I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 100: The Uprising!

After Liu Miao understood the entire forging process, he immediately ordered Lu Su to record it down as the forging technique of Yecheng.

Because this method mainly involves combining pig iron and wrought iron together, the resulting iron is named "Su Tie" (宿铁), and the resulting knife is named "Su Tie Dao" (宿铁刀).

To celebrate, Liu Miao immediately ordered Lu Su to bring over some grain and livestock for a feast with the artisans!
The artisans stared wide-eyed at the dazzling array of food and the graceful dancers, for they had never seen anything like it in their lives.
Sitting to Liu Miao's left and right were none other than the experienced old blacksmith from the beginning and the young blacksmith who achieved financial freedom by taking a piss!

The old blacksmith was extremely surprised when he learned Liu Miao's identity: "You're actually Liu Yangzhou?"

"Isn't it similar?"

The old blacksmith blushed, nodding and shaking his head: "It looks like it, but it doesn't."

"The governors of Yangzhou throughout history have only stayed in the Huainan region north of the Yangtze River. They have never cared about the lives of us Jiangdong people. Now, Governor Liu of Yangzhou has not only come, but also invited us to eat meat and drink wine. Something just doesn't seem right!"

The old blacksmith touched the wine in his glass with the tip of his tongue and sighed, "I'm afraid I'll never get to drink such good wine again in my life, except for this time!"

"Master is mistaken. With me, Liu Miao, here, I dare not promise anything else, but there will definitely be enough wine!"

Liu Miao patted the wine pot: "As long as you can drink it, I'll have someone bring you a pot every day from now on. How about that?"

The old blacksmith, who had been regretting missing out on a fortune, suddenly brightened up upon hearing Liu Miao's words: "Is what you, Governor Liu, say true?"

"Absolutely true!"

Meanwhile, the craftsmen below were also eating, drinking, and making a lot of noise.

However, they couldn't appreciate the singing and dancing, so after they had eaten and drunk their fill, they whispered among themselves: "Since we've received our reward money today, why don't we go to a brothel and have some fun?"

"Very good! Very good!"

Liu Miao happened to overhear this and asked curiously, "Are those brothels really that fun?"

The craftsmen dared not speak to Liu Miao, but the old blacksmith, relying on his age, spoke up for justice: "Liu Yangzhou, aren't you asking a question you already know the answer to? Aren't brothels fun?"

Liu Miao immediately shook his head: "But that's not exactly a proper place, and I'm considering whether to ban it."

Now, the craftsmen who hadn't dared to speak to Liu Miao were getting anxious!

"Liu Yangzhou, what are you saying?"

"Liu Yangzhou, this is absolutely forbidden!"

"Liu Yangzhou, a wife worth several hundred strings of cash. I married one before, and I even sold my land for her. But when trouble came, she just ran away. Now that I finally have a place with a woman, why are you going to shut it down?"

"Exactly! Liu Yangzhou! Do you think just anyone can find a wife? What about those who don't have wives? This brothel really can't be closed!"

……

……

Liu Miao had not expected that the people would attach so much importance to the matter of the women's quarters!
Seeing the blacksmiths struggling so much, Liu Miao couldn't help but sigh: Indeed, it's only when men and women work together that the work becomes less tiring!

Liu Miao had no choice but to verbally agree first, and then made a special trip to the West Market after the banquet.

The carriage was parked in the distance, and Liu Miao could see the people queuing up in the market just by looking at it from afar!
"hiss……"

Seeing such a grand spectacle, Liu Miao immediately ordered Zhou Tai: "Withdraw!"

"withdraw?"

Zhou Tai beamed with joy: "My lord, you really won't shut it down?"

"Shut down? What if so many young men have nowhere to go, and they're just bored and shouting 'The heavens are dead, the yellow heavens shall rise!' Let's go!"

Although Liu Miao's ideal scenario was that people could honestly cultivate farmland during the day and diligently learn to read and write at night, Liu Miao knew that such a scene was nothing but a dream nowadays!
"We need to find different ways to have fun! We can't just keep blindly making babies!"

In that instant, many things flashed through Liu Miao's mind, so many things...

……

Unfortunately, Liu Miao's thoughts vanished completely the very next day, turning to dust.

"Have a cold?"

Liu Miao felt dizzy as soon as he got up in the morning. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had probably taken off his cloak yesterday because he thought it was too hot in Yecheng, and then forgot to put it back on. He caught a cold and that's why he got sick.

"This is terrible..."

Madam Lu and Madam Lü were both serving Liu Miao at his bedside. Even Madam Yuan, who usually disliked Liu Miao and always scolded the cook after she had eaten her fill, came to Liu Miao's bedside with a worried look and knelt down anxiously by the bed: "Are you alright?"

"Oh~ You've finally come to your senses today? You're showing concern for your husband now?"

Yuan stood up, stamped her foot, and pulled Lu and Lü to leave, saying, "He still has the mind to upset me, so it must be nothing serious! Let's ignore him!"

Liu Miao laughed loudly: "Ignoring me? Who was it that begged me to do those things at night? By the way! We've already tried a few things on the silk. How about continuing tonight? Or do you want to try during the day?"

At this moment, Madam Yuan's cheeks had turned completely transparent pink, and her mouth was puffed out like a bun. She dragged Madam Lu and Madam Lü away by force. After the three women left, Liu Miao, who had been full of energy and had the energy to argue with Madam Yuan just moments before, suddenly collapsed.

"This cold, caused by alternating hot and cold symptoms, is really killing me!"

At this moment, Liu Miao was not only feeling dizzy, but also experiencing pain all over his body, and was unable to move while lying in bed.

Zhou Tai, who had been laughing and joking all along, now stood by Liu Miao's bedside with a serious expression, his knife never leaving his hand and his eyes never leaving the door!

"My lord, should I go find a healer?"

"The Lu family summoned us early this morning and they've already taken the medicine."

Liu Miao, feeling weak and exhausted, settled Zhou Tai in bed and said, "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Youping, don't let anyone disturb you..."

What Liu Miao received, however, was a single, resolute word from Zhou Tai—

"Here!"

Liu Miao didn't know how long he had slept, during which he had a few inexplicable dreams. Only then did he vaguely feel his body again.

"call!"

After a nap, although I still felt a bit unwell, my mind was clearer and I was able to think more clearly.

However, Liu Miao was soon drawn to a commotion outside, with faint sounds of arguing and crying, so he went outside.

Sure enough, there were people outside the door, a lot of people.

Chen Yu, Jiang Qin, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao, Lu Yi, Lü Meng, the Lu family, the Lü family, and now the Yuan family, hands on hips, throwing a tantrum—

"My husband is lying inside, I am his legal wife! Why can't I go in!"

Zhou Tai stood firmly in front of the door, blocking it with his body: "My lord has ordered that no one be allowed to disturb him, so even you cannot enter!"

Just moments before, Madam Yuan had said she didn't care whether Liu Miao lived or died, but now she was both angry and anxious. She tried to pull Zhou Tai away and go inside, but Zhou Tai's body was too strong for her to bend. So after her attempts failed, she squatted on the ground and cried even louder!
Zhou Yu and Lu Su also stepped forward, their expressions urgent: "Youping! We know that our lord has suddenly fallen ill, but news has come from the south that Zhou Xin has arrived. We cannot fail to go see our lord and discuss important matters with him!"

Zhou Tai remained unmoved: "Commander-in-Chief, Chief Clerk, I, Zhou Tai, am a rough man and do not understand any military strategy. I only know that the Commander-in-Chief has instructed me not to let anyone in, so I am afraid I cannot comply!"

How can you be so old-fashioned?

The one who said this was none other than Chen Yu…

Chen Yu tiptoed and peered inside, looking very worried: "Since Zhongshan is ill, we should be checking on him to see if he is alright. Youping, what do you mean by blocking the door now?"

Although Jiang Qin did not speak, he, like everyone else around him, looked at Zhou Tai with a slightly puzzled expression.

Lu Meng, who was the most capable of taking action, tried to climb through the window to see Liu Miao without saying a word, but Chen Wu, who arrived in time, grabbed him and prevented him from going in through the window.

Chen Wu, with one hand gripping Lü Meng's belt and the other on his sword hilt, angrily rebuked the crowd: "It is indeed the responsibility of our lord, Commandant Andun Zhou, to prevent anyone from entering! What exactly do you all want to do now?"

Zhou Tai cast a grateful glance at Chen Wu, while feeling slightly remorseful for wiping his hands with Chen Wu's clothes yesterday. He then placed his hand on the hilt of his knife.

“You all have your duties, and so do I, Zhou Tai. Now that our lord has entrusted me with this responsibility, I will not allow you to enter and disturb him! If you push too far, don’t blame me for being heartless!”

Seeing that Zhou Tai seemed poised to attack them, Chen Yu immediately asked Jiang Qin beside him, "Gongyi, is Youping really going to draw her sword?"

But Jiang Qin's expression was grave: "Youping is a man of his word. If we insist on going in, I'm afraid Youping will really turn against us!"

If you anger Zhou Tai, he really dares to take action!
The others also heard Jiang Qin's words and became even more anxious.

Lu Su stepped forward to explain, "Youping, if it weren't for something important, why would we bother our lord? It's just that Zhou Xin suddenly issued a proclamation saying he wanted to attack our lord, and people have responded one after another, so we have to go see our lord!"

Otherwise, no one would have come to disturb Liu Miao; things really did happen too suddenly!
Zhang Zhao, with his most volatile temper, stepped forward and pushed Zhou Yu aside, standing just a fist's width in front of Zhou Tai. Their eyes met, yet it was as if two abysses filled with honesty were gradually merging.

"Zhou Youping! Do you realize that if this continues, our lord's great cause will be in danger?"

"In reply to the Prefect, I know nothing of the Lord's grand undertaking, only of the Lord's orders!"

Which is more important, the greater cause or the order?

"None of that matters, my lord is the most important!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhou Tai drew his blade!
"As long as I, Zhou Tai, am still breathing today, none of you will be able to get through this door!"

Zhang Zhao, who was usually the most unyielding, glared and insisted on stepping in! Zhou Tai's swords were all drawn!
Just as a fight was about to break out between the inner and outer officials, a hand suddenly landed on Zhou Tai's shoulder.

"My lord?"

"Zhongshan?"

"Husband!"

Liu Miao, pale-faced, struggled to hold onto the doorframe, panting heavily, and asked Zhou Yu, "So, Zhou Xin, has he really raised an army?"

(End of this chapter)