On the afternoon of the first day of the second month of the fourth year of Guanghe (which was also the beginning of March in the year 181), Old Liu brought Guan Yu, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Xu Huang, and Lu Xiang, the five generals, as well as the remaining 18 personal guards, and Zhiqing, who had never revealed her true identity, into Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty.
Luoyang was currently the largest and most prosperous city among the thirteen provinces of the Great Han Dynasty. Its population exceeded one million, and there were many envoys and merchants from various countries who came to court to do business. The streets were bustling with people, and the roads were filled with cars and carriages. This made Old Liu, who had just entered Luoyang, feel as if he had returned to his original era.
Old Liu and the others should be here in the next few days. Jian Yong sent people to guard the four gates of Luoyang every day. The 20 personal guards he brought were divided into four groups of five. They waited for Old Liu and the others from morning till night.
The few people who were guarding the east gate today were waiting inside the city gate after having lunch. When they knew that their lord had come personally, everyone opened their eyes wide and carefully paid attention to everyone who came through the city gate, afraid that they would miss their lord and the others.
When they saw the team of more than 20 people enter the city, they immediately noticed Old Liu, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Lu Xiang, and a few other men and women they didn't know. When they saw Old Liu staring blankly at the crowd in front of him, they thought that Old Liu was also shocked by the bustling scene in front of them.
The few of them hurriedly came to Old Liu's horse and saluted Old Liu and the others. Only then did Old Liu, who was immersed in his fantasy, wake up. He hurriedly returned the salute and said,"How did you know we were coming today?”
The leader hurriedly replied," It's Mr. Jian. He estimated that the lord would arrive soon, so he sent us to wait at the four gates these few days. We were lucky and finally waited for the lord to come. We'll bring the lord to his residence in the city now."”
"Alright, then you guys lead the way.”
He followed the few of them through a few streets. After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the entrance of a tall manor. The personal guards had already gone back to inform Jian Yong that the lord had arrived. Jian Yong brought the rest of the people in the manor to the door to welcome Old Liu and the others.
Seeing Jian Yong and the others, Old Liu and the others hurriedly dismounted their horses and came forward. They pulled Jian Yong's hand and said,""Xianhe, you've worked hard. It seems that the task I gave you is almost completed, right?”"Don't worry, my lord. Everything has been arranged. We're just waiting for my lord to come.”
After saying that, he quickly invited Old Liu and the others into the residence. Old Liu quickly introduced Guan Yu, Xu Huang, and Zhiqing to Jian Yong. Jian Yong did not know that Old Liu and the others had been intercepted and killed. Seeing that Old Liu had found two more generals and one of them seemed to be his close female friend, it seemed that Liu Bei's charm was great. Zhen Jiang had just married, and there was a new situation here.
The few of them quickly greeted each other and followed Old Liu into the courtyard. Jian Yong sent people to call back the personal guards of the other three sects. The lord had already arrived, so they did not have to wait any longer.
When they arrived at the living room, Old Liu and the others sat down. Hearing that they had not had lunch yet, Jian Yong quickly ordered the butler to go to the kitchen to arrange for someone to cook. It was estimated that Old Liu and the others had not eaten many good meals along the way. He asked the chef to make some good dishes...
At the same time, he also moved a few jars of Hebei Old White Gan to the dining hall so that everyone could have a good drink.
Then, Jian Yong reported to Old Liu about his situation after he came to Luoyang. This house belonged to a high-ranking official. It was said that he was one of the three high-ranking officials. Due to his old age, he retired and returned to his hometown. When he left, he wanted to sell the house. It just so happened that Old Liu wanted to buy it, so the steward of the Zhen family in Luoyang came to contact him. In the end, he bought this three-way courtyard at the price of 10,000 taels of gold. There was a garden at the back, and beside the garden was a martial arts field. Although it wasn't as big as the field in the Zhen family's courtyard, it was enough for hundreds of people to practice.
After Jian Yong arrived, he had already set up sentries in the courtyard. At the same time, he had also recruited some servants and servants to be responsible for cleaning, cooking, and other daily affairs. According to Jian Yong's arrangement, Old Liu's bedroom was in the last courtyard. In front of it was the residence of the personal guards, and in the middle was the residence of several generals and civil officials. The servants and servants lived in the wing rooms on the side. Old Liu said," Xianhe, you've done very well. It's just that I don't have my family with me now. It's too lonely to live alone. How about this? You and Yunchang can also live in the backyard. That way, I still have someone to talk to. Also, Sister Qing, for the convenience of our research, you can also live in the backyard. What do you think?"”
Of course, Zhiqing wanted to be closer to Old Liu. It was just as Old Liu had said. If she had any problems, it would be much more convenient to look for him. Moreover, she already had the preliminary formula of the anesthetic and was in a hurry to test it out, so she nodded in agreement.
Jian Yong was about to report to Old Liu about his relationship with the eunuchs and the ministers in the court. Considering that there were too many people talking, Old Liu told him not to talk about it first. Everyone went to the dining hall to drink and eat first. After dinner, the two of them would talk about these things alone.
Zhiqing saw that Old Liu seemed to have forgotten about the anesthetic, so she quickly tugged at his sleeve. Old Liu remembered what he had promised, so he asked Jian Yong to send someone to the pharmacy to buy a pound of each of the Chinese medicines needed to prepare the anesthetic. He also bought a pot to boil the medicine. This way, Zhiqing could slowly experiment.
During dinner, Old Liu told Jian Yong about how he had been intercepted by Zhang Jiao's men. He didn't expect Old Liu to encounter such a dangerous situation. Thirty-two of his personal guards had been killed. The 200 people that Old Liu had carefully trained had been reduced by one-fifth.
Seeing Old Liu gnashing his teeth, Jian Yong knew that the feud between his lord and Zhang Jiao had been formed. He also knew that there were many people in the Road of Peace now and that they were very powerful. He only hoped that his lord could think of a good way to solve this problem as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would have a very bad impact on Liu Bei's future development.
After the meal, he arranged for everyone to rest first. Then, he returned to Old Liu's room with Jian Yong. Old Liu began to listen to Jian Yong's introduction about the situation of giving gifts and building relationships.
So far, through Guo Sheng's introduction, Jian Yong had met with the eunuchs in the palace, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and Jian Shuo. He had given them a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry. They had promised that when Liu Bei arrived in Luoyang and received the emperor's reward, they would help Liu Bei buy an official position. As for how big the official position was, it depended on what official position was vacant. In addition, it depended on how much money Liu could afford.
As for the ministers in the court, they had already joined He Jin, who had just been promoted to minister and Henan Yin…
She gave him a lot of money and treasures, and even gave some crystal ornaments that Old Liu had brought to his sister, He Mi, the Empress of the Spirit Monarch.
Their master, Lu Zhi, was also in Luoyang. However, because he had offended the Spirit Emperor, he had been removed from his position as Minister of State. He did not have any official position now and had been idle at home. Jian Yong had already informed him that Liu Bei was coming to Luoyang. He asked Liu Bei to meet him first.
Jian Yong had already gotten to know the others, such as Cai Yong, Ma Riyan, Zhu Yan, etc., through Lu Zhi's introduction. Now that Old Liu was here, he could directly interact with them.
As for his uncle, Liu Yan, he had already been transferred to the imperial court to take up the post of Taichang. It could be said that he had borrowed the glory of Old Liu to leave Youzhou, which had been in constant war all year round.
After hearing that the position of provincial governor of Youzhou Province was vacant as he had expected, Old Liu felt that it was his chance. It was as he had imagined before coming here. As long as he could get the position of provincial governor of Youzhou Province and the position of Wuhuan protection lieutenant, he could unify the four tribes of Wuhuan and put them under his rule. After obtaining Youzhou, he would vigorously develop his military and economy. When the time was ripe, he could lead his army north and conquer the Xianbei, Fuyu, Louyi, Goguryeo, and the Three Koreans. That way, he would have a stable and unified rear.
Then, Old Liu asked Jian Yong about the Zhen family's properties in Luoyang. There was a jewelry store, an inn, and a hotel. There were also a few trained spies who were placed in the hotels and inns to gather information at any time. They would write the information in Pinyin and send it back through the Zhen family's caravan.
In order to better understand the situation in the imperial court and get to know more of the officials and eunuchs in the palace, Old Liu decided to stay in Luoyang for two months and return in early April. At the same time, he would use the Zhen family's existing businesses in Luoyang to think of ways to increase his influence, make friends with more high-ranking officials and nobles, and find more civil officials and generals.
If he could get the appointment of the Youzhou Provincial Governor, he could go to Jizhou Province without any reason. Zhang Jiao probably wouldn't dare to kill him like he did when he came here.
The two of them had finished their discussion. Before they could go out, Zhiqing came to their door with a large bag of Chinese medicine in her arms. It seemed that the servants had already bought those medicines for her, but they still did not know the ratio of each medicine, so they came to discuss with Old Liu.
Seeing Zhiqing enter, Jian Yong hurriedly said,"You guys go ahead. I'll go and see if those people have settled down.”Then Jian Yong went out and closed the door when he left.
Putting the medicine on the table, Zhiqing said to Old Liu,"Young Master, you have all these herbs now, but how much of each herb should I use? I haven't thought about it yet, so I want you to help me think about how much of each herb should I use.”
Old Liu recalled the formula of Mafei powder in his memory. He could still remember it, but it was calculated in grams. Now, there was no such unit, so he could only use baht, the smallest unit of weight. One jin was 500 grams, which was 384 baht. Then, one baht was about 1.3 grams.
He couldn't tell Zhiqing directly, so he…
Liu said," Sister Qing, I'll give you a rough estimate of the amount. You can experiment with it again and then adjust the amount of several herbs until you finally find the most suitable formula. Now, you'll first use eight baht of sheep-molle, two baht of Rongli flower root, twenty baht of Angelica, and one calamus. Add water and boil it for two hours. Finally, fry it into a bowl. Then, get the servant to find you a dog and feed it this anesthetic to see how it works.”
Zhiqing carefully memorized the recipe that Old Liu had told her, then hurriedly ran to the kitchen to brew the medicine. He also sent Lu Xiang and some of his personal guards to clean up the training grounds. From tomorrow onwards, everyone would be training there. The daily training subjects must not be interrupted.
As for the lack of training equipment, he would practice more bare-handed events, as well as the Zhanmadao and crossbow. He had a few extra crossbows, so he could give one to Guan Yu and Xu Huang first. Then, he would teach them how to use them so that they could master them as soon as possible.
In order to get more information and find more people to support him, Old Liu decided to go to his teacher Lu Zhi's place first. He brought a few gifts and asked Jian Yong to lead the way. The two of them rushed to Lu Zhi's residence before dinner.
Old Liu remembered that when Liu Bei was 15 years old, he studied with Lu Zhi, who was lecturing in Zhuo County, for a year. At that time, his classmates were more famous. Other than Jian Yong, who followed him, there was Gongsun Zan, who was now working in Yuyang.
Lu Zhi was upright and had always had the ambition to help the world. Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time and met a prodigal emperor like the Ling Emperor. In the first year of Guanghe, he was dissatisfied with the Ling Emperor selling his official positions and titles, so he wrote a letter to remonstrate. The eight things stated in the remonstrance were: one was to use good people, the second was to ban, the third was to control pestilence, the fourth was to guard against bandits, the fifth was to cultivate the body, the sixth was to follow Yao, the seventh was to control subordinates, and the eighth was to distribute benefits. They were all good ideas for governing the world. The Ling Emperor did not like them after seeing them. Not only did he not accept them, but he also removed Lu Zhi from his position as a minister and no longer an official. It had been three years.
For the past three years, Lu Zhi had been studying hard. He did not care about political affairs. He often studied classics, history, temperament, astronomy, poetry, calligraphy, etc. with Cai Yong, Ma Riqi, etc. Without the worries of being an official, he lived a relaxed and happy life.
A few days ago, Cai Yong told him that his disciple Liu Bei had become famous. He had helped Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou, defeat the 20,000-strong Wuhuan army and captured the Wuhuan King Qiu Liju alive. He had forced him to sign an alliance under the city and no longer come to the territory of the Han Dynasty to burn, kill, and plunder. Moreover, with Liu Yan's help, the Spirit Emperor had recognized Liu Bei as a relative of the Han Dynasty. In recognition of his contribution, he had issued an imperial edict ordering Liu Bei to come to Luoyang to receive the reward.
Also, there was a unique style of song that had recently spread from Jizhou to Luoyang. It was said that the initiator was also Liu Bei. Cai Yong and the others were very interested. They hoped that when Liu Bei came in the future, they would definitely let them see what Liu Bei was capable of.
Although he had only been a teacher and disciple of Liu Bei for a year, Lu Zhi had a very good impression of Liu Bei. Liu Bei was studious, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Lu Zhi remembered that when he was lecturing in Zhuo County, he often said to his disciples,"In the future, only Liu Bei and Bo Gui (Gongsun Zan) will be able to achieve great success.”
It seemed that he was right. This Liu Bei was indeed a pillar of the Great Han Dynasty. What was even more rare was that he had always…
He remembered that a few days ago, his teacher had sent his student, Jian Yong, to his house to give him a lot of gifts and money. He probably knew that he had been idle for many years and was short of money.
Lu Zhi was an open-minded person. Since he was a student, and Jian Yong had told him that Liu Bei was one of the four major merchants in the Great Han Dynasty, the son-in-law of the Zhen Family of Wuji, he naturally did not lack money. He accepted it calmly and told Jian Yong to wait for Liu Bei to arrive in Luoyang. He wanted to see how Liu Bei had changed after not seeing him for a few years. Secondly, since the Spirit Emperor summoned him, he would naturally reward him. He wanted to see what Liu Bei was planning first. Then, with his many years of experience in officialdom, he would be able to see what he was going to do. Give him some pointers so that he won't be like him, laborious and unrewarding.
Today, Lu Zhi was preparing to have dinner when a servant suddenly came to report,"Sir, there are two people who claim to be your students. They are requesting an audience outside the residence."”
It was probably Liu Bei and Jian Yong. Lu Zhi hurriedly said,""Quickly invite them in." Anxious to see Liu Bei, Lu Zhi also went outside the room, waiting for Liu Bei and Jian Yong to arrive.
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