I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 112 Daughter of the White Tiger
The gifts that Lu Su gave to Yan Baihu this time were quite lavish.

It possesses the brilliance of jadeite, its radiance shimmering with vitality.

It has the beauty of jade and the luster of emerald.

There are red silk ribbons fluttering, and colorful brocades.

Even though Yan Baihu ordered Yan Yu to return such a beautiful treasure, did Yan Yu really not feel resentful about it along the way?
Seeing that Yan Yu's eyes were not right, Liu Miao immediately added insult to injury: "Or is it that I have made a mistake... that Zong Shuai Baihu has long been under the command of Xu Gong, the governor of Wu Commandery, and therefore has no choice but to obey Xu Gong?"

Yan Yu finally said in displeasure, "How could Liu Yangzhou say such insulting things to my brother?"

“Xu Gong’s talent is far inferior to my brother’s. How can my brother submit to him?”

Liu Miao asked curiously, "Then why did he actually ask you to return the gifts when Xu Gong told Yan Baihu to do so?"

Yan Yu, true to his thief background, spoke without thinking, blurting out—

"Isn't it because my brother and Xu Gong decided to fight the enemy together, so they formed an alliance long ago?"

Liu Miao asked curiously, "Is this to defend against Wang Lang, the governor of Kuaiji?"

“Wang Lang is a scholar. As long as we don’t provoke him, he won’t send troops on his own initiative. There’s no need to take precautions.”

"That's strange!"

Liu Miao said, "Wu Commandery is south of Kuaiji Commandery, and to the east lies the sea! Why aren't we going to resist Wang Lang? Are we trying to defend against an enemy from the eastern sea?"

"I had long heard that Japanese pirates were often seen on the eastern seas, but I did not expect that your elder brother Baihu and Xugong had already taken precautions and were on guard in Wu County so early!"

Even if Yan Yu were slow-witted, he could tell that these words were mocking his elder brother. However, out of respect for Liu Miao's authority, he dared not argue with Liu Miao. He lowered his head and rummaged through the food on the table, not speaking to Liu Miao.

Seeing Yan Yu's flustered state, Liu Miao knew he couldn't tease him any further, lest he really anger Yan Yu.

"Since they're not guarding against the Japanese in the depths of the East China Sea, they must be guarding against me."

When Liu Miao said this, Yan Yu trembled, even dropping his chopsticks onto the table. He looked around as if he was afraid that axemen would rush in and tear him to pieces!

But this scene obviously did not occur. There were no executioners, and even Zhou Tai and Chen Wu, who were standing behind Liu Miao, did not move. Only Liu Miao was still making the crunching sound of chewing water spinach.

"What does Liu Yangzhou mean by this?"

Seeing Yan Yu's great fear, Liu Miao comforted him, "I'm just telling the truth. Otherwise, would it really be to guard against the Japanese?"

"I'm just curious, why is Yan Baihu standing with Xu Gong?"

"In terms of rank, I am the Governor of Yangzhou and General Who Conquers the East. Am I not higher than Xu Gong, who is merely the Prefect of Wu Commandery?"

"In terms of wealth, you just admitted that Wu County is not as prosperous as Jinling. Isn't that true?"

"In terms of military strength, do you know that I had 5,000 troops when I crossed the river, 20,000 after occupying Jinling, 20,000 after defeating Zhou Xin, and 100,000 after killing Zu Lang? Now I have 100,000 armored soldiers. Can Xu Gong compare to me?"

"Under such circumstances, why would Yan Baihu still choose to side with Xu Gong and become my enemy?"

The claim of 100,000 armored soldiers is undoubtedly a lie.

Even including the newly recruited soldiers, the number would be at most 30,000.

Those with real combat experience were those who fought alongside Zhou Yu in the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River, plus some troops reorganized from the defeated soldiers of Zhou Xin and Zu Lang. These troops combined did not exceed six thousand men.

But it's okay.

As long as a war doesn't break out, no one will know exactly how many soldiers Liu Miao has!
And it doesn't matter whether others believe it or not, at least Yan Yu believed it at this moment!
Upon hearing that there were 100,000 armored soldiers, Yan Yu became even more frightened: "Is Liu Yangzhou going to attack us?"

"A campaign against Xu Gong is inevitable; however, a campaign against you and your brother is not certain."

Liu Miao asked Yan Yu, "I previously issued three decrees; have you seen them?"

"I had already heard about it on the way here."

"Who do you think I'm issuing these decrees for?"

Who else could the decrees targeting the Shanyue people, especially their chieftains, be issued for?
Yan Yu didn't understand why Liu Miao was saying such things that left him speechless, when he had only come to return the gift.

In terms of strength, status, and wealth, at least from what Yan Yu has witnessed today, Liu Miao is undoubtedly far superior to Xu Gong!
Especially now, it's just Liu Miao.

Behind Liu Miao was an even larger and more formidable force: Yuan Shu!

Although it is said that even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, this dragon crossing the river is clearly too fierce, completely blocking out the sunlight in Jiangdong, making it impossible to see any glimmer of victory.

Is it really possible to put up a last-ditch resistance when things have already come to this point?

Yan Yu's heart wavered.

However, after a long while, Yan Yu solemnly said, "Integrity is the foundation of a great man's conduct and way of dealing with the world!"

"In this world, is there anyone who would point to the Luo River and the Yangtze River and swear an oath and then break it? If such a person were to appear, the entire world would surely be plunged into chaos, wouldn't it?" "Although Liu Yangzhou is powerful, my brother and Xu Gong have made a prior oath, and I'm afraid we cannot easily abandon him!"

understood!

He's a righteous thief!
No wonder he was able to be as famous as Zu Lang, who was skilled in military tactics, and become a renowned hero in Jiangdong!

But since the hard approach isn't working, let's try the softer one~~~
"I see."

Liu Miao's words conveyed regret, so he stopped talking to Yan Yu about Yan Baihu and Xu Gong and instead asked about his own affairs.

Yan Yu was indeed much more relaxed now. In addition, he was drinking the fine wine sent by Yuan Shu, so he got drunk quickly and soon started chatting with Liu Miao!
The two sat on the steps, completely disregarding the distinction between host and guest.

Liu Miao fell backward, supporting himself with only one hand. His face was flushed, and he patted his belly, which had been swollen from drinking too much wine, with the other hand.

Yan Yu stretched out his legs wide, as if pouring out his heart.

"Hey! Brother Liu! It's so good for you officials! Look at you! You're even surnamed Liu! You're of noble birth! Unlike us, we're constantly being called out and killed. Tell me, I'm not so bad off, am I? But wherever I go, I'm called a bandit! Tell me, isn't that unfair?"

Liu Miao nodded in agreement, his eyes firm, clearly agreeing with Yan Yu's words.

"Damn it! Some people are just so prejudiced! To be honest, I've been looked down upon all along too! It's really not easy when you think about it."

"Oh?"

Yan Yu was quite drunk at this point, and he even saw Liu Miao somewhat double, but he didn't believe Liu Miao's words: "Is there anyone in this world who looks down on Brother Liu?"

"There are probably far too many!"

Liu Miao let out a burp: "There was this guy named Liu Xun who looked down on me before! He was clearly a minor branch of the clan, and I was a major branch, yet he dared to look down on me? Tell me, who could tolerate such an insult?"

"Damn it!! How could such a thing happen? Where is Liu Xun? Brother Liu, don't worry, I'll go avenge you!"

"no, I'm fine!"

Liu Miao waved his hands repeatedly, then leaned close to Yan Yu's ear triumphantly: "I've already chased Liu Xun away! And, and his wife is now in my residence! Hahahaha!"

Yan Yu was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Brother, you really have a way! Hahahaha!"

After laughing, Yan Yu suddenly became saddened: "Actually, my elder brother is better! Unlike my elder brother... and really my elder brother, who has recently encountered a troublesome matter!"

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Yan Yu said angrily, "Brother, you know that nowadays, reputation is of utmost importance! And where does reputation come from? It comes from those aristocratic families and high-ranking clans!"

“My family came from a poor background. Although we are powerful now, we are still ashamed of our family. So my elder brother wanted to marry his daughter to the Zhang family of Wu County as a marriage alliance... But the Zhang family considers themselves descendants of Marquis Liu Zhang Liang and looks down on our mountain tribes, so they refuse to marry her! Isn’t this bullying?”

Although social class distinctions had not yet formed in the Later Han Dynasty, Empress He, the wife of Emperor Ling, came from a butcher's family. Cao Cao's wife, Lady Bian, came from a courtesan's family; neither of them were from prominent or wealthy families.

Even so, it's still important to consider social standing and family background when choosing a partner.

The Zhang family of Wu Commandery, being descendants of Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu, would never marry the daughter of a bandit, no matter how down on their luck they were. So it's no wonder they rejected Yan Baihu's marriage proposal.

However, Yan Baihu and Yan Yu felt insulted by this incident.

Although they did come from humble backgrounds, they were still powerful commanders with tens of thousands of troops under their command!
Even in the Central Plains, an army of this size would be no small number, yet the Zhang family of Wu Commandery still refused him. How despicable!

In particular, marrying off a daughter is not the same as taking a wife.

If Yan Baihu had a son, and he wanted to marry a woman from a prominent family, the woman's refusal wouldn't have made Yan Yu so angry. But now, even just marrying his daughter into the family is met with disdain, which is a huge disrespect to Yan Baihu!
Liu Miao did not rush to express his opinion, but instead asked Yan Yu a rather important question—

"Is your niece... beautiful?"

"Beautiful! She's a stunning beauty! Her skin is whiter than snow! Her teeth are beautiful! Her legs are long! And she runs incredibly fast!"

Although Liu Miao felt that Yan Yu's description sounded more like that of livestock than a woman, after scrutinizing him for a while and confirming that Yan Yu wasn't bad-looking, he finally comforted him.

"It's alright! Our niece will definitely marry into a good family in the future! Then the Zhang family of Wu County will be green with envy!"

"Exactly! I'll marry into a wealthy family and make that Zhang family of Wu County regret it to death!"

Yan Yu cursed a few times, feeling relieved, but still mocked himself: "But within Jiangdong, where is there anyone richer and more powerful than the Zhang family of Wu County?"

Yes, bro! I really do have this!

Yan Yu's eyes lit up instantly: "Who is it?"

Liu Miao propped himself up on his arms and sat up, straightening his clothes to make himself look as proper as possible.

"Naturally, I am a member of the Han imperial family! A descendant of the Prince of Langya! Formerly the Prefect of Jiujiang, now the Governor of Yangzhou, General Who Conquers the East, and Marquis of Yangdu, I am the one who has been ordered to lead Jiangdong!"

(End of this chapter)