My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 42 Han Xun Offers Advice
Mi Zeng naturally felt his daughter's pleading gaze, and his heart softened. He said to Mi Fang, "Get up."

Mi Fang was still kneeling on the ground, not daring to get up, so Mi Yue stepped forward and personally helped her second brother up.

"Zifang."

Mi Zeng said earnestly, "My family has indeed been extremely wealthy for generations in the East Sea. The surrounding gentry and powerful families are also on good terms with my family. We are of the same blood and support each other."

"But you must not forget that my family is, after all, just a powerful merchant family, not a noble clan."

"Chen Yuanlong is on good terms with your brother because Chen Yuanlong is magnanimous and doesn't judge people by their family background. But how many Chen Yuanlongs are there in Xuzhou? Even among the gentry families in Qu County who are on good terms with my family, which one of them wasn't a relationship that my family cultivated over generations with money?"

"The Gan and Wang families are supposedly on good terms with you, like brothers. But haven't you spent a lot of money on them? If you hadn't spent that money, would they still be so close to you?"

Mi Fang nodded awkwardly: "Father's teachings are very true."

"You."

Mi Zeng shook his head: "You must know that those who do great things cannot be stingy with money. Not to mention that Young Master Liu has provided the recipe for snow salt and rock sugar. Even if we didn't have them, my Mi family would still do our utmost to help Lord Liu."

"You are willing to offer annual tributes to Tao Gong, who is ambitious but lacks talent, while you are stingy with Liu Shijun, who is shrewd and capable. How foolish you are!"

Mi Fang almost knelt down again, and said in repentance, "Yes, Father is right. I will definitely remember this lesson. Please forgive me, Father."

Mi Zeng then suppressed his anger, slapped his thigh with his left hand and pondered for a moment: "This time, we will not only give your brother what he wants, but we will also give him more than he asks for."

All money and supplies will be increased by 20%, and food will be increased by another 10%.

Upon hearing this, Mi Fang hesitated, yet dared not speak.

This naturally did not escape Mi Zeng's notice: "Just say what you want to say. Do you think I'm the kind of person who is unreasonable?"

Mi Fang quickly shook his head: "Father, of course not. I just wanted to remind you that everything else is fine, but food is already scarce. If we add another ten percent, we will run out of food at home."

"It doesn't matter!"

Mi Zeng seemed to have anticipated this: "Tomorrow, send an invitation to the Gan family, the Wang family, and all the powerful merchants in Qu County. I want to invite them to Fu Lou for dinner. At that time, the grain shortage will naturally be made up."

Upon hearing this, Mi Fang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

With his own father taking charge, not to mention just ten or twenty thousand bushels of grain, even one or two hundred thousand bushels wouldn't be a problem.

"In addition, select some sons from the household with clean backgrounds and try to do it according to the method taught by Young Master Liu, and see if this method works."

If it works, check if the resulting snow salt and rock sugar are the same as those given by Young Master Liu. If they are different, find out where the difference lies.

Also, make a copy of that curved plow. If there are any problems, contact your brother immediately.

Mi Fang quickly agreed again.

Finally, Mi Zeng waved his hand: "Alright, go and get on with your business. Remember to keep all of this a secret and don't let a single word of it leak out."

"Yes! Father."

Mi Fang glanced at Mi Yue, who was making faces at him, gave a wry smile, and then went downstairs and left.

Only after Mi Fang left did Mi Yue lean against Mi Zeng, take her father's hand and say, "Father, you were too strict with Second Brother. He almost cried when you scolded him just now."

"Are you feeling sorry for your second brother?"

Mi Zeng glanced at his daughter: "I'm doing this for his own good. If he continues to be so short-sighted, he won't even be able to manage the family's assets for Zizhong, let alone help Zizhong share the burden."

Mi Yue held Mi Zeng's hand and said coquettishly, "Alright, Father, Second Brother has realized his mistake. You can teach him slowly in the future. I believe Second Brother will definitely be able to correct his mistakes."

"Good good."

Mi Zeng patted his beloved daughter's hand, his eyes thoughtful. He read in Zi Zhong's letter that Young Master Liu was about the same age as his daughter, and that his son was praising him highly, showering him with compliments.

If he hadn't been familiar with his son's temperament and knew how steady and reliable Zizhong was, he certainly wouldn't have believed those words of praise and admiration.

But now, Mi Zeng has become very curious about Liu Feng.

If Liu Feng is truly as good as Zi Zhong praises him, then Mi Zeng might have something to do.

Thinking of this, Mi Zeng glanced at his daughter.

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"My lord, after much thought, I have come up with a plan for you and have come to offer it."

Liu Bei had finished half a day's official business and was just about to take a lunch break when...

A servant named Han Xun suddenly requested an audience, saying he had important matters to report.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and remembered that Han Xun was a Confucian scholar appointed by Tao Qian, not an important figure.

However, Liu Bei always had a high tolerance for scholars and was happy to show that he respected the gentry.

He postponed his lunch and invited the other person in, and then heard what the other person said.

This piqued Liu Bei's interest.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that he's thinking day and night about devising good strategies for himself is commendable.

Regardless of whether the plan works or not, or whether it's good or bad, the attitude alone deserves a good reward.

"Oh, please have a seat, sir."

Liu Bei straightened up and invited the other man to sit down, then asked in a gentle voice, "May I ask what brilliant strategy you have to offer me, sir?"

Han Xun was a forty-year-old scholar with a refined and handsome appearance.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's question, Han Xun respectfully replied: "When Tao Gong was serving in Xuzhou, the local scholars Wang Zhizhong and Zhao Biejia jointly advised him, saying: 'According to the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals, it is better to serve the king than to seek help from the feudal lords.'"

Now that the emperor is far away in the western capital, an envoy should be sent to carry out the king's orders.

Tao Gong agreed with this, and thus sent Zhao Biejia to Xijing to pay homage to the emperor.

The Emperor was delighted after reading Tao Gong's memorial, praising him highly and promoting him to Governor of Xuzhou, General Who Pacifies the East, and Marquis of Liyang. At the same time, Zhao Yu, the Prefectural Governor, was appointed Governor of Guangling, and Wang Lang, the Chief Administrator, was appointed Governor of Kuaiji.

"Your Excellency is entrusted by Lord Tao to act as the governor of Xuzhou. However, this is merely a self-appointment and does not have the endorsement of the imperial court."

"In that case, why not follow Tao Gong's strategy and send an envoy to the Western Capital to pay homage to the Emperor and request the position of Governor for you, my lord?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately thought it was a good suggestion.

Indeed, although he has now become the governor of Xuzhou, this governorship was privately bestowed upon him and Tao Qian, without the endorsement or recognition of the imperial court.

To put it bluntly, this handover was not legal; it took advantage of the chaos in the country.

Although it can still be used for now, everyone knows what kind of world we live in, and people won't be so picky about the legality of the procedures.

However, if he could actually obtain the court's endorsement and official appointment, Liu Bei's position as the governor of Xuzhou would be more secure, and his authority would increase significantly.

This inevitably tempted Liu Bei.

Thank you all for your support. This book has been able to return to the overall charts and stabilize its position on the category charts. It is all thanks to your efforts.

However, the overall ranking is still only in the nineties, and it could drop down at any time.

I earnestly request everyone to continue reading, invest, vote with monthly tickets, and give rewards. I'll take a short break today and continue with extra chapters tomorrow!
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(End of this chapter)