Dong Zhao once asked Yuan Xi a question.
When Emperor Xian ascended the throne, who in the court could be considered a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty?
In Dong Zhao's heart, Yuan Xi would definitely put Yuan Shao in the first place.
Although Yuan Shao showed great selfishness during the Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital, in the end, he still considered the problem from the standpoint of the Han Dynasty, and his actions were aimed at quelling the chaos of the Han Dynasty.
Yuan Shao's goal at the time may have only been to be a powerful minister, rather than a regional warlord as he is now.
It's just a pity that after all his scheming, someone else stole the fruits of his labor.
Even when he arrived in Ji Province, Yuan Shao supported Liu Yu, the orthodox descendant of the Liu family, but only after he was killed by Gongsun Zan did he begin to have other ideas.
However, Yuan Xi's words shocked Dong Zhao greatly.
The top three loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty in Yuan Xi's opinion were actually...
Dong Zhuo.
Lü Bu.
Cao Cao.
Yuan Shao had to be placed a little further back.
Dong Zhao was dumbfounded on the spot.
He asked in confusion, "Dong Zhuo brought disaster to the norms of conduct and devastated the court, Lü Bu was a domestic slave who devoured his master and had the ambition of a wolf, and Cao Cao was a descendant of eunuchs who killed noble clans indiscriminately. How can they be called loyal subjects?"
Yuan Xi listened and said leisurely, "But the things they did were all helping the Han Emperor."
Dong Zhao was suddenly stunned. He recalled what had happened in the past few years and realized that what Yuan Xi said made some sense!
Initially, Emperor Ling of Han's will was to have the current Emperor Liu Xie succeed to the throne, but Empress Dowager He colluded with He Jin to kill Empress Dowager Dong, who had raised Liu Xie, and supported Liu Bian to succeed to the throne.
At this time, Yuan Shao gave He Jin a series of persuasive operations, and He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo to bring troops into the capital, but he was killed by the inner eunuchs before Dong Zhuo entered the capital.
Now no one could control Dong Zhuo anymore. After he entered the capital, he deposed Liu Bian within a few days and supported Liu Xie to succeed to the throne. Wasn't this in line with Emperor Ling's will?
As for Dong Zhuo's subsequent rise to power and Lü Bu's killing of him, wasn't it also done in the name of the Han Emperor?
Cao Cao's assassination of Dong Zhuo that day was the same principle. Cao Cao was not a fool. Without the above's hint, how could he have done such a life-and-death thing for no reason?
The more Dong Zhao thought about it, the more he felt that Yuan Xi's idea was very likely to be the truth, and cold sweat dripped down.
Yuan Xi finally said to Dong Zhao, "The Han Emperor looks like he can't help himself, but he has a very simple vision to choose these three people."
"I also hope to have a chance to meet him in the future, and I hope sir can help me."
Dong Zhao agreed absentmindedly.
Yuan Xi smiled in his heart. Although this guess was very close to the truth, it was only a guess after all, but it would plant a seed in Dong Zhao's heart that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. If Dong Zhao wanted a way out, he would inevitably unite with Yuan Xi to keep warm.
This was Yuan Xi's plan, to make Dong Zhao stay by the Han Emperor's side as much as possible and speak well of him.
Dong Zhao defected to Cao Cao that day and suggested welcoming Emperor Xian because he had no other choice.
What if Dong Zhao chose another path?
Moreover, if Yuan Xi's guess was true, the Han Emperor could let Dong Zhuo risk being spurned by the world and kill Yuan Wei, who had promoted him like a benefactor, and he was definitely not as easily manipulated as he seemed on the surface.
The emperor possessed power from the moment he sat on the dragon throne, especially in the Han Dynasty. Many ministers were in Cao Cao's camp but their hearts were with the Han, which led to the backlash against the warlords who wanted to be independent.
Since ancient times, only a few successful powerful ministers, such as Yi Yin and Huo Guang, have existed.
Of course, Dong Zhao didn't know what Yuan Xi was thinking. He looked at the daughter of his former teacher and felt a lot of emotion.
Cai Yong's daughter, Cai Zhaoji, a great Confucian scholar of the time, is now using the pseudonym Wu Zhao.
Ten years have passed, and things have changed, but Dong Zhao, as Cai Yong's disciple, will always be a father for a day, and he will naturally protect his daughter.
Dong Zhao sighed to Cai Zhaoji, "Girl, you have suffered. If the teacher was still alive..."
Wu Zhao sighed softly, "I am already satisfied if I can save my life now. Please don't worry, sir."
Dong Zhao hesitated again and again, and finally said, "If it were someone else, I would still worry about it, but Young Master Yuan Xi is not an ordinary person. Under his protection, the girl will be fine."
"Although he sometimes uses unscrupulous means, he has the ambition to embrace the world."
"Only a person like him can protect his subordinates in this chaotic world."
When Wu Zhao saw that Dong Zhao said it so solemnly, she thought that Dong Zhao actually gave him such a high evaluation?
In the end, Wu Zhao and Dong Zhao separated tacitly, and neither of them mentioned Cai Yong's affairs.
Although Cai Yong was a great Confucian scholar of his time, he was killed by Wang Yun because he was an official under Dong Zhuo, and the court has not given an explanation to this day, so Wu Zhao's identity is indeed not suitable for exposure.
Dong Zhao even suspected that Cai Yong's death was likely because his reputation was too high, and Wang Yun was not necessarily the mastermind.
Dong Zhao needs to pass through Bing Province, Henei, and Sili on this trip to Chang'an. There are bandits along the way, and he is not sure that he can protect Wu Zhao's safety. It is better to let her follow Yuan Xi.
As for whether Wu Zhao would be asked to serve in bed or something, Dong Zhao really felt that he was thinking too much when this thought flashed through his mind.
Not to mention that Wu Zhao has now disfigured her appearance, there are also many beautiful women among the hundreds of women who came with her, but Yuan Xi has not included them in his mansion.
Maybe that Young Master Yuan Xi is not very interested in women?
However, Dong Zhao was indeed wrong. Yuan Xi was of course interested in women.
He is actually a very good pretender. He eats with the soldiers, lives a simple life, and stays away from women. Most of it is for the need to cultivate his reputation.
And now his mind is full of food.
Only when people are well-fed do they think of lust. If they can't even eat enough, where can they find the mood to sleep with women?
Now the biggest temptation for him is the thousands of acres of wheat fields outside the city that are waiting to be harvested!
Wu Zhao didn't sleep well that night either. She tossed and turned in bed, and when she was drowsy until the third watch, she heard the sound of footsteps rumbling outside, as if many people had gotten up.
She hurriedly got out of bed, put on her Ru skirt, and opened the door to go out. She saw Yuan Xi saying something to Sun Li and others in the courtyard.
Yuan Xi raised his head and saw Wu Zhao coming, and smiled, "Girl, are you awake too?"
Wu Zhao saw that Yuan Xi was also wearing a short-sleeved cloth trousers, and said, "Is the young master going to harvest wheat himself? Should I change my clothes?"
Yuan Xi asked Sun Li to lead the carriage over, beckoned Wu Zhao to get in the car, and said, "No need, there will be other things to do then."
Wu Zhao got into the carriage and said in a low voice, "Are we going out of the city so early?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Of course, otherwise it will be too hot when the sun is high, and you won't have the strength."
Wu Zhao listened and said shyly, "I have never heard of these things, I am ashamed."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Everyone has their own strengths. It is very rare for you to admit your shortcomings. This reminds me of a joke."
While speaking, Sun Li drove the carriage out of the mansion. At this time, many people were already carrying farm tools and queuing to leave the city, and the streets were crowded with people for a while, which was very spectacular.
Wu Zhao was curious and said, "What joke?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Once upon a time, there was a gentleman who took a group of disciples to the countryside and saw an old farmer lying in the shade of a tree dozing off."
"He said to his disciples, the reason why this old farmer is an old farmer and cannot become a scholar is because he is not diligent enough."
"Now he is not doing farm work in broad daylight, but lying under a tree to be lazy. It is because he cannot use all his time to do farm work, otherwise he can harvest several times, dozens of times more grain, and become a rich man."
"But that gentleman didn't know that when he was sleeping, the old farmer had already gotten up in the dark and started doing farm work."
"Because people can't last long under the scorching sun, so farmers have to avoid the hottest time of the day when doing work."
Wu Zhao listened and suddenly realized, "That's true."
"This gentleman doesn't know the suffering of farmers because he hasn't personally experienced the hardships of farming."
"Don't laugh at others' foolishness if you haven't experienced their suffering."
Yuan Xi was a little surprised and said, "Amazing, you can think of this level."
"In my hometown, there is a similar saying."
"Come from the people, go to the people."
"This is to remind us not to forget our roots, to know the suffering of all the people in the world, to empathize with them, and to be able to seek happiness for all the people."
Wu Zhao chewed on these words, and her heart was shaken.
Even her father had never said such insightful truths about all the people in the world.
The carriage left the city gate and went south all the way. After walking for more than ten miles, the sky gradually brightened.
What was presented in front of Wu Zhao was a large river winding eastward, with endless golden wheat fields on both sides.
The people who came to harvest in front of and behind the car cheered and cheered.
Yuan Xi was very excited when he saw this, and couldn't help standing up in the car and humming a song.
"A large river has wide waves, and the wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers on both banks..."