Chapter 474 Long-term considerations
Xihe County, the royal court of the Chanyu.

The night breeze was blowing gently. Liu Bao, wearing a fur coat that was longer than his shoulders and decorated with sable tails, was strolling beside a row of ox carts.

The oxen had been untied long ago, and under the moonlight, the row of ox carts looked more like a low wall.

Liu Bao heard footsteps and saw several clan elders coming together with deer-head sticks and horse-head sticks.

Two guards walked with torches in their hands. When they saw Liu Bao waving his hand, they stuck the torches in the ground and left side by side.

The three clan elders were all old enough to have gray beards, so Liu Bao did not dare to be rude and invited them to sit down by the campfire.

The three people were solemn and sat down one after another. The elder Xubu said, "Now everyone in the tribe knows that the Grand Marshal of Han is extremely powerful and invincible. But he is so young, like the morning sun, and he is so hot, which makes us very worried."

Liu Bao remained silent, and the elder of the Lan family also spoke up: "He caused the death of more than 100,000 people in our tribe when the sun was just rising, and there are still more than 50,000 men who are slaves in Guanzhong, doing dangerous and dirty work. Now he dares to humiliate our people like this. When he grows up and hangs over our heads like the scorching sun at noon, I'm afraid we won't have any chance of survival."

After hearing this, Liu Bao looked at the third grandfather elder of his tribe, who was sitting in the middle. "The Right Tribe has more than 20,000 households and more than 50,000 men who can ride horses and shoot arrows, while Ma Chao has only 1,000 men. As a result, you can see that the people of the Right Tribe did not dare to gather together to resist, and allowed Ma Chao to kill and punish their tribal elders. Since the Xianbei suffered a disastrous defeat, many people have been eager to become Han people, the running dogs and falcons of the Han people."

"In a few years, when the new General Du Liao takes office, if you are late in welcoming him, will you suffer the same fate as the nobleman of the Right Army?"

Liu Bao was speechless after being asked this question. After a while, he said, "Before the elders, I already knew that the fate of our tribe was in the hands of the great Sima. I also have some ways to deal with this, but please forgive me for not telling you."

The three clan elders looked at each other. Seeing that Liu Bao did not seem to be perfunctory, the elder of the Luanti clan still asked, "I can't hear it either?"

"No, each of you has confidants and beloved children and grandchildren. If I tell this, the news will definitely spread. The fate that awaits us will surely be more miserable than that of the nobleman of the right department."

Liu Bao answered seriously, then stood up and took a few steps back, bent over, crossed his arms across his chest, saluted, and left.

Several miles away, in a brightly lit courtyard and house, Cai Zhaoji was writing music scores.

He stopped writing from time to time and plucked the erhu, and the melody continued intermittently until the moon reached its zenith.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and Cai Zhaoji became alert. She saw a figure carrying a plate passing by the window and soon appeared at the door: "Mr. Cai, it is late at night. Mr. Wang has been drinking all night and ordered people to cook a meal. I saw the sound of piano here, so I took the initiative to ask for some for Mr. Cai."

Cai Zhaoji raised her hand to tighten her slightly opened collar and looked at her fellow countryman Dong Si: "I am indeed a little hungry and my appetite is poor. Please eat with me and I will ask you something while I am at it."

"Yes."

Dong Si then stepped over the threshold. He was in his prime and his wife had died early.

Because Caixue grew rapidly, Dong Si drifted to Guanzhong. Since they were from the same hometown, he joined Caixue and was selected by Cai Zhaoji to go to the Xiongnu to collect folk songs.

The current Cai Zhaoji is beyond estimation. Dong Si looked reserved and bowed deeply to set the table and put tableware.

Seeing him like this, Cai Zhaoji couldn't help but think of her life in the Xiongnu, and couldn't help but laugh at herself: "Sit down, there are too many people in the daytime, and it's not convenient to ask some questions."

"Mr. Cai, please tell me. I dare not hide anything."

"It's like this. You were also an official in the county in your early years. Do you remember when the Grand Marshal kidnapped Yuan Yaoqing?"

"How dare I forget this?"

Dong Si saw Cai Zhaoji take another small plate, take out some of the yellow rice from the plate and put it in front of herself, and push most of the yellow rice in the large plate in front of Dong Si.

Seeing this, Dong Si continued, "At that time, I was the chief clerk in the county. The county lord was imprisoned for this crime, and I was also imprisoned for about half a month. After I was released from prison, I became curious, so I went to the manor with my friends to meet Lord Cai. At that time, Kong Wenju left Xudu and came to pick up Zhenji." Cai Zhaoji motioned for him to eat, and she also took a bite from the small dish. After swallowing, she asked, "Did Zhenji and the Grand Marshal know each other?"

Dong Si was puzzled by this question, and his heart was beating fast. He held the chopsticks and dared not move. He thought again and again: "I have heard a little about this matter. After Kong Wenju took Zhenji away, there were rumors in the county that the Grand Marshal had an old relationship with Bo Jigong, so he did not invade but did not commit any crime."

Cai Zhaoji nodded slowly: "I also asked Zhenji, she said that when she first met Da Sima, she felt that Da Sima was quite close to her. My uncle and I inferred that Da Sima was an old friend of my father and a descendant of an old friend."

After a pause, Cai Zhaoji asked, "What do people at Chang'an University think of Madam Dongxiang?"

"I dare not say anything else, but I have heard many people say that the Grand Marshal and Madam Dongxiang are very close. But I think that Zhenji is also a good match for the Grand Marshal if she marries him."

After saying this, Dong Si lowered his head to eat, not daring to make any eye contact with Cai Zhaoji.

Seeing him like this, Cai Zhaoji felt a sense of security that she was in control of everything. She shook her head and chuckled. Then, thinking of her current position, her smile turned into helplessness.

She was also concentrating on eating. After finishing the yellow rice in the small dish, she blew on the hot tea, took a sip and said, "I will prepare to tell Da Sima about your matter. Now that the two families are about to merge into one, I have to ask."

Dong Si pretended not to understand and just lowered his head to eat.

Cai Zhaoji was not angry about this, because Dong Si was actually chosen by Cai Mu.

They are all from the same county, and are blood relatives in some way, so this is the only person who is suitable at the moment.

The scale of Caixue was getting bigger and bigger, and it was no longer something that the people of Yu County could easily grasp and control. When the compilation of the New Book of Han began, more and more scholars joined in, and by then the people of Chenliu would not be able to grasp Caixue.

While she is still able to have children, Cai Zhaoji must hurry up and find a reliable person to marry.

Only by strengthening the Cai bloodline can such bloodline be naturally qualified to lead and inherit Cai's studies in the future.

It would be very dangerous to rely solely on his nephew Cai Xi.

The more children you have, the greater your chances.

After Dong Si finished his meal, he quietly cleaned up the dishes and left with the wooden tray.

He is under a lot of pressure now. If Cai Mu hadn't been encouraging him all the time, it would have been difficult for him to hold on until now.

He always felt that people around him looked at him with special eyes, but the scholars in the county all supported this matter.

It's better to let the food rot in your own pot than to let outsiders take advantage of it.

For example, Wang Can. Many scholars in Yu County and Chenliu began to be wary of and hostile to this successor of Cai Yong.

If Wang Can married Cai Zhaoji again, the leadership of Caixue would inevitably fall into the hands of Shanyang Wang family.

Cai Zhaoji also lacked interest in her junior brother Wang Can.

For example, in terms of security, the frivolous and dissolute Wang Can is suitable as a friend, but definitely not as a spouse.

(End of this chapter)