My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 542 Two Routes Paying Taxes
The high-profile tribute mission attracted the attention and amazement of the people at the time as soon as it was established. None of the great scholars, famous figures, and aristocratic leaders invited by Liu Feng refused; they all agreed and showed great respect and cooperation.

Soon, renowned scholars from other places, such as Xu Shao, Wang Lang, Pang Degong, and Huang Chengyan, arrived one after another, while some of the scholars who were not selected even complained.

For example, the two Zhangs of Xuzhou, who were deeply trusted and relied upon by Liu Bei, were both not selected this time, which was naturally a pity. Liu Bei had no choice but to personally appease them and arrange for the two Zhangs to be the main guests of the Mi and Cao families, respectively.

Zhang Zhao, one of the two Zhangs, was strong-willed, but like Zhang Hong, he was quite shrewd. He was not really complaining, but rather using this to express his closeness to the Liu family.

Liu Bei understood this, which is why he invited the Zhang brothers to be the guests of honor at the bride's home. The fact that the Zhang brothers readily agreed shows that Liu Bei and his son enjoyed considerable prestige among the gentry.

After all, one of the women was a merchant who had transitioned to a noble family, while the other was a military man who rose from a minor noble family in Danyang.

Given their backgrounds, under normal circumstances, it would be an extreme honor and a source of great pride for them to even participate in the wedding, let alone invite such renowned figures as the Zhang brothers to serve as the bride's greeters.

Indeed, upon receiving the news that the two Zhangs would be the bride's greeters, the Mi family was overjoyed, and Cao Bao was even more delighted, though somewhat apprehensive.

Fortunately, Liu Bei had also taken this into consideration, so he asked Zhang Zhao, who had a strong character, to be the host of the Mi family, while he asked Zhang Hong, who had a more peaceful temperament and was outwardly gentle but inwardly wise, to be the host of the Cao family.

Upon receiving the news, Cao Bao was overjoyed and even wrote to Liu Bei, requesting to personally go to Donghai to welcome Zhang Hong to Xiapi, but Liu Bei refused.

Liu Bei wasn't being heartless; rather, Cao Bao's actions were excessive. Even Zhang Hong would likely be annoyed, only creating more trouble. Therefore, after rejecting Cao Bao's request, Liu Bei specifically wrote a letter explaining the situation and advising Cao Bao to remain calm.

As the eleventh month drew to a close, the tribute mission departed from Wu County, carrying a large amount of wealth and treasures, and traveled by waterway to Xiapi and Qu County.

For safety reasons, although Qu County is near a seaport, both missions traveled entirely along inland waterways.

In recent winters, especially during the two years of severe drought in the Jianghuai region, Liu Feng implemented a work-for-relief program, conscripting a large number of laborers to dredge inland waterways, which greatly improved their traffic conditions and significantly increased their transport capacity and carrying capacity. Now, even large multi-story ships can pass through, at least to the Xuzhou section without any problems.

In December, the two delegations arrived in Xiapi and Qu County respectively, and Cao Bao and Mi Zeng personally presided over the ceremony.

After the ceremony, the mission had another extremely important mission: to hand over the betrothal gifts.

At the chief envoy's command, the servants directed the armored soldiers and servants to open the cabinets containing the betrothal gifts, then arranged them in a long strip, starting from outside the bride's inner courtyard and continuing all the way to the main gate.

Liu Feng prepared an extremely generous amount of items. Apart from the black and red silks that were strictly in accordance with the regulations, the other items that were not regulated were also very plentiful.

According to regulations, high-ranking officials with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measurement) typically received three to five bolts of black and red silk, one bolt of each color. The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, however, received even more; for example, Dou Rong of the Later Han Dynasty received "ten additional bolts of black and red silk" when his daughter married.

Liu Feng, as Marquis of Wu, General of the Left, and Grand Master of the Three Excellencies, held a position no less than that of the Three Dukes.

Therefore, it was perfectly fine for him to use the top ten bolts of silk. Moreover, because Liu Feng was wealthy and had abundant resources, his ten bolts of black and red silk were not like others', which had five colors and two bolts of each color, but were truly ten colors.

Ten different colors of black and crimson silk were placed in a bamboo container (often used to store silk fabrics) and covered with black gauze to show solemnity.

This piece of black and crimson silk is extremely extravagant in its specifications. Not only does it come in as many as ten colors, but the surface of the black and crimson silk is also decorated with "brocade" (jacquard silk) or embroidered cloud patterns, making it exquisite, ingenious, and undoubtedly worth a fortune.

This scene undoubtedly greatly shocked the wealthy and powerful people watching the ceremony, giving them a completely new impression of the Liu family's extravagance and wealth.

The wealth of Liu Bei and his son has been widely known. Liu Feng mastered the production techniques of frost sugar and snow salt, and later invented white paper as fine as silk, fragrant sesame oil, iron pots that revolutionized the kitchen, as well as curved plows and various new iron farm tools.

The production techniques for these items, as well as all the workshops, were controlled by Liu Feng, and the annual profits generated were well over a hundred million coins.

But hearing about it is nothing compared to witnessing such a powerful impact firsthand.

Not to mention that Liu Feng's confidants were spreading the word among the powerful and wealthy that such colorful, exquisitely crafted, and patterned silks would be sold in the future, which undoubtedly shocked everyone present even more.

As the black and crimson silk ribbons were displayed, various rare and precious treasures, gold and silk fabrics were brought out and opened one box after another.

All sorts of rare and precious treasures from all over the Han Dynasty, including pearls, gemstones, agate, jade, ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, and coral, which are rarely seen in normal times, were displayed like cabbages, leaving the surrounding nobles and powerful families speechless with envy and jealousy. They wished they could possess all of these things for themselves.

In contrast, Mi Zeng and Cao Bao were overjoyed.

Even the old fox Mi Zeng couldn't hide the smile and smugness on his face, let alone Cao Bao, who usually liked to show off. If the latter had a tail, it would be wagging high in the sky right now.

Finally, the atmosphere reached its climax when the praises were sung about the quantity of gold, silver, and wealth.

Mi Zeng and Cao Bao were both beaming with joy, extremely pleased with themselves amidst the compliments of the crowd.

That night, Cao Bao was completely drunk, but he still insisted on being helped to Cao Qing's courtyard.

"Qing'er, I have accomplished nothing in my life, except for two things, I have done right."

Looking at his beautiful daughter, Cao Bao was filled with emotion, joy and happiness: "The first thing is that I followed our former lord, Lord Tao, north to Xuzhou to take charge of the Danyang troops for him."

"The second thing..."

Cao Bao stopped talking at this point.

Cao Qing was startled and rushed to check, only to find that his father had already passed out drunk.

Cao Qing chuckled and ordered his servants to carry Cao Bao back to his bedroom. He then wiped Cao Bao's face, changed his pajamas, and left.

Unbeknownst to Cao Qing, Cao Bao was dreaming of Liu Feng once again, specifically the time Liu Feng had come to visit him. In his deep sleep, Cao Bao's lips slowly curved into a smile, his face glowing. He seemed to be having a wonderful dream, and was quite happy about it.

The mission then handed over the betrothal gifts to the Cao and Mi families, thus completing its mission.

Next, Liu Feng personally went to both families to fetch the bride.
Meanwhile, in the southwest of the Great Han Empire, amidst towering mountains, a troop was marching.

These soldiers were highly elite, and their equipment was truly luxurious.

Each soldier had a leather jacket and trousers, two pairs of leather boots, a blanket, and light leather armor. Although there were no large carts in the army, there were many livestock and small carts.

Southwest horses are small in stature and not very strong in charging or carrying capacity, but they have excellent endurance and are good at traversing mountain roads.

The caravan included a large number of horses and mules from the southwest.

The team's captain was young, with fair skin and a refined demeanor, more like a scholar than a general. But only in his intelligent eyes, where a desire for achievement would occasionally flash, did one realize that he was no ordinary scholar.

This person was none other than Lu Xun.

His elite troops were entirely bought with money; their leather coats, trousers, and boots cost Jiaozhou a great deal of wealth.

Not only were all the leathers obtained by exchanging precious items such as snow salt, frost sugar, sesame oil, paper, and ironware used to make the leather, but a large number of women were also mobilized to be in charge of the production.

Making clothes and boots in that era was an extremely troublesome affair.

Most people wore straw sandals. Many minor nobles and powerful families also wore straw sandals when they went out, and only changed into cloth shoes on formal occasions.

The reason is not only that they are quite complicated to make, but they are also quite easy to damage. Leather boots, in particular, are more difficult to make than straw sandals and cloth shoes. Fortunately, leather boots were already quite common in the Eastern Han Dynasty and were not considered rare treasures.

To meet the needs of the vanguard, Kuai Yue mobilized 20,000 women and children to make cloth shoes, leather shoes, and leather clothing during that year, and also requisitioned and purchased a large number of blankets.

Leather jackets not only effectively protect against insect bites, but also provide excellent warmth.

Although winters in the southwest are much warmer than in the Central Plains, the temperature difference between day and night in the mountains is extreme. If the vanguard troops do not have warm clothing such as leather jackets and blankets, they will suffer from a large number of injuries and illnesses, which will seriously hinder the progress of the mission.

Lu Xun acted swiftly. In just one month, his troops had advanced more than 1,800 li and penetrated deep into the territory of Zangke County. Their average daily marching speed was as high as 60 li. When traveling by water, they could cover nearly 100 li per day, while the daily marching speed dropped to 40 or 50 li when traveling by land.

When Lu Xun and his party first entered Yizhou, they traveled by water. The local chieftains, powerful clans, and tribal leaders on both sides of the river had already been corrupted. They not only did not hinder Lu Xun's march, but even took the opportunity to sell grain, dried meat, and other supplies.

The Wen River that Lu Xun traveled on is the Nanpan River of later generations.

The Nanpan River basin has a subtropical climate with relatively warm winters, and the river generally does not freeze. The basin also receives abundant rainfall and has a large river flow, so even in winter, it still has the basic conditions for navigation.

However, the Nanpan River is in its dry season from February to May, and the water level will drop. There may be factors such as shoals and reefs that hinder navigation, but as long as you take care to avoid them, you can still navigate.

Lu Xun and his men set off in mid-October, the perfect time for sailing on warm waters. The current was not as swift as during the high-water season, which was undoubtedly a great advantage for Lu Xun's troops, who needed to sail upstream.

Secondly, although the high-water season has ended, the water volume is still considerable, enough for even large ships to pass through, which is undoubtedly good news.

The fleet that Lu Xun and his party traveled on consisted mostly of small boats, with the largest warship carrying no more than thirty people. However, there were a large number of ships, many of which carried logistical supplies rather than soldiers.

Even so, Lu Xun and his men still needed to go ashore for marches from time to time.

For example, when encountering dangerous shoals, soldiers going ashore can not only reduce the burden on the ships and decrease their draft, allowing the ships to pass through dangerous areas more safely, but also make the soldiers' ashore march safer.

Lu Xun and his group set off from Yulin County, their destination being Jianwei County, a total distance of nearly three thousand kilometers, or almost six thousand li.

This is one of the reasons why Kuai Yue advised Liu Feng to set off immediately.

Now, the chieftains, powerful clans, and tribal leaders within a thousand miles of Jiaozhou have been won over by the Han army, and the two sides have established a mature cooperation and a certain degree of mutual trust.

However, the chieftains, powerful figures, and tribal leaders deeper inside, although connected, are far less trustworthy than those on the periphery.

Therefore, Kuai Yue needed Lu Xun and his men as vanguard to penetrate deep into the southwest, ideally capturing Yizhou and Jianwei counties in one fell swoop to establish a base for their advance.

Once this strategic goal is achieved, Kuai Yue will adopt a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, he will transport grain, military supplies, and other materials from Jiaozhou; on the other hand, he will win over local chieftains, powerful figures, and tribal leaders, exchanging valuable goods for the abundant grain available in the region, in order to meet the needs of his army as quickly as possible.

Then, when the time is right, Kuai Yue will personally lead the army to Jianwei. It is estimated that the final force will be about 70,000 to 80,000 men, including 25,000 naval troops who will not participate in actual combat under normal circumstances. The naval troops will be responsible for escorting and transporting logistical supplies.

The frontline combat force numbered approximately 30,000 to 40,000 men. These were the elite of the Jiaozhou army, responsible for the final campaign to enter the Chengdu Plain. Their success or failure directly impacted the overall success or failure of the grand strategy.

The remaining 10,000 to 20,000 troops were second-line combat troops. Their main tasks were to protect important outposts, forward bases, warehouses and key supply depots along the land supply routes, and to be responsible for the transfer, coordination and escort of supplies.

The total troop strength was around 70,000 to 80,000. It wasn't that the Jiaozhou army didn't have more troops, but rather that this was already the limit of logistical pressure. If the number of troops continued to increase, the logistics might not be able to keep up with the needs.

Therefore, there is a reserve force at the Jiaozhou headquarters to deal with emergencies, but under normal circumstances, this force of about 10,000 people will not participate in the battle.

"General."

Suddenly, the scout turned around, his face filled with intense resentment.

Lu Xun immediately asked, "What is it?"

The scout dared not delay and quickly recounted the events.

It turned out that the chieftain at the strategic pass ahead had set up checkpoints to prevent Lu Xun and his men from passing through.

(End of this chapter)