My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 520 Two Marriages
Liu Feng stayed in Tancheng for three whole months, spending a good New Year with Liu Bei, Lady Wu, and Lady Tian.

During this festival, not only did many civil and military officials under Liu Feng send gifts and greetings from afar, but even the important ministers and generals under his father Liu Bei also prepared gifts and respects.

Meanwhile, good news kept coming one after another.

First, it was Yi who persuaded Kong Rong to personally go and convince Lü Bu to send troops.

Lu Bu was both arrogant and insecure. He inherently placed himself in a low position when dealing with the gentry. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been portrayed as a fool by Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng in history.

In particular, Kong Rong had always liked to flatter Lü Bu. It was one thing when they were far away, but now that they were closer, he flattered Lü Bu to the point of almost fawning.

After listening to Kong Rong's advice, Lü Bu immediately agreed to send troops, and lowered his demands considerably, requesting for 40 additional warhorses, 10,000 shi of grain, 3,000 long and short weapons, and 20 sets of iron armor.

Compared to the previous conditions, these conditions are quite normal.

Liu Feng and his son didn't care about the small amount of supplies and immediately agreed.

Putting everything else aside, Lu Bu's 600 Bingzhou cavalry and 800 veteran soldiers of the Trapped Camp are still very capable, and it's worth investing in them.

Ultimately, the five parties agreed that Liu Bei would send 40,000 troops, Kong Rong 4,000, Zhang Miao 2,000, Chen Gong 2,000, and Lü Bu 2,000, for a total of 50,000 troops, of which combat soldiers accounted for as much as 60%, exceeding the elite level.

In addition, Chen Deng's troops were transferred north to Langya as a reserve force, while Liu Bei himself led his own army of 30,000 men to Xuzhou, overseeing the overall situation in the north.

With this, everything is ready except for the final push.

During his year in Tancheng, Liu Feng also took the initiative to visit many important ministers under Liu Bei, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xun You, Lu Su, and Liu Ye.

In particular, Xun You was highly respected by Liu Feng, who treated him with the respect due to a teacher.

Xun You was both surprised and moved by this, and during their conversation, he also discovered that Liu Feng and he shared similar ideas and had a very pleasant chat.

After the first month of the lunar calendar, news came back from Sun Ben.

Faced with Liu Feng's mediation, Sun Ben was overjoyed and readily agreed. He even sent his younger brother, Sun Fu, with generous gifts to await Liu Feng's instructions and to take full responsibility for the engagement ceremony.

Sun Ben's performance not only pleased Liu Feng, but also pleased Liu Bei and Guan Yu.

Guan Yu, in particular, was somewhat displeased. After all, he had asked for his brother's daughter to marry him, but now it had become a daughter of the Sun family. Given Guan Yu's personality, his displeasure was inevitable.

Because of Liu Bei's opinion, and because Guan Yu wouldn't object, the matter was agreed to.

Now that Sun Ben is behaving so humbly and is offering such generous gifts, Guan Yu's displeasure is gradually dissipating.

Soon after, news of the Huang family in Jingzhou also arrived.

Almost exactly like Sun Ben, Huang Zu sent his son Huang She over.

Unlike Sun Ben, the Huang family retained very little of their assets. After all, Sun Ben had invested with capital, bringing Liyang City and its abundant grain and supplies, as well as the navy in Liyang Water Fortress, and his more than 10,000 troops. He also obediently accepted Liu Feng's reorganization.

With such obedience and submission, Liu Feng naturally could not possibly deprive Sun Ben of his only land and wealth.

Not only could he not take it away, Liu Feng also gave the other party a generous reward. Apart from the land, Liu Feng generously gifted the other party a considerable amount of frosting sugar, snow salt, and sesame oil.

When Jiaozhou came to pay tribute this time, Liu Feng did not omit the Sun family among the rewards, with the Sun Ce family and the Sun Ben family being the most prominent.

After all, Sun Ce held the highest position, while Sun Ben represented the main branch of the Sun family. The Sun family's current situation can be considered a dual system.

When they were under Yuan Shu's command, Sun Ben and Sun Ce got along fairly well and were able to get along.

However, now that Sun Ce and Sun Ben are under Liu Feng's command, they have become enemies and it is said that they no longer have any contact with each other.

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Whether the Sun family acted intentionally or unintentionally, sincerely or feignedly, as long as they maintained this attitude and remained obedient, Liu Feng was quite satisfied and wouldn't bother to investigate their true intentions.

Huang Zu, however, was different. He not only provoked Liu Feng beforehand, but also resisted stubbornly on the battlefield. In the end, he was captured alive on the decisive battlefield.

Under these circumstances, sparing his entire family's lives was already an act of leniency from Liu Feng.

Moreover, the Huang family was a first-rate landowner in Jingzhou, probably only rivaled by the Cai family, and even the Kuai and Pang families, who were also among the four great families, were inferior. Especially in Jiangxia County, the Huang family was the most powerful, owning almost a third of the land.

It's no exaggeration to say that Huang Banjun is a great man.

Sun Ben was merely a general under Yuan Shu, whose land holdings amounted to only a few thousand acres, scattered across various regions. His wealth consisted mostly of cash, grain, and other liquid assets, which were nowhere near comparable to Huang Zu's.

Moreover, given Liu Feng's character and conduct, he would not let Huang Zu off the hook, given Huang Zu's vast land holdings. At the very least, all of Huang Zu's land and shops would have to be confiscated.

Out of respect for the Pang family, they left the Huang family some money and basic land for food, but they could forget about having any means of production.

Under such circumstances, Huang Zu's life was quite difficult.

On the one hand, his basic needs—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—have all been significantly reduced. Although he can still eat his fill and wear warm clothes, Huang Zu's current lifestyle is quite luxurious. While it hasn't yet reached the level of extreme extravagance he will later experience, it can certainly be described as decadent and dissolute.

Most importantly, Huang Zu was worried about the future.

Huang Zu and his son Huang She are currently under house arrest in Jiangling City.

Liu Feng arranged for them to be here because of the Pang family.

With the Pang family around, even if Huang Zu and Huang She were to encounter any mishap, Liu Feng would not suffer any damage.

As for rebellion?

That's utter nonsense, unless the Pang family is willing to give up their current elevated status and even brighter prospects, and risk annihilation to help a defeated general like Huang Zu.

The Pang family readily cooperated with Liu Feng's arrangements, and were even secretly pleased. This undoubtedly demonstrated Liu Feng's special regard for the Pang family among the gentry of Jingzhou.

On this day, Huang Zu was fast asleep on his bed when his son Huang She rushed in and shook him awake.

"Father, Father, wake up! Great news! Great news!"

Looking at Huang Zu, who was still sleepy, Huang She's face was full of joy. If it weren't for the moral principles and ethics, he would have even wanted to slap his father awake.

Although Huang Zu was woken up by Huang She, he was still not very sober due to the alcohol.

These days, Huang Zu has been dead drunk every day. Although the wine provided by the Pang family is far less expensive than what he used to drink, it is still plentiful and filling, which allows him to remain drunk for long periods.

But he had only been asleep for a short while when Huang She woke him up, causing Huang Zu's pent-up fear and humiliation to erupt. Huang Zu slapped Huang She across the face and immediately berated him, "You unfilial son! Your father is already on the verge of death, and the Huang family is in grave danger. Is this the good thing you're talking about?"

Huang She was stunned by the slap, but he still muttered, "Father, this is really great news."

Huang Zu fell silent, his drunken eyes fixed on Huang She, and said maliciously, "Very well, then tell your father what kind of good thing it is."

Huang She was startled and dared not delay. He immediately said, "Father, a letter came from Xuzhou. General Zuo wants to arrange a marriage for my Huang family."

"Arranged marriage?"

Huang Zu originally wanted to continue disciplining his son, but he was stunned.

As his alcohol-numbed brain gradually cleared, he grabbed his son's wrist with such force that Huang She almost cried out.

"Is this true?"

The reason Huang She didn't cry out wasn't because Huang Zu wasn't strong enough, nor because Huang She was good at enduring pain, but because he knew that if he had cried out, he would probably have been beaten even more severely by Huang Zu.

Huang She gritted his teeth and endured the pain, quickly replying, "It's true, it's true! It was news brought by Lord Pang himself. Lord Pang is currently waiting for Father in the hall."

Huang Zu suppressed his drunkenness and continued to ask, "Which family is General Zuo referring to?"

Upon hearing this question, Huang She became excited and, suppressing his joy, said, "It is said to be the uncle of the Left General, the sworn brother of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, the current Prefect of Langya, and General Zhang Fei, also known as Zhang Yide."

"Hahahahaha!"

Huang Zu burst into laughter, shook off Huang She's wrist, and jumped off the couch: "Good, good, good! This is indeed a great thing. Whether my Huang family can turn things around depends on this divination."

"Help me change my clothes!"

Huang Zu instantly perked up. Despite his haggard, hangover face and unkempt beard, a hint of his former radiance had reappeared.

After meeting Pang Degong and hearing the whole story from him, Huang Zu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely, and a great joy burst forth from the bottom of his heart.

“Brother Degong, we Huang family are deeply grateful for General Zuo’s great kindness.”

Then, Huang Zu changed the subject and said, "However, my Huang family is now in decline. I only hope that Brother Degong will remember the past relationship between our two families and lend me a helping hand."

Upon hearing this, Pang Degong remained silent for a moment.

The Pang and Huang families are indeed closer. There have always been many intermarriages between the two families, and they can be considered relatives by marriage.

This time, General Zuo introduced his own third uncle to the Huang family, which the Pang family greatly envied. Moreover, they envied not Zhang Fei, but Liu Feng, the intermediary.

With the current power and influence of Liu Feng and his son Liu Bei, they already control five of the thirteen provinces, leaving only Yuan Shao and Cao Cao as potential adversaries.

Liu Feng and his son were members of the imperial clan.

Although in reality, it might not be as easy for someone to change dynasties as Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, there is one thing that is particularly likely to excite the gentry: the story of Emperor Guangwu.

The powerful clans under Liu Feng and Liu Bei, including Pang, Huang, Sun, Chen, and Kuai, are now quite sensitive to this matter, and there are many clans discussing it in secret.

But overall, no one has brought it up openly.

Although Huang Zu did not say it explicitly, Pang Degong understood that the other party wanted to use this opportunity to turn his life around.

After a moment's hesitation, Pound asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

"Currently, our clan's wealth is only three to five million."

Huang Zu stared straight at Pang Degong: "I'm afraid it won't be enough for my sister."

The Huang family's wealth was worth far more than hundreds of millions.

Even disregarding land, the fixed assets such as shops, houses, workshops, caravans, and merchant ships alone amount to hundreds of millions.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to support the extravagant lifestyle of Huang Zu and his son Huang She.

However, after the defeat in the Battle of Zhouling, both father and son were captured by Liu Feng. Their fields, shops, workshops, and caravans were all taken into the Left General's staff, and even the treasury and goods were all sealed up.

Even the current three to five million in family property is the surplus that Liu Feng allocated to the Huang family because of their status in Jingzhou.

Besides leaving Huang Zu with ten million five-zhu coins, Liu Feng also gave him a large mansion and five hundred mu of farmland as rewards, which was enough for Huang Zu and his son to live a life free from worries about food and clothing.

But Huang Zu and Huang She are so extravagant. It's only because they are still under house arrest and addicted to alcohol that this ten million coins would have been completely gone long ago, leaving nothing behind.

Pang Degong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately agreed.

His concern was that Huang Zu was too ambitious and wanted to be reinstated.

As long as they don't have that idea, the Pang family can really afford to pay a small amount of money, and they'd be happy to offer it.

So, Pang Degong then earnestly discussed the dowry of the Huang family's daughter with the other party. In the end, the Pang family ended up contributing the majority of the dowry.

Of these riches and treasures, half were sponsored by the Pang family, and the other half were loans to the Pang family.

After reaching the agreement, Huang Zu was almost moved to tears. He hurriedly ordered Huang She to plunder the remaining wealth of his family and rush to Tancheng to report back. He himself stayed in Jiangling City to help the Pang family prepare his sister's dowry.

With Sun Ben and Huang Zu both so enthusiastic, Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng naturally wouldn't break their promise. They immediately settled on the two marriages, waiting only for an auspicious day to get married.

Zhang Fei was of the same generation as Guan Ping, so there was no reason for him to be younger than Guan Ping, especially considering that the army would be mobilized in April or May after the spring.

So the wedding was set for March.

Both Zhang Fei and Guan Ping, as grooms, had to personally travel to Jingzhou to propose to their brides.

To save time, the couple traveled by water, and for added speed, they even took small boats ahead. Liu Feng arranged an entire fleet, including ten ocean-going vessels, specifically for the bride, truly giving his third uncle and eldest brother a lot of face.

Zhang Fei and Guan Ping were extremely grateful. Their nephew (brother) had not only arranged a good marriage for them, but also provided them with money and effort, and even gifted them many rare and precious items.

Although the gentry of Jing and Yang provinces didn't hold Zhang Fei and Guan Ping in high regard, and their courteous treatment of them was entirely out of respect for Liu Feng, they were still shocked and envious of the generosity and value of the betrothal gifts, which came with Liu Feng's assistance.

(End of this chapter)