My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 51 Gongjin is Hard to Find
Liu Bei became smug. He had stumbled upon this by accident. He had only wanted to show off his son, but he hadn't expected Lu Su to suddenly elevate his opinion of him by several notches.

It's a pity that the matter of her son's encounter with the immortals must be kept secret for now, otherwise the other party's expression would be quite interesting.

Even so, Lu Su was intimidated by the information revealed by Liu Bei and his son. If this were a game, Lu Su's loyalty to Liu Bei and his expectations of him would have increased significantly.

Liu Bei was somewhat disappointed. It was rare for Lu Su to volunteer to recommend talent, but it turned out to be the same person he was recommending.

He asked reluctantly, "Zijing, are there any other worthy men you can recommend?"

Lu Su replied, "There is another person, whose reputation is even greater. He must have already been recruited by our lord."

Liu Bei immediately followed up: "Who is Zijing referring to?"

"Zhou Yu, Zhou Gongjin!"

Lu Su spoke emphatically, praising his close friend: "This man is from Shuxian County, Lujiang Prefecture. He comes from a distinguished family. His ancestors were two generations of high-ranking officials. His great-grandfather Zhou Jing and his uncle Zhou Zhong both held the positions of Grand Commandant and Grand Minister. His father, Zhou Yi, once served as the magistrate of Luoyang. The family has produced officials with salaries of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), making them a prominent family in Lujiang."

Zhou Gongjin was tall and imposing, possessed a commanding presence, was proficient in music, and had lofty ambitions. He harbored the ambition to conquer the universe and unify the land. Truly a brilliant young man, the foremost in Lujiang.

Liu Bei was taken aback and turned to Liu Feng, asking, "Feng'er, do you know Zhou Gongjin?"

Actually, what Liu Bei originally wanted to ask was why he didn't recommend Zhou Yu to him, because Liu Feng had even recommended Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, who were locals from Lujiang, and these were river bandits.

Since even the bandits knew about it, how could they not know about such a renowned young scholar from Lujiang?

Lu Su had assumed that Liu Bei would definitely recruit Zhou Yu, but upon hearing this question, he was surprised to find that the other party did not recognize Zhou Yu.

So he turned his surprised and puzzled gaze to Liu Feng, and waited with Liu Bei for Liu Feng's answer.

Liu Feng shook his head with a wry smile and began to explain: "Father, I have long heard of Zhou Gongjin's name, but he comes from a famous family with a distinguished background and has no shortage of opportunities to serve in government."

Previously, Zhou Gongjin had been recruited by Yuan Shu and served as the magistrate of Juchao.

During this time, an elegant incident occurred where someone went to Mr. Lu's residence to borrow grain, and Mr. Lu pointed out a granary to them as a gift.

Liu Bei nodded approvingly at Lu Su. Lu Su remained calm, but he was secretly pleased and grateful to Liu Feng for making him famous before the emperor.

Liu Feng continued, "But soon Zhou Gongjin realized that Yuan Shu appointed his relatives and friends, and was close to treacherous people. He had no qualities of a leader, so he left Yuan Shu and returned home to cultivate his reputation."

"I know that Zhou Gongjin is exceptionally talented and has extraordinary heroic spirit."

However, when Zhou Gongjin was young, he encountered Sun Polu's campaign against Dong Zhuo, and his whole family moved to Yushu. There, he met Sun Polu's son, Sun Ce, and they hit it off and became friends.

At this time, Sun Ce inherited his father's position and had just taken back his father's old troops from Yuan Shu. He wanted to cross the river to Hengjiang to help his uncle and brother defeat Liu Yao. At that time, Zhou Yu's uncle was serving as the governor of Danyang, so Sun Ce would definitely think of Zhou Yu.

Given the relationship between these two, I fear that although Father desires to win her heart, the time is not right.

After hearing this, Liu Bei and Lu Su finally understood.

Although Liu Feng phrased it euphemistically, his meaning was quite clear.

That is because Zhou Yu was born into a noble family and had no shortage of opportunities. Even Yuan Shu was eager to become his patron, but Zhou Yu looked down on him.

Our Liu family has only just taken control of Xuzhou, so they might not even look at us, and the opportunity isn't right either.

Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu were childhood friends. Now that Sun Ce is in charge of his own affairs, he will definitely seek Zhou Yu's help. Zhou Yu will probably be happy to help Sun Ce. Let's not go and humiliate ourselves.

Liu Bei and Lu Su both fell silent.

The former sighed, recalling the hardships they had endured along the way.

Liu Bei had encountered many famous scholars, but did these scholars ever pay any attention to him? The better ones would flatter him, while the worse ones would practically look down on him.

Otherwise, when Kong Rong was beaten by the Yellow Turban Army and couldn't leave his house, and Taishi Ci broke through the siege and asked him for help, would Big Ears have been so excited?

Does Kong Beihai also know me, Liu Bei of Pingyuan?
That sentence is full of heartache.

Lu Su was completely convinced by Liu Feng's thorough understanding of the situation in the Huai and Si Rivers.

Hearing Liu Feng recount Zhou Yu's family in great detail, he realized that even Lu Su, who considered himself Zhou Yu's confidant, was unaware of many of the details.

It is clear that Liu Bei was not as weak as he appeared on the surface. The Liu family must have many trump cards hidden in secret, at least in terms of intelligence, which was the best Lu Su had ever seen in his life.

Lu Su's heart gradually warmed.

Lu Su was a man of forthright and generous nature, and his lifelong ambition was to achieve great things.

The better Liu Bei performs and the stronger he becomes, the greater the chance that Lu Su will achieve his goal.

Therefore, Lu Su decided to increase investment.

"My lord, I did not expect the young master to be so knowledgeable about the Huai and Si rivers."

However, Zhou Yu was indeed a man of great talent, skilled in both literature and military affairs. It would be a real pity to miss out on him.

"I, Su, though unworthy, wish to write a letter to Gongjin, hoping to persuade him to come and join me. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

Liu Bei was overjoyed upon hearing this and nodded repeatedly: "Then I will trouble you, Zijing. If this matter is successful, I will remember your great contribution."

Lu Su naturally declined repeatedly.

Then Lu Su spoke up again: "My lord, Xuzhou has just been ravaged by war, and everything is in ruins."

People should be the priority in everything, but money and food should not be neglected.

Xuzhou is a vast and fertile land with a large population.

Although they suffered heavy losses due to the massacre at the hands of Cao Yanzhou, they were not beyond recovery.

We earnestly request Your Majesty to establish military farms, gather disaster victims, reclaim wasteland, and stockpile grain and fodder to support the army.

Lu Su's second strategy was the same as Liu Feng's: to persuade Liu Bei to cultivate land and store grain to feed his soldiers.

"What Zijing says is absolutely right!"

Liu Bei immediately agreed, his eyes filled with appreciation and approval, his face beaming with joy: "Zijing, it's truly a case of great minds think alike. To tell you the truth, the state is already gathering supplies, preparing to establish military farms after the spring!"

Lu Su was overjoyed and quickly added, "My family has some wealth. Now that Xuzhou has been pacified, I wish to offer a plan for military farming. I think the prefecture may be short of food and weapons, so I have brought more than a hundred of my men, all of whom are brave and fierce warriors from the countryside."

Five thousand bushels of grain, thirty oxen, two hundred farming tools, five hundred thousand coins, thirty fine bows, five thousand arrows, and two fine horses are presented to the lord.

These mundane gifts are insufficient to repay your kindness, my lord. They merely express my sincere gratitude, and I hope you will accept them with a smile.

Liu Bei's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't expected Lu Su to bring so many things and even want to give them to him.

This was the largest investment he had ever received, second only to the four thousand Danyang soldiers gifted by Tao Qian and the ten million investment from the Mi family.

(End of this chapter)