I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 132 Defeat Liu Zhongshan!

Zhang, Zhu, Gu.

These three families gave the most gifts. As for the Lu family, it's probably because Lu Kang didn't want to do something like throwing good money after bad, so he didn't send Liu Miao anything at all. They were ridiculously stingy.

After Liu Miao arrived in Wu County and checked the gift list, he became curious and asked Chen Yu, who was always by his side, "Gongwei, the Zhang family did it to save their lives, the Zhu family did it to protect their wealth, but what was the Gu family's motivation?"

Chen Yu was unsurprised: "The Gu family of Wu County doesn't understand you as well as the Lu family does, so how could they not send a gift? If everyone else sends one but they don't, who knows if you'll hold a grudge against them."

Instead of backing down, Liu Miao continued stroking his chin: "Gongwei, do you think we should take this opportunity to extort a hefty sum from the Gu family?"

"Is Zhongshan short of money?"

"You think you have too much money? If you do, give me some!"

Liu Miao checked the gift list, then picked up the official document Zhou Yu had sent—

"Gongjin fought a pretty good battle, but there are still some troublesome issues that haven't been resolved."

Chen Yu, without any attempt to conceal his presence, leaned closer to examine the official document in Liu Miao's hand: "Are they those estates?"

Although Zhou Yu had captured various cities and towns in Wu Commandery, he had not yet taken action against the farms and fortified villages in Wu Commandery.

Clearly, this involves more than just military matters; it also relates to Liu Miao's handling of these powerful families.

"also……"

Liu Miao picked up another official document, this one from Yan Baihu.

Yan Baihu said that many of the Yue people in Jiangdong are behaving very strangely, and some people have even seen large numbers of Yue people sneaking into various fortified villages and farms.

Chen Yu was startled: "Could it be that those people recruited Yue people from the mountains to form a private army?"

"almost."

Liu Miao looked at Yan Baihu's official document and shook his head helplessly.

Although Yan Baihu had already married his daughter to him, he remained extremely cautious. Not only had he not gone to Jinling with Wang Lang before, but even now that Liu Miao had arrived in Wu County, he had only sent his younger brother Yan Yu to deliver the message... This tiger clearly did not truly trust Liu Miao and was afraid to come out of the fortified tower he had built.

While the letter was indeed accusing the aristocratic families of frequent contact with the Shanyue people, it also carried a hint of threat and weakness, suggesting that the letter was still of great use and could help Liu Miao suppress the Shanyue.

"Our father-in-law is still putting on a brave face. Little does he know that his daughter has exposed all his secrets!"

Not only did the Yan family expose their true colors to Liu Miao, but their father's entire fortune had also been revealed. Although they boasted tens of thousands of troops, their truly elite fighting force numbered less than a hundred…

"I don't understand. They've gone to such lengths, yet they're still trying to preserve their own forces... How can my father-in-law not see his place?"

Chen Yu, however, leaned closer and looked through the documents again before retorting, "Zhongshan is wrong."

"Ninety-nine percent of people in the world don't understand their own place. Those as clear-headed as you and me are ultimately a minority!"

Liu Miao thought about it for a moment and felt that Chen Yu's words made sense!
If everyone in the world could recognize their own limitations, there would probably be far fewer misfortunes.

But if everyone could truly understand themselves, how could they still be called human?

"What a mess!"

Chen Yu also felt it was a tricky situation: "I'm afraid Zhongshan will have to spend a lot of energy to appease them!"

"appease?"

Upon hearing those two words, Liu Miao immediately jumped up: "Are you treating me like an animal? Do you think I can appease so many people one by one?"

"What does Zhongshan want?"

Such a complex situation cannot be resolved satisfies all parties without expending considerable effort and time to resolve it gradually.

Liu Miao, however, directly made a killing gesture—

"What is this doing?"

"Since they all want to be satisfied, then I'll just make sure no one is satisfied!"

"People are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality. Why not just fight them to the death?"

Chen Yu burst into laughter.

He raised his index finger and kept poking Liu Miao: "I forgot, Zhongshan was the kind of person who would lead me to a widow's door to get married without a second thought."

"It seems that Zhongshan has now thoroughly figured out a solution?"

"nature!"

------

The day after Liu Miao arrived in Wu County, he ordered Gu Yong to issue a document prohibiting the retention of private armies in various places and to forcibly demolish fortified villages and estates.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu also tried this, but he failed.

But now Liu Miao is determined to make this happen!
The news caused an uproar!

That very night, news arrived from all directions—

"The mountain tribes have invaded and slaughtered the villages!"

"Liu Yangzhou, this fortified village cannot be demolished!"

Even some uninformed people from Wu County came to the government office to protest, genuinely believing that these estates and fortified villages existed to protect them from the Yue tribes. This led to several clashes with the officials, forcing Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and others to lead troops to suppress the unrest.

Even Yan Baihu wrote a letter to inquire whether the fortified village he had built should also be demolished, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"dismantle."

Liu Miao ignored all these voices.

The usually mild-mannered Liu Miao showed almost no mercy in this matter, and could even be described as ruthless!

"What a tyrant!"

"What exactly does Liu Yangzhou want to do?"

The insults and curses were incessant, and officials from all over the country submitted petitions requesting Liu Miao to suspend the decree.

Some ancient scholars and officials who had lived in seclusion in some remote corner of the country also took this opportunity to glare at Liu Miao, complaining that he disregarded the safety of the people and was a tyrant!

Even worse, some went so far as to block the governor's mansion in Wu County, crying and begging Liu Miao to retract his order.

……

Liu Miao seemed to have anticipated this, and a few days after the news spread, he and Zhou Yu set off for Fuchun.

Zhou Yu was dashing and heroic, but at this moment there was an unyielding sorrow between his brows.

"My lord, are you really going to disregard everything?"

"Now, not only are the scholars of Jiangdong cursing you, but even the common people of Jiangdong are blaming you for ordering the demolition of farms and fortified villages! They all believe that it is because of you that they have been invaded by the mountain tribes..."

Liu Miao then asked Zhou Yu, "Does Gongjin also think so?"

"of course not!"

Zhou Yu knew best what those powerful families in Jiangdong were doing.

"If the Yue tribes really do invade, they're only protecting their own homes. What does that have to do with other people?" "Besides, hasn't my lord noticed anything strange about the recent attacks by the so-called 'Yue tribes'? In the past, even when the Yue tribes attacked, they were after grain and cloth. But this time, villages are being massacred at every turn, the scenes are horrific. What kind of Yue tribes are these? Have they stopped eating grain and started eating human flesh?"

"They are cannibals."

Liu Miao naturally understood what was going on.

Those powerful families simply wanted every oppressed and emaciated Wu County citizen to stand tall and proud whenever they thought of those sturdy and magnificent manors and fortified villages.
It was clearly just the property of a noble family, yet it instantly became a barrier protecting all the people of Wu County! Those people of Wu County must be furious and condemn Liu Miao, the villain who wanted to shatter this barrier!
"It's alright, Gongjin. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Those who play with fire...'"

"Those who play with fire will get burned."

"Wrong! It's that those who play with fire will wet the bed! Haha!"

Liu Miao seemed completely unconcerned about the escalating unrest in Wu Commandery, and merely urged Zhou Yu to hurry to Fuchun.

"Quick! Gongjin! Xiaoxiao! Otherwise, your sworn brother will think I'm abusing you every day and not giving you food!"

The purpose of this trip was, of course, to visit Sun Ce, who was still observing mourning for his father!

……

Sun Ce was clearly not expecting Liu Miao and Zhou Yu to arrive in Fuchun so quickly to look for him. In his panic, he found his mother, Lady Wu.

“Mother, Liu Yangzhou has only just pacified Wu County, and there must be many other things to do... How can I let my personal matters delay everyone's official business?”

"Could you please trouble your mother to write a letter, explaining that we are still in mourning and it is inconvenient for her to receive guests..."

Madam Wu was no longer as haggard as she had been in Lujiang. Although she still carried some of the sorrow of a widow, it did not diminish her beauty in the slightest. Instead, she appeared even more aloof and mature.

Upon hearing that Sun Ce had come to ask for her help, Lady Wu nodded gently.

"If Bo Fu doesn't want to see me, then I won't see him."

"But Bo Fu wants to tell me the truth: you don't want to see guests simply because you're afraid you'll interfere with their official duties?"

Sun Ce's face flushed red: "Of course!"

Madam Wu immediately took out a pen and ink, and bent down to write the letter.

“Bo Fu should know that although Gong Jin is about the same age as you, he is much more mature. If the timing is not right, he would never have abandoned his official duties to come see you. As for Liu Zhongshan… in less than a year, he has been able to build such a foundation. Do you still think he is an untrustworthy person?”

“A person like this wouldn’t let your sake delay important matters. Bo Fu, are you still unwilling to tell me the truth?”

Sun Ce retorted, "Recently, the people of Wu Commandery have been protesting against Liu Yangzhou's decree to demolish fortified villages and estates. Isn't that a big deal?"

Seeing this, Madam Wu said nothing more, but simply handed the letter to Sun Ce.

Sun Ce had already left the thatched hut with the letter in his hand, but after taking about ten steps, he stopped and hesitated for a moment before going back in to look for Lady Wu.

"Children should not lie to their mother!"

Sun Ce knelt down on the ground.

"The reason I don't want to see them is because, it's because..."

Sun Ce gritted his teeth and hesitated for a while before finally revealing the reason—

“Gongjin and I have been friends since childhood, almost like blood relatives! But now he is a high-ranking general, while I am just a commoner. I don’t know if Gongjin and I can still be the same as before!”

Sun Ce never wanted to lag behind others.

The Zhou Yu of today is no longer the Zhou Yu who used to joke around with me when I was young. Instead, he is the Jianwei General who helped Liu Miao conquer Danyang and Wu County and take over the Jiangdong region!
Recently, Sun Ce often hears people talking about Zhou Yu when he walks on the road, but when has he ever heard anyone mention his own name?
Zhou Yu's rise to power was so rapid that it made Sun Ce uneasy, which is why he dared not meet with Zhou Yu.

Lady Wu felt gratified to hear Sun Ce open up to her.

"Bo Fu and Zhou Gongjin were close friends. Do you think Gongjin was the kind of arrogant and disrespectful person?"

Sun Ce shook his head.

"Then why don't you dare to meet Gongjin, thinking he will look down on you?"

Lady Wu then asked, "Or does Bo Fu feel that his talent is inferior to Gong Jin's, and that his future status and position will be lower than Gong Jin's?"

Sun Ce shook his head: "When it comes to military campaigns, I have never been afraid of anyone!"

"I just... sigh!"

Lady Wu saw Sun Ce sighing deeply: "Are you afraid that Liu Yangzhou will dislike you, refuse you an official position, and leave you idle?"

Madam Wu smiled slightly: "I'll leave this matter to you, Mother. You don't need to worry about it."

Despite being comforted by Lady Wu, Sun Ce ultimately did not hand over the letter.

A few days later, Liu Miao and Zhou Yu arrived in Fuchun. As soon as Zhou Yu saw Sun Ce, he stepped forward and gave him a big hug: "Bo Fu!"

Sun Ce held Zhou Yu in his arms, and seeing that Zhou Yu's attitude towards him was no different from usual, he suddenly felt guilty.

"Gong Jin!"

Although the two had not seen each other for almost a year, their feelings remained the same, and they slept together in a thatched hut that night, clearly intending to talk all night long!

In another thatched hut, there were also two people.

Liu Miao looked at Madam Wu under the light of the oil lamp.

Although they had crossed paths before in Shuxian, this was the first time Liu Miao had seen Madam Wu's face.

The somber mourning clothes did not conceal Madam Wu's beauty; on the contrary, they added a touch of charm to her solemnity.

Her face was unadorned with makeup, but her phoenix eyes and the rarely seen sword-like eyebrows made Madam Wu appear neither dejected nor weak. In particular, her swan-like neck, which supported her face, gave her a touch of majesty.

Lady Wu knelt opposite Liu Miao, her long, shapely legs completely exposed to him, even though her wide robe could not conceal them.

While openly admiring Madam Wu's beauty, Liu Miao recounted the agreement they had made earlier.

"I have already presented the Imperial Seal of the State to Yuan Shu under the pretense of hiding the seal in the belly of a carp."

“Yuan Shu has obviously tacitly agreed to this, and he will definitely not cause trouble for the Sun family or your Wu family again in the future, so you can rest assured.”

"I have heard about it."

Madam Wu prostrated herself before Liu Miao, her body bent over, and the fabric of her clothes was also raised, outlining an astonishing curve.

"This humble servant thanks Magistrate Liu."

"No need to thank me, this was agreed upon long ago."

Although he had seen it once before, there was still a screen between them, so Liu Miao couldn't see it clearly. Now that the real thing was in front of him, Liu Miao could only marvel at the ingenuity of Nuwa!
Lady Wu remained silent, bowing three times before raising her head to speak with Liu Miao.

Lady Wu did not gossip about other matters. After chatting for a few minutes, she told Liu Miao about Sun Ce's concerns.

"So that's it."

Liu Miao laughed, realizing that Sun Ce also had a complex about "fearing his brothers would suffer, but also fearing his brothers would drive Land Rovers"!
However, Liu Miao did not rush to agree to Madam Wu's request. Instead, he began to ponder, saying, "This matter is difficult!"

"Bo Fu has no merits yet, how can we rashly promote him? Such an action would likely cause resentment among the generals!"

Lady Wu was unusually sensible at this moment. She slowly got up and fully displayed her voluptuous figure to Liu Miao.

"Even if I beg you, is this not allowed?"

(End of this chapter)