My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 56: Starting a Family and Building a Career (6K chapter in -in-, please read it!)

"Uncle Zhang's teaching is very true. It's just that my family was penniless before, and I had never met the right person, so I had never thought about these things." Lu Yi understood the meaning of Zhang Shang's words and immediately continued speaking. While speaking, he deliberately glanced at Zhang Wan'er who had a look of expectation on her face, and his tone focused on the four words "right person".

When the girl saw Lu Yi looking at her, although her face turned red, she still mustered up the courage to look back at him, which made Lu Yi feel a little surprised.

"Now that my nephew has millions of dollars in wealth, it's just right for him to find a virtuous family to marry." Zhang Shang looked at Lu Yi and then at his daughter, and couldn't help but smile and said, "I wonder if my daughter has caught my nephew's eye?"

"It is Lu Yi's fortune to have such a beautiful woman as his wife!" Lu Yi was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately stepped out to bow to Zhang Shang.

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhang Shang was overjoyed when he saw this, and immediately stood up and helped Lu Yi up.

"In that case, I will decide to marry my daughter to my nephew!"

When Zhang Shang saw that Lu Yi agreed, he skipped Zhang Wan'er and agreed to the marriage directly.

Marriages in the Han Dynasty were entirely determined by the arrangements of parents and matchmakers, and individuals had basically no say in marriage.

For people with a little power, getting married is even more troublesome. Not only are the rules more complicated, but marrying a wife is like opening a blind box. You won't know the height, weight and body shape of the partner until the wedding night. And once the ceremony is completed, returns are not allowed easily, and you can only decide for yourself whether the wife is good or bad.

Lu Yi's situation is a little special. Due to the characteristics of Qidian Orphanage, since both her parents have passed away, she has the possibility to make her own decisions.

Zhang Wan'er had no dissatisfaction with this. Instead, her pretty face blushed because she got what she wanted.

"However, although my Zhang family is a small and isolated family, we still have to observe the proper etiquette," Zhang Shang said seriously.

"Of course! Lu Yi will hold a grand ceremony to marry my beloved daughter in a grand manner!" Lu Yi also nodded repeatedly, agreeing very much.

This was also his first marriage in two lives, and he also wanted it to be a successful one.

"In ancient times, marriages were arranged once a year for the emperor, half a year for the princes, a quarter for the officials, and once a month for the common people."

"Both your and my families are commoners, so we can hold the wedding according to commoner's etiquette and complete it within a month."

"But within this month, you two are not allowed to meet privately again!"

"My daughter knows..." Zhang Wan'er spoke in a low voice. Finally, she turned around to look at her lover lovingly and then turned back to the inner hall.

"Don't worry, Uncle Zhang. I saved it!" Lu Yi nodded in approval.

I have been single for more than 20 years in my previous life, so one month won’t make a difference.

"Now that your son-in-law is engaged to my daughter, why are you still so distant from me?" Zhang Shangjia said angrily.

"The son-in-law greets his father-in-law!" Lu Yi's smile did not diminish when he heard this, and he immediately bowed in front of Zhang Shang.

"Haha, congratulations to my eldest brother for finding a good son-in-law, and congratulations to the shopkeeper for finding a good marriage!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jia immediately brought the Zhang family members to congratulate the father-in-law and son-in-law.

"Congratulations, brother-in-law!" Although Zhang Xun is one or two years younger than Lu Yi, he is marrying his younger sister, which makes him older than Lu Yi in terms of seniority, so he said it half sincerely and half proudly.

"Thank you, uncle!" Lu Yi didn't care about this. He married Zhang Wan'er for Zhang Liao, to deepen the cooperation with the Zhang family, and finally for the beauty of this little girl. As for Zhang Xun, he was just a bonus.

"Little brother greets brother-in-law!" Zhang Liao bowed in front of Lu Yi with an excited look on his face.

He was greatly impressed by Lu Yi's feat of defeating the Zhade tribe on the grassland, which deeply shocked the young man's restless heart, and he immediately became a little fan of Lu Yi.

"Hey, little brother-in-law, get up quickly. We are a family from now on!" Lu Yi looked at the young star who will surely shine brightly in the future, and said with a smile like a weird uncle who finally succeeded in tricking a child with a lollipop, with a double entendre in his words.

With this relationship, there is no need to worry about others kidnapping Zhang Liao, the brightest star in Bingzhou!
Marrying Zhang Wan'er to Lu Yi was not only Zhang Shang's decision, but also received the collective approval of the Zhang clan.

"Haha, congratulations to you, brother!" Lu Bu also congratulated Lu Yi with Gao Shun and others with a sincere face.

There is an order of seniority. If Lu Yi doesn't get married one day, Lu Bu can only wait.

Now that my eldest brother has finally got married, wouldn’t it be my turn to be the next one to get married?

"Haha, I'm very happy today. I'm going to open the clan's warehouse and let the whole clan get drunk together today!"

Now that Zhang Shang had obtained 400 strong horses, he suddenly became more wealthy than ever before and was actually generous for once.

"Haha, the clan leader is wise!"

Warm cheers immediately broke out from the Zhang family.

……

The next morning, Lu Yi woke up slowly.

As the target of the attack yesterday, he could no longer remember how much he had drunk.

I was completely defeated by Zhang's enthusiasm.

Not only that, Lu Bu, Hao Meng and other brats did not let him go and attacked him one after another.

Even Gao Shun joined the attack, but he usually didn't drink because he didn't know how to drink. After three or two cups, he fell down first and was the first to be carried out. It was a huge loss of face for him.

Normally, Lu Yi could still act like a big brother, but yesterday he could only take the challenge head-on, and ended up drinking a lot.

I got drunk for the first time since I traveled through time.

But this body is indeed outstanding.

Even after such a devastating ordeal, Lu Yi still felt energetic and quick-witted when he woke up the next day.

There was absolutely no hangover at all.

"Brother, you're awake!" Lu Bu, who had been guarding in front of Lu Yi's door, immediately came to greet him when he saw his elder brother coming out.

"Why are you guarding here? It's very safe in Zhang's fortress, there's no need for you to guard like this." Lu Yi took the wet towel he handed over and said with a smile.

"No, I promised my father that I would serve my brother well. How can I go back on my word?"

"Besides, my Lu family came from a humble background, and it is all thanks to my brother that we have been able to expand our family, so I dare not slack off for even a day!"

However, Lu Bu said seriously.

Whether out of family affection or out of his love for Lu Yi, he regards Lu Yi's safety as more important than his own.

"This Fengxian has become so loyal because of my unexpected appearance. It seems that my hard work during this period of time has not been wasted!"

Looking at Lu Bu's sincere face, Lu Yi couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

But he changed his mind and realized that the historical Lu Bu was born in a humble family and had no way to be promoted. If he were an ordinary person, it would be fine, but he would probably have to swallow his humiliation and live his life in vain.

But God gifted him with the bravest courage in the late Han Dynasty.

So he could only watch some people who were far less powerful than him prospering.

Although he possessed unparalleled martial arts, he could only fight with the Hu people in the bitter cold of Bingzhou for more than ten years. When he was in his thirties, he was still just a small clerk.

Historical records say that Ding Yuan treated Lü Bu well and made him his chief clerk and a close friend of his, but Lü Yi sensed a hint of vigilance and control in it.

With Lu Bu's unrivaled bravery and his military achievements in defending Bingzhou against the Hu people for more than ten years, and the fact that he was able to successfully take over the prestige of the Bingzhou Iron Cavalry after assassinating Ding Yuan.

Such a talented general who was perfect in every aspect could only do a few things. He was kept under the supervision of Ding Yuan as a clerk who was ordered around at will and had no freedom at all.

The reason why many people do not do evil is that they lack the ability to do evil, not that there is no sin in their hearts.

If someone else had control of Lu Bu's military power and prestige, he might have been unable to suppress the repression in his heart and killed Ding Yuan without waiting for Dong Zhuo to come and bewitch him.

"It seems that the reason why I appeared in this era is perhaps because I have shouldered the responsibility of changing this world and the people deep in this world!" Lu Yi changed his mind and suddenly an epiphany arose in his heart.

“If I hadn’t appeared, the wheel of history would only move forward according to its original inertia.”

"Lü Bu might still turn to Ding Yuan first, then to Dong Zhuo, out of frustration, and end up being deserted by his friends and relatives and dying in Baimen Tower."

"Gao Shun, a top commander with the ambition to break into the enemy's territory, could only rely on his loyalty to follow the wrong master in Baimen Tower and silently walk towards his doomed death."

"And it was only after wasting half his life that Zhang Liao joined Cao Cao, who was unconventional in employing talents, that he was able to truly display his brilliance as a general who would go down in history."

"But they are just a microcosm of this colorful, magnificent and cruel era."

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion..."

"Dong Zhuo is a disaster for the country..."

"The princes are fighting..."

"Guan Yu was defeated and fled to Maicheng..."

"Zhuge Liang died of illness at Wuzhangyuan..."

"The Yongjia Rebellion..."

"The elite migrated southward..."

"The Five Barbarians Invaded China..."

Suddenly, Lu Yi began to realize the true meaning of his time travel.

Although he himself is equally insignificant, he is like a tiny grain of sand in front of the rolling wheel of history.

But it is this grain of sand that can cause the wheel of history to produce a slight deviation that did not exist originally. This tiny deviation, under the power of time, may be able to produce incredible effects, leading the rolling wheel of history towards another new and unprecedented path!
"Brother, what are you doing..." Seeing Lu Yi staring at him, sometimes with a serious expression, sometimes with a long sigh of regret, and sometimes with a dark face, Lu Bu couldn't help but feel panic in his heart.

"Huh..." Lu Yi was interrupted from his trance by Lu Bu. He let out a long sigh and slowly regained his composure.

"Nothing, I just suddenly recalled some unhappy things..."

Lu Yi took Lu Bu to Zhang's warehouse and made up his mind silently.

"Some things are too far away and beyond my control now. Let me start by changing the people around me and the things I can do now!"

……

"The rest of you move this box of furs to Warehouse A, and the two of you put these top-quality horses in the stable in the backyard. They need to be fed well..."

After arriving at the warehouse, Lu Yi saw Zhang Jia skillfully directing the Zhang clan leader to move the goods in the caravan into different categories.

After this business trip to the frontier, Lu Yi felt that Zhang Jia was a talent who had been buried by history.

Although he is a little less courageous, his business experience and logistical management abilities are still pretty good.

Moreover, this person is now considered his relative, so he can feel more at ease using him.

If he sets up his own army in the future, Zhang Jia can fully take on a role such as a military ration officer. The only thing he doesn't know is what his wife looks like and whether she is generous or not.

"My dear nephew is here! Did you sleep well last night?" Zhang Jia saw Lu Yi coming from afar, and after quickly saying a few words to him, he greeted him with a smile on his face.

"After being used to the rough weather in the frontier, it is naturally very comfortable to suddenly sleep on a warm and safe bed." Lu Bu smiled and stated his purpose straight away.

"I wonder how long it will take to sell all these goods and horses?"

"The sooner we sell out, the sooner our caravan will have enough convoys and personnel to go out again."

"Oh? So that's what it is!" Zhang Jia nodded, brought Lu Yi and Lu Bu to Zhang's reception room and sat them down, then explained to Lu Yi.

"Even if my Zhang family has commercial channels throughout Bingzhou, this matter can be done quickly or slowly. However, the more anxious we are to sell, the lower the profit will be. The longer it takes, the higher the price of the goods will be."

"It will take a long time to sell all the 100,000 furs from the caravan. Otherwise, the price will be very low and it will not be worth it. I suggest you keep them in my Zhang's shop and sell them slowly."

"The horses in the caravan are all strong and popular. They are more than enough to be used as military horses. If they are sold within three months, the price can be raised to 30,000 coins per horse. If they are sold within two months, they can only be sold for 25,000 coins per horse. If it is still too slow and you want to sell them all within a month, the price will probably be reduced to 20,000 coins per horse."

"But 20,000 coins is already a bottom line. If it's any lower, we won't sell it in Bingzhou. We'll just take a detour to Yecheng in the south. Jizhou is the richest province in the world, and Yecheng is the richest city in the world besides Luoyang. Not to mention more than a thousand military horses, we can even eat ten or twenty times more. Especially the wealthy Zhen family is the world's leading merchant, with wealth a thousand times greater than Zhang's, enough to be called rich enough to rival a country!"

Zhang Jia said this and smacked his lips twice, revealing a longing look.

"Uncle Zhang, I'm in urgent need of money. To be honest, I'm going to get married to Wan'er in a month. Jiuyuan's old house is too dilapidated. It leaks when it's windy and rainy. My brother and I are both strong and tough, so it's no problem for us to live here. Wan'er is weak and will definitely not be able to adapt. At the very least, we need to move to a similar place first."

"Haha, in that case, why don't you live in my Zhang's fortress, my dear nephew?" Zhang Jia invited with a smile upon hearing this.

"Although Zhang's fort is good, it is only ok for one or two days. It will not be very convenient for a long time." Lu Yi's eyes flickered and he politely declined Zhang Jia's invitation.

He has too many secrets. Although he is close to the Zhang family, Zhang Shang, as the patriarch of the Zhang family, does not have complete control over the Zhang family's fortress. It is still not safe with too many people around.

"However, my Zhang family still has several properties in Mayi County. I can give them to your nephew on behalf of the clan leader!" Zhang Jia did not realize Lu Yi's intention. He thought for a moment and then continued.

"I have a lot of employees now, and I will continue to expand my staff in the future. Ordinary houses can't accommodate so many people. To be honest, I want to follow Zhang's example and build a fort in my hometown of Jiuyuan!"

"My dear nephew, this is not appropriate!" Zhang Jia immediately advised after hearing this.

"Firstly, the cost of building a fortress is extremely high, and it often takes a family decades or even hundreds of years to build it."

"Let's not talk about anything else. Just this small fortress of our Zhang family has cost two or three generations of our Zhang family, and a total investment of five million yuan!"

"Secondly, Jiuyuan is not only remote and sparsely populated, but also close to the Great Wall. If the Hu soldiers enter the pass, they will be the first to bear the brunt. Even if my nephew wants to build a fort, he should find a wealthy place inland to buy land and build it!"

Lu Yi is not only the Zhang family's God of Wealth now, but also the descendant of Zhang Jia. It is unreasonable and moral for him to watch Lu Yi jump into the fire pit with his head covered.

"So that's how it is! Thank you Uncle Zhang for the reminder!" Lu Yi suddenly realized what was going on, but he became more determined in his heart.

"But I still want to build a dock in my hometown of Jiuyuan!"

"You..." Zhang Jia looked at the young and heroic young man in front of him and couldn't help feeling discouraged.

My good intentions are in vain. Why is Lu Yi just not listening to my advice?
In fact, it’s not that Lu Yi is stubborn, but he did it on purpose.

Jiuyuan is located in a remote area. Not only is it very dangerous because of its proximity to the Great Wall, but it also has a very small population, making it desolate and unprosperous.

But these are exactly what Lu Yi needs to build an ideal base!

Being located in a remote area meant that the imperial court and aristocratic families could not reach far enough, so Lu Yi could develop things freely without being restricted in everything.

The sparse population makes it easy for Lu Yi to keep a firm grip on the base.

Desolation and lack of prosperity mean that there are fewer rules and regulations, making it easier for Lu Yi to build the base from scratch according to his own ideas.

Lu Yi now relies mainly on trade to accumulate capital, which is fundamentally different from the princes who rely entirely on farming ten years later. The stable business interests are enough to support him to complete the most basic armed construction. Besides, in this era, refugees and slaves can be seen everywhere. After Lu Yi has the power to protect himself, he can recruit refugees and buy slaves to open up Jiuyuan and farm.

As for being near the Great Wall and being dangerous, it actually served as protection and an excuse for Lu Yi to expand his power.

The Hu people are so brutal, and the imperial court cannot protect us. In order to protect my own life and property, can't I find some kind people to look after my house and protect me?
What? You're asking me why my guards are all wearing armor and holding crossbows?
You must be kidding! Those Hu people are good at riding and shooting. How can I defend myself from their arrows if I don't wear armor?
By the same token, they are so good at riding and shooting. How can I fight them on equal terms if I am not equipped with strong bows and crossbows?

What? The imperial court is just being disrespectful and is sending an army to attack me, saying I am a traitor?

Well, I won’t play anymore. I’ll just abandon the base camp and flee to the grassland to bully the Hu people first.

Where there are people, there is land. As long as Lu Yi has the armed forces in his hands, he will not be afraid of not being able to establish a base of his own in the Han area in the future.

May I know that in history, when Cao Cao was on an expedition to the east to attack Tao Qian, he was ambushed by Lu Bu, the leader of the wandering mercenaries in the country, in Yanzhou, leaving only two county towns. He almost went north to Hebei to join Yuan Shao.

If Xun Yu and others had not desperately dissuaded him, The Chronicle of Emperor Wu of Wei might have become The Biography of Cao Cao.

When Zhang Jiao and his brothers start a rebellion and Dong Zhuo causes chaos in the court, I will lead the Hu cavalry back to my homeland. Isn't that all that will be needed?
Don't doubt Lu Yi's plan.

Now, as long as he can recruit 800 Bingzhou cavalrymen from Qi, even if he cannot defeat the imperial court, it will not be difficult for him to run to the frontier and join forces with his cheap father-in-law to defeat the nearby small Hu tribes!

Therefore, the more Lu Yi thought about it, the more determined he became.

"I have made up my mind, Uncle Zhang, there is no need to persuade me anymore!"

"Okay!" Zhang Jia had experienced Lu Yi's persistence in the frontier areas before, and he knew that any further persuasion on his part would be in vain.

"The fortresses first flourished during the Han-Xiongnu War between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and reached their peak after Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty. Although Emperor Guangwu issued an edict to close down the fortresses across the country after he revived the Han Dynasty, the effect was minimal. Today, they have been around for hundreds of years."

"Our Bingzhou is the first prefecture to build a fort, and my Zhang family is one of the first families in Bingzhou to build a fort."

"When our ancestors did business outside the Great Wall, they felt deeply the fickleness and cruelty of the Hu people, so they imitated other tribes and built the Nie's Fortress. It has been passed down to my generation for nearly three hundred years!"

"So, nephew, you have asked the right person."

Zhang Jia showed off proudly.

"Haha, that's why I asked Uncle Zhang for advice."

"This fortress has been passed down to this day, and generally there are three sizes."

"One is a small fort like my Zhang's fort, which can accommodate a few hundred to two or three thousand people, and costs between one million and ten million coins."

"The second is a slightly larger medium-sized fortress that can accommodate a population of several thousand to more than ten thousand people. The cost is between ten million and twenty million coins."

"As for the largest ones, they are large docks that can even accommodate tens of thousands of people. The cost is between 20 million and 40 to 50 million coins."

"As for something bigger, it's not called a fortress, but a city. There's no limit to how big it can be built. For example, during its heyday, Luoyang, the eastern capital, could even accommodate a million people!"

"Wow, is it so expensive?" Lu Bu, who had been keeping silent, couldn't help but secretly click his tongue when he heard this.

Before Lu Yi traveled through time, the Lu family had always been extremely poor. The two strong horses in the family were also bought by the two Lu brothers through their frugal life in order to present themselves as chivalrous heroes.

Let alone millions or tens of millions of dollars, if they had a hundred thousand dollars, the two brothers would have been single long ago, and would not have fallen to the point of relying on hunting to vent their abundant energy in their twenties.

"Haha, I'm only talking about the price of laying the foundation and building the wall. If you want to build a house, you need to calculate the price separately. Otherwise, a fortress will cost the accumulation of several generations of a family!"

Lu Yi listened carefully to Zhang Jia's introduction and calculated the gains and losses.

"The small dock is too small and can easily reach its limit, so we won't use it."

"It's too large. Even if it's built at a huge cost, there's no way to arrange enough people to guard it. It's easy for the enemy to find a flaw and break through."

Thinking of this, Lu Yi made a decision.

"Uncle Zhang, I plan to build a medium-sized dock that can accommodate 10,000 people!"

"Oh? A scale of 10,000 people?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shang stretched out his finger to dip a little bit of the tea beside him, and began to calculate stroke by stroke on the dark wooden table.

"Two three equals six, four eight equals thirty-twelve..."

After seeing this page, you must turn it back and see the "To be continued" in the upper left corner to see the end of the story.
If possible, can a new account that has not been charged before be charged one dollar and then refresh again? Accounts that have not been charged for one or two months are not considered effective for tracking~
Good night everyone~
Another important point is that all the data in this book, including prices, values, etc., are randomly written by the author and are not accurate at all. The author has never traveled through time and does not know the specific data. These data are only written to serve the plot, so please do not take them seriously.

If there are readers who are dissatisfied and want to refute me, then the readers must be right!

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(End of this chapter)