I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 24 Laughing Stock
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

The capital of Jiujiang Prefecture was Shouchun.

Governor Chen Wen was handling official business in his residence when he heard a burst of hearty laughter, which made him look outside in confusion.

Who is making such a racket here?

"Prefect! It's me!"

Zhou Ang strode forward, his laughter becoming even more unrestrained.

When Zhou Ang arrived in front of Chen Wen, he was almost out of breath, laughing so hard he was doubled over!
"What exactly happened?"

Chen Wen didn't know why Zhou Ang was acting this way, so he could only guess.

"Could it be that Yuan Shu isn't coming to Huainan?"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Zhou Ang said sullenly, "How could that be?"

"Although this matter has nothing to do with whether Yuan Shu comes to Huainan or not, it is still a welcome thing."

Zhou Ang stopped being coy and said, "It's about Liu Miao!"

"Liu Miao? What is it?"

Zhou Ang's sarcasm and disdain were palpable.

“When Chen Yu went to Lujiang before, the governor and I were worried that he would seek help from Lu Kang to cause trouble behind the scenes and create an opportunity for Yuan Shu to take advantage of the situation!”

"It seems that there is no need to worry about the governor now!"

Chen Wen was even more puzzled and put down his brush.

"Tell me slowly, have a cup of honey water first. What exactly happened?"

The servant immediately understood and brought over two cups of honey water.

However, while placing the bamboo slips, the servant accidentally moved his sleeve too much, brushing the brush onto the slips and smudging the writing!
"idiot!"

Chen Wen flew into a rage and was about to punish the servants, but Zhou Ang grabbed him and said, "Forget it! Forget it! It's a small matter! Governor, please listen to me!"

Zhou Ang waved his hand casually, urging his servants to leave quickly, and then laughed, "That Liu Miao and Liu Zhongshan have made another huge joke!"

"Chen Yu went to Lujiang, presumably to seek his help... but guess what happened? Liu Miao actually told Chen Yu at the banquet that he 'liked a beautiful woman'!"

Chen Wen also showed a surprised expression, clearly not expecting that there could be such an absurd and lecherous person in the world!

"That's not all!"

Zhou Ang was a master storyteller, keeping people in suspense and leaving them with a question for Chen Wen: "Governor, why don't you guess which family's woman Liu Miao has taken a fancy to this time?"

"Which family? Is it another widow?"

Chen Wen meant it as a joke, but Zhou Ang slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "That's right! She really is a widow!"

"And she wasn't just any ordinary widow! She was Wu, the first wife of Sun Jian, Sun Wentai!"

Chen Wen was dumbfounded!

“Sun Jian has only just died, his body is barely cold! How dare Liu Miao…”

"He really dares to do that!"

Zhou Ang rubbed his hands excitedly: "Not only did he dare, he also immediately had the Lu family provide funds and gave Sun Jian a lot of gifts, and went to his door to try to finalize the marriage!"

"How could it be so absurd?"

"How absurd!"

Zhou Ang laughed heartily: "That's not all! That's not all!"

"That Liu Miao was not only lustful, but also good at showing off!"

"He actually wrote a poem and came to Sun Jian's memorial tablet, shamelessly asking Zhou Yu, the Duke of Zhou, to compose music for him!"

"Writing poetry is one thing! But does the governor know what kind of poem he wrote?"

"how?"

"A seven-character poem! Hahahaha!"

Even the usually serious Chen Wen couldn't help but chuckle at this moment. Seven-character poems have always been considered unsuitable for refined reading, mostly consisting of folk songs and ballads.

For Liu Miao to ask Zhou Yu to compose music with such a poem was truly insulting!

Zhou Ang kept slapping his thigh, his laughter rising and falling with each beat!

"The shameful things Liu Zhongshan has done are not over yet!"

"He and Chen Yu actually dared to bring up the marriage proposal in front of Sun Jian's spirit tablet, which enraged Sun Jian's son, Sun Bofu, so much so that he rushed forward with a knife and almost chopped off Liu Miao and Chen Yu's heads!"

"Governor, tell me, how many years has it been since Huainan has seen such an interesting person? Hahaha! Do you know what the scholars of Huainan call Liu Miao these days? He's called 'Lord Wilderness Kite'! It's truly hilarious!"

Chen Wen had been trembling in Yuan Shu's shadow these past few days, his mind heavy with anxiety.

But after hearing Liu Miao's amusing anecdotes today, I couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"This Liu Zhongshan is truly a womanizer."

"It's ridiculous that I used to respect him as a member of the Han imperial family."

After laughing a few times, Chen Wen suddenly understood the current situation.

"Lu Kang was a hero of his generation, but I never expected him to make such a mistake."

“I had suspected before that his marriage alliance with Liu Miao was a ploy to use Liu Miao’s status as a member of the Liu clan to do something.”

"Upon seeing him today, it seems that apart from his noble birth, Liu Miao is no different from an ordinary person? No, he is probably even more despicable than an ordinary person!"

"Under such circumstances, Lu Kang would certainly not dare to make any further moves."

"Alright, alright."

Chen Wen smiled and stroked his beard.

"Since Liu Miao is so incompetent, if we send another envoy, we will surely be able to instill fear in him and make him surrender to Lord Yuan."

"When the time comes, if we combine the forces of Jiujiang, Lujiang, and Danyang, we will be able to protect ourselves even if Yuan Shu comes!"

These days, news from the north is coming to the south more frequently.

After Yuan Shu was defeated by Cao Cao, he occupied Taishou. However, Cao Cao pursued him relentlessly and even flooded the city, forcing Yuan Shu to retreat again and reach Ningling.

Ningling is located west of Pei County and east of Qiao County. After crossing the Wo River, you can reach Xia Cai, which marks the official arrival of Huainan.

Yuan Shu still has approximately 50,000 troops under his command.

At least 20,000 troops can be mobilized from the three prefectures of Jiujiang, Lujiang, and Danyang!
With the Huai River as a natural barrier and Mount Bagong at its back, it would be enough to resist Yuan Shu!
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ang immediately volunteered: "Since that's the case, why don't I go and persuade him? I'll make sure that Lu Kang understands what it means for the tide to turn irreversibly!"

Chen Wen shook his head.

“If you go, you will surely bring soldiers and armor. I’m afraid Lu Kang will think that we are trying to coerce him.”

"Although Lu Kang is a bit pedantic, he is strong-willed. If he really thinks we are forcing him, he will definitely refuse to comply even if it means death."

"Therefore, this visit should be conducted in a mild manner, and we should not appear to be bullying others."

Chen Wen pondered carefully.

“It just so happens that I have a daughter-in-law who is from Shuxian County. I will let her go to Shuxian County under the pretext of visiting relatives, and let my son stop trying to persuade Lu Kang.”

Making a special visit would seem too deliberate.

Having a pretext is always better than scheming.

Lu Kang was known in Lujiang for his strong-willed nature and his stubbornness, which made him resistant to both gentle persuasion and force. Therefore, Chen Wen did not want to provoke him.

"However, this trip can also provoke Liu Miao and make him lose his composure."

"In this way, Lu Kang will inevitably become more and more dissatisfied with Liu Miao, and we can easily plot our great cause!"

"good!"

Zhou Ang's eyes darted around, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and he quickly offered a suggestion: "Prefect, why don't we let my wife accompany us as well?"

Chen Wen frowned, immediately realizing what Zhou Ang was planning.

However, thinking that the matter was insignificant, he nodded casually.

"In that case, let's find someone to accompany us and go together."

(End of this chapter)