When there was a commotion on the roadside at the beginning, Yan Rou reacted much faster than the others and arrived immediately.
At that time, he kept muttering to himself that he would be embarrassed if a conflict broke out between his soldiers and the refugees.
He was already prepared to have Yuan Xi pursue him, cut off his warrior's wrists, hack several of them to death on the spot, and ask for punishment himself.
When it came to looking at the soldiers' uniforms, they were all Yuan Xi's soldiers. Yan Rou breathed a sigh of relief and felt very lucky that she was not implicated.
After a while, he saw Yuan Xi rushing over to deal with the matter. He was afraid that this kind of unclear situation would be exposed in the end, right?
However, what happened next took a turn for the worse, beyond Yan Rou's expectation. Yuan Xi actually dealt with it seriously according to military law!
You know, when the Han Dynasty was strong and powerful, military law was indeed very strict, but now it is considered a troubled time. The armies of the princes are equivalent to private soldiers. Whether they are fighting for land or farming, they are treated well. Who cares about military law?
If it were Yan Rou's own soldiers, they would have to eat and drink well to provide for themselves and work hard for him. Yuan Xi is good. It doesn't hurt to fight. Are he really not afraid of his subordinates being dissatisfied?
However, Yan Rou also became vigilant. Yuan Xi was so strict with his personal guards, but his Wuhuan and Xianbei soldiers were much more lax. If they committed a crime, would they still be able to escape?
It's okay if this happens once or twice, but if it happens more often, how will you deal with it?
Yan Rou secretly warned that when she arrived in Jicheng, she would have to gather her soldiers and rectify military discipline first, lest problems arise and it would be too late to fix them.
He suddenly woke up, was Yuan Xi taking the opportunity to hint at him by doing this?
The beaten sergeants just stood up limpingly. When they heard that Yuan Xi was about to punish himself, they quickly knelt down and shouted: "It is true that we are guilty, please don't punish yourself!"
Tian Yu also spoke out: "Sir, the commander was beaten with a military stick, which damages the military's prestige."
Hundreds of personal guards around Yuan Xi all raised their hands and said: "Please make you think twice!"
When Yuan Xi saw it, he sighed and said, "Since everyone says so, let's change it."
He pulled out the sword from his waist with a swipe, and at the same time took off the hair crown on his head, and his hair suddenly fell down.
He returned his hand with a knife, and the sword flashed across it. He cut off a large lock of hair and threw it on the ground, shouting: "Cut your hair to take the blame!"
When something happened suddenly, Tian Yu, Yan Rou and others were shocked, and everyone present trembled!
The reason why everyone reacted like this was because according to Han law, hair cutting was a type of punishment, which was equivalent to the punishment that slaves would receive. At this time, Confucianism was flourishing, and it also advocated "the hair and skin of the body, parents who received it, did not dare to mutilate it,
The beginning of filial piety."
In other words, it was fine for the lower class people, but for the nobles who valued filial piety and reputation, this behavior was extremely serious!
Yuan Xi saw that everyone looked solemn and felt quite satisfied.
As a modern person, there is no psychological pressure if he shaves his head, but what he wants now is this effect, and this is thanks to the clever Cao Cao.
Yuan Xi had a malicious idea. If he cut off his hair to replace his military stick, in the future Cao Cao would trample the young seedlings with his horse. If he wanted to use his hair instead of his head to pay for the death penalty, how much hair would Cao Cao have to cut off if he had his own jewels in front of him?
He waved Tian Yu to take away a few soldiers who had received military sticks. While walking to the front of the cart, he asked the soldiers to bring some noodles to the couple and said: "I will arrange for people to escort you to Jicheng. This time
Take care of Aweng first on the way, and come to me anytime if you need anything."
The couple quickly knelt down to express their thanks, and even pulled the young man to kneel down.
Yuan Xi stopped them, touched the young man's head and said, "People say that there are many powerful men in the land of Yan and Zhao. This child is less than ten years old. He is not afraid of sharp blades and has the courage to stand up and speak out for his family. He can be said to be a young hero."
He thought for a while, took out the short sword from his waist, handed it to the young man and said, "This sword is given to you to protect your family, but don't use it to do evil."
The young man took the knife, his face lit up with joy, and he nodded vigorously.
When Guo Jia saw Yuan Xi sending his family away, he lowered the car curtain. Meiji in his arms asked, "Master, why don't you get out?"
Guo Jia smiled slightly: "You have done a good job, why do you need me to come forward again?"
He thought that Yuan Xi was becoming more and more impeccable in his work. He punished the sergeants to improve military discipline, cut off his hair to appease and shock everyone, and finally gave a knife to the young man, but he protected his family.
No matter what Yuan Xi's true thoughts were, his performance was quite remarkable and he looked like a master.
After Yuan Xi got on the carriage, the team continued to march, and all the soldiers murmured as they walked.
"Your Majesty is too cruel. It is unheard of for a nobleman to cut off his hair."
"We must be careful in the future so as not to offend the envoy."
"That is, if you serve as a soldier under the envoy, you will have land and food, and your life will be much better than before. If you make a mistake and get demoted, you will lose everything and your family will be implicated!"
Everyone was convinced, and someone whispered: "You said that your conduct is so noble. Is it true that the real person from heaven came down to earth, as the rumors say?"
Everyone nodded and agreed in unison, "That makes sense!"
Inside the carriage, Zhen Mi carefully helped Yuan Xi gather up her hair, put on the crown, and then inserted a hairpin to secure it.
She looked at Yuan Xi with a large piece of hair missing with distress, and wanted to speak, but was unable to speak.
Mrs. Wu was indeed very emotional. Yuan Xi and her son Sun Ce could be said to be two completely opposite types of people. Their work styles contrasted very sharply.
Sun Ce was almost carved out of the same mold as Sun Jian. He was bold and cheerful, with great personal charm. He was a model of a knight-errant in this era. As a result, he attracted a large number of like-minded people in Jiangdong.
It can be said that Sun Ce's behavior is the style of the nobles. From Yuan Shao to Yuan Shu, from Sun Jian to Cao Cao, when they were young, they all acted like eagles and lackeys, calling friends and friends, which is called character.
To be fair, Mrs. Wu didn't like this kind of behavior very much. She also advised Sun Ce that since he has great ambitions, he should mature as soon as possible. When the princes build their achievements, don't they still have to pay attention to reputation?
But Sun Ce didn't hear much and still went his own way, which made Mrs. Wu quite helpless.
In contrast, Yuan Xi is extremely restrained and calm, and everything he does is thoughtful and mature. He has the self-discipline that is extremely rare among scholars of this age. In this regard, he is just like Sun Ce's father.
It's like... carrying something heavy.
Mrs. Wu didn't know how Yuan Xi's character was formed. Maybe he encountered many things that made him what he is today?
The key thing that makes Mrs. Wu extremely ashamed is that she has an unclear relationship with him, and they even have children!
Mrs. Wu couldn't help but think of the situation that night. Maybe it was because of being drunk. Yuan Xi was uncharacteristically domineering and behaved very differently from usual. Was it drunken sex or a release of suppressed nature?
Mrs. Wu's face grew hotter and hotter. She couldn't help but tighten her legs and secretly cursed herself for being shameless. Although Yuan Xi might have revealed his true colors, how could he not be the same?
Thinking of how miserable she behaved in the end, Mrs. Wu was on pins and needles, thinking that she liked to be treated like that. Wouldn't this be even more abnormal?
If Zhen Mi felt something, she glanced at Mrs. Wu. Mrs. Wu was suddenly too frightened to move.
However, Yuan Xi noticed that Mrs. Wu's expression was unnatural, and asked: "Mrs., is she feeling unwell after sitting in the carriage for a long time?"
"Would you like to see Mr. Yuanhua?"
Mrs. Wu said hurriedly: "I am fine, sir, don't worry."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi said: "Let's take a look. Madam is pregnant with her husband's child. What should we do if we have fetal force during this long journey?"
It was a good thing that Zhen Mi didn't mention this. Mrs. Wu felt that her hands and feet had nowhere to rest. She couldn't help but fold her hands to cover her lower abdomen, as if she wanted to press it flat.
Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi looked at each other and understood that Mrs. Wu still could not fully accept the reality and could only take one step at a time.
After another half a day, near noon, the carriage stopped and they set up camp to light a fire.
At that time, when marching, the only meal in the evening was to light a fire and eat hot food. But now that there was no war and there was no need to rush, Yuan Xi ordered everyone to rest twice a day and start cooking at noon.
As soon as this order came out, the sergeants were very happy. It was just after the New Year and the weather was still cold. It would be much more comfortable to have one more hot meal a day.
Yuan Xi told Zhen Mi and Mrs. Wu to go find Huan's mother and daughter to have dinner with her. He, Tian Yu and others, shared the same pot and stove with the soldiers. He saw Yuan Xi squatting by the pot, drinking corn porridge from a wooden bowl.
In addition to awe, the soldiers' eyes also showed a bit of respect for the crowd.
The previous events made them understand that this envoy has a very strict bottom line in doing things, and if he touches it, he will be dealt with seriously!
Yuan Xi ignored the attention of everyone and plucked the wild vegetables and dried minced meat in the bowl. He raised his head slightly to chew, and accidentally saw the feet of the soldiers on the opposite side, with a look of confusion on his face, and then he sank down.
He stretched out his wooden chopsticks, pointed at the soldier opposite and said, "Where are your shoes?"
The soldier on the opposite side was startled. He saw that he was wearing a pair of tattered straw sandals on his feet, and his exposed toes were cracked by the frost.
Tian Yu also realized that when he was in Guangling, Yuan Xi considered that he was going to march a long distance, so he specially bought winter boots and asked Tian Yu to distribute them to everyone.
Those winter boots were made of rabbit skin and were expensive. They cost a lot of money.
What soldiers now wear are winter straw sandals, also called fei, which are usually made of straw, wheat straw, rice straw, etc. The winter straw sandals are stuffed with hay to keep out the cold, and are much simpler than leather boots.
Tian Yu thought that the quartermaster was embezzling, so he said, "Tell the truth, have the boots been given to you?"
The soldier quickly took out a pair of boots from his quilt bag and said, "The envoy and supervisor of the army have arrived early, and I have been carrying them."
Tian Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "Why don't you wear it?"
The soldier murmured: "These shoes are very expensive, and we are reluctant to wear them."
"Besides, the soles of these leather boots are easily worn out when traveling through mountains and rivers. Straw sandals are more convenient for walking."
After hearing this, Tian Yu turned to Yuan Xi and said, "It's true. Leather boots are not wear-resistant. Riding a horse is okay, but walking on muddy ground is really inconvenient."
He turned to the soldier again and said, "Having said that, I bought shoes for you to wear. How can you fight if your feet are frozen?"
After hearing this, the soldier quickly put on his leather boots, carefully tied up his dirty straw sandals, and put them into his luggage.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was only by being with the soldiers that he could discover more problems. During this period of time, he was busy with diplomatic negotiations and wandering among the nobles, but he neglected many problems.
Yuan Xi also understood that he alone could not control everything and could not handle every detail, so he was in urgent need of like-minded companions who could understand him.
This kind of companion is extremely difficult to find, and Zhao Yun only has a few of them now. Training them personally is the only way, just like Yuan Xi deliberately kept Sun Li by his side.
But water from afar cannot quench the thirst of the near. It may take several years for Sun Li to be able to take charge of his own affairs. Even so, it is far from enough.
Just like the shoe problem at hand, soldiers often have to face long-distance marches, but wear-resistant and soft sole materials are indeed very difficult to find.
Wood soles are too hard, grass soles are not strong, leather soles are too expensive, and cloth soles have not yet appeared. Magazin soles are the most cost-effective, but they cannot withstand long-distance marches.
After much deliberation, the most suitable thing is rubber from later generations.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that it seemed that he had to launch maritime trade as soon as possible. The key point was that even if he got rubber trees to plant, the soil on his own site would not be suitable?