"My lord, who exactly is this Ma Zhong?"
This was Pang Tong's genuine question. Although he would not claim to have a photographic memory, having served as Zhou Yu's close aide for nearly a year, he remembered the civil and military officials of Jiangdong he had interacted with or even just crossed paths with.
He ran the name through his mental roster. His final conclusion: Person not found.
Not giving up, he mentally reviewed the roster two more times with the same result.
Finally, Pang Tong had no choice but to ask Liu Bei for clarification.
"Ma Zhong may serve under Pan Zhang as a gate guard, but he possesses great talent and carries loyalty to the Han within his heart." Liu Bei spoke with clear interest. "Some of history's finest men started as farmers or slaves. A capable man stuck as a common soldier? That is just a waste."
Looking at Liu Bei's utterly sincere expression, Pang Tong nodded politely, but inside he was thinking: A gate guard? A great talent? Really?
But wait a minute.
Pang Tong recalled carefully. Compared to the other mourners, his lord showed neither genuine grief nor schadenfreude. Even when looking back at the mourning hall after the rites, there was only a fleeting hint of regret. And considering the intelligence he gathered yesterday, that his lord was among the very first to rush here to offer condolences...
A guess formed in Pang Tong's mind: My lord knew all along that Gongjin's days were numbered!
'But how was that possible'? Pang Tong himself had personally sealed all information regarding Gongjin's condition.
Even Lu Zijing didn't know how bad it really was.
Pang Tong's eyes suddenly widened.
Kongming! That is it. Only he could pierce through the fog to see the truth, managing to discern the talents of Jiangdong while stationed in Jingzhou!
He just did not know whether Kongming had painstakingly pieced together the truth from a mountain of complex intelligence, or if he had planted spies right beside Gongjin.
Either way, it was terrifying. Kongming... how do you do that?
In an instant, a profound sense of powerlessness washed over Pang Tong. Even though they had not met again yet, he could already picture that smug smile on Kongming's face.
That pressure forced him to act at once.
Driven by this sudden urgency, Pang Tong immediately responded, "In that case, Tong is willing to extend an invitation to Ma Zhong on my lord's behalf."
He then leaned in a bit closer. "Yesterday, my lord arrived here alongside Bu Zhi. Could it be that you are plotting to take Jiaozhou?"
Before Liu Bei could even ask, Pang Tong offered a brief explanation. "Bu Zishan is Marquis Sun's trusted confidant. He was appointed as the acting Inspector of Jiaozhou and General Who Conquers the South. It is obvious Jiangdong wants that territory."
"But yesterday I saw him leaving the manor looking like he had lost his best friend. It seems my lord has already outmaneuvered them!" He grinned. "Congratulations, my lord. So, what now? Are you planning to take Jiaozhou for yourself?"
Ah, this feeling was far too familiar. Liu Bei shifted into a more comfortable posture, completely emptied his mind, and asked with a smile, "What does Shiyuan think?"
Pang Tong thought for a moment. "Jiaozhou is huge, but sparse. The tribes are fierce and hard to govern. Shi Xie is clever and cautious. He will flip sides depending on who is winning. With just the four commanderies of Jingzhou, it would be hard to pin him down."
"Better to quietly support Shi Xie so Jiangdong cannot just take him over. Then we focus on Yizhou, move into Hanzhong, seize Guanzhong, and defeat Cao Cao. Once we are strong enough, Shi Xie will naturally align with us."
Liu Bei nodded, beaming. "Just as I would expect from you. Your strategy is almost exactly what Kongming said."
Pang Tong's little smile of pride vanished instantly.
He stood up to leave. "I will go find this Ma Zhong right away."
As he hurried off, Liu Bei watched him go and thought: So this is the Fengchu? Impressive.
And this is the Wolong? Pang Tong thought to himself, walking faster. He really does think of everything.
Looking at the city of Dantu, draped entirely in plain white, Pang Tong quickened his pace. He recalled the character of Pan Zhang: Reckless, fond of drinking, greedy for wealth despite his poverty.
Shaking his head, Pang Tong walked even faster. 'A great talent serving under such a muddled fool? He must be recruited.'
Before Liu Bei could fully settle into the joy of gaining Pang Tong, a servant arrived with another report.
"My lord, a visitor seeks audience. He claims to be a merchant from Xuzhou, an old acquaintance."
Liu Bei immediately broke into a wide grin and went out to greet him. The moment he saw the man, he stepped forward and clasped his hands.
"Zizhong!"
"My lord." Mi Zhu withdrew his hand and bowed respectfully.
"Come, let us talk inside!"
Almost dragging him to the mats, Liu Bei looked at Mi Zhu's face with a pang of heartache. "Zizhong, you have been overworking your body and mind lately."
"The guilt of my criminal brother lies with me..."
"Zifang has long since come of age. He is responsible for his own actions now!" Liu Bei interrupted, unwilling to dwell on it. "Ease your mind, Zizhong. Before coming to Jiangdong, I ordered Chen Dao to send people to keep an eye on him. Zifang is undoubtedly safe."
"Have you encountered any difficulties in Jiangdong, Zizhong?"
Mi Zhu buried his gratitude deep in his heart and pulled a secret letter from the inner lining of his robe. "All twelve hundred rolls of Zhuge Paper have been sold out. Please review this, my lord."
As Liu Bei opened the secret letter, Mi Zhu continued, "As for the person my lord asked me to find, Lu Xun... there is still no news to this day."
The letter was filled with numbers. Liu Bei struggled to read through them slowly. Although he did not quite understand the accounting of income and expenditure, he could perfectly understand the final profit figure.
He could not help but stare at the number over a million coins multiple times, his face lighting up with joy.
But hearing Mi Zhu's words, Liu Bei raised his eyebrows. "No such name?"
Mi Zhu nodded. "The Lu clan is a prominent family in Jiangdong. They suffered heavily during the disaster of Yuan Shu in their early years, so their clan members are few."
"Lu Jun, courtesy name Xiucai, served as Commandant of Jiujiang."
"Lu Kang, courtesy name Gongji, served as an Attendant in the Memorial Office, and later as Administrator of Yulin. Lu Yi, courtesy name Boyan, is Lu Xiucai's son, currently serving as Commandant of Dingwei."
"Lu Mao, courtesy name Zizhang, is Lu Yi's younger brother, serving as Commandant of Tuntian."
"Lu Gongji has two sons, Lu Hong and Lu Rui. The eldest is only seven years old."
Mi Zhu pulled out another secret letter, with the aforementioned information neatly listed in an organized manner.
Liu Bei picked it up and looked it over, feeling a wave of discouragement.
Currently, the Lu surname in Jiangdong only had two surviving branches. It was all crystal clear, except for the one name he desperately hoped to see: Lu Xun.
I should have asked Shiyuan earlier! Liu Bei felt a twinge of regret and pressed on, unwilling to give up. "Are you absolutely certain nothing was missed?"
"While selling the paper, I spent a month investigating. The Lu family has few descendants, and I have listed them all." Mi Zhu was utterly confident. How could he possibly make a mistake on something this simple?
"Could it be that someone changed their name to Lu Xun, or that the future generations simply misremembered the name?" Mi Zhu offered a hypothesis.
Liu Bei had naturally considered this possibility as well, but his deduction led to a single, lingering question: "Why would a brilliant talent from a prominent Jiangdong clan change his name?"
Changing one's name was usually done to observe naming taboos for respected figures. But the Lightscreen had clearly told them that Marquis Sun would live for a very long time. If it were for a naming taboo, he would have changed it long ago. Why wait?
Scratching his head in frustration, Liu Bei proposed a bold idea: "What if we just visit them one by one?"
"Absolutely not, my lord!" Mi Zhu said, caught between laughter and tears. "With Grand Commander Zhou's grand funeral currently underway, even Marquis Sun's own subordinates must avoid suspicion. Your lordship's identity is far too crucial..."
Liu Bei understood. He could only put the list away and click his tongue in regret. "What about Lü Meng, then? Is he really just a brave fighter with no brains?"
"That is also something I needed to report to my lord..." Mi Zhu seemed a bit uncertain. "According to what I heard in Dantu, Lü Meng is indeed fierce, quick to draw his sword. But last year I received news that his household started buying a lot of classics and Confucian texts."
"Perhaps it was to begin his sons' early education?"
Mi Zhu shook his head. "His two sons, Lü Cong and Lü Ba, are already thirteen or fourteen years old. They are well past the age for early education."
Liu Bei smiled slowly. "Now, this is interesting. So he has finally decided to study at thirty. Who knew a man who used to solve everything with a sword could one day become Grand Commander of Jiangdong?"
But starting to study now? It was far too late.
Fu Shiren had been reassigned, Mi Fang was already under lock and key, and the twin cities of Jiangling were currently under construction.
'Let us see how you plan to cross the river in white robes now.: