Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 97: The Prince Tricks Zhen

The Zhen family was a prominent family in Jizhou. Although Liu Xie had taken Zhen Mi as his noble wife, he had not been able to win over the Zhen family.

The aristocratic families will not easily place a bet before seeing the benefits.

What's more, he was the emperor in name only and was under the control of Yuan Shao.

There is no capital, and no value worthy of Zhen's support.

It can even be said that investing in Yuan Shao is more reliable than investing in Liu Xie.

However, Guo Jia did not think that he could help Liu Xie to win over the Zhen family from the beginning. He designed to send Zhen Mi, who was originally married to Yuan Xi, into the harem, just to establish a bond with the Zhen family first;
Only when we are truly free from Yuan Shao's control in the future can the role of this bond be brought into play.

"If I can win over the Zhen family ahead of time, it will definitely help my current situation, right?"

While Liu Xie ordered people to get cloth and charcoal, he was thinking in his heart.

Zhen Mi is the bond between him and the Zhen family and plays a crucial role.

After this period of contact, he found that although this Luoshen was intelligent, perhaps because she was still young and was well protected by her family, she was not cunning at all.

Perhaps she can be used as a breakthrough point to win over the Zhen family.

But what kind of chips should be put forward to make the Zhen family willing to invest?
Prince?

Liu Xie took a look at Zhen Mi's belly and was suddenly shocked.

A sentence flashed through my mind: V me 50, and I will appoint you as the general.

If Zhen was promised the position of crown prince, she would definitely be tempted, and would even do everything to protect Liu Xie's imperial power and become his most staunch supporter.

Just when Liu Xie was thinking about how to get Zhen Shi out of nothing, charcoal and cloth were brought.

Zhen Mi, who was standing by, started to grind the charcoal and spread out the canvas, then looked at Liu Xie with her big, sparkling eyes.

"Your Majesty, where should I start? What should I paint?"

She has been trying to sketch these days, but she just can't get started, which makes her worried.

Liu Xie collected his thoughts and said with a smile: "Don't rush to start, let me first tell you about sketching... which is the basic skill of this kind of painting."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhen Mi nodded obediently, sat up straight and listened carefully.

Liu Xie then told her the basic principles of sketching, such as space, structure, light and shadow, and lines.

In order to make it easier for Zhen Mi to understand, he explained it in very simple terms.

And while explaining, practice on the canvas.

Although Zhen Mi had never been exposed to theories of light, shadow, and lines, she was smart, and Liu Xie's teachings were easy to understand. After half a day, she had learned most of what Liu Xie taught.

"You can't chew too much. Let's stop here today. If you go back and practice hard, you will be able to get it soon." Liu Xie threw away the charcoal and breathed a sigh of relief.

Carrying out teaching work in the hot summer is really tiring work.

"Your Majesty, you have worked hard."

Zhen Mi thanked him sweetly.

Unlike Liu Xie, she did not feel tired at all. Instead, she was full of energy and her face was full of vitality.

I wish Liu Xie could say a little more.

The palace maid brought some clean water and was about to wash Liu Xie's hands, but was stopped by Zhen Mi.

"I will clean your Majesty's hands."

Zhen Mi took Liu Xie's hand and put it into the basin, carefully washing the charcoal stains off his hands.

What Liu Xie was thinking about in his mind was how to make Zhen follow him wholeheartedly and no longer be as cold towards Zhen Mi as before.

"I heard that you have been very smart since childhood and are known as a female doctor."

Zhen Mi felt a little shy when she heard this: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I just like reading, and I don't deserve the title of female doctor."

"How can it not be true?" Liu Xie looked into Zhen Mi's eyes, and the emotions that had been brewing for a long time burst out: "You are the smartest and most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and you have a temperament that is different from all the women I have seen before... You are very special."

As he spoke, he gently scratched the palm of Zhen Mi's hand. These old-fashioned words from later generations are extremely lethal now.

Where had Zhen Mi ever heard such sweet words?

Her heart was immediately aroused and began to tremble, and soon two red clouds appeared on her cheeks.

She lowered her head, not daring to look into Liu Xie's affectionate eyes.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

Liu Xie knew that the key to flirting with girls was to pull and tug, so he did not press on and instead asked casually, "The Zhen family even has an industry that stores and sells ice. I guess your family must be involved in a wide range of industries, right?"

Zhen Mi was still in a state of joy and shyness at this time, and did not think much about it. She subconsciously said, "My ancestors were prominent and well-known in Jizhou. In addition, our family treated the people kindly, so we have a good reputation. Our industries include salt, iron, tea, silk, porcelain, etc. We also have trade with foreign countries, and the Zhen family has shops in every state."

Liu Xie couldn't help but feel surprised after hearing this.

"Wow! Salt, iron, tea, silk, and porcelain are all very profitable industries in this era. The Zhen family has them all, and they also trade with foreign countries? No wonder Yuan Shao wants to win over the Zhen family. They are a real cash cow!"

Liu Xie was well aware of the value of trade with countries outside the Great Wall.

The so-called trade with foreign countries is to trade with those foreign races. The things from the Central Plains are very popular among foreign races, and they can easily be exchanged for a large amount of materials.

For example, a piece of ordinary silk can be exchanged for at least 20 sheep if it is exchanged with the tribal leaders of nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall. If these sheep are brought inside the Great Wall, the money obtained from selling them can buy five or six pieces of silk. This is the huge profit brought by trade!

"Wait... this seems like an opportunity!"

A bold idea came to Liu Xie's mind.

No matter what era it is, it is always said that things are valuable because they are rare. The rarer something is, the higher its value. He can fully take advantage of this because he has the ability to create things that do not exist in this era!
For example - glass!
Natural colored glaze was very valuable in ancient times. Glass and colored glaze are the same thing, and the manufacturing method is very simple.

If glass could be made in this era, it would be a huge profit.

"But even if I can make glass, what can I do? How can I sell it? Besides, it's useless for me to have money now. My money is just like Yuan Shao's money."

Liu Xie's newly-generated enthusiasm was immediately extinguished.

Being controlled by others!
He is now just a puppet without even freedom.

If he were to become free, he would directly hand over the glass technology to Zhen and let Zhen help him accumulate wealth.

It was a pity that he was not free, and there was nowhere for Zhen to go.

"Your Majesty, are you not feeling well?" Seeing Liu Xie's expression changing from excited to lonely, Zhen Mi couldn't help but ask with concern.

"It's okay." Liu Xie shook his head.

During this period, Guo Jia devoted himself to increasing the conflict between Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang, and the results were very gratifying.

Now, even when the two meet in public, they don't look at each other well; I have to find a time to ask Guo Jia when to let those counselors start fighting.

Yuan Shao's internal competition was very fierce. Although it seemed calm on the surface, there were actually undercurrents.

If those advisers could be allowed to fight each other, thus leading to a melee among the forces behind them, the internal conflicts within Yuan Shao would erupt completely.

At that time, Liu Xie's opportunity to fish in troubled waters would come.

After helping Liu Xie clean his hands, Zhen Mi took her leave.

She now can't wait to go back and practice the sketching techniques she just learned.

Watching Zhen Mi's departing back, Liu Xie thought to himself, "The plan of seizing Zhen Shi with nothing is very feasible. I'll discuss it carefully with Guo Jia later. If Zhen Shi can't resist the prince's temptation and really goes all in, then it will really take off on the spot."

After leaving the side hall, Liu Xie met Zhang He who was running towards him with an excited look on his face on his way back to his own bedroom.

"Junyi, why are you so happy?"

"Your Majesty, great news!" Zhang He said excitedly, "I just came back from outside the palace and learned of a great event. Wenhou Lu Bu defeated Shouchun and captured the traitor Yuan Shu alive. Now he is bringing the imperial seal and the traitor to Yecheng to present to Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xie was stunned.

In history, Lu Bu did defeat Yuan Shu, but there is no news that he seized the imperial seal or captured Yuan Shu alive.

What is the situation?

(End of this chapter)