Unlike what Yuan Xi worried, Beixin City did not have any external enemies for the time being. But what was more troublesome was that the two people working in Beixin City were now in a very bad relationship.
Xu You and Ju Su.
Among the three people placed by Yuan Shao, Xu You was from Yuan Shang's faction, Ju Su was from Yuan Tan's faction, and Liu He secretly defected to Yuan Xi.
But now that Liu He and Zhao Yun are attacking Yuyang, Beixin City can only be handed over to Xu You and Ju Su.
Normally, Xu You was in charge of internal affairs and Ju Su was in charge of military affairs, so there would not be much conflict. But now both sides found the other's handle and began to attack each other.
Xu Youcan and Ju Su placed their cronies in positions of power and took charge of foreign affairs.
Ju Su and Xu You embezzled grain and privately occupied land.
When Yuan Xi saw this, his blood boiled. Damn it! Regardless of what Ju Shou had done, Xu You had touched his bottom line!
He angrily threw the bamboo slips on the table and cursed: "Xu You, you villain, are you bringing Jizhou's problems to Youzhou?"
"Can we kill him?"
Guo Jia said: "The amount of corruption that Ju Su and Xu You committed was not actually that large."
"According to the official practice of Jizhou, the most he can do is to reprimand him privately and order him to return it."
"And as a noble family, most of them actually turn a blind eye to such things."
"Jia thinks that the young master is still weak now. If he wants to accomplish great things, he must be tolerant and try to win over those he can. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."
"Besides, Xu You is Yuan Shang's man, and he has Benchu Gong standing behind him. Moreover, he and Benchu Gong have been good friends since childhood. It is not a good time to break up now, so as not to affect Youzhou's plans in the future."
Yuan Xi's face looked grim. He naturally knew what Xu You had done in later generations, so he had no intention of bribing him.
Now he just wanted to find a plausible excuse to kill him.
He said, "He has broken the rules of Youzhou by doing this. If this continues, corruption will become rampant in the Youzhou officialdom!"
After hearing this, Guo Jia realized that what he had just said was in vain. He sighed and said, "It's not that there is no solution."
"Leave him alone for now, and wait until he gets bold enough."
Yuan Xi was stunned, "What do you mean?"
Guo Jia said calmly: "Zheng Bo defeated Duan Yu Yan."
This is about Duke Zhuang of Zheng who designed and deliberately indulged his younger brother Gong Shuduan and his mother Wu Jiang. His younger brother was arrogant and wanted to seize the throne, so Duke Zhuang used this as an excuse to attack Gong Shuduan.
If Gong Shuduan had been honest and behaved himself, it would have been difficult for Duke Zhuang of Zheng to take action against him.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi suddenly realized something. He hesitated and said, "But during this period, won't Beixin City be in chaos?"
"If I ignore it, how will the people of Beixin City see me?"
Guo Jia spread his hands and said, "This is the only way now."
"Sir, if you really want to deal with him, it would be better for you not to return to Beixin City for the time being in order to distance yourself from him."
Yuan Xi felt a little heavy in his heart. Was it necessary to do this?
Although the method proposed by Guo Jia is cruel and ruthless, it is effective. However, if this is done, many people in Beixin City may suffer losses because of Xu You's actions.
If Zhao Yun was by his side, he would definitely not agree with him adopting Guo Jia's strategy.
Yuan Xi felt the pressure coming. He had to go back and deal with the matter in person, but he was unable to get away now and had to eliminate the threat of Sun Ce's army outside the city first.
Yuan Xi sighed. Guo Jia was indeed a very good counselor, but many of the Yingchuan nobles were dissolute people who loved singing and drinking and were not particular about details. This style of behavior was not completely in line with that of himself, Zhao Yun and others.
There is no problem in relying on Guo Jia to conquer the world. After all, when many heroes are fighting each other, being too soft-hearted is tantamount to suicide.
But when it comes to actually governing the world, problems will arise to some extent.
He shook his head, deciding not to be too harsh. After all, in this era, morally perfect people hardly existed.
He discussed some things with Guo Jia before returning to his room, where Zhen Mi had already prepared food for him.
She heard shouting and killing outside the city, and was relieved when she saw Yuan Xi returning home. But when she saw Yuan Xi going to find Guo Jia with a serious expression on his face, she waited for him to come back for dinner.
Yuan Xi put his hand on the food, and seeing that it was already a little cold, he said, "You can eat first from now on, no need to wait for me."
Zhen Mi said, "How can that be possible? This is the rule of the nobles. We have to wait for the head of the family."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I am the head of the family now, and I am following the rules. Cold food hurts the spleen and stomach. I am used to it when I was on the march and in battle, but you women are still weak, and eating cold food will easily cause stomach upset."
"Aren't you feeling unwell recently?"
He said he was feeling unwell, and Zhen Mi understood that he was referring to constipation.
Zhen Mi picked up the bowl, her face slightly reddened. She had been following Yuan Xi these days, eating simple meals, and her stomach was really not feeling well.
She asked aloud, "Why do So-ji and Jo-heon seem to be fine?"
Yuan Xi thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Let's talk about this after dinner. I'm afraid you'll feel sick if I talk about this while eating."
After the two of them finished their meal, the maid came in to pack up and take the food away. Yuan Xi saw her leaving and pointed at the maid's back and asked, "Have you asked them if they have any stomach discomfort?"
Zhen Mi said: "I did ask them, and they are quite normal."
Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Gastrointestinal discomfort is mainly related to two things."
"One is exercise, and the other is diet."
"Exercise more and your body becomes stronger, which is naturally good for your stomach and intestines."
"Don't look down on Cao Xian. She was even worse off than you when she arrived at Beixin City. Later, she often did chores, such as fetching water and washing clothes, and going out of the city to harvest wheat. She was exhausted and sweaty, but her physical condition gradually improved."
"It's the same with these maids. They work all the time, but their health is better than that of ordinary women from noble families."
"The nobles regarded physical labor as something that only lowly people could do, but this would actually shorten their lifespan due to lack of physical exercise."
"So, living a life of luxury all the time is not necessarily a good thing. God is fair. If he gives something, he will take something away."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi said softly, "I understand what my husband means. I will do more physical work in the future."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "You have done a good job. Don't you often work with Zhao Ji Cao Xian?"
"Besides, you have a very good physique, unlike some women from noble families who sit all day. I'm afraid you should exercise regularly at home, right?"
Zhen Mi covered her mouth and chuckled, "My husband is making fun of me. I have been active since I was a child. Especially after my family built a small building for me, I climbed up and down dozens of times every day. Even my maids are unwilling to climb the building with me."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi thought to himself, no wonder Zhen Ji's legs are so well shaped, long, white, strong and elastic, it seems like it's due to exercise.
Zhen Mi saw Yuan Xi staring at her legs, her face flushed, she pulled up her skirt, and whispered, "My husband has a very bad heart, where did you learn those tricks?"
Yuan Xi said shamelessly, "It is an upright thing for husband and wife to have a harmonious relationship. I learned all those postures by myself without any teacher!"
"I also want to include it in Soji's encyclopedia when the time comes."
Zhen Mi's face turned even redder. "My husband, what you said is nonsense. Do you want to be remembered for a hundred generations or be infamous for a thousand years?"
Yuan Xi chuckled: "Future couples will definitely thank me."
"We're done eating, how about some exercise?"
Zhen Mi spat in her heart, thinking that her husband was good in everything except that he was not very serious at night. She hurriedly said, "It's still early, and I haven't finished asking you questions just now."
"My husband just said that the first is activity and the second is diet. You did mention activities, but what about diet?"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "Those common people and farmers work hard every day, but they still don't live as long as the nobles. The main reason is that they don't eat well."
"But eating too well without exercising is not a good thing either."
"Although refined food is good, it is inferior to coarse grains in one respect: if you eat too much, your stomach and intestines will become weak and your bowel movements will become difficult."
When Zhen Mi heard Yuan Xi speak so bluntly, she couldn't help but look at the door, fearing that others would hear her.
Yuan Xi added: "Most of the nobles have luxurious clothes and delicious food. After eating, they sit for a whole day. How can they feel comfortable in their stomachs?"
"So people should eat more whole grains, improve their stomach and intestines, and assist in activities, which is the way to maintain health."
"Of course, at the beginning, if people with weak stomachs suddenly start eating coarse grains, it will stimulate the spleen and stomach and cause constipation. However, as long as they persist for a few months, there will be a great improvement."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi finally understood and sighed, "My husband is indeed knowledgeable and talented. Although I have read a lot of books, I have never heard of many of the things he said."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I don't know everything either. I only have a partial understanding of many things."
"Just like the medical skills and health preservation methods, they are far inferior to those of famous doctors."
"In terms of literature and history, I cannot compare to Zhao Ji. That is the source of my family's learning."
He suddenly remembered that when Chen Deng went to Yecheng, he said that he had found Hua Tuo, and he should still be in Haixi City at this time.
Once the matter here is settled, he will definitely go to Haixi to have a good talk with Liu Bei, Hua Tuo, and even Chen Deng.
If possible, hiring Hua Tuo as an official and letting him compile all he has learned throughout his life into an encyclopedia would benefit the people.
When Zhen Mi heard Yuan Xi mention Cai Yan's name, a trace of disappointment appeared on her face.
"Many times, I feel deeply ashamed of my limited knowledge and talents."
"In fact, the one who is most compatible with my husband and can be called a soulmate is Sister Zhaoji, right?"
Yuan Xi saw a look of disappointment on Zhen Mi's face and shook his head, "Why do you have such thoughts?"
"Everyone has their own unique qualities, and in my eyes, Madam is the most suitable one."
"And why do you have to say that the one that best matches you is better?"
"Isn't it good for a couple to complement each other?"
"If you really mean it, then the person who is most similar to you is yourself, so why are you still looking for a sense of identity?"
Zhen Mi felt relieved after hearing this. She picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. "My husband, I have never heard anyone say these words before."
"But my husband, I feel much better now."
"So, my husband, what do you think is my most unique advantage?"
Yuan Xi said without hesitation: "It's your body."
Zhen Mi almost spit out the tea in her mouth and said angrily, "Is this the truth?"
Yuan Xi said confidently: "I didn't hide it from you. This is what I think."
Zhen Mi was angry and amused, "Why is my husband like this!"
Yuan Xi's hands had already climbed onto Zhen Mi's slender calves before he could tell. He smiled and said, "Do you want your husband to prove it to you?"
Zhen Mi's face was hot, but when she thought of Mrs. Wu's chubby little girl, she felt a little hopeful. She whispered, "I'll turn off the light first."