NOVPUBLi Youu knew his own affairs best; he could behave recklessly on Liu Bei’s side without consequences, but doing so in Liu Xie’s presence was certainly courting death. Helpless as it was, compared to others, Li Youu was definitely on the blacklist when it came to Liu Xie. Just the matter of killing the Young Emperor meant Li Youu could forget about clearing his name.
"Then I must thank Lord Xuande," Li Youu said with a twinkle in his eye, adding that it was uncertain whether Liu Xie would be able to appear at the time. By then, even if Liu Bei didn’t want to become emperor, he might not be able to resist the pressure of his followers crowding around him.
"If it weren’t for Wen Ru’s capabilities, I, Liu Xuande, would not dare to recommend him," Liu Bei laughed heartily before his expression turned somewhat bitter, "There are many great sages living in seclusion, yet the capable ones in court are often demoted and rejected, leaving only the mediocre to warm their seats in vain. Alas, there is nothing a minister can do about it."
"To smooth out the world and recreate heaven and earth, isn’t Lord Xuande striving towards this goal? If we do what we must, that is enough," Li Youu said calmly. Although their aspirations were not the same, Liu Bei’s initial promises encompassed the lifelong pursuits of Li Youu.
"The Lu family will also arrive soon. I’ve already received an urgent letter from Xiuruo. After that, we only have one weakness left," Liu Bei sighed, "Cavalry is too important in warfare in the North, relying solely on the horse trades by Su Shuang and others is far from sufficient for our needs."
"That’s why our strategy is to secure Jizhou in one battle because once Jizhou is in hand, we will have the assurance to establish our capital," Li Youu said serenely and then couldn’t help but recall the contingency plan he had arranged earlier—with the forged Heavenly Cauldron for sacrificing to Imperial Heaven and the Earth Cauldron for sacrificing to Houtu, these items were prepared as pretexts for future warfare.
Li Youu’s thoughts flew in all directions. He had once deliberately researched many historical records and finally buried the two forged cauldrons in a suspicious area. Once the opportunity for battle arrived, those two cauldrons would suffice as a spark for war; symbols of the supreme authority of the Yellow Emperor, possessing them would be even more legitimate than owning the Jade Seal!
While lost in thought, Li Youu chatted idly with Liu Bei for a while. After Lady Zhang appeared, Li Youu left expressionlessly.
Lady Zhang squinted her eyes as she watched Li Youu’s retreating back. Only after Li Youu turned out of the main gate did Lady Zhang withdraw her gaze.
"What’s wrong, wife? Do you find something amiss, or did you discover some business opportunity? Tell me about it, and I can offer you my opinion," Liu Bei casually seated in an armchair, smiling at Lady Zhang. He had been with Lady Zhang for a long time, and many things had relaxed significantly between them; they were no longer as constrained as before.
"There are indeed many business opportunities, but the Zhen family is already somewhat saturated. As long as we maintain our current business, the Zhen family will be the number one merchant. Anything else is just icing on the cake," Lady Zhang said with a smile, covering her mouth with her fan.
"Oh? Did the wife find something good then?" Liu Bei spoke calmly, "Only the Zhen family could have such confidence. But it is good for you to consolidate your power; the tree that stands taller catches more wind."
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Xuande," Lady Zhang replied unruffled. The Zhen family had gotten used to being the target of envy, having been the leading clan for over a hundred years and now grasping most of Jizhou’s commerce. Which family wouldn’t want to take a bite? Unfortunately, the Jizhou aristocratic families and the Yuan family were at fault and could only let the Zhen family have their free rein within reasonable limits, which led to the uncontrollable expansion of the Zhen family in Jizhou.
Liu Bei, noting the expression on Lady Zhang’s face, didn’t say much more. The Zhen family could not expand further, which was the advice given by Lub Su since the Zhen family’s growth was too rapid. The reason for Jizhou’s increasing prosperity was due to the Zhen family taking over half of the shops within Jizhou, and now they were using the low-cost supplies from within the merchants’ association to enriched Jizhou, boosting the overall commercial level of Jizhou by twenty percent!
This was also why Yuan Shao turned a blind eye to the Zhen family’s actions; they were just too capable. Jizhou was already the richest and most prosperous province in the country, and yet under the full operation of the Zhen family’s storefronts, tax revenue rose by nearly ten percent. Hence, Yuan Shao’s attitude towards the Zhen family was quite inscrutable.
Zhang Clan was quite speechless about the Zhen Family’s current expansion, although it could be said that under her wise leadership, the Zhen Family’s wealth had begun to approach ten billion coins. Of course, this was in fixed assets; if it were in actual cash, even the Five Great Merchants couldn’t produce that much together, considering that the Han Dynasty only minted several billion coins each year...
Zhang Clan was one of the few "outsiders" who knew about Chen Xi’s plan and naturally wanted to give Liu Bei a prosperous Jizhou. Moreover, the better she managed Jizhou now, the greater the benefits would be when it was time to act.
Just as Xuu You had discovered during a tax audit that Jizhou’s tax revenue had increased by ten percent, he instantly became much more enthusiastic about the Zhen Family. After reporting to Yuan Shao, many of the implicit restrictions were immediately lifted, and any actions the Zhen Family took to suppress other aristocratic families in Jizhou were completely ignored. It was because of this that Zhang Clan was able to obtain some intelligence about Yuan Shao’s side.
"By the way, Xuande, I have a piece of private information for you, and I hope you’ll pay attention to it," said Zhang Clan as she closed her silk fan and spoke to Liu Bei.
"Go ahead, I’m listening," Liu Bei said with a smile.
"There is something wrong with Li Wenru. The Beautiful Lady I sent to Xuu Ziyuan has sent me a message saying that she found out Wenru had been in contact with Yuan Benchu after getting Ziyuan drunk," Zhang Clan stated gravely.
"You managed to find this out..." Liu Bei said with a wry smile, "Yuan Benchu is being too careless."
"Eh, you knew about this, yet you still let Li Wenru get close to you, and he has been in charge of handling important documents. Aren’t you worried about mishaps?" Zhang Clan asked in surprise and confusion.
"It’s all part of a strategy. Wenru used me as bait to lure Ju Gongyu and his associates. It took a lot of effort to set up, and that’s also why Yuan Benchu has sent me quite a few Beautiful Ladies and treasures," Liu Bei explained with a wave of his hand, "I’m not that relaxed on my end."
"Oh, I see. I rushed over from Jizhou just to tell you this. By the way, is my daughter still with Great Scholar Cai?" Zhang Clan nodded, feeling much more at ease.
"Cai Zhaoji is giving lessons to the Second Miss Cai. Mi Zhen and Mi’er are both there attending classes. She has no bias, which is a pity. If Zhaoji were a man, she would probably be a prodigy of our time," Liu Bei remarked with a sigh.
"Who knows how much they will learn, but Mi’er is very smart. She probably won’t be as good as Great Scholar Cai, but I reckon she’ll learn more than that girl from the Mi Family," Zhang Clan mused, holding considerable respect for Cai Yan, whom she had only met once.
"That girl from the Mi Family is too willful, always creating trouble everywhere. I’ve thought about finding her a match, so she’d marry off quickly and settle down, but Zizhong refuses to allow it. She’s his one and only beloved sister; speaks volumes. Zichuan should also be returning soon, right?" Liu Bei recalled Mi Zhen and shook his head, feeling that she hadn’t grown up at all.
"How would I know about these things," said Zhang Clan, shaking her head, "I’ve just rushed back from Jizhou."
"When I return, I plan to greet him. Every time Zichuan comes back, it has always been me who receives him," Liu Bei said with a laugh, maintaining the same mentality as before. Even though his status and ambitions were changing, his heart remained the same. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
