Liu Bei was overjoyed and asked repeatedly: "Sir, tell me quickly."
Sima Hui chuckled and said: "This person is far away in the horizon, but right in front of you."
Pang Degong suddenly put his hands on his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, Chengyan, isn't your Chou the same age as Liu Bang?"
Huang Chengyan's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly excused himself: "Huang is just a villager in the mountains. It seems that it does not meet the conditions we just discussed."
Sima Hui waved his hand and said: "Brother Chengyan, don't be humble. The Huang family is a big family in Jingzhou, and you are now the head of the Huang family. This status is not low, let alone you and the Cai family.
There is also a kinship relationship.”
Although Huang Chengyan did not have an official position, his sister-in-law was Liu Xin's fifth wife. Based on this alone, she was far better than the ordinary governor and governor. Liu Bei couldn't help but perked up and quickly stood up to persuade: "Mr. Chengyan, you
Don't refuse anymore. As long as you can support Liu Bang to the throne, you will be the future emperor of the country. Such a good thing cannot be found with a lantern."
After a brief moment of panic, Huang Chengyan quickly calmed down, cupped his hands and said, "In that case, allow Huang to go back and discuss with Zhuo Jing."
The daughter was his, so Sima Hui, Pang Degong and others could not force Huang Chengyan to agree on the spot. When he returned home, Huang Chengyan told Cai Yue exactly what had happened and said angrily: "This Liu Bei is really entangled. The same goes for Mr. Sima."
, who is helping Liu Bei so hard, haven’t you heard of the dirty things he did in Xuzhou? And Pang Laoer, why has he become more active recently? If it weren’t for the years of friendship, really
I don’t want to deal with them anymore!”
Huang Chengyan didn't know that Sima Hui's purpose was to maintain the chaos in the world as long as possible until the Sima family finally grew up. The reason why Pang Degong's attitude changed suddenly was because his nephew Pang Tong got the number one scholar and not only was he not accepted
Entrusted with important tasks, he was sent to barbaric places like Nanzhong.
Cai Yue has met Liu Bang several times, not to mention that she just learned it. His short and fat figure alone is a few grades behind Liu Yu. After listening to Huang Chengyan's words, she couldn't help but said worriedly: "Master
, you have to make up your mind about this matter, and you must not harm your daughter."
Huang Chengyan was originally a proud and arrogant person. Even if he didn't have the secret marriage with Liu Xin, he wouldn't be able to like Liu Bang. Seeing Cai Yue's extremely nervous look, he couldn't help but waved his hand and said: "Don't worry
, I know it well."
The matter has not been settled. How can Cai Yue, a mother, feel relieved? She bit her lip and thought again and again, and suddenly said: "Master, I have an idea. Tomorrow I will go to Xiangyang to find Jue'er and let her
She made an agreement with Mr. Liu and said that Mr. Liu does not agree with this marriage."
Huang Chengyan flatly refused: "No! My daughter, Huang Chengyan, is the only one who refuses other people's marriage proposals. How can I let others dump my daughter?"
Cai Yue said angrily: "It's not like I really dumped your daughter. Why are you so anxious?"
Huang Chengyan shook his head and said: "It's not good if it's fake. If it spreads, where will my old face, Huang Chengyan, be? The most important thing is that A Chou will also let people point fingers behind his back."
For his daughter, Huang Chengyan is very precious. And Huang Yueying is smart and smart, and her grades are always among the best among the children in the same grade in the academy. You know, her classmates are all boys. Such an outstanding daughter is worthy
Huang Chengyan took care of her like a treasure.
But Cai Yue was full of thoughts and said with a grimace: "Then let's find a way."
Huang Chengyan gritted his teeth and said: "To untie the bell, you still need someone to tie it. The best way is to shut up Liu Bei!"
"Tell Liu Bei to shut up?" Cai Yue looked at Huang Chengyan in surprise and said, "Will Liu Bei listen to you?"
Huang Chengyan laughed and said: "Liu Bei is a mad dog now, how could he listen to me? However, he has to listen to Master Liu, right? Go see your sister tomorrow and tell her what happened today.
Master Liu, please find a way to move Liu Bei as far away as possible."
Cai Yue hesitated and said: "Master Liu, will he listen to me?"
Huang Chengyan said disapprovingly: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu is a sensible person. As long as you bring the words to him, he will know what to do."
Early the next morning, Cai Yue asked her family to hook up a carriage and went to Xiangyang City. Cai Yue was a frequent visitor to the Zhou Mu Mansion. The guard guarding the gate checked her briefly and let her in.
Liu Xin has always been the most tolerant towards her women, so Cai Yan can often go back to her parents' home, and Cai Jue can also go home for a visit, but she doesn't want to go back. However, Cai Jue is not alone in the Prefectural Mufu.
Not only does she get along well with Ma Yun and Bian Yu, Cai Yue and Huang Yueying also often visit her.
Hearing that Cai Yue was coming, Cai Jue happily welcomed her out. He couldn't help being surprised and asked repeatedly: "Oh, sister. Why do you look so ugly? Are you sick?"
Cai Yue sighed and said, "Sister, this is what happened."
Last night, Cai Yue suffered from insomnia. After all, Cai Yue was born in a wealthy family, and she knew very well that in the eyes of wealthy families, face was often more important than life. She didn’t know if she would offend Liu if she told this matter.
Xin and Ma Yun were not happy. If they really caused trouble, it would not only harm their daughter, but even their own sister. But now that the matter has come to this, they have to talk about it.
Cai Jue was given to Liu Xin by Cai Mao when she was thirteen years old. The relaxed environment in the Prefectural Mufu made Cai Jue not as worried about gains and losses as her sister. After hearing Cai Yue's intention, Cai Jue smiled and said, "This is not a big deal.
, Sister, why are you so nervous? Don't worry, when the master comes back, just tell him that I am."
Cai Yue took Cai Jue's hand and said, "Good sister, can you go and talk to Mr. Liu now?"
Cai Jue frowned and said, "My master seems to have something to do today. He was busy early in the morning, and I don't know if he's finished yet. How about this, sister, sit down for a while, and I'll send someone to the front to take a look.
"
Liu Xin was indeed very busy today. Early in the morning, Ma Jun and Kong Wen appeared at the Prefectural Mufu Mansion with excited faces, and they brought two pieces of good news.
The first good news is that the institute has produced better iron and steel, which is mainly due to the coal transported back from the Black Rock Mountain in the Western Region. In order to reduce the pressure of transportation, the iron-making base is located in Xinwu, Youfufeng County.
City. This place was originally built according to the standards of the western suburbs of Xiangyang and is kept confidential.
The performance fully meets the requirements. The toughness, strength and hardness of the newly produced iron are greatly improved. The armor made of this new type of iron is only half as important as before, but the protective power is doubled. It’s just that the new iron
Iron is more difficult to melt and requires a lot of coal.
Another good news is that the Daqin weapons Liu Xin brought back from the Western Regions, after repeated tests by the craftsmen of the institute, finally figured out that the material used to cast these weapons was not iron, but copper. In other words, these weapons
They are all a kind of bronze weapons. However, the composition of the bronze produced by the Qin people is different from the bronze produced by the Han people. The hardness is higher, between bronze and brass.
Liu Xin was overjoyed to learn that the weapons used by the Qin people were made of bronze. In his impression, the development of human society has gone through the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. The Han Dynasty has obviously entered the Iron Age, and the Qin Dynasty has
The empire was still in the Bronze Age. A sense of superiority that transcended an entire era gave Liu Xin a completely new understanding of the unfamiliar Qin Empire.
However, Liu Xin did not take it lightly. He nodded and asked, "Have you tried these weapons? How do they compare to the weapons of my Han Army?"
Ma Jun was not good at words and had a stutter, so Kong Wen handed over his hand and said: "Back to my lord, although these Qin weapons are not as sharp as the tyrant swords used by our Han army, they are more powerful than the tyrant swords used by our Han army.
"
Liu Xin felt relieved again. Compared with the Huanshou Sword originally used by the Han army, the Ba Dao was already a great improvement. It could cut gold, cut jade, and iron as if it were mud. It was an extraordinary weapon. And the Qin Empire
Liu Xin was surprised that his bronze weapon was so powerful, and couldn't help but ask: "How is this possible?"
Kong Wen said: "Actually, it's quite normal. The ancient magic weapons, such as Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, were all made of bronze. It's not impossible that these weapons can be as sharp as a tyrant sword."
Liu Xin nodded and said: "It seems to make sense. You guys should work hard after you go back and make sure to improve the power of the sword. A good weapon is the second life of soldiers, and the institute needs to make more efforts in this regard.
Kung fu is what it takes.”
Ma Jun and Kong Wen resigned together. Suddenly, the guards came to report that Mr. Zhang Zhao had come from the south of the Yangtze River. Zhang Zhao was now the governor of Yangzhou and was not only responsible for the construction of Jianye City, but also in charge of the sericulture and rice production in the counties south of the Yangtze River.
,tea production.
As the governor of Yangzhou, Zhang Zhao would not dare to leave his post without Liu Xin's permission. When he came to Xiangyang this time, he was escorting tea on Liu Xin's order. Now in the south of the Yangtze River, bandits and water bandits have long been
It has disappeared. For things like escorting goods, just send a few subordinates and mobilize a team of troops. But tea is different from other goods and is too important to Liu Xin.
When the Huns were divided into five tribes last year, Liu Xin promised Huchuquan and others to give them the exclusive right to sell some important materials, including tea. Now, salt, iron, cloth and other urgently needed materials on the grassland have been handed over to
Huchuquan, Chiwule, etc.
The tea plantations were monopolized, but the tea monopoly failed to materialize. This was not because Liu Xin went back on his promise, but because the tea plantation in Jiangnan only started construction last year, and the output was only a handful. It could not even meet the demand within the Han Dynasty, let alone the distant areas.