Chapter 367 Unexpected
Zhou Yu and Liu Bei stayed for a long time. They added water to their tea bowls three times and the tea tasted bland before they took their leave.

Black Bear arranged for the remaining chief clerk Zhuge Jin to send Zhou Yu and Liu Bei away. Zhou Yu had met Zhuge Jin before and never thought that such an honest man could rise so quickly.

After returning to the carriage, Zhuge Jin first sent Liu Bei to Tingyi to meet Tian Yu, and then he made a special trip to send Zhou Yu to the guesthouse.

Those who were arranged to live in the residence were relatively important officials within the shogunate system.

Unlike Tingyi, the living environment is poor and there is strict surveillance, which limits the scope of activities.

Inside the residence, Zhou Yu quickly changed into casual clothes and invited Zhuge Jin to stay for tea.

Zhuge Jin was also instructed to accept Zhou Yu's request to stay.

However, Zhuge Jin thought the spring tea Zhou Yu brought from Jingnan was not good enough. He picked it up and smelled it: "Is this Lingling tea?"

Zhou Yu nodded, sitting upright and smiling: "That's right, it was given by Huang Gongfu, so it's naturally not as good as the top-grade one used by the Grand Marshal."

The tea-making technology is not a big secret, but the selection, transplantation and cultivation of tea varieties are considered advanced.

Zhuge Jin still held the tea bowl and observed the color of the tea soup, and said: "The Grand Marshal also commented on the tea varieties offered by the southern counties, but he praised the porcelain made in Jiangdong, saying that it is suitable for making tea utensils."

Kuaiji already had a developed porcelain industry, producing a type of green-glazed porcelain with unstable color matching. It could be yellow-green, like tender cabbage leaves, or it could be a darker green.

It is called green glaze, but it is not that green, it is mainly yellow-green.

Zhou Yu also used porcelain. Looking back now, he also feels that porcelain, which is as hard as jade, is indeed a good tea set.

Nodding, he asked, "I met Bu Zishan when I came here. He is now the secretary of the Huangge. I never thought that Ziyu would be so valued by the Grand Marshal. It is really a pity that we missed such a great talent like Ziyu in the past."

"Haha, General, you are too kind."

Zhuge Jin put down his tea bowl and said seriously, "I am also curious. I asked the Grand Marshal a few days ago. The Grand Marshal said that he chose me because I have no great talent. The Yellow Chamber holds confidential information. If someone with extraordinary talent is in charge of the Yellow Chamber's affairs, he might do something bad with good intentions."

Zhou Yu also felt that this explanation made some sense, so he asked, "Does Ziyu have any teachings?"

"Don't dare."

Zhuge Jin leaned forward slightly as if to apologize, and explained: "The Grand Marshal did not instruct me, but I thought that I had been wandering in Jiangdong for a long time and might be taken care of by the general. So he asked me to come here to ask if the general had any difficulties."

Now Zhou Yu understood that this was to help Zhuge Jin cut off the favors he owed to Jiangdong.

This time Zhuge Jin can take the initiative to come to your door and ask with a smile if you need any help. Then next time Zhuge Jin can also calmly bring people to break into the house and catch you.

Zhou Yu didn't feel that he had helped in any way, but he couldn't just give up.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Yu said, "During the Battle of Juchao, I fell into the water and caught a cold. When the weather is cool and it rains, I cough constantly. Can you write me a letter so that I can go to Mount Zhongnan and ask Dr. Li to treat my illness?"

"This is just a small matter. General, you should know the rules of Dr. Li."

Zhuge Jin looked around and saw a ready-made writing brush, inkstone and inkstone on a table in the distance. He stood up and said, "Please allow me to write a letter."

"please."

Zhou Yu also stood up and accompanied Zhuge Jin to the table. Zhuge Jin knelt on one knee, took the pen and dipped it in ink, picked up a scroll of silk book, spread it out, and started writing on it. He then took out his private seal and the seal of the chief clerk in charge and stamped it.

After taking the silk book, Zhou Yu saw Zhuge Jin off. As he watched Zhuge Jin's carriage drive north, Zhou Yu still felt a little unbelievable.

How could a single scholar like Zhuge Jin, who had no obvious special talents, no support from his fellow villagers, no prominent ancestors, no influence from Confucian classics, and no help from his family or relatives, rise to become the chief clerk in the Grand Marshal's office overnight?
Another military clerk was Yang Fu. Looking at Yang Fu's background and the person who recommended him, Yang Fu was almost the representative of the scholars in Liangzhou.

Not to mention these, even if it was a war, Yang Fu could pull together dozens of brothers within the five degrees of kinship who could serve as middle and low-level military officers.

Including Yang Fu's cousins ​​and brothers from his wife's family, Yang Fu alone can complete a full mobilization of Tianshui!
Ten years later, Yang Fu's sons and nephews strengthened their relationships through their marriage network and intermarried with families in other counties. At that time, Yang Fu was the real leader of Liangzhou.

Using Yang Fu as a benchmark, we can clearly see that Zhuge Jin's promotion was somewhat outrageous.

If there is a reasonable explanation, it is either that Zhuge Jin is a man of hidden talent, or that Zhuge Jin is just lucky, or that Guanzhong really is short of people.

As a result, an outsider was recruited and appointed to such a core position as the Chief Clerk, which is responsible for handling confidential matters.

How can Zhuge Jin, who has no family to burden him, gain trust?
Inexplicably, Zhou Yu suspected that Zhuge Jin might have made some unknown sacrifices. But Zhuge Jin's physique and appearance were not that outstanding, so he ruled out this possibility.

On the other side, Zhuge Jin sat in the car and looked around. He never thought that he could jump from a small copyist to the chief clerk.

He knew deeply that he was really unworthy.

But Sima Zhi recommended him, and Da Sima also interviewed him, so no one could question it.

What made him feel incredible was that not only did Sun Quan come to Guanzhong, but Zhou Yu also came with him.

He couldn't help but feel deeply fortunate. If he hadn't been invited by Gu Yong and Zhang Zhao, and persuaded by Yan Jun, he might have continued to stay in Jiangdong.

Not only was she unable to meet her brother, she was also unable to have such an opportunity.

There was really no other way. Since he was poor, he had no choice but to accept Gu Yong's employment.

In the pavilion in the distance, Tian Yu patiently described the urgent living environment of the six counties of Youzhou.

But overall, Tian Yu was emotionally stable. The worst situation before was the loss of independence, either being incorporated into the Yuan family or the Gongsun family.

Neither of these two forces will go to extremes.

If this is true, the war will be raging repeatedly across the six counties of Youzhou; but this kind of thing will not change because of personal anxiety.

Tian Yu was not panicked at all. Instead, he was ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

The shogunate already had strategic differences between advancing westward and advancing eastward. If it could advance eastward this winter, then the six counties of Youzhou would serve as the vanguard, not only able to solve the current urgent living environment, but also allow it to grow stronger in the war.

In any case, the combat effectiveness demonstrated by Guanzhong has solved the most anxious survival problem of the border counties.

With survival guaranteed, other struggles become minor problems.

At worst, you can just give in temporarily, and you will be able to make a comeback in the future.

Tian Yu and Xian Yu Fu were not in a panic. At worst, the core members could retreat along Juyong Pass into Dai County and Yanmen County.

Yuan Shang and Gongsun Du were too busy seizing the vacant territories to have the energy or courage to invade Yanmen and Daijun.
Liu Bei listened carefully to the changes in his hometown and secretly clenched his fists.

In general, although Gongsun Du replaced Gongsun Zan as the overlord of Liaodong during these years, he was tolerant of the Xianbei in the east.

The climate in Northeast China is harsh, and the migration of the eastern Xianbei tribes to the interior was an inevitable survival trend.

Gongsun Du could only acquiesce. The Xianbei tribes that migrated inland would naturally squeeze the living environment of the Han border residents.

The same thing happened to Yuan Shao and his son Yuan Shang. In order to concentrate their efforts on internal stability and fight for the Central Plains to the south, the Yuan family adopted a similar tolerant attitude towards the Wuhuan tribes.

In order to better control the Wuhuan, he even forced Tadun to marry into the Wuhuan clan, making Tadun the most powerful Wuhuan king.

Strengthening Tadun and letting him restrain the Wuhuan tribes was to reduce the activities of the Wuhuan tribes invading Hebei.

As for what Tadun will look like in the future?
This did not seem to be a problem for Yuan Shao. If he won the Battle of Guandu, it would not be difficult for him to turn around and check and balance Tadun.

The same problem applied to Yuan Shang. If he won the battle, he could naturally deal with the Wuhuan problem; if he lost the battle... then what did the problem of Wuhuan have to do with the demise of the Yuan family?
In short, Gongsun Du and Yuan Shang both adopted this laissez-faire attitude; Xianyu Fu and Tian Yu, who were weaker, did not dare to adopt a tough attitude.

Therefore, the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes in the east could not be said to be encircling the land, but they could be said to be letting their horses run free and grazing freely within the Great Wall.

"No one can manage it?"

Liu Bei was so angry that his face looked ugly. His clan’s ancestral tombs might have been repeatedly eaten by the sheep of the Hu Lu tribe.

Tian Yu also looked a little embarrassed: "No one can control it. The Hu people are too powerful."

"I accept. This winter, I will follow the Grand Marshal on the Eastern Expedition!"

(End of this chapter)