Yan, who knew the inside story, came over to explain a few words, and Lu Bu and his daughter realized that what they were saying were irrelevant. Lu Bu put down the Fang Tian Hua Ji in annoyance.
Yuan Xi, who knew nothing about this, was lucky enough to escape the life-and-death threat of Lu Bu's wrath. At this time, he was meeting Ju Shou and Zhao Yun.
Compared to Zhao Yun, who was instructed by Yuan Xi to accept the title conferred by Liu Xie, Ju Su refused Liu Xie's official appointment. Now that he and Zhao Yun have settled their soldiers, they came to report to Yuan Xi.
Seeing Zhao Yun's awkward expression, Yuan Xi couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Why, Brother Zilong, do you think you didn't become the general this time?"
Zhao Yun heard this and said, "It seems that you have almost gotten over Brother Qu's death?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said, "I've figured it out. The dead are gone. Zhuangzi's wife died, and he sang while beating a basin. Living in the sadness of the past cannot change anything."
"Sadness and grief are the most useless things in this world of strife. All we have to do is keep going. In the process, more people will fall. If we dwell on the pain of the past, it will be meaningless for the future."
Ju Su said, "Life and death are like day and night, and nothing changes with you. My lord, if you can understand this principle, you will not only have the Taoist wisdom of living without joy and death without fear, but also be more like a lord."
Yuan Xi thought to himself that although this was the case, people are all made of flesh and blood. However, Ju Shou's last sentence was right. In the final analysis, Yuan Xi's behavior was just for show.
As a lord, you must learn to hide your personal feelings in front of your subordinates. If the lord is weak, your subordinates will be disunited and discouraged. If the lord is strong, your subordinates will be brave and make progress.
From a child of an aristocratic family to a lord, it is a process of slowly stripping away one's humanity from an ordinary person. This is the necessary path to growth, accompanied by pain and choices.
Ju Su added: "The emperor should have received the award in person, but you were defending Huaicheng for Marquis Wen, and the emperor said that he had to make an emergency decision, so I accepted the award on your behalf that day."
"But according to etiquette, you still need to personally receive the title in front of the emperor and officials above 600 shi."
"The emperor has arrived today. You are supposed to meet the emperor, but I want to ask you again, do you really want to be conferred a title?"
Yuan Xi knew what Ju Su was going to say, and nodded, "At least for me now, the status given by the emperor is very important."
"As for the Yuan family, I will explain it myself."
"As a member of the Yuan family, I shouldn't be treated harshly. But you didn't accept the reward to avoid suspicion, and Xi feels bad about it."
Ju Su laughed, "It's okay, you should understand that although Lord Benchu is suspicious of me, I have no intention of betraying the Yuan family."
Yuan Xi bowed hurriedly and said, "Even if I die, I will never let you down, sir."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Zhao Yun said aloud: "I don't understand, why me?"
"When I was conferred the title, I finally realized that the Master let me lead the army alone, just for today?"
"My official title is now equal to yours, and my rank of marquis is even higher than yours. How can I be a subordinate like this?"
"My lord, you asked me to accept the reward. Isn't this ostensibly handing over Youzhou to me?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Why not?"
"I believe in Zilong, but doesn't Zilong believe in me?"
Zhao Yun was dumbfounded, "But"
Yuan Xi waved his hand, "Brother Zilong, it's fine as long as you know what's going on. Besides, I should be very confident that I can fulfill the promise I made to Zilong."
Zhao Yun finally understood what was going on and was even more shocked: "You have been planning this all along?"
Yuan Xi smiled: "Although it took a long time, I finally got what I wanted."
"I myself don't want my sister to marry far away, so I'll be more assured leaving her to Brother Zilong than to someone else."
Zhao Yun was in mixed feelings and shook his head repeatedly. He never expected that Yuan Xi would mix state and family affairs together and treat such a big matter as a child's play.
He sighed, "But I am now caught between the emperor and the Yuan family. How can I deal with it like this in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Ju Su held his breath. His refusal to accept the emperor's reward would clearly indicate his support for Yuan Xi. However, Zhao Yun was in a dilemma. If the Han court and the Yuan family broke off, what should Zhao Yun do?
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I once told Zilong about this."
"The Han court belongs to all the people in the world."
"Whoever betrays the people is everyone's enemy."
Zhao Yun nodded thoughtfully.
Yuan Xi knew that although Zhao Yun had some understanding, he would not be able to fully understand the key to the problem in a short period of time.
Over the long years, many ideas will have to go through hundreds or thousands of years, dozens or even hundreds of generations of efforts, before they can come to answers that satisfy the general public. This process will be based on countless failures and attempts, and will only see the dawn of the end at the cost of countless blood and lives.
For now, he will be satisfied as long as he takes one step at a time, does everything well, and makes progress in the current social and historical environment.
He smiled and said, "No hurry."
"Ten thousand years is too long, we must seize the day."
"Our lives are too short to figure out a truth in one lifetime."
"Our lives are too long to witness too many ups and downs and historical changes."
"I believe in Zilong and sir, we should all act in accordance with morality and our conscience."
"Together, sooner or later we will find the best path for the whole world."
Zhao Yun and Ju Shou heard this and both bowed and said, "We will follow your words with all our strength!"
Yuan Xi laughed loudly, stood up and said, "Let's go see the emperor!"
Logically speaking, it would be in accordance with etiquette for Yuan Xi to formally meet the emperor tomorrow. After all, Liu Xie has traveled a long way and must be tired.
But Yuan Xi at this time was playing the role of a bastard who was adopted after being squeezed out by the main branch of the Yuan family and was wavering between the Yuan family and the emperor, so he had to act like he was caught between two extremes.
The reason why Yuan Xi was not welcomed when the emperor entered the city was to make Liu Xie think that Yuan Xi was still hesitating. This deliberately exposed the weak side of Yuan Xi's character and made Liu Xie feel that he could control Yuan Xi's actions in the future.
Now that he visited at night, it revealed that Yuan Xi was frightened and wanted to rush to join Liu Xie after being persuaded by others.
In this way, in Liu Xie's view, Yuan Xi did have weaknesses, which would make Liu Xie less wary when the two of them worked together in the future.
Although Yuan Xi knew that things were definitely not that simple, although Liu Xie was young, it was difficult to fool him, and he had a reputation as a fierce tiger. If he pretended too much, it would be counterproductive.
After all, if Yuan Xi were to write the edict personally, he would not be able to take all parties into consideration. It can be regarded as a model of strategy and political tactics. Liu Xie must have had many close ministers to help him, but being able to bring together so many people with different thoughts is also a skill in itself.
In Yuan Xi's opinion, Liu Xie now has the qualifications to be a chess player. Although he has no soldiers in his hands, his status allows him to create chess pieces out of thin air.
Yuan Xi had a feeling that in time, Liu Xie would definitely be able to occupy his own place on the chessboard of the world.
What he had to do now was to maintain good relations with Liu Xie as much as possible. After all, if Cao Cao intervened too deeply, Yuan Xi would not even be able to drink the soup.
The three men rode their horses to the temporary emperor's palace, only to see countless soldiers stationed all around, dressed in different uniforms. Some were from Cao Cao's army, some were from Dong Cheng's army, and some were from Lu Bu's army.
Yuan Xi observed carefully and found that the innermost circle of guards were wearing the clothes of the Xianzhen Camp. It seems that although Liu Xie had compromised with all parties, on the surface, he still regarded Lu Bu as the person he trusted the most.
Yuan Xi handed the petition in, and soon after, a young man in the uniform of an eunuch came out and said to Yuan Xi, "The emperor summons you to come in and see him."
The man then said to Ju Su and Zhao Yun, "The emperor has summoned me to see the General Zhengdong alone. Please wait a moment."
Ju Shou and Zhao Yun had no choice but to agree, and the man led Yuan Xi inside.
Yuan Xi followed behind and saw that this person had an extraordinary temperament. He bowed and said as he walked, "May I know your name, Shangguan?"
The man stood still and returned the greeting to Yuan Xi, saying, "I am the Prime Minister of the Central Palace, and I am grateful to you."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi bowed again and said, "Nice to meet you."
Fu De was a native of Dongwu in Langya. He was the eldest son of Fu Wan, the captain of the cavalry, and Princess Liu Hua of Yang'an, and the brother of Empress Fu Shou. Just based on this identity, it was known that he was one of the closest people to Liu Xie, so Yuan Xi did not dare to neglect him and had to be alert and respond carefully.
There must be a strategist around Liu Xie. Although Fu De does not look like a strategist in terms of age and experience, he must have played a vital role in Liu Xie's decision-making.
Fu De led Yuan Xi through the corridor and into the hall, where they saw several ministers standing on both sides. At the top sat a young man about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a robe with tassels and a crown on his head. Yuan Xi knew that this was Liu Xie.
Yuan Xi did not have time to see the faces of the people clearly, so he bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, I am Yuan Xi from Jizhou. I greet you."
He bowed his head and saluted, but heard a sound from the seat above, followed by footsteps approaching, and then a pair of rather thin hands rested on his arms.
Then a voice sounded, "I have heard of the general's name for a long time. Today I see him in person. He is indeed majestic and has the demeanor of Lord Benchu."
"General, you have made a great contribution this time. I am very happy."
Yuan Xi quickly said humbly: "I am terrified. When the emperor is in trouble, the whole world has a responsibility. This is my duty. I am truly ashamed of your majesty's reward."
When Yuan Xi entered, Liu Xie stood up. This was a treatment only given to the Three Dukes. Yuan Xi was the General Who Conquers the East and had the same etiquette as the Three Dukes. Liu Xie not only stood up but also got up from his seat to greet him. This, at least on the surface, showed his appreciation for Yuan Xi.
Liu Xie laughed loudly, and then he heard someone beside him singing along: "The emperor is prosperous because of you!"
This was the Taichang order to urge etiquette. When the emperor stood up, the three ministers were to bow in return. Yuan Xi was about to bow down, but Liu Xie pulled his sleeve and said, "No need. I know you have your reasons. I allow you not to bow."
Yuan Xi was stunned. His face became solemn as he lowered his head. He began to lose confidence in whether he could hide this from Liu Xie.
He was thoughtful, wondering how and to what extent he should pretend in front of Liu Xie, what he should let the other party guess, or not guess, in order to be truly appropriate?
As for Liu Xie, can I really influence his behavior and manipulate his thoughts as expected?
The other party is a living person. Not to mention that he is an emperor who has experienced bloody storms, if he were a six-year-old child, you wouldn't be able to completely control what the other party is thinking, right?
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi discovered that his previous thoughts might have been wrong. People cannot even fully control their own thoughts, let alone others?
Thinking of this, he raised his head, looked directly at Liu Xie and said, "I am here to see the emperor to speak my mind."