The mountains and rivers of his old country had been destroyed, and the people's lives were in dire straits.
An Cui thought that he could rely on his military strength to reclaim his old country, but he had greatly underestimated the situation within Nansheng.
Nansheng, Jiang Zhou.
The barbarians of the four factions of Nanman only knew how to plunder and didn't know how to govern. Wherever they conquered, they would plunder and kill wantonly.
He came empty-handed, but he left with a lot of money. Countless human heads and weeping women hung on the back of his horse.
The heads were evidence of their military strength, and the women were spoils of war for them to vent their desires and show off their power.
An Cui wandered to Dongqing, and only managed to gather 6,000 men after much scheming.
He thought that he had some confidence, but the situation in Nansheng was far worse than when he left.
The aristocratic families and commoners couldn't stand the violence of Nanman and rose up in revolt.
If they focused on the outside world, Nansheng might still be saved, but the enemies had yet to retreat, and civil war had broken out.
An Cui brought 6,000 men and sufficient rations to support Jiang Zhou of Nansheng.
He was originally from Jiang Zhou of Nansheng. This wasn't just his homeland, but also where Madam An had built her connections.
If he developed in Jiang Zhou, not only could he use Madam An's remaining connections, but he could also get help from his old friends.
In the beginning, An Cui's development was not bad. He used the teachings of the Red Lotus Group to recruit many militias and strengthen himself.
But he quickly ran into a wall.
Because of this, An Cui lost more than half of his troops, and only 3,000 were left.
Other than An Cui, there were two other aristocratic families and a militia force in Jiang Zhou. An Cui chose to work with the aristocratic family that was on good terms with Madam An, but unexpectedly, they had ulterior motives. Although An Cui was intelligent, he wasn't good at scheming. He was unknowingly tricked by the other party.
An Cui, An Duoxi.
Cui meant worry.
The elders had given An Cui the nickname "Duoxi". It sounded tacky, but it was full of good wishes. They knew that this person was destined to have a difficult life.
In his previous life, he had toiled for more than a decade, and in the end, he had risked everything to ask Wei Ci for help. He had taken over half of Nansheng.
Now, he wasn't as down and out as he would be in the future, but he was still unlucky.
Although he was from Nansheng, the troops he brought were all from Dongqing.
In the eyes of the feudal lords in Nansheng, An Cui was not on the right side. How could an outsider fight with them for power?
If it wasn't a pretense, then it was the thought of using An Cui to do his dirty work. He only treated An Cui as a spear.
At first, An Cui did not realize this. When he ran into a wall and lost half of his troops, he suddenly realized.
An Cui had just passed the age of thirty, so he could still withstand such a blow. However, his eyes couldn't help but turn red.
However, after this setback, he also realized his shortcomings.
He couldn't outcalculate others, and he didn't have a strategist by his side. His sworn brothers were also impulsive people.
Such a combination could be easily manipulated by others, and the slightest provocation could ruin the whole thing.
An Cui thought for a moment. He planned to use his old friendship to invite a famous scholar to help him.
However, An Cui had no manpower, no land, and no money. Moreover, she had just suffered a defeat. Who would be willing to assist a lord like this?
Even if An Cui's status was illustrious, the entire An family had been wiped out by the Barbarians, and An Cui's wife and children had even been humiliated and killed by the Barbarians. Was such a failed man worthy of the loyalty of others? Thus, every time An Cui came to invite them, many famous people would either avoid meeting him or refuse him.
An Cui was not a thick-skinned person. He knew that others did not like his conditions, so he could only return resentfully.
On one hand, he led his subordinates to seek refuge everywhere, and on the other, he looked for a chance to turn things around.
Finally, he found his chance.
"I heard that Master Yuanjing's disciple is traveling nearby to study …"
An Cui's eyes burned. He remembered the performance of Master Yuanjing's first disciple, Cheng Jing, during the Huangshui Meeting. The fire in his heart burned even more.
"Traveling? What's going on here? Which idiot came here to study? My lord, did you hear wrongly? "
Although Dongqing was chaotic, it was not as chaotic as Nansheng. There were Barbarians everywhere who wreaked havoc and plundered.
A scholar traveling to a war-torn country to study was not "traveling thousands of miles to read thousands of books." It was clearly rushing to find the King of Hell to reincarnate.
An Cui said, "Whether it's true or not, we should at least give it a try."
The subordinates beside him were nervous. They really did not think highly of An Cui's plan.
An Cui smiled. "Master Yuanjing has a total of four disciples. His first disciple, Cheng Jing, Cheng Youmo, now works for Huang Song of Haozhou. His youngest disciple, Wei Ci, Wei Zixiao, works for Liu Xi of Wanzhou. The remaining two are Han Yu, Han Wenbin, and Lu Zheng, Lu Shaoyin. I heard that Han Yu has accepted the appointment of Xu Bei, the eldest grandson of the Xu family in Zhe County of Dongqing. Then the remaining one … "
"Lu Zheng? Never heard of him. "
Everyone shook their heads like a rattle drum. Lu Zheng was really not famous.
Among Master Yuanjing's four disciples, Cheng Jing and Han Yu were from the famous Langya family. Wei Ci's status was slightly lower, and Lu Zheng was the son of a hunter.
An Cui had never heard of Lu Zheng's name, but he had tried to get close to Cheng Jing during the Huangshui Meeting.
After asking around, he found out the names of Master Yuanjing's four disciples.
"I have a chance because I have never heard of him." An Cui took a deep breath and said, "I heard that Lu Zheng intends to visit the governor of Jiang Prefecture … The governor of Jiang Prefecture is my childhood friend. I know his temperament very well. He has a very strong sense of family background, but he does a good job on the surface. He won't look down on Lu Zheng in front of him, nor will he chase him away. For the sake of being wise, he will even put on a show and appoint Lu Zheng. But according to my understanding of the governor of Jiang Prefecture, he will never put the son of a hunter in an important position. Master Yuanjing's disciple must have something special about him, and his temperament must be more arrogant than ordinary people. In my opinion, Lu Zheng will definitely not be able to accept such cold treatment. "
In other words, Lu Zheng's setback gave An Cui a chance to enter the governor's eyes.
A few subordinates listened to An Cui's words. They did not say anything on the surface, but they were secretly disapproving.
In their opinion, there must be something wrong with a scholar who went to a war-torn country to study.
However, his lord liked him and wanted to recruit him wholeheartedly.
It turned out that An Cui's guess was right.
Unexpectedly, Lu Zheng also saw that the governor of Jiang Prefecture was not reliable. He rejected the governor's appointment and continued to study.
An Cui was anxious and immediately paid a visit with generous gifts.
"I won't see you!"
Lu Zheng wore a wide-sleeved cloak and a cloth scarf on his head. He was unadorned and looked like a poor scholar.
The boy servant blinked and said, "Sir, this is his second time."
"I won't see him even if he comes twenty times, much less two times."
Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes. He had grown a beard now. Although his face was still tender, he was far more mature than before.
The boy servant raised his head and said, "In ancient times, there were three attendants who came out of the mountains. Sir, you won't move even after twenty attendants?"
"Study well and don't drop your bag. You'll make me feel awkward."
The boy servant stuck out his tongue and followed Lu Zheng obediently. He did not dare to let An Cui enter again.
"Why don't you like him, sir?"
"The timing is not right."
"Huh?"
"He still has the arrogance of a landowning household. That alone makes him unworthy of my consideration."
"Then, then when will it be enough?"
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