My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 31 Two Letters Home
He sat down at the table, lit the candle, and picked up a brush to write furiously on a scroll of silk.

In his letter to his younger brother Mi Fang, he first focused on the argument that the Liu family was about to prosper, then recounted the details of Liu Feng's visit to his residence that day seeking help, and finally explained his arrangements for snow salt and rock sugar.

Following this, Mi Zhu, in the name of the head of the family, made arrangements, instructing Mi Fang to immediately mobilize the family's existing supplies and send two million coins to Tancheng as quickly as possible. At the same time, he was to continue to raise supplies in the countryside, sending as much as he could.

As he finished writing, Mi Zhu paused and hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, without hesitation, he instructed Mi Fang at the end of the letter to pass it on to his father, urging him to return to the countryside, gather the villagers, and raise supplies.

After finishing writing, Mi Zhu carefully checked it several times to make sure there were no flaws. Then he summoned his trusted servant and ordered him to immediately gather a squad of guards to escort the letter to his hometown in Qu County overnight.

Without a partner, Chen Deng was also at home writing furiously.

The person he was writing to was his father, Chen Gui.

Chen Deng's letter mainly covers three aspects.

The first thing was to introduce the curved plow and strongly suggest that the father try it out. If the effect was indeed as Liu Bei said, then they should do their best to produce it in large quantities and distribute it to the tenant farmers in their own estate, and then promote it to other gentry families, and see if they could use this to gain some benefits for the Chen family.

Secondly, it describes the unusual behavior of Liu Bei and Cao Bao, focusing on how Cao Bao suddenly agreed to cede four thousand troops to Liu Bei, and how Liu Bei successively promoted two trusted confidants, Tian Yu and Zhao Yun, to the positions of county magistrate and concurrently commander of a separate division, stationing troops in Cheng County and Lanling County.

He also instructed his family to try to find out the secrets, but to be very careful not to displease Liu Bei and Cao Bao.

The third story recounts the matter of Liu Feng. It begins by explaining that Liu Bei initially intended to have him as Liu Feng's tutor, and how he agreed, explaining his reasons for doing so. He then expresses his bewilderment that Liu Bei seems to have changed his mind, and, unable to understand why, seeks the opinion of his father, Chen Gui.

At the end of the letter, Chen Deng, as usual, lavished praise on Liu Bei, extolling his outstanding heroic bearing, his strategic vision for a king, his benevolent and tolerant nature, his respect for the virtuous and talented, and his willingness to listen to the advice of insightful people, especially his own opinions, which he valued highly and relied on greatly.

The latter half of the letter is filled with joy and happiness at meeting a wise ruler, and there's also a hint of showing off to his father.

Chen Gui was only fifty years old at this time, which was actually the golden age of his political career.

Previously, the Chen family cooperated with Tao Qian, who received substantial financial and military support, successfully conquering Yanzhou and occupying a large number of counties in Yanzhou. He then recommended Chen Gui as the Chancellor of Pei State.

However, with Tao Qian's defeat and Cao Cao's relentless attacks, Chen Gui naturally lost his position as Chancellor of Pei State and has now returned to his hometown of Xiapi.

Chen Deng's choice of Liu Bei was approved by his father and the Chen family.

Therefore, Chen Deng thought of creating an opportunity for his elderly father to come out of retirement again.

This wasn't due to any selfish motives on his part. With Chen Gui's qualifications, becoming an official would have been far too easy for him; he wouldn't have needed to rely on Liu Bei at all.

To take a recent example, Yuan Shu once wrote a letter to win over Chen Gui, promising him high-ranking positions and generous salaries. He even used Chen Gui's son to threaten Chen Gui into serving him.

Chen Gui remained unmoved. This was partly due to his good judgment in knowing that Yuan Shu was not a wise ruler, but also because of his integrity, which prevented him from accepting Yuan Shu, such a wicked and cruel man.

Historically, Chen Gui also had a good impression of Liu Bei. He even played the double agent in front of Lü Bu, and finally succeeded in deceiving Lü Bu, helping Liu Bei avenge the theft of his territory.

After finishing writing the letter, Chen Deng, feeling the effects of the alcohol, turned around and went to bed.

A moment later, loud snoring began.

The next day, Liu Feng received the news at noon.

Mi Zhu has already sent the first batch of supplies, which includes 3,000 shi of grain, 100,000 coins, 500 jin of iron, 50 sets of clothing and shoes, and 5 shi of salt.

In addition, there were ten sets of brocade robes, five jade belts, a precious sword, four bronze mirrors, six bolts of Shu brocade, twenty bolts of silk, four sets of cosmetics, and some precious medicinal herbs, among other gifts. Liu Feng went over to take a look and quickly distributed them.

"Send the two brocade robes to my Uncles Guan and Zhang, and the jade belts to my Uncles Zhao and Tian. Send the three bronze mirrors to the backyard to be presented to my grandmother, mother, and concubine."

Liu Feng finally picked up the precious sword, drew it out and examined it; it was indeed a fine iron blade.

He then sheathed the sword and tossed it to Pan Zhang beside him.

"This precious sword is a gift for a brave warrior, Wen Gui. It is now yours."

"Sir?"

Pan Zhang was stunned on the spot.

He was just marveling at the extravagance of the Mi family; these gifts were worth at least several hundred thousand coins, a very generous gift anywhere.

Most of these items were things that Pan Wengui had never seen before in his life.

Unexpectedly, the very sword that had captivated him the most and held his gaze so intently became his prized possession.

"Young master, you can't do this!"

After regaining his senses, Pan Zhang hurriedly bowed and said, "Young master, this item is too precious and a rare treasure. You should keep it for yourself."

Pan Zhang knew that although the boy in front of him was only ten years old, his strength was already comparable to that of an ordinary adult strongman.

He may not necessarily use such a precious sword, but he certainly has the qualifications to do so.

Given that Pan Zhang has already recognized the young man as his master, how could he possibly compete with Liu Feng for something?

Liu Feng glanced at Pan Zhang and knew exactly what he was thinking.

He burst into laughter: "Wen Gui, you serve me closely. War is dangerous and fierce. Without a good weapon, how can you protect me? Besides, I am a martial artist. If I use this precious weapon, I'm afraid I'll hurt myself before I can hurt others. You can't possibly harm me, can you?"

Pan Zhang was completely cornered, and he truly loved the precious sword. Moreover, Pan Zhang was inherently greedy. If he hadn't been so impressed with Liu Feng and was still young and lacked the arrogance of his past self, he wouldn't have been so polite to Liu Feng.

Now that there is a sufficient reason, and Liu Feng's intention to present the gift is so firm.

Pan Zhang, of course, would not refuse again. With an awkward smile, he hung the precious sword on his belt and bowed, saying, "Thank you for the sword, young master!"

"Wen Gui, you should then send this makeup, along with two sets of brocade robes, a bronze mirror, two bolts of Shu brocade, and four bolts of silk, to the residence of General Jianwei. The brocade robes are to be presented to Cao Jianwei, and the others are gifts for Cao Jianwei's daughter."

In a short while, Liu Feng had distributed all the gifts worth hundreds of thousands of coins, leaving nothing for himself, which left the servants speechless.

Pan Zhang respectfully accepted the order, and then directed the servants to distribute the gifts. Those that were to be sent to the backyard and the front hall were sent immediately, and the rest were put into the treasury.

After assigning these tasks, he apologized to Liu Feng and personally took the gifts designated by Liu Feng to Cao Bao's residence.

Wishing all our readers a Happy Lunar New Year's Eve! May you have a joyous reunion, happiness, good health, and happiness with your families!

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(End of this chapter)