Mi Zhen is actually a person with a very strong and stubborn temper.
What she said to Zhen Mi at that time was indeed her true words.
Logically, she should have tried to cover it up, but for some reason, when Mi Zhen faced Zhen Mi, she always felt like she had to speak out, so she said it out in a fit of anger.
After saying this, he certainly vented a lot of his anger, but after Zhen Mi went back, Yuan Xi's proposal of marriage fell into oblivion and there was no news of it again.
Even if Zhen Mi went back without adding any exaggeration and just told the story truthfully, I'm afraid no one would be able to stand what she said.
Mi Zhen thought that it was all her own fault. Her two marriages had failed and she was afraid that she had become a laughing stock in Xuzhou.
But she was also a little disappointed. When she first met Yuan Xi, she thought he was a sentimental person who might be able to understand her. However, now it seems that she was overthinking.
She looked out of the window and saw a swarm of ships setting sail from the dock in the distance. She thought that she might never meet such a strange person again.
As a child of an aristocratic family, he appears to be gentle as jade, but his actions are unexpected and quite unorthodox. He does not care much about his reputation, and rumors of his lust are widely circulated among the gentry.
But even a woman as outstanding as Zhen Mi seemed to have a gleam in her eyes when she talked about him, which made Mi Zhen feel that Yuan Xi was not that simple.
It was so complicated and confusing, mixed with a bit of mystery, all concentrated on Yuan Xi alone. This aroused Mi Zhen's curiosity, and she was attracted to him unconsciously.
But it's just curiosity.
She couldn't change anything.
Suddenly, her body shook, and a huge fleet came riding on the wind from the direction of Haixi City.
The leading ship was particularly large, and its shape vaguely looked like the Zhen family's ship model, with some people vaguely standing on the bow.
Mi Zhen stood up involuntarily and leaned out of the window, wanting to see more clearly. However, the fleet was too far away, and even the big ships were only as big as rice grains, and could not be seen clearly at all.
Mi Zhen watched the ship disappear into the distant fog, covering his aching chest, feeling lost.
Zhen Mi stood beside Yuan Xi, pointed in the direction of Qu County and said, "That's the North Pier at the mouth of the Huai River. According to my brother, it's now run by the Mi family."
"I heard that the girl from the Mi family is also in the city."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "Just stay here. Since we are both tired of each other, I won't bother myself by going there."
Zhen Mi sighed, "My husband has such a cruel heart. You know very well that the girl from the Mi family doesn't mean that."
"Maybe if you coax her, she will change her mind right away."
Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "Forget it. What she said was right. I was indeed using the Mi family to arrange the marriage. I didn't turn down the marriage because she exposed it. On the contrary, I admire her straightforwardness."
"But the next year is very critical and I cannot afford to make any mistakes. I must keep it a secret from Liu Bei. The Mi family has a close relationship with Liu Bei, and I am afraid of any mishaps."
"If I really insist on marrying the girl from the Mi family, the Mi family shouldn't object, but I don't know the girl from the Mi family well enough. Who knows if the news here will leak out from her?"
"I will never put my men in danger just to get a woman."
Zhen Mi thought that her husband was too cautious. He didn't look like a spy at all.
The girl from the Mi family should be a straightforward person. She was upset that her marriage was used by Yuan Xi, so she just vented a few words. How could it be related to the big plan?
Since Yuan Xi had made up his mind, she couldn't say anything else, so she asked, "Will what my husband is going to do next put his life in danger?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said, "I'm fine, but some of the steps need to be kept strictly confidential."
"I won't tell anyone except me and the person involved, including you and Soji."
"Even I can't predict how the situation will develop in the future, so I am so cautious."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi thought to herself, is there such a plan?
What kind of plan is this when even the mastermind is unaware of it?
But Zhen Mi had seen the brutality of the battlefield and how human lives were as worthless as grass. She knew that Yuan Xi's case involved the lives of hundreds and thousands of people, so she understood very well that there were some things that she shouldn't ask about.
So Zhen Mi tactfully changed the subject. As the two talked, the ship under their feet was riding on the sea breeze, leaving Qu County far behind.
The fleet sailed for another half a month and finally docked at Piaoyuyu Wharf.
When everyone got off the boat, it felt like a lifetime ago. They had set out from here a few months ago, sailed south with the wind, and done a lot of things in Xuzhou, but now they were back here again.
Today, Yongnu, Quanzhou, and Piaoyu have been completely occupied by Yuan Xi. The iron mines between the three cities have begun to be mined. Carriages loaded with iron ore continue to arrive at the dock and are unloaded and loaded onto ships by laborers.
Yuan Xi was a little confused. He was still short of iron in Youzhou, so why did he still need to sell iron?
He found the dock official and asked a few simple questions, and found out that the three cities lacked blacksmiths, so they took the surplus ore to Qingzhou and Jizhou in exchange for the urgently needed supplies in Youzhou.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi knew that this was a helpless move. There would always be ore anyway, and he could only wait for the blacksmiths here to recruit apprentices and increase the output of ironware before he could fully digest the iron ore.
The people on the fleet came down one by one, and the dock began to be crowded with people. Compared with when they left, the number of soldiers was not much different, but the number of other craftsmen and apprentices increased by nearly a thousand people.
Tian Yu came over and said to Yuan Xi, "Sir, should we go back to Beixin City directly, or go somewhere else?"
Yuan Xi looked at the craftsmen behind him and thought that if so many craftsmen were first brought to the farthest Beixin City and then distributed to various counties, it would not only waste manpower and material resources, but also the most precious time.
He began to say, "We will start from the cities we have conquered, and inspect them one by one, and finally return to Beixin City. When we arrive at each city, we will assign the craftsmen that are in short supply there."
Guo Jia, who was standing by, heard this and said, "You are right, young master."
"If you don't understand the conditions of the people in the cities under your rule, you can't govern a place well. If you don't see it with your own eyes and experience it yourself, you can't understand the people's feelings."
"And there are several vacancies for officials in the city, waiting for your decision."
While everyone was talking, a spy came to report that a troop of soldiers was approaching.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a little nervous, wondering if it was an enemy.
If this is really the case, then we have hit a wall. Although Yuan Xi's soldiers are no more than a thousand people, almost all of them are wearing armor. Looking at the whole world, they are a strong army.
However, when this cavalry of about a hundred people arrived at the dock, everyone discovered that the leader was actually Liu He. Upon asking, they found out that he had come from Jicheng, Guangyang County.
Liu He dismounted and bowed to the young master, saying, "I greet you, young master."
Yuan Xi hurried forward to help Liu He up and said, "Brother Liu, you have worked hard these days. It is only because of your reputation that we were able to defeat the enemy with ease and occupy the two counties of Youzhou."
What Yuan Xi said was true. Liu He's persuasion for the remnants of Gongsun Zan to surrender was very effective. Otherwise, if they had attacked the two counties and cities by force, it would have been hard to tell how many soldiers Ao would have lost.
Liu He said modestly: "My lord, you are too kind. Generals Zilong and others are all great warriors in the world. He is just the icing on the cake."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I am very confident in Brother Liu's work, but Brother Liu seems to be worried about me, otherwise he would not have come to greet me in person."
"We could have just asked a general to come here. Brother Liu, are you afraid that if you stay in the city and don't go out, I will suspect you of having ulterior motives?"
Liu He listened, first with a wry smile on his face, then couldn't help laughing out loud, "Young Master, what you said is so straightforward, I am speechless."
He lowered his voice and said, "Young Master, you are very wise. He does have this concern."
"Speaking of which, you really don't guard against others. You know, my father had a high reputation in Youzhou when he was alive. Many people who attached themselves to him did so for my late father's sake."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's why I value Brother Liu."
Liu He said helplessly: "This is a good thing, but also a bad thing. Some of the people who come to rely on me do have the intention to do something good."
"But some people do have bad intentions and want to make me and the young master our enemies. I have already locked them up."
"But there are still some things that I can't handle, so I rushed over to ask you to make a decision."
Yuan Xi knew that this matter, which was difficult for Liu He to handle, must be quite troublesome, so he immediately mounted his horse and rode side by side with Liu He, walking far ahead of the team. Then he said to Liu He, "Brother Liu, please speak."
Liu He then spoke: "Before the battle of Yijing, several forces that opposed Gongsun Zan have now come into contact with me."
"The largest group is from Chanyu Tadun's side."
"I heard that he has sent people to Yecheng to request a marriage with the Yuan family. Jizhou seems to have agreed, but the candidate for the Yuan clan woman is still undecided."
"I got the news that Master Xianfu was pushing hard to marry Master Benchu's eldest daughter to him."
When Yuan Xi heard this, his face turned gloomy.
He asked aloud: "What did General Zilong say?"
Liu He sighed, "It is precisely because he didn't say a word from beginning to end that I want to ask you what to do."
Yuan Xi lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "Send someone to send a letter to Chanyu Tadun, telling him that I want to talk to him about the marriage."
Since Yuan Shang can no longer be relied upon, the simplest and most direct way is to go directly to Chanyu Tadun.
Liu He worriedly asked, "Will this irritate him?"
Yuan Xi sneered and said, "I am now the governor of Youzhou. I want to see if he really dares to stand on Yuan Shang's side and oppose me."
Yuan Xi thought that in history, Chanyu Tadun had a bad ending. From his own point of view, he did not want Chanyu Tadun to become powerful. The marriage of marriage was effective in the short term, but it was a hidden danger in the long run, just like the Southern Xiongnu.
"Anything else?"
Liu He said: "Yes, Yan Rou sent someone to see me."
When Yuan Xi heard this name, he thought that this person was even more troublesome. Behind Chanyu Tadun were Wuhuan people, but behind this person were all Xianbei, Wuhuan and Han people.
He frowned and asked, "What does he want to do?"
Liu He said: "He showed his goodwill to you and said he is willing to work for you, but he wants to discuss some conditions."
Yuan Xi thought that this person was indeed difficult to deal with, so he said decisively: "Okay, Brother Liu, arrange a place and have him send an envoy over to talk."
"Anything else?"
Liu He said: "Also, according to the young master's request, I went to Xu Wushan in person to invite Tian Chou."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi perked up and asked, "What did he say?"