I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 106 Picking peaches?
In dreams, there is heavenly fire, which roams within the double pupils.

Divine soldiers descended from the sky, and once again, the seal was hidden in the fish's belly.

With so many auspicious omens and extraordinary phenomena, isn't that enough to prove that Yuan Shu is destined for greatness?
Yuan Shu's already burning heart became even more fervent under Liu Miao's teasing.

"If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live a long and prosperous life."

Yuan Shu is still waiting, waiting for an opportunity to rise to the top, transform into a true dragon, and soar through the skies!
Nothing else matters.

Yuan Shu was confident that he could tame even a fierce tiger like Sun Jian, let alone a flamboyant butterfly like Liu Miao.
Could it be that Liu Miao wanted to emulate Emperor Guangwu and achieve great things?
After Yuan Shu made up his mind, he waved his hand and dismissed Yan Xiang.

“Zhongshan is loyal and has always fought for me. Whatever I reward him with, he will use those things to fight for me, won’t he?”

However, Yuan Shu was not entirely unprepared.

“Zhongshan previously appointed Zhang Zhao as the Prefect of Yangzhou at will. Zhang Zibu is, after all, a famous scholar, and it is not wrong for Zhongshan to recruit him. However, he did not even inform him, which is obviously not right.”

"Now that Zhongshan has expelled Zhou Xin, the position of Prefect of Danyang is vacant. Who do you all think is capable of taking on this important task?"

Chief Secretary Yang Hong stepped forward first: "Liu Xun from Langya is skilled in literature and has military prowess. He is suitable to be the Prefect of Danyang!"

"good!"

Upon hearing this candidate, Yuan Shu immediately laughed and said, "Liu Xun and Zhongshan are both from Langya. Their cooperation should be seamless, right?"

……

"La la la~~ la la la la la~ la la~"

Liu Miao hummed a tune he had heard on his way out of the city, tapping his fingers on the carriage frame to keep time.

Zhou Tai, who was driving the carriage ahead, turned around: "Is there some happy occasion today? My lord seems to be in a good mood!"

"Haha! Haven't we had enough good news lately?"

Liu Miao said this with a hint of pride.

With the defeat of Zhou Xin and Zu Lang, Liu Miao has taken control of the entire Danyang prefecture!

This timing is neither too early nor too late; it's just around the time of spring plowing!
Ending the war before spring plowing, allowing the people to recuperate and live a peaceful life, how can this not be a happy event?

With the influx of a large population and the reclamation of vast amounts of wasteland, it is foreseeable that this year will be a bumper harvest!
With a bountiful harvest and the treasury overflowing, the pacification of Jiangdong will be just around the corner!

Not to mention that Liu Miao really has some good news today! Incredibly good news!

"Han Yin is coming today! Haha! I wonder what he'll bring me this time. I'm really looking forward to it!"

Liu Miao hummed a little tune, admiring the beautiful mountains and clear waters, and the vastness of the sky and the expanse of land, and his anticipation for the trip grew stronger!
When Liu Miao arrived at the ferry, Han Yin had already arrived and skillfully began organizing people to unload the cargo.

Upon seeing Liu Miao arrive, Han Yin eagerly stepped forward: "Wasn't Zhongshan seriously injured? Why is he here in the wind?"

"Haven't I heard that my brother has come? Now that my brother has come to Jiangdong, how could I not receive him?"

Liu Miao grasped Han Yin's hand, but his eyes unconsciously drifted towards the boats at the ferry crossing.

What else could those enormous creatures that disembarked from those ships be but warhorses?
Liu Miao, feigning ignorance, asked, "How can there still be horses here?"

"Naturally, it was because the General heard that your battle was dangerous that he specifically asked me to send you a batch of warhorses to form a cavalry. In the future, even if you can't fight bravely on the battlefield, at least you can run away when you need to, right?"

Han Yin then whispered to Liu Miao, "Thank you, Zhongshan, for getting rid of Zu Lang for me! Don't worry, I personally selected all the warhorses this time. Although there are only five hundred, I guarantee they are all good horses!"

Five hundred horses!
Liu Miao currently only has five hundred warhorses in his entire army!
The warhorse that Yuan Shu sent directly doubled the size of his cavalry force!

"This, how can this be so embarrassing?"

Liu Miao quickly put his arm around Han Yin's waist: "Brother, come on! I've already prepared wine and meat, just waiting to welcome you back!"

"Zhongshan, slow down! This time, General Hou has specially sent you a divine steed named Swift Voyage! Why don't you give it a try first!"

At the same time, Han Yin also let go of Liu Miao's arm, not daring to get too close to Liu Miao.

"In addition, I'd like to introduce you to someone."

"Oh? Who?"

Liu Miao looked up, but did not know who Han Yin was talking about.

Just as Liu Miao was looking around, a burly man stepped out from beside him.

The man, speaking with a Qingxu accent, bowed to Liu Miao and said, "Liu Xun, Liu Zitai of Langya, greets Governor Liu Yangzhou."

A native of Langya? And surnamed Liu?
At this time, Liu Miao only thought Liu Xun was a friend of Han Yin, so he treated him kindly: "Is Zitai also a descendant of the Prince of Langya?"

"Indeed." Good heavens! He really is a member of the Han imperial family, and from the same clan as me?
However, Liu Miao remained completely unperturbed. After all, he was the head of the main branch, and he had never heard of Liu Xun before, so Liu Xun must be from a minor branch. If anyone was to pay respects, it would be Liu Xun who greeted Liu Miao.

But Liu Xun's next words made Liu Miao's eyelids twitch—

"The General appointed me as the Prefect of Danyang, and I'm afraid I'll be troubling Governor Liu of Yangzhou quite a bit from now on."

Liu Miao initially thought he had misheard.

Prefect of Danyang?

Didn't I just capture Danyang? Where did this prefect come from?
So, having just captured Danyang and barely settled in, they're already handing over their position to someone else?

Zhou Tai and Chen Wu also heard Liu Xun's words and immediately glared at him angrily, as if they wanted to throw Liu Xun into the Yangtze River to feed the fish!

Liu Miao understood that Yuan Shu's purpose in sending Liu Xun was to reap the benefits, but the unusual feeling was fleeting, and he quickly regained his composure and responded with a smile.

"So that's how it is! It was the Prefect of Danyang appointed by General Hou? With Zitai assisting us, we should be able to conquer Jiangdong for General Hou very soon, right?"

Han Yin had initially thought Liu Miao would be unhappy with Liu Xun's arrival, but seeing Liu Miao's good attitude towards Liu Xun, he was relieved and smiled, saying, "That's right! If the two of you cooperate sincerely, what is Jiangdong to us?"

Liu Xun, however, frowned and asked in surprise, "Why does Governor Liu think I'm here to assist you?"

"Although you are the governor of Yangzhou, the military and political affairs of Danyang will inevitably be managed by me. You only need to command the army, suppress the surrounding villains as soon as possible, and pacify Jiangdong. Isn't that right?"

You ungrateful animal!
Liu Miao narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he was already somewhat displeased, he still said in order to save Han Yin's face, "Managing a prefecture cannot be done by one person alone. Zitai will have to gradually recruit more people."

"Need not."

Liu Xun completely ignored Liu Miao and walked towards the dock on his own: "I have brought several hundred retainers with me this time. With these people here, how can I not manage a mere prefecture?"

Liu Miao then discovered that only half of the ships Han Yin brought were used to transport warhorses, while the other half were all occupied by Liu Xun's retainers!
Good heavens, are they really here to take over the Danyang County that I just conquered?
Liu Miao immediately looked at Zhou Tai's waist, and Zhou Tai immediately understood, standing behind Liu Miao and asking, "My lord, should I cut him down?"

"This is a newly replaced Su Tie sword! It's incredibly sharp! Would my lord like to take a look?"

Zhou Tai was clearly eager to show off his new weapon, but Liu Miao thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Not for now."

Liu Miao looked at the retainers behind Liu Xun, who were all lazy and languid, and some even had several servants by their side, so he felt relieved.

Suddenly, Liu Miao's eyes lit up!
A significantly more luxurious ship lowered its carved planks, and a figure in a moon-white silk robe emerged from behind a beaded curtain—a beautiful woman with her hair styled in a slanted, topknot-like bun!

The beautiful woman looked to be no more than thirty-one or thirty-two years old, not much different from Sun Jian's widow, Lady Wu. She was plump, and every time the boat rocked, it stirred up huge waves. She was truly a rare beauty!

Behind them followed an even younger woman dressed like a sparrow. As soon as she disembarked, she ran towards Liu Xun and stood beside him, chattering incoherently. The beautiful woman, however, looked at them with disdain and stood far away from the couple.

"Brother Han, who are those two people?"

"Oh, it's the Wang family and the Sima family."

Han Yin pointed to the plump and beautiful woman who had just disembarked: "She is Liu Xun's legal wife, Wang Shi, and the other one is Liu Xun's newly acquired concubine, Sima... wait!"

Han Yin suddenly became terrified: "Zhongshan, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean by 'what I'm supposed to do'?"

Han Yin said nervously, "I know Zhongshan likes beautiful women, but both of them are other men's wives and concubines, you can't..."

"What kind of person do you take me for, Brother Han?"

Liu Miao said with a serious face, "Although I love beautiful women, I have principles when it comes to loving beautiful women!"

"The principle is to absolutely never touch a married woman! Brother Han, do you understand?"

The cold sweat on Han Yin's forehead finally subsided, and he wiped it away with lingering fear: "Zhongshan really cracked me up just now. I thought Zhongshan had taken a liking to those Wang and Sima women! Whew~~~"

"What are you thinking, brother? I was just wondering, Lady Wang is a bit older, she should be the principal wife, so why is Liu Xun not close to her? Instead, he's closer to Lady Sima, his concubine?"

Seeing that Liu Miao truly showed no desire for the two women, Han Yin felt relieved and carefully explained the reasons to Liu Miao.

"Men, who doesn't like a younger, more delicate one? Especially since I've heard that Wang has a strong personality and often restrains Liu Xun. After a while, Liu Xun probably got tired of it and started keeping a concubine, neglecting his wife in favor of his concubine... In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before Wang is divorced!"

That’s it~
After taking a few more glances to show respect, Liu Miao welcomed Liu Xun into the main city of Jinling.

Not surprisingly.

When everyone learned that Liu Xun was actually the governor of Danyang sent by Yuan Shu, they immediately erupted in excitement!
Apart from Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Zhu Zhi, and others who were responsible for guarding the area, almost everyone else was waiting in front of Liu Miao's gate!

Upon seeing Liu Miao, everyone stepped forward and exclaimed, "My lord!"

"As soon as our lord gives the order, we will immediately slay this scoundrel!"

(End of this chapter)