My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 243 Keep calm
……

"There is a perfectly round red birthmark on his right chest. If you have the same birthmark, then he must be the only offspring of my old friend who has been missing for many years!"

After Zhao Zhong finished speaking, he stopped talking and waited quietly for Lu Yi's answer. Not only the answer, but also the change in expression. As long as there was any trace of emotional change on Lu Yi's face, he would notice it immediately!
"Ok?"

"What!?"

"This eunuch actually described my brother's birthmark exactly!"

Before Lu Yi could say anything, Lu Bu behind him was the first to cast a shocked look at Lu Yi's back.

It was just that because he disliked Zhao Zhong, he deliberately stood in the last row and was blocked by Lu Yi and others. Zhao Zhong's attention was all focused on Lu Yi, so he didn't notice Lu Bu's abnormality at all.

"Could it be that my brother is really the son of this eunuch's old friend?"

"If that's the case, why didn't my father and brother ever tell me about this?"

"No wonder my brother looks completely different from my father, unlike me who looks very similar to my father."

"Could it be that the brotherhood between my brother and I that has lasted for more than 20 years is actually fake in the end?"

Although Lu Bu's change did not attract the attention of Zhao Zhong and the eunuch behind him, it attracted the attention of Gao Shun who heard such secrets for the first time.

He looked at the shocked Lu Bu and the normal Lu Yi in a somewhat strange way, then also fell into deep thought with a strange look on his face.

"pity……"

"The son of Eunuch Zhao's old friend clearly has a birthmark on his chest, but I don't even have a mole, let alone a birthmark."

Although Lu Yi was also shocked in his heart, he still showed a look of regret on his face.

Unexpectedly, he just came to Luoyang to seek an official position, but accidentally discovered the mystery of his life through Zhao Zhong.

Although, he is now 100% sure that he must be the missing child of Zhao Zhong's old friend.

And the "old master" that Lu's father called when he died might also be an old friend of Zhao Zhong.

After all, looking similar is a possibility.

And with such an accurate description of the birthmark as evidence, the mystery of Lu Yi's life experience can basically be solved.

However, Zhao Zhong, this old fox, was very tight-lipped and would never reveal the true identity of his old friend to the public until he got his consent.

Therefore, Lu Yi was still unsure whether he should agree to it.

His mind was as fast as lightning. After thinking quickly, he gave an answer subconsciously almost after Zhao Zhong asked.

He did not deny it immediately, but took a split second to react, which made it seem more real to Zhao Zhong.

If he denied it immediately, Zhao Zhong would think that he was trying to cover up his mistake.

After all, he had the birthmark as decisive evidence. Once he had figured out the identity of this old man and discovered that there was no danger, he could naturally come back to find Zhao Zhong for confession.

If Zhao Zhong felt resentful at that time, Lu Yi could appease him by using the excuse of being cautious.

But if the identity of this old friend was just fabricated by Zhao Zhong, and Zhao Zhong intended to do something bad, then he would be no match for the emperor's eunuch in Luoyang City.

"This is my younger brother. He grew up with me and is more than enough to testify for me!"

As he spoke, as if to verify the truth of what he said, Lu Yi turned around and patted Lu Bu, who still had a strange look on his face. He patted Lu Bu's shoulder with great force, causing him to feel a sudden pain and causing him to suddenly wake up.

The tacit understanding gained from living together for many years immediately played a very timely role at this moment, and Lu Bu continued with his brother's words without thinking.

"That's right. I know my brother's body very well. There is no red, perfect round birthmark on it as Eunuch Zhao mentioned."

"What……?"

When Zhao Zhong heard this, the disappointment on his face was beyond words, and he fell down on the stool with a thud.

Zhang Rang, who was standing behind the screen, turned pale as death when he heard this. He stood still as if struck by lightning, like a statue that had been dead for a long time, and did not react for a long time.

"If Eunuch Zhao doesn't believe me, I can follow him behind the screen, take off my shirt, and let him check it himself."

Finally, Lu Yi pretended to be concerned and went up to give the disappointed Zhao Zhong a final blow.

His tactic of retreating in order to advance really made the last bit of hope in Zhao Zhong's heart disappear into thin air.

"That's all, that's all..."

"Since you are so frank, this shouldn't be the case."

"It's us who are obsessed..."

Zhao Zhong sat slumped in the chair for a long time without getting up, which made Lu Yi wonder if there was something wrong with his guess.

But no matter what, this is not the same as some role-playing games he played in his previous life. If he failed a mission or made an error in challenging a level, he could still be resurrected and start over again.

After all, reality is not a game, and your life is not given away for free when you recharge your phone bill, so it is never too cautious.

"It's just a pity for my old friend that he can only hand over such a huge family business to others..."

After all, Zhao Zhong was an old eunuch who had served the emperor for two dynasties, and his mentality was by no means comparable to that of ordinary people.

Although he felt extremely melancholy and lost, he still managed to adjust his mood in a very short time.

If he did not have this ability to adjust and respond, how could he have served as one of the Ten Eunuchs for so many years, serving two emperors in succession.

After Zhao Zhong sighed for the last time, his expression returned to normal.

"I see that you look kind, very similar to my old friend. For the sake of my old friend, no matter what position you want to get today, I will arrange it for you according to the basic donation. This most basic donation has to be submitted to the emperor. Even if I want to help, I can't do anything."

What surprised Lu Yi was that even though he remained calm and did not admit his identity, Zhao Zhong still seemed to be very nice to him.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Zhong was extremely grateful to Liu Zhi and had never been able to repay him.

Even if he does not admit his identity now, the fact that he looks like Liu Zhi is enough to make him look at him differently, to make up for the huge regret in his heart.

"According to your military achievements and your family background of being a filial and honest person, even if you don't donate a penny, you can still be the magistrate of a county. The others mentioned in the imperial edict can also be transferred or promoted."

"Oh, so that's how it is!"

Hearing this, Lu Yi suddenly thought of his actual situation and asked, "Now I am the military commander under Lu Shuai and the chief of Jiuyuan Pavilion. I wonder what kind of reward I can get."

"Haha, my friend, your position as military commander was specially appointed by the Northern Army Commander Lu Zhi during the war, and has not yet been officially conferred by the court. If Lu Zhi had not been convicted, the court would naturally not have given him a bad name and would have confirmed your position. But now that Lu Zhi has been convicted and is at home, he can hardly protect himself, so how can he care about you?"

Zhao Zhong chuckled and shook his head, seeming to be amused by Lu Yi's naivety.

"Therefore, although you have made the first contribution in the Battle of Pingcheng, your original official position was a small pavilion chief, not even an official, so you can barely be considered a commoner. According to your military merits, you can only get a county-level official position. However, because the filial and honest officials are evaluated every year, Lu Zhi's previous recommendation of you as a filial and honest official has come true. Now that you have the background of a filial and honest official, and with the help of my family, you don't have to compete with other people without any connections and power for the worthless positions of county magistrate, county lieutenant, etc."

"My family and you have a destiny, and today you happen to be on duty in Xiyuan. You can find a large county in the world that is temporarily short of a chief official to serve as the county magistrate!"

Zhao Zhong said this with a confident smile.

Although he is not a top eunuch, as a current manager, he still has some room for maneuver. Even Cao Jie, the person in charge of Xiyuan, would not give him a low profile because of a small position of county magistrate.

"So that's how it is!"

Lu Yi nodded when he heard this, and he understood what was going on.

"This is a map of vacancies in counties and prefectures across the country. Your military merits are enough to qualify you for a county position. You can carefully select from them. Generally speaking, counties in Sili are closest to the emperor and have more opportunities for promotion. Counties in Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Jingzhou, Qingzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou are relatively prosperous and have a lot of money. Although Jizhou suffered from Xianbei harassment, it has a solid foundation and will recover in a few years and become the richest state in the world. You can also consider it. As for Yizhou and Jiaozhou, they are too remote, and Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou are adjacent to Qiang and Hu and often rebellions occur. Therefore, I suggest that you choose a prosperous county from the first few states!"

Zhao Zhong was skilled in business, experienced, and had a unique vision. He immediately analyzed the situation in various states and counties across the country, which made Lu Yi and others nod their heads repeatedly.

"Can you allow me to discuss this for a moment?"

After hearing this, Lu Yi suddenly realized that it seemed that he had chosen the wrong person, Lu Zhi.

He also lost the position of military commander that he had originally obtained, which was due to his involvement with Lu Zhi.

However, Lu Yi did not regret it.

Because, at this time, the gentry always took pride in singing a different tune from the emperor.

Lu Zhi was repeatedly dismissed from office, but his prestige in the court and the country was extremely high, which had surpassed the restrictions of family background. You have to know that Lu Zhi was a man from a humble family.

Although Lu Yi was implicated because of this, he would also share some of Lu Zhi's fame.

This is also a gain for Lu Yi, who cherishes his feather robe very much.

"My friend, please feel free to do as you please..." There is no seven-day unconditional refund for buying an official position, and the cost is very high, no less than that of ordinary people who emptied their family savings to buy a house in Lu Yi's previous life. The reason why many people dare to spend all their fortunes and even go into debt to buy an official position is to be able to earn back the cost and get more benefits.

The Han Dynasty had over a hundred counties and over a thousand prefectures. The local customs and levels of wealth were different in each place. If one bet on the wrong horse and chose the wrong official, and found out that he had lost all his money when he got to the place, and couldn't even earn back the money he spent on buying the official position, wouldn't that mean he had worked for Liu Hong in vain?
Therefore, such impromptu discussions happened from time to time, and Zhao Zhong didn't mind at all.

Before Lu Yi and others came, they had already secretly drawn up several plans. Although the situation has changed a bit now, they still quickly discussed the final plan.

"Reporting to Eunuch Zhao, we have an idea now."

"Oh? Then let's talk about them one by one. My friend, you want to choose a county in Sili or a county in the Central Plains?"

Zhao Zhong nodded when he heard this, immediately spread out the paper, and picked up the pen to take notes.

"I am willing to be the county magistrate of Pingcheng!"

Lu Yi said slowly.

"Pingcheng County Magistrate?"

"There doesn't seem to be a county called Pingcheng in the Central Plains..."

"Huh? Could it be..."

Zhao Zhong was stunned when he heard this, and then quickly opened the imperial edict brought by Lu Yi.

It was discovered that Pingcheng was the place previously occupied by the Xianbei as their base camp.

Seeing this, he began to complain to Lu Yi with some regret.

"I'm not scolding you, but that county is a border county, with a sparse population and poverty. Now it has been in chaos for half a year because of the 300,000 Xianbei people. Nine out of ten houses are empty, and there are probably not many registered permanent residents left. With my support, you can go to any county near Luoyang. Why did you choose this broken place?"

"It is precisely because this place is deeply affected by the remnants of the Xianbei people. When I was with the army, I witnessed the tragic experience of the people of Pingcheng. I felt very sorry for them, so I am willing to do my best to seek some welfare for the people of Pingcheng!"

"You are different from those ordinary people who come here to buy official positions. You have some sense of responsibility and love for the people like your own children."

"Well, since you have such a great ambition, I will help you. I hope you can make a difference in your post in Pingcheng!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhong looked at Lu Yi with a little surprise, who looked serious. He couldn't help but sigh and wrote down his request.

Although Zhao Zhong was not a good person, it did not affect his admiration for selfless people like Lu Zhi. Now he vaguely saw the figure of Lu Zhi in Lu Yi, and he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

"Thank you, Eunuch Zhao, for your help!"

When Lu Yi heard this, a happy smile flashed across his face.

Although he did not lie, he did have the intention of seeking welfare for the surviving people in Pingcheng.

But he concealed his real starting point, which was to seek greater welfare for himself.

Pingcheng was looted by the Xianbei, and the population decreased significantly?

Hey... the looting by the Xianbei wasn't serious, and the population didn't decrease much, so he doesn't want to go!

The fact that the local area was severely looted by the Xianbei shows that the originally complex network of relationships was also wiped out by the Xianbei.

When the Xianbei people started looting, they didn't care about your background, which noble family you came from, or which powerful official's relative or disciple you were.

On the contrary, they worked harder to rob the powerful people who held most of the rights and interests in Pingcheng.

After all, ordinary people are not as rich as them.

Lu Yi wished that all the powerful and noble people in Pingcheng could be packed up and taken back to Mobei by the Xianbei people.

Because only in this way can he operate freely without any constraints or hindrances.

And if the population is sparse, it will be even better.

Anyway, all these people recorded in the books were Liu Hong's subjects. Not only did they have to pay taxes to Liu Hong and perform corvée and military service, but more importantly, they were also noticed by local officials. If Lu Yi went too far, he would most likely be impeached, causing unnecessary losses.

……

(End of this chapter)