Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 3 Donkey as a gift
After understanding Huo Jun's plan, Huo Du became confused again.

Although Liu Bei is temporarily living in Xinye, he is still recognized by the Han Dynasty Prime Minister Cao Cao as a Yuzhou pastor. In terms of his status, it is not something Huo Jun can see if he wants to.Just like the high-ranking officials of later generations who have retired, they cannot be seen by wealthy people in towns and cities.

Huo Du was not used to the bitter tea that Huo Jun drank. He reached out and grabbed some tea leaves from the jar, mixed it with tangerine peel, dogwood, and mint. He made another pot of tea by himself and said, "Although I am a vulgar brother, I also know how to eat well." I wonder who Zhongmiao would like to ask to introduce him to Gaozu?"

At the moment, Huo Jun is only a young man of 24, and his reputation is limited to Zhijiang County.No one recommended him, not to mention Liu Bei, even the governor of Nanjun was unwilling to see him.

The reason why Li Shi and his brothers were able to successfully join Liu Bang was not only because Liu Bang arrived in Chenliu, but also because the son of an old friend acted as a knight beside Liu Bang to introduce him.Otherwise, even if Li Shiqi met Liu Bang, he would not be able to enter his inner circle in the short term.

Huo Jun revealed all his plans and said: "I have had a relationship with Wang Can, a fellow villager in Liu Jingzhou, and we also exchange letters now. Through the operation between them, it will not be difficult to get to know Liu Yuzhou."

Wang Can, whose courtesy name is Zhongxuan, is the first of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an".He was a man of rare talent, but Cai Yong appreciated him and moved him to Chang'an.Unexpectedly, the situation was unstable and Cai Yong died.In order to avoid the war, Wang Can had no choice but to go south to Jingzhou and rely on his fellow villager Liu Biao.However, Liu Biao felt that Wang Can was not good-looking and had too much etiquette, so he did not take him seriously.

Wang Can lived in Jingzhou, but it was difficult to develop his talent. In order to relieve his depression, he began to pay attention to the landscape.Before the Guandu War, Wang Can passed through Maicheng on his way south and met Huo Jun on a spring outing, so the two traveled together.

While playing, Huo Jun and Wang Can talked about the general situation of the world. They were sure that Cao Cao would defeat Yuan Shao, which attracted Wang Can's attention.Later, Huo Jun invited Wang Can to his home as a guest, and he liked him and talked about arithmetic.So much so that Wang Can was reluctant to leave when he left, and even left a poem "Ode to Climbing the Tower" to express his friendship. (Note ①)

The subsequent development of the Battle of Guandu was just like Huo Jun's analysis.Wang Can also wrote a letter to Huo Jun. In addition to expressing his admiration for Huo Jun, the letter also invited Huo Jun to go north to Xiangyang.

"Wang Can, Wang Zhongxuan."

Huo Du muttered for a few times and then asked, "I wonder how Zhong Miao got here?"

Huo Jun pointed to his head, but smiled and said nothing.

Seeing the confident look of his younger brother in front of him, Huo Du nodded with relief, and a strange emotion surged in his heart. Ever since his younger brother recovered from a serious illness, he has made clear plans and taken steps step by step. It is hard to imagine that this is a young man in his early 20s. To have such scheming and strategy.

At this time, Huo Du felt melancholy. Apart from being stronger than his younger brother in terms of force, the only way he seemed to be able to help him was to train troops according to the military training methods he inherited and provide support in terms of force.

In the early years, although the two brothers gathered hundreds of villagers to protect themselves, they had never received professional military training and knew nothing about how to train troops.Huo Jun took him and the villagers, and after half a year of hard work, he came up with a suitable training method.

That is, the first is to practice formations, the second is to practice courage, the third is to practice coordination, and the fourth is to practice hands and feet.After several years of training, Four Hundred Steps can be regarded as an elite.

Shaking his head, Huo Du came back to his senses and said: "Since Zhong Miao has plans, it is not appropriate for me to say anything more. However, things are unpredictable. If things go wrong, I can lead my troops to join Liu Yuzhou as a way to advance. "

After a pause, he added, "Zhong Miao is going north this time. I wonder if there is anything else explained in the book?"

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "I will prepare more armor and bows and crossbows, and focus on boat and water battles. They will be of great use."

"it is good!"

The two brothers chatted a little more, waiting for it to get dark.Huo Du refused Huo Jun's proposal to have dinner together on the grounds that he was busy with military affairs, and said goodbye and returned to the military camp.

In an agricultural society, from spring to winter, people are busy with the same things every year.In February, farm work is not busy. At this time, men have to participate in drills and women have to prepare autumn and winter clothes.

Therefore, Huo Du must seize the time to practice with his troops, practice military formations, and practice bows and spears.When spring plowing time comes, Bu Qu will go home and farm.

The market in charge of Huo Jun was not busy with farming, so a large number of people came to the market. When spring plowing came, the people were busy with farming, and the market became deserted.

Before leaving, Huo Du was concerned about Huo Jun's engagement and said, "Zhongmiao is already twenty-four years old. Although he has a concubine, he has no wife, so he should still be concerned."

Regarding his brother's concern, Huo Jun repeatedly agreed.

Although Huo Jun still has no wife, he does have concubines.After all, he is not an ascetic. It has been two or three years since he came to the late Han Dynasty, and he has already adapted to it.He has not married a wife yet, mainly because the timing is not right, and secondly, he wants to marry a virtuous and virtuous wife.

To marry a wife should be a virtuous one, and to take a concubine should be a seductive one.From ancient times to the present, it remains unchanged.

In fact, Huo Jun was engaged and planned to get married.Only two years before he traveled through time, that is, the first year of Jian'an, a large-scale plague occurred in Nanyang. The plague, along with northerners going south, also spread to Jingchu.

Not only did his fiancée who lived in Fancheng die of the disease, but his parents also died of the disease.

Two years later, when they were about to talk about marriage, Huo Jun fell seriously ill, and it turned out that 'he' came.After recovering from his illness and preparing to discuss marriage again, Zhang Xian launched a rebellion and canceled the issue again.

Not long ago, Huo Du was looking for a suitable woman for Huo Jun, but she ended up going north.

After Huo Du left, there was a young woman in the room, wearing dark brown clothes, holding a tray and food box in both hands, serving Huo Jun fine meals.

"When will Lang Jun go north?"

The woman knelt in front of the case, placed the bowls and chopsticks for Huo Jun, and asked, "Do you need me to accompany you?"

This woman is Huo Jun's concubine, named Li Qian, about 20 years old.Although she is not a stunning beauty, she is also known as a beautiful young woman.If his body shape and color were to be compared to future generations, he would be a lot of dog lickers.But in this evil feudal society, she can only be a concubine.

The eldest brother Huo Du was also out of tune. Huo Jun was very ill at the time.Huo Du wanted to leave an offspring for his younger brother, so he chose Li Qian and planned to let Huo Jun consummate the marriage.

Due to his serious illness, Huo Jun had trouble even speaking, let alone consummating his marriage.Li Qian also stayed to serve and take care of Huo Jun's condition.After he traveled through time, Li Qian naturally became his concubine over time, and she was also the person he trusted the most besides Huo Du.

Huo Jun shook his head and said: "This trip to the north involves a lot of traveling. It would be inconvenient for you to accompany me. Moreover, although Huo Chen is in charge of the city affairs, the sale of Ba salt must be done by you."

During the agricultural society, Hunan and Hubei regions (Jingzhou) did not produce salt themselves, and their edible salt needed to be transported from well salt produced in Yizhou region or sea salt produced in Yangzhou region.

The Eastern Han Dynasty was different from the Western Han Dynasty. Salt and iron were not government-run but privately owned.Huo Jun originally rebuilt the city in Maicheng, mainly because Maicheng was close to the Shangyong boundary of Hanzhong, which would facilitate the import of salt.

With Shijin, Huo Jun relied on the force of hundreds of men to control the sale of Ba salt in the northern mountainous area of ​​​​Nanjun. As a second-tier dealer, he collected salt from the Badi salt merchants and resold it to the people in the Ju and Zhang river basins.The profits earned from this are used to make leather armor, forge swords and guns, make crossbows, and arm troops.

In the process of the Huo family's fortune, Huo Jun, as the organizer, planned all of this; his brother Huo Du was brave and good at fighting, providing a deterrent with force; his concubine Li Qian was careful and available, managing the incoming and outgoing accounts; and clan member Huo Chen was responsible for selling Ba salt and purchasing it. supplies.

Li Qian was also obedient and did not speak. Instead, she prepared clothes for Huo Jun while he was eating.

While arranging his clothes, Li Qian asked, "Mr. Wang is going north. Have you prepared any gifts for Wang Can? Do you need me to purchase them?"

"get ready!"

"I don't know what it is?"

Li Qian was born in a middle peasant family and has certain knowledge.After becoming a concubine, she was trained by Huo Jun and gradually became able to manage things.People are sophisticated, and Li Qian usually takes the lead when people move around.

Huo Jun picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and said seriously: "I prepared a donkey for him."

Li Qian put down his Zen clothes and asked in surprise: "Could it be that Mr. Lang is teasing me? He is a talented man, how can he like a donkey? Why don't Mr. Lang prepare some silk as a gift for meeting me?"

Among the writing carriers of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there are silk, paper, bamboo slips, wooden slips and other objects.Among them, bamboo slips and wooden slips are the cheapest, which are not only troublesome to make, but are also not conducive to modern times.The price of paper is higher than that of bamboo slips, and it is easy to damage and difficult to preserve.

Only silk is soft, light, wide, and easy to write. It is generally used by courts, government offices, and surnames to preserve important classics or confidential books.In Li Qian's opinion, it would be best to give silk to a great talent like Wang Can.

Huo Jun shrugged and said, "If he hadn't become rich in recent years, it would have been feasible for me to bray to him."

Li Qian rolled her eyes at Huo Jun and said angrily: "How can anyone like donkeys so much? The husband is teasing me again."

With that said, Li Qian folded the clothes angrily and took away the tableware that Huo Jun had finished.

Facing the concubine's disbelief, Huo Jun smiled helplessly.

The problem is that Wang Can is really not a normal person!
Historically, after Wang Can's death, Cao Pi personally led a group of scribes to bury him.In order to express his longing for Wang Can, he suggested that everyone collectively imitate donkey braying in front of Wang Can's tomb.

① "The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms: Wang Can's Biography" He is good at calculation by nature, and he can do arithmetic to the fullest extent.A person who is good at writing can write it with just a stroke of pen, without making any changes. At that time, people often thought that the structure was old;

　Three chapters of the new book will be uploaded, and then there will normally be two updates, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)