Old Liu and Jian Yong entered the Lu Residence and immediately saw the person standing in the courtyard. He was more than 1.80 meters tall and stood upright. He should be the great scholar of the generation mentioned in the history books, Liu Bei's teacher, Lu Zhi.
The two of them hurriedly went forward and knelt down." Greetings, Master!”
"Xuande, Xianhe, it's you. Get up quickly. Xuande, I've been waiting for you for a few days. Why are you only here today? It's cold outside.”
He pulled the two of them into the living room. Now, there was a chair invented by Old Liu in Lu Zhi's house. After everyone sat down, Lu Zhi asked,"Xuande, I heard from Xianhe that you have come to Luoyang to meet the Emperor and have made great contributions. Is this true?”
"Yes, it's all because of the teacher's good guidance that the students can have today.”
As the saying goes, a thousand clothes will wear ten thousand clothes, but flattery will not wear. Old Liu's words made Lu Zhi happy. He was indeed a good student he had taught. He knew how to repay kindness and immediately pushed the credit to him. It seemed that this Liu Bei was really a promising student.
"Xuande is too polite. What my teacher taught you is only the way to be a person. As for how to practice it, that is your own business. I said that Xuande would become a great person. It has only been a few years, and it has come true today. Xuande really did not let down my hard work.”
After some pleasantries, Old Liu took out the gift he had brought for his teacher. After thanking Old Liu again and again, Lu Zhi ordered his family to put away the gift.
"Xuande, Xianhe, you haven't eaten yet, right? Just eat at my house. Although it's just plain food, I'll definitely let you have your fill, as long as you don't find me shabby.”
"Teacher, what are you talking about? Old Liu hurriedly said. The two of us are more than happy to have a meal with you. We can use this opportunity to tell you about our experiences in the past few years after leaving you.”
"Alright, let's go to the dining hall now.”
He led the two of them to the dining hall. The dishes had already been laid out. Lu Zhi's family was also seated in the dining hall, waiting for Lu Zhi.
Looking at the food on the table, it was indeed far worse than the food that Old Liu and the others had in Wuji. It was mainly radish and cabbage, and there was very little meat. The main food was rice and flatbread, and there was also a large basin of vegetable soup.
Lu Zhi introduced his wife, Madam Wen, to Old Liu and Jian Yong. The two of them quickly went forward to salute and pay their respects to Master's wife.
He then introduced his two sons, Lu Min and Lu Meng, to the two of them. They were of similar age, and the two of them had long heard of Liu Bei's deeds of expelling the Wuhuan army. However, they did not expect him to be their father's student.
The two of them had been taught by their father since they were young. Under the influence of their ears and eyes, they had also learned a lot. However, they had never had the opportunity to be an official. Now that they saw that Liu Bei was about the same age as their brothers and had actually achieved such meritorious service, they naturally felt a sense of closeness. They hurriedly went forward to greet each other and exchanged pleasantries.
Lu Zhi ordered the servants to add a few more dishes. Old Liu quickly said,"No need, this is good enough."
However, Lu Zhi thought that since he had received so much money from Jian Yong, he couldn't be too shabby. He insisted that the servants add more dishes, so Old Liu could only give up and hurriedly said,"Thank you, teacher."
During the meal, Old Liu told Lu Zhi about his business trip overseas and how he had bought many rare items. Although Lu Zhi claimed to be proficient in astronomy and geography, he did not listen to Old Liu at all…
He had said it.
He also heard that after Old Liu returned to the Central Plains, he met Tong Yuan, a martial arts master, by chance. Tong Yuan taught him a set of Overlord Spear Arts, which was how he saved Zhen Jiang and married into the Zhen family after leaving the mountain.
In order to get married, he returned to Zhuo County to visit his parents 'graves. Coincidentally, the Wuhuan army came here to rob. Old Liu designed to capture the thief and capture the king. With fewer people, he forced the Wuhuan army to retreat.
The governor, Liu Yan, had verified Liu Bei's identity as a relative of the Emperor through the genealogy. At the same time, he reported his achievements to the Imperial Court. The Ling Emperor was overjoyed and ordered Liu Bei to come to Luoyang to receive the reward.
In the end, everyone ate and listened while Old Liu only focused on talking. When everyone finished eating, he was almost done talking. He hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of flatbread and drank a bowl of soup. Old Liu was finally full.
Who would have thought that Liu Bei would have such a fortuitous encounter? It seemed that this child was truly blessed. Lu Zhi wanted to hear what he had to say, but he had actually formed a family army of 200 people. It seemed that his ambition was not small. After dinner, he must have a good talk with him and see what his next step was.
Seeing Lu Zhi leading Old Liu and Jian Yong to the living room, his two sons, Lu Min and Lu Meng, also wanted to follow him. They wanted to hear what other interesting experiences Old Liu had.
Lu Zhi knew that his two sons were actually quite talented. It was just that they had never had a suitable opportunity, so they were still raised at home. If Liu Bei could become an official in the future, he could let the two of them follow him. It would be a good thing to experience it first, so he let the two of them come along.
After sitting down in the living room, Lu Zhi asked Old Liu some more details, such as how many soldiers he had now? How many guards were there now? Other than Jian Yong who followed him, did he have any other strategists? Knowing that Lu Zhi would not harm him, Old Liu answered them truthfully.
Liu Bei actually had seven or eight generals, two strategists, and two hundred family soldiers under him. Lu Zhi thought to himself that he had guessed correctly. Liu Bei's ambition was beyond his imagination. It seemed that his few years of overseas business had a great impact on him. This could be seen from his words.
Seeing that his teacher was deep in thought, Old Liu wanted to change the topic, so he asked,"Isn't Teacher the Minister of State in the court? Why did you suddenly quit? Did you resign yourself?”
"Sigh! It's hard to explain in a few words. When I was a minister, I was dissatisfied with the government, especially when the Spirit Emperor publicly sold official positions. Wasn't that going to cause the Great Han Dynasty to fall? So I wrote a letter to remonstrate. The eight things stated in the book were all right. However, I didn't expect the Spirit Emperor to be furious after reading it. He dismissed me from my official position and chased me out of the palace, saying that he would never appoint me.”
It seemed that the records in the history books were indeed correct. Old Liu hurriedly said,"Teacher is currently idle at home. Do you have any plans?”
" What else can I do? I'll just take it one day at a time. I just can't bear to see the Great Han Dynasty being filled with corrupt officials and exorbitant taxes. The people are in dire straits, and the officials are forcing the people to rebel. The surrounding foreign tribes are preparing their troops and eyeing them covetously. If this continues, the Great Han Dynasty will definitely be destroyed. Xuande, my heart aches.”
"Teacher, I know that you are unwilling, but you should know that there is another major matter. If the Imperial Court does not interfere, it will definitely lead to a disaster!”
"Is there anything else? Xuande…
Tell me quickly."
"It's about the Road of Peace. Have you heard of it, Master?”
"I heard about it a few years ago, but according to the local report, they were only spreading morality and teaching people to do good deeds. How could they cause a disaster? Xuande had taken this matter too seriously.”
" Master, you may not know that the Path of Peace now has hundreds of thousands of disciples in Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu Provinces under the leadership of the three brothers Zhang Jiao. They divide these disciples into thirty-six groups according to their regions, each of which has a chief. They buy weapons privately and train their disciples. Master, think about it. What is their purpose?”
"Is there such a thing? Lu Zhi was shocked and stood up from his chair. Why didn't the local government report to the court? If that was the case, then the Road of Peace really had bad intentions, just as Liu Bei had said.”
"Teacher, I dare to say that if the Path of Peace is allowed to develop, chaos will definitely break out in the Great Han Dynasty within four years. Teacher, you can naturally deduce the reason.”
" Also, I met Brother Zhang Jiao once. At that time, I used words to test him. Later, Zhang Jiao sent his brother Zhang Bao and his men to hunt me down, but they were killed by me and my generals. Therefore, I concluded that Zhang Jiao was afraid that I would find out about his plot, so he wanted to get rid of me. This time, I came to Luoyang under the imperial edict and was intercepted by the Road of Peace on the way. Teacher, do you know how many people they sent?”
"Although it's not a peaceful and prosperous world now, it's still the world. How many people can they send? Aren't they afraid of alerting the government?”
"They sent over a thousand men to chase and intercept Bei and the others. After I escaped from the encirclement, I took a detour from Bingzhou in order to avoid encountering them again. However, I still encountered their ambush at Huguan Pass. There were even assassinations at night. This time, I brought three family generals and fifty family soldiers. Unfortunately, they did not die in the battle against the Wuhuan.”
At this point, Old Liu's eyes reddened as he thought of the dead guards.
"Xuande, you have come to Luoyang to meet the emperor, but they dare to kill you in public. It seems that the problem is as serious as Xuande said. However, I am now a commoner. I wonder if Xuande has a good solution?”
"Master, I think we must report the incident of the Road of Peace to the Spirit Emperor and see how he will deal with it.”
"That's good. Xuande, what other plans do you have? You have made such a great contribution, and you are now a relative of the Han clan. I reckon that you will definitely be granted the title of Marquis. If the Spirit Emperor rewards you with an official position, does Xuande have any ideas?”
"Yes, I already have an idea. I'm just afraid that you will blame me for saying it.”
"Xuande, why are you still treating me as an outsider? Tell me, I won't blame you.”
"I heard that Lord Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou, has returned to the capital to take up his post. There is no candidate for the governor of Youzhou yet, so I plan to spend some money to buy him.”
Hearing Old Liu's words, Lu Zhi was indeed a little annoyed. The Spirit Monarch was selling his official positions like crazy. As long as he was paid, he would sell any official position. However, after thinking about it carefully, he calmed down. After all, he knew Liu Bei well enough to buy the Youzhou Provincial Governor. From the time he…
Judging from his actions, he should be a good official who loved the people. If he sold someone who only knew how to search for the people's fat, then it would be better to let Liu Bei buy it. Thinking of this, Lu Zhi was relieved, so he asked,"If Liu Bei wants to buy an official position, he has a wide range of choices and many official positions. Why must he buy the Youzhou provincial governor?”
"I don't dare to hide this from Teacher. After forcing the Wuhuan King Qiu Liju to retreat, I promised to help him unify the four tribes of the Wuhuan. My goal in doing this is to bring the Wuhuan back under the Great Han's rule. Therefore, I want to buy the position of Wuhuan Guard Lieutenant at the same time.”
After listening to Old Liu's words, Lu Zhi fell into deep thought. Yes, in the remonstrance he had proposed back then, there was also a saying of preparing for the enemy, which was to prepare the military and defend against foreign enemies. It seemed that Liu Bei's thinking was the same as his. It was just that from the way he handled things, he was better than him.
After a few years of reflection, Lu Zhi also knew that people like him who did not pay attention to strategy would inevitably not be put in an important position. In the end, he only had ambition and no one cared about him.
Since Liu Bei did not do anything wrong, he would support him. If he really became the Youzhou Provincial Governor, he would let him take his two sons there. It was better than staying at home every day. Moreover, with Liu Bei's support, they might be able to use what they had learned and do something.
" Alright then, Xuande. We'll do as you say. I can help you contact Cai Yong, Ma Riqi, Yang Ci, Huangfu Song, and the others. They're close friends with me, so they can help you speak in court. I think the day after tomorrow. I'll invite them over for dinner. Xuande, you can come too. I'll introduce you to them. As for what to say, it's up to you. That's all I can help you with."”
"Thank you, teacher. With teacher's help, I will definitely succeed.”
The few of them chatted for a while. Seeing that it was already late, Old Liu and Jian Yong bid farewell to Lu Zhi and his son and returned to their residence in Luoyang.
As soon as they entered the main door, Old Liu was pulled back by Zhiqing, who had been waiting in the courtyard." Young Master, come and take a look. Our anesthetic has been successful. I gave that dog a bowl of anesthetic. It has been four hours now, but the dog still hasn't woken up. I tried to prick it with a needle, cut its skin with a knife, and then bandage the wound. It didn't even react at all.”
"Don't be in a hurry. We have to wait for it to wake up safely. If it continues to sleep, our anesthetic will soon become poison.”
"Young Master is right. I was so happy that I forgot about this matter. Then let's wait a little longer and see if it can wake up.”
Seeing that the two of them had something to do, Jian Yong said to Old Liu,""My lord, tomorrow I will bring you to visit the residence of Guo Sheng. You should be prepared. There is nothing else for now, so Yong will go back and rest.”
Old Liu agreed. Jian Yong said goodnight to the two of them and went back to the backyard to rest.
It seemed that this bowl of medicine was suitable for humans to drink. It could make a person unconscious for four hours. Dogs were much lighter than humans, so they would naturally be unconscious for a much longer time. Fortunately, the two of them took this opportunity to discuss alchemy again.……
Old Liu remembered that he had read in a book that alchemy in the early days of the Celestial Dynasty was to put some of the metal (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin), eight stones (various ores, such as saltpeter and mercury), and three yellow (sulfur, realgar, and orpiment) ingredients into a pill furnace and burn them. Finally, they would obtain a preparation of arsenium, mercury, and lead, which was believed to be an immortal pill that could make people live longer. In fact, if these things were taken in small amounts, they might have an exciting effect, but if taken for a long time, it would definitely cause death.
Zhiqing had learned alchemy from her master and had seen her master refine pills before. However, she had never seen these pills save lives. She thought that their method was wrong, so they could not refine the legendary immortal pills that could save lives.
Through her recent research with Old Liu and his detailed explanations, Zhiqing knew that her medical skills were very high, so she naturally knew the consequences of using those medicines on people. She knew that what her master had refined was just some poisonous substances. Thinking back to what she had seen in the past, she recalled the reactions of some of her fellow disciples after taking the pills. It was just as Old Liu had said. If they ate too much, they would die. It seemed that Old Liu was right. She should not refine those pills in the future to avoid harming others.
When she heard Old Liu mention that there would be an explosion if saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal were refined together, Zhiqing believed Old Liu's words even more. She had experienced this kind of thing herself. At that time, the explosion was very loud, just like the sound of thunder in the sky when it rained. Moreover, it even shattered the pill furnace. At that time, those who were close to it were even injured. After that, no one dared to refine these things together.
After another two hours, the dog finally woke up and ran around like a normal dog. Old Liu quickly said,"Congratulations, Sister Qing. Your anesthetic has been successfully developed. This is a good deed for the patient.”
"Young Master is too polite. Without your help, I would not have succeeded so quickly. Zhiqing is here to thank you.”After she finished speaking, her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Old Liu, causing Old Liu's heart to tremble.
"Sister Qing, it's already late at night and it's too cold outside. Let me send you back to rest.”
"Thank you, Young Master. You should rest early too. I heard from Xianhe that you still have a lot of things to do tomorrow.”
When they reached the backyard, Old Liu sent Zhiqing to her room and opened the door for her to enter.
"Young Master, don't you want to come in and sit for a while?" Zhiqing asked.
"No, Sister Qing, you should rest early.”
After he finished speaking, Old Liu did not dare to look at Zhiqing again. Without looking back, he hurriedly ran to his room to practice.
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