"Slow down, Zizhong!" A panting voice came from behind Mi Zhu. It was none other than Liu Bei's trusted aide, Jian Yong. Mi Zhu had no choice but to respond. Jian Yong had been following Liu Bei since the beginning and was a fellow countryman of Liu Bei's. Mi Zhu was very respectful to Jian Yong back in Xu Province. Now that his wealth was gone, Mi Zhu's status in Liu Bei's heart had dropped. Mi Zhu didn't dare to put on airs in front of Jian Yong.
Mi Zhu quickly stopped and cupped his fists. "Mister Jian Yong," he said, "Mister Jian Yong! The word 'Mister' was used firstly to affirm a person's talent, and secondly, to show respect to a person. However, it also had a kind of alienation towards a person, just like how strangers would call each other 'Hi'. Acquaintances would never do that.
"Hm?" Jian Yong frowned when he heard Mi Zhu call him Mister. At that time, Mi Zhu had not yet joined Liu Bei's army. After Mi Zhu joined Liu Bei's army, Mi Zhu's sister married Liu Bei. Mi Zhu had treated Jian Yong as an equal. But now, Jian Yong had not heard of Mi Zhu.
Even though Jian Yong frowned, he quickly changed his attitude. 'I don't dare to be your Mister. I, Jian Yong, don't know how to make money! I'll sell myself if you give me a thousand gold coins! ' Jian Yong's teasing brought a smile to Mi Zhu's worried face. Losing money while doing business was a skill indeed.
'Just call me Xianhe. It sounds better!' Jian Yong had a glib tongue. He was the one who contacted Mi Zhu and convinced the Mi Family to sponsor Liu Bei and marry Liu Bei.
'Xianhe!' Mi Zhu stopped being pretentious. Since Jian Yong had said so, it would be disrespectful if he continued to address him as' Mister '.
'That's right!' Jian Yong stepped forward and patted Mi Zhu on the shoulder. This was a show of closeness. Mi Zhu's panicked state was visibly better after Jian Yong's pat.
Jian Yong had long noticed that Mi Zhu wasn't in the right state. He didn't blame Mi Zhu. After all, Mi Zhu was a merchant. As a merchant, he would naturally wait for the right price. For thousands of years, the status of merchants wasn't high. This was because in the eyes of the people, all merchants were evil. Therefore, the status of merchants was the lowest. But in history, there was a famous merchant who left behind a famous biography. This person was the Prime Minister of the Qin State, Lu Buwei. This person could be said to have used the ability of a merchant to the extreme. If it wasn't for him, the Qin Dynasty wouldn't have become so powerful.
Therefore, all businessmen had always regarded Lu Buwei as their idol. They wanted to be like him and become nobles. Mi Zhu was one such person. He was once the richest man in Xu Province. He wanted to become a nobleman by relying on his lord, Liu Bei. He hoped that he could become a nobleman by relying on Liu Bei. He even wanted to marry his sister to Liu Bei. However, Mi Zhu didn't expect his lord, Liu Bei, to be defeated again and again. He was chased out of Xu Province, then out of Xiaopei. Mi Zhu's wealth was all used up. Liu Bei was now focused on fighting for hegemony instead of earning money. Mi Zhu's position became more and more awkward. He had become a useless person. Furthermore, Mi Zhu's younger brother, Mi Fang, and his sister, Lady Mi, had disappeared without a trace.
It would be strange if Mi Zhu had any place in Liu Bei's heart. Liu Bei was righteous but heartless. Liu Bei said that women were like clothes and brothers were like hands and feet. Mi Zhu, who relied on women to get in touch with Liu Bei, naturally didn't have a high status.
Due to Liu Bei's repeated cold treatment, Mi Zhu's interest was not high.
Jian Yongzheng saw this and hurriedly chased after Mi Zhu after the meeting. He wanted to talk to Mi Zhu and dispel some of his thoughts. Or rather, he wanted to help Liu Bei win over people's hearts.
'Zizhong, you also know that the lord is in a bad mood recently. Therefore, please forgive the Lord, Zi Zhong! Jian Yongzheng immediately spoke up for his lord, Liu Bei. How could Liu Bei be in a good mood? Although he had chased Lü Bu out of Xuzhou with Cao Cao, he soon became a stray dog. If it wasn't for Liu Kui from Yuzhou who took him in, he would still be drifting in the wilderness. Later, his claws were broken when he tried to invade Yangzhou. If it wasn't for his ally, Liu Bei would have fled long ago.
'Xianhe, what do you want to talk to me about?' Mi Zhu smiled at Jian Yongzheng. He didn't dare to answer Jian Yongzheng's question. If he nodded and said yes, wouldn't it mean that he had a problem with Liu Bei's actions? If he didn't, it would mean that he didn't forgive him. It would also be offensive. Moreover, Liu Bei was Mi Zhu's lord. What would happen if a retainer had a problem with his lord? What would the lord think of this?
'No, Zizhong. What I meant was … this!' Jian Yongzheng was a glib talker, but he couldn't be frank about this. In the end, Jian Yongzheng had no choice but to look straight at Mi Zhu. 'Zizhong, you should understand what I mean. 'Some things can't be said openly. It's good that everyone knows.
'So what if I understand? So what if I don't? I'm just a merchant. Xianhe, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. ' Mi Zhu's face was full of mockery. Perhaps it was a mockery of himself. Instead of being the richest man in Xuzhou, he chose to plot against the country. Now that he had lost all his wealth and even his younger siblings were missing, his family was really going to be ruined! Now, he was even more annoying. He was also mocking Liu Bei. Back then, he had held Mi Zhu's hand tightly and shared happiness with him. But now? 'Zizhong! Yangzhou is our biggest problem now. Zizhong, don't you understand? ' When the military advisor returns from Jingzhou, the lord will lead the army down south. At that time, there will definitely be a time to put Zizhong in an important position! ‘
'Is that so?' Mi Zhu sneered and turned to leave.
'Zizhong, the Lord has asked us to fill in a name list. We want to apply for an official position in the imperial court, and Zizhong's name is on it! Jian Yongzheng finally revealed his trump card.
'Title!' Mi Zhu was truly captivated by this word. He had done so much, even selling his family's wealth, selling his sister and running around with Liu Bei for so many years. Was it not for this word? A title, a status, a title that could allow him to break free from the embarrassment of being a lowly merchant and become a noble.
Seeing Mi Zhu's hesitation, Jian Yong smiled. He didn't believe that anyone would be able to provoke him. No matter how rich a person was, without a noble title and official status, they were nothing more than a rich person. But once they had a noble title, they would be a noble. Their Mi Clan would no longer be a lowly merchant clan, but a noble.
'Zizhong, I'm sure you'll understand. After this, Milord will definitely put you in an important position.' Jian Yongzheng continued to persuade Mi Zhu.
'Put me in an important position?' Mi Zhu still couldn't believe it.
'Of course. Otherwise, why would Milord ask me to put your name on the list? You should know that it's not that easy to get a title!' Jian Yongzheng continued.
'I!' ‘
'I still have things to do. Zizhong, go back and think about it.' Jian Yongzheng knew that the more he spoke, the more likely he would make mistakes. This was the best way to persuade Mi Zhu.
Mi Zhu nodded. His thoughts were in a mess and he needed to go back and sort them out.
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