From a young age, Qu Yi loved archery and horsemanship. As he grew up, he was ordered to lead the family's private army and fought against the Qiang barbarians for a long time. He understood the Qiang people's tactics very well, and the troops he trained were also very brave and skilled in battle.
In the seventh year of Guanghe (184 AD), the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Emperor Ling of Han sent Huangfu Song, a native of Anding Commandery in Liang Province, to quell the rebellion.
In the third year of Zhongping (186 AD), Huangfu Song went to Liang Province to recruit soldiers. Qu Yi led thousands of his family's troops to respond to the call. From then on, he repeatedly defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Bing and Ji Provinces, earning Huangfu Song's appreciation.
After pacifying the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Huangfu Song returned to Luoyang to report his success. Qu Yi stayed in Ji Province under Han Fu, the governor, as a military advisor. However, because Qu Yi's troops were strong, Han Fu became suspicious of him. When Yuan Shao came to Ji Province, Qu Yi defected to Yuan Shao.
After that, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought against each other. Qu Yi became famous throughout the land after the Battle of Baima. Afterwards, he repeatedly clashed with Gongsun Zan's army, winning more than he lost.
However, fate played a joke on Qu Yi again. Suspected of participating in the Ye City Rebellion, Qu Yi was ambushed and killed by Yuan Shao.
But Qu Yi survived the disaster and was rescued by Yuan Xi. Although he was left with hidden injuries, he managed to live.
Although Qu Yi knew that the Ye City Rebellion was just an excuse, the reason for his ambush was extremely complicated. It was possible that someone had framed him and Yuan Shao had simply gone along with it. But what could he do?
He couldn't do anything. His troops were gone. Even if he found the person who framed him, whether it was a strategist from Ji Province or even a member of the Yuan family, could he still take revenge?
Qu Yi realized that his ambition had been slowly worn away by the cruel reality.
Huangfu Song, whom he once regarded as a role model, was also from Liang Province. Although he was famous throughout the land, he had offended Dong Zhuo and almost died at Dong Zhuo's hands.
Of course, Huangfu Song always retained the ambition of a Liang Province warrior. After Dong Zhuo forced Huangfu Song's aunt to death, Huangfu Song endured until Dong Zhuo was killed by Lu Bu before launching a fierce attack and exterminating Dong Zhuo's entire family.
But Huangfu Song, such a hero of his generation, died unclearly in the Rebellion of Chang'an this year. Whether he was angered to death or killed by Li Jue, Guo Si, or others, no one knows.
Even if someone knew, who would speak up for him?
Thinking of this, Qu Yi smiled self-deprecatingly. His life was saved by a member of the Yuan family. Would he have to kill Yuan Shao's entire family to take revenge in the future?
He no longer wanted to think about such boring things. He only hoped that he would have a chance to return to his hometown to see it again in the future.
Nowadays, Qu Yi encountered fewer and fewer people from Liang Province. Apart from Sun Li's mother, who came from the Ma family of Fufeng, Qu Yi had hardly met any fellow villagers. Did they return home, or did they die somewhere?
Qu Yi felt waves of pain in his chest and abdomen. He picked up the wine pot hanging from his waist and gulped down a mouthful of wine.
The newly brewed wine was a bit strong, causing him to grimace. The burning of the strong wine and the pain in his body intertwined, making him feel like a fire was burning in his chest and abdomen.
He supported himself against the city wall with both hands, trying to stand up straight, knowing that he might not have much time left.
Just as the young master said, the best end for a warrior is to die on the battlefield.
Before that, what should he leave behind for this world?
He also remembered what Yuan Xi had once said to him.
The strong bully the weak. He couldn't avenge all the people in the world who suffered injustice, but he wanted to give those people the power to resist.
At that time, Qu Yi asked, "Including the people of Bing and Liang?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said firmly, "Everyone."
Qu Yi took another big gulp of wine.
Yuan Xi was sitting in front of the desk, looking at the bamboo slips piled up like a small mountain. Wu Zhao and Cao Xian sat on either side.
He unrolled them one by one. These were all introductory classics for various industries, covering classics, criminal law, agronomy, handicraft, construction, and even military strategy.
Wu Zhao was responsible for presiding over the sorting, trying to summarize the introductory knowledge of various categories in the simplest and clearest words, which was quite like an encyclopedia in later generations.
Yuan Xi turned to a volume on the art of training soldiers, with Qu Yi's name marked on the first page, indicating that it was written by Qu Yi. He couldn't help but find it interesting and said to the two women, "You have put your heart into this."
Wu Zhao said, "It's not just the two of us. We don't have that much ability."
"The officials and craftsmen in Beixin City, after hearing that their children will see these books in the future, almost all came to help."
"Especially when they knew that these enlightenment classics, which might be passed down to later generations, could be signed with the names of the participants, they worked even harder."
Cao Xian also nodded, thinking that the young master's method really pointed to people's hearts. Who wouldn't want their names, deeds, and lifelong learning to be passed down to later generations a hundred years later?
Yuan Xi thought that this naming right was indeed attractive. From ancient times to the present, from national affairs to family affairs, from papers to works, leaving a name has always been a huge temptation.
Compiling such a set of things was inspired by Guo Jia's affairs. Even if he couldn't complete it in his generation, as long as he passed on this spirit, he would compile a set of "One Hundred Thousand Whys" suitable for the people sooner or later.
Wu Zhao also said, "The people in the cities of Zhuo Commandery have become much more active in doing things since they learned that the young master was going to compile such a set of classics."
"The most obvious thing is the craftsmen who improved the paper. They understand that if paper suitable for long-term preservation can be produced in large quantities, it is not an unattainable dream for everyone to have books to read."
"The speed of paper improvement is very fast now. I estimate that there will be a major breakthrough in a year and a half."
"In comparison, woodblock printing is not difficult. Just treat the target wood board with special drying to prevent deformation."
"As for researching inks that don't fade for decades or even centuries, that still requires a lot of improvement and waiting, because it needs to stand the test of time."
"Speaking of which, the formula for this ink might be on my face."
Wu Zhao laughed at her own words, and Yuan Xi and Cao Xian couldn't help but look at her face.
It has been over a year since Wu Zhao was abducted in Luoyang and used cinnabar and pine soot to conceal her appearance.
The red cinnabar patches on Wu Zhao's face have almost completely disappeared, but the black pine soot has penetrated deep into her skin, leaving a faint layer of ink color on her face.
Yuan Xi guessed that the pine soot at the time was mixed with other things, creating an effect similar to ink. That's why it hasn't faded after so long.
If there were no comparison, it would just look like she has darker skin, but compared to her fair neck, the difference is obvious.
Cao Xian said regretfully, "It's such a pity for you, sister. If you fully recovered, you wouldn't be much worse than the Zhen family's daughters."
Yuan Xi comforted her, "It hasn't been long. It will definitely fade away in the future."
Wu Zhao smiled and said, "I'm already very content with this. Don't worry."
"Besides, if it weren't for this, those Xiongnu people don't know what they would have done to me."
Yuan Xi nodded, "Speaking of which, I was also wondering why the Southern Xiongnu haven't retaliated. It turns out there were problems within their own ranks."
The Han court's loyal subject of the Southern Xiongnu, Chanyu Yufuluo, actually died.
His younger brother, Huchuquan, succeeded him as Chanyu. According to the original history, Yufuluo's son, Liu Bao, should have been made the Left Worthy King.
However, Liu Bao died under Yuan Xi's blade last year, and his ashes were scattered.
Speaking of which, Yufuluo was two-faced throughout his life, repeatedly betraying his allies, but one thing was very firm: supporting the Han Emperor.
When Emperor Ling of Han was in power, he defected to the Han court. After Emperor Ling of Han died, he helped Dong Zhuo, who was holding the Han Emperor hostage, to deal with the lords of the world. He was defeated by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao one after another, and finally retreated to Bing Province.
However, so-called Han loyalists like Yufuluo also included Zhang Yan, the Black Mountain Bandit. They used the court's titles to plunder the people in a justified manner, nominally Han officials but actually bandits.
This was the evil consequence of Emperor Ling of Han losing his way, bringing chaos to the world. Even bandits could become court officials, which shows that the Han court had lost its virtue, giving the lords a justified opportunity to rebel.
As for the aristocratic families and common people, they all turned to the lords in various places, because only the lords with armies could protect their safety.
As for the Han court, which could not protect their lives and property, how could it possibly win their loyalty?
Therefore, the Han Dynasty at this time was already existing in name only. It looked like it would collapse with just a light push.
At this time, all the lords in the world, including Yuan Shao now, thought so.
The Guandong Coalition led by Yuan Shao established Liu Yu as emperor, and Yuan Shu even dared to declare himself emperor, because they felt that the Han court was no longer working, so it was better to start anew.
Now the situation in the world is like this. Under the command of the two Yuans, a large number of gentry who have lost confidence in the Han court have gathered.
Including those who later fawned on the Han Emperor, although Liu Xie issued edicts widely, almost no one in the world responded, including Lu Bu, who received the edict first.
Except for Ju Shou, almost everyone under Yuan Shao believed that the Han Emperor was a burden. If they fawned on him, they would be asking for trouble and would affect the internal operations of Ji Province.
But only Yuan Xi, who knew the history of later generations, understood that things were not that simple.
The Emperor returned east, but Cao Cao went straight for Emperor Liu Xie, picking up a great bargain, and then squeezed out the value of Liu Xie in the following decades.
The gentry who were loyal to the Han Dynasty slowly gathered under Cao Cao's command.
Yuan Shao did not foresee such a change and regretted it too late. It is estimated that he did not understand until his death how these gentry who were loyal to the Han Dynasty disappeared for more than ten years and suddenly reappeared.
Yuan Xi, as a person from later generations, did not understand this reason either. This matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
If the gentry were truly supporting the Han Dynasty, they would not have appeared only when the Han Dynasty had declined to this point.
Yuan Xi guessed that they might just need a righteous name.
In this way, they can convince the world and convince themselves, so as to lie on Cao's body and obtain the capital to keep the family alive.
Of course, there were also true Han loyalists, such as Kong Rong, Xun Yu, and Wei Feng, but their endings were not very good.
It is easy to talk about sacrificing one's life for righteousness, but it is very difficult to do. Who doesn't want to live?
Yufuluo, this loyal subject, disappeared in the river of history, but Bing Province was still occupied by hundreds of thousands of Southern Xiongnu.
There are not many Han people in Bing Province. Lu Bu is one of them. Now Yuan Xi is trying to lure Lu Bu north, on the one hand, to deal with the Black Mountain Bandits, and on the other hand, to let him suppress the Southern Xiongnu in Bing Province.
He asked Wu Zhao, "I sent someone to contact Lu Bu some time ago, saying that I could send him food in exchange for an alliance between the two sides. I don't know if he will agree."
When Wu Zhao heard this, she thought of the aggrieved look of Lu Lingqi when Yuan Xi pressed her down last time, and couldn't help but smile, "I think it's very likely."
"Marquis Wen has been fighting with Cao Cao for more than half a year, and his food is probably empty. Unfortunately, the Henei Commandery he went to also had a poor harvest this year."
"Not to mention the Black Mountain Bandits, who have been hungry for years."
"In this case, I guess Lu Bu will send someone over by the end of the year at the latest."