Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Chapter 98 Why are so many monstrous talents among Xuande's subordinates?

Xu Kun only brought one servant and some simple changes of clothes before urging Guo Jia and Zhuge Xuan to set off immediately.

After Guo Jia saw them off onto the ship, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Lord Zhuge, please return soon! Yuzhang County can't do without you!"

Zhuge Xuan chuckled, but did not answer.

"Even if you don't want to come back, the lord must send someone to take charge of the overall situation," Guo Jia instructed again.

Zhuge Xuan turned his back and walked into the cabin with Xu Kun.

The boatman untied the mooring rope, and with a light touch of the bamboo pole on the shore, the boat glided gracefully away from the bank.

"————" Guo Jia stood on the dock, watching the ships sail away into the distance, and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

The boats traveled north along the Gan River.

After traveling for two days, we turned onto Pengxinze and then sailed into the Yangtze River.

The terrain on both sides of the river gradually rises, with rolling hills.

After another day of travel, they arrived at Dangtu and from there turned into the Shuiyang River.

At this time, large stretches of farmland and scattered villages began to appear on both sides of the river.

Xu Kun noticed that these fields were very neatly maintained; the ridges were straight and the ditches were crisscrossed.

The rice in the field has already sprouted ears, a lush green expanse that sways gently in the wind.

In two months, this will be a heavy load of grain!

The boat continued forward, and the river gradually narrowed.

A waterwheel appeared ahead, situated between the riverbank and the high ground.

The waterwheel has a sturdy axle and wide blades, and it rotates slowly under the impact of the water flow.

The flapper lifts the river water from the lower part of the river to the bank, then sends it along a wooden trough into a higher ditch, and finally it flows into the distant fields.

There were no animals or people along the way, only the sound of water and the creaking of the wooden axle turning.

Xu Kun stared at the waterwheel for a long time.

Zhuge Xuan emerged from the cabin, followed Xu Kun's gaze, and laughed, "That's a waterwheel, also invented by the Army Division. It requires no human or animal power; water power drives the axle, allowing for continuous irrigation of the fields day and night."

The boat continued its journey, and the villages on both banks became increasingly dense.

On the ridge of the field, someone was leading a cow back home, followed by several children who were chasing and playing happily, holding foxtail grass in their hands.

"Saving the world and bringing peace to the people, that's all there is to it," Xu Kun said in a low voice.

Zhuge Xuan was surprised by Xu Kun's high praise of Lu Yong and was momentarily at a loss for words.

After another hour of sailing, the outline of Wanling City gradually came into view.

The city wall is over three zhang high and looks very new, obviously recently repaired.

When Zhuge Xuan and Xu Kun arrived at the dock, Lu Su, Zhuge Jin, Sun Qian, and others had been waiting for a long time.

Zhuge Xuan disembarked first.

Zhuge Jin immediately stepped forward, bowing and saying, "Uncle, you must be tired from your journey."

Zhuge Xuan helped Zhuge Jin up, looked him up and down for a moment, and then exclaimed, "Ziyu, you've become so mature and composed!"

Then, Zhuge Xuan stepped aside to let Xu Kun pass and introduced him to everyone: "This is Xu Kun, the head of the Xu family of Yuzhang, a descendant of the renowned scholar Xu Ruzi."

This trip to Wanling is specifically to discuss the grand plan of establishing schools with the Lord!

Lu Su and Sun Qian stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Lord Xu has come from afar; we are sorry for not welcoming you properly. Our lord is already waiting in the mansion; please follow us."

Xu Kun returned the greetings one by one.

The group disembarked at the dock and entered the city.

The streets of Wanling City were wider than Xu Kun had expected; even with three carriages traveling side by side, there was still room for them to pass.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians.

The peddler carrying his load nimbly weaved through the crowd, and several children carrying candied hawthorns ran past Xu Kun.

Shops lined both sides of the street, and people came and went, happily selecting their favorite items.

Xu Kun stopped and looked at the scene before him.

He recalled that the last time he saw such a scene was in Luoyang decades ago.

At that time, he was still a boy. He went to the capital with his father and witnessed the prosperity of the capital of the Han Dynasty.

Later, when Dong Zhuo entered the capital, he set fire to Luoyang, burning it to the ground and turning its prosperity into scorched earth.

Over the next decade or so, he traveled through Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou, where he encountered bustling crowds and markets.

But they are all different from Wanling.

Because beneath their prosperity lies decay, a life of luxury and extravagance, while the common people live hand to mouth.

But in Wanling, the people had smiles on their faces, their eyes shone with light, and they even had extra money in their pockets to buy more household items.

All of this seemed so grounded and so full of vitality.

Seeing Xu Kun stop, Lu Su said softly, "Our lord has been in Wanling for less than a year, and many things have not yet been perfected."

""

"————" Zhuge Xuan was somewhat surprised. The prosperity before him that many lords envied was actually still a half-finished product.

Xu Kun nodded slightly and continued walking forward.

He was already eager to meet Liu Bei and see what kind of wise ruler he was.

The governor's mansion was located in the center of the city. It was not large, and there were no stone lions or screen walls in front of the gate. It looked no different from the mansions of ordinary officials.

Lu Su led them into the main hall.

Liu Bei was already seated in the main seat, waiting.

He was dressed in a dark black robe, without a crown, and his hair was tied up with a hairpin.

Upon seeing Xu Kun enter, Liu Bei stood up, walked to the center of the hall, bowed, and said, "Lord Xu, you have come from afar. I am so sorry for not welcoming you properly."

Xu Kun returned the greeting solemnly, his gaze lingering on Liu Bei's face for a moment.

The governor of Yuzhou was more gentle-looking than rumored. His brows lacked the sharpness often seen in feudal lords, instead revealing a magnanimous and composed demeanor.

"His appearance is as radiant as the sun and the moon, his bearing as majestic as a dragon and a phoenix! Liu Bei actually has the air of Emperor Gaozu!" Xu Kun exclaimed inwardly.

Liu Bei invited Xu Kun to sit down and had tea served.

Xu Kun didn't bother with formalities with Lu Yong and went straight to the point: "I've already seen the paper that Army Division Commander sent. Is Army Division Commander here?"

"Huai'an should still be in the workshop at the moment. I have already sent someone to fetch him. Please wait a moment, Lord Xu," Liu Bei replied with a smile.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

A moment later, Lu Yong strode in.

He was wearing a worn scholar's robe with ink stains on the cuffs, carrying a wooden box in his left hand and a scroll of bamboo slips in his right.

Behind him followed Zhuge Liang, who was also covered in ink stains, with even a few black spots on his face.

Upon entering, he first bowed to Liu Bei, then turned to Xu Kun and said with a smile, "Master Xu, I've kept you waiting. I was just testing the new woodblock printing and couldn't get away."

"What is woodblock printing?" Xu Kun stood up to return the greeting, his gaze falling on Lu Yong.

He has delicate features, bright eyes, and exudes vitality and affability.

Lu Yong was even younger than Xu Kun had imagined, perhaps even excessively so.

He had thought that Guo Jia, at twenty-five or twenty-six, was already a prodigy.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yong was even younger and more well-rounded than Guo Jia.

Is Liu Bei someone who only collects monsters?

Despite his mind wandering to all sorts of random thoughts, Xu Kun still bowed and said without hesitation, "Army Division."

Lu Yong placed the wooden box on the table and then opened the lid.

Inside, there was a neat stack of bamboo paper.

The quality of this stack of paper is better than the one in Xu Kun's sleeve; it is whiter, smoother, and more resilient.

"Please take a look, gentlemen." Lu Yong took out one of the cards and handed one to each of Liu Bei, Lu Su, Xu Kun, Zhuge Xuan, and others.

"This is the latest batch of improved, high-quality paper, specifically designed for printing books."

The paper already had the first page of the Thousand Character Classic printed on it: "Heaven and earth were dark and yellow, the universe was vast and boundless. The sun and moon wax and wane, the stars and constellations are arrayed in the sky—" After reading the first few lines, Xu Kun suddenly raised his head.

His eyes gleamed as he asked, "Four characters per line, rhyming and melodious, with no repetition. What is the title of this book, and who wrote it?"

Lu Yong smiled and pointed to the boy beside him who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, saying, "I am not very talented, I have only compiled a rough version, the rest was revised by Zhuge Liang."

"???" Zhuge Xuan.

"!!!" Xu Kun.

Zhuge Liang?

A fifteen-year-old boy?

Why are so many monsters emerging from He Xuande's ranks?

Zhuge Jin looked at his second brother with envy in his eyes, but not with jealousy. He was happy that his brother had such an opportunity.

Everyone else was incredibly envious.

Sun Qian couldn't help but say, "Strategist, if you need another arduous task like this, you can come to me."

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