Chapter 512 Nanyang Affairs

Lu Xun was dealing with documents. When he looked up after getting tired, he saw a mountain of bamboo slips piled up in front of him. Even with his high efficiency, he still felt tired.

Now more than a month has passed. Tian Yu returned to Youzhou by boat, bringing with him a letter from Yuan Xi to the Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, and went to discuss the matter of mutual trade and cooperation with the Southern Xiongnu.

Prior to this, Tian Yu and Lu Xun took over the training and placement of Guan Yu's spies, and left dozens of capable subordinates to assist Lu Xun. Lu Xun gradually discovered that his sworn brother named Xionghu was not as simple as he seemed.

From Youzhou to Qingzhou, from Jizhou to Xuzhou, Yuan Xi had a secret expenditure every year to secretly raise a group of death warriors in inconspicuous remote villages and towns, not just in his own territory.

The locations and numbers of these people are extremely secret, and only a handful of people know about them. Each location is managed by a leader with a hidden identity, who is responsible for coordinating subordinates, training martial arts, and collecting and sending intelligence.

And most importantly, once necessary, a team can be organized immediately to complete the delivered order, even if the mission is extremely dangerous.

Lu Xun thought about how Yuan Shao was criticized for raising assassins when he was young, and thought to himself that this young man from the Yuan family was really two-faced.

The Yuan family governed their territory with benevolence and righteousness, but their practice of supporting scholars was obviously criticized. In fact, what the nobles and lords of the world did secretly were almost the same. No one would be stupid enough to be as soft-hearted as Duke Xiang of Song. After all, in the struggle for power in the world, those who did not have some means would have been eliminated long ago.

Lu Xun found it difficult to understand Yuan Xi. The other party seemed to be standing with everyone, yet seemed to be far away from everyone.

Although he is a member of the noble family, he often considers things from the perspective of common people. Sometimes his actions are completely un-noble, but in many important decisions, he has the ancient style.

Lu Xun found this very interesting. He had been here for almost a year, and what he encountered every day refreshed his cognition, making him feel that his decision to leave Jiangdong was absolutely the right one.

Helping to manage the family in Jiangdong is totally not as interesting as being able to change the situation in the world with every move now.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and Lawrence Lu said casually, "Come in."

He looked up and saw Liu coming in with a tea tray. He stood up and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Madam."

Liu, still wearing mourning on her head, whispered, "No, it's my husband who's working hard."

Seeing that she still had some worry on her face, Lu Xun knew that she was worried about Liu Bei's safety, so he comforted her: "Don't worry, Liu Yuzhou is not an ordinary person, and there are guards beside him, so he should be fine."

"I'll tell you as soon as I get the news."

After hearing this, Liu's brows relaxed slightly and she whispered, "Thank you for troubling me, husband."

Lu Xun watched Liu leave and thought that the world was truly amazing. Before he left Yangzhou and followed Taishi Ci across the river, he would never have imagined that in just one year, he would not only become the sworn brother of a state governor, but also the son-in-law of another state governor.

Thinking of the rumors about Yuan Xi, Lu Xun wondered if the biggest secret was the art of stargazing. Did it really exist?

In addition to Lu Xun, there were several other people who were thinking about this problem at the same time.

Jingzhou, Nanyang.

Xu Shu, Shi Tao, Meng Jian and Zhuge Liang, four friends, were sitting in front of the thatched cottage, looking at the fresh green all over the mountain, brewing tea and chatting contentedly.

Meng Jian said, "The world has been undergoing sudden changes these days."

"I thought Nanyang was going to be in chaos, but surprisingly, no fighting broke out. Instead, Xuzhou was in chaos first."

Shi Tao squatted beside the stove, poking the charcoal fire under the stove with a branch, and replied: "Indeed, I thought Liu Jingsheng and Zhang Xiu would fight, but Zhang Xiu turned out to be surprisingly honest and settled down."

"I thought Cao Cao would plot against Nanyang, but he went to attack Xuzhou instead. How many times has this happened? It shows that he is really determined to take Xuzhou."

"What was even more unexpected was that when he heard that Marquis Wen was leading his troops to attack Yingchuan, Zhang Xiu actually led his troops to help and attack Yuan Shu together."

Xu Shu sighed, "If Yuan Shu establishes himself, those who aspire to restore the Han Dynasty will naturally unite to attack him."

"But Liu Jingsheng's decision not to send troops was really unexpected."

"Is his ambition limited to Jingzhou, and he has no ambition to make further progress?"

While Xu Shu was talking, Shi Tao and Meng Jian secretly looked at Zhuge Liang. Seeing this, Zhuge Liang said, "Brothers, don't worry so much."

"I haven't decided yet."

Everyone suddenly burst into laughter, "Kong Ming, you are so ungrateful after getting such an advantage."

"You know, if you become Mr. Huang's son-in-law, you will become a relative of the Cai family, which means you will become a family with Liu Jingsheng."

"This one step to heaven will allow me to show off my talents, but you are still not satisfied?"

Zhuge Liang could not help but look a little embarrassed when faced with the jokes of the crowd. He shook his head and sighed, "Compared to the talented people in the world, I am far behind them in talent and learning. If I rashly enter the government, I will only harm others."

"These few discussions on the general situation of the world have proven that Liang's predictions were mostly inaccurate and wrong. How can Liang be so shameless as to flatter himself?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Meng Jian said, "Kong Ming is really underestimating himself. The changes in the world are all due to the will of heaven. Who can predict them so accurately?"

"Kong Ming doesn't dislike Miss Huang's appearance, does he?"

Zhuge Liang's face flushed instantly, and he said in defense: "How could this be possible!"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter again.

Some time ago, everyone got to know Huang Chengyan, a famous scholar who came to Nanyang for a tour. Huang Chengyan was the son-in-law of Cai Feng, a great scholar of Nanjun. He first became friends with Xu Shu, and then, with the introduction of Xu Shu, he got to know the other three friends.

After Huang Chengyan met Zhuge Liang, he was very impressed by his appearance and talent after some conversation, so he proposed to marry his daughter to Zhuge Liang.

When the four friends heard this, they were all happy for Zhuge Liang, because in this way, Zhuge Liang would be able to establish a relationship with Liu Biao, and it would be easy for him to be appointed to an official position.

Because Cai Feng had two daughters, the eldest daughter married Huang Chengyan and the second daughter married Liu Biao. If Zhuge Liang became Huang Chengyan's son-in-law, his future career in Jingzhou would be smooth sailing.

But everyone privately thought that Huang Chengyan was attracted to Zhuge Liang because of his appearance rather than his talent, because Zhuge Liang at this age was already a rare handsome man, and among all the sons of noble families that everyone had seen, none could be even half as capable as Zhuge Liang, and even looking around the world, he was rare.

However, Zhuge Liang did not respond immediately. He just said that he would report it to his elders at home and put the matter off for the time being. At that time, everyone thought that Zhuge Liang was thin-skinned, so they made fun of it again today.

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang said solemnly: "Not to mention that I have no intention of becoming an official, even if I wanted to join a wise leader, I would not necessarily choose Jingzhou."

Everyone was surprised when they heard this and asked, "Kong Ming actually had this idea?"

Xu Shu asked, "Does Kong Ming think that Liu Jingsheng is unwilling to make progress and is unable to support the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Liang sighed: "This is just one of the reasons."

"The most important thing is that Liang feels that he is far from being a strategist in the world."

"Just take what happened recently, Cao Mengde and Yuan Xianyi were fighting each other, and their advisers were using their skills, which was really amazing."

"Especially Lu Boyan, a subordinate of Yuan Xuzhou. It is said that he is already capable of acting on his own. He has led troops to repel Cao's army several times, causing his advisers to suffer a great loss."

"I heard that Lu Boyan is two years younger than me, but he is already famous all over the world. In comparison, Liang is just a village man who has accomplished nothing."

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Meng Jian consoled them, "Kong Ming is a man of talent. Others may not know it, but we don't know it, right?"

"Kong Ming just lacked an opportunity. Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, why are you hesitating?"

"Or does Kong Ming feel that Jingzhou is not a place where one can display his talents?"

Kong Ming pondered in silence and shook his head.

Seeing this, Xu Shu said, "Does Kong Ming really want to reject Mr. Huang?"

"But judging from Kong Ming's appearance, Mr. Huang's daughter is indeed..."

Because when Huang Chengyan mentioned the matter of marrying his daughter, the four friends were all present. At that time, Huang Chengyan said, "I heard that you are choosing a wife. I have an ugly daughter, with yellow hair and black skin, but she is talented enough to be your wife."

The meaning is very simple, that is, her appearance is not worthy of Kong Ming, but her talents are commensurate.

However, at that time, when a woman got married, appearance was the most important thing, and talent was second, so everyone felt that it was understandable that Zhuge Liang was reluctant.

Zhuge Liang listened to Xu Shu's words and shook his head, saying, "That's not the problem."

"Liang really feels that he lacks a lot of talent and knowledge. He has been working in isolation and boasting in vain."

"Especially in these few major battles, from Anyi to Huaicheng, and then to Xuzhou, Liang just realized that there are always people better than you."

"Liang is very envious. Lu Boyan must have someone with great guidance."

After hearing this, everyone realized that Zhuge Liang was serious. Shi Tao smiled bitterly and said, "Kong Ming's talent is far beyond ours. How can it be so easy to find a master to ask for advice?"

Seeing Zhuge Liang's expression, Xu Shu was moved. "I heard that Xionghu has a master who is good at stargazing under his command. Is Kong Ming interested in this?"

Zhuge Liang heard this and said, "I originally thought that the art of stargazing was illusory, but Yuan Shijun's recent battles seemed to have predicted the future. I can't help but wonder, is there really anyone in this world who can foresee the future?"

"It's a pity that there are frequent wars over there, so we can't go there for the time being. Otherwise, Liang would be very interested in finding out what's going on."

After hearing this, Shi Tao and Meng Jian started discussing the battle in Xuzhou, but Xu Shu began to hesitate.

He was on good terms with Huang Chengyan and had thought that his proposal of marriage was a done deal. However, looking at Zhuge Liang's reaction now, it seemed that he was not very optimistic about the marriage and was even thinking of leaving Nanyang.

Should I go talk to Mr. Huang and see if the situation can be salvaged?

In Xuzhou Haixi, Ju Su watched Yuan Xi dot and draw on the map. Those places were all in Yuzhou, within the sphere of influence controlled by Yuan Shu. Ju Su could only, but could not tell what was special about these places.

He couldn't help but ask, "What's the mystery of these places?"

"Could it be related to the fact that the young master has been slow to send out troops?"

Yuan Xi raised his head and said, "Sir, you are amazing."

"I'm really waiting for things to turn around."

"Now this opportunity is about to come."