The Three Kingdoms: My Wife is a Great and Good Teacher

Chapter 158: Really Empty City

Outside the north gate of Jicheng in the early morning, looking at the dusty front, Liu Yu, Tian Chou, Wei You and others outside the gate did not say a word.

When Liu Zhaoqing and his group were about to leave his sight, Tian Chou bowed and said to Liu Yu beside him:

"My Lord... Liu Zhaoqing's departure may not be entirely beneficial to us."

Tian Chou started talking like this just after Liu Zhaoqing left, which was really against etiquette. However, the civil servants beside him, such as Wei You, did not say anything.

Even military officers like Xian Yu Fu did not stand up and say anything at this time.

Although everyone has varying degrees of admiration for Marquis Changping's character and past, as a staff member in Liu Yu's mansion, Liu Zhaoqing's arrival obviously has both advantages and disadvantages.

As Liu Yu's confidant, Tian Chou was not old, but he was trusted by Liu Yu like an old minister and he also liked to speak frankly and give advice.

Seeing that Liu Yu had no reaction to his words, Tian Chou continued, "Marquis Changping has the loyalty of Emperor Gaozu, and is not an ordinary marquis. The lord has promised him too many things. If he has the intention of usurping the lord's position... with his reputation and ability, the lord will be in danger."

After Tian Chou finished speaking, Wei You and Xianyu Fu were also standing there with frowns on their faces.

The flying dust in the distance was slowly dispersed by the strong wind. Liu Yu, dressed in a light black and white long gown, stroked his long beard and looked at the team gradually moving away in front of him and said, "Zi Tai, what do you think is the purpose of Zhao Qing coming to Youzhou?"

Tian Chou hesitated for a moment and replied, "According to the news from Sili yesterday, Dong Zhuo has entered the capital, but the Marquis of Changping, who was entrusted by the late emperor to take care of the orphan, has left the capital... I really don't understand this either."

"Yes, if he was in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo would definitely treat him favorably, based on his great-grandfather's loyalty, his merit in killing the Ten Eunuchs, and his fame throughout the world."

"Not to mention the Nine Ministers, even being one of the Three Dukes is not impossible." Liu Yu stroked his beard, "But he left and came to our harsh frontier where you have to eat sand if you speak three breaths."

"In my opinion, Zhao Qing must have seen through Dong Zhuo's people and did not come to the capital for the purpose of reviving the Han Dynasty. Luoyang will sooner or later repeat the mistakes of He Jin's chaotic politics."

"Although I have martial arts skills, I have nowhere to display them. I have great ambitions but I am helpless in changing the status quo." Liu Yu said.

"So he is leaving the capital. Do you remember the look on his face when he talked about his journey to Luoyang and the execution of the eunuch party in Luoyang at the banquet last night? His confidence and sharpness were clearly revealed."

"He also said that he had seen 'accomplices of a tiger' in Chen County, and he certainly would not become Dong Zhuo's 'accomplice'."

Tian Chou was silent for a moment, recalling Liu Zhaoqing's expression last night. He nodded slightly and said, "Marquis Changping must have left Luoyang because he really didn't want to serve under Dong Zhuo. His love for the people is the same as yours. However...Chou still thinks that yours should be more cautious. He gave so much 'help' on our first meeting."

Liu Yu stroked his beard and smiled: "Zitai, Zitai, Youzhou is not a rich place. If he goes to the prefectures of the Central Plains, or even to Han Fu, those people can give him much more help than I can."

Tian Chou was speechless after hearing this, as it was indeed the truth.

"Changping is his fiefdom, and it is close to Yanshan Mountain and the gateway to Ji County. If we hand it over to him, we can form a pincer attack with him, which will make our safety more secure."

"His poetry and martial arts are very high, but I also want to see his ability to govern. The northern frontier is not a plain, and you can't win by just swinging a sword. When he fails, I can punish him by making him drink three or five cups of wine."

"As for Zilong... I also know that her wish is not to be an ordinary captain. She has been training in various places in Youzhou for more than a month. This opportunity is just right for her to go to the front line to see the enemies outside the Great Wall that Youzhou faces."

Liu Yu looked at Tian Chou and Xian Yu Fu with a smile on his face: "Also, although Zhao Qing is not Tianzi, it is better than Tianzi."

"Look, which of the women around him are ordinary people? And Xuande also told me that there are many outstanding people in his family and servants."

Tian Chou also understood at this time that Liu Yu had considered these issues, but compared with the benefits that Liu Zhaoqing's development in Changping could bring to Youzhou, the possible disadvantages were insignificant.

"My lord, if you trust your subordinates, it will surely become a good story. It will attract more talented people to Youzhou." Wei You bowed and praised at this time.

Liu Yu smiled, and then returned to Jicheng with his staff.

On the way, Liu Yu also talked with Tian Chou about the situation in Luoyang. Tian Chou also said that Youzhou was too far away from Luoyang, and he could not go to Luoyang in time like the governor of Bingzhou to change anything.

But Liu Yu was the head of the imperial clan. Dong Zhuo might make drastic changes to reorganize the court after entering the capital. He might also receive an imperial edict from Luoyang, so he should consider and prepare carefully.

Liu Yu nodded, and when they were about to return to the governor's mansion, a young soldier suddenly crawled over in panic from a distance.

"stop!"

Seeing that the soldier was about to fall down when he ran to Liu Yu, the tall and strong Xianyu Fu walked up and picked him up.

"Why panic?!"

"General! My Lord! Something bad has happened!"

"What's wrong?!" Xian Yufu said again, "Speak clearly!"

The soldier hurriedly said, "The Miss Zhen is gone!!"

Tian Chou and Wei You were slightly stunned, and Xian Yu Fu also frowned.

"This is no small matter...that little girl is as fragile as a chicken. It would be dangerous if she ran away." Xianyu Fu looked at Liu Yu.

"My lord, I am willing to lead twenty soldiers to look for him."

Liu Yu did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment and said softly:

"So it seems that the ferocious beast that Tian Chou sensed near my mansion last night must have belonged to that girl."

"I didn't expect that Zhen Yi asked that girl to teach poetry and characters, but it made her realize her potential to be close to spirit beasts."

"Zitai, please write a letter to Zhaoqing and ask him to take good care of this girl."

After explaining this to Tian Chou, Xian Yu Fu still looked at Liu Yu and said, "Then... lord, are we going to chase after the Marquis of Changping?"

Liu Yu shook his head: "Let her be."

"Once we get to Changping, she will give up."

-

The distance between Ji County and Changping County is not far, but Liu Zhaoqing's journey was not easy.

Only ten miles north from the main road in Jicheng, the road begins to become bumpy.

Not only were there potholes, there were even a lot of rubble and broken wood blocking the road. If it weren't for Zhao Yun and the twenty or so soldiers that Liu Yu kindly gave him to clear the way, Liu Zhaoqing might not have been able to reach Changping until midnight.

After experiencing a series of twists and turns and eating countless mouthfuls of yellow sand, he finally saw a small city appearing in the hazy distance.

After the horse arrived at the city gate with a grunt, Zhang Liao was stunned for a moment when he saw the city gate which was only half open. Zhao Yun looked up at the city gate, but could not see anything.

The place where "Changping" should have been written was worn out as if it had been gnawed by a rabbit.

After Liu Zhaoqing and others entered the city gate, Liu Zhaoqing raised his eyebrows when he saw the dilapidated and desolate appearance of the city.

Holy shit...is it really an empty city?

This Han emperor uncle is really honest and never lies.

Chapter 159 Reunion

As far as the eye can see, except for a few houses that are still intact, the rest look like they have been bombarded by modern artillery.

Losing the roof is considered a "minor injury". Most of the houses are "seriously injured" with only one or two walls left, and some houses are left with only the foundation.

As for the streets, there was no human figure, not even a ghost could be seen. The most intact thing preserved in the entire Changping County was a circle of city walls.

No wonder Liu Yu agreed so readily. Not only did he give Changping directly to him, but he also promised without much consideration that all the land he reclaimed would be his. This was equivalent to not asking for taxes. He directly ceded all the land that Liu Zhaoqing had taken over in the future to him. He was really generous.

I thought that Lord Bo'an didn't figure it out clearly, but now I understand that Lord Bo'an figured it out too clearly.

Relying on this empty city, under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Liu Zhaoqing to survive, let alone recover the lost territory. Since it was possible, Liu Yu certainly didn't mind agreeing to it.

So, Liu Yu gave Zhao Yun more than 20 soldiers because he was worried about the safety of Liu Zhaoqing and his group? This shows that Liu Yu really cares about and trusts Liu Zhaoqing.

"This place..." Zhang Liao, who came from the even poorer Bingzhou, frowned when he took a look at the Changping City.

She had been stationed in a small village near Yanmen County before, and thought that the small place with only thirty or so households could be described as declining and depressed.

But compared to Changping City, at least there are people living there.

"I didn't expect it to be so dilapidated." Zhao Yun also looked around in surprise.

"No wonder Lord Bo'an said before that there was no need to come to Changping for inspection..."

Zhao Yun had only heard that Changping was an empty city, but she also thought it was "empty of people". Now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she knew that both the people and the city were empty.

In a place like this...can you survive a week?

Zhao Yun frowned slightly and looked at Liu Zhaoqing: "Master Liu, how about we... go to Lord Bo'an to ask for more manpower and funding?"

"Let's go inside the city first." Liu Zhaoqing thought for a moment and said, "The outside is greatly affected by the wind and sand. Changping is not a small city, so the city center shouldn't be like this...right?"

After saying this, Liu Zhaoqing led the team, walked on the sandy road that was almost above the soldiers' ankles, and continued towards the city.

As he expected, the closer they got to the city center, the more intact the houses on the roadside were. Liu Zhaoqing had already discovered at least five houses with roofs still preserved, and he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that at least the soldiers would have a place to settle down.

Then when he came to a large courtyard, he found that this courtyard, which looked like the county magistrate's mansion, looked quite intact. After entering and taking a look, he found that there was nothing else except that two roofs were missing and there were three wild boar-like beasts emitting green light in the house.

Although it was not as good as his own mansion in Pingyuan County, Liu Zhaoqing was satisfied as long as the courtyard wall was still there. He even had an unexpected surprise: he could draw clean water from the well covered with stone slabs.

More than an hour later, in the county magistrate's mansion, the wild boar that had been skinned and cleaned with well water was placed on the grill.

The soldiers were gathered around three grills, rubbing their hands, waiting with shining eyes for the delicious food that had fallen from the sky to be cooked.

They were already exhausted from walking all the way, and when they saw the three wild boars, Zhao Yun didn't even need to give any orders, they just went up and killed them all.

Liu Zhaoqing also loved his soldiers very much, so he asked them to cook the wild boar.

After all, under such conditions, if it is not cooked, it will probably go bad tomorrow.

A few soldiers were cooking dinner, while more soldiers, led by Zhao Yun, continued to explore Changping, eliminating hidden dangers like these wild boars, and looking for usable supplies.

Liu Zhaoqing was also in the living room which only had a few broken chairs, cleaning the floor with Lu Hong and Zhang Liao.

"Cough cough."

Choked by the dust, Liu Zhaoqing raised his hand and waved it, touching his sensitive nose to stop the urge to sneeze.

"Please take a rest, benefactor." Zhang Liao said immediately upon seeing this.

Shaking his head, Liu Zhaoqing said, "One more person means more strength."

After cleaning the living room, Liu Zhaoqing did not clean other places at Zhang Liao's suggestion.

As the lord, he still has more important things to do, such as arranging what to do tomorrow.

After Lu Hong brought the paper and ink, Liu Zhaoqing held the pen but did not put it down for a long time, because he found that there were really... too many things to do tomorrow.

When Lu Hong saw Liu Zhaoqing's worried look, she felt a little bit reluctant.

"Sir...why don't we ask Lord Bo'an to go somewhere else?"

Zhao Yun had actually been preparing to say this before, but he was more tactful, whereas Lu Hong said it directly.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this place is no longer suitable for living.

But Liu Zhaoqing still shook his head.

It’s not that he is concerned about his reputation, but because this is his own territory, his real original territory, how could he be willing to just run away like that.

Moreover, Liu Zhaoqing was already mentally prepared when he was preparing to return to Hebei. It was just the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he needed time to sort it out.

"It doesn't matter. A tall building cannot be built from the ground up. The road is made by taking one step at a time. Just take it slow." Liu Zhaoqing said.

"The water in the well in the city is clean, which can solve our living problems. It also proves that the water near Changping is probably just blocked by the yellow sand and has not disappeared."

"There are still many ferocious beasts in the city, so tomorrow, the first thing we have to do is to rebuild the city defenses. At least the city gates must be blocked with wooden boards or something else..."

As Liu Zhaoqing spoke, he began to write down what he needed to do tomorrow and arranged the few dozen or so soldiers.

Lu Hong felt relieved when she saw Liu Zhaoqing return to the man she saw in Luoyang, who was in charge of everything.

This is the young man who can stir up the situation in the capital city among the Ten Attendants and the generals.

Why didn't Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun and Lu Hong immediately persuade Liu Zhaoqing to give up after seeing Changping's appearance? It was because they all believed in him.

Liu Zhaoqing would naturally not let him down.

But before that, he still needs to eat something.

Exactly one hour later, Zhao Yun also returned in the night. Liu Zhaoqing had planned to invite him to eat the "wild boar meat" of the northern frontier, but he did not expect that Zhao Yun would bring someone with him when he returned.

The man was young, but very courageous.

"Zhen Mi?"

After being surprised, Liu Zhaoqing looked at Zhen Mi who bowed to him and then begged him sincerely with her pretty face not to chase her away. He immediately understood in his heart that Zhen Mi had sneaked over here because of Youyou's help.

The reason why she came to Changping was naturally to avenge her father and find the tribe that attacked and killed her father by riding birds and beasts.

This reason made it impossible for Liu Zhaoqing to persuade her, so he had to ask her to look at the surrounding environment. However, Zhen Mi said that she could accept it, so Liu Zhaoqing had no choice.

I can only wait until I have time to contact Liu Yu, see how he responds, and then arrange whether Zhen Mi stays or goes.

In the county magistrate's mansion, Liu Zhaoqing and others rested in a separately cleaned room, while the soldiers slept soundly in the guest hall. They spent the night like this.

Liu Zhaoqing, together with Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao, began to lead everyone to transform Changping.

While on the city wall, when Liu Zhaoqing and Zhang Liao were carrying down stones and broken wood, they suddenly heard the soldiers who were responsible for dismantling the broken city gate talking to each other below.