I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 83 Aoki Pavilion
In ancient times, all government offices had a chief clerk, from the Three Dukes and the Censorate down to the Nine Ministers and even the prefectures and counties.

The chief clerk frequently participated in confidential matters, oversaw all affairs of the prefecture, and wielded considerable power, thus being regarded as an inner official.

Liu Miao treated him as a mere clerk, an official within the palace, which, although seemingly far inferior in status to a prefect or general, was in fact a sign of great responsibility!
As the chief clerk and an inner official, if Liu Miao was absent when an important matter occurred, the one who could make decisions on Liu Miao's behalf was not Lu Kang or Zhou Yu, nor Chen Yu or Zhou Tai, but Lu Su, who was appointed by Liu Miao as the chief clerk!
Upon their first meeting, Lu Su was entrusted with such an important task, and a moment of confusion flashed in his eyes.

Fortunately, this moment of confusion was fleeting, and Lu Su quickly regained his resolve—

"I will surely assist my lord in achieving hegemony! I will emulate the actions of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu!"

"it is good!"

Liu Miao personally poured Lu Su a pot of fine wine: "The treasury of Lujiang has been mostly emptied. What we have now is just some leftover wine and scraps, which are not enough to entertain you. Please don't be offended, Zijing! When we achieve our goal of hegemony, we will celebrate together!"

Lu Su was deeply moved and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp: "Lu Su will certainly live up to my lord's expectations!"

Liu Miao smiled knowingly again.

In the future, if there are any questions about domestic affairs, consult Lu Su; if there are any questions about foreign affairs, consult Zhou Yu. Furthermore, young talents like Lü Meng and Lu Yi are growing up rapidly. It seems that things are going very well right now!

Lu Su, who was standing to the side, only realized after finishing his drink that Liu Miao seemed to have said something significant. He shook his head to clear his mind before asking, "My lord just said that the Lujiang treasury is empty? Does that mean that even the ships have already sailed away?"

"Indeed, didn't Zijing already guess that?"

Since they were all on the same side, and Lu Su already knew a lot, Liu Miao naturally had no need to hide anything from Lu Su on this matter.

"The Lujiang treasury and its people have all been transported to Jiangdong. Now all the ships have been diverted to Ruxukou to transport the people there... Here in Shuxian, there is only one ship still waiting for us at the ferry! If Zijing wishes, you may come with us to Jiangdong now?"

Liu Miao suddenly noticed that Lu Su was avoiding eye contact, so he immediately joked, "Could it be that Zijing is reluctant to leave his family's wealth and is unwilling to go to Jiangdong with me?"

Lu Su looked troubled: "If it's just some money or valuables, why would I be reluctant to part with them?"

"But there are indeed some things I cannot bear to part with, and I'm afraid I'll need your help, my lord."

"What's the matter?"

Lu Su then said, "Didn't you notice, my lord, that I came by carriage by road, rather than by boat by water?"

Huainan is crisscrossed by waterways, and traveling by boat is always the most convenient way to get around... Traveling by horse-drawn carriage by land is not only slower than traveling by boat, but many sections of the route are also blocked by rivers, requiring you to find bridges to cross, which often causes delays.

Liu Miao belatedly realized, "So that's how it is... So, Zijing's lateness wasn't a deliberate test of me?"

"My lord is joking. Even if I were a madman, I would not dare to test your life. It was only because I had no choice."

Lu Su was increasingly moved, knowing how much Liu Miao valued him, but on the other hand, he also knew that things were probably really in trouble!

"My lord, the thing I couldn't bear to part with is actually related to the governor."

Chen Yu, who had been ostensibly drinking alone in the corner but had actually been eavesdropping the whole time, suddenly looked up, clearly unaware of what was going on with him inside.

"Actually, I had already sold my land to help the refugees, but after hearing that the governor had been defeated, I finally felt that staying in Huainan was not a solution."

“As long as Yuan Shu comes to Huainan and levies exorbitant taxes, even if I am as rich as a country, I will still be unable to make ends meet and will not be able to support those people.”

"I just happened to notice that my lord was sending refugees to Jiangdong, so I had my retainers and servants escort them to Shuxian... And because I was worried about being discovered by Yuan Shu, I did not take them by water, but by land along a small path, in order to avoid the sight of Yuan's army!"

There are still some refugees?

Liu Miao frowned at this moment: "How many people?"

"Not many, just over ten thousand people!"

Ten thousand people is indeed not a large number.

Compared to the tens of thousands of households that Liu Miao had transported to Jiangdong in recent days, more than ten thousand people were nothing at all.

But the biggest problem right now is that we don't have any boats!
The ships are all anchored at Ruxukou to transport the people there. Only one ship remains in Shuxian. How can we pack up and take all 10,000 people away?
Liu Miao pondered for a moment: "In that case, we have no choice but to bring a few more ships from Ruxu Port!"

"Zhongshan! No!!"

Chen Yu, who had been indifferent to the matter, finally jumped up from the corner!
Chen Yu looked anxious: "It has been quite some time since Yuan Shu took control of Huainan. He must have already discovered that a large number of Huainan people have been transported to Jiangdong. He might send a large army to Shuxian at any time. How can you still linger here?"

After such a long period of time, even if Yuan Shu were to indulge in pleasure, he should have noticed something was wrong by now.

Even if Yuan Shu couldn't discover it, his officials sent to various places should have been able to detect the clues from the household registration records.

Liu Miao had already spent a considerable amount of time waiting for Lu Su, so how could he possibly wait any longer to mobilize the ships?
Chen Yu was worried about Liu Miao, but Liu Miao nonchalantly hiccuped: "Does Gongwei expect me to abandon those ten thousand people in Huainan and leave them to their fate?"

Chen Yu stamped his foot: "I didn't ask you to disregard the people. I just want to say that your safety is more important than those ten thousand people! Do you understand?"

amount……

The sudden firmness left Liu Miao somewhat bewildered, wondering how Chen Yu, a gentleman with a strong sense of moral purity, could utter such words.

Lu Su, standing to the side, seemed to agree with Chen Yu's words, nodding repeatedly: "The world cannot be without a lord. My lord should indeed not continue to take risks here... Why don't you leave first, my lord, and leave me here to wait for the ships, and go to Jiangdong with the people?"

"fart!"

Liu Miao shook his head: "What do you mean the world cannot be without a lord? Well, I can't be without Zijing!"

"Don't worry! Yuan Shu hasn't made any moves yet, so why are you all scaring yourselves? It's settled then! I'll wait a few more days, don't rush!"

Liu Miao immediately made two preparations: on the one hand, he ordered Zhou Tai to quickly go to Ruxukou to bring some ships; on the other hand, he ordered Chen Wu to go north to observe Yuan Shu's movements.

And so, another three days passed.

During this time, Chen Yu repeatedly came to persuade Liu Miao to leave as soon as possible!

That day, Chen Yu dragged Liu Miao directly to the Shuxian Wharf. Pointing to the Longshu River flowing beneath his feet, he said, "Are you coming or not? If you're not coming, I'll jump into the river today to prove my loyalty with my death!"

"No, you think you're Qu Yuan just because you can recite a couple of lines from 'Li Sao'?"

Liu Miao knew Chen Yu couldn't swim, yet he kept moving closer to the water's edge. Liu Miao raised his hands in pleading, "I'm scared! Come back first! I'll leave!"

Chen Yu sniffed: "Really?"

"When have I, Liu Miao, ever lied to you?"

Chen Yu was skeptical, but as soon as he reached Liu Miao's side, Liu Miao knocked him down: "Zijing! Bring me a thick rope!"

Chen Yu was pinned to the ground and yelled, "Liu Zhongshan! You broke your promise!"

"Tch! It's your own fault for not being careful! Don't you remember that I was lying to you when we first met?"

Liu Miao's binding technique was not very professional. It took him a long time to tie Chen Yu up like a maggot. Then he sat on Chen Yu, supported himself with his hands behind him, closed his eyes and felt the breeze blowing by the river.

Although winter has fully arrived, Huainan is different from the Central Plains. There is no biting cold, but the humidity is more abundant than usual. Even the vegetation along the river is still lush and green, without any signs of desolation.

Chen Yu, who was still cursing under Liu Miao, eventually got tired of it and stopped cursing. Instead, he and Liu Miao looked at the scenery of Lujiang together. "I don't know when I'll be able to come back after this trip."

Liu Miao suddenly became sentimental and patted Chen Yu, who was sitting on his bottom: "Gongwei, do you think you'll miss your hometown after you go to Jiangdong?"

Seeing that Chen Yu did not move, Liu Miao did not let him go and called out again, "Gongwei?"

"Of course I'll miss it!"

Chen Yu rested his head on the ground, and could smell the earth with every breath.

However, after taking a few more sniffs, Chen Yu suddenly realized, "I'm from Xiapi! You're from Langya! This isn't our hometown either! What are you worrying about?"

"oh oh!"

Yes!

Liu Miao also realized that it was indeed not a big deal for two Xuzhou people who were about to go to Jiangdong to miss their hometown in Huainan!

Liu Miao then gave a dry laugh.

After staying there for several months, I actually started to consider Huainan my hometown.

Whether it was the scenery or the people here, Liu Miao was lost in thought.

Especially at this ferry crossing, every time I come here, I think of the day I had a great time with the locals and boatmen, and the memory seems as fresh and vivid as if it were yesterday.

Liu Miao sat there for an unknown amount of time when he suddenly felt a rumbling sound beneath him, which startled him so much that he immediately jumped up.

Chen Yu was writhing like a maggot, shouting, "Boat! Zhongshan! It's a boat!"

Boat!
Liu Miao looked over and indeed saw more than a dozen ships approaching from the east!
As the ship drew near, Zhou Tai, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes, was indeed waving to the shore: "My lord! The ship is here!"

The first to arrive was not Chen Wu, who was gathering intelligence in the north, but Zhou Tai, who was returning from the east!

"Hahahahaha!"

Chen Yu, who was on the ground, burst into laughter first, but then he started coughing repeatedly because of a stitch: "Cough cough, Zhongshan! Quickly untie me!"

Zhou Tai had already disembarked from the ship. He looked at Chen Yu, who was wrapped in hemp ropes, with suspicion and then reported to Liu Miao: "My lord! We only have this many ships! Now that Yuan Shu has taken control of Huainan, he has been sending soldiers to forcibly levy taxes and extort money. More and more people are heading to Ruxukou, tens of thousands more than before. We simply cannot mobilize the ships. We only have these dozen or so!"

Bad news: There are only a dozen or so ships.

Good news: These ships are quite large, and the interiors have been converted into double decks, allowing them to carry more people.

Even so, it will probably take several trips to take the 10,000 people here away.

Chen Yu, who was struggling to remove the hemp rope and mud from his body, heard this and, forgetting what he was doing, shoved Liu Miao, saying, "Zhongshan, you go first! Don't be willful this time! Otherwise, I will really have to die to remonstrate with you!"

This time, Chen Yu was smarter and ran straight to the riverbank, not giving Liu Miao a chance to tie him up!

Lu Su also advised, "Indeed! A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall! Our lord has done enough; it is time to leave Huainan!"

Liu Miao then surveyed the dozen or so ships, before turning his gaze back to the tavern beside the Longshu River...

Are there few boats?

Liu Miao ignored the two men's advice and instead asked the soldiers, "Among you, who knows how to do carpentry?"

Immediately, an old soldier stepped forward, revealing his yellowed teeth, and reported to Liu Miao, "I know a little."

"And do you know what a viper is?"

A viper?

The veteran shook his head, but Zhou Tai helped explain: "It's a kind of dragon with a big belly! Sometimes the thing carved on ships is like that. I heard it's a mythical beast that can ward off water."

Seeing that Zhou Tai knew what a pufferfish was, Liu Miao entrusted this glorious and arduous task to the two of them.

"Quickly carve a green wooden viper and throw it into the Longshu Water! Quickly!"

Zhou Tai and the old soldier looked at each other, but still obeyed the order to do carpentry.

"My Lord, what does this mean?"

Seeing that Liu Miao was not leaving quickly but instead wanted Zhou Tai to do some carpentry, Lu Su became somewhat impatient.

"My lord, Yuan Shu may send troops south at any time. We absolutely cannot delay any longer!"

"No problem, just wait two more days!"

Liu Miao glanced northward.

There was a large camp there, which was where the ten thousand people temporarily rested.

"It'll only take two days, don't rush."

They said not to rush, but on the very next night, the person everyone least wanted to see arrived in Shuxian.

Chen Wu.

The reason they didn't want to see him wasn't because they disliked Chen Wu, such a kind and charitable good boy, but because the news he brought was enough to make everyone jump up and down!

"My lord! Yuan Shu's general Ji Ling is leading his army south by water and has now arrived in Hefei!"

Ji Ling is here!

Now, Lu Su and Chen Yu gave Liu Miao no time. Each of them grabbed one of Liu Miao's arms and were about to carry him onto the boat!
"My lord! This is no time for recklessness!"

Lu Su pulled Liu Miao along, saying, "Ji Ling didn't go to Hefei for no reason; things must have been exposed! Please, my lord, leave immediately!"

The group pushed and pulled Liu Miao from his bed to the dock, but just as they were about to board the ship, they discovered a horrifying scene!
Suddenly, thousands of lights lit up on the dark and silent Longshu River, like a divine dragon slowly approaching from the distant horizon, its flames billowing out.

"How can there be so many ships? Could it be that Ji Ling has already arrived?"

Chen Yu stared blankly at the water dragon, muttering to himself, "This shouldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening! Where did all these boats come from in Jiujiang these days?"

Zhou Tai and Chen Wu remained silent, but immediately drew their blades and stood protectively in front of Liu Miao!

Lu Su shouted, "Stop the torches on all the other ships! Leave only one ship for our lord to board and break through the encirclement!"

The crowd looked grave, as if they were about to face a life-or-death battle!
On the contrary, Liu Miao, who was being protected in the middle, laughed heartily when he saw the scenery on the river. He pushed Zhou Tai and Chen Wu aside, walked ahead alone, and shouted: "Boatman, it's been a long time! I've missed you so much!"

(End of this chapter)