PS: Thank you for the tips and comments from book friend Tang Shaobao.

When Liu He returned to Jicheng, it was already mid-April, and everywhere the army passed, there was a busy scene of farming, and it seemed that the damage caused by the war last year had passed, and people were once again devoting themselves to the longing and busyness of a new life.

After Zhang He sent Liu He's back to Jicheng, he led 3,000 cavalry directly south to Zhuo County, and Sun Li and Xu Miao had been waiting for him in Zhuo County. There are two places in Youzhou to accept and transform surrendered troops on a large scale, one is Macheng, and the other is Zhuoxian. Xu Miao has reached the point of perfection in the transformation of the surrender of troops, and the surrender of more than 20,000 Gongsun Zan who were imprisoned in Zhuoxian County has been completely transformed after half a year, and now it has been reborn, without half of the traces of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, and has become a real capable soldier.

After Zhang He arrived in Macheng, he would immediately start the formation of the Youyan Army, and with the foundation laid by Xu Miao, the rest of the things would not be too troublesome, but it would take some time and energy.

The more than 6,000 troops brought back by Liu He from Lingzhi were directly sent to Macheng by 2,000 cavalry led by Xiahoulan. There are about 5,000 people in the Youzhou cavalry under Zhang He, and this time he took 3,000 to Zhuojun, and the remaining 2,000 naturally wanted to return to the cavalry guard. Along the way, these soldiers who stayed in Lu Longsai and Lingzhi City did not resist much, probably they have also heard that Lord Taifu and the eldest prince never torture and kill the surrendered soldiers, and will give the surrendered soldiers a chance to choose again, so although they were escorted thousands of miles away, they can still maintain good order, and no one secretly connects to make trouble and escape.

Then again, Xia Houlan is now the deputy director of the Department of Internal Affairs who is in charge of the internal affairs order of the various armies in Youzhou, and with his iron-faced and serious character, if anyone dares to make trouble on the way, he is afraid that the end will not be much better.

Liu He's buttocks were still hot when he returned to the house, so his father Liu Yu sent Tao Kuan to call him to the study to talk.

Liu He asked Tao Kuan: "In the more than two months that I have been in Jicheng, what has changed in the house?" ”

Tao Kuan replied: "Everything is normal. The living conditions of the adults and the two ladies are the same as before, the little prince is in good health, and the officials who enter and leave the mansion are still the same as before, but Bachelor Cai has come more frequently recently. ”

"Oh, it's fine." Liu He thought in his heart that his father must have something to do with him in such a hurry, otherwise he would wait for him to take the initiative to report to him.

Coming to the door of Liu Yu's study, Liu He cleared his throat, and then said, "Father is here?" Hello to you! ”

"Come in!" Liu Yu's voice came from inside the house, and he was still so calm and peaceful, and he couldn't hear any joy or anger.

Liu He entered the house. walked down according to a complete set of etiquette, and then stood opposite Liu Yu's desk in a regular manner, waiting for Liu Yu to ask.

"How's things going on this trip?"

"Back to my father's words, everything went according to the plan, it was very smooth, and there were no twists and turns."

"Everything in the city has been properly resolved?"

"Solved. According to my instructions, Zhang He coerced Gongsun Zhan's son Gongsun Xu to evacuate Liaoxi with his people from the wet water into the sea, and there will be no chance to return in the future. There was chaos in the city for a few days at first. It was vigorously rectified by Zhang He, and by the time I went, it had stabilized, and the local people did not have much resistance to my father's takeover of Liaoxi and Lingzhi. ”

"You did the right thing in this matter, although I am very dissatisfied with Gongsun Chan himself. But it doesn't have to hurt his family, he has paid enough for his ambitions, and it can be regarded as a warning to some people. ”

Liu Yu asked Liu He about his trip unhurriedly, and Liu He had to answer patiently and in detail. But in my heart, I felt a little surprised, because this did not conform to my father's usual style.

"The construction and expansion of the army are all done according to your wishes, and I have not interfered at all. You should be satisfied now, right? Liu Yu suddenly asked curiously.

Liu He was a little confused, and replied honestly: "Thank you father for your support!" ”

"Youzhou is now stable inside and outside, and all the major things that should be done are carried out normally according to the plan, can you relax for a while?"

"There are still a lot of things to do when the child returns to Jicheng this time. The scale and pattern of Jicheng are now small, and it should be expanded outward; The construction of Yenching University has already begun, and I have to go over to supervise and guide it from time to time, so as not to delay the construction period of the craftsmen; Master Lu of Jizhou sent someone to invite me to Gaoyi City as a guest, and he must have wanted to borrow money and grain from me......"

"Alright, stop me! These things are not urgent, you don't all move out and perfunctory me! Liu Yu glared at his son with his eyes, and then said to himself: "Recently, Cai Yong's old goods have come to the house for three days and two ends, and he always forces the old man to return the rare books he borrowed, so it's really annoying to be forced by him like this!" ”

"And this? During the Chinese New Year, I personally sent him an ox cart, as well as so many cows, sheep and servants, why is he still so stingy! Liu He stomped his feet, a little annoyed.

"I have to ask you all this!"

"Why did you get involved with me again?" Liu He looked dazed.

"You took the father and daughter all the way from Luoyang to Jicheng, and there is no explanation until now, how can you let the scholar who has always had a good face not be in a hurry? He came to the house every now and then to urge me to return the book, and he didn't want to ask when you would come back, but as for why he wanted to come to inquire, don't you know? Liu Yu dragged a heavy nasal voice.

Liu He patted his head, suddenly realized, and said, "Bachelor Cai, is he in a hurry to be in-laws with his father?" ”

"Hmph, or what do you think! Before you arrived in Chang'an, that old guy from Ma Riyan took it upon himself to go to Cai's Mansion to propose marriage under my name, which saved Mr. Cai's life. Later, when you left Chang'an, you forced Wang Yun to send the Cai family's father and daughter out of Chang'an, and then took the Cai family's father and daughter to Luoyang with you, and as a result, the matter became known to the world. When you were in Luoyang, because you were far away from your parents, it was inconvenient to marry a wife without permission, and Cai Yong would not force you for this, but it has been half a year since you returned to Jicheng, but there has been no movement for a long time, of course Master Cai will not be able to sit still. ”

Liu He looked aggrieved, looked at Liu Yu and said, "Father, you don't seem to blame me for this matter, right?" During that period of time a year ago, I was busy dispatching troops to deal with Gongsun Zhan, and after I was done, I finally had free time, and you and Bachelor Cai were like thieves to prevent me from meeting with Zhaoji, and this time it was the year later. The establishment and expansion of the army in Youzhou is a major event, and it cannot be delayed, so I left Jicheng after the Lantern Festival. It's time to be busy. ”

"Stinky boy! Years ago, Master Cai and I deliberately stopped you from meeting Zhao Ji, and that was for the sake of your reputation! Hundreds of thousands of people in Jicheng have seen the Cai family's father and daughter come to the city, if the two of you are as inseparable as you were when you were in Luoyang, how many people will talk and accuse you behind your back. Jicheng is not Luoyang, you always have to take care of the face of our Liu family! ”

Liu He, who was taught a lesson by his father, was not angry, and said cheekily: "Since Mr. Cai has begun to sit still, my father should quickly send someone to the door to propose marriage!" ”

"What pro? Ma Riyan has already mentioned it, and now it is time to find an auspicious day to welcome Zhao Ji into the door! Liu Yu is a Zhaoji, and it seems that he is still quite satisfied with his future daughter-in-law.

"Everything is arranged by my father!" Liu He's heart blossomed, and there was an unwavering expression on his face.

"If only this was as simple as you thought! Before you left Jicheng and went south. I once sent a few henchmen to Xuzhou Donghai and Lujiang Wan County to inquire about the Mi family and the Qiao family's women for you, but later because you were not in Youzhou, and there were years of war in various places, these things have not been heard back for the time being. Some time ago, the Mi family and the Qiao family both sent people to Jicheng in a high-profile manner, expressing their willingness to marry my Liu family. In this way, this family business of yours is very difficult to handle. ”

"What's so hard about it? If you really can't do it, you can marry all of them into the family in the order of first come, first served, right? Liu He said seriously.

"Nonsense! If Cai Zhaoji hadn't married into the Hedong Wei family, she would naturally be respected, and now if you marry her first. But let the daughter of the Mi family and the daughter of the Qiao family be concubines, what will people think? If you only marry Zhao Ji and reject the other two, what will the family think? You must know that I sent someone to contact these two companies at the beginning! ”

What Liu Yu said is really a problem. If Liu He marries Cai Yan, who is married for the second time, and gives up the marriage between the Mi family and the Qiao family, this reputation is really not good, and it not only offends the two families. And it also damaged Liu Yu's reputation. But if you don't give up these two, can you do it?

Seeing that the long-awaited "sexual blessing" was coming, it was disturbed by the Mi family in the East China Sea and the Qiao family in Anhui County. This made Liu Dagongzi a little entangled, he frowned and pondered for a long time, and said weakly: "If you want to talk about this matter, it's not that there is no solution......

Liu Yu, who was on fire, hurriedly asked, "What way?" Hurry up and hear it! ”

"If your father is now crowned as the king, and the child can follow it in the future, then the woman who marries into our Liu family will at least be a princess in the future, and it is estimated that everyone can get by on face, and the Mi family and the Qiao family will not have much opinion......"

Liu He's voice became smaller and smaller, as he saw that Liu Yu's face was obviously getting more and more ugly.

"Shut up! At this time when the Han family is declining, how can your father vainly try to become the king for his own selfish interests? Liu Yu scolded Liu He with a dark face, obviously angered by his son's bold proposal.

Actually, Liu He is really right, now there is really no other way to get the best of both worlds except this method to make the Mi family and the Qiao family feel that their face will not be damaged.

China has been a patriarchal and ethical society since ancient times, and "monogamy" is regarded as the basic principle of marriage. In the fifth year of the Hidden Prince: "The princes have no two concubines", which means that even the princes of the Son of Heaven cannot marry two wives at the same time. The "White Tiger Tongyi" compiled by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty once said: "The wife is also Qi and the husband is in the same body, from the Son of Heaven to the common man, and its righteousness is also the same." ”

The traditional marriage system in ancient China practiced the "monogamous and polygamous concubine system", and the law clearly stipulated the system of monogamy and appropriate concubinage. "Mencius": "Qi Huan five prohibitions, one is said to have no wife as a concubine", is the earliest record of disorderly wives and concubines. The Qin Dynasty practiced monogamy, and the "Miscellaneous Laws of the Book of Laws" stipulated: if the husband has one wife and two concubines, he will be punished, and if the husband has two wives, he will be punished, and if the wife has a foreign husband, he will be punished.

The "Nine Laws of the Han Dynasty" also stipulates that "disorderly wives and concubines" are crimes, among which the "Enze Hou Table" records: Fu Yan, the Marquis of Confucius, sits on the position of disorderly wives and concubines, and is exempted. The so-called "exemption" is to exempt the title of Marquis of Kongxiang.

The social atmosphere of the Han Dynasty, although there are discussions about a man marrying a remarried woman as a wife, there is no clear opposition and restriction, but if anyone dares to mess with the order of the dignity of wives and concubines, it is against the entire etiquette system, and the consequences will be very serious.

The Mi family and the Qiao family may not really want to fight for their daughter for the position of wife, if Cai Yan is still the first marriage, these two families will definitely have nothing to say, because Cai Yong's name is enough to overshadow the Mi family and the Qiao family. The problem now is that if Cai Yan remarries and is still a wife, the two families will feel that their face will be damaged, but if Cai Yan is not allowed to be his wife, Cai Yong will feel that he has no face, and Liu He will definitely not do it.

Since ancient times, this kind of thing is always related to identity and status, if Liu He's identity is a prince, or even he himself is a king, then the woman who marries him is a princess regardless of whether she is a wife or a side room, and her identity is obviously much more noble, and she can't be compared with ordinary concubines, and her mother's family will of course feel very face-saving.

In fact, if Liu He is now the emperor, it will be even more of a problem...... (To be continued......)