I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 113 Not waiting to see you

"you?"

Yan Yu suspected he had misheard.

However, seeing that Liu Miao didn't seem to be joking, Yan Yu jumped up and exclaimed, "Brother Liu wants to marry our niece?"

"What do you mean by 'our niece'? It makes it sound like I'm about to do something inappropriate!"

Liu Miao was dissatisfied with Yan Yu's statement.

He's a respectable man! He can't follow Emperor Hui's example and marry his own niece!
Yan Yu pondered for a while with his somewhat muddled mind after drinking, and a simple logical framework emerged in his mind—

The Zhang family of Wu County refused to marry Baihu's daughter.

The daughter of the White Tiger should be married to a family even wealthier than the Zhang family of Wu County.

There may not be many families as wealthy as the Zhang family of Wu Commandery, but can the Liu family, as members of the Han imperial family, not be considered wealthy?

And isn't there such a member of the Han imperial family right beside me?

Let's clear our minds! No problem!
Yan Yu stared blankly for a long time before finally laughing loudly at Liu Miao: "Alright! It's a deal!"

"it is good!"

Liu Miao didn't waste any time; he immediately wrote his appointment letter with flowing strokes and then pressed his fingerprint on it.

"The engagement is settled!"

"Okay! It's settled!"

Yan Yu readily pressed his handprint, and the two immediately burst into laughter, drinking again until they were completely drunk!
When Chen Yu heard that Liu Miao was drunk, he was a little worried and came to check on him.

Seeing Liu Miao completely drunk and not even recognizing himself, Chen Yu cursed, "How could he drink like this? Youping! Zilie! Come and lend a hand! Zhongshan is too heavy! Help him to the back to rest!"

It was at this moment that Chen Yu saw the letter of appointment...

Looking at the drunken Liu Miao in his arms, Chen Yu was momentarily disoriented.

"This... I seem to remember encountering something like this once before?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day.

Yan Yu was now fully conscious and had forgotten what he had said to Liu Miao the day before.

Yan Yu was completely taken aback when the appointment letter bearing his own handprint appeared.

"Since things have come to this, let's get the wedding done as soon as possible?"

"Could it be that you were just trying to appease me yesterday, my dear brother?"

The mere mention of returning the gifts was enough to displease Liu Miao. If he were to break off the marriage agreement, then the Yan brothers and Liu Miao would become irreconcilable enemies!
Yan Yu didn't dare to refuse, so he could only slink back to Wu County with the letter of appointment.

Liu Miao did not take back the gifts he had sent out before. Instead, he added a few more and had some soldiers escort him while beating gongs and drums all the way to announce his marriage to Yan Baihu's daughter!

Such a grand display of activity made it known to everyone even before Yan Yu had returned to Wu County!
Upon learning this, Yan Baihu felt a surge of anger and blocked the road, stopping Yan Yu.

"How could I have a brother like you? I asked you to return the gifts, and instead you went and got engaged! Are you afraid I'll have a too comfortable life in Wu County?"

Yan Baihu was a powerful man, especially his broad and thick shoulders and back, which were truly as frightening as a tiger!
He stood on the road, and Yan Yu, who was being reprimanded, couldn't lift his head.

Yan Yu waited for Yan Baihu to finish his tirade before asking, full of resentment, "Then, brother, what do you suggest we do now?"

"Does my brother want me to return the gift again and break off the engagement?"

"That's Liu Miao! A member of the Han imperial family! If we really act like this, we'll be making a blood feud with Liu Miao!"

Yan Yu exaggeratedly described Liu Miao's current strength—

"His people number in the millions! Everyone is wealthy, and their sleeves spread wide in the streets, their sweat pouring down like rain! This is more than the entire population of Wu County!"

"His soldiers numbered 100,000! They all wore armor woven from fish-scale iron plates and used weapons forged from fine iron from the mountains, which made a thunderous sound every time the bowstring was drawn!"

"His advisors and fierce generals are as numerous as raindrops! If we offend such a person, do you think we have any chance of survival, brother?"

"..."

Yan Baihu's anger turned to skepticism: "Is Liu Miao really that powerful?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be fake?"

Seeing that Yan Baihu had stopped scolding him, Yan Yu knew that Yan Baihu's resolve had softened, so he pressed his advantage—

"Everyone says that Liu Miao is an incompetent and lecherous man, but after seeing him with my own eyes this time, I realized that he possesses a resplendent air of nobility, surpassing even renowned scholars like Wang Lang and Xu Zhao. And most importantly..."

Yan Yu took a deep breath, which was also the point he valued most about Liu Miao.

"Liu Miao, being a member of the Han imperial family, did not look down on me because I came from the Yue tribes and made a living by plundering. He not only drank and chatted with me, calling me brother, but also offered to marry my brother's daughter!"

“Brother, think about it carefully. Among the high-ranking officials and nobles in Jiangdong, is there really anyone who is willing to respect us and associate with us?” “Whether Liu Miao has great talent and strategy is hard to say, but the people under his rule are peaceful and he does not look down on people like us. Isn’t he much better than Xu Gong?”

Yan Baihu was speechless, clearly not expecting that his younger brother would praise Liu Miao so highly after just one trip to Jinling.

And most importantly... what Yan Yu said doesn't seem to be without reason!
If Liu Miao were truly willing to marry his daughter, then although the Yan family might not instantly become a powerful and prestigious clan, they would at least no longer be looked down upon.

He Jin, the great general of that time, came from a butcher's background. But after he rose to prominence, even Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who came from the Yuan family of Runan, had to bow down and serve him.

Now that Liu Miao has presented us with this opportunity, why shouldn't we give it a shot?

Yan Baihu frowned deeply, his mind racing with thoughts, yet he dared not make a hasty decision.

At this moment, an envoy from Xu Gong, the governor of Wu Commandery, arrived.

Unlike last time when it was merely a reprimand, this time the Xu Gong envoy was clearly much angrier, but this anger was more of a show of bravado masking his inner fear.

"How could you do such a thing, General Hao? Why would you marry your daughter to someone like Liu Miao? What exactly do you want to do?"

This question displeased Yan Baihu: "Do I need the prefect's approval to marry my daughter to whomever I choose?"

"Since the prefect is so concerned about my daughter's marriage, why didn't he go to the Zhang family to plead on my behalf when the dispute with them occurred before?"

Xu Gong's envoy flew into a rage: "How can this be the same thing?"

"How can they not be the same thing?"

Yan Baihu was also annoyed by the envoy, but little did he know that the envoy was also a man of loose tongues—

"The Zhang family of Wu Commandery is unwilling to marry the daughter of a powerful clan because of the difference in social status. How could my commandery governor possibly resolve this? But now Liu Miao is arranging a marriage with the powerful clan, which is actually intended to sow discord between our two families!"

Yan Baihu was immediately annoyed when he heard the envoy from Xu Gong repeatedly mention "family background"!
"Social standing? If Xu Gong is truly sincere, and the prefect himself steps forward, do you think the Zhang family of Wu County would refuse? I'm afraid not only do the Zhang family of Wu County look down on our background, but even your prefect would consider us lowly people, wouldn't he?"

Without further ado, Yan Baihu ordered his men to drive away Xu Gong's envoy, and at the same time, he finally made his decision.

He sent Yan Yu to escort his daughter, Yan Shi, and some family members to Jinling as a pledge of allegiance to Liu Miao, while he himself remained in Wucheng County and ignored Xu Gong.
Lu Su finally arrived in Yuhang and went to visit Xu Zhao and Sheng Xian.

When they arrived at Xu Zhao's residence, Lu Su finally understood why Xu Zhao had the ability to protect Sheng Xian, who had been persecuted by Xu Gong.

In order to defend against invasions by ethnic minorities such as the Xianbei and Qiang, some powerful clans on the northern border often built fortified villages for defense.

This custom later spread to the Central Plains. Coincidentally, during Wang Mang's chaotic reign, countless fortified villages sprang up overnight across the Central Plains, becoming sanctuaries for powerful clans in various regions.

Although Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu ordered the destruction of the fortified villages, the practice could not be completely eradicated.

With the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the construction of fortified villages intensified and became a custom.

As the Yue tribes in the mountains gradually became more rampant, the local powerful families in Jiangdong also began to build fortified villages. Since Jiangdong is mostly mountainous, they also cultivated fields in the mountains to create "manors".

The place Lu Su arrived at at this time was such a farm.

Its situation is perilous; without a thousand-strong army, it would be extremely difficult to conquer!
No wonder Xu Gong was unwilling to come here to pursue Sheng Xian. It seems that in addition to being concerned about Xu Zhao's reputation, he was also suspicious that this place was too easy to defend and difficult to attack, which is why he let Sheng Xian stay here.

Lu Su went to Xu Zhao's place intending to visit him, but was told that Xu Zhao was not at home.

"It's alright, we can wait."

Lu Su stayed for three days in a row, but still couldn't find Xu Zhao and Sheng Xian. He knew that Xu Zhao and Sheng Xian probably didn't like him... or to be precise, they didn't like Liu Miao.

As Liu Miao occupied the entire territory of Danyang, his Three Chiefs System and Equal Field System naturally spread far and wide.

By observing subtle signs and observing government decrees, one can often discern the political ambitions and intentions of the officials in charge.

Liu Miao's Three Chiefs System and Equal Field System were undoubtedly intended to suppress powerful clans and prevent land annexation.

Since Xu Zhao owns such a estate, he must obviously be from a powerful family.

Not all people from powerful and aristocratic families can be like Gu Yong, who, after being taught by a great Confucian scholar like Cai Yong, could place the nation and morality above family wealth.

Or rather, the vast majority of powerful and influential families, like Xu Zhao, had an almost natural resistance to Liu Miao's decrees.

So, after understanding Xu Zhao's attitude towards him, and also towards Liu Miao, Lu Su did not linger any longer and immediately got up to return home.

On his way back, Lu Su happened to hear about Liu Miao marrying Yan Baihu's daughter, which immediately dispelled his previous gloom!

"My lord is right. In this era of great strife, how can we judge things by ordinary standards?"

When Lu Su first sought Sheng Xian's strategy, it appeared to be looking for a pretext to attack Xu Gong, but in reality, it was an attempt to win over the local scholars of Wu County.

Since these local scholars didn't like Liu Miao, there was no need for Liu Miao to try to win their favor.

Now that they have formed a marriage alliance with Yan Baihu, how could Xu Gong possibly withstand Liu Miao's army?
“Suppressing land annexation is the fundamental solution! Since these scholars from Wu County are not respectable, I will help my lord make them respectable in the future!”

After returning to Liu Miao's side, Lu Su readjusted his strategic direction.

Looking at this clearly more decisive and efficient strategy, Liu Miao laughed and said, "That's more like it!"

"What we lack now is only the opportunity to take Wu Commandery!"

(End of this chapter)