I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 13 Beautiful Woman

Chen Yu, unaware of what had happened before, was overjoyed to hear that Liu Miao was willing to help: "With your assistance, my lord, our great undertaking can be accomplished!"

"Don't worry, Zhongshan! Once this is done, Lord Yuan will reward you handsomely!"

Liu Miao chuckled twice.

Although Yuan Shu was inferior to his elder brother Yuan Shao, who was born to a concubine, in every way.

But Yuan Shu has one redeeming quality.

That's generosity!
They had gold, silver, treasures, beautiful women, and silks, and they actually distributed them to their subordinates!
If Yuan Shu hadn't been so abstract, Liu Miao had actually considered him before.

Now that Chen Yu had brought it up, Liu Miao naturally went along with it.

"How dare I hope for a reward from the General?"

"only……"

As Liu Miao spoke, his voice lowered and his face flushed considerably: "I'm sure Gongwei has heard of my fondness for beautiful women..."

???

Chen Yu's face twitched, clearly not expecting Liu Miao to reveal his hobby to him in public.

At the same time, Chen Yu also thought of the rumors circulating among the scholars of Huainan recently.

It is said that Liu Miao, who was initially refusing Lu Kang's marriage proposal at the banquet, suddenly became arrogant and unrestrained after seeing the beautiful widow of the Lu family. He sang "Jianjia" loudly, which was quite a romantic moment!
Chen Yu initially thought it was just an exaggerated rumor, or even that it was fabricated by Chen Wen, Zhou Ang, and others to slander Liu Miao.

After all, who would have thought that Liu Miao, a member of the Han imperial family, a descendant of the King of Langya, and the governor of Jiujiang with a salary of two thousand shi, would be so shameless at a banquet for the sake of a woman?
But today, when Chen Yu heard Liu Miao tell him that he was "a beautiful woman," he felt that his worldview had been completely shattered!

Liu Miao, however, seemed oblivious to Chen Yu's odd behavior and continued, "I've heard that Wu, the wife of Marquis Sun Jian of Wucheng, is still quite charming. I wonder if you could do me a favor and put in a good word for General Hou so that I can marry her?"

Chen Yu: ...

Ok!

Not only did he have a fondness for beautiful women, he even set his sights on Sun Jian's wife!

Remember! Sun Jian's body is barely cold!
Is Liu Miao being a little too frivolous now?

but……

When Chen Yu thought about how Liu Miao and Lu Kang could start an uprising in Lujiang and help Yuan Shu take control of Huainan, he felt that a mere woman was not such a big deal.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Yu actually nodded to Liu Miao!

"This is a minor matter. I will communicate with General Hou through a letter, and it should be fine!"

"So good!"

Upon hearing that the marriage was going to happen, Liu Miao's excitement was palpable!
"For no apparent reason, I've truly hit it off with Gongwei at first sight today! Quickly, bring some wine! Let Gongwei and I have a good drink!!!"

When Liu Miao and Chen Yu started drinking, they were both heavy drinkers!
The two of them devoured three dou of fine wine, and only then did they feel tired. They embraced each other and fell asleep, making Lu Kang, who was standing next to them, almost get anxious!

From the moment Liu Miao uttered the phrase "beautiful woman," Lu Kang sensed something was amiss and wanted to pull Liu Miao aside to ask him for clarification!
But Liu Miao and Chen Yu were drinking heavily, and Lu Kang couldn't possibly pull Liu Miao aside to question him. Now that the two were both drunk, Lu Kang was at a loss for what to do!
“From my grandfather.”

Lu Kang reluctantly settled Liu Miao and Chen Yu in the guest room. Just as he was frowning in worry, Lu Yi, who had just visited his mother in her room, arrived here.

"Boyan."

While Lu Kang showed affection, a hint of doubt about Lu Yi also appeared in his eyes.

Lu Yi once said that Liu Miao had the demeanor of Emperor Gaozu, but Liu Miao's "love of beautiful women" appearance just now was really too shabby. Lu Kang was not sure whether he should continue to believe his intelligent great-grandson.

"Have you seen your mother?"

"I've seen it before."

Lu Yi replied respectfully, "These days, for some reason, Mother seems to be in a much better mood. She just cooked fish for me today."

Lu Kang's expression was strange.

Lady Lu was in a good mood, probably because Liu Miao had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

For a moment, Lu Kang became even more worried about whether he had made the right gamble by choosing Liu Miao this time.

Lu Yi noticed that Lu Kang seemed to have something on his mind, and sensibly probed, "If Grandfather has any doubts, why not tell your grandson? Let your grandson share your worries?"

Lu Kang hesitated for a moment, but considering the intricate relationship between Liu Miao and Lu Yi, he told Lu Yi about his previous conversation with Liu Miao and Liu Miao's remarks about "liking beautiful women".

"Is there such a thing?"

Lu Yi's small eyes were filled with immense shock!

Although he knew that Liu Miao always acted eccentrically and unconventionally, it was still absurd for him to openly express his "love of beautiful women" in front of Chen Yu and to ask Yuan Shu to marry Sun Jian's widow, Lady Wu, to him!

"Boyan, do you think... this Liu Zhongshan is really a heroic figure?"

Lu Kang's words were full of melancholy, and Lu Yi also lowered his head, clearly not knowing how to "defend" Liu Miao.

"I really can't see through Liu Zhongshan."

Lu Kang sat in the courtyard, watching the greenery fade and the yellow flowers bloom, unsure how to explain his melancholy to Lu Yi...

"When he discussed the state of the world with me before, his arrogance in disregarding all the heroes of the world was truly impressive! Later, when Chen Yu came to visit, he was able to praise Yuan Shu without batting an eye and agree to cooperate with Yuan Shu... I was afraid of such a person, as if he were a real-life tyrant!"

"But then he suddenly said that he 'liked beautiful women' and wanted to marry Sun Jian's wife. I don't understand this at all!"

After listening to Lu Kang's concerns, Lu Yi began to slowly piece together the situation—

"Grandfather, I have a guess, but I don't know if I should tell you."

"Oh?"

Lu Kang looked at Lu Yi with surprise: "Boyan, what are your guesses? Feel free to speak your mind."

Lu Yi straightened his small back, his face serious.

"I still don't think that Magistrate Liu is a lecherous man."

"I still believe in Lord Liu, whom I saw at the banquet that day!"

Lu Yi recalled Liu Miao at the banquet and confirmed that Liu Miao was definitely not the lecherous man that everyone was saying he was!

"Just as Governor Liu's marriage alliance with my Lu family was to gain the support of scholars, Governor Liu must also have some ulterior motive in his marriage alliance with the Wu family?"

What are you plotting?

Lu Kang did not believe it.

"Now that Sun Jian is dead, what can support Zhongshan? Could it be that Zhongshan is doing this for Sun Jian's underage child?"

Lu Yi chuckled to himself.

He also did not believe that Liu Miao did it for Sun Jian's child.

But besides his children, did Sun Jian really have nothing else to covet?

"Congzu, why don't you think carefully about what Governor Liu lacks most right now?"

What's missing?
Lu Kang thought about it for a while, but he really couldn't give a general idea.

It wasn't that Liu Miao was so wealthy that he couldn't even describe it, but rather that he was so poor that he couldn't even describe it.

Apart from the titles of "relative of the Han imperial family" and "prefect of Jiujiang", he had nothing else!

Lu Yi then said, "In these chaotic times, Prefect Liu is all alone, and what he lacks most is precisely soldiers?"

Soldiers? Lu Kang chuckled to himself.

“I provide Zhongshan with money and provisions to help him recruit soldiers, so why would he need to worry about troops now?”

Unexpectedly, Lu Yi said seriously, "Grandfather is mistaken!"

Just as people are distinguished by rank, soldiers are also distinguished by quality!

"Can the newly recruited troops in Lujiang compare to the renowned Danyang troops?"

"If all the armies in the world were the same, then we could just recruit men from Zu and attack Zhou Ang directly. Why should we wait and observe the opportunity?"

Lu Kang was speechless for a moment...

Perhaps not wanting to lose face in front of Lu Yi, Lu Kang said, "Even so, what does that have to do with Zhongshan marrying Wu? Could it be..."

As he was speaking, Lu Kang was suddenly startled!
"It seems that Zu also thought of this."

Seeing that Lu Kang had swallowed his words, Lu Yi immediately explained—

"Sun Jian rose to prominence in Jiangdong and Huaisi, and followed Zhu Jun, the Grand Master of the Palace, in his southern campaigns, winning countless battles. He was truly a fine general!"

"Even in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, it was Sun Jian who first killed Hua Xiong and captured Luoyang... Without him, the two Yuan brothers' campaign against Dong Zhuo would not have been successful!"

"Such a fierce general must have soldiers under his command who are all as strong as tigers and leopards, making them a rare elite force in the world!"

Lu Yi narrowed his eyes, his words gradually shifting from praising Sun Jian to admiring Liu Miao—

"I didn't realize this before. I just thought that with Lord Liu's character, he wouldn't be so disregardful of his reputation just to marry that Wu woman."

"But if we include the soldiers originally under Sun Jian's command, then we can understand why Lord Liu did this!"

"Compared to those thousands of veterans who fought in the north and south, what is there to care about in Liu Shijun's mere reputation?"

The more Lu Kang listened to Lu Yi's words, the more he felt that this made perfect sense!
The troops left behind by Sun Jian!
Tell me, which feudal lord wouldn't be tempted by those thousands of soldiers who fought in the north and south?
With those few thousand soldiers, we practically have the foundation to establish ourselves in this chaotic world! Compared to that, why should we care about a mere reputation?

Lu Kang covered his face in shame: "I am but a common man! I could not even comprehend Zhongshan's intentions!"

Lu Yi quickly comforted Lu Kang: "What I said just now was merely my personal opinion and cannot be said to be the intention of Governor Liu."

"If Zu is still worried, he can ask Liu Shijun after he sobers up. Why should he be suspicious?"

Lu Kang, however, felt embarrassed—

"I have already made a gentleman's agreement with Zhongshan, so how can I ask him about it to his face now?"

"Why don't you... have your mother try it out and see if Zhongshan is really as you think? Marrying that Wu woman is for the sake of restoring the Han Dynasty, not for his own selfish desires!"

"good."

------

Confusion, and pain...

Liu Miao never expected that he would get drunk twice in just a few days.

If this had happened in the past, I'm sure I would have been fired by my boss!

When the topic of bosses came up, Liu Miao also thought of Lu Kang.

Although Lu Kang is not his boss now, he should be his financial backer and his client.

Liu Miao knew that his remarks about "beautiful women" yesterday were somewhat shocking, and since he hadn't explained the reasons clearly to Lu Kang, he would most likely be suspected again.

"Let me think about how I should explain this to Lu Zhongyi..."

Should he just tell Lu Kang that he's only doing this for Sun Ce and Sun Quan?
No, Liu Miao knew this reason was untenable, so he quickly cleared the thought from his mind.

Or tell Lu Kang that the Wu family now possesses the Imperial Seal of the State?

That won't work either...

After spending several days together, Liu Miao became convinced that Lu Kang was completely loyal to the Han Dynasty, even blindly so!

If we tell him that the Imperial Seal of the State is right next door, he's afraid he'll make a big fuss and make it known to everyone!
At that time, not to mention Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, even the approaching Yuan Shu will focus his attention on him, completely shattering his idea of ​​developing in a cowardly manner!
You should know that my previous promise to Chen Yu to assist Yuan Shu was just an excuse, because I didn't want Chen Yu to see that I neither wanted to follow Yuan Shao nor submit to Yuan Shu.

"How exactly should this be explained?"

As Liu Miao was thinking, he suddenly felt a coolness on his forehead and a familiar fragrance seemed to waft into his nose.

Upon opening her eyes, she found that it was Madam Lu wiping herself with a square cloth, and she immediately got up, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"I was drunk yesterday, and my wife took good care of me."

"It's just my job, why is it hard?"

Lu wiped Liu Miao's eyebrows, eyes, and cheeks clean, but then suddenly stopped, her gaze drifting downwards.

"These past few days, we've been locked in fierce battles night after night. Is there something I've done wrong that has left my husband unsatisfied?"

"Nothing!"

Liu Miao couldn't help but praise Lady Lu—

"Since Madam is both skilled and cooperative, how could I possibly have any reason to complain?"

Lu asked shyly, her voice tinged with a hint of jealousy, "Then why did my husband tell others that he wanted to marry that Wu woman?"

Liu Miao immediately waved his hand: "This time, it's not about anything under the bed!"

After much thought, Liu Miao gave an answer that wasn't really an answer—

"This is necessary for the great cause!"

This answer is clearly unacceptable to Liu Miao.

Liu Miao could already tell that although Madam Lu wouldn't say it, she would probably be somewhat unhappy and he would need to comfort her slowly over the next few days.

However, Lu's reaction was clearly beyond Liu Miao's expectations.

But Lady Lu was overjoyed: "Could it be as Boyan said, that my husband did this in order to incorporate Sun Jian's troops?"

Sun Jian's troops?
broken!

Throughout the entire process, Liu Miao thought of Sun Jian's son, Sun Jian's daughter, Sun Jian's Imperial Seal, and even Sun Jian's Ancient Ding Blade, but he never thought of the matter of the army!

However, after Lu reminded him, Liu Miao immediately nodded, thus confirming the matter completely!
"The one who understands me is my wife!"

Madam Lu was immediately delighted, and the intense jealousy she felt subsided considerably.

"My husband's ambitions are beyond my comprehension; these are all things that Boyan has guessed on his own."

Lu Xun...

Liu Miao took a deep breath.

What a shrewd Lu Boyan!

If we weren't now father and son, I would truly want to become sworn brothers with you!
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.

Note 1:

When Jian first raised an army, Ce moved his mother to Shu, befriended Zhou Yu, and gathered together scholars and officials; people from the Jiang and Huai regions all flocked to him. — *Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Volume 1*

(End of this chapter)