I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 122 Send troops!

Xu Zhao struggled to his feet: "Lu Zijing! What are you and Liu Miao planning? Are you really only satisfied when you've completely thrown Jiangdong into chaos?"

"Do you know why I protected Sheng Xian? Why I didn't see you before? Why did I see Xu Gong? And why have I come to Jinling now?"

Xu Zhao was quite indignant at this moment: "What we are doing is nothing more than ensuring peace in Jiangdong! Nothing more than peace throughout the world! No more war! It is you! You use the guise of righteousness to wage war on all sides and to pacify the world! Have you ever thought about how many people will die because of you?"

Xu Zhao then placed several hats on Lu Su's head.

If Liu Miao hadn't come, Jiangdong would still be the same Jiangdong!
May everyone live in peace and prosperity, and be safe and sound!
It was Liu Miao, this fierce tiger, who suddenly stepped into this jungle, which forced the other animals in the jungle to resist him!

At this moment, Xu Zhao spoke his mind!
The fault lies with Liu Miao! The gentry of Jiangdong were also victims!
"To sow discord among people's hearts and minds, to reverse cause and effect."

It was only at this moment that Lu Su realized that the Jiangdong scholars, represented by Xu Zhao, were not resisting Liu Miao or other foreign forces simply because their land was to be liquidated, but because they truly regarded themselves as righteous people who were committed to protecting their country!

Unlike the Central Plains.

Because Jiangdong was less affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, these Jiangdong gentry still lived in the past, believing that Liu Miao was preventing them from having a good life.

But any scholar who witnessed the Yellow Turban Rebellion would understand one thing—

When the world is unjust, great chaos is bound to follow!
To stabilize order, it is necessary to re-establish it as quickly as possible, like boiling oil over a raging fire, in order to achieve a peaceful and prosperous era!

Just like Lu Kang and Gu Yong.

Although they were also from the Jiangdong gentry, they had often been in Huainan, north of the Yangtze River, and had witnessed the scene of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

This is precisely why they chose to support Liu Miao, invest in him, and even accept policies like the Three Chiefs and Equal Land Distribution, which could potentially shake the foundations of the aristocratic class.

These progressive scholars from Jiangdong all understood that there was no way to escape it.

Hiding in Huainan, Yuan Shu arrived.

Does hiding in Jiangdong mean no one will come?
Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that it was Liu Miao who arrived.

If the one who comes is a tyrannical ruler like the warlords of Xiliang, or a ruthless and oppressive warlord like Yuan Shu, who has no regard for the people's welfare, where should the scholars of Jiangdong go? Should they go to Jiaozhou?

Lu Su scoffed at Xu Zhao: "Does Lord Xu really think that Jiangdong can survive in such a chaotic world?"

Xu Zhao: "Two hundred years ago, Jiangdong was already detached from worldly affairs, so what difference could there be this time?"

People often habitually seek answers in history.

exactly.

The world was in chaos; the Han Dynasty had experienced something similar two hundred years ago.

At that time, Hebei had Emperor Guangwu, Western Shu had Gongsun Shu, Longyou had Kui Xiao, Qingzhou had Zhang Bu, the Central Plains had Liu Yong, and even Jingzhou had warlords like Qin Feng and Tian Rong rising up. But Jiangdong alone did not produce such warlords.

In the end, while the rest of the land suffered greatly from the war, Jiangdong was the only place that escaped the chaos.

With such historical experience, doesn't it prove that one should be law-abiding and not have any improper thoughts in Jiangdong?

"Lu Zijing, you and Liu Miao, these outsiders, don't care about the lives of the local people of Jiangdong! But we do! If you were merely trying to occupy Danyang like Zhou Xin, without any ulterior motives, why would we risk offending Yuan Shu of Runan by bringing Liu Yao here? What about the Three Chiefs, the equal distribution of land, the construction of cities? Others may not see it, but do you think I can't? You are clearly pushing Jiangdong into a fire pit! How can we, the gentry of Jiangdong, tolerate you?"

Xu Zhao's words were truly generous!
Lu Su was speechless at this point.

It wasn't that Lu Su couldn't refute Xu Zhao.

Rather, it means that no matter how hard Lu Su tried, he could not wake up someone who was pretending to be asleep.

True geniuses like Lu Kang and Gu Yong could see that the world had changed drastically. Jiangdong alone was utterly powerless to resist the prevailing trends.

But Xu Zhao, who thinks he's a smart person but is actually incredibly stupid, is always unwilling to face reality.

They always felt that the world would descend into chaos, but not right before their eyes.

No matter what state the Han Dynasty fell into, they could watch from the sidelines, and then, once a victor like Liu Xiu emerged, they would hand over Jiangdong and continue to enjoy their leisurely lives.

No matter how the world changes, aristocratic families will always be aristocratic families.

Rather than risking death and the extermination of one's clan to fight for supremacy, it's better to relax and rest.

It's not that they're afraid to fight, it's that they simply don't want to fight!
Lu Su mocked again, "Aren't you afraid that there will be another Yellow Turban Rebellion in the future, and you will be dragged into it and completely destroyed?"

"The Taiping Religion? How does it compare to the Yue tribes of the mountains?"

Xu Zhao was too lazy to waste words with Lu Su at this point: "Lu Zijing, I have come here with sincerity this time."

"Liu Miao can take control of Wu Commandery. To that end, he might even help you eliminate Liu Yao and Xu Gong!"

Lu Su finally became serious: "Aren't Liu Yao and Xu Gong the current masters of the military and political affairs of Wu Commandery?"

"So Cao Cao is still the ruler of Yan Province, and Han Fu is still the ruler of Ji Province! What difference does it make in the end?"

Xu Zhao stated his conditions: "If Liu Miao takes control of Wu Commandery, we will eliminate Liu Yao and Xu Gong. But the condition is that Liu Miao cannot investigate the current land and household registration in Wu Commandery, and the positions of the three chiefs should be filled by the original three elders."

"Otherwise, we will fully support Liu Yao and Xu Gong in defending Wu Commandery to the death, which should be enough to hold you off for at least two years!"

"The world is in turmoil right now, and no one knows what will happen in two years! Perhaps a king will have emerged in the north by then! Do you really want to perish together with us?"

Preserve the privileges of the aristocratic families, and take over Wu County as soon as possible.

If it were someone else, they would probably agree to this request.

Lu Su had already been settled by Liu Miao, so how could he admit to such a thing?

"impossible."

"So what exactly do you want?"

"Sparing a life is already merciful enough!"

"Lu Zijing!"

Xu Zhao looked like he was going to eat someone!

He hadn't expected that even after he had humbled himself so much, Lu Su would remain so unyielding.

"I understand! Lu Zijing! Are you perhaps settling a personal score? You are not a gentleman! Where is Liu Miao? I need to see Liu Miao!"

Xu Zhao, who was supposed to be a renowned scholar, was now disregarding his manners and roaring loudly in the mansion.

"Xu Zhao, there is still a lady in the manor who is pregnant. If you disturb her, you will surely die a thousand deaths!"

Lu Su called for the gatekeeper to drive Xu Zhao out, but no one came after calling for a long time.

Looking towards the door, Lu Su's surprise instantly turned to joy: "My lord? When did you arrive here?"

Liu Miao yawned: "It started when this guy said that I, Liu Miao, didn't care about the lives of the people of Jiangdong... Zijing, what's wrong with you? When talking with famous scholars, you should be magnanimous, how can you argue with them so casually?"

Xu Gong was delighted to hear this, thinking that someone reasonable had come!
"Youping, hoist him up to the city wall... no! Hoist him up to Zhongshan Mountain, let him see how I, a man who doesn't care about the lives of the people of Jiangdong, treat them... hang him as high as possible, so as not to get our scholar's clothes dirty! That thing looks precious, it must have been made with great difficulty by his wife or mother... what? He has no mother or wife? Oh~~ then I'm curious, where did our great scholar, who always claims to care about the people of Jiangdong, get such precious clothes?"

As Liu Miao spoke, he shook his sleeves, revealing a pair of vipers embroidered inside.

"This dress took several of my wives and concubines a month to make! Does Xu Zhao have more wives and concubines than I do? If that's true... then I'm definitely going to be your friend!"

Xu Zhao was completely dumbfounded. He had thought Liu Miao would be someone who could stabilize the overall situation, but why did he seem so frivolous and unreliable now?
Are the mighty Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, and Gu Yong really subordinate to such people? How do they endure this on a daily basis?!

Seeing that Zhou Tai was really about to take a rope to hang him, Xu Zhao was immediately terrified: "Liu Miao! You will not have a good end if you treat scholars like this!"

"The outcome? Ha!"

Liu Miao laughed: "What could possibly happen to me?"

"Even emperors like Qin Shi Huang and Gaozu returned to dust, no different from ordinary people. In the end, I, Liu Miao, will be no different as well. What bad end could I possibly have? Do you think you can resurrect me after death and then kill me again?"

As he spoke, Zhou Tai had already skillfully tied beautiful lines on Xu Zhao's body with hemp rope!
“Liu Miao…”

"Shut up!"

Liu Miao was not as easy to talk to as Lu Su.

Seeing that Xu Zhao was still restless even though he was tied up, they directly stuffed the muddy boots into Xu Zhao's mouth.

"You still think you're quite right, don't you?"

Liu Miao plopped down in front of Xu Zhao: "Actually, I think what you said makes sense!"

"If a great hero like Emperor Gaozu or Emperor Shizu really emerged from Hebei or the Central Plains, I, Liu Miao, would definitely be living a life of luxury in Jiangdong! I'd take a concubine every day! And have over a hundred sons like Prince Jing of Zhongshan, do you believe me?"

Xu Zhao's struggles ceased, replaced by confusion.

If Liu Miao thought so too, then why did he still do these things in Jiangdong?

But Liu Miao continued to speak eloquently—

"When the time comes, I'll marry all the beautiful girls and ladies of Jiangdong! Once that great hero arrives at the Yangtze River, I'll hand over the entire Jiangdong region to him, thus gaining merit for supporting the emperor! After that, I'll just lie on my laurels and wait to die!"

"At first, I did think that way."

"But what can you do when there's no hero like that these days? Isn't that infuriating?"

Liu Miao's face was full of sighs.

"Besides that, there is another thing."

"Damn it, a great hero, whether he's a burly man from Guanzhong, a scholar from Yan and Zhao, or a commoner from the Central Plains, should at least be a Han Chinese, right?"

"Recently, when I was chatting with Lu Zhongyi about his experiences in the imperial court, I learned something—"

"Back when Emperor Xiaoling was in power, Bian Zhang and Han Sui of Liangzhou attacked the Three Auxiliary Regions. Cui Lie of Jizhou actually suggested that the court abandon Liangzhou and cede all the land west of Chang'an to the Qiang people?"

Liu Miao was very interested in this question and felt it was worthwhile to discuss with Xu Zhao.

"You just said that as long as Jiangdong is preserved, that's enough. Then I'd like to ask, what about the people of Liangzhou and Youzhou?"

"Oh, no, you've been staying in Jiangdong all this time, so you probably don't have the right to interfere. I asked the wrong question."

Liu Miao asked again: "If in the future, the one who unifies the north and the central plains is a Xiongnu, a Xianbei, or a Wuhuan, would you still be willing to hand over Jiangdong?"

Xu Zhao's initial doubts turned into disgust once again.

He felt that Liu Miao was making a fool of him!
Xiongnu? Xianbei?
How could such a foreign race be able to enter the Central Plains and even become the supreme ruler?

"woo woo woo woo!!!"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my shoe was still in your mouth. How could you be so careless? Why did you eat my shoe?"

Liu Miao pulled his foot out of Xu Zhao's mouth with a look of disgust and wiped the drool that had come out of the string on the ground.

"Cough cough cough!! Liu Miao, if you're going to kill me, then kill me. Why are you toying with me like this?"

Liu Miao ignored Xu Zhao and looked up at Lu Su: "Zijing, do you think such a thing will happen?"

"No, it won't, right?"

Lu Su didn't know why Liu Miao suddenly asked him such a question.

But right now, even the boldest person wouldn't have a thought like Liu Miao's.

Barbarians invaded and ruled the Central Plains?

The last time something like this happened was when Duke Huan of Qi was "honoring the king and repelling the barbarians"...

Even when the Xiongnu were powerful during the Han Dynasty, they were still kept outside the Great Wall.

Even though the Qiang people were powerful during the Later Han Dynasty, they still couldn't invade Guanzhong and truly threaten the heartland of the Central Plains.

Therefore, Liu Miao's words now are not just alarmist, they are downright fanciful!

Liu Miao merely smiled at Lu Su's answer.

"The Han people have more than ten million sons and daughters. Of course, we will not allow barbarians to rule the Central Plains."

"But if everyone is like that, then it's hard to say."

“If Youzhou is gone, the powerful families in Jizhou will think it doesn’t matter, since I’m in the south anyway.”

"If Ji Province is gone, the powerful families of Yan Province and Yu Province will think it doesn't matter, since I have a great river blocking my way anyway."

“Only when Yanzhou and Yuzhou are gone will these scholars in Jiangdong start to worry, realizing that the Yangtze River cannot protect them.”

"But what good is being anxious at that time!"

Liu Miao ordered Zhou Tai and Chen Wu to drag Xu Zhao away.

"Block me for two years? How dare you say such a thing!"

"Originally, I planned to wait until we had enough supplies before slowly attacking Wu Commandery. But now that Huainan and Yuzhang have sent supplies, and Yan Baihu and Wang Lang are coming to our aid from the south, I'd like to see how you two, Liu Yao and Xu Gong, can hold me off for two years!"

"Zijing!"

"promise!"

"Go and send a letter to Gongjin, saying that the garrison commander of Wu Commandery looks down on him! He calls him a good-for-nothing! And he even boasts that he can't possibly conquer Wu Commandery!"

Liu Miao then asked Lu Su, "What is it that Gongjin (Gongjin) finds most unbearable to be insulted by others?"

"My lord, Gongjin hates it most when people say he's like a woman!"

"it is good!"

Liu Miao decided to encourage Zhou Yu.

"Send Gongjin a few pieces of women's clothing, saying it's from Xu Gong across the street! Let Gongjin handle it himself!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)