Chapter 116: Liu Jia Erlang, making friends Chengde County, also known as Chengde County, is the intersection of Jiujiang County and Lujiang County, and is also an important military location. But because it is located at the border, it has a small population and the streets are not prosperous. It is one of those unknown small counties. However, today a group of very special guests came to Chengde County - Liu Bei and his five thousand soldiers. When the people in the city heard that troops were coming, their first reaction was to stay indoors, for fear that the troops would enter the city and plunder. But when they heard it was Liu Bei, they knew everything was fine and the people instantly relaxed their guard. Seeing that Liu Bei's army did not enter the city at all, the people in the city came out one after another to stop and watch, wanting to see what the legendary Envoy Liu looked like. I was greatly disappointed when I first saw him. Apart from his beardless chin, he looked very friendly. On the contrary, the tall scholar next to him had an imposing bearing and an extraordinary appearance. It is also because Liu Bei’s prestige is not high at the moment, so the people cannot reach the point where they offer food and drink to welcome the royal army.

It is already rare and precious to be able to let the people relax their guard. When Liu Bei saw this, he did not take it seriously and asked Jian Yong to take people to appease the people so as not to disturb their peace. After restoring order a little, he called the county manager. Ever since Sun Ce arrived and the county magistrate left, the order in the city has been temporarily under the responsibility of the county lieutenant. This man is the son of a wealthy family in the city. His surname is Li and his name is Shan. His home is here. The common people could hide, but he couldn't, so he had to bite the bullet and receive Liu Bei. He welcomed Liu Bei into the county government, served him some wine and food, and said: "This is a small country town, and I don't have much good food to entertain you. I brought some wine and meat from my home. I hope you won't blame me for my neglect." Liu Bei looked at the fine rice, wine and meat on the table and said with a smile: "Trouble you, lieutenant. We rarely eat such food and wine in the army. How can we despise it?" He didn't hesitate to wave to Qin Zhen, and the two of them started eating. Seeing Liu Bei so friendly and easy-going, Li Shan, the county lieutenant, couldn't help but relax his vigilance and stood aside and asked in a low voice: "I wonder why you are here, sir? My county treasury is out of money and grain. If you want money and grain, I am willing to give you 100 shi of grain from my home." "Now that the drought is so severe, the people in the city really don't have much surplus food." Seeing him like this, Liu Bei and Qin Zhen smiled at each other, thinking that this man was not bad. Qin Zhen put down his chopsticks and said, "Don't worry, County Lieutenant. We are not here to ask for food or money!" "Now that Yuan Shu is gone, this place will belong to our army in the future. Due to the severe drought this year, our army will not collect taxes. We will discuss the issue of money and grain next year!" "We have come here this time only to look for one person. I wonder if the county lieutenant knows a person called Liu Ye?" "If you know where this person is, please send us a visiting card!" When Li Shan heard Qin Zhen say that there would be no tax collection this year, he was delighted at first, but when he heard Liu Ye's name, he said in surprise: "I dare to let you know, sir, that I am unfamiliar with this person Liu Ye!"

"Have not heard?" When Liu Bei heard this, his chopsticks stopped moving. Qin Zhen didn't care and said with a smile: "His father, Liu Pu, is the descendant of Liu Yan, the King of Fuling!" When Li Shan heard this, he immediately reacted and grinned: "So you are asking about Liu Erlang!" "If it weren't for your words, I would have almost forgotten his name, Liu Ye!" "If you want to see Liu Erlang, why do you need a greeting card? I will go and ask the master to bring him here right away!" When Liu Bei saw this, he looked at Qin Zhen in surprise. Judging from the looks of it, it seems like they don’t need any big gifts! But when Qin Zhen saw it, he smiled and said: "You can't be so negligent. His father Liu Pu is from the same clan as our master, so we should pay him a visit. Just go and send us a greeting. We will come to visit him tomorrow!" Li Shan was surprised when he heard this. He wondered what Liu Bei was here for, but it turned out he was here to look for his relatives! Thinking of this, I felt envious again. After all, the news that Liu Bei had captured Shouchun has spread. Now that he has captured Shouchun, he will most likely be the lord of Huainan in the future. The fact that he has come to seek marriage with the emperor shows that Liu Ye's family is going to become prosperous. He immediately took the order and went out of the mansion with the visiting card given by Qin Zhen. Seeing this, Liu Bei became even more surprised and said: "What do you mean, military advisor? If you can summon Liu Ye, you can meet him. Why do you need a visiting card?" Although Mr. Liu is respectful to others, he still considers efficiency when it is not necessary. Why wait a day when you can meet in person? When he asked this question, Qin Zhen shook his head and smiled: "If you are simply looking for talent, you don't need to do this, but if you are visiting relatives, you should take it seriously." "You must know that Liu Pu is a descendant of Emperor Guangwu and is of the same clan as the emperor today." "Although you are a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, you are a distant relative. You are criticized because your genealogy is unclear and it is difficult to tell whether you are real or fake. Therefore, if you want to make a good name for yourself, you need Liu Pu's help!" It is also because Old Liu is not very politically sensitive. Although he has the title of a relative of the Han royal family, he does not know how to make good use of it. It should be noted that in this era, clans need to check family tree to recognize people. Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan, had more than a hundred descendants, but almost no one has figured it out. The best way at this time is to establish a relationship with the orthodox Han royal family, be thick-skinned, and acknowledge them as relatives. This way, when he meets the emperor in the future, he will have Liu Ye's endorsement, which will increase his credibility. The situation has now changed. If Liu Bei has no chance to go to Xu Du, he will have no chance to meet Liu Xie. Therefore, we need to save the country in a roundabout way. When the time comes and we get Liu Xie's approval, we will take off completely! It would be even more perfect if there was a secret decree.

The relatives of the Han Dynasty wore yellow riding jackets, and the Yidaizhao was the imperial sword. With both in hand, they could hit anyone they wanted, and no one could find fault with them. There is no need to be like now, with our hands tied and secret calculations! In response to Qin Zhen's suggestion, Liu Bei nodded and said nothing more. On the other side, Li Shanxing, the county lieutenant, walked out of the county government and headed towards a mansion in the city. When he saw the gatekeeper, he smiled and said, "Great joy, great joy, quickly inform Lord Liu, there is great joy." When the gatekeeper saw this, he did not dare to delay and went into the inner hall to inform Liu Pu. Liu Pu, who was over fifty years old, was still vigorous. After hearing this, he invited Li Shan into the mansion and asked: "Why are you here, County Lieutenant? What good news do you have?" A phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken. Although Liu Pu is a relative of the Han Dynasty, his family has long been in decline. Three generations have never been officials. With only a little surplus wealth, he is considered a small family in the city. When he sees a powerful county lieutenant like Li Shan, he has to be three points lower. Seeing this, Li Shan smiled and said: "How can you not know what is going on, Lord Liu? Haven't you heard that the envoy Liu of Yuzhou is leading his troops and has now arrived in the city?" "Just now I went to contact him, but I heard the envoy asked about Mr. Liu's name." "I have introduced Mr. Liu's family status to you. When you heard that Mr. Liu was a descendant of the royal family, you said that we were related, so you asked me to deliver the visiting card. I will come to visit you tomorrow!" "Tell me, Mr. Liu, how can this not be a happy occasion?" When Liu Pu heard this, he was extremely surprised. As the saying goes, a poor person in a busy city has no one to care about him, but a rich person in a remote mountain area has distant relatives. His family background was indeed prominent, but it had long since declined. Normally, no one comes to visit, so it is naturally a good thing that a warlord like Liu Bei wants to come and seek marriage. He stroked his long beard, nodded and smiled: "It is a matter of great joy. I'd like to trouble the county lieutenant to report it!" After saying that, he thought for a while and said to Li Shan: "Wait a moment, County Lieutenant. Let me prepare some wine and food. Thank you, County Lieutenant!" After saying this, he ordered the kitchen to prepare the banquet. Li Shan was also a wise man. He knew that the Liu family was about to take off, so he dared not let them entertain him. He hurriedly shook his head and said: "No need for that. I still need to report to the envoy. If you want to have a banquet, you can come back tomorrow." "But Lord Liu, please remember one thing. The envoy specifically asked to see Erlang today, so you must not let Erlang go out tomorrow, otherwise I'm afraid the envoy will be angry!" When Liu Pu heard this, he was confused again. How could his second son, who was uneducated and spent all day fooling around, be valued by Liu Bei? Although Xu Shao praised him at the beginning, his reputation did not spread much and he was only well-known in Huainan. After Xu Shao's death, no one talked about him anymore. Where did Liu Bei hear of his son's reputation? Thinking this in his heart, he shook his head and smiled: "Don't worry, County Lieutenant. Even if the envoy specifically asks to see you, I will let him wait at home!" Li Shan was delighted to see that he readily agreed, and turned around to leave. When Liu Pu saw this, he was unwilling to let him go back empty-handed, so he gritted his teeth and asked his servant to give him a thousand coins before letting him go.

Li Shan completed the task and got the money, so he left happily. Liu Pu felt his feet were light and dazed, so he called his eldest son Liu Huan and asked him to go and find Liu Ye. Not long after, Liu Huan was seen returning home with a well-dressed young man. This man was none other than Liu Ye, dressed in black, with a heroic appearance and a long sword on his back. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was a local street thug. When Liu Pu saw Liu Ye's attire, he was annoyed and said: "You rebellious son, you have been hanging out outside all day, don't you know that now Envoy Liu has come into the city and asked to see you!" "How can I meet the envoy tomorrow dressed like this?" Liu Ye had already heard from Liu Huan that Liu Bei was coming, and he couldn't help but laugh: "My father doesn't like me, but Envoy Liu likes me. In my opinion, the Envoy is not here to look for my relatives, but to find me to work as an official!" "If you could see my child like this, I don't know how happy you would be!" Seeing his confident look, Liu Pu couldn't help but wonder: "How do you know that the envoy is here to look for you?" Liu Ye saw it and said: "It is because I saw that the envoy's army was coming but did not enter the city. Considering the current situation, I think he must want to take Hefei." "If he wants to go to Hefei, he can lead his troops there. There are no troops stationed in the city now, so he can send a small general to take the place. Why does he need to go here?" "From this point of view, the envoy came here not just to pass by, but came specifically for Chengde." "When he entered the city, he did not ask about other families, but only about our family. He did not want to see anyone else, but wanted to see the child. It can be seen that his heart is mainly on the child." "So I am sure that the envoy came here to recruit me into the government!" After hearing this, Liu Pu was secretly shocked. There is nothing special about his son except that he is extremely intelligent. Listening to it now, it does make some sense. Thinking of this, he frowned and said: "Even if they sincerely invite you, why do you need them to come and visit you? If you are willing to serve, then go. If you are not willing, just refuse as soon as possible!" "Why bother the envoy to come again?" But when Liu Ye heard this, he smiled and said: "If this is the case, father, then you are not fulfilling the envoy's wish!" "Although the envoy came here for my son, he has sent me a visiting card, which shows that he is interested in establishing a relationship with our family. How can I refuse him, father?" Upon hearing this, Liu Pu frowned again and said in a deep voice: "Even so, are you willing to serve as an official?" Liu Ye smiled slightly and said:

"It is still unknown. You have to meet the person to know!" But Liu Pu heard this and immediately became furious: "This young boy is incorrigible. Envoy Liu has come to you to seek you out for a career, which is a great gesture of kindness." "If you don't want to serve as an official, why do you let him enter the palace? If you ask him to recognize your relatives and you don't come out, how can I, as a father, respond?" Seeing his old father angry, Liu Ye bowed and said: "Father, please don't be angry. I have my own plans. Just ask the envoy to come tomorrow and entertain him well." "If I see that you are truly worthy of assisting my master, I will naturally serve as a minister." "If he is really unable to assist, I will find a way to persuade you to leave. You don't need to worry about it." Seeing what Liu Ye said, Liu Pu suppressed his anger and ordered his servants to buy some livestock in preparation for entertaining Liu Bei tomorrow. While they were making preparations, Li Shan returned to the county government and told Qin Zhen about everything. Qin Zhen heard this and said to Liu Bei with a smile: "It's done. You can prepare some gifts and visit me tomorrow. Then you will have another great talent to assist you." Seeing that Qin Zhen praised Liu Ye so much, Liu Bei was naturally quite curious. I thought that the person recommended by Qin Zhen must be extraordinary. He also hurriedly asked people to buy gifts, preparing to meet this talented person who could help the world. (End of this chapter)