Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

From that day on, the Tian Chamber of Commerce developed at a speed that was unimaginable to ordinary people.

The first action was taken within Luoyang city – the twelve wards established merchant registers, and the first batch of road permits were issued;

Further outwards—trade routes connecting Hanoi, Henan, Yingchuan, and Chenliu were "signed" together.

Before a caravan leaves the city, it must have its license verified by the Heavenly Chamber of Commerce. Grain and medicine shops must leave their seals on the merchant register when purchasing goods. Once the warehouse receipts are issued, the prices stabilize by half.

Cao Song was so busy that he barely had time to rest. The piles of documents on his desk were not memorials, but account books; not articles by famous scholars, but registers of shops in various prefectures.

Zhang Rang's men came again and again, smiling as they checked the accounts and copied down the items, as if they were really looking after the money for His Majesty.

Needless to say, Zhao Zhong's side is even more...

The clerks and accountants he placed in the palace were able to "see" what the Crown Prince was supposed to let him see every day.

How much salt prices have stabilized, how many more granaries have been built, how many people have been saved at clinics, how many road permits have been issued—everything is clean and neat.

It's as beautiful as a polished mirror.

On the other side of the mirror, Cao Cao shielded Liu Bian from all the extraneous shadows.

That "liu er" (a dog) was also very well-behaved; whatever it heard and said seemed to be read from a script written in one's mind.

Zhao Zhong received a "statement of the inside story" every few days, and the more he read it, the more at ease he felt, so much so that he even began to think:

The Eastern Palace is nothing special; no matter how clever the Crown Prince is, he can't escape His Majesty's grasp.

Kong Rong did not break his promise.

Before three days had passed, he returned a brief list: talisman paper, sulfur, linen... all had hidden connections, all had been resold, and their final destination pointed to two words.

Jizhou.

When Liu Bian received the paper, his fingertips tightened slightly.

He wasn't surprised.

Surprisingly, everything went too smoothly, and Kong Rong investigated too easily, as if someone was not afraid of being investigated at all, and even... waiting for you to investigate.

But in any case, now that Jizhou has shown its strength, he is taking advantage of the situation to increase his investment.

More people were secretly sent out of the palace under the guise of the Heavenly Merchants Association to "inventory the merchant registers" and "inspect prohibited items," keeping an eye on the businesses in Jizhou: sulfur shops, hemp cloth workshops, spice shops, paper shops, and the salt routes.

Liu Bian had already begun to plan his next move: cut off road access, cut off sulfur supply, cut off hemp cloth supply—

Cut the "Yellow Heaven" fire rope before it is lit.

But things didn't go as planned.

A year has passed.

The Tianjin Chamber of Commerce is accepting more and more chambers of commerce, its business registration network is becoming increasingly dense, and its business licenses are being issued to more and more distant places.

People in Guanzhong and Jingyang even started submitting their name cards to apply for citizenship.

At first, the Tian Chamber of Commerce was met with widespread condemnation, with everyone believing it to be a new tool of exploitation introduced by the imperial court. But now, however, everyone is praising it, because everyone can see the difference—

There are fewer arguments in front of pawnshops, and fewer queues in front of grain shops.

Some people still stubbornly insisted that "the officials have added another layer of exploitation," but when the day actually came to transport grain and medicine, everyone obediently went to exchange for road permits—because without road permits, the vehicles could not leave the pass.

Only Jizhou remained as quiet as a mountain sealed by snow.

Sulfur, linen, talisman paper, salt and iron... if anything is amiss, a trace will always be left on the account book.

The strange thing is that Jizhou is like a stagnant pool.

The business registration was spotless, the road permits were properly followed, and even the import and export of sulfur was "reasonable".

It's too "reasonable," so reasonable that it sends chills down your spine.

The paper on Liu Bian's desk with "Jizhou" written on it had been frayed at the edges by him.

He began to move around the palace frequently.

He visited the Zhangde Hall more frequently, and also made occasional appearances at the Taichang Temple, the Shangshutai, and the Inner Treasury.

He went to the archery range in the Imperial Garden, the waterside pavilion in the Imperial Forest, the rehearsals at the Music Bureau... wherever he could hear the word "outside."

He doesn't want excitement.

He wants the truth.

That day, he walked to Shanglin Garden.

As winter fades and spring begins, the grass in the garden is just starting to sprout, and the thin mist on the water has not yet dissipated.

There seems to be a small banquet in front of the Emperor today. Most of the attendees are sons of officials who have come to the palace with their fathers. Some are waiting on the side, while others are reading and chatting in the corridor.

The sound of a zither drifted from a distant waterside pavilion.

The piano music was playing steadily until suddenly a note was played incorrectly, causing it to veer slightly off-center.

Just as it was about to fall, a child looked up.

It wasn't the kind of lift you give when you look back; it was a lift like you'd been pricked by a needle.

His eyes lit up, and his gaze fell directly on the waterside pavilion and the zither table.

Liu Bian paused in his steps.

The child was only seven or eight years old, dressed plainly, with his hair neatly tied up. He stood at the edge of the crowd, neither grabbing nor making a fuss, but when he raised his eyes, it seemed to suppress the surrounding noise by half an inch.

Another note from the zither began.

It's still the same melody, but there's still a slight deviation.

The child tilted his head slightly, his eyebrows twitching—as if he were "listening," or perhaps "counting."

Liu Bian suddenly smiled.

This habit of "checking if you mishear a note" was later written into legends.

He raised his hand to signal Wang Ming to step back, and then slowly walked over.

The adult beside the child noticed someone approaching and moved closer to the child warily. Upon seeing that it was the Crown Prince, they quickly bowed and said:

"Your subject Zhou Yi pays his respects to Your Highness."

Zhou Yi – Magistrate of Luoyang.

The child looked up at the sound, and upon recognizing the Crown Prince, remained calm and composed, maintaining proper etiquette, and bowed, saying:

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Liu Bian's gaze lingered on Zhou Yi for a moment before returning to the child's face.

"You looked up just now because you played the wrong instrument?"

"Wrong by half."

"If the 'jiao' note is pressed with the 'shang' note, and the finger position is off by even an inch, the meaning of the melody will be lost."

He spoke so naturally that he didn't realize it was anything unusual.

Zhou Yi's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "My son is unruly—"

Liu Bian became interested, raised his hand to stop Zhou Yi, and instead asked the child:

"What's your name?"

The child looked up and answered steadily:

Zhou Yu, courtesy name Gongjin.

Gongjin.

He lightly uttered those two words on the tip of his tongue, as if it were just a casual remark.

But only he knew that this was the most unexpected and most valuable "encounter" he had had all year.

More importantly, his comment "half a point wrong" when he first heard the zither acted like a thread, directly pulling out Liu Bian's memories:

The phrase "Zhou Yu gazing at the music" in historical records is not about romance or a gimmick; it's about a terrifyingly keen insight.

If you can hear even the slightest deviation in a melody, you can also see the slightest wavering in a person's heart.

If you can seize the flaw in a gesture during a banquet, you can also seize the crack in a battle formation.

This kind of person is born to command troops.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian stopped playing the zither and turned to Wang Ming, instructing him:

"Go and bring me that book on military strategy from my palace."

"Here you are."

Wang Ming responded and left, but Liu Bian looked at Zhou Yu:

"Ten years from now, you will be twenty."

"By then, if you still remember that slight mispronunciation from today—"

He reached out and took off a small jade pendant from his waist. The jade was small, warm and smooth without any patterns, with only a tiny character "辩" (bian) engraved on one corner.

"Bring it to me."

"I want you to join me in a great undertaking."

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he almost knelt down.

Zhou Yu was not intimidated by these words.

He accepted the jade pendant with both hands, pondered for a moment, and then looked up:

"Is the matter Your Highness planning something that concerns the entire world?"

Liu Bian laughed:

"My affairs are naturally the affairs of the world."

Just then, Wang Ming returned, and Liu Bian reached out and took the book "Military Strategy" from Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu held the book in one hand and the jade pendant in the other, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

He looked at Liu Bian and nodded heavily:

"good!"

Seeing that the bond had been formed, Liu Bian cupped his hands in greeting to Zhou Yi and his son, then turned and left.

Wang Ming followed and whispered:

"Your Highness, this child from the Zhou family—"

Liu Bian did not reply; his thoughts had already drifted to Ji Province.

According to the original historical records, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was due to break out in one year.

Meanwhile, Jizhou, the center of the rising power, remained completely silent.

This is very wrong.

He couldn't wait any longer; he had to strike ahead of schedule.

The thought immediately occurred to Liu Bian, who quickened his pace:

"Summon Cao Mengde." He paused, "and then invite Xun Wenruo—to enter the Eastern Palace immediately."