Chapter 48: Lu Su Accepts the Summons

Each of them consumed 1.5 dan of grain alone every month, not to mention meat, vegetables, and eggs.

Despite trying his utmost, Liu Feng had only managed to support just over one hundred and fifty youths, requiring a basic monthly consumption of three hundred dan of grain.

However, with the sponsorship of a wealthy patron and the support of Liu Bei, Liu Feng's plan could now be put into motion.

The gifts sent by Mi Zhu were ultimately allocated entirely to Liu Bei by Liu Feng—no, wait—all allocated to Liu Feng by Liu Bei.

Among them, the three thousand dan of grain was more than enough for Liu Feng to feed his Liu'er Battalion, with surplus energy to continue expanding.

Liu Feng took out a roll of silk and handed it to Liu Li, who stood nearby. "With the expansion of the Liu'er Battalion imminent, we can begin recruiting personnel."

"You shall be in charge of this matter. Select twenty deputies from the Liu'er Battalion and bring self-defense weapons. Remember, the rules for our recruitment in the Liu'er Battalion must not be changed. First, select from the orphaned children of local soldiers in Xuzhou, and only after that should you go to the refugee camps outside the city to pick people. Do you understand?"

Liu Li respectfully took the silk scroll, which detailed the various selection requirements and distribution matters.

"Rest assured, Young Master. I will dedicate myself entirely and live up to your commands."

Liu Feng nodded. The most important task at hand was recruitment.

Originally, he had wanted to handle it personally, but considering that Liu Li, Sahali, and the other youths all needed opportunities to train, combined with the fact that he truly had other matters to attend to, he simply delegated the task to them for practice.

"Sahali, you will likewise take twenty men and go outside the city under the guise of recruiting tenant farmers to select strong, able-bodied laborers in preparation for agricultural colonization. The criteria for selection are also written in this silk scroll for you."

Liu Feng retrieved another silk scroll and handed it to Sahali.

Sahali grinned broadly, patting his chest firmly. "Don't worry, Young Master! I will do exactly as you say!"

Liu Feng waved his hand, and Liu Li and Sahali turned to leave, heading out to select recruits.

Liu Feng continued to review and ponder over the silk scrolls, listening to the reports brought by the youths of the Liu'er Battalion.

He had previously agreed with Hua Tuo to select eight quick-witted and intelligent youths to be sent to study medicine.

Liu Feng intended to choose them all from the Liu'er Battalion, as the youths there possessed a baseline cultural foundation and were able to read and write.

In the future, these individuals would serve as the foundational seeds for teaching medicine.

At the same time, over the past few days, Liu Feng had compiled a set of teaching methodologies and recommended them to Hua Tuo.

Liu Feng had prepared himself for the possibility that if Hua Tuo resisted these methods, he would negotiate to apply them exclusively to the apprentices of the Liu'er Battalion, leaving the rest entirely to Hua Tuo's personal preferences.

To his surprise, although Hua Tuo was advanced in age, he possessed exceptional discernment. He immediately recognized the progressive nature of this educational philosophy and decided to follow Liu Feng's suggestions entirely.

This delighted Liu Feng beyond measure. With a wave of his hand, he immediately allocated one hundred dan of grain and one hundred thousand coins to Hua Tuo as startup capital for the medical clinic.

Just as Liu Feng was buried in work, a youth from the Liu'er Battalion named Tian Dan entered and reported that the senior official dispatched by Lord Liu Bei to recruit scholars had returned, and Liu Bei had sent someone to notify Liu Feng.

A wave of joy washed over Liu Feng. The fact that Liu Bei sent someone to inform him meant that the recruitment mission had undoubtedly succeeded.

He stood up, walked around his mat, and asked as he moved, "Do you know who has arrived?"

Tian Dan nodded and replied, "The attendant said the senior official sent to Jiujiang has returned, and the virtuous scholar he recruited is named Lu Su."

Lu Su had arrived!

Liu Feng was overjoyed, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth no matter how hard he tried.

"Let's go! Right this moment!"

When Liu Feng rushed to Liu Bei's main hall, two people were engaged in lively and cheerful conversation.

One of them was naturally Liu Bei, seated in the seat of honor, while the other possessed an imposing and extraordinary physique.

Liu Feng's appearance instantly drew the attention of the two men in the hall.

Seeing Liu Feng, Liu Bei's face broke into a broad smile, whereas Lu Su's eyes flashed with surprise before returning to their usual calm composure.

Liu Feng inwardly praised him, noting that he was indeed poised and unruffled.

Liu Bei smiled genially at Lu Su and asked, "Zijing, do you know who this boy is?"

Hearing Liu Bei's slightly bantering tone, Lu Su—being extremely shrewd—could naturally tell that his future lord was in an exceptionally good mood, and that this wonderful mood stemmed entirely from the youth standing before him.

This only deepened Lu Su's curiosity and perplexity regarding Liu Feng.

A youth of twelve or thirteen years old who could roam freely about the Governor's residence must surely be a kinsman deeply cherished by the Governor.

Thinking further of the emotions mingling pride and self-satisfaction on Liu Bei's face, Lu Su vaguely formed a guess.

"Could this be the young master of the Illustrious Lord's household?"

Liu Bei burst into hearty laughter. "Zijing is indeed sharp-witted! This is my unworthy son, Liu Feng. He possesses some talent and has, at the very least, not brought shame upon our ancestors."

Lu Su felt a slight ripple of shock. For Liu Bei to offer such high praise, this Liu Feng must surely possess extraordinary qualities.

Throughout several millennia of Han civilization, nothing was valued more than one's ancestors, and among these, the Han people prized them above all else.

Funeral rites for the deceased were treated with utmost seriousness during the Han dynasty, and grave goods often exceeded the standard of living for the living.

This custom of lavish burials led to countless golden treasures of Huaxia being buried underground, ultimately forcing the imperial court to take the lead in advocating for frugal burials.

For Liu Bei to praise Liu Feng by saying he did not bring shame upon his ancestors was already an exceptionally high commendation.

Yet Lu Su was unaware that the ancestor Liu Bei referred to was not his own father or grandfather, but rather the true figure of reference: Liu Bang.

If Lu Su had been privy to this layer of meaning, he likely would have been truly shocked out of his composure.

Liu Feng walked up to Lu Su, bowed deeply, and offered a formal greeting: "Master Zijing, this junior Liu Feng pays his respects."

Lu Su hurriedly stood up and stepped aside in deference. "I am currently a commoner; how could I possibly accept such a grand bow from the Young Master?"

Liu Bei timely interjected, "Zijing may remain seated without concern. With a talent like Zijing's, I could scarcely hope to find its equal even if I begged for it. Today, blessed by the heavens, to gain Zijing's assistance is truly the fortune of Liu Bei. I shall certainly treat you with an important office, so why should Zijing feel any sense of unworthiness?"

Before Liu Bei's voice had even faded, Liu Feng quickly added, "As junior Liu Feng, I shall require much instruction from you in the days to come. To show you such reverence today is entirely fitting and proper."

Hearing Liu Bei's words, Lu Su's heart was already ablaze with warmth, and the powerful sensation of having encountered an enlightened lord welled up within him.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, feeling the unprecedented sense of importance bestowed upon him by this father-and-son pair of the Liu family, the defenses of this wise man—so frequently misunderstood and misjudged by his fellow villagers and clan elders—were utterly breached.

Stepping away from his mat, Lu Su bowed profoundly toward Liu Bei. "Though my talent is shallow and my influence humble, I never expected my lord and the Young Master to value me so greatly, treating me with absolute sincerity and placing such high expectations upon me. How dare I not exhaust the utmost strength of my limbs and offer the service of a hound or a horse?"

When two ultimate charmers compete on the same stage, even someone as formidable as Lu Su found it impossible to resist.

Naturally, this was also connected to the fact that Lu Su had long felt frustrated in his ambitions and had spent a long time being misunderstood and criticized by his fellow villagers and clan elders.

Over all these years, apart from Zhou Yu, Liu Ye, and a mere handful of others, Lu Su had found no kindred spirits, let alone an enlightened lord.

One could only imagine how stifled Lu Su had felt all these years.

Now, suddenly encountering an enlightened lord like Liu Bei, who was both deeply affectionate and righteous while offering him the opportunity to display his talents, how could he not be moved to tears of gratitude?