My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 5: Desiring the General's Daughter as a Concubine

Look at the rotten things the core members of the Danyang faction have done; even Cao Bao himself couldn't bear to look at them.

The Danyang faction's ally is the Xiapi Emperor's Army. What is this?
This is a group of rebels.

Another ally and vassal of the Danyang faction was Zang Ba's Langya Army. What exactly was this?
He's still a traitor.

Tao Qian and his Danyang faction had almost become the leaders of the outlaw world, with bandits as their associates and rebels as their companions.

However, Cao Bao couldn't shake off the Danyang Sect.

Although he was the leader of the Danyang army, not all Danyang soldiers were Cao Bao's troops. Among them, the troops of Cao Bao's deputy, General Weiyuan, numbered four thousand, and there were also troops of other colonels and separate commanders. Cao Bao's true troops numbered only about ten thousand.

Cao Bao lacked the ambition to start his own business, yet he feared being devoured if he completely submitted to Liu Bei.

Cao Bao was worried that the Danyang Sect would drag him down, but he couldn't do without it.

He was resentful that Liu Bei had taken over as governor of Xuzhou, but he dared not raise the flag of rebellion.

She was dissatisfied that Liu Bei only cared about befriending Chen Yuanlong and Mi Zhu, but at the same time she was afraid of rejecting Liu Bei's overtures.

He's like a rat caught in the middle, suffering from both sides, and is on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Just then, Liu Feng appeared and offered him a very tempting olive branch.

This made it impossible for Cao Bao not to be tempted.

What moved Cao Bao the most was Liu Feng standing in front of him.

This is just a ten-year-old child, yet he has such vision, eloquence, and ability.

When Liu Feng finally gets his hair tied up, what a terrifying monster he will become!

What's even more appealing is that Liu Bei was over thirty-five years old. Although he had three sons, Liu Feng was his only legitimate son and also his eldest son.

This is undoubtedly the eldest son of the legitimate wife. Wouldn't all the foundation that Liu Bei built in the future be Liu Feng's?
Judging from Liu Feng's current abilities, he is fully capable of inheriting Liu Bei's legacy.

And I am his father-in-law!
After much hesitation, Cao Bao finally managed to ask, "Young Master, do you intend to marry my Qing'er?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng knew that the matter was likely to succeed.

Cao Bao appeared hesitant, but in reality, he even revealed his daughter's given name, something that should not be heard by anyone other than close relatives.

Liu Feng realized that this was the final step, but some things still needed to be clarified first, otherwise it would be more troublesome later.

Liu Feng solemnly refused, saying, "General, I have no right to decide the position of the principal wife; it must be decided by my father. For now, I can only treat her as a concubine. But I promise that I will treat your daughter the same as everyone else."

Upon hearing that she would only be given the title of concubine, Cao Bao's displeasure was evident.

But in his heart, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Because that's the truth.

If Liu Feng dared to promise her the status of his legal wife, Cao Bao would immediately turn hostile.

How could Liu Bei not be present for such an important event?

Either Liu Feng was deceiving him, or Liu Feng was deceiving Liu Bei; either way, Cao Bao could not accept it.

However, if it is a side room, then that's a different story.

Cao Bao had to admit that he was tempted.

Cao Bao's family was a powerful clan in Danyang, and his status as a scholar was only valid in Danyang and was not recognized by scholars in the Central Plains.

In the Han Dynasty, regional discrimination was not only very common, but it was even a form of political correctness.

Scholars from Henan were in the first tier, while those from Xuzhou and Hebei were in the second tier.

As for Cao Bao, the so-called scholar from Danyang, he could barely be placed in the third tier.

Cao Bao was silent for a moment, then reached out and took the box, looked at it, and tasted it.

He found the snow salt to be salty and delicious, without any off-flavors, and its color was as pure as snow, truly living up to its name.

The color, aroma, and flavor of the snow salt were unparalleled in Cao Bao's life. It was astonishing that Liu Feng had received such a precious gift from heaven, and was even willing to share ten percent of the profits with the Cao family.

Finally, Cao Bao made up his mind, raised his head and stared at Liu Feng, a chilling aura emanating from him.

Regardless, Cao Bao was a big shot in the Xuzhou army and the leader of the Danyang army. He had fought several major battles involving tens of thousands of people, and his momentum was considerable.

"I want 20% of the profit from this snow salt."

Liu Feng frowned slightly, but he had expected Cao Bao to raise the price, and if it was only 10% more, Liu Feng was willing to concede.

After all, the two thousand Danyang soldiers were too important to Liu Feng at the moment, and he had to do his best to get them.

However, he couldn't compromise too readily, lest Cao Bao lose his temper and become arrogant, which would be a huge problem.

Before Liu Feng could answer, Cao Bao raised four fingers on his right hand and said, "I won't bully you. This extra 10% profit is Qing'er's dowry, and my Cao family won't touch it. In addition, I can give you two thousand more soldiers, making a total of four thousand, in exchange for 20% of the snow salt profit!"

Four thousand in total!?
Liu Feng gasped.

Cao Bao currently only has 20,000 Danyang soldiers under his command, with only about 10,000 truly belonging to his personal retainers. Liu Feng would be quite satisfied with getting 2,000; his real bottom line was actually only 1,000.

The offer of two thousand was just a trial price; they were waiting for Cao Bao to counter-offer.

Unexpectedly, Cao Bao not only agreed immediately, but also doubled the amount, bringing the total to four thousand men, which was almost two-fifths of his troops.

What Liu Feng didn't know was that Cao Bao had also hardened his heart.

Isn't the big-eared thief just afraid of the Danyang soldiers under his command?

Then I'll just hand over power and give up half of my troops. That way, you, Liu Bei, will have more troops than me, so you won't have to be so wary of me anymore, right?
What's even more interesting is that the troops weren't given to Liu Bei himself, but to his son, his only legitimate eldest son Liu Feng.

If you, Chen Yuanlong, would invest in Liu Bei, providing him with money, food, and manpower, and helping him by cheering him on and coercing Tao Qian to abdicate, why can't I, Cao Bao, invest in Liu Feng?

Liu Bei was nearly forty years old and had only one legitimate son, Liu Feng. Even if he had other legitimate sons in the future, they would not threaten Liu Feng's position as the eldest legitimate son.

Moreover, Liu Feng had displayed such extraordinary talent in front of him today.

I, Cao Bao, will take this bet!
Chen Yuanlong, Mi Zizhong, let's see who has the last laugh.

Liu Feng confirmed, "Four thousand soldiers, and two-tenths of the profit from the snow salt?"

Cao Bao, however, relaxed, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders: "Not bad, four thousand soldiers and two-tenths of the snow salt profit."

Liu Feng immediately bowed deeply to Cao Bao, saying, "Your son-in-law thanks you, Father-in-law."

Cao Bao was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter and helped Liu Feng up.

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"Young Master, watch your step."

Pan Zhang carefully helped Liu Feng onto the oxcart. Liu Feng was clearly a little drunk because he had drunk a few more cups at Cao's residence.

Cao Bao is such a scoundrel; he took advantage of his status as Liu Feng's future father-in-law to force him to drink.

However, the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages these days is very low, even lower than that of beer from the previous era, but there are a great variety of types. In addition to the more familiar sake and cloudy sake, there are also a wide variety of fruit wines.

This time, Cao Bao hosted a banquet for Liu Feng, serving him top-quality cloudy wine and various fruit wines, including a rare bottle of wine from the Western Regions, which greatly pleased Liu Feng.

Liu Feng was still young, but most of the wines in the Han Dynasty would be considered beverages today. The most common type of turbid wine was a kind of fermented glutinous rice, which is quite similar to modern sweet rice wine, and sometimes they were even classified as the same thing.

Therefore, there are few restrictions on children and women drinking it.

Cao Bao went to great lengths this time to show how much he valued Liu Feng.

Not only did they bring out their treasured sake, Tousetsugin, but they also prepared wine and the finest sugarcane wine among fruit wines, called Kinjō-mō.

Liu Feng didn't particularly like drinking, but he couldn't resist Cao Bao's hospitality, and besides, these drinks were more like beverages than wine.

So, without realizing it, he drank too much and, drunk, was helped away from the Cao residence by Cao Bao and Pan Zhang.

However, when the oxcart started moving and Liu Feng was the only one left in the carriage, he regained his senses.

It turns out that his previous drunkenness was all an act.

(End of this chapter)