When Zhou Ping brought Zhang Wu to Mi Zhu's home, Mi Zhu was about to go out.
The state capital is about to be moved to Xiapi, and he has been very busy lately.
"Why did you come to me so early?"
Mi Zhu stood in the courtyard, with some caution in his tone, and Zhou Ping stood in front of him.
Although Liu Bei valued Zhou Ping very much and Mi Zhu had heard of Zhou Ping, in Mi Jufu's eyes, Zhou Wen'an in front of him was just a guest of Ambassador Liu.
Zhou Ping came to see him, and it was definitely not because of matters in the state government. If it were something in the state government, Liu Shijun would send officials from the government to look for him, and would not let Zhou Wen'an, a guest, come.
"Haha, it's not like good things don't come to your door. Why don't you just let me stand here and talk?" Zhou Ping chuckled.
Mi Zhu hesitated for a moment, then just said "please", turned around and walked inside first.
Zhou Ping followed behind and entered the hall, while Zhang Wu stayed on guard outside the door.
Although they are both grand halls, Zhou Ping felt that compared with the grand hall of Mi Zhu's family, he was amazed by how magnificent it was.
This is the difference between a small landowner and a rich man, and this is just one of the many houses in Mizhu.
"What's the matter? Tell me."
After the two sat down, Mi Zhu asked coldly.
Zhou Ping raised his eyes and looked around, admiring: "Biejia's hall is a hundred times better than my family's hall! The wealth of Biejia's family is unmatched by anyone in Xuzhou. Even if it is as big as the world, I am afraid that no one can match it, but...
…”
He paused, looked at Mi Zhu's puzzled expression, and continued: "It's just that wealth is not as good as power, and wealth is not as good as officialdom!"
After hearing this, Mi Zhu became even more confused: "Why are you here? Did Liu Shijun ask you to come?"
Zhou Ping shook his head: "Biejia should know that Cao Cao raised troops to attack twice, and Yuan Shu called himself the uncle of Xuzhou. It can be seen that they all want to capture Xuzhou. Now that Liu Shijun is in charge of Xuzhou, don't you think that Liu Shijun will
Can you defend Xuzhou? Does Biejia hope that Liu Shijun will defend Xuzhou?"
Mi Zhu's face changed slightly, and he immediately replied: "I have led the officials of the state government to welcome the envoy. Of course I hope that the envoy will guard Xuzhou. I also believe that with your ability, you will be able to defend Xuzhou."
"That's very good... Haha, don't be nervous. Although my visit this time is related to the envoy, I am not sent by the envoy."
Zhou Ping saw that Mi Zhu looked nervous and comforted him.
"Please tell me if you have anything to say." Mi Zhu's tone became much kinder.
"I heard that there is a sister in Biejia's family who is not yet married. I wonder if that's true?"
Mi Zhu replied: "Not bad."
Zhou Ping asked with a smile: "Your Majesty lost his wife earlier and is now alone and childless. Have you ever thought about marrying your younger sister to your Majesty and becoming in-laws with your Majesty?"
Mi Zhu hesitated again.
In fact, after Liu Bei was willing to take over Xuzhou, Mi Zhu had thought about marrying his sister to Liu Shijun. Especially in recent days, when he learned that the envoy appointed Chen Deng as the prefect of Guangling and Chen Gui as the governor of Yuzhou, he
This idea became stronger in my mind.
What he lacks most now is money, but what he lacks is power and status.
No matter in previous lives or in the present, the richer people are, the more they want to be officials, but most of the time, money cannot buy an official position.
When Emperor Ling sold his official position, if he wanted to become a minister, his family would have to have tens of millions.
Of course, you can't just buy it if you have money. You must have certain qualifications. Otherwise, with the wealth of the Mi Zhu family, it will be no problem to buy all the three gongs and nine ministers.
He is just a jobber now, and his status is noble and honorable, but strictly speaking, he is just a temporary worker. If the governor is changed one day, he may immediately lose his job. He is the emperor and the courtier!
Therefore, Mi Zhu actually wanted to be a serious official in his heart. It was a bit difficult for him to be the governor of the state, but there should still be hope for the prefect.
Liu Bei was able to become the shepherd of Xuzhou mainly due to the contributions of Chen Deng and Mi Zhu.
Now that Chen Deng can be reused, Mi Zhu should be good too. Of course, the Mi family cannot be compared with the Chen family.
And with the support of the Chen family in Xiapi, Liu Bei will definitely be able to gain a firm foothold in Xuzhou.
"What's the envoy's intention? Did the envoy ask you to come?" Mi Zhu asked in return.
Hearing Mi Zhu's question, Zhou Ping expected that he would agree: "Of course you are willing. It would be a happy event if you could marry Biejia. However, you are worried that the age difference between you and your sister is too big, so you are afraid that Biejia won't want to."
"
"Okay." Mi Zhu responded.
Zhou Ping was secretly happy and said: "Tao Shijun fought with Cao Cao before and suffered heavy losses in troops and horses. Now Xuzhou is seriously short of troops and horses. Liu Shijun wants to recruit troops to protect the state, but he is short of resources. If you can help me, I will help you."
In the future, the Mi clan will surely flourish."
"I will consider this matter myself."
Mi Zhu stood up as he spoke, as if to see off his guests.
The purpose of Zhou Ping's trip has been achieved. He helped Liu Bei marry his wife and got money. He didn't want to stay any longer at this moment, so he said goodbye to Mi Zhu and left.
Two days later, Liu Bei led everyone out of the city to see Chen Deng and Kong Rong off.
When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the first time, Zuo Rong, who was amassing money in Xiapi and building a temple in Futu, abandoned the county with tens of thousands of people and three thousand horses. When he passed through Guangling, he killed Zhao Yu, the prefect of Guangling, and started a massive campaign.
They looted and then crossed the river and fled back to Danyang.
After Zhao Yu was killed, the Chang'an court failed to appoint a prefect in time due to the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si, so Guangling remained without an owner.
Now in order to deal with Yuan Shu, Liu Bei wants Chen Deng to go to Guangling to take up his post as soon as possible and make preparations in advance.
Chen Deng raised his hand to Liu Bei and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry about Guangling, it's just about Xiapi..."
Zhou Ping stood beside Liu Bei and said at this time: "Yuanlong doesn't have to worry about Xiapi."
Yesterday, Liu Bei called Chen Deng and told him to go to Guangling to recruit more soldiers and at the same time raise food and grass to prepare for the war.
"With Wen An here, I will be worry-free, hahaha..." Chen Deng laughed after saying this.
Liu Bei also seemed very happy, and said to Chen Deng and Kong Rong: "Yuanlong, Wenju, take care of yourself all the way!"
"It's time for us to hit the road, Commander Liu, take care!"
Chen Deng and Kong Rong each boarded the carriage and waved to everyone. The coachman raised his whip, and the carriage started slowly and rushed away in the dust. However, one of Chen Deng and Kong Rong headed south and the other north.
Now, the power of the local aristocratic families in Xuzhou has basically been eliminated. Chen Deng went to Guangling to take up his post. Mi Zhu also agreed to marry his sister, and was also willing to pay one thousand catties of gold, thirty million yuan, five hundred pieces of cloth, thirty thousand shi of grain, and horses.
Three hundred horses to support Liu Bei.
Compared to the army of a state, these things are not much, but for the current Liu Bei, they are quite a lot.
The next thing Zhou Ping has to do is to go to Langya to meet Zang Ba and convince him that he is willing to send troops to help. It would be better if he can recognize Liu Bei as his lord.
"Lord."
"Lord."
Zhou Ping and Tian Yu entered the hall together and saluted Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was discussing things with Mi Zhu, and seemed to be talking about marrying his sister.
"Well, everyone, please sit down." Liu Bei raised his eyes and looked at the two of them.
"I would like to borrow two people from my lord." Zhou Ping said to Liu Bei after sitting down.
Liu Bei was a little confused: "Who do you want to borrow, sir? Is it Yunchang Yide?"
Zhou Ping shook his head: "No, I want to borrow Zhongkang and Shuzhi."
Liu Bei smiled: "Of course, sir, do you want to take them to Langya?"
"Exactly, Zang Ba's Taishan people in Langya were all from rough backgrounds. If you only show kindness to the people in the mountains, it will be difficult to make them obey orders. You must also use force. Only kindness and force can be used to make them die loyal.
.”
"Oh, sir, how do you want to show your authority?"
Zhou Ping smiled and replied: "Zhongkang and Shuzhi are both powerful generals in the world. I predict that there will be no one among the people in Mount Tai who can beat me. Let them know that the lord has many powerful generals under his command, so they will be intimidated and submissive to the lord. At the same time, they will show kindness to the lord."
There must be no two minds.”
"Haha, sir, you should be considerate and just act according to your wishes."
With such thoughtful counselors around him, Liu Bei felt a lot less worried.
"Where Langya Prime Minister Xiao Jian is, I think it would be better to let the state minister go and try to persuade him." Zhou Ping said again.
Tian Yu, who had been silent at this time, also said: "Xiao Xiang is a famous noble family in the East China Sea, so he must have some words to say."
Xiao Jian was asked to serve as Langya prime minister when Tao Qian was around, and Langya was undoubtedly much better than Pengcheng. If Liu Bei asked people to move as soon as he took office, he would have to have a good reason, otherwise he would offend the members of these aristocratic families.
I am afraid that life in the future will not be so easy.
Mi Zhu listened to the words of several people and interjected: "Xiao Jian is a man of great righteousness. Your Majesty allowed him to move to Pengcheng and give up Langya to Zang Ba for the sake of the safety of Xuzhou. As long as Xiao Jian is reasonable, I will
I believe he will not have any different intentions."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Okay, Guorang, then I'll take the trouble to go to Ju County."
Watching Zhou Ping and Tian Yu leave, Liu Bei smiled and said to Mi Zhu: "Zizhong, I have Wen'an to help me and you to support me, Xuzhou is worry-free!"
Mi Zhu replied: "This person is indeed very resourceful, so you can use him, but you must also be careful at the same time."
"Hahaha..." Liu Bei laughed and said, "Zizhong is too worried. He doesn't trust the people he employs and doesn't trust the people he doubts. I believe in Wen'an just as I believe in you. You are all my friends!"
Mi Zhu was relieved after hearing this. He knew Liu Bei's trust in Zhou Wen'an. Now that Liu Bei said this, it showed that he also had full trust in himself.
On the 15th day of the first lunar month of the first year of Xingping, Zhou Ping took Xu Chu, Chen Dao and Zhang Wu on horseback and left Tan County towards Kaiyang with Liu Bei's official document of appointing Zang Ba as Langya Prime Minister.
Tian Yu also took the official document asking Xiao Jianqian to be appointed as the Prime Minister of Pengcheng, and went to Ju County in a carriage.
