My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 115 Additional Investment
While Liu Feng was celebrating with his soldiers, Chen Deng was at home receiving his two younger brothers.

Chen Gui had four sons, and Chen Deng was the eldest son and the most talented of them all.

After Chen Gui's two cousins, Chen Yu and Chen Cong, were defeated by Yuan Shu and lost their official positions, returning to their hometowns, the focus and influence of the family gradually shifted from Chen Qiu's lineage to Chen Gui's lineage.

In particular, the plan strongly advocated by Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng to support Liu Bei's entry into Xuzhou has been a great success. Now, Liu Bei has not only secured his position as governor of Xuzhou, but has even begun to prepare to expand his governorship. This momentum was unexpected even by Chen Deng, who was initially the most optimistic about Liu Bei.

At the same time, Liu Bei successfully suppressed and dismantled the Danyang faction, won over Cao Bao, and won over Xu Dan. Finally, he brought out Cao Hong, the most notorious member of the Danyang faction and the most hated by the locals of Xuzhou, and executed him in public on charges of colluding with Cao Cao, thus winning great favor from the people of Xuzhou.

Even the locals of Xuzhou who had initially opposed Liu Bei's takeover of Xuzhou began to reflect on whether they had misjudged Liu Bei.

What made the Chen family even ecstatic was that Liu Bei had begun to promote Chen Deng to a high-ranking official position at the level of prefect of a commandery or kingdom. This secret was known only to the highest levels of the family, but it greatly boosted the Chen family's confidence.

Of course, because Chen Deng had not revealed Liu Bei's upcoming campaign to conquer Langya, but only informed his family that he was a potential governor, the Chen family mistakenly believed that Chen Deng might obtain the position of governor of Guangling, since Guangling County was currently the only county in Xuzhou without a governor.

This also intensified the euphoria and expectations within the Chen family.

Chen Deng previously served as the State Clerk, a high-ranking and powerful position responsible for the assessment and promotion of officials in a state.

Ultimately, however, the power was in the hands of the governor, and the governor's chief clerk was merely acting on behalf of the governor, essentially a fox borrowing the tiger's power.

Whether this position could hold real power depended entirely on whether the governor favored him; the position itself was merely that of a minor official with a salary of four hundred bushels of grain.

But a prefectural governor is a different story. In the past, during peaceful times, a powerful prefectural governor could even rival the governor.

Taishi Ci first made a name for himself by destroying the memorial of the governor of Qingzhou for the governor of the prefecture, which enabled the governor to win the political struggle. This shows his talent.

Moreover, the governor of a prefecture or kingdom holds a rank of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), wielding the power of life and death over the prefecture or kingdom. He can also promote and cultivate a large number of his cronies and even control the army of the prefecture or kingdom, making him a miniature version of a feudal lord.

Liu Bei's decision to promote Chen Deng to the position of governor of a prefecture and kingdom stemmed from his belief in Chen Deng's abilities and his trust in his loyalty.

After tasting success, the Chen family underwent tremendous changes.

Even Chen Qiu's faction, which had not previously supported Liu Bei, began to change their tune and strongly supported in-depth cooperation with Liu Bei, wanting to increase their investment in him.

There's nothing we can do. Chen Deng has already taken the initial shares, and now that Liu Bei has gained momentum, if you want to invest more, you'll naturally have to offer a higher price.

The relationship between Chen Deng and Liu Bei was a personal one; if the family wanted to use it, they would have to compensate him.

As a result, Chen Deng's younger brother Chen Ying and Chen Yu's eldest son, Chen Deng's cousin Chen Wan, were both sent by their family from Xiapi to Tancheng, hoping to serve Liu Bei.

They also brought a large amount of valuable goods, including grain, cattle, and farm tools—the most sought-after and precious resources in the state government at the moment.

"Brother!"

Upon seeing Chen Deng enter, Chen Ying and Chen Wan knelt down to greet him.

Chen Deng is now the core figure of the family, and the face and leader of the Xiapi Chen clan. He has completely replaced Chen Wan's father Chen Yu and uncle Chen Cong.

Therefore, the direct line also shifted, from Chen Wan to Chen Deng.

Later, Chen Dengcai became the main branch of the Chen family in Xiapi.

What shocked Chen Ying and Chen Wan even more was that as soon as they entered the city, they learned that Liu Bei had appointed Chen Deng as the governor of Dongguan Commandery and the military commander of Dongguan, Ju County, and Langya Commandery.

Chen Wan had always respected Chen Deng, and now she was even more obedient to him.

"Get up. There's no need for formalities with me."

Chen Deng was in a good mood. With Cao Hong dead, Liu Bei received a lot of praise from scholars. The scholars and people in Tancheng County were overjoyed and beaming with happiness, which showed how deep Cao Hong's evil deeds were.

Afterwards, he led his troops on a northern expedition, pacified Zang Ba in ten days, and captured Langya in half a month. He returned in triumph, bringing back six or seven million coins, 400,000 shi of grain, as well as countless other cloth, silk, and military equipment.

Liu Bei has now completely rid himself of the threat of whether he can gain a foothold in Xuzhou, and the question is now how to continue to expand his power in Xuzhou.

As Liu Bei's right-hand man, trusted strategist, literary advisor, and lifelong confidant, Chen Deng's status naturally rose, and in the eyes of outsiders, he already showed signs of becoming the second most powerful figure in Xuzhou.

This is why Chen Deng was so humble and deferred to others after his return.

Chen Deng wanted to realize his ambitions, assist a wise ruler, eliminate the rebellious people in the world, and display his talents.

A little bit of fame is nothing.

"What do you want from your family?"

Chen Deng was perfectly aware of Chen Ying and Chen Wan's intentions.

He just didn't know how big his family's appetite really was.

Upon hearing his elder brother's question, Chen Ying fell silent. He was merely a son of a concubine, and his talent was only average. He was not valued by the family. If Chen Deng had not been without a younger brother, he would not have been here.

Moreover, Chen Deng was clever and quick-witted from a young age, and was a few years older than Chen Ying. It can be said that Chen Ying grew up in the shadow of Chen Deng, and he was both close to and afraid of this elder brother who raised him.

Chen Wan was quite different. His father, Chen Yu, held high-ranking official positions with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and his grandfather even reached the rank of one of the Three Dukes, becoming the first member of the Chen clan of Xiapi to hold the rank of one of the Three Dukes.

He later died in the campaign to eliminate eunuchs, which can be described as the ultimate political correctness in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Chen Wan has always been the direct descendant of the Chen family of Xiapi and the hope for the future.

Therefore, although Chen Wan was somewhat wary of Chen Deng, who had been clever since childhood, she was not too afraid of him.

But now the tables have turned, and Chen Deng is about to become the direct descendant, which makes Chen Wan feel a little bitter.

Before coming to Tancheng, I was worried that he might have some bad intentions that would affect the family's grand plan.

His father, Chen Yu, even had a special talk with him, worried that he might not know his place and offend Chen Deng.

Chen Yu made it very clear to Chen Wan that he had to unconditionally obey Chen Deng's orders this time, otherwise his family would not forgive him, nor would Chen Yu himself.

Chen Wan knew very well that even her own father, Chen Yu, now needed Chen Deng's help.

After all, the simplest way for Chen Yu to regain his power is for Liu Bei to petition him, but this requires Liu Bei to have new territory and be willing to hand it over to him.

Then what are we waiting for? Let's increase investment!

The larger Liu Bei's territory becomes, the more powerful the Chen family will become.

"The family's intention is that if my elder brother is promoted, I wonder if Lord Liu has already made arrangements for the vacant position of Chief Clerk?"

It was Chen Wan who spoke, but these words reflected the thoughts of the family's leaders, namely Chen Deng's father Chen Gui, and the brothers Chen Yu and Chen Cong.

"Haha."

Chen Deng laughed and slapped his thigh, saying, "Your family has quite the appetite, already eyeing the position of Gongcao. Do you all want to inherit this position?"

Chen Wan opened her mouth to explain, but Chen Deng interrupted her: "No need to say more, this is absolutely unacceptable."

"Your Excellency is about to make great strides in governing Xuzhou. How can you appoint people based on personal connections?"

Chen Deng glanced at Chen Wan and Chen Ying with disdain: "What merits have you two rendered to the state and county? How can you rashly assume the position of Chief Clerk? If it were truly as you wish, how would the world view you, my lord?"

Chen Wan was still somewhat unwilling to give up, so she glanced at Chen Ying, hoping he would speak up for her.

But Chen Ying had already lowered his head, as if he wanted to bury himself in his collar.

His older brother had already spoken, so what could he do? Could he possibly talk back?

Helpless, Chen Wan could only back down and tentatively ask, "Brother, in your opinion, what position should we request?"

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Chen Deng's eyes, then he glared at his younger brother, who was hanging his head and looked like a large quail.

It must be said that Chen Wan's talent was indeed superior to Chen Ying's.

“You may first serve as clerks and county officials. Xuzhou has just suffered from war, and countless county towns have been destroyed.”

Chen Deng stared directly at Chen Wan, his sharp gaze putting considerable pressure on him: "Zijing is currently in charge of land reclamation and restoring the economy and people's livelihoods. If you are willing to contribute to the state and county, there is a shortage of manpower here."

"With my connections, I'm confident I can secure a position for either of you as a registrar or a clerk."

"this……."

Chen Wan and Chen Ying both hesitated.

This is not what I expected when I came here.

The position of Gongcao is important but involves few duties; it is a well-known and prestigious post.

But the registrar and the accountant are different; these are administrative officials, especially at the county level, who have to spend a lot of time handling affairs at the grassroots level. Although they have great power and are prestigious positions that can earn them merit, the work is also very demanding.

Seeing even Chen Wan's face showing reluctance, Chen Deng flew into a rage: "How can you two accomplish anything great when you are so lazy and averse to work? Why don't you let Governor Liu hand over the position of governor to the two of you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Wan and Chen Ying immediately broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for mercy.

Chen Deng, however, was still furious and said, "What do you two know? The young master of the Liu family is currently training troops in Xiangben and was previously involved in the land reclamation. The young master is only ten years old, yet he is already able to lead from the front. You are both over twenty years old, yet you are still so lazy and unwilling to work, unworthy of being called the sons of the Chen family."

Helpless, Chen Wan and Chen Ying could only continue to apologize and plead with Chen Deng to calm down.

Chen Deng calmed down slightly and said decisively, "Since that's the case, then it's settled. Chen Wan will go to Xiangben to serve as the chief clerk, and Chen Ying will go to Lanling County to serve as the chief clerk. If you don't want to do it, you can go back now."

Hearing Chen Deng's arrangement, Chen Wan and the other woman were powerless to resist and could only nod in agreement.

Moreover, Chen Deng's final arrangement was to place the more capable Chen Wan in Xiangben, while sending his own younger brother Chen Ying to Lanling.

Mi Fang, who was in Qu County, received another letter from his elder brother, and his brows furrowed once again.

He read the letter over and over again, six or seven times, unable to put it down.

So, even Mi Zifang can become a prefect?

Is Mi Zifang also going to become the prefect?

Mi Fang felt a strong emotion welling up in her chest, and she wanted to shout it out.

He, the son of a merchant, is about to become a prefect.

Although it only governs four counties for the time being, its rank is genuinely higher than that of a prefect with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

If Mi Zhu's letter contained only this one thing, then Mi Fang would surely have burst out laughing at this moment.

But what followed made him stop laughing.

Mi Zhu not only wanted to discuss with his family about gifting all the pig iron and blacksmith industries in Qu County to Liu Bei, but also directly suggested a marriage alliance with Liu Bei, betrothing his younger sister to Liu Bei's eldest son, Liu Feng, as a concubine.

This was unacceptable to Mi Fang.

Mi Fang was a sentimental person. He respected and obeyed his father, was friendly and respectful to his elder brother, and doted on his younger sister.

He hoped his younger sister could find happiness, not be used as a tool for a political marriage.

After all, in Mi Fang's view, her family was already rich enough, and perhaps her sister didn't need to make any more sacrifices; at most, she would just need to give her a little more money.

It was obvious that Mi Zhu's considerations were different from his, and Mi Fang had a premonition that no matter how much his father loved his sister, he would definitely side with his brother on this point.

There was no other way; Mi Fang couldn't disobey her elder brother's orders, so she had no choice but to take the silk scroll to Fu Lou, where Mi Zeng was.

Mi Zeng was still relaxing in Fu Lou when he saw Mi Fang appear with a worried look on her face. Mi Zeng snorted coldly: "You are always cheerful when you go out to make friends and have fun, but you only have a bitter face when you come to your old man. Could it be that your father has mistreated you?"

Mi Fang quickly put on a smile and stepped forward to greet him.

"Alright, alright, your smile is more bitter than gall, just stop it."

Mi Zeng waved his hand dismissively, then took the silk scroll.

Mi Fang looked around and, not finding Mi Yue, asked curiously, "Father, isn't my sister here?"

"Yeah, she went for a spring outing. It's not fun for her to stay at home with an old man like me all the time. She should go out and relax once in a while."

Mi Zeng read the letter from his eldest son while answering his second son's questions.

The letter was short, and Mi Zeng finished reading it quickly.

But he started reading it again, and only put down the silk book after he had finished reading it.

Seeing her father close his eyes again, Mi Fang felt a sudden surge of anxiety.

After hesitating for a while, he couldn't help but ask, "Father, what should I do about what my brother said in his letter?"

Everyone knows that the Mi family's business has two main pillars: salt and iron. If they were to give up the iron smelting business, the Mi family would only have one leg left.

"How to deal with it?"

Mi Zeng scoffed, not even lifting his eyelids: "It's just a pig iron industry. I only spent 20 million coins to buy it back then. Over the years, I've already made back 20 times the profit. What more could I ask for?"

"Since Lord Liu wants it and your brother supports it, then hand it over."

Mi Fang responded meekly. Her father seemed to have answered her, but he didn't mention the thing he most wanted to know.

Left with no other option, Mi Fang, deeply concerned for her younger sister, could only steel herself and ask, "Father, what about my sister's matter..."

Mi Zeng didn't answer directly, but instead gave a non-sequitur: "When the late emperor was alive, a prefectural governor was openly priced at 20 million coins, and only members of a prominent aristocratic family could afford it. For a family like ours, we could only get in through the connections of eunuchs, and the price would probably be double. You really are ungrateful."

Mi Fang's face turned bright red, after all, he was the one who ultimately got the position of prefect.

"That little sister..."

"What a fool."

Mi Zeng opened his eyes and looked at Mi Fang with a sigh of disappointment: "Even if our family is willing to do this, we still have to see if Governor Liu is willing. Besides, what time is it now? Governor Liu is a skilled general who can govern the region well. It is our Mi family's good fortune to have such a governor. Don't you know what Xuzhou was like when the previous governor, Lord Tao, was in power?"

Mi Fang thought about it and realized that it was indeed as her father had said. When Tao Qian was in power, he levied exorbitant taxes, oppressed the local people, and practiced nepotism in his appointments.

Even a great sage like Zhao Yu was ruined by Tao Qian. It's truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.

"You'd better get ready and go to Tancheng."

Mi Zeng instructed, "Remember, once you get there, you must listen to your brother. When you get there, don't get involved in those messy affairs, and don't worry about saving face. If anyone dares to cause trouble under your nose, you must be willing to chop off their head, understand?"

Mi Fang respectfully agreed.

Mi Zeng continued, “If your sister’s matter succeeds, then our family will become the governor’s in-laws. I know you value relationships and can’t let go of old ties. Before, those were private relationships, and our family is large and powerful, so it doesn’t matter if we suffer a little loss. But from now on, you will be the governor’s in-law, and I don’t know how many people will want to drag you down with them. If you don’t chop off their heads, they will dare to use your head as a cover, do you understand?”

Mi Fang lowered his head in shame. He wasn't an ungrateful person; he could understand the worry and love in his father's earnest teachings.

"Father, rest assured, I will definitely mend my ways."

"well."

Mi Zeng nodded. Although he didn't believe that Mi Fang could definitely change, he still encouraged her a few times.

"After you go to Tancheng this time, you don't need to get involved in Yue'er's affairs. Let your brother handle everything. Tell your brother that this is my arrangement."

Mi Fang was somewhat dejected, but she still didn't dare to question her father and could only nod and reply, "Yes, Father."

Mi Zeng suddenly remembered something and asked Mi Fang, "By the way, how's the matter I instructed you to handle?"

Mi Fang seemed to understand, but asked again, somewhat uncertainly, "Father, are you referring to the armor?"

"Yep."

Mi Zeng nodded: "It's about this matter. How's it going?"

After thinking for a moment, Mi Fang replied, "It's already been arranged. We had some iron armor blades in stock, so the speed is okay. We've already completed more than seventy suits of armor. However, we've run out of iron armor blades, so it will be much slower from now on. According to Master Luo, if we can add another 30 people, we can produce a maximum of one hundred and twenty suits of armor per month."

After a pause, Mi Fang continued, "However, this might mean that there won't be enough pig iron, and we need to find a way to increase pig iron production."

"Well, I see."

Mi Zeng nodded and instructed, "Take this batch of armor with you this time, and remember to bring plenty of guards."

"Yes, father."

Mi Fang felt a warm glow in her heart, knowing that her father still cared about and loved her.

"Set off as soon as possible. Your brother is waiting for you in Tancheng, and so is Magistrate Liu."

Mi Zeng closed his eyes wearily and hummed, "Tell your brother that he is on the right path."

Mi Fang didn't quite understand the meaning of those words, but she still respectfully agreed.

(End of this chapter)