Han officials

Chapter 143: Old Ministers and Clan Relatives [1/2]

It can be said that Lu Zhi's departure from the capital this time was tantamount to exile.

Apart from an imperial edict and a seal, He Jin and others did not provide him with any court funding.

As for how to build an Andong Protectorate from scratch, it all depends on Lu Zhi's ability.

If Lu Zhi messed things up, they would actually be happy to see it happen.

Party strife that harms the country often comes from this.

Fortunately, Lu Zhi was not a pedantic person, but a first-class capable official.

After arriving in Youzhou, Lu Zhi did not rush to Liaodong, but first visited Youzhou Mu Liu Yu.

After all, he is now the Protector of Andong, and Liu Yu is theoretically his superior.

……

The next day, Ji County, Guangyang County.

Inside the governor's residence, Lu Zhi greeted the governor meticulously, saying, "Zhi, I'm here to meet you, Your Excellency!"

Seeing this, Liu Yu immediately stood up and helped him up himself.

Although the two had no personal relationship, Liu Yu did not dare to look down on a great scholar like Lu Zhi.

So after a brief greeting, Liu Yu asked Lu Zhi why he had come.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi did not hesitate and said, "The Andong Protectorate has just been established and is short of supplies and manpower. Therefore, I ask you to allocate some food and fodder for us to prepare for the war."

As an official, you cannot be thin-skinned.

This shows that applying for funding has been a traditional skill for officials since ancient times.

After Lu Zhi finished speaking, without waiting for Liu Yu to speak, he continued to explain how important this grant was.

"Your Excellency, as the Governor of Youzhou, should be aware that the border threat here is severe. Although the Xianbei are currently plagued by internal strife, they still have deep roots on the grasslands. If a powerful leader emerges in the future, the story of Tan Shihuai may repeat itself!"

Then, Lu Zhi said with a worried look on his face, "Although Zhang Chun's rebellion has been quelled, the Wuhuan in the Five Commanderies are showing signs of escaping. At this moment, the Andong Protectorate is of paramount importance! If the Dongyi tribes are allowed to join forces with the Northern Tartars, there will be no peace north of the Han Dynasty!"

Lu Zhi's remarks were not exaggerations, but his personal experience.

As a native of Zhuo County, Lu Zhi was well aware of the great border pressure Youzhou faced.

The men of Youyan value righteousness over death, which is also a kind of helplessness.

It is precisely because they have been accustomed to life and death since childhood that they are chivalrous and resolute, and value righteousness over their own lives!

Although Liu Yu was not from Youzhou, he had served as the governor of Youzhou for many years and knew that what Lu Zhi said was true.

However, even so, Liu Yu did not agree immediately, but stroked his beard and pondered.

There is no way, Liu Yu also has his difficulties.

Because Youzhou's finances had always been poor, the amount of taxes collected each year was limited. Furthermore, being located on the frontier, the annual expenses for border affairs were huge. Forgetting self-sufficiency, Youzhou even needed Qingzhou and Jizhou to transfer over 200 million yuan annually to balance its finances.

Originally, this would not have been a problem under the court's dispatch, but since last year, the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou and Xuzhou have begun to wreak havoc again, resulting in a very bleak tax situation in Qingzhou this year, not to mention aid to Youzhou.

If it were any other official, not only would it be difficult to quell Zhang Chun's rebellion, but it would probably be difficult to even stabilize the situation.

Fortunately, the governor of Youzhou appointed by the court was Liu Yu!

It can be said that Liu Yu is the most legitimate relative of the Han Dynasty.

His grandfather Liu Jia was Guanglu Xun, and his father Liu Shu was also the prefect of Danyang.

As for Liu Yu's fifth-generation ancestor, he was Liu Jiang, the King of Donghai, the eldest son of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. When Emperor Guangwu first established the country, Liu Jiang even served as the crown prince for a period of time.

Unfortunately, Liu Qiang's biological mother was Guo Shengtong, so he was not loved by Liu Xiu.

Therefore, after the world was stabilized, Liu Xiu abolished Guo Shengtong's position as empress, re-established his first love Yin Lihua as empress, and made her son the crown prince. In this way, Liu Jiang, the King of Donghai, became the deposed crown prince.

However, Liu Jiang himself was quite sensible, so he became the deposed prince with the best ending in history.

Not only can they enjoy a peaceful old age, but their descendants will not be affected by it.

So when it comes to blood relationship with the royal family of this dynasty, Liu Yu is much stronger than Liu Biao, Liu Bei, Liu Zhang and others. Their origins with the royal family of this dynasty can be traced back to the period of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty. How can they be as close as Liu Yu?

Even when Emperor Huan of Han died, Empress Dowager Dou Miao served as regent and Dou Wu was the general, Liu Yu actually had the right of inheritance if Dou had not had the selfish desire to establish a young emperor.

Because Liu Hong was only the great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang of Han, Liu Zhuang, and the great-grandson of King Xiao of Hejian, Liu Kai, and was a member of a small branch of the clan. He was able to become the ruler of the big branch and inherit the throne of Emperor Huan of Han as a member of a small branch. Naturally, Liu Yu was also qualified.

If Dou had been less selfish and chosen Liu Yu, who had a better reputation, the world would probably be different.

After all, Liu Yu's experience was similar to that of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bingyi. Both of them grew up among the people and knew the sufferings of the people.

Even looking at Liu Yu's resume, he rose step by step from a county official to a county official.

Therefore, although this old gentleman is not good at military strategy, he is an expert in domestic affairs!
The rebellion was quelled in March, and this gentleman was able to quickly resume production in most of the Youzhou counties.

If we only talk about their ability in domestic affairs, Xun Yu and he would probably be on par with each other.

"I don't have any money or food!" Liu Yu said helplessly, "Zi Gan, it's not that I don't want to help you, I'm just short of money."

Just when Lu Zhi was feeling somewhat disappointed, Liu Yu suddenly changed the subject and said, "However, I can give you some of the salt and iron from Yuyang County every year. What do you think?"

"That's enough!" Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you for your help, sir!"

After solving the financial allocation problem, Lu Zhi did not leave in a hurry, but instead asked:
"I wonder how much the envoy knows about Wei Gongwei, the governor of Liaodong?"

Although Lu Zhi once led a large army to suppress the Yellow Turbans, he had never met Wei Zhe.

Although he often heard news about Wei Zhe in recent years, he didn't know much about this Liaodong prefect.

It should be noted that it is often unknown how many times official news has been passed through the hands, and the authenticity of the news is very low.

In comparison, Lu Zhi wanted to hear what his superior Liu Yu had to say about Wei Zhe.

After all, his Andong Protectorate was established with the help of Wei Zhe. In the future, he will have to deal with Wei Zhe when they are in Liaodong together. It is always good to know more about each other!

Liu Yu was not surprised to see him asking about Wei Zhe. After a moment's silence, he gave an evaluation:
"He is a man of both civil and military talents, a general or a prime minister!"

At this point, Liu Yu couldn't help but shake his head with some regret, saying, "If this person had been born during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, his achievements might not have been inferior to those of Wei and Huo!"

When these words were spoken, even though Lu Zhi had been an official for many years, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

How should I put it? It seems like everyone has always praised him like this in the past.

You should know that there were many people who were regarded as great scholars in the country by their contemporaries, but there was only one who was as good at fighting as Lu Zhi.

Zheng Xuan's knowledge may be deeper than Lu Zhi's, but he is definitely not as good at fighting as Lu Zhi.

Huangfu Song may be better at fighting than Lu Zhi, but his knowledge is definitely not as profound as his.

Lu Zhi had only heard that Wei Zhe was good at military strategy before, but this was the first time he heard that he was also good at studying.

Even though he knew Liu Yu wasn't one to joke around, he couldn't help but ask...

(End of this chapter)