Youzhou, located in the northernmost part of the eastern part of the Han Dynasty, was divided into two parts, east and west, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was pacified. Youzhou from Dai County to the west was under the jurisdiction of Fubei Duke Lu Zhi, and from Shanggu County to the east was under the jurisdiction of Yanliao Duke Gongsun Zan. My Lelang County was located at the easternmost part of Youzhou under his jurisdiction.
The teacher spoke highly of these two people. Lu Zhi was a world-famous wise man, knowledgeable, honest and upright, with students all over the world and friends scattered all over the world. He was like fire and water with Shi Changshi. Shi Changshi arranged for his relatives to be officials, but no one dared to work for Lu Zhi, because they all knew that old man Lu was terrible. He was once framed by Shi Changshi and imprisoned. Immediately, a large number of people spoke to him, and it seemed that our teacher was also involved. Zi Shengzi was involved. This person was the only one in the court who did not need to be flattered, but I heard that the old man had a strange temper. I have not seen it yet, and I don’t plan to go to him. Gongsun Zan was the student Lu Zhi accepted in Zhuo County. This person was a world-famous handsome man with a loud voice and often had wonderful ideas when debating with others. At that time, the prefect of the county where he was located loved his talent very much and married his daughter to him. However, this teacher was born in a wealthy family and did not know how to sympathize with the people. He was just a person, a hero, but could not become a hero. But the key was his deputy Liu Yu, who knew the suffering of the common people very well. Where he served as an official, the people were grateful to him and wrote him into songs and sang them everywhere. He should have been the main officer and Gongsun Zan was the deputy, but I don't know what happened. When the Yellow Turbans were suppressed, Gongsun Zan became the main general. I guess the teacher was also involved in this matter. However, it is rare that Liu Yu is broad-minded and does not care about this. Gongsun Zan is also a reasonable person. It sounds like the two of them are very harmonious. Gongsun Zan has always been known for his knowledge of the wise and the virtuous. He has many capable people under him, and Liu Yu assists him, and the people's hearts can also be used. In this way, as long as these two people work together, East Youzhou will become a force that cannot be ignored. But this is good, at least He Jin has to be distracted in Youzhou, and he doesn't have to make a fuss about our Jingzhou.
From Guangyang we entered the territory of the Han Dynasty. Now we have to head northeast to reach Lelang. Before that, I have to pass through Xiangping and visit Lord Gongsun Zan.
This trip to the north left a deep impression on me. I don't know why, but I started to be interested in these complicated relationships. I must admit that now the king He Jin, who is the most powerful, is undoubtedly the most powerful. The southern Qing, Xu, Yan, Ji, and Sili are all under his control and his trusted subordinates. Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River is also under his control, as well as the Western Regions Protectorate, which has not been in trouble for a long time. Secondly, the Shichang people, the group of eunuchs, occupy Bingzhou and Yuzhou. Because the Yellow Turban Army there is relatively weak, it was quickly suppressed by the local government and the powerful people who have many connections with them, and He Jin did not send a large army to seize their territory. The third is our Jingzhou. With Jingzhou, Yizhou, Shangyong, Hanzhong, Liangzhou, and Tianshui, we are stable. If my plan works, then the part of Yangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River, Jiaozhou, will also be slowly controlled and annexed by us. In this way, we will surpass the eunuch party in terms of strength. Finally, there is Dong Zhuo in Shuzhong, Yizhou. I must lead the army to destroy him. I still think it is my fault that Dong Zhuo entered Sichuan, but now I am thinking about how to make up for it. It is just that we in Jingzhou do not have the strength to defeat Dong Zhuo at the same time, and we have to deal with the northern wolves. This plan can only be postponed to the future. Next, there are the local vassal princes who are not He Jin's confidants, such as Gongsun, Lu, and Ding in Liangzhou. Gongsun and Lu may be regarded as a force, because Lu Zhi is Gongsun Zan's teacher. Gongsun Zan has always respected his teacher, and Lu Shi also likes this very progressive student. The last time he was conferred a title of nobility, I saw Gongsun Zan, who was also a duke, kowtow to Lu Zhi, and Lu Zhi personally supported him. However, I guess it may also be that the master and apprentice did it for He Jin and us to see, because He Jin, the teacher and other dukes and all the vassals above the earl were there. I still remember that the banquet was to let everyone unite and work together to create a new Han Dynasty. I guess no one present believed it.
He Jin obviously wants the princes who are not his trusted ones to fight each other. Moreover, he also has a large army, power over the government and the country, and his trusted ones are all powerful. Now he is afraid that the eunuch party is not to be feared, because the eunuch party leaders are all in the capital. If he wants to take action, he will be able to capture them in one fell swoop. Bingzhou and Yuzhou are also surrounded by the states he holds. Once the war starts, Huangfu and Zhu's Jizhou and Xuzhou are not necessary. Qingzhou Governor Yuan Shao, Yanzhou Governor Liu Biao, and Yangzhou Jiangbei Tao Qian all have large troops. Bingzhou and Yuzhou are under their attack, and they are still suppressed as rebels. The court has lost its backing, so it should be pacified soon. Or he will order us to suppress them, and then sit back and watch us fight with the eunuchs. His number one concern is probably us. My optimistic estimate of Jingzhou was offset by my worries. First, because Yuzhou borders Jingzhou in the northeast, he has a falling out with the eunuch party, and He Jin will probably order us to conquer, and we will lose soldiers and generals and our strength will be greatly damaged. Second, Wancheng was originally the land of Nanyang in Jingzhou, but after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it belonged to He Jin. Originally, in the first year of Zhongping, we trapped Zhang Mancheng and were not afraid of Dong Zhuo going south from Nanyang. It was because of this that they were behind the main force of He Jin in Wancheng Sili. But now, only Xinye City in the north of Xiangyang is facing Yuzhou, and Wancheng, the important town of Sili, is in He Jin's hands. From Nanyang, He Jin can easily push the army into Jingzhou, and He Jin has always been targeting us, just like when he was conferred the title of marquis, he deliberately favored us and let us sit on a state, while Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan, who were stronger than us, got the desolate land in the northwest of Liangzhou. Maybe Dong Zhuo wanted to kill us at that time. We are the third, and they do have something on us. In all places, officials who are selected as filial and honest officials and virtuous people are appointed from other places, except Jingzhou, where everyone from top to bottom is from Jingzhou. The Yellow Turban Rebellion allowed us to serve as officials in the village together. But as long as the four directions are pacified and there are no more major troubles, He Jin will definitely order the students of Jingzhou teachers to be placed under the various vassal states.
If it weren't for the teacher's efforts, and if Zisheng and Zishe were not active in the capital and had not used their strategies to help Jingzhou solve its problems, I'm afraid we would have been in danger or very weak a long time ago.
We are safe now because we, Ding Yuan, Gongsun Zan, and Lu Zhi are in different directions of He Jin, and we all have heavy troops. If he sends troops to suppress us, or weakens any of us openly, it will make others feel resentful and think carefully about whether they will be the next one to be dealt with. He Jin must know this, and he is afraid that if he does not plan well, he may rebel against others. Today, the world is not settled, and there are still bandits everywhere. He Jin is also afraid that the world will be in chaos again. One Yellow Turban has made him exhausted, and he can only keep us, the local princes. Now, He Jin must feel more troubled. He was looking forward to Dong Zhuo fighting with us, but he didn't expect that he didn't hurt us, and we also had Dong Zhuo's original land, and Xiliang had Han Sui. After this autumn, He Jin will have a headache. I found that this is the first time I have thought about the problem so deeply, and I think I am okay.
During the whole journey, I kept thinking about the problem. Every time I rested at the post station, I would ask a local official about this and that, wanting to understand the specific situation here. I often opened the map and studied it carefully. I originally planned to use it to find my way to the north, but I didn't expect that this map only included the Han Dynasty, and there were no land and water routes outside the Han Dynasty. But now it is useful, because I began to be interested in studying these things that I had no interest in before, and used it as a reference to consider all the conflicts between the princes and the transformations in various situations.
I must form an alliance with Gongsun Zan. This is the determination I made when I came to Haiyang City, Liaoxi County, Youzhou that day. Liaoxi County is very small, with only six cities. In the early years of Guanghe, there were still 14,150 households and more than 81,700 people. Due to the successive disasters and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the four directions were in turmoil and the long-term recruitment of soldiers, there are now only more than 8,000 households and less than 50,000 people. This place is not quite the same as Jingzhou. There are few young and strong men in the city. In fact, this is what I saw along the way in Youzhou. It is difficult to see men in the farmlands along the way. There are women of all ages busy in the farmlands, but occasionally you can see soldiers training in the fields. The teacher has never recruited soldiers in Jingzhou. I was a little skeptical at first. I think if I saw this scene, I would choose not to recruit soldiers. Now all the available troops in Jingzhou add up to 300,000, of which 270,000 to 280,000 are the former Yellow Turban Army. They may have been the people here before. I don’t know if they miss home, at least I miss home.
I didn't say anything to Po Liu Han Lie Ya along the way. I was always thinking about this and that. But when I paid attention to him, he was always worried. It reminded me of me when I led the army to fight against Dong Zhuo. However, at that time, there were many people around me to give me advice, and many things were done by others, while he had to handle everything by himself. I remembered what my sister said, and I smiled and moved closer to him.
"Po Liu Han Lieya, don't worry so much, just follow me, the post station will provide us with everything we need. You have to bear all the responsibilities at the age of seventeen, it's too hard for you. Don't worry, young people should smile, like big brother." I grinned ugly, and he was also amused by me.
"I'm just sad. My people... Although we regard dying in battle as an honor, the honor is too heavy for us to bear." I suddenly remembered the old man. He seemed to know my life experience, but... I haven't seen him since I went east this time, and there are only about fifty people in his tribe... It seems that he also died with honor. Damn, I just remembered some of the things he said to me at that time. The more I think about it, the more I think about it. He seems to be a friend of my father who I have never met.
"Brother, are you okay?" Po Liu Han asked me concernedly. He noticed that my expression suddenly changed.
"It's okay, it's okay." I hurriedly returned to normal. Maybe it was destined by heaven that I shouldn't know this secret now? Forget it, I will solve the secret of my life experience when I know it. I don't want to think about it for now. Suddenly, I had a strange and improper smile on my face: "Po Liu Han Lie Ya, don't you want to expand your clan?"
"Of course I do. I'm the clan leader and I have to take full responsibility for the rise and fall of our clan. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of our ancestors after my death?" He was very serious and solemn.
"Well, I'll get you and your brothers married soon and have children soon. Give birth to twenty. It seems difficult, so give birth to fifteen. In this way, your clan will expand ten times in less than fifty years." I felt relieved, but I kept looking at him: "Why are you being so shy? You blush when you encounter this kind of thing."
"No, I haven't found the one I like yet," he didn't care about getting married, "and I want to have another child." Then I kicked the boy who was still daydreaming on the horse off.
"You treat your future wife as a sow. How can she give birth to so many children?" I really didn't know whether to be angry or laugh at this guy.
"Are you okay, brother?" He climbed onto the horse to accompany Xin. He knew he seemed to have made a mistake.
"It's okay. What do you like?" I didn't want to discuss with him more in-depth questions about his abilities, because I only had a limited understanding of them. I felt uncomfortable talking about it. It might be because my sister was my teacher. How could she teach me that? If she taught me about sex, I'm afraid her face would turn as red as an apple. I mean a ripe one. However, it's possible that this kind of savage who drinks strong liquor and deer blood has twenty children. Stop it, Xie Zhi! I urged myself to let go of my dirty thoughts.
"I want to marry a Han woman." He directly expressed his idea. "The women of our tribe are too fierce. According to custom, they have to be bald before marriage, and only start to grow their hair after marriage." I trembled in my heart when I heard this, and the result was that I turned around to look at the women of his tribe. "They don't know how to be gentle. Our tribe took in a few Han people and their families, and later they intermarried with us. I have seen the beauty, dignity, etiquette, gentleness and careful care of their husbands of Han women. It seems that it was with their arrival that the women of our tribe began to grow their hair before marriage." I looked at his face carefully. He didn't mean to be more hunluàn. His Chinese was not bad, but it seemed to be different from ours. But I saw that he was very serious, so I didn't interrupt him. "I originally hoped to move another Han family to give me a Han bride. When I saw you, I even wondered if there would be your daughter or sister behind you. Especially when I saw you had three horses."
"You are very disappointed in the end," I laughed at him and patted his shoulder, "But now that you are in the Han area, if you see someone you like, come to me and I will help you propose marriage."
"Thank you, big brother." I nodded, thinking that now is the time after the Great Luàn, there are fewer young men, and there are many women of marriageable age in the world who should be suitable for my brother.
"Nan! Don't quarrel with others. Can't we just rest here first? They are on their way, so we stay in this city and make room for the guests." A beautiful and crisp voice immediately reminded me of something, but I reminded myself that it shouldn't be so fast. But I still turned and looked at the place where the beautiful voice came from. A carriage and a coachman in front of the carriage, a strong boy about fourteen or fifteen years old next to him, and several servants guarding on both sides, seemed to be a caravan of a local wealthy family. The boy seemed to have just quarreled with the shepherd driving the sheep behind the Xianbei people, and they were glaring at each other. The voice came from the carriage. Looking at the style of the carriage, I knew that she was waiting to be married. I couldn't help but feel happy that she was delivered to my door so soon. Ah, I think my words are not very good, but I can't think of a better one for the time being. Her beautiful voice immediately blocked Nan's mouth. I pulled the six Hans and suddenly found that he seemed to be mesmerized by this voice.
"Um... what are you doing, big brother?" He finally realized that I was pulling him.
"Go ahead, it's hard to see clearly from here."
We urged our horses to the place where the dispute took place. The young man was standing in front of the sedan chair, talking loudly into the interior. It seemed that this young man was not going to make it any better.
"Cousin, they walk too slowly. If they give way to us, we can go home earlier. Also, don't always call me Nan Nan, like a girl. My name is Husa Lie Nan Guo." He smiled, and I secretly praised him for being such a resounding name.
"Are you Huns?" Po Liu Han Lieya suddenly asked without waiting for the people in the sedan to speak.
"It's me, what's wrong?" The boy looked at us. He hadn't grown up yet, but he was quite strong, with a tiger head and a face that was considered a standard beautiful boy. In addition, he was dressed like a nobleman, revealing a very gentle and refined appearance. It was hard to associate him with the Huns.
"I've often heard of your surname Husa Lie in the north. It's a prominent family of the Xiongnu. Many Xiongnu heroes come from this family!" Po Liuhan smiled and praised, but I felt that he seemed to have begun to please his future cousin. Sure enough, this Xiongnu was very happy to be coaxed.
"We are walking slowly, you go first!" He waved his hand and asked his tribesmen to make way.
"Thank you." The person in the car did not come out to thank him, but Po Liuhan was still very happy. Looking at his appearance, he seemed to have regarded the person in the car as his wife.
Watching them drive by, I said to Po Liu Han, "Brother, are you stupid? You haven't seen her yet."
"It's okay, I know her smell, and the loud cousin next to him. I will find him, brother, let's live here." It was indeed a silly man who met the love of his heart, but his nose is really as good as a dog's, and he can use this to remember. The consequence of the Xianbei leader falling in love is that we will not leave and stay overnight before noon today. Well, thinking about this kind of lifelong event, it is better to be serious, so I asked everyone to follow me, but before leaving, I told him to follow, don't get lost, or follow the wrong person, it will be bad. He smiled, what fool would follow the wrong person. It made me want to kick him again.
However, he didn't follow me. I actually saw him take out his bow. He wouldn't steal the bride, would he? Kill all the others, and then, force... Don't think about it, how could my brother be such a person. I quickly saw what he was going to do.
He once again used his unique horizontal bow holding posture, put the arrow on, and just as he pulled the bow one-tenth of the way, an arrow flew out and hit the left window frame of the carriage. The arrow was shot silently, and Husalienan and the servants who were leading the way in front were completely unaware of it and slowly followed behind. I followed behind the infatuated young man. Suddenly, a slender, white hand like mutton fat stretched out from the window frame, took off the arrow, and brought it back into the window. When Po Liuhan saw it, he immediately took off the tooth ornament from his neck and wrapped it around another arrow, and then shot again. The arrow was still shot in that place, and was immediately put into the carriage by the woman again.
"Brother, let's go." Po Liu Han Lieya looked very happy, as if he was already married.
As soon as I settled down at the post station, I went straight to find the county lieutenant of Haiyang County. I estimated that we would have to stay here for a while, so I had to find a legitimate reason and let the county lieutenant do something, and this has always been my expertise.
After reading my appointment edict, the county lieutenant received me very respectfully and humbly. I also gave the excuse I made up: "I came to pay a visit to the Duke of Yan Liao, Gongsun Bogui, on behalf of the Duke of Han Chu, but I didn't expect to be harassed by the Wuhuan people from outside the border on the way to Shanggu. The flags were burned and most of the gifts were stolen. I hope you can inform the Duke of Yan Liao and ask him to make a few flags for me to avoid being impolite and indecent."
At least that's what it looked like. I was dusty, wrapped in armor, with dishevelled hair, and the people I brought with me were all strange. I was lying, and I guess he knew it, but he would definitely let me stay for a while, let me make the big flag, and then notify Gongsun Zan. I guess Gongsun Zan would send someone to pick me up. If he came to pick me up, I think I wouldn't be able to refuse to stay. It would depend on whether Lie Ya could make a quick decision.
The remaining thing is how to appease Gongsun Zan, which we will do when we arrive in Xiangping. As I expected, the county lieutenant exchanged a few official words with us and then asked me to go and rest.
When I got back to the post station, Lie Ya was not there. I guessed he had gone to look for the girl. Half an hour later, the county government sent someone to give me some money to spend as I pleased during my stay. In fact, I still had quite a bit on me. I didn't need to spend it because I stayed at the post station all the way. I also had nowhere to spend it when I got to the far north. The gold I spent from Jingzhou was only used once in Luoyang. In the end, Cao Cao settled the bill. I gave all the gift money to the people of Po Liu Han and asked them to buy something as they pleased.
This bastard came back just when I was about to make up my mind to beat him up as soon as I saw him. However, after he came back, he only said hello to me first, and then immediately went to give instructions to his tribesmen. He came to me last, but when he saw me, he immediately pulled me away happily.
Unexpectedly, the reason why this guy pulled me out was to buy him cloth to make clothes! The young man found a cloth shop on the street and asked me how this one was and how that one was. I had no idea, I was never good at this kind of thing, and I just wanted to run away. However, I had to pay the bill in the end, so I had to agree. But of course he had to carry the cloth. We found a tailor, measured our bodies, and decided on the style. I also told the man: "Double the price, as soon as possible."
This guy wanted to pretend to be a gentleman among us Han people to propose marriage. I laughed in my heart, hoping that he would not make a fool of himself. But I suddenly remembered that according to my customs, such a big marriage needs the permission of parents and the words of matchmakers. Lieya has no parents, so there is only me, the current big brother, and no matchmaker... It's over, isn't the happiness of my brother in my hands? I originally wanted to take a rest and wait for the wedding wine, but now it becomes that I have to take care of all the things behind for him, and finally let him enter the bridal chamber happily. Then I have to swallow my anger and watch them entangled, and I am still a bachelor. Suddenly I felt so miserable.
However, I am a very open-minded person. Is it for the sake of brothers? Of course, it doesn't matter. Okay, let me do it... I was about to ask him to go back, but he dragged me to an inn again and asked me to book him a room with a window facing south and facing the street. I asked him if he didn't live in the inn? What about your other people? He had arranged everything. In the room, he eagerly opened the window and pointed to the south, "That's her house!" Although there was a big tree on the side outside the window, I still saw the big house on the other side of the road. It seemed to be the home of a wealthy businessman, not an official family. Then that building, I pointed to it, that should be the sister's room. He was shocked, how did you know? He is your relative? I was also shocked, how did you know? I knew that it was only because that was the only room in the courtyard that was designed as a boudoir for a girl waiting to be married. He climbed in and looked around. He even knew which window was closest to the sister's bed, and what the girl looked like. He also wanted to introduce me to the humble, polite, gentle and kind sister he saw. Fortunately, I didn't bring the Tianlang, otherwise I would be chasing him around the street with the Tianlang. Me, you stay here first, I'm going to wash myself, actually to calm myself down, so that I won't want to beat this rude and unmannered barbarian to death when I see him. I also have to tidy myself up a little, go back to the post station, and find my own clothes. Damn, there is no official uniform. Yes, I knew it a long time ago, no matter how many times I searched, it's still the same. I forgot to make one for myself just now. I don't want to make another trip, so I'll wear this armor. This armor actually exudes a faint fragrance. Maybe I'm too smelly. A slightly decent smell is considered fragrant. I was still wiping myself in the big barrel to get a piece of armor. I had to wear it. It was still a formal and good piece of clothing. I washed the Tianlang again, and it was also covered with dust. I think I like these two treasures of mine. Because they actually finished their baths before me, and in the end I could only clean myself up a little bit in the water after they finished their baths. I was a little worried lying in the house, because this seemed to be the first time that Po Liuhan stayed alone in the territory of the Han Dynasty. However, I was not worried about his own safety, but the safety of the inn and the family of Na Jie. After thinking about it, I decided to go and take a look. I was dressed neatly and muttered, "This guy is always worrying. Let him find a wife." But I admit that I was smiling in my heart.
The cool breeze in the city at dusk told me that autumn had arrived. I carried my precious Tianlang and an iron bow, and headed towards the inn with vigor. However, just as I could see the tree, I saw a lightning-like arrow flying past the tree and flashing into the courtyard. I knew that this guy, Po Liu Han Lie Ya, was using his unique shooting skills to express his love for his love.