Chapter 1: The Zhou Family Has a Son Who Has Just Come of Age

  Eastern Han Guanghe 5 years, Lujiang, Wuan County.

  In the spacious martial arts arena, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man was practicing his martial arts.

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Fists and feet struck the sandbag with a series of dull thuds, the hundreds-of-pounds sandbag swaying back and forth nonstop.

  The young man's name was Zhou Jian, and he was the son of Zhou Shang, the magistrate of Wu County.

  The Zhou family was a prominent clan in Lujiang, with ancestors serving as officials since the time of Zhou Jing's grandfather. By the time of Zhou Jing, he had risen to the position of Taishi, and his reputation reached its peak. Zhou Jing had several sons who all served as officials in the imperial court; one of them, Zhou Shang, was the father of Zhou Jian and currently held the position of Magistrate of Wan County.

  Zhou Jian was born into a family of officials, but he did not like reading books or studying classics. Instead, he preferred to dance with swords and wield staffs.

  Although he was only seventeen years old, he had been practicing martial arts since childhood and was skilled in archery and horseback riding, and was quite famous in the Lujiang area.

  "Hah!"

  Zhou Jian let out a loud roar, suddenly grabbed an iron spear from the weapon rack, shook his arms with force, and thrust forward in one motion. The iron spear flashed through the air like lightning, its sharp blade instantly cutting off the hemp rope that was suspending the sandbag.

  The sandbag will fall without falling.

  Zhou Jian's iron spear pierced the ground, and he suddenly sprang up, his strong body spinning around the spear in a large circle. A whip-like kick landed heavily on the sandbag.

  Bang!

  With a muffled thud, the sandbag flew out two zhang and crashed to the ground.

  Zhou Jian flipped over and landed on the ground, casually tossing the iron spear which seemed weightless as it sliced through the air before landing on the weapon rack.

  "Finally, I've made some small progress."

  Zhou Jian wiped away his sweat, his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed as he pondered his future path.

  It is now Guanghe 5th year, 10th month, which corresponds to October of AD 182.

  In more than a year, the largest Yellow Turban Rebellion in the late Han Dynasty will erupt, and at that time, the Central Plains will be filled with smoke and fire.

  It's been seventeen years since I arrived in this era, and I've been waiting for this opportunity all along.

  The late Han and Three Kingdoms, without a doubt, was an era of heroes emerging in large numbers, with hot blood surging. The decline of the Han dynasty led to the rise of various warlords, and decades of wars among them gave birth to countless heroes and stories that are worth singing and crying about.

  Born in this era, establishing a career is the dream of all hot-blooded men.

  There is little record of Zhou in historical materials, and his descendants are a complete blank slate.

  It's just that I never thought I would become Zhou Shang's son.

  For Zhou Jian, there were two roads to choose from.

  Either be a hero for others, living a life of great passion and energy, or die with no regrets.

  Either cultivate as life, for a lifetime of farming and living in seclusion, or spend one's whole life roaming freely.

  However, in this era, it is unrealistic to live a carefree life. Many times, people living in this era are not in control of their own lives. With the outbreak of war, every second counts and one's life can be lost at any moment.

  Zhou Jian had no choice and did not want to be a rustic old man, so he chose to ride horses and wield spears, striving to be a hero among men.

  Every time I think of those figures whose names will be passed down through history, my blood inexplicably boils up.

  Being able to live in the same era as those legendary figures, witnessing the development of history, is thrilling just thinking about it.

  Zhou Jian is the King of Soldiers, and his greatest expertise lies in his martial arts skills, as well as his extraordinary insight that surpasses this era by over a thousand years.

  This body is much stronger than an ordinary person in the 21st century, but in ancient times where warriors were everywhere, it's just average.

  In ancient times, due to low productivity and high physical labor intensity, people had great strength. Even an adult woman could easily lift a hundred kilograms of heavy objects, much stronger than a 21st-century adult man who does not engage in manual labor.

  Fortunately, there are many talented people in this era, and Zhou Jian is not an ordinary person.

  These years have consumed countless heavenly treasures and earthly jewels, with special forces training methods, barely reaching the standards of his past life.

  Zhou Jian had always wanted to find one of those legendary super warriors to spar with, and see how much difference there was between himself and those famous strong men recorded in history books. However, he had yet to meet a familiar warrior.

  Footsteps sounded outside the door.

  Household servant Zhou Liang hastily walked in and said: "Young master, the old master is calling for you."

  Zhou Jian put on a brocade robe and asked casually, "Father, what did you call me for?"

  "Good people don't know."

  Zhou Jian nodded and stopped asking questions, then went straight to the county government office to see Zhou Shang.

  In ancient times, men were considered adults at the age of 20 and would wear a crown, but wearing a crown was just a ritual. In reality, according to the customs of the time, boys became adults at the age of 16 and could get married and have children.

  In ancient times, people generally got married early, and it was normal for someone over 30 years old to be a grandfather.

  Late marriage and late childbirth were just individual phenomena, not as universal as in later generations.

  Zhou Shang was over thirty years old, with a fair complexion and a very literary demeanor, but his thick eyebrows were furrowed, as if he had something unpleasant on his mind.

  Zhou Jian entered the study and bowed, saying: "Your son has come to see you, Father."

  Zhou Shang rubbed his brow, looked at his son a few times, and couldn't help but reveal a pleased expression. Although the Han Dynasty had been honoring Confucianism alone since Emperor Wu of the Western Han, it had not formed the idea of ??valuing literature over military affairs. The sons of aristocratic families also practiced martial arts to strengthen their bodies.

  Zhou Jian had been practicing martial arts since childhood, and even without a teacher, he was self-taught. His martial arts skills in Lujiang were unmatched. Although he didn't like literary pursuits, his talent was not inferior to some famous scholars who sought fame and fortune. He often had unique insights that made people think deeply.

  Giving birth is like this, Zhou Shang was very delighted naturally.

  "Please sit down, my child."

  Zhou Shang seemed to have something to say and pointed to the brocade couch beside him.

  Zhou Jian had no choice but to kneel down and ask: "Father called me here, is there something?"

  Zhou nodded and said, "In our dynasty, men at the age of sixteen all have marriage engagements. My son is already seventeen, although many noble ladies' families have sent matchmakers to propose marriage, I refused them all as his father. Cai Yan's daughter Cai Wenji has both talent and beauty, I originally wanted to arrange a marriage for you with her, but unfortunately Cai Yong wants to marry his daughter off to Wei Ning, the son of Wei You, alas!"

  Zhou's sword-like eyebrows rose slightly, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing.

  Zhou Shang said, "The other day your second uncle sent a message saying that He Yan's second daughter, He Yanyan, is elegant and beautiful, with both talent and looks, still waiting to be married in the boudoir. I want to propose this marriage for you, what do you think?"

  Who is He Tudi's daughter?

  Zhou Jian was stunned for a moment, but didn't say anything, only saying: "It's all up to Father to decide."

  Zhou Shang smiled and said: "As your father, I will give you a letter to Second Uncle, asking him to decide on the betrothal gifts for you."

  Zhou Jian nodded, He Tuhou was a rustic fellow, but that man was going to be the future Grand General of the Imperial Uncle's household. Marrying his daughter and becoming He Tuhou's son-in-law would guarantee a smooth rise in official ranks later on.

  As for resistance emotions, what kind of resistance emotions can there be?

  In this era, it was normal for men to have three wives and four concubines. Men took pride in having many concubines, who would complain about having too many women?

  Although Zhou Jian was influenced by 21st-century thinking, he had been in this era for seventeen years and had long since assimilated into it. Moreover, which man wouldn't want to have three wives and four concubines? Such a wonderful thing would naturally not be refused.

  As for whether He Tu's daughter is beautiful or ugly, it doesn't matter anymore.

  If she's ugly, just send her to the Cold Palace and be done with it. After all, He Tuihu won't have many good years left anyway.

  However, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was about to erupt in the following year.

  Although I don't remember exactly which month it is, I should make some preparations in advance anyway.

  In the outskirts of Anhui County, there is a villa built beside the Wan River, covering an area of several hectares. With many pavilions and towers, small bridges and flowing water, it's like a beautiful painting. This was where General-in-Chief Qiao Xuan lived in seclusion.

  In the afternoon, the weather turned warm.

  In a separate courtyard of the manor, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl was taking care of two little girls.

  Two little girls, one is three years old and a bit more but not yet four, the other is one year old and a bit more, are still learning to speak and can't even walk steadily.

  "Yingying, stop running around and bring me a diaper."

  The girl was holding a wet diaper in her hand and had a one-year-old girl in her arms, apparently having peed her pants.

  "Sister, wait a moment."

  A four-year-old girl responded with a crisp "yes" and immediately ran into the room, took out a piece of green towel made of urine pad.

  The girl obviously had done this before and quickly changed the diaper of the little girl in diapers.

  A one-year-old girl had just stood up, saw an ant crawling from under her foot, wanted to squat down to catch it, but unfortunately, her legs were short and weak, she didn't stand firm, and sat down on the ground with a thud, immediately bursting into loud wails.

  The girl hurriedly picked up the little girl, shaking her and coaxing her, "Jia Jia, don't cry, don't cry."

  At this time, a maid in a green dress rushed in and said: "Miss, Mr. Zhou has arrived."

  "Ah, come quick."

  The girl was startled and hastily took the little girl into the house to wash her hands.

  A four-year-old girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, then chased after the servant woman and ran out of the other courtyard.

  My wife was startled, and hastily supported the girl, "Oh my, Miss Yingying, slow down, don't get hurt, I won't be able to explain to your family. Hurry back home, go inside."

  The little girl refused to obey, and the servant woman had no choice but to lead her out.