My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 246: Taking Office
"Exactly!"

Lu Yi smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Bo Ji has been missing since he fled to Luoyang. I didn't expect that he is living in your fortress?"

"I wonder what the relationship is between you and Mr. Bojie?"

Chen Gong couldn't help but ask in surprise after Lu Yi confirmed his question.

"Mr. Bo Ji is my master..."

Lu Yi couldn't help but smile even more when he heard this.

"What……!"

Chen Gong was completely shocked when he heard this.

Not everyone can be Cai Yong's student. It seems that I am not just a rich upstart...

Thinking of this, Chen Gong's eyes looked at Lu Yi completely different.

The trend of chaos in the world has gradually shown signs of rising.

But only a few of the world's top strategists can see the secrets.

Although Chen Gong is quite talented, unfortunately he is not among the top few.

Although the chaotic times had already emerged, in the minds of most Han people, the Han Dynasty was corrupt yet extremely powerful and invincible.

Therefore, the most noble ideal in most people's hearts is to become a member of the imperial court.

For example, Cao Cao, whom Lu Yi met in Luoyang a few days ago.

Cao Cao, who is now in his prime, has the biggest dream of becoming the General of the West of the Han Dynasty, expanding the territory for the Han Dynasty to quell the Qiang rebellion and become a hero like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

Chen Gong, who was inferior to Cao Cao in terms of family background or personal ability, was naturally no exception.

Lu Yi can now become a disciple of the great Confucian scholar Cai Yong.

Cai Yong was in the emperor's favor and had now been pardoned for his previous crimes. If the emperor asked about Cai Yong one day, he might be reinstated at any time.

A talent of Cai Yong's level is also well-known throughout the country. If he is reinstated, he will at least be at the level of a Nine Ministers.

As Lu Yi was Cai Yong's disciple, once Cai Yong became successful, he would naturally share in the success. And now that he was under Lu Yi's command, he would naturally be able to rise to prosper as well.

The desire to progress is deeply embedded in every man's genetic code, and Chen Gong is no exception.

However, it was impossible for Lu Yi to pin his hopes on Liu Hong's vague and occasional inquiries, so he still had to focus on building his own power.

"Luoyang..."

"See you again in a few years..."

As the sky gradually darkened, Lu Yi, standing on the official road, looked back in the direction he came from.

The imperial capital appears grand and majestic in the afterglow of the setting sun, making people feel awe and insignificance.

But Lu Yi knew that this was only the last ray of light of the Han Empire.

After the catastrophe a few years later, this two-hundred-year-old capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty inevitably declined.

When I revisit the place, I wonder if it will still be as glorious as it is today...

……

After several days of running around.

Lu Yi and his party returned to Jiuyuan.

Although Luoyang is prosperous, it is a place of disputes and not a place to stay for long.

Although Jiuyuan is desolate, it is free and comfortable. Therefore, Lu Yi and others couldn't help but relax after returning to the base camp.

All the fatigue from the travels over the past two months seemed to have been washed away.

But unlike Lu Yi and others, Chen Gong, who came to Lu Yi's base camp for the first time, was full of curiosity.

Not just because it's my first time in this remote place.

Moreover, Jiuyuan, which was originally a barren and wild land in his memory, did not seem as desolate as he had imagined.

Although Jiuyuan had delayed its farming season due to the Xianbei's rampages for nearly a year, there were not many crops in the fields during the golden autumn.

However, the vast number of contiguous fields around Luwu have been meticulously managed by the hardworking Luwu tenants, and there is not even a trace of weeds in the fields.

Chen Gong himself was a farmer and student in Dongjun, so he was no stranger to farm work.

He knew that such a large amount of land, as long as it was plowed and planted carefully in the next year, would bring back full granaries and grains.

The aftermath of the war against the Xianbei is still there, and the Han Dynasty is still in a period of inflation. Food prices are skyrocketing everywhere. It is no longer like a year ago when you could buy food with money.

So many acres of land means countless amounts of food.

After asking, Chen Gong learned that these fields were purchased by Lu Yi after he first became rich. He couldn't help but admire Lu Yi's foresight.

It would take at least a year and a half to turn wasteland into fertile fields. Without Lu Yi's efforts over the past two years, if we were to buy food now due to food shortage, not only would the prices skyrocket, but we might not even be able to buy it even if we had the money.

It was natural that those aristocratic families who controlled countless grain reserves could not fail to see the hardships of the imperial court and the people.

However, seeing the soaring grain prices, these aristocratic families not only did not decide to sell grain to help the court stabilize grain prices, but instead planned to hoard grain and wait for grain prices to continue to rise in order to obtain the maximum profit value.

What? You ask them if they have a conscience?
It certainly cannot be said that there are none at all, but there are definitely not too many.

Otherwise, how do you think they got their thousands of acres of fertile land and tremendous wealth?
Every penny of the original accumulation of capital is stained with blood.

If we open up wasteland in a hurry now, and distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, it will inevitably cause a significant decline in population.

Therefore, Chen Gong knew very well how wise it was for Lu Yi to go against the crowd and decide not to buy grain directly in the face of everyone's incomprehension, but to choose the slowest and safest way of farming it himself.

"Being able to serve under such a farsighted person would save me a lot of trouble..."

However, after Chen Gong crossed the fields and finally arrived in front of Luwu, he couldn't help but take a breath and hurriedly asked Lu Yi in front of him for confirmation.

"grown ups……"

"Are you planning to take me to Jiuyuan County to rest for a while?"

"Jiuyuan County?"

"Of course not, this is Lu Wu of the Lu family!"

Lu Yi couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

"What!?"

"Could it be that this fortified city is not the seat of Jiuyuan County, but a fortress?"

Chen Gong was shocked when he heard this, and pointed at the tall and sturdy Lu Wu in front of him with an expression of disbelief and asked in a lost voice.

"Haha, Gongtai has lived in the Central Plains for a long time, so he may not be familiar with border areas like Bingzhou."

Lu Yi explained with a smile.

"Bingzhou is adjacent to the grasslands, and the foreign tribes outside the Great Wall have been raiding the south almost every year for hundreds of years."

"Therefore, everyone in Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Liangzhou built forts to protect themselves. Luwu is the lifeblood and foundation of our Lu family, so it is natural that we must build it firmly."

"But this is a little too strong!" "Such a strong fortress, I'm afraid even if ten thousand people come to attack, it will be difficult to conquer it in a hurry, right?"

Chen Gong still couldn't believe it.

The scale of Luwu is not even comparable to that of some smaller counties in Dongjun. But now Lu Yi tells him that it is just a fortress used by one family to defend against foreign invaders?

Isn’t it said that Bingzhou is very poor?
Or is it that the Lu Yi in front of him is really too rich?

"Haha, Gongtai, you don't know that in the past, the Xianbei general Hu Tuo led his 10,000 troops to attack Lüwu several times, but he was never able to conquer it. Not only did he lose many soldiers and generals, but he himself also died before Lüwu."

"Such a great achievement is only possible because of this impregnable fortress!"

Seeing the surprise on Chen Gong's face, Zhang Xun couldn't help but show off a little smugly.

Lu Yi is his brother-in-law, and naturally his uncle can also benefit from his brother-in-law's family business.

"With such a solid fortress, the rise of the Lu family is a foregone conclusion!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Gong could not help but look towards Luwu and sigh.

But Zhang Xun couldn't help but laugh when he saw this, and felt that it was a little too early for Chen Gong to express his feelings now.

As expected, after Chen Gong entered Luwu, he was even more shocked when he saw countless workers busy at work and houses being built everywhere.

"This Lvwu was built by my brother-in-law last year, and many of the houses have not been fully built yet. Now that the Xianbei people have been beaten by the imperial army, they will not harass us again in the short term. It is a good opportunity to rebuild it."

"In a few months, before the busy farming season next spring, everything will be completed."

As if he had seen Chen Gong's confusion, Zhang Xun introduced the

"Is this really just a fort built by a rich country tycoon?"

"Even the county town where I came from isn't this prosperous, right?"

"And with such intensive construction and so many people, this Lu Yi's money..."

A series of blows have made Chen Gong begin to doubt his own cognition.

He prided himself on his extraordinary intelligence and thought that perhaps Lu Yi treated him so courteously because of this.

But now, after a trip to Jiuyuan, he found that Lu Yi was so capable that it seemed that his development would not be greatly affected by his presence or absence.

After all, if Chen Gong himself were Lu Yi two years ago, he would naturally be able to achieve some results, but he would definitely not be able to do better than Lu Yi is doing now.

Therefore, he looked at Lu Yi, who remained calm as always, and couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.

I began to understand that Lu Yi's calmness was not a result of his lack of talent or ability, but a manifestation of his confidence and composure in his own abilities.

"Well, a guest from afar is a guest. Now that the distinguished guest Gongtai has come to visit, I must entertain him well."

"The banquet has been prepared in the Patriarch's Mansion, and we are just waiting for the distinguished guests to take their seats!"

Lu Yi glanced at Zhang Xun who was showing off and shook his head helplessly.

Noticing that Chen Gong seemed to be in a low mood, he stepped forward, grabbed his sleeve, and invited him to join him.

"The guest follows the host's wishes, and the palace is at the whim of the master!"

……

A few days later, Lu Bu and Gao Shun, who had taken a detour to Chen Gong's hometown in Dongjun, successfully brought Chen Gong's mother back.

Lu Yi attached great importance to Chen Gong's mother. After hearing the news that Lu Bu had returned, he personally went out of Jiuyuan Wuli to greet him.

Moreover, Lu Yi personally escorted her to the magnificent courtyard specially arranged for Chen Gong, and handed the homemade contract and key symbolizing ownership to Chen's mother.

During this period, even Lü Yi's teacher, the great scholar Cai Yong, came to visit upon hearing that Chen Gong's young and beautiful mother was coming.

This old lady, who had been a farmer for generations but had a strong sense of justice, was so moved that she burst into tears on the spot.

Chen Gong's courtyard was bustling for a long time after seeing off the enthusiastic Lu Yi and others.

Mother Chen looked at the new home and compared it to the small and dilapidated thatched cottage in Dongjun, not only was the new home grand and spacious, but the furniture and utensils inside, and even the bedding on the bed were all brand new.

Supported by Chen Gong, Mother Chen walked around tremblingly, and finally stretched out her trembling hands and gently stroked the bedding, which was obviously made of extraordinary fabric. She felt the smoothness and softness she had never experienced before, and tears flowed down her face again.

"Son..."

Mother Chen turned her head and looked at Chen Gong, who also had a very complicated expression.

"Mother, I'm here!"

Chen Gong hurriedly stepped forward again to support his white-haired mother.

"Ever since I married into your Chen family, I knew that the Chen family's life would not be comfortable in poverty, so I never thought that one day I would be treated with courtesy by a great scholar, live in such a grand courtyard, and use such expensive utensils."

"And today, you and I, mother and son, are able to have such a good life. All this is thanks to Lord Lu. Although our Chen family is in decline, we must not lose our duty as human beings."

"Since Lord Lu values ​​and treats us so highly, our Chen family must do our best to repay us!"

"If you don't do your best to repay Lord Lu in the future, even I won't agree!"

Mother Chen's tone was so serious that Chen Gong, who was filial by nature, couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

"Don't worry, mother. Even if you don't say it, I am deeply grateful to the Lu family and will be loyal to them to repay them!"

"So good..."

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother smiled with relief, and began to take Chen Gong to familiarize herself with her new home with joy and excitement.

……

Lu Yi waited patiently for several days until Chen Gong settled his mother. He then thoughtfully selected several well-behaved maids from Luwu to serve and take care of Chen's mother. After completely solving Chen Gong's worries, he separated from Lu Bu and others and took Gao Shun and Chen Gong to Pingcheng.

This time, it is to declare my arrival and show my identity.

Lu Yi did not choose to ride a horse, but solemnly took a specially made official carriage, opened the ceremonial guard, and took office with great fanfare.

"What does Gongtai think of the current situation in the world?"

Inside the carriage, Lu Yi looked at Chen Gong, who couldn't stop radiating excitement and energy, and couldn't help but ask casually, wanting to consider how much historical demeanor the young Chen Gong had now.

Now, his family is in Lu Yi's Luwu, and the talented Chen Gong is obviously completely tied to Lu Yi's chariot. From now on, Lu Yi can employ him with confidence.

We can now start discussing some of the more sensitive topics with them.

"The general trend of the world is that it will continue to rise and fall!"

"Today, natural disasters and human calamities are frequent, and the four barbarians have not yet been subdued. However, the emperor of this world does not think about the peace of the people at home and the subjugation of the four barbarians. Instead, he only seeks pleasure and imposes harsh policies everywhere."

"From the perspective of the palace, this is the way to cause chaos!"

Chen Gong was very smart and naturally understood that this was a test from Lu Yi. Upon hearing this, he immediately sat up straight and answered with great attention.

"Oh?"

"If it is true as Gongtai said, a chaotic world is coming, how should we deal with it?"

Lu Yi couldn't help but become interested when he heard this.

……

(End of this chapter)