xi smiled: "It doesn't matter. Mr. Gongren has done enough, and I am very grateful."
Dong Zhao was touched and sighed: "Young Master's kindness in recognizing my talent, Gongren will never forget."
"It's just that Gongren has been unknown for most of his life. Why does the Young Master favor this old man alone?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Where is the obscurity?"
"In the past, sir, you pacified the Giant Deer Rebellion. Summons arrived three times in two days, which can be called a great talent of the world."
"But what I admire most is another thing."
Dong Zhao became interested: "Which one?"
Yuan Xi said: "In the past, when Emperor Ling was in power, he appointed Jia Cong as the governor of Jizhou to rectify corrupt officials. After he took office, many people were afraid of being found out, and they abandoned their posts upon hearing the news. In the entire Jizhou, only you, sir, who was then the chief of Yingtao, and Huang, the chief of Guanjin in Liang, went to see Jia Cong, which shows that you are clean and have a clear conscience. I admire you for this."
"Book of the Later Han Dynasty · Biography of Jia Cong"——Those who had committed corruption fled at the news, only Dong Zhao of Jiyin, the chief of Yingtao, and Huang of Liang, the chief of Guanjin, remained at their posts to await Cong, and thus the borders of the state were pacified.
Jia Cong was a famous honest and capable official in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. As the governor of Jiaozhi, he was famous for his light taxes and selection of capable officials. During his three years in office, Jiaozhi became the most stable state in the country and was highly respected by the people.
The people sang in the streets: "Father Jia came late, causing us to rebel first; now we see peace and prosperity, and the officials dare not rebel."
Dong Zhao was very excited when he heard about this past event, his beard trembled, and he said repeatedly: "The Young Master actually knows about this!"
This was the thing he was most proud of in his life, so he was also appreciated by Jia Cong, but unfortunately, Jia Cong died of illness soon after.
It was not until this moment that Dong Zhao was truly convinced by Yuan Xi and felt like he had met a kindred spirit.
It is worth mentioning that at that time, Liu Bei was appointed as the magistrate of Anxi because of his meritorious service in quelling the Yellow Turban Army. Before Jia Cong arrived, he also abandoned his post, which also led to a rather famous incident.
Flogging the Inspector.
Unlike the legend that Zhang Fei flogged the Inspector in later generations, this incident was actually done by Liu Bei himself.
"Dian Lue"——The Inspector arrived in the county and wanted to send Bei. Bei knew him well. Hearing that the Inspector was at the post station, Bei wanted to see the Inspector, but the Inspector claimed to be ill and refused to see Bei. Bei hated him... So he tied him to the bed, took him out to the border, untied his ribbon and tied it around the Inspector's neck, tied him to a tree, whipped him more than a hundred times, and wanted to kill him. The Inspector begged for mercy, so he released him.
When Liu Bei was the magistrate of Anxi, he raised more than a hundred private soldiers, and the salary of the magistrate of Anxi was two hundred stones, which meant that he only had 360 stones of grain a year (30 hu per month, 360 stones per year), which was definitely not enough to feed so many mouths.
Yuan Xi could understand Liu Bei very well, because what he was doing now was the same as Liu Bei.
In this chaotic world, having a force of one's own is much more useful than a reputation for integrity.
After Liu Bei had his own private army, he began to be promoted rapidly. After he lost his position as the magistrate of Anxi, he was soon promoted to the chief of Xiami due to his military exploits. Three years later, he was promoted to the chancellor of Pingyuan because he joined Gongsun Zan.
Compared to the two hundred stones of the magistrate of Anxi, the salary of the chancellor of Pingyuan was as high as two thousand stones!
It should be known that it took Jia Cong almost thirty years to go from an ordinary scholar to a high-ranking official with two thousand stones, while Liu Bei went from two hundred stones to two thousand stones in less than three years.
The reason why Liu Bei was valued by Cao Cao and welcomed by Yuan Shao from two hundred miles away was definitely not due to his honesty and loyalty. He had considerable abilities.
In contrast, in the chaotic environment, Dong Zhao's integrity was even more rare, so Dong Zhao felt like he had met a kindred spirit.
Yuan Xi and Dong Zhao bowed to each other, and from then on, they developed a feeling of mutual appreciation.
But Qu Yi snorted beside him, "It is enough for Old Dong to have soldiers to escort him, why do you need me to go?"
Yuan Xi said in surprise: "If someone from Ye City comes, what if Qu Xiong's identity is exposed?"
Qu Yi snorted coldly: "Are you afraid that I will be a burden to you?"
"You got Zhao Yun, so you think I'm useless, right?"
Yuan Xi smiled bitterly: "Qu Xiong, you know I don't mean that."
He thought to himself, why is Qu Yi acting up at this time?
You are originally someone Yuan Shao wants to kill. You still want to appear openly when someone from Ye City comes. What are you thinking?
Seeing that the situation was not good, Dong Zhao quickly dragged Qu Yi out and turned to Yuan Xi and said: "I will persuade this fool."
Qu Yi was reluctantly dragged away by Dong Zhao. Wu Zhao walked in with tea at this time and smiled when she saw this: "What, what show is this?"
Yuan Xi didn't want to tell Wu Zhao about Qu Yi's identity. He thought about it and felt a headache. Although Qu Yi was both civil and military and helped him greatly in training his troops, he couldn't be seen in the light. How to arrange him was indeed a big problem.
He had to say: "I don't know who the people sent by Ye City to Beixin City are. For the sake of prudence, I want them to go out and do some things first."
Wu Zhao didn't know about Qu Yi's matter, but she knew Dong Zhao's identity, so she nodded. She and Yuan Xi were hiding things from each other now, but neither of them knew it.
She said: "These days, I have been teaching the dozens of selected women to read and learn music. They are making rapid progress. It is estimated that they will be qualified in a while."
Seeing the unhappy look on Wu Zhao's face, Yuan Xi knew that she was still a little resistant to this matter, so he said: "This matter is all on me. I am wronged you."
Wu Zhao bit her lip and said softly: "The Young Master didn't force them either, why do you need to say this? They heard that they will be able to enter the Yuan family and the families of the Jizhou gentry to serve in the future, and they are so happy."
These women also understand that this is an extremely rare opportunity for ordinary people to change their destiny. Entering the mansion of a great clan, if they are lucky enough to become concubines, they will have no worries about food and drink. If they can have children, they will be one step closer to heaven.
In the final analysis, it is just that in this chaotic world, everyone seeks what they want and tries their best to survive.
Days passed by, and in the valley south of Beixin City, an army of thousands of people marched slowly, with three horses riding side by side in front.
Riding in the middle was a middle-aged man of great stature. To his left was a scholar in a long robe, and to his right was a general dressed in a strong figure.
Seeing that the scholar was tired, the man in the middle said: "Sir, if you are tired, you can sit in the carriage in the back."
The scholar said: "It's okay, thank you for your concern."
"I'm just very curious and want to see the place where Young Master Yuan Xi killed Liu Bao, the son of the Xiongnu Chanyu."
The lieutenant next to him snorted coldly: "Young Master Yuan Xi killed the son of the Chanyu, and the other party will definitely raise troops to retaliate. With Gongsun Zan eyeing him in the north, he is creating a great enemy, which is really unwise."