Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 85 Visitors
Prophecy City, Cao family.

Liu Zun was not polite and took more than 20 members of the Liu family with him, taking away more than 50 pigs and sheep.

It was called borrowing, but in reality it was no different from robbing. Anyone who dared to stop him would be kicked to the ground by Liu Zun. "My family's soldiers are lending you pigs and sheep. It's to give face to your Cao family. Who dares to say no?"

The twenty-seven followers behind him were all veteran soldiers of the Northern Palace. They had witnessed the grand scene of hundreds of thousands of Hu people in the Battle of Feishui, so naturally they were not afraid of a mere Cao family.

More than 200 people from the Cao family dared not say a word and watched them take away the pigs and sheep.

"This Liu Daogui really treats my Cao family as his own treasury. He borrowed seeds, oxen, farm tools, and flags before, and now he's borrowing pigs and sheep..."

Cao Tengyun looked painful.

Although there wasn't much food, the Cao family didn't lack it, but he usually couldn't bear to eat it.

"Isn't it just a few dozen pigs and sheep? What's the big deal? He fought a bloody battle at Qingguang Temple, killing countless people. He scared the Taishan bandits away from moving south, saving my family a lot of food."

Cao Ji is much more reasonable than his father.

In fact, although these Northern Army were arrogant, they were much more polite than the Governor Wang and Magistrate Zhang sent by the court. At least they were "borrowed" in name only.

I didn't really do anything.

The two sent by the court, not only eat and drink for free, but also want the women of the Cao family to sleep with them, and specifically asked for Cao Tengyun's daughter...

The Jin troops on the border often went north, killing people, setting fires, raping and looting, committing all kinds of evil. Their methods were no worse than those of the Taishan bandits.

In order to protect themselves, the Cao family would also establish some relationships with the bandits in the mountains to be prepared for any eventuality and to get what they needed.

"He is indeed very capable. In just one or two months, he was able to unite these unruly refugees." Cao Tengyun was full of envy.

He also tried to take in refugees a few years ago, but the results were not ideal.

The refugees would rather sleep in the wilderness than become servants of Cao's family.

There was even a group of refugees who pretended to seek refuge with the Cao family, and after eating and drinking their fill, they began to think of taking over their nest.

Fortunately, Cao Tengyun was also a vigilant person. He saw that something was wrong and decisively took action, killing all the refugees, including women and children...

From then on, he became extremely cautious with refugees.

The refugees also disliked the Cao family.

"I've said it before, this guy is definitely not an ordinary person. The Pengcheng Liu family is becoming more and more powerful. Let's not talk about Liu Daogui, just Liu Laozhi, with 20,000 troops under his command, his future is limitless. The Pengcheng Liu family will definitely become one of the most powerful families in the future. My Cao family and the Liu family are related by marriage, and we can also benefit from it and have a backer."

Although Cao Ji had not spent a long time with Liu Daogui, he still remembered his decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Such ruthless people are most likely to rise in troubled times.

The Cao family used to be considered ruthless, but after they carved out a niche for themselves in Lanling and established themselves, they lived a comfortable life and their ruthlessness faded.

The other nephews and nieces of the Cao family all started taking Wu Shi San...

"You have already met the person. What do you think?" Cao Tengyun looked at his daughter who was making tea nearby.

She was the girl who gave Liu Daogui the eight-colored flags that day.

She knelt like a lotus, her skirt scattered like clouds, and her bare hands pinched a few grains of salt and sprinkled them into the gurgling teapot.

A few wisps of white smoke rose from the cauldron, reddening her cheeks. "It all depends on my father and brother..."

Although Liu Daogui had not been in Lanling for long, he had good character and did not bully men or women like other officials. He had taken in so many women and children, and he had not done anything immoral.

Just from this point, we can know that he is a good man who can be entrusted with life. Poor family against poor family, the Cao family can barely be considered a poor family, but they are also powerful and well-matched with the Liu family.

"Then it's settled. I've already found out that among the three Liu brothers, only one is married. We must act quickly. If someone else gets there first, all our efforts will be in vain."

Cao Ji is an experienced person. The brother and sister have always been close. How could he not know what his younger sister is thinking?
When she sent the flags, she stayed up all night and embroidered various patterns by hand, which showed her love.

Now it is the Cao family that needs Liu Daogui more, rather than Liu Daogui that needs the Cao family.

However, Cao Tengyun was still hesitating. He was the one who conquered the land of Yucheng and even sacrificed a leg and half of his life to defend it. Now an outsider got involved, and he really couldn't swallow this humiliation.

Cao Ji said anxiously, "Five hundred years ago, our Qiao County Cao family followed Emperor Gaozu of Han to conquer the world and even became prime ministers. Aren't we family members? Emperor Xian of Han also married the three daughters of our Emperor Wu. Besides, can our family compete with the Pengcheng Liu family now? A marriage between our two families will greatly benefit the Cao family."

Cao Tengyun glanced at the brother and sister. "Well, you guys can handle it as you see fit. He's already settled down in Lanling, but we still need to find a suitable matchmaker for our marriage. We can't let others look down on us."

Parents to enrich people.

A formal marriage can only be achieved through a matchmaker. If the Cao family takes the initiative to offer their daughter to the door, it would seem disrespectful.

The wedding ceremony is to unite the two families, to serve the ancestral temple and to continue the family line. Therefore, gentlemen attach great importance to it.

A matchmaker is indispensable for accepting marriage proposals, asking for the bride's name, accepting the good news, accepting the betrothal gifts, and asking for the date of marriage.

However, Lanling is so small, the Cao family and the Liu family are not very familiar with each other, and there is no one to act as a matchmaker between them.

While the father and son were thinking, the girl whispered, "Xiao family."

Cao Ji slapped his forehead and said, "My little sister is really smart. General Liu's mother's surname is Xiao. Poor family versus poor family, she must be from the Lanling Xiao family. It's right to find Xiao Tingzhi."

"Send someone to call Xiao Tingzhi over." Cao Tengyun didn't take the Xiao family seriously.

Seventy years ago, the main clan of the Xiao family moved south and settled in Southern Lanling. Those who remained in Lanling were only side branches, which were far inferior to the Cao family. They had to provide food to the Cao family every year and depended on them for their livelihood.

The Cao family asked the Xiao family to be a matchmaker because they were giving face to the Xiao family.

As the father and son were discussing the dowry, a servant whispered outside the door, "Master, there's a wandering monk outside who claims to be an old friend and wants to see you."

"Monk?"

The father and son looked at each other, neither of them remembered having such an old friend, but the visitor was only one person, and a monk at that, so it wouldn't hurt to meet him.

The Cao family doesn't want to offend any monks or Taoists.

"You're welcome." Cao Tengyun waved his hand.

Not long after, a man in plain linen clothes came in. A bamboo hat covered most of his face. He was short and strong, and looked more like a warrior than a monk.

He stood motionless at the steps, yet made the people around him inexplicably frightened, as if he had just crawled out of a pile of corpses.

Cao Tengyun's expression changed. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Brother Cao, have you forgotten your old friend so quickly?" The monk took off his bamboo hat, revealing a face covered with scars. His left eye had been injured by a sword and turned a deathly white. He looked like an evil ghost and stared at Cao Tengyun coldly.

After Cao Tengyun saw who was coming, he was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "You are so brave!"

"I've never been timid, it all depends on whether Brother Cao has the courage!"

"Clang", the crisp sound of a teacup breaking came from inside the house...

(End of this chapter)