newbobooks Chapter 373 Su Yu visits the Zhen family and then proposes marriage to Zhen Mi?
Chapter 373 Su Yu visits the Zhen family and then proposes marriage to Zhen Mi?
Just as the Zhen family mother and daughter were anxious about the increasing number of times their caravans were being robbed, the steward rushed in and reported:
"Madam, this is a letter from Yu Du."
"Poison?"
The Zhang family's world collapsed in an instant!
Yu Du was a leader under Zhang Yan, a bandit leader from the Black Mountain.
If this had happened during the height of Yuan Shao's power, Zhang Yan would have only dared to hide in the Taihang Mountains and would never have dared to come out and confront Yuan Shao.
The Black Mountain bandits are known as the "Million Black Mountain Bandits" (in reality, they are a million undocumented immigrants).
Although most of them were elderly, weak, women and children.
But gathering around 100,000 able-bodied men shouldn't be a problem.
This also shows just how rich the cultural heritage of Jizhou truly is.
Besides the visible population and the numerous servants and slaves hidden by the aristocratic families, there is also the million unregistered people led by Zhang Yan!
Millions of unregistered residents!
If these one million people were handed over to the original Shu Han regime, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang would probably be laughing in their sleep.
At this moment, Zhang Yan and his various commanders also wanted to take advantage of the chaos.
Cao Cao was busy fighting for territory with the sons of the Yuan family, so he certainly couldn't interfere with the Black Mountain bandits.
This is what the leaders of the Black Mountain tribes were thinking.
As the commander closest to the Zhen family, Yu Du naturally set his sights on this lucrative family.
When Zhang opened the letter, she was so angry that she stomped her feet!
That damned Yu Du actually wants to marry her!
If she really marries Yu Du, will the Zhen family's property still belong to the Zhen family?
Moreover.
Following the Black Mountain bandits is not a good way out.
Neither Cao Cao nor Yuan Shao, after unifying the north, would allow such a behemoth as the Black Mountain Bandits to exist within their territories.
Marrying Yu Du is undoubtedly jumping into a fire pit!
But at this moment, Zhang, who was being targeted by Yu Du, was undoubtedly filled with despair.
Zhen Jiang, the eldest of the five Zhen sisters, spoke first:
“Mother, Yu Du has nearly ten thousand soldiers under his command, although most of them are poorly equipped.”
"But the Zhen family can probably only mobilize less than two thousand servants."
"The difference in strength is simply too great..."
"Furthermore, behind Yu Du is Zhang Yan, and my Zhen family..."
Zhen Jiang felt increasingly helpless as she spoke.
The Zhen family has two thousand servants and slaves, which is quite a force to be reckoned with.
But without comparison, there is no harm.
As one of the top merchant caravans in Jizhou, the Zhen family could only mobilize this small force, which was barely enough to protect the caravan on a regular basis.
This was also a limitation imposed on merchant families like the Zhen family by the traditional scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant system.
Your Zhen family can be wealthy.
But your position can only go this far; it won't allow you to advance further.
The number of servants and slaves was also generally limited.
If the number of servants and slaves exceeds the prescribed limit, then your Zhen family is knowingly breaking the law!
To put it mildly, it means confiscating family property.
To put it bluntly, he might be executed!
If the Zhen family were in the same situation today as any other slightly more prestigious family in Jizhou, Yu Du would not dare to act so recklessly.
after all.
The leaders of the Black Mountain bandits had a slight understanding of who truly ruled this world.
But now that the Zhen family has lost its backing, let them just rob them!
"If all else fails, your mother will have no choice but to take you and escape from Wuji."
Zhang let out a long sigh.
Suddenly, Zhen Mi, the youngest of the five Zhen sisters, spoke up:
"Mother, I'm afraid we no longer have the chance to leave Wuji."
“Since Yu Du has set his sights on my Zhen family, he cannot remain indifferent and let my Zhen family escape his surveillance.”
“Once my Zhen family leaves Wuji in a grand manner, Yu Du will definitely send troops to pursue us.”
"At that time, what awaits my Zhen family is certain destruction and death!"
Zhen Mi was the most intelligent of Zhang's five daughters.
After the Zhen family lost its male heirs, when problems arose, Zhen's mother, Zhang, would discuss them with her five daughters.
But the most important opinions came from the eldest daughter, Zhen Jiang, and the youngest daughter, Zhen Mi.
Zhang was a strong woman of her time, single-handedly supporting the Zhen family for almost two years.
But she was not a man after all, and she was about to give up.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to marry his smartest youngest daughter, Zhen Mi, to Yuan Xi.
Mingming's four eldest daughters are still unmarried.
Marrying Zhen Mi first is neither appropriate in terms of sentiment nor reason.
Ultimately, Zhang wanted to gain the support of Yuan Shao's forces so that the Zhen family could maintain the status quo and make further progress.
The youngest daughter, Zhen Mi, is exceptionally intelligent and the most beautiful; she's sure to capture any man's heart.
However, the marriage that the Zhen family had gone to great lengths to arrange was easily abandoned by Shen Pei with just a single sentence.
Compared to true aristocratic families, I'm sorry, but your Zhen family is nothing!
"Heaven is going to destroy my Zhen family."
Zhang's phoenix eyes softened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Since the deaths of her husband and son, the Zhen family has been like a polar bear dancing on a block of ice, always on the verge of falling into the ice hole!
Unable to bear seeing her mother grieving, Zhen Mi suggested:
“Mother, I believe that the only way to save the Zhen family is to seek the protection of Minister Cao.”
"My daughter is willing to disguise herself as a lowly merchant in a caravan and travel to Ye City!"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhang interrupted:
"Wuji is nearly 300 miles away from Yecheng, and my Zhen family's caravan is no longer safe."
"It is really inappropriate to send you on such a risk to Ye City."
“Even if I were to go, I would go myself.”
Zhen Mi said anxiously:
"Mother! You are my pillar of strength."
“If you leave, once Yu Du finds out, he will immediately take action against my Zhen family.”
"By then, my Zhen family will be completely hopeless!"
Seeing that Zhen Mi and Zhang Shi had a disagreement, the four sisters, led by Zhen Jiang, quickly tried to appease them.
suddenly.
A knock came from outside the mansion.
Zhang and the five Zhen sisters were terrified, thinking that Yu Du had come knocking on their door.
The steward, accompanied by several servants armed with weapons, cautiously approached the entrance of the Zhen residence.
After the door was opened, three figures appeared outside.
The leader's looks are second only to those of the godfathers who have read this far!
This person was none other than Su Yu.
The other two were quite different; one was as strong as an idiot, and the other was as strong as an iron tower.
They are Xu Chu and Dian Wei.
Xu Chu was both fat and strong.
Dian Wei was covered in muscle bulges, and his face exuded a murderous aura.
Cao Cao was worried about Su Yu's safety, so he temporarily sent Dian Wei over as well.
In addition, a large number of intelligence guards were dispatched to provide covert protection.
The steward was so frightened by Dian Wei and Xu Chu that he took several steps back.
All the servants turned pale.
With the imposing presence of Dian Wei and Xu Chu, even if all the servants attacked together, they wouldn't be a match for them!
"Hello, sir."
"My name is Su Ang, a Confucian scholar from Ye City."
"Passing by this place, I heard that the Zhen family is famous for their generosity and charity."
"I hope to have a meal here, and I hope you won't find me unworthy."
"Ah? Oh! It's Young Master Su!"
"This is indeed the Zhen residence."
"Would it be possible to wait a moment, sir?"
"I will go and fetch the young master's meal right away."
The Zhen family steward hurriedly went to the kitchen.
If passing scholars or students needed meals, the Zhen family would provide them with food, a rule passed down from the Zhen family's ancestors.
For generations, the Zhen family has followed this ancestral precept.
Therefore, when the old butler heard that Su Yu wanted to freeload a meal, many of his doubts were instantly dispelled.
however.
Dian Wei suddenly stomped his foot.
A "bang" sound!
The floor almost exploded because of this!
The butler was so frightened that his vision went black and he almost collapsed to the ground.
The servants stared at Dian Wei with tense expressions.
"Um... do you have chicken drumsticks?"
"I eat ten in one meal."
After saying that, Dian Wei scratched his head sheepishly.
housekeeper:"……"
The servants: "..."
"Hahaha, I'm sorry, sir, my servant has a big appetite and can really eat a lot. Please bring him some more food."
"Just pay the amount due. I will give the money to the old man for the meal later."
The old butler quickly waved his hand and said:
"Young master, please don't do this."
"Our family's ancestral precept is to provide free meals to travelers passing through."
"If you ask for money, that would be against our ancestral teachings."
After saying that, the old steward took a few more servants to the kitchen.
Judging from this, they're planning to get a "multi-person meal" just for Dian Wei.
……