In this era, carrying on the family line and spreading branches and leaves are really big things.
People like Zhang Xi who are not married or even engaged at the age of twenty-four are extremely rare.
Some aristocratic families do get married late, but that's because people pay attention to etiquette, and it takes several years from engagement to marriage.
But it doesn't mean that people will have no maids or even children before they get married. Even wealthy families want to be ahead in this regard.
The infant mortality rate in these days is so high that it’s impossible not to be ahead of the curve.
As long as they reach an age, there will always be some maids around the children of the aristocratic family. It is normal for them to even give birth to children. In the worst case, they will be raised by their mistress. They are also considered children of the family, but they are not legitimate children.
For example, Yuan Shao.
People like Zhang Xi are rare.
Zhang Xi originally didn't know these things, but he couldn't help but have someone educate him.
The person who popularizes science is called Guan Ping, and he has been faced with this problem recently.
Guan Ping is actually very precocious, not just in appearance, but in that aspect he matures earlier than Zhang Xi.
After all, Guan Yu is considered a general, and there is obviously no shortage of maids at home.
But now Guan Ping is a little worried, because his father thinks that now that he has finally settled down, it is time to find a wife for his son.
Guan Ping is not worried about his relationship with his maid. This kind of thing is common in this era. Guan Ping is mainly worried that his future wife's personality will be unfavorable to his maid.
After all, she is always Guan Ping's first woman, and men are always protective of their shortcomings in this regard.
Guan Ping always follows Guan Yu in battle. He doesn't have many friends, only a few, and they are not in Jiangxia yet.
It just so happened that Zhang Xi came back from Nanjun, and Guan Ping came to see Zhang Xi, not only to reminisce about the past, but also to complain.
But Zhang Xi always felt that this guy was just here to show off, and at most he had a bit of pre-marital phobia.
However, they are always friends, so Zhang Xi still asked a few questions responsibly.
"Do you know whose girl it is?!" Zhang Xi asked with a straight face and a gossip in his heart.
Guan Ping shook his head, glanced at Zhang Xi, and said, "Unknown. My father originally wanted Uncle Zhao's eldest daughter, but he heard that Zhao Xianmei had another lover in the army, so he gave up."
".You don't even know who you are, but you come to me to complain?!" Zhang Xi quit and said, "How can I comfort you like this?! Why don't we go and find out who the daughter-in-law is? Wind evaluation is also good for making decisions.”
"Well, I guess she is one of the two daughters in my uncle's house!" Guan Ping sighed and said, "My uncle originally intended to get married to my father, but his daughter was still young, so he put it aside a few years ago. ."
Well, it’s not easy for Zhang Xi to interrupt.
This makes it clear that if they want to form a marriage, it is no longer important what Guan Ping's wife looks like and what her personality is. What is important is to deepen the relationship between the Guan family and the Liu family.
No wonder Guan Ping is a little scared now. After all, he must marry and has no choice. But it's hard to say what the character of the person he marries will be like.
But there is one thing that Zhang Xi doesn't quite understand.
"I heard that my lord has been stationed in Xinye for several years, and the two young ladies have already reached hairpin age. Don't you have any contact with them and don't know their personalities?!" Zhang Xi asked curiously.
It is understandable that outsiders don't know the character of Liu Bei's daughter. After all, Mrs. Gan is very strict with her affairs, and Zhang Xi has never seen the two young ladies inside or outside Liu Bei's house.
But Guan Ping is different. Their two families are already close, and they have lived in Xinye for such a long time. Didn't they meet even once? !
In this regard, Guan Ping sighed and said, "We met a few times when we were young, but since the eldest sister was born, Mrs. Gan has strictly restrained her, so that she has not seen her for a long time. It would be great if it was Zhao Xianmei, Uncle Zhao Widowed, Zhao Xianmei often travels with her father and has a lot of contacts."
"So what do you want to say?!" Zhang Xi looked at Guan Ping strangely and said, "If so, why not explain it to General Guan?! Is it because he is afraid of General Guan's power, so he dare not speak?!"
This can't work, brother, you have to stand up. How can you just listen to your parents' arrangements for your marriage so haphazardly? !
After saying this, Guan Ping's eyes changed when he looked at Zhang Xi.
"It's not that I don't want to explain, it's true." Guan Ping looked at Zhang Xi with complicated eyes, hesitated for a moment, then leaned into Zhang Xi's ear and said, "It's not that Yuan Chang has taken a fancy to Zhao Jiaxian sister, please ask Zhuge Military Advisor Intercede with the lord and let the lord act as a matchmaker?!"
".?????!"
As soon as Zhang Xi heard this, he immediately jumped up and said angrily, "Who is spreading rumors to alienate our brotherhood?! Brother, believe me, I don't even know whether General Zhao has a female son, so how could he?" Asking someone to intercede and act as a matchmaker?!"
"Seriously?!" Guan Ping also jumped up and confirmed with Zhang Xi seriously.
Zhang Xi naturally nodded and nodded again, and then asked, "Do you know who spread this rumor and ruined my reputation?!"
"It is said that Kou Gongzhong."
ha? ! Is this Erha? ! ! ! !
"How could Gongzhong talk such nonsense?!" Zhang Xi was very angry, but also a little suspicious, and asked, "Gongzhong and I have never mentioned marriage, so why would he say such words?!"
Guan Ping looked at Zhang Xi carefully, and then decided to sell Kou Feng for his own happiness.
"According to rumors, Gong Zhong once said that when Brother Yuan was in Jinkou, Han Dynasty, he asked urgently about the welfare of the female relatives in the army. He thought that there must be lovers among the female relatives, but there were not many female relatives in the army who were suitable for marriage. "
"."
So in the end, it turns out that Erha was still the one making wild guesses? !
It's just that Erha is now guarding Changsha County, otherwise Zhang Xi will definitely catch this guy and beat him for a while.
It's true that I care about the female relatives in the army, but what I care about is whether Xu Shu's family members were plundered by Cao's army, you bastard! ! !
But Guan Ping didn't care about this now. When he heard that Zhang Xi didn't ask anyone to go to the matchmaker, he immediately jumped up and ran home to find his father without even saying hello to Zhang Xi.
It's not that I dislike Liu Bei's daughter, it's mainly that in the Han Dynasty, the reputation of relatives is not very good.
In addition, Guan Ping did have more contact with Zhao Yun's daughter and knew each other well. When Liu Bei's daughter was stationed in Xinye, Guan Ping had already followed Guan Yu to fight, while Liu Bei's two daughters were still playing house.
It was difficult for Guan Ping to treat Liu Bei's daughter as a woman, and he had always treated her as a younger sister.
So, hurry home and find your father. You can't let anyone get ahead of you this time.
Zhang Xi was a little confused when Guan Ping ran away.
But thinking about the reason why this guy ran away and the unknown rumors about himself, Zhang Xi couldn't help it.
I returned to the study and wrote a letter to Kou Feng, scolding the bastard and asking him to find a way to wipe his ass and explain it to Zhuge Liang.
On the other hand, Guan Ping also returned home and told Guan Yu about the matter. As a result, Guan Yu thought about it for a long time and wrote two letters.
One letter to Zhao Yun, recalling the friendship in the past and proposing marriage to his eldest son.
Another letter was given to Zhuge Liang, explaining the specific situation. The provincial military advisor felt that he was not giving him face.
As for Zhuge Liang, he also has a headache now.
The Lord went to Chaisang, and a letter came over.
The negotiations in Jiangdong did not go smoothly.
The geographical location of Youjiang Estuary is too important, and coupled with Zhou Yu's firm opposition, Sun Quan's side is very hard to bite.
Of course, Liu Bei is not in any danger.
With Pang Tong helping to deal with the situation, Lu Su helping to protect him, and Sun Quan himself having no intention of harming Liu Bei, Liu Bei had no other dangers besides flirting with Sun Quan.
However, during the negotiation, Lu Su once made a proposal, which somewhat moved Liu Bei's heart.
Lu Su's proposal was to exchange Liu Bei's three counties of Changsha, Guiyang, and Jiangxia for the Nanjun that Zhou Yu had just captured. This way he would not have to worry about the ownership of Youjiangkou. It would also be considered an equal share of the fruits of victory after the Sun and Liu alliance defeated Cao Cao. By the way, Yes, one county for three counties. I don’t think Governor Zhou would refuse if he knew about it.
Needless to say, Liu Bei was a little tempted by this proposal, but he felt that the price was a bit too high. Why should Jiangdong exchange one for three? !
Therefore, Liu Bei wrote a letter asking Zhuge Liang if this matter could be done.
Zhuge Liang was thinking about this issue at the moment. Unexpectedly, he received a letter from Guan Yu and a confession written by Kou Feng later.
Zhuge Liang almost laughed out of anger.
For this kind of thing, just write a letter to talk about it in private. Since it is a misunderstanding, then when the master comes back, talk about it, which means that the three-for-one thing is important.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang temporarily put aside the letters between Guan Yu and Kou Feng, and carefully thought about the issue of three for one.
One thing to say is that Changsha County is now quite seriously infiltrated by Jiangdong. It is not the exclusive territory of Liu Bei's army, and it seems unrealistic for Jiangdong forces to withdraw from Changsha.
Besides, the combined population and agriculture of the four counties in Jingnan are no more than that of Nan County. From an economic point of view, although one for three will suffer a little loss, it is not unacceptable.
But from a military perspective, if the four counties in Jingnan are divided into two with the Xiang River as the boundary, then Jiangdong will have a springboard to enter Jingzhou.
What's more, Jiangxia County is a stone slab weighing on Jiangdong's head. With Jiangxia County here, Jiangdong's Yangtze River offensive route will be completely blocked.
But if Jiangxia County is given to Jiangdong, then Jiangdong can attack Nanjun from Jingnan, the Yangtze River, and the Han River. Coupled with Cao's army in Xiangyang in the north, Nanjun will become very disadvantageous.
Therefore, from a military perspective, this is not cost-effective.
Zhuge Liang originally planned to write to Liu Bei to tell him to reject the proposal, but then, another letter arrived from Liu Bei.
Lu Su didn't know what he told Sun Quan, but Sun Quan added another suggestion to the one-for-three proposal - Sun Quan guaranteed Liu Bei to be the shepherd of Jingzhou.
If this is added, Zhuge Liang will start to think deeply again.
Now that Liu Qi has died of illness, although Liu Bei's army has actually occupied the four counties of Jingnan and Jiangxia, legally speaking, Liu Bei does not have the right to occupy Jingzhou.
Although Liu Bei could also establish himself as the shepherd of Jingzhou with the support of his subordinates, this kind of self-reliance would all depend on whether the princes recognized it. Cao Cao would definitely not recognize it anyway.
But if Sun Quan guarantees the memorial, although Sun Quan's reputation as a general who conquers the captives is a bit lacking, as the actual lord of Jiangdong and has just defeated Cao Cao, Sun Quan's guarantee is still very important.
In this way, politically, Liu Bei would have the legal basis to take root in Jingzhou and no longer need to use Liu Qi's banner.
If that's the case, it doesn't seem impossible.
But this matter was too big and related to the future development path of the entire Liu Bei Army. Zhuge Liang did not dare to make decisions by himself at this time, so he wrote two letters, one to Xu Shu and one to Zhang Xi. They were sent out on fast military horses to listen to their opinions.
But soon, Zhuge Liang received another letter from Liu Bei. The letter told Zhuge Liang that there was no need to consider the issue of three for one. This matter was vetoed by Zhou Yu.
Yes, Zhuge Liang had to send a letter quickly to tell Xu Shu and Zhang Xi about this. It was a busy time.
(End of chapter)
