I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 32 A Great Wind Rises and Clouds Fly High

Chen Wen returned to his residence and summoned his son Chen Xiu, along with the Prefect of Jiujiang and the Registrar of Household Affairs, to allocate money and grain to Liu Miao according to Yuan Yi's plan.

"Give Liu Miao 15,000 bushels of grain, 20 bolts of silk, 10 pearls, and a pair of gold cups."

"Record: The treasury has spent 20,000 bushels of grain, 50 bolts of silk, 20 pearls, and two pairs of gold cups!"

The clerk in charge of household affairs was already used to this, and chuckled: "The rest, as usual, will be allocated to the governor's office?"

"Ah."

After Chen Wen finished speaking, he realized that there seemed to be another person in the room.

He glared at the servant standing beside him and said, "We are discussing official business, why don't you step aside? Go and take twenty lashes, and half of your salary will be deducted this month!"

Immediately afterwards, Chen Wen made arrangements for Chen Xiu:

"The bandits in Chaohu are rampant now. You will take two hundred armored soldiers to escort them."

"I will obey my father's command!"

As soon as the group came out, Chen Xiu hurriedly grabbed the sleeves of the Prefect of Jiujiang and the Clerk of the Household Department.

"We are all colleagues, so I'm sure you all understand what I'm saying even if I don't say it outright!"

"In that case, how about we give Liu Miao ten thousand bushels of grain, ten bolts of silk, and five pearls?"

The Prefectural Assistant of Jiujiang and the Registrar of Household Affairs looked troubled.

"Tsk! You guys are really clueless!"

Chen Xiu pointed to himself, made up his mind, and said, "I only want 60%, and you can split the remaining 20% ​​equally!"

Seeing that the two were still hesitant, Chen Xiu clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction!
"Don't worry, both of you! Liu Miao doesn't know how much my father gave him, so he certainly won't suspect anything!"

"Moreover, Liu Miao loves beautiful women more than money. My household has just sent over dozens of singing girls recently, so let's just pack them up and send them to him! When he sees those women, he will surely be delighted and will have no time to care about anything else!"

"Anyway, we're in a chaotic world right now, and women aren't worth much. As long as we have money and food, we can have as much as we want. Have you two thought this through? You'll miss this opportunity! Don't you really want to repair a few more houses, take a few more concubines, and make a few more clothes? Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, the Prefectural Magistrate of Jiujiang and the Registrar of the Household Department felt that Chen Xiu's words did not seem to be without merit. They exchanged a smile, bowed respectfully to Chen Xiu, and

"Since you have spoken up, sir, we have no reason to refuse."

Seeing that things had succeeded, Chen Xiu was overjoyed and then made another suggestion:

"There's no need to send those two hundred armored soldiers! Sending them out would just waste dozens of bushels of grain, it's not worth it!"

"Just hire some farmers and boatmen and have them deliver the goods to Liu Miao! I really don't believe that anyone in Huainan would dare to touch the governor's property!"

The Prefectural Assistant of Jiujiang and the Registrar of Household Affairs naturally agreed.

The money that was spent was spent for the government.

But the money saved is money saved for your own family!
With natural disasters and man-made calamities occurring one after another, it's always a good idea to store up more food for your family!
So, in the end, the three of them spent 100 strings of cash and five zhu coins to hire dozens of farmers to load their goods onto a boat and transport them all the way from Xiaoyaojin Ferry to Shuxian County...

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.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

With three consecutive arrows, Liu Miao surprisingly hit the target in the center of the courtyard with all three!

However, Liu Miao was not happy; on the contrary, he seemed quite dejected, casually plucking the bowstring.

"Is Zhongshan still thinking about Chen Gongwei?"

It was still a courtyard, but the person sitting next to Liu Miao watching him shoot arrows had changed to Lu Kang.

Lu Kang had nothing to do, but he heard that Liu Miao had been in a bad mood lately, so he came to visit him.

“Zhongshan, life is unpredictable. You once said, ‘Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together!’ Now that Chen Gongwei has left, why are you so heartbroken? Are you perhaps trying to emulate Chen Zhong and Lei Yi?” Liu Miao asked, puzzled, “What’s the story between those two?”

Lu Kang explained in detail:

"It is said that during the Yongyuan era, there were two virtuous and selfless gentlemen in Yuzhang County, named Chen Zhong and Lei Yi."

"The two were close friends, and people at the time praised them, saying, 'Even glue and lacquer are said to be as strong as Lei and Chen.' They studied classics such as the *Lu Poetry* and the *Spring and Autumn Annals* together, and were both learned men. Zhang Yun, the prefect of Yuzhang, heard of Chen Chong's reputation and praised his virtue and talent, recommending him as a candidate for the civil service examination. Chen Chong wanted to give the honor to Lei Yi, and applied to the prefect more than ten times, but Zhang Yun did not approve. The following year, Lei Yi was also selected as a candidate for the civil service examination, and only then did the two go to the prefectural government to take up their posts together."

"Is Zhongshan so dejected now because he wants Chen Yu to come back before he'll continue his great cause?"

Liu Miao put down his bow and looked at Lu Kang seriously: "Does Lu Zhongyi think that I, Liu Miao, am a gentleman?"

"..."

A thousand words suddenly choked Lu Kang, making his face turn red and purple...

"Hahahahaha."

Seeing Lu Kang like this, Liu Miao finally dispelled his gloom and burst into laughter.

Lu Kang was somewhat embarrassed: "Zhongshan is making fun of me?"

"No! No!"

How could Liu Miao dare to mock his patron? So he quickly waved his hand.

"Since Lu Zhongyi thinks I, Liu Miao, am not a gentleman, why would I do something as foolish as Chen Zhong and waste a year of my life?"

"Besides, in these chaotic times, everyone is racing against time, so why would I be saddened by Gongwei's matter?"

Lu Kang was momentarily surprised!
"If that's the case, what has Zhongshan been doing these days?"

Liu Miao raised his hard bow, indicating that Lu Kang was clearly asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Then, he lowered his head.

"I have indeed been somewhat saddened during this period, but not in the way Lu Zhongyi thought, because of the departure of a gentlemanly friend like Chen Yu."

"What I'm thinking is, why can't I, Liu Miao, even keep Chen Yu by my side and have him serve me?"

"After much thought, I realized that there were no armored soldiers or prefectures for me to command."

"In that case, even if someone like Chen Yu believes in my ambitions, he probably wouldn't entrust himself to me!"

Liu Miao has indeed been seriously reflecting on his actions these past few days.

Compared to Yuan Shu, who was considered a handsome and wealthy man, Liu Miao was indeed in a worse state now.

Apart from being a "relative of the Han imperial family" and the "prefect of Jiujiang," he had nothing else to offer, making him no different from Liu Bei, who was practically a salted fish!

wrong!

At least Liu Bei could borrow some troops from his old classmate Gongsun Zan, and he also had Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two warriors capable of defeating ten thousand men, assisting him. How could Liu Miao have the face to compare with Liu Bei?
Now that Yuan Shu is approaching, if I don't take action soon, not only Chen Yu, but many more people will likely leave me!

Liu Miao sighed whenever he thought about it.

"The wind rises, the clouds fly high; my might extends across the land, I return to my homeland; where can I find brave warriors to guard the four corners of the earth?"

The autumn wind blows, stirring up the fallen leaves and making the scene even more desolate.

Looking at Liu Miao's figure, Lu Kang felt ashamed once again.

It was assumed that Liu Miao was grieving the loss of a close friend, but it turns out that what truly saddened him was his inability to subdue talented individuals and utilize them for his own purposes.

Why would a shrewd and powerful figure like Liu Miao need my comfort?

Or rather, instead of comforting Liu Miao, we should think about how to solve his current predicament.

(End of this chapter)