Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 86 Zhou Tai
Liu Bang once made clear regulations on the positions of the three elders in the village, requiring each village to appoint one of the three elders, who should be over 50 years old, virtuous, able to lead the people and do good deeds.

By now, due to the war, the central government of the Han Dynasty had weakened its control over the local areas, the importance of local autonomy had become prominent, and the role of the village elders had become even more significant.

Besides the three elders of the township, the Xiaodi (filial piety and brotherhood) and Litian (laboring agriculture) positions were also important in the township, each held by a highly respected figure. The Xiaodi (filial piety and brotherhood) was responsible for teaching the people to be filial to their parents and to love their brothers. The Litian (laboring agriculture) was the most basic agricultural official, responsible for encouraging and guiding the people to be diligent in farming and to maintain their livelihoods.

These three positions were established by the Han court as moral role models in the villages and held high status. Every village had to have three elders, while the positions of filial piety, brotherhood, and hard work in the fields were sometimes established and sometimes not.

Yuncheng had a small population, and according to the Han system, there was no need to establish filial piety and hard work in farming. However, Yan Yi believed that the establishment of grassroots organizations could not be determined by the size of the population, so he set up these two positions.

After the three township posts were established, the organization was certainly more complete, but his workload also increased. Originally, he only needed to meet with three people, but now he had to meet with nine people.

By the time he had met with all nine people, it was already 3 p.m. As the sky was getting darker and night was about to fall, Yan Yi ordered his troops to return to Yuncheng.

The cavalry entered the city just as the gate was about to close. When they returned to Yan Mansion in the south of the city, it was already completely dark.

Yan Yi asked Cao Qiu and other officials to return home, while he took Yin Li and other personal guards to the backyard.

A supervisor of the Imperial Household, accompanied by two attendants, was waiting anxiously in the hallway on the north side of the backyard. Seeing Yan Yi striding towards them, they quickly untied the soap bag on their backs and pulled out a scroll with a sealed mud seal. Holding it aloft, they bowed to Yan Yi and said, "The Supervisor of the Imperial Household is here to greet Young Lord. This is an urgent letter sent by Lord Pei. Please review it."

The Menxia Du was an official responsible for supervising affairs and internal security, and was sometimes also responsible for delivering documents.

"Pei Ji sent a letter at this time, could it be something important?"

A hint of curiosity flashed through Yan Yi's mind. He took the bamboo slips from Yuan Sui's hand, removed the seal, and walked towards the Yunjin Pavilion in the backyard.

After a while, the high-angled eaves of the Yunjin Pavilion came into view.

Most of the personal guards stopped immediately, only Yin Li and more than ten other death warriors remained by Yan Yi's side.

When they were almost at Yunjin Pavilion, Yin Li and the others stopped following and were patrolling outside the pavilion.

Before Yan Yi entered the pavilion, he could smell the fragrance of a fragrant breeze. Zhou Mi and several maids and concubines came out to greet him, their skirts fluttering as they bowed in formal attire.

For a time, there were many beautiful women all around.

Zhou Mi had spent several nights in the company of Yan Yi. When she woke up in the morning, Yan Yi had already left. She had waited all day before finally seeing him again. Thinking of what had happened last night, a faint blush crept up her face. "Young Master, you've been out all day. Did you have dinner?"

"We've already eaten outside the city." Yan Yi took her hand and walked into the pavilion. He took off the sword from his waist and handed it to a maid. Then he sat down on the couch on the north side and ordered, "Move the lamp stand over here."

A maid quickly moved the bronze lamp stand two steps closer to the couch. More than ten oil lamps on the lamp stand were lit, making the area around the couch as bright as day.

Zhou Mi and other women knew that he had official documents to read, so they all walked aside.

Yan Yi unfolded the bamboo slips under the lamp and looked at them for a few seconds. A hint of realization first flashed across his face, and then a hint of joy appeared on his face.

The story in the letter is about seeking out talented people.

A month ago, he combined his memories from his previous life and listed all the talents that could be recruited, and ordered Pei Ji to spread out his manpower and search everywhere. Now, he finally got some news.

Thinking of the lack of talent under his command, he couldn't help but feel anxious and read the bamboo slips carefully. After reading the bamboo slips, Yan Yi tapped the table with his fingers, a thoughtful look on his face.

Pei Ji was very efficient. With just the tiny clues he provided, he was able to track down the whereabouts of six of them, and conducted an investigation into their current situations, which he listed one by one in a letter.

Now that we have found the people, the next step is to find a way to recruit them.

Especially for those two, the situation has become urgent and cannot be delayed.

If he didn't take action now, Sun Ce would get there first.

Yan Yi thought for a moment, his eyes swept around the room, and suddenly stopped on Zhou Mi.

Zhou Mi's pretty face flushed red as he stared at her, and she bit her lips lightly: "Why do you keep looking at me, young master?"

Yan Yi gestured for her to come to his side, opened his arms, and took her into his embrace. He smiled and asked, "I remember hearing you say last night that you were from Xiacai, Jiujiang?"

Zhou Mi felt so weak and limp in his embrace that she buried her head in his arms and hummed softly.

Yan Yi asked thoughtfully, "There's a brave man named Zhou Tai in Nanping Village, Guangcheng Township, Xiacai. Have you ever heard of him?"

Zhou Mi raised her pretty face from his embrace, a hint of confusion flashing across her eyes before revealing a look of surprise: "Zhou Tai is my cousin, how did you know about him? Do you have any news about him?"

Yan Yi was stunned. He had never expected that his casual question would yield such an unexpected result: "Does your cousin have a courtesy name?"

"His courtesy name was Youping." A flicker of memory flickered in Zhou Mi's eyes as she whispered, "That year, there was a major epidemic, and the village elders gave him this courtesy name, implying safe passage through the disease. It was then that I left Xia Cai, but unfortunately Zhou Tai was ill and bedridden, so he couldn't come with us."

In history, Zhou Tai's courtesy name was Youping. Yan Yi was immediately certain that Zhou Mi's cousin was the famous Jiangdong general.

He asked anxiously, "How is your relationship with Zhou Tai?"

Zhou Mi sensed the seriousness in Yan Yi's tone and sat up straight. "Zhou Tai's family was poor. His father died young, leaving only his mother to do needlework every day, and the two of them could barely make ends meet. When he was little, I often brought him food from home, and we often talked. But after he turned thirteen, he often hung out with the other boys in the village, wielding spears and clubs, and we gradually became less and less connected."

Yan Yi pondered and asked, "Among the young men he was hanging out with, was there anyone named Jiang Qin?"

Zhou Mi thought seriously for a while and shook his head slightly.

Yan Yi held her hand and sighed softly, "You haven't seen Zhou Tai in several years, but you didn't know that your cousin is now a renowned hero. Not only is he a master of martial arts and exceptionally brave, but he also helps those in need, and his reputation for righteousness is known throughout the village."

Zhou Mi nodded gently, not revealing much surprise. "Zhou Tai has been very strong since he was young, and he loves to stand up for the weak. I remember when he was just fourteen, before he even had his hair tied up, he was already leading the villagers in resisting bandits."

Yan Yi became even more delighted after hearing this. Zhou Tai was not only brave but also loyal and upright. He vowed to recruit him under his command.

However, goals and reality are often at odds with each other, and this matter is still full of variables.

(End of this chapter)