I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 45: Eager for Talent?

The Moon Over Qin, Flying General of Longcheng.

Although the rhymes of seven-character poems were indeed somewhat unfamiliar and strange to these generals who had been familiar with the classics since childhood, they were, after all, battle-hardened generals who had fought on the battlefield, and they could appreciate the charm of the poems more than scholars who usually only engaged in idle talk.

"Prefect Liu's poem is truly excellent."

Sun Ben stopped drinking and eating for a moment, overcome with grief and unable to eat. He was clearly thinking of Sun Jian through the poem, and also of himself through Sun Jian.

"If my uncle were still alive, he would surely consider Lord Liu a close friend, and we wouldn't have ended up in this situation, would we?"

With just one sentence, the noisy scene fell silent once more. Even the female entertainers who had been singing just moments before carefully shut their mouths, immersing themselves in the sorrow.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

Suddenly, a metallic sound was heard, startling everyone.

Looking up, I saw Liu Miao holding chopsticks in both hands, repeatedly tapping the golden goblet on the table, making a sound.

"You are all fine young men, why bother with such pretense?"

"Now that Marquis Wucheng has indeed passed away, has he completed his great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty?"

"The land of China is in ruins, the feudal lords are constantly fighting each other, and the people are displaced. When you arrive in the netherworld, are you going to tell Marquis Wucheng that this world is exactly the same as when he left?"

Liu Miao's voice was deafening, making all the generals feel ashamed.

At this moment, Zhu Zhi, who was originally from Danyang County, suddenly asked, "Does Prefect Liu have the ambition to restore the Han Dynasty and pacify the world?"

"Naturally!"

The generals' eyes were bright and alert, but even after the banquet ended, they did not hear a single word from Liu Miao about trying to recruit them.

Not only that.

After the banquet, Liu Miao unexpectedly rode off to take his leave, saying he was going back to Shuxian!

Seeing this, Sun Ben and Wu Jing were even more confused about what Liu Miao wanted to do.

Wu Jing had no choice but to accompany Liu Miao a little further when they parted ways, finally managing to stop Liu Miao and ask him for advice again.

"Lord Liu's kindness and virtue today is something we are truly unworthy of!"

Liu Miao not only treated them to a good meal today, but also left thousands of bushels of grain for Sun Ben and Wu Jing, enough to support them for half a year.

If Wu Jing and his men don't do something to show their appreciation for the grain that Liu Miao has so lavishly left here, their consciences will probably ache every day as they eat Liu Miao's food!

"What is there to be ashamed of?"

It was only then that Liu Miao remembered something.

Liu Miao took out the letter written by Wu from his bosom and handed it to Wu Jing.

"I almost forgot, your older sister asked me to bring you a letter!"

"Has Your Excellency met with my elder sister as well?"

Wu Jing was both surprised and delighted, and quickly took the bamboo slip to examine it.

The handwriting is neat and elegant; it is indeed Wu's handwriting.

“Jing, I entrusted Liu to deliver this letter to you so that you would know that your sister is doing well and that you will not worry. Liu is a trustworthy person. I took it upon myself to give him that item, and he is willing to take responsibility for the trouble for us. Please think carefully about whether you want to help him.”

Wu Jing's expression suddenly changed!
As a trusted retainer of Sun Jian, he certainly knew what "that thing" Wu was talking about!
He never expected that his sister would actually hand that item over to Liu Miao in front of him!

For a moment, Wu Jing was furious, thinking that Liu Miao had deliberately bullied Wu Shi and Sun Ce, the widow and orphan, and forced her to hand over the items!
Before Wu Jing could speak, Liu Miao took the initiative to bring up the key point.

"That thing, just as your sister said in her letter, is a disaster."

"When Marquis Wucheng died in battle, his personal guards must have been scattered. It's possible that Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and even Yuan Shao now know that the item is in the hands of that widow and her orphan."

"Only by handing over the items to me can I guarantee the safety of the mother and child."

Wu Jing's anger gradually subsided.

What Liu Miao said was indeed the truth.

Nobody knows whether the information about that thing has been leaked.

If this were to be leaked, Wu and Sun Ce would inevitably become the target of public criticism, which would bring them death!
Entrusting the items to Liu Miao now would indeed avoid many risks... However, Wu Jing still felt a pang of regret!

That's the Imperial Seal of the State!

The fact that my sister handed it over to someone else so easily seems a bit too hasty.

Moreover, on what basis does Sister judge that Liu Miao in front of her is someone she can entrust her with?
Wu Jing cupped his hands in greeting once more.

"Sister, you must have your own judgment regarding this matter."

"But I would like to ask Lord Liu, if you truly have the ambition to restore order to the world, then are you here today to recruit us? If so, why didn't you mention it during the meal?"

Liu Miao shook his head.

"I have not come here today to recruit you, so I will not mention this matter."

Not recruitment?

Wu Jing was even more puzzled, and at the same time, he came back to the question he had asked at the beginning.

"Still feel unworthy of it?"

Liu Miao raised his riding whip: "I just happened to lose a batch of goods in Chaohu recently. If you are willing, you can lead troops to help me suppress the bandits. If not, then we can go our separate ways!"

After saying this, Liu Miao rode north, leaving a disheveled Wu Jing standing in the wind, lost in thought.

When Liu Miao returned to his own camp, Lu Jun ignored him and instead craned his neck to look behind him.

"What are you looking at?"

"Lord Liu... are you alone?"

"if not?"

Lu Jun's eyes nearly bulged out: "So much money and grain were thrown out, and we didn't even make a splash?"

"Are these Sun Jian's men so ungrateful that they don't understand the principle of 'he who takes a man's money is obligated to him'?"

Liu Miao laughed and said, "It's not their fault, it's my own fault for not mentioning the recruitment."

Lu Jun was even more surprised: "Why?"

"If I give them this money and grain, they will have to serve me. Wouldn't that be saying I'm taking advantage of their kindness?"

Lu Jun grew anxious: "Isn't that exactly what Lord Liu meant?"

Liu Miao glared at Lu Jun and scolded him for speaking the truth!
"Even if you intend to recruit them, there is no need to take advantage of their kindness or beg desperately, thus demeaning yourself for nothing."

"If they are willing, they will naturally come to seek refuge!"

Lu Jun asked, "What if they're unwilling? Are all those funds and provisions just going to be thrown away for nothing?"

"of course not!"

Lu Jun was overjoyed, thinking that Liu Miao still had a backup plan!
Unexpectedly, after Liu Miao handed him the reins, he immediately let out a loud burp at Lu Jun. The overwhelming smell of alcohol made Lu Jun quickly move away, fanning his arm in disgust.

"A fortune may be spent, but it can be regained; only joy is truly precious!"

"I enjoyed drinking today, and I also rewarded the soldiers who fought for the Han Dynasty. I let them enjoy drinking too. How can that be considered throwing away money and grain for nothing?"

"Anyway, it's just a little money, it's gone if it's lost, don't you think?"

Lu Jun: "..."

Only then did he realize that Liu Miao not only didn't care about spending the Lu family's money, but he also didn't care about spending his own money!
"What a waste of all that grain!"

Lu Jun looked back at the Wankou camp with reluctance, as if he regretted not keeping some for himself and sending away all the precious grain and beautiful female entertainers!

Liu Miao was already tugging at Lu Jun's sleeve: "Let's go! Back to Shuxian! It's definitely more comfortable to sleep on the bed at home! When we get back, I'll ask your sister-in-law to stew some dog meat for you!"

"Here..."

Lu Jun replied weakly.

Now, all he can do is pray that Sun Jian's former subordinates won't actually do something like taking everything for themselves, thus making all his hard work go to waste!
(End of this chapter)