Chapter 159 The storm is coming
Xun You smiled implicitly and said, "Since the day I followed my lord, I am no longer Xun You of the Xun family, but Xun Gongda of my lord."

"Well said!"

Jin Mao was overjoyed and said, "With your help, why should I worry?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xi Zhicai poured cold water on Jin Mao: "My lord, don't be too happy too soon."

"There aren't many noble families in Guangling and Xiapi counties. If you go to the four northern counties of Xuzhou, you will know how difficult it is to accomplish something."

Jin Mao didn't believe it.

As a result, the slap in the face came too quickly. People below reported that no people in Huaiyin and Huaipu were willing to obey orders.

"what?!"

Jin Mao was furious: "It must be the work of Huaipu Chen family!"

"I must destroy them!"

"My lord, you can't do this!" Xun You and Xi Zhicai spoke out at the same time to persuade him.

Jin Mao regained some sanity.

If the Chen family of Xiapi was wiped out, it would be a lot of fun. The major princes did not have to wait until Emperor Ling died, they could uproot Jinmao on the spot in the name of rebellion.

Just like Jin Mao didn't take Yandu County seriously, in the eyes of those bastards in Luoyang, the capital, he was just a stronger grasshopper who could be destroyed with a little effort.

"Whatever." Jin Mao said helplessly: "Let's observe the situation for a few days."

"If these disgusting things continue to refuse to cooperate, I won't have a good temper."

"Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! Someone has to be held accountable for this!"

Xun You glanced at Xi Zhicai, feeling that he was accidentally hurt by Jin Mao's words.

...

Huaiyin County Government Office.

Chen Deng sat at the top, and representatives of many powerful families and clans sat in two rows below.

"Everyone, I have done what I should do. If there is nothing else, I will return to my jurisdiction to take up my post."

After Chen Deng concluded his speech, he prepared to stand up. If the host had not been urging him to come, Chen Deng would not have wanted to get involved in this mess.

Jin Mao is not a good person. The tragedy in Yandu County, Guangling County is still vivid in people's minds. Even if there is no evidence to prove that it was Jin Mao who did it, it is generally clear that it was his work.

No one dared to step forward to point fingers, because no one wanted to be the next victim.

Chen Deng also realized that there might be another hidden story behind this matter, and he just wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.

Sure enough, an elder of high esteem from the clan stood up and stopped him, saying, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Chief Dongyang."

"You are the highest-ranking official among us. If you leave, we will all be slaughtered!"

Chen Deng was speechless and said, "The Xia Pi County Magistrate is still here! The Huai Yin County Magistrate is still here! It's not my turn to make the decision, right?"

"You just want to take advantage of my Chen family's reputation."

"I, Chen Deng, cannot afford it. Please go find my brothers Chen Yu and Chen Cong."

After saying this, Chen Deng left without looking back.

Now, Chen Deng was sure that these people had bigger plans.

"This is crazy! Why would you want to provoke a powerful governor? Do you really think that the army is made of mud?" Chen Deng thought: "It seems that there must be a fight!"

He doesn't want to get involved in this storm.

...

Danyang County, Danyang County.

Zhou Xin looked at a scroll of bamboo slips carefully, not daring to miss a single word.

After reading it, Zhou Xin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother Wuqiu, congratulations in advance on your promotion!"

Wu Qiuyi couldn't hide the smile on his face, but he still asked patiently: "Tell me quickly, Governor Zhou, what did General Yuan say in the letter?"

Zhou Xin smiled and said, "General Yuan wants me to fully cooperate with Brother Wuqiu and ascend to the position of Governor of Yangzhou."

“Hahaha!” Wuqiu Yi laughed: “The general’s letter also said the same thing. It seems that my good luck is about to come!”

"Brother Zhou, please allow me to recruit soldiers in Danyang County. How can a governor of a state be without guards?"

Wu Qiuyi was so proud that he said, "I should change my clothes too."

Zhou Xin's expression changed: "Brother Wuqiu, do you know about the Yihong Courtyard that caused a lot of trouble some time ago?"

"I heard that he made a fortune every day!"

"Oh?" Wu Qiuyi was moved and asked, "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true!" Zhou Xin said hesitantly, "But that's the property of the former Yangzhou governor, Envoy Jin."

Wu Qiuyi's face darkened for a moment, but then he recovered and said, "Just for fun, I'm not unwilling to pay!"

Zhou Xin echoed, "There are indeed many ways to play. Brother Wuqiu hasn't played them yet, right?"

"Shall I take you to see it?"

"No need." Wu Qiuyi said, "There will be plenty of opportunities to play in the future."

"Farewell."

Looking at Wu Qiuyi's receding back, Zhou Xin said to himself, "It doesn't cost money, I don't believe you won't be tempted."

"When the time comes, if you seize Yihong Courtyard, you can use your life alone to lure Jin Mao into the game and make enemies with the general."

"Yuan Zhongjun is really full of wisdom and strategies!"

After several years of operation by Jinmao, the land of Yangzhou became very fertile. He Jin and Yuan Shao were very greedy and wanted to take it all for themselves.

It’s just that He Jin was in the open while Yuan Shao was in the dark.

The latter also needs to rely on the power of others to eliminate Jinmao's influence in Yangzhou.

...

Wu County, Wujun.

Liu Bei was in great glory during this period.

As soon as he took office as the magistrate of Wu County, someone sent him carriages, silk and beautiful women. At first, Liu Bei refused because he was responsible for the people of Wu County and thought that these were all the people's hard-earned money and must have been exploited by the powerful families.

However, after more than half a month in office, Liu Bei discovered that these gifts were all treasures of various families and not a single penny of the people's money was exploited.

What else is there to say? Liu Bei accepted it all. He liked wearing fancy clothes and enjoyed the luxurious life of the upper class.

Since it does not violate the principles, why can't we enjoy it?
Since receiving the gifts, more and more people came to visit Liu Bei, including many famous people.

On this day, Sheng Xian, the prefect of Wujun, came to visit.

Liu Bei opened the gate of the county government office wide to welcome him.

"Wu County Magistrate Liu Xuande pays homage to the county court."

Sheng Xian held Liu Bei in his arms and said, "I heard that Xuande is a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan."

"That's a royal family, it's incredible!"

Liu Bei knew this point himself, without anyone telling him. Now that Sheng Xian brought it up, he showed no sign of being humble at all.

"Jun Chao is right!" Liu Bei said proudly, "I am a descendant of the royal family."

Sheng Xian did not delve into the truth and praised: "As expected of a descendant of the royal family, he is truly heroic and tall."

Liu Bei stood up straight involuntarily and asked, "What brings you here today?"

"Daily inspection." Sheng Xian said meaningfully, "Please take care of me in the future."

Liu Bei didn't know about the feud between Sheng Xian and Jin Mao, and was flattered and said, "Xuan De dare not, please take care of me."

Sheng Xian did not stay for long and left after a cup of tea.

Day two.

Wang Lang came to visit again.

Liu Bei was surprised and asked, "You also know me, Liu Xuande?"

Wang Lang is much more shameless than Sheng Xian: "I have heard of your name for a long time!"

Liu Bei was so overwhelmed by the praise that he didn't even remember what the two men talked about. He only knew that they quickly became brothers.

"My dear brother, I am very sad." Wang Lang said when he saw the time was right: "It has been more than half a year since I was appointed as the governor of Kuaiji County, but I have never been to Kuaiji County once."

"What's the use of a county governor like me?"

Liu Bei asked curiously, "Aren't you visiting a friend in Wu County? Is there something hidden?"

Suddenly, Wang Lang exaggerated and described Jin Mao as an unforgivable sinner.

"If it weren't for that bastard Jin Mao, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

Wang Lang wiped away his nonexistent tears and said, "Brother, you have to help me!"

Liu Bei did not agree directly, but was vague and talked about other issues.

Wang Lang knew that the time had not come, so he said goodbye and left.

Then, Wang Lang invited Liu Bei to various high-end gatherings every day, and the attendees were either children of wealthy families or famous scholars.

Liu Bei was also greatly enlightened.

Ten days later.

Wang Lang brought up the old matter again, and Liu Bei hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.

"Brother! I really want to become sworn brothers with you." Wang Lang pretended to be sincere and urged: "There is no time to lose. The people of Kuaiji County are still in dire straits. Brother, please send me to take up my post!"

Liu Bei really wanted to say that it would not be too late to become sworn brothers before setting off, but he felt obliged to do so.

If you want to get into the circle of celebrities, you have to pay a price.

So, with the help of Liu Bei, Wang Lang finally took office on horseback and became the governor of Kuaiji County on the first day!
...

February of the sixth year of Zhongping.

The Liangzhou rebels besieged Chencang County for more than eighty days but failed to capture it and retreated in exhaustion.

Huangfu Song ordered a pursuit, but Dong Zhuo dissuaded him, believing that "don't pursue a desperate enemy, and don't force the returning enemies to retreat."

Huangfu Song believed that "the rebels were a tired army that had lost their fighting spirit, rather than a defeated and helpless enemy."

Later, Huangfu Song put Dong Zhuo in charge of the rear, and he led his army to pursue him. He won consecutive battles and beheaded more than ten thousand people. The rebel leader Guo Guo died of illness soon after he escaped.

Dong Zhuo therefore hated Huangfu Song very much.

Meanwhile, Luoyang.

Emperor Liu Hong fell seriously ill, and the eldest prince Liu Bian was sent by Empress He to serve him.

But Liu Bian was clumsy, which made Liu Hong very disgusted. He threw the bowl in anger and almost hit Liu Bian.

After this, Liu Bian no longer dared to face Liu Hong alone.

The day after Liu Bian's visit, Concubine Wang brought Prince Liu Xie to serve Liu Hong.

Liu Xie, who was only nine years old, behaved politely and friendly. Liu Hong was very happy. He drank two more bowls of meat soup and asked Liu Xie to come every day.

When Empress He found out, she became more jealous of Concubine Wang and wished she could get rid of her as soon as possible.

In this way, Liu Xie served Liu Hong for three days, and Liu Hong's condition improved.

When the Ten Eunuchs saw this, they all praised Liu Xie for being like their father.

This sentence reminded Liu Hong of changing the crown prince, but Luoyang was full of Queen He's influence, and the leader of the aristocratic families, Yuan Shao, was on He Jin's side. No matter how you looked at it, Liu Xie was weak.

For this purpose, Liu Hong asked Jinmao to escort Liu Xie.

Liu Hong summoned the Ten Eunuchs and issued an edict to appoint Huang Wan, the governor of Yuzhou, as prime minister, and Jin Mao, the governor of Xuzhou, as the governor of Yuzhou.

Liu Hong never expected that the eunuch group would be the first group to jump out and oppose!

The reasons were so convincing that Liu Hong could not refute them.

But how could Liu Hong surrender? He dragged his seriously ill body and forcibly convened a court meeting, just to force Jin Mao to be appointed as the governor of Yuzhou.

However, Liu Hong, who insisted on his own way, was jointly boycotted by the aristocratic group and the eunuch group.

The government decrees cannot leave the two palaces!
That night, Liu Hong was so angry that he vomited blood.

(End of this chapter)