At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 305 Pang Shiyuan

The Shaofu, as one of the nine ministers of the Han Dynasty, was also in charge of the royal family's finances, so its importance is self-evident.

Although Zhou Qi did not proclaim himself emperor now, he followed the system of vassal kings in the early Han Dynasty. Except for no Taifu, lieutenant, and prime minister, the rest of the officials were established according to the court system, and Jiuqing was naturally among them.

In fact, the princes and kings in the early Han Dynasty were actually completely native emperors. The feudal country they were in was also equivalent to the country of China. Even its official system was the same as that of the imperial court, and it even had independent military and political power.

It was not until later that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to cut down the vassals and reorganize the system, and the rights of the princes and kings were gradually reduced, and eventually they almost became mascots.

Since Zhou Qi became king, he naturally would not be willing to become a vassal king in name only. Instead, he followed the ancient system and established a quite complete political power.

The reason why important official positions such as Tai Tu, Lieutenant and Prime Minister were not established was because these official positions were too powerful.

The Chu State is now in a period of expansion. Without complete unification, there will inevitably be endless wars. At this time, a centralized and autocratic monarch is needed instead of delegating power.

After the crowning ceremony was over, Lu Xun and his father went to Xiangyang without much delay to take up their posts.

They knew that their trip would be related to the rise and fall of the entire family.

Nowadays, the situation in the world is gradually becoming clearer, and it has become an unchangeable fact that the King of Chu dominates the south of the Yangtze River. If no major accidents occur, this new regime will rule the south for a long time.

As a native of the Jiangdong gentry and related by marriage to the King of Chu, it was impossible for the Lu family to abandon Chu and join other princes at this time.

Xiangyang, Prince Chu's Mansion, Concubine Yu's Mansion.

At this time, Lu Yu no longer had the youthful exuberance he had when he first met Zhou Qi by the river. His face was much more mature, and he also looked a little haggard.

The personal maid also looked sad when she saw Lu Yu looking like this.

As someone who had been with Lu Yu in the Lu Mansion, she naturally knew the reason.

Since the little prince was given to Princess Wen to raise, Lu Yu has rarely been able to see his son, and His Royal Highness the King of Chu has not visited Princess Yu's mansion for a long time.

When Lu Yu found out that her brother had been dismissed from office, it was like the straw that broke the camel's back, completely breaking her down.

She knew that she had harmed her son and also the Lu family.

In the past two years, although Lu Yu gradually came out of her grief, she was left alone in an empty house every day, her brother was idle at home, and her son could not be seen. Lu Yu naturally felt extremely depressed.

"The King of Chu has arrived!"

Just when the master and the servant were feeling dull as usual, a sharp voice suddenly came from outside the door, and the two women suddenly had a look of astonishment on their faces.

"Princess, why don't you go and greet the king 1?"

After all, it was the maid who came to her senses first. Her face was full of surprise, and she pulled Lu Yu, who was still in a daze, and spoke hurriedly.

Lu Yu shivered all over and hurriedly arranged her hair. She wanted to freshen up first, but she was worried that she would neglect King Chu, so she had to stagger out the door.

"I pay my respects to the king!"

After walking out of the boudoir, Lu Yu swept away the decadence she had just shown, and finally maintained her ladylike demeanor and bowed to Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi waved his hand and said: "Without courtesy, let Ying'er get some food. I will eat here today!"

The maid Ying'er was overjoyed when she heard this and hurriedly went to prepare delicious food.

Zhou Qi entered the mansion, looked at the slightly deserted Jade Concubine's mansion, then looked at Lu Yu who looked slightly haggard, and finally sighed slightly in her heart.

In the past two years, he has indeed been a bit harsh towards Lu Yu and the Lu family.

However, as a prince, Zhou Qi often had complex issues to consider. If he did not stop this trend of seizing heirs from the beginning, it would most likely cause trouble for Xiao Qiang in the future.

Killing chickens to scare monkeys will definitely bring disaster to Lu Yu and the Lu family.

He used a trick to take Lu Yu as his concubine, and he already felt guilty, so he favored her even more after the marriage, and even slightly ignored Shi Wen for this reason.

However, when Lu Yu wanted to intervene in the matter of seizing the legitimate son, Zhou Qi finally woke up suddenly.

Lu Yu represents not only herself, but also the powerful Lu family of Wu County. At the time when the Lu family was at its peak, if they were not restricted and allowed to do this, the consequences would be disastrous.

It was for this reason that Zhou Qi made up his mind to suppress the Lu family and ignore Lu Yu.

Today, the eldest son Zhou Ji has returned from Xuzhou and has been clearly established as the crown prince. He has also begun to gradually form his own team under Zhou Qi's instructions, and his position has long been unbreakable.

Today, Zhou Ji not only has the support of his uncle's family, but also the support of the Xiangyang Cai family and the entire Jingzhou faction.

It was just because Zhou Qi had made many exchanges of interests with Jingzhou aristocratic families in order to quickly occupy Jingzhou and capture Xiangyang without bloodshed. One of the conditions was to marry the Cai family of Xiangyang.

At the beginning, Zhou Ji and Cai Mao's daughters were still young, and they only had an engagement, but they were not married.

Even if this is the case, the Cai family in Xiangyang will become a powerful helper for Zhou Ji.

The Cai family also had good relations with other prominent clans in Jingxiang. They belonged to the same faction, and their interests naturally shared weal and woe.

What's more, as the eldest son, Zhou Ji does have undisputed inheritance rights according to legal principles.

Especially after the Jiangdong Lu family was suppressed and Zhou Ji was established as the heir apparent, even the Yangzhou faction, which originally had some other thoughts, restrained its inappropriate thoughts.

Zhou Qi is not worried about Chu State causing trouble to Xiao Qiang now, so he plans to ease the relationship with Lu Yu again, and also wants to make up for the neglect he has given her over the years.

"Ayuqing has lost a lot of weight."

Looking at Lu Yu, who was slightly thin, Zhou Qi sighed slightly in his heart and stepped forward to hold the other person's slightly cold hand.

Lu Yu's delicate body trembled slightly, and her eyes were uncontrollably red.

Any normal woman would probably be filled with grievances if she was left out for two years and kept alone in an empty house.

Zhou Qi knew Lu Yu's grievance, but did not continue to comfort him. Instead, he said: "Ji Cai and his son will arrive in Xiangyang in a while to take up their posts. You should eat more in the past few days to avoid seeing them later. Let the two of you worry."

When Lu Yu heard this, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his slightly pale face.

She was extremely intelligent, so she naturally knew what it meant for her brother and nephew to come to Xiangyang to serve, and she was naturally very happy.

However, the surprises don't stop there.

Zhou Qi continued: "From now on, after Shang'er finishes studying every day, you can come here for an hour, and you and your son can get close to each other."

Hearing this, Lu Yu was immediately enveloped in a huge sense of happiness. She couldn't hold it back any longer, and tears fell down in large drops.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart, and then hugged him into his arms without saying any more words of comfort.

Everything is in this embrace after two years.

Both of them enjoyed this lunch very happily, and the nearly two-year estrangement between the couple also inadvertently dissipated.

During this period, Zhou Qi told Lu Yu about Lu Xun’s cousin and the name change.

With Lu Yu's intelligence, she understood what her husband meant after a little thought, and immediately sighed slightly in her heart. However, at this time, Lu Yu only thought about his son growing up safely and that the Lu family could gradually prosper, and he had already put away other thoughts that he shouldn't have.

Therefore, he didn't say much about Lu Xun's name change.

On the contrary, when she learned that her brother had been conscripted as a young master, a bright smile appeared on her face.

Now that Zhou Qi has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, Lu Jun has already worshiped the young master. As long as the Lu family remains favored, his future prospects are limitless.

After Zhou Qi finished eating, he went back to deal with government affairs. He came to Lu Yu again in the evening and did not leave all night, keeping everything in mind.

Xiangyang County, County Sheriff's Mansion.

Since Zhou Qi moved the prefecture of Jingzhou to Xiangyang and changed Nanjun to Xiangyang County, Zhang Hong was appointed as the first governor of Xiangyang County.

However, in order to develop Nanzhong, Zhou Qi transferred Zhang Hong away, and then transferred Zhang Yun, the governor of Yiyang County, back to serve as the governor of Xiangyang County.

This Zhang Yun was not Liu Biao's nephew, but came from the Zhang family in Jiangdong. As early as when Zhou Qi first came to Yangzhou to serve, the Zhang family married their legitimate daughter as a concubine to the Chariot and Cavalry General's Mansion.

Zhou Qi reciprocated the favor by recruiting his brother-in-law Zhang Yun, and treated Zhang very kindly, which remains the same to this day.

Zhou Qi suppressed the Jiangdong gentry, but only spared the Zhang family, not only because of their marriage relationship, but also because the Zhang family took the initiative to marry Zhou Qi, and the concubine she married was her legitimate daughter.

Moreover, the Zhang family has begun to gradually decline in Jiangdong. Without Zhou Qi's appearance, we don't even know what the future would have been like.

They relied on Zhou Qi far more than the Zhou family in Lujiang and the Lu family in Wujun, so they were loyal to Zhou Qi.

It was precisely for this reason that Zhou Qi gave Zhang special preferential treatment and even promoted Zhang Yun to the important position of Xiangyang County Governor.

In fact, in terms of family background, reputation and talent, there are not many people in Chu who are more suitable for this position than Zhang Yun. However, in terms of close relationship, loyalty and comprehensive considerations, no one can match Zhang Yun.

At this time, Zhang Yun seemed quite leisurely staying in the governor's mansion.

When he saw a young man with a short stature and an ugly face below him, a smile appeared on his face.

When Zhou Qi transferred Zhang Yun to serve as the governor of Xiangyang County, Zhang Yun was still a little uneasy.

Although he was also a county guard before, there is a big difference between a county guard and a county guard.

Especially Xiangyang County. Not only is the county seat of Xiangyang County, the state seat of Jingzhou is here, and even the palace of the King of Chu is here.

Not only is the political environment here very complicated, but there are also many celebrities and high-ranking officials. Those who are not famous and skilled enough will simply not be able to take on such an important task.

In fact, the person most suitable for this position was Zhou Yu's father Zhou Yi.

He once served as the magistrate of Luoyang. If he is appointed as the governor of Xiangyang County, he will naturally be able to move forward and retreat freely and be at his fingertips.

However, in order to suppress the Zhou family in Lujiang, Zhou Qi did not use Zhou Yi.

This is why Zhou Yi felt so resentful at that time that he actually resigned.

Zhou Yi believed that regardless of his origin, reputation or qualifications, Zhang Yun, a junior, was more suitable to serve as the governor of Xiangyang County.

Zhou Yi had such thoughts, why didn’t Zhang Yun do the same?

He repeatedly declined due to lack of ability, but Zhou Qi insisted on his own opinion.

However, seeing Zhang Yun so uneasy, Zhou Qi could only comfort him: "You don't need to be like this. If you choose one person as the meritorious official of Xiangyang County, he will definitely be able to help you handle all the affairs."

Zhang Yun asked hurriedly: "May I ask who the Lord recommends?"

Zhou Qi smiled and said: "Xiangyang Pang Shiyuan!"

When Zhang Yun learned that Pang Tong was born in the Pang family of the Xiangyang gentry and was the son of Pang Degong, a famous scholar in Jingxiang, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and stopped declining.

In order to conquer Pang Tong, Zhang Yun even visited Pang in person.

However, when he saw the young and ugly Pang Tong, he couldn't help but have some doubts.

Don't blame Zhang Yun for judging people by their appearance.

Chinese culture has a tradition of judging people by their appearance since ancient times. In ancient times, in addition to being famous and talented, looking to be an official was also very important.

It is difficult for people with ugly appearance to make a difference in their official careers.

Pang Tong and Zhang Song, famous ugly men during the Three Kingdoms period, were both discriminated against because of their appearance.

Even in the Tang Dynasty, there were allusions about Zhong Kui that were handed down.

Even in later generations, many job recruitments will include the phrase "good facial features".

Although Zhang Yun was suspicious, he also knew that his lord was a good judge of people, so he immediately continued to talk to Pang Tong without changing his expression.

Although Pang Tong was only twenty-two years old at that time, he was already well-read.

Not long after the two talked, Zhang Yun was already amazed by Pang Tong's erudition and quick thinking, and couldn't help but admire his lord's sharp eyes again.

If I had seen Pang Tong, I might have chosen not to use him because of my first impression.

After being amazed, Zhang Yun naturally decided to appoint Pang Tong as the meritorious official of Xiangyang County, so he personally sent out the invitation.

However, Pang Tong refused because he was still young and had not completed his studies.

Zhang Yun did not give up. He visited Pang's house three times and finally invited Pang Tong out.

At the beginning, Pang Tong seemed a little unfamiliar with handling government affairs, perhaps due to his lack of experience, and even handled some things unsatisfactorily.

However, Zhang Yun has been the county governor for many years. Although his talents are not as good as Pang Tong's, he is very experienced.

With Zhang Yun checking for leaks and filling in the gaps, the two of them complemented each other, and there were no big problems.

As time went by, Pang Tong's political experience increased rapidly. Only one year later, Zhang Yun could no longer find any faults in the government affairs he handled.

Now, Pang Tong has served as the meritorious official of Xiangyang County for more than two years, and he is very familiar with various government affairs. He does not need to trouble Zhang Yun at all.

Pang Tong handled government affairs not only quickly and efficiently, but also fairly. Zhang Yun was amazed by the ingenious thinking he showed when dealing with many things.

Today, Zhang Yun, the governor of Xiangyang County, has become the most carefree person.

However, Zhang Yun did not dare to neglect and was studying hard.

Just because he knew that a talented and talented man like Pang Tong would have a brilliant career and would be transferred sooner or later.

At that time, things had to resolve themselves again.

(End of this chapter)