Chapter 679: Not Admiring Overseas
Liaodong, Xiangping.

Since last year, traffic between Liaodong and Youzhou no longer relies on the Liao Tunnel and has chosen sea travel.

Even official documents sent and received by the imperial court began to be transported by boat.

Within Bohai Sea, there is frequent travel when there is no strong wind in winter and spring.

The weather in Liaodong had not yet thawed, so Liu Bei slept in as usual.

When Gan helped him to stand up, Liu Bei pinched the soft flesh on the inside of his thigh and sighed: “The thigh flesh has grown back, and the achievements are so great. It’s a pity that Yunchang and Yide have no place to use their talents.”

Gan just smiled gently and squatted on the ground to put shoes and socks on Liu Bei.

Later, Liu Bei came to the study in the front hall, where Xu Shu and Liu Yan were sorting out official documents that needed to be processed.

Seeing Liu Bei coming in, the two men saluted, and Xu Shu said, “My lord, the imperial report was only delivered last night. I have already sent copies to all the counties.”

After a pause, Xu Shu continued, “This report involves me, so I did not make a copy.”

“Oh?”

Liu Bei picked up the official report and saw that his old acquaintance, Yi Ji, the chief secretary of the Grand Marshal’s Office, was appointed as the Minister of Justice. He couldn’t help but smile: “The Nine Ministers are becoming more and more complete, and the Three Dukes are not far away.”

The appointment of Huang Quan, the shogunate’s Sima, as the Jingzhao Yin meant that the era of the three prefectures ruling by the duwei had finally ended.

Duan Wei, the Sizhi who entered the shogunate with Huang Quan, was appointed General Zhenbei and will go to Dai County to take up his post soon.

When the three offices were vacant, Xu Shu, the military advisor of the General of Conquering the Barbarians, was recruited as the chief secretary of the Grand Marshal’s office; Guan Yu, who was appointed Marquis of Han Shou Ting and the governor of Xuantu County and the General who Suppressed the Barbarians, was transferred to be the governor of Shangdang County and the General who Suppressed the Bandits.

He also recruited Xu Si, the official of Jingzhou, as the chief judge of the Grand Marshal’s office, and recruited Zhang Xiu, the governor of Hexi, as the military commander of the office.

There was also a series of dispatches of various shogunate offices to supplement information, but there were no transfers of the court nobles to maintain stability.

Liu Bei held the newspaper in his hand and said thoughtfully, “I’m afraid Yunchang is unwilling to take up the post. When will Gongyou be able to return?”

Chief Secretary Liu Yan replied: “My Lord, Gongyou will be able to return to Xiangping in two days at the latest.”

“Well, write a letter for me and give it to Gongyou halfway. Ask Gongyou to persuade Yunchang to obey the imperial court’s orders.”

As Liu Bei continued to read the official report, he did not see any arrangements for Guan Yu’s successor, so he knew that Black Bear did not want to interfere in the internal governance of Liaodong.

He asked, “Yuanzhi, can Zilong temporarily replace Yunchang and take charge of Xuantu?”

“Zilong is calm and tolerant, and can pacify the Goguryeo tribe.”

Xu Shu responded that he also felt that Guan Yu was too harsh in governing the area.

Cao Cao’s merchant fleet has appeared on the coast east of Xuantu County, trading with the local Goguryeo and Dongyi tribes.

Guan Yu reacted violently and forcefully expelled the enemy, which caused dissatisfaction among the Goguryeo tribes, who sent envoys to Xiangping to express their dissatisfaction.

The shogunate could only appease these people and arrange for the fleet to bypass them for trade.

The Goguryeo tribe in Xuantu County was the exploited party in commercial activities. Their original goods were blocked by other Dongyi tribes, making it difficult to transport them to the southern ports. The Dongyi tribes along the way acted as middlemen.

The conflict between the two sides was even greater than the conflict between the government and the Goguryeo tribe.

Goguryeo was naturally delighted when Cao Cao’s caravan appeared in the Outer East China Sea, but it also affected the revenue of the Shogunate at ports and customs along the way.

After Xu Shu answered, he waited quietly for his fate to unfold.

As for joining the Grand Marshal’s office as the Chief Clerk, he suspected that the Grand Marshal had intended to lure him by appointing the former Chief Clerk Yi Ji as the Chief Justice.

The Grand Marshal and Yi Ji were old acquaintances. When Yi Ji was the governor of Nanxiang County, he was the most stable rear base for the Grand Marshal.

Let alone the Chief Justice, even if he is appointed as one of the Three Dukes or granted the title of a county marquis in the future, no one will question it.

There is a high probability that he will become the chief secretary, and in the future he will stay in the court and move back and forth among the ministerial positions.

The biggest advantage of the Grand Marshal’s administration was stability. After taking office, his duties were stable. Even in the case of a solar eclipse, which had a huge impact on the sky, he never dismissed a minister. Even if it was just for show, the Grand Marshal would not do it.

The only concession made by the Grand Marshal was to return to the Liu family and be promoted to Duke of Wei in August of the second half of the year.

As for the future change of the country’s name, as long as it is not Qin, there is no problem. Wei, Liang, or Chen are all acceptable.

At that time, Liu Bei would also have to go to Guanzhong to participate in the ceremony to celebrate, and recruiting some of Liu Bei’s subordinates to serve in the court could also be understood as a gesture of goodwill and sincerity.

After being promoted to Duke of Wei, his fiefdom was naturally Wei County, which was in the hands of Yuan Shang.

There is not much time left for Yuan Shang.

After being promoted to Duke of Wei, he will most likely send troops to Hebei when the weather turns cooler and take over Jizhou.

While Xu Shu was thinking, Liu Bei said, “It’s a good thing that the Grand Marshal values ​​Yuan Zhi.”

Xu Shu was reluctant: “My Lord…”

Liu Bei smiled and comforted him: “I don’t love Liaodong, and I don’t love Yingzhou either. How can we, the people of the Central Plains, go far away overseas?”

As he spoke, Liu Bei looked at the area near the indoor fire wall, where a patch of fresh green was growing.

It is malt, which needs watering to keep warm. It does not need any sunlight and can provide some greenery indoors in winter.

When they are big enough, you can feed them to horses.

This is an indoor green plant that has become popular in Guanzhong this winter, as horses need to eat wheat in winter.

After germination, feeding it to horses after viewing it seems to have a very good effect.

Liu Bei was really fed up with the long winter in Liaodong. The advance fleet had already established a port outpost on the western island of Yingzhou. Earthquakes occurred frequently, making them suspect that the Yingzhou Islands might have been built on the backs of several giant turtles.

Although the southern part of Yingzhou West Island has mild winters, Liu Bei just doesn’t like it there.

If his two daughters marry Black Bear, they will soon have grandchildren. If he moves overseas with his subordinates, wouldn’t he become the same type of person as Cao Cao?
So he didn’t want to leave and wanted to actively integrate into the new dynasty.

As for becoming a king overseas…can he endure the injustice if he stays in Middle-earth?

There are also vague legends of immortals overseas. Cao Cao might have liked to pursue such legends. Cao Cao was afraid of death, but he had nothing to be afraid of.

After Xu Shu calmed down, Liu Bei said, “Yuan Zhi will bid farewell to everyone these few days. When Yun Chang and Zi Long return after the handover, we will hold a banquet to send Yuan Zhi and Yun Chang off. Once you go to Guanzhong, do your best to serve the court and don’t let down the Grand Marshal’s trust.”

“Yes, I will remember it and will never forget it.”

Xu Shu bowed solemnly and could not help shedding tears. The scholars of Ruying were destined to wither away for two generations and be suppressed by the invisible party for life.

If Black Bear could conquer him, wouldn’t that be an opportunity for Ruying’s people?
Given Xu Shu’s current age, he could at least leave a little way out for the children from his hometown so that they would not be continuously suppressed.

Anyone with enough experience wants to become the Chief Secretary of the Grand Marshal’s Office.

Black Bear gave the opportunity to an “outsider” like him, and it would be unjustifiable to let him down.

Liu Bei did not like this atmosphere, and instructed: “Please ask the Grand Marshal for a place for me to live in. It should be more lively. When I get old, I will keep you company and enjoy my old age.”

Unable to bear to see Xu Shu crying, he looked at the indoor green plants and smiled: “After fighting for a lifetime, now that the Dongyi have been pacified, it’s time to enjoy myself.”

Fine clothes and delicious food, steam cars, flying hot air balloons, cockfighting and dog fighting, a peaceful world and prosperous people, this is his dream.

With Black Bear’s generosity, he would definitely give him a steam car.

How can you enjoy these if you go abroad?

The medical skills of Guanzhong Taiping Dao are getting higher and higher. Look at those old guys, they are all alive and well.

Why go overseas if you can stay in Guanzhong and enjoy peace and prosperity, have children around you, and live to be over 90 years old?

If the ship sinks, how many people can survive?
Cao Cao and Yuan Shang had no choice. If they had a choice, do you think they would leave?
(End of this chapter)