Escorting the Mi Family's caravan out of Mount Mangdang, they took the official road and traveled for four hours before arriving outside Xu Prefecture.
Yuan Shao raised his head and looked up. The city was five zhang tall and three zhang wide. The moat was ten meters wide. There was a plaque hanging on the city gate tower with the words "Xuzhou" written in official script.
"I'm here to test you today. Do you know the name of Xu Prefecture in ancient times? And what famous historical figures had appeared in Xuzhou?”Yuan Shao held his horsewhip and swung it in the direction of Xu Prefecture.
"I definitely don't know." Dian Wei shook his head like a rattle drum.
"Brother Dian, although I haven't read much, I know a little about Xu Prefecture. Xu Prefecture was called Pengcheng in ancient times, and it was the hometown of Liu Bang, the great ancestor.”
"Zhongkang, I didn't expect you to know so much. Xu Prefecture was one of the nine prefectures of China during the Xia Dynasty. Since ancient times, it had been the key to the north, the gateway to the south, and a battleground for military strategists. Xuzhou was the birthplace of the Han Dynasty culture. It was known as the hometown of Peng Zu, the hometown of Liu Bang, and the hometown of Xiang Yu. Based on the terrain of Xuzhou, it was easy to succeed but difficult to defend. If the north got Xuzhou, they could go south to Jianghuai. And if the south got Xuzhou, they could defend Jianghuai.”Yuan Shao recalled that during the Three Kingdoms period, the Dongwu regime had never been able to seize Xuzhou, let alone break through the defense lines of Hefei and Shouchun.
"My lord, it's time to enter the city." Xu Ding reminded.
"Let's go in and take a look." Yuan Shao rode his horse toward Xu Prefecture.
At the city gates, the soldiers saw that they were from the Mi Family and did not dare to stop them. They immediately let them pass.
"Selling candied haws ~ Sweet and delicious candied haws!”
"A steaming hot bun, only three wens for one. Come and try it!”
"Tofu flower! Tofu flower! Sweet and delicious tofu pudding!"
As soon as they entered Xu Prefecture, the sound of peddlers buying goods could be heard without end. Many commoners were shuttling through the streets. It was really a lively scene.
"Look! Xu Prefecture was indeed a land of outstanding people. Water is abundant and the people are rich." Yuan Shaoqi said to Xu. Dian Er said.
"It's really lively, isn't it, Brother Dian?”Xu Chu looked left and right like a grandmother entering the Grand View Garden.
"My lord, the steward said to turn left later.”Xu Ding urged his horse to Yuan Shao's side and reminded him in a low voice.
"Follow them."
——
Mi Mansion, Inner Courtyard.
Mei Zhu had just returned to the residence and was resting on the bed for a while. Soon, she was woken up by the sound of hurried footsteps.
"What happened? How reckless!" His expression was a little unhappy as he called out to the person who had come.
"Master! "Just now, I hope someone came back and said…" An old man with white hair and beard leaned down and whispered into Mi Zhu's ear.
"What?! His little sister was attacked by bandits? And almost lost his life? What were they doing! Good-for-nothing!" Mei Zhu's expression changed drastically as he pointed at the old man and cursed.
" Master…please listen to me, then…" The old man didn't care and continued.
"What?! Si Li Colonel Yuan Shao? Ruyang Yuan Family! The Yuan family of four generations and three dukes!" Mei Zhu's expression softened, but at this moment, he was thinking about something else-his little sister's marriage!
Although he was the head of the Mei Family, he was also a businessman. In ancient times, the status of merchants was the lowest. Nong. worker. Shang. He could tell. For him, who had always wanted to improve his family's status, this might be an opportunity!
"Butler, hurry! Prepare the banquet and the singers to liven things up. He could also…go to the storeroom and take out ten thousand taels of gold to be used as backup.”Mei Zhu thought for a moment and started to increase the stakes.
"Yes…Master." The old butler hesitated.
——
Within Xu Prefecture.
After the caravan made several turns, Yuan Shao and his group finally arrived at the Mi Mansion in Xu Prefecture.
"It's so big, I've never seen such a big mansion!”Dian Wei called out in surprise.
It was a huge old house at the foot of a pale mountain rock. There were gray tiles, white walls, and a tall gatehouse. The walls of the gatehouse had exquisite carvings, and the carvings on the roof tiles were even more exquisite and beautiful.
"Young Master Yuan, please come in." Mi Zhen got off the carriage with Zi Xun's help and greeted Yuan Shao.
"Please do as you please, Miss Mi.”Yuan Shao got off his horse and gentlemanly asked the lady to go first.
Walking into the Mi Mansion, the pavilions, pavilions, pools and waterside pavilions were reflected in the green pines and cypresses. There were fake mountains and strange rocks, flower beds, bonsai, vines, and green bamboos. Turning east, they passed through an east and west corridor and walked towards the south hall. Yuan Shao and his group of six arrived at the main hall.
"Haha! Welcome Commandant Yuan to my humble abode, Zhu Busheng is delighted. Because the banquet was ready, Liu Zhu welcomed Yuan Wei.”Mi Zhu saw the imposing Yuan Shao and hurriedly went forward to welcome him.
"Biejia, you flatter me. Shao is a martial artist, but Biejia is the favorite of Prefecture Overseer Tao! Please take care of me when the time comes." Yuan Shao was very humble.
"Commandant Yuan is too modest. You should know that Commandant Yuan has become a high-ranking official of 2,000 koku at such a young age. Play the music!" After saying that, Mei Zhu clapped his hands.
A string instrument sounded, and several young and beautiful women in light gauze danced in the middle, waving their long sleeves.
"Xu Ding, bring Li Guo and Fan Yong to sit down.”Yuan Shao didn't even look at these singers. He walked straight to the first seat on the right and sat down. Xu Chu and Dian Wei, the two bodyguards, stood behind him.
"Yes!" Xu Ding cupped his fists.
Seeing that Yuan Shao didn't even look at these singers, Mi Zhu praised in his heart. Then, he noticed Xu... Dian two people. What a majestic man! It seemed that this Yuan Shao had some ability.
"O(headquarter_headquarter)O haha ~ Young Master Yuan, let me offer you a toast. Thank you for helping me. Otherwise, it's very likely that…" Mei Zhu stood on the main seat and raised the bronze wine bottle. She covered her face with her right hand and held the bottle in her left hand as she downed the wine in one gulp.
"Don't drink so much, I'll drink too.”Yuan Shao raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"For this second cup, I would like to ask if Young Master Yuan has ever thought of taking a concubine? Let the Yuan family grow." Mi Zhu started to beat around the bush.
Concubine? What was his motive? Yuan Shao looked into Mei Zhu's eyes and couldn't find anything wrong. He thought for a moment and said,""Shao has a wife, a concubine, and three children. His wife was in his hometown in Ruyang and had three sons, but to be honest…they were all good-for-nothings.”From the perspective of the future generations, Yuan Shao's three sons were brothers who killed each other and led a wolf into the house. In the end, they died tragically in Liaodong. Not to mention his wife, Liu Shi, who had a heart like a snake and scorpion, and left a bad reputation in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.
"This…Young Master Yuan dares to take responsibility for his actions.”When Mi Zhu heard this, he felt that Yuan Shao was sincere. After all, no parent would dare to say that their son was a good-for-nothing.
"Li Guo. Fan Yong, whoever you like, go ahead. Brother Zizhong…won't blame me, right?" Yuan Shao glanced down and found that the eyes of the two people sitting at the end were shining. They were staring at the singers, so he opened his mouth and said.
"Please!" Mi Zhu waved his hand magnanimously.
"Thank you, my lord. Thank you, Mi Biejia." When Li Guo and Fan Yong heard that, they hurriedly thanked him. Then, he rushed forward and pulled back to his seat one by one.
"My subordinates have made a fool of themselves.”Yuan Shao's beard, which had just grown, said.
"Confucius said: Food (color) surname. I wonder why these two generals aren't sitting down?”Mi Zhu pointed at Xu. Dian two people.
"These are my trusted aides. Dian Wei and Xu Chu are the commanders of my guards.”Yuan Shao replied with a smile.
"Such a majestic man is a true warrior.”Although Mi Zhu was a civil official, he was also good at archery. Dian Er's killing intent.
"Oh right, in order to express my gratitude for saving my life, Zhu has prepared ten thousand taels of gold. I hope Young Master Yuan will accept it.”
Ten thousand gold taels! It was at least 10 million yuan in five baht. What a big deal. Eastern Sea's Mi Family was indeed rich, no wonder they could support tens of thousands of people.
According to historical records, the betrothal money for the Eastern Han emperor to marry the empress was the highest. It was usually 20,000 catties of gold, equivalent to 200 million yuan in currency. The betrothal fee for an emperor to marry a concubine was about 40 million gold, and 4000 gold was one-fifth of the betrothal fee for an empress. The betrothal money for the king to marry the queen varied, usually millions of money. The princess 'dowry could be as much as a million or even ten million, and the lesser would not be less than two or three hundred thousand.
As for high officials and wealthy merchants, their betrothal gifts were lower than those of the royal family. For example, Dong Zhuo married a wife and gave her 100 wagons, 20 horses, and money and silk for the road. It was equivalent to more than 1.6 million coins (160 gold coins). This was an exception. Generally, the betrothal fee for a male member's wife was between hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. The dowry of a typical female member was 200,000 to 300,000 dollars, and the highest could reach millions of dollars.
For small and medium-sized landlords and small and medium-sized officials, the amount of betrothal money was lower than that of high officials and rich merchants. Dongfang Shuo's dowry was around 100,000, which should be the upper limit for small and medium-sized landlords and officials. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Shi Zhan agreed that the betrothal money for a wife was twenty to thirty thousand dollars, which should be the minimum betrothal money for small and medium-sized landlords and small and medium-sized officials. The dowry of a typical female member was worth about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
For small farmers, small handicraftsmen, and civilians, their family assets ranged from tens of thousands to more than 100,000. Generally, the betrothal money for male members would not exceed the total amount of their family assets, and should be between ten thousand to tens of thousands of money. The dowry of a typical female member was worth about 2,000 yuan.
"This…Alright then. Shao accepted it. What if something happened to Dong Hai's Mi Family in the future? You can write a letter to me. I won't refuse!”Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and finally accepted the gift. After all, to develop the army, it was impossible without money. In the end, he had to make a promise.
"Good! A gentleman keeps his word!" Mei Zhu smiled brightly.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。