Youth
In the year 189, Luoyang, Suzaku Avenue, Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
After entering the year 187, Yuan Xi began to feel a growing urgency.
During those years, he started making plans for the future.
After all, 189 was drawing ever closer, and he felt increasingly insecure. So, he did everything within his power to prepare. As for the outcome, he did not dwell on it—he believed that fate was beyond his control.
One could only do one's best and leave the rest to destiny. He was no superman.
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At the beginning of 187, the Yuan family formed a political alliance with the Grand General He Jin.
As a result, Yuan Shao joined the Grand General’s headquarters, much to Emperor Ling’s displeasure.
Soon after, a rebellion broke out in Xingyang Commandery.
The rebels attacked Zhongmou, killing the magistrate Luo Hao and the chief clerk Pan Ye.
The rebel forces grew in strength, prompting Emperor Ling and He Jin to dispatch He Miao, Governor of Henan, and Yuan Shao to suppress the uprising. After several battles, the rebels were defeated.
At this time, Yuan Xi felt somewhat lost and lonely.
Since Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had left, much of his amusement was gone.
The reckless games of youth, riding with flamboyant clothes and fierce horses, had grown tiresome.
Therefore, Yuan Xi decided to undertake something meaningful.
With the support of Lady Liu, he opened several shops.
He did not aim for profit but sought useful information.
Life requires rivals—they push you forward. A life without opponents is dull and marks the start of decline. To achieve brilliance, one needs rivals.
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In 187, while wandering Luoyang, Yuan Xi encountered a wanderer.
Upon inquiry, he learned the man had been persecuted by the Ten Attendants.
Having lost his property and home, Yuan Xi felt pity.
After all, in a past life, he had been destitute like a dog. Moreover, the man had experience in commerce, and Yuan Xi needed capable hands. He could not expect the Second Young Master to watch over every storefront; he had more important matters to attend to.
So, Yuan Xi recruited the man to manage several businesses.
His name was Hua Xu. He later became the founder of the secret intelligence network under Zhang Hong—a commercial genius comparable to Shen Wansan.
Any enterprise requires talent. Great endeavors demand great teams. Lone efforts never achieve lasting success.
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In 187, another military rebellion erupted.
Zhang Chun from Yuyang and his fellow townsman Zhang Ju raised arms in revolt.
The Han court was shaken. After deliberation, the Yuan family recommended Gongsun Zan, while the Ten Attendants backed Liu Yu, to jointly quell Zhang Chun’s rebellion. The seed of division was thus sown in Youzhou.
Sensing the grave situation, Yuan Xi intensified his cavalry and archery training.
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He also met the swordsmanship master Wang Yue at a martial hall in the city.
Upon Yuan Xi’s recommendation, Yuan Shao appointed Wang Yue to the imperial palace as sword instructor for the princes, chiefly to teach Yuan Xi, whose time was limited.
During this period, Yuan Shao’s expectations of Yuan Xi grew stricter.
Yuan Shao, too, sensed that the Yuan family’s fate was nearing a turning point.
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In the campaign against Zhang Chun in 187, Gongsun Zan achieved successive victories on the front lines. However, in the west, Liu Yu’s forces suffered due to poor coordination, leading to a rebellion by the Southern Xiongnu.
Fortunately, Gongsun Zan held firm and repelled Zhang Chun.
Meanwhile, in Luoyang, a curfew was imposed, but Yuan Xi, as the Yuan family’s second son, assumed no one would dare enforce it against him.
Consequently, he brazenly went out onto the streets, only to be spotted by patrol officer Xiahou Dun, who arrested him and sent him to the Court of Justice for Cao Cao to handle.
Cao Cao scolded Yuan Xi harshly and ordered Xiahou Dun to personally carry out the punishment.
This ordeal was a severe shock to the pampered Yuan Xi.
Eventually, Cao Cao sent Cao Ang to notify Yuan Shao to retrieve his son from the Court.
Yuan Shao arrived with a grim expression and argued with Cao Cao before taking Yuan Xi home, where Yuan Xi received another round of reprimands.
At home, Yuan Xi’s pride suffered deeply, and he grew increasingly resentful.
The next day, he sneaked back to the Court’s stables and poisoned Xiahou Dun’s horse with croton beans, muttering, “How dare you strike me, Second Young Master?”
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In 187, the Southern Xiongnu rebellion disrupted the Han court’s strategic plans.
With Yuan Wei’s recommendation, Emperor Ling ordered Ding Yuan to lead forces north against the Xiongnu.
In this campaign, a peerless general named Lü Bu from Wuyuan emerged.
Under Ding Yuan’s counterattack, the Southern Xiongnu were driven out of Bingzhou.
Meanwhile, Yuan Xi compiled a poetry collection through his publishing house and tasked Hua Xu with promoting it to enhance his reputation among the scholarly elite.
In that era, family background and personal prestige determined one’s standing. Yuan Xi was compelled to act accordingly.
Later, Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Xi, recognizing this, established a simplified imperial examination system aligned with the times.
He hoped to implement reforms swiftly but was constrained by entrenched interests and had to compromise.
No matter how well-designed a system, if it does not align with the grand trends of the age, it is doomed to be discarded, no matter how noble its intent.
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In 187, Sun Jian became an imperial firefighter.
Wherever rebellions broke out, his figure appeared.
The Sun family’s renown was forged through countless battles.
Thus, their legacy was purer, while the Yuan family’s wealth was accumulated over generations.
Hence, the Yuans appeared somewhat aged and lacking vigor.
Were it not for Yuan Xi’s birth, the Yuan family would have inevitably declined.
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Having been struck by Xiahou Dun, our Second Young Master Yuan felt humiliated and decided to leave the capital for a respite.
“Damn Xiahou Dun,” he muttered.
On the way to Yingchuan, he heard of a great sage residing temporarily in Wancheng.
So, Yuan Xi took Xu Chu and returned to Nanyang.
This recluse was named Zhang Hong, but he refused to see the Second Young Master.
Nevertheless, Yuan Xi, stubborn as ever, refused to leave, even staging a rainstorm at Zhang’s doorstep to force a meeting.
Moved by his persistence, Zhang Hong finally agreed to see the young man.
Who would have thought that the two—one elder, one youth—would immediately take a liking to each other?
Indeed, those not of one family do not enter one door—how ironic.
The imperial tutor, the Black-Clad Chancellor Zhang Hong, was a hidden arbiter behind the scenes, revered as a paternal figure.
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Between 187 and 188, during a rare calm in the empire, Yuan Xi, Yang Xiu, and Cao Ang—three restless youths—grew bored and hatched a plan.
Yuan Xi proposed to sneak into Wang Yun’s peach orchard and steal peaches.
Yang Xiu agreed, and Cao Ang seconded the idea.
They silently crept to Wang Yun’s residence.
Just as they happily picked fruit, Yuan Xi suddenly shouted, “Thief! Someone’s stealing the fruit!”
Then, he dashed away.
Yang Xiu quickly followed suit, leaving Cao Ang dumbfounded and about to scold Yuan Xi.
Suddenly, Wang Yun’s nephew, Wang Ling, arrived with men and apprehended Cao Ang.
When Cao Cao, frowning, came to Wang’s mansion to retrieve him, Yuan Xi felt an inexplicable satisfaction—it was a small revenge.
Yet to Yuan Xi’s surprise, Cao Cao quickly regained composure, and his eyes held a glint of admiration. At that moment, Yuan Xi sensed a kindred spirit.
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Xu Chu, courtesy name Zhongkang, was one of the three elite Tiger Guards of the Divine Strategy Army, commanding the Tiger Guard.
Together with Zhu Gongdao, he protected Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Xi’s safety.
He was the first general Yuan Xi recruited in his youth.
Later, Xu Chu followed Emperor Xuanwu through countless battles, his fame resounding, bearing over a hundred wounds.
When Emperor Xuanwu was pursued by Lü Bu, only with Xu Chu at his side could he rest, for which Yuan Xi bestowed upon him the title of Marquis Tiger.
Xu Chu was later worshipped among the people as a door god.
After Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Xi passed away, grief-stricken, coughing blood, Emperor Ming of Jin honored his loyalty by enshrining his spirit tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and placing it in the Lingxiao Pavilion.
Yuan Xi: “Zhongkang, where are you?”
Xu Chu: “My lord, do not worry. Xu Chu is here.”