Chapter 16 Liu Wu: “My cousin Liu Wu should marry into a noble family in Jingzhou!”

This day.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu, Xu Shu and others, with a large number of troops, finally captured Nanyang County and led their troops back.

Liu Wu personally went to greet them with Chen Dao, Gan Ning, Ding Dian and others.

……

After returning to Wancheng, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Xu Shu and others did not hesitate and immediately went to meet Liu Bei.

Wancheng, the backyard of Guan Mansion.

In the room, Liu Bei was lying on the sickbed, holding Guan Yu and Zhang Fei’s hands tightly, and said:
“Yunchang, Yide, you are finally back.”

Liu Bei’s eyes were filled with tears.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hurriedly told Liu Bei about their lightning-fast journey to take over the entire Nanyang counties.

After a while of greetings.

Guan Yu smiled and said to Liu Bei:

“Brother, now the entire Nanyang County is under our control. In addition, we have recruited 30,000 soldiers from various counties. We finally have a base and don’t have to wander around anymore.”

Liu Bei listened to Guan Yu’s words, nodded slightly, then said with a wry smile:
“Yunchang, Yide, do you know that Madam Mi and Madam Gan are both pregnant?”

“This…” Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both stunned and looked at each other.

Then, Guan Yu sighed and shook his head at Liu Bei:
“Brother, let the past be the past.”

“Brother is still injured, so it is more important to heal him first. Although Master Liu Wu was a little impatient, he finally took Wancheng for us and killed Cao Ren, avenging brother.”

Guan Yu hadn’t finished speaking yet, but the meaning of his words was obvious.

Liu Wu made Madam Mi and Madam Gan pregnant, which was naturally a blow to Liu Bei. However, it was also normal. After all, the two women had remarried Liu Wu, and it was normal for them to get pregnant. It was not something they could do.

Not to mention, this time Liu Wu captured Wancheng and killed Cao Ren, because of Liu Wu and his men broke through the difficulties and opened up a new situation.

Even though Guan Yu was domineering and Zhang Fei was brutal, they couldn’t be so ungrateful as to say anything about Liu Wu.

Guan Yu also comforted and enlightened Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was somewhat disappointed that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not immediately support him, and said:
“Alas, I’m not saying anything bad about Zihao. It’s indeed Zihao’s credit that we were able to enter Wancheng. But, Gan and Mi’s pregnancy really makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Liu Bei expressed what was bothering him.

Zhang Fei patted his chest and laughed, “Brother, you always say that women are like clothes. If you feel so uncomfortable, you must be missing women. I will find some beautiful girls for you!”

“You…sigh.” Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei and sighed, but he also wondered if he really lacked women, which was why he had such thoughts and was so entangled.

In the past, even though the Gan and Mi families were abducted, he never did this, right?
……

The left general’s residence, the meeting hall.

After Guan Yu and his companions returned to the city to rest for a day, Liu Wu could not wait to summon all the civil and military officials to discuss matters.

Liu Wu sat in the main seat.

On the left, Guan Yu sits in the first place, followed by Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Gan Ning, Ding Dian, Guan Ping, Mi Fang, Chen Dao, Zhou Cang, Liao Hua and other generals.

On the right, Mi Zhu sat in the first seat, followed by civil officials such as Xu Shu, Sun Qian, and Jian Yong.

Liu Wu looked at everyone. Compared to the last meeting in Xinye, everyone was worried, not knowing where the future lay.

This time, everyone was in high spirits.

“Today is our first meeting since we conquered Nanyang County. Although we have won a great victory, our most urgent task is to maintain the stability of Nanyang County internally and respond to the threats from the princes externally.”

“Xudu, Xun Yu sent an envoy to threaten us, demanding that we withdraw from Wancheng and hand over Nanyang County, otherwise he will mobilize a large army to attack!”

“In Jingzhou, Liu Biao also sent an envoy to express his gratitude for restoring Nanyang County for them!”

Liu Wu told everyone about the external environment of Nanyang County.

“What? Xun Yu wants us to withdraw from Wancheng and hand over Nanyang County? He also wants to mobilize a large army to attack? A defeated general dares to speak so arrogantly. If they dare to come, I, Zhang Fei, will challenge them!”

“And old Liu Biao, we conquered Nanyang County, and he wanted to take it back the moment he opened his mouth. How could such a good thing happen?”

In the hall, Zhang Fei’s angry and violent voice like thunder was the first to resound.

Everyone had become accustomed to Zhang Fei’s voice, except Gan Ning, who rubbed his ears because he had a headache. He was too close to Zhang Fei and his ears hurt.

Guan Yu’s face also turned red with anger, his eyes flashed coldly, and he said coldly:

“Whoever dares to invade Nanyang County, I will make him know the sharpness of the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade!”

Xu Shu frowned and said:
“We just conquered Nanyang County. We have just recruited 30,000 soldiers and their combat effectiveness is not strong. We even have nearly 10,000 Cao’s prisoners that we have not digested yet. Now Xudu and Liu Biao both have ill intentions towards Nanyang County. I am afraid it will not be easy to deal with.”

As soon as Xu Shu finished speaking, everyone in the hall turned pale.

Even though Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were extremely angry, they had to admit that they had just captured Nanyang County and were not strong enough to fight against Liu Biao or Cao Cao.

At this time.

Liu Wu, who was sitting in the main seat, stood up, bowed to Xu Shu, Jian Yong, and Sun Qian, and said:

“The three gentlemen are all talented and are the think tanks of our army. I hope you can think hard about the situation in Nanyang and we can complement each other and come up with countermeasures!” Liu Wu really intended to recruit talents regardless of their background. After all, his talents are not as good as those of Xu Shu, Jian Yong and others who have left their names in history.

Especially Xu Shu, who is a first-class wise man of the time, and Liu Wu still has expectations for Xu Shu.

Seeing Liu Wu’s generous gift, Xu Shu, Jian Yong and Sun Qian hurriedly returned the gift, which increased their favorable impression of Liu Wu. After all, it was rare to see a monarch with such an attitude.

Xu Shu also regained his energy and motivation. He thought about the current situation, bowed to Liu Wu, and frowned:
“Sir, given the threat from Xudu, we may want to implement the strategy of making friends with those far away and attacking those near.”

“Cao Cao has already led his army to the north to attack Jizhou and attack Yuan Shao’s third son Yuan Shang in Yecheng. I’m afraid he has just received the news that we have defeated Wancheng and killed Cao Ren and Yu Jin. Therefore, the news from Xudu must have been done by Xun Yu himself.”

“To the north of Cao Cao are Yuan Shao’s sons. Yuan Shao’s death was ultimately related to Cao Cao. Therefore, Yuan Shang has an unresolved grudge against Cao Cao, but he is also afraid of Cao Cao’s attack. If we threaten Xu Du in Nanyang, Yuan Shang will be happy to form an alliance with us. In this way, Cao Cao must not attack Nanyang easily.”

When Xu Shu’s voice rang out, the eyes of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and others in the hall all lit up.

As he spoke, Xu Shu bowed to Liu Wu and said with a smile:

“Sir, we only need to send an envoy to Yecheng, and we will definitely receive a warm reception from Yuan Shang. The Liu-Yuan alliance is feasible!”

“Good! Yuanzhi is indeed a talented person. In this way, we can eliminate the threat from Cao Cao.” Liu Wu clapped his hands and said with a smile.

At this time, Sun Qian stepped forward and bowed to Liu Wu and said:

“Sir, let Qian be in charge of the mission to Yecheng to promote the Liu-Yuan alliance.”

“Okay, then I’ll trouble Gongyou to go to Yecheng in person!” Liu Wu agreed without hesitation.

Sun Qian is indeed a more suitable diplomatic talent in Liu Bei’s forces.

“In this way, the threat posed by Cao Cao will be mostly eliminated. What about Liu Biao? Does Yuanzhi have any strategy?” Guan Yu also asked Xu Shu at this time.

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu frowned and said:
“Although Jingzhou and Jiangdong have a grudge, Xu Shu thinks that it is not appropriate for us to unite with Jiangdong. Uncle Liu has made the people of Jingzhou feel good in the name of benevolence and righteousness. If we unite with Jiangdong and invade Jingzhou, it will only disgust the people of Jingzhou!”

“In addition, we occupy Nanyang County, which originally belongs to Jingzhou. In fact, our best development direction is to occupy Jingzhou. Therefore, from a public perspective, we’d better work hard on the Jingzhou family!”

“You have to know that Liu Biao of Jingzhou was pushed to the top by the aristocratic families of Jingzhou, such as the Cai family, the Kuai family, the Huang family, the Ma family, etc. Therefore, the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. If we can make the aristocratic families of Jingzhou accept us, then not only will we not have to worry about the threat of Jingzhou’s military strength, we may also be able to cut off the source of the trouble, steal Jingzhou, and occupy all nine counties of Jingxiang!”

Xu Shu’s words were very bold. When Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu and others heard them, they were all shocked. What a big tone!

Zhang Fei immediately shouted:

“The noble families in Jingzhou are all worthless. For example, the Cai family, after we arrived in Xinye, I’m afraid they have tried to kill my eldest brother more than once. Will they support us? I, Zhang Fei, can even eat while standing upside down!”

Everyone couldn’t help but smile bitterly when listening to Zhang Fei’s words, but they didn’t think Zhang Fei was talking nonsense. Indeed, the Jingzhou families were not friendly to them, and were even wary of them.

Xu Shu frowned and didn’t say anything for a while. He really believed that if he could win over the noble families of Jingzhou, he could resolve the crisis in Nanyang and further steal Jingzhou.

However, he had no way to get the Jingzhou families to recognize them for the time being.

“Yuanzhi, are you saying that we’d better win over the Jingzhou family?”

At this moment, Liu Wu, who was sitting in the main seat, suddenly spoke.

Everyone was silent and looked at Liu Wu in confusion.

Xu Shu hurriedly bowed to Liu Wu and said, “I do feel that way, but I really can’t do anything about it for now.”

“I wonder what the general methods are to win over the aristocratic families?” Liu Wu did not pay attention to Xu Shu’s words and asked again.

Xu Shu raised his eyebrows and said without hesitation:
“My Lord, all the noble families are after profit, power and money. They invested in Liu Biao and gained status. There are also many marriages between noble families, which is helpful to their own families.”

“Therefore, power, money, and marriage can all bring the noble families closer together!”

Liu Wu, who was sitting in the main seat, listened to Xu Shu’s words, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said:
“Power, money, marriage? If that’s the case, Wu does have a way to get in touch with the Jingzhou family.”

Inside the hall, Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu, Gan Ning and the others were all shocked to hear that Liu Wu actually had a way to knock on the door of the Jingzhou noble families. They all looked at Liu Wu in shock.

“Zihao, what do you have in mind?” Guan Yu couldn’t help but ask Liu Wu.

Facing everyone’s gazes, Liu Wu did not hesitate and said with a smile:

“Mr. Yuanzhi said that the noble families pursue profit, so Wu will cater to their interests.”

“Wu has some family property in Hefei, and he has made a fortune by selling soap. However, soap is only one of his businesses. Wu still has at least three businesses that are more profitable than soap, which can bring in countless wealth. This may make the Jingzhou noble families sway.”

“In addition, Wu also has a method of steelmaking that can produce a large amount of molten iron, which can be used to forge weapons. The sharpness of the weapons forged is one level higher than the weapons in the hands of the soldiers in the armies of various princes. We can sell a batch of sharp weapons to Jingzhou, which is enough to make Liu Biao carefully consider our friendship.”

“If Liu Biao is really unwilling, then we can only form an alliance with Jiangdong. I believe that with such a sharp weapon, Jiangdong, which already has a grudge against Jingzhou, will be very willing to form an alliance with us, and even help us in Nanyang militarily.”

“Whether it’s weapons or goods, these benefits should make Liu Biao and the Jingzhou family treat our relationship with Nanyang with caution.”

“Of course, as Mr. Yuanzhi just said, marriage is also a good method. Therefore, I think we can let my cousin Liu Wu marry into a Jingzhou family to win over the Jingzhou family. What do you think?”

Liu Wu, who was sitting in the main seat, said to Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others with a smile.

“what?”

In the hall, everyone was stunned when they heard Liu Wu’s words.

Liu Wu still has three kinds of businesses that are not less than soap?

What’s more, Liu Wu mastered a steelmaking method that allowed him to produce large amounts of molten iron, and the weapons he made were one level sharper than those in the hands of the soldiers in the armies of various princes?
The first two things shocked them, and the third sentence made them even more stunned.

Liu Wu said, can my cousin Liu Wu marry into a noble family in Jingzhou?
Win over the Jingzhou family???

(End of this chapter)