Chapter Twelve: Establishing the County Seat in Fan County

  Lü Rui didn't expect that when he wanted to recruit a warrior as his bodyguard in Chenliu, he would find the historically renowned number one brave warrior of Wei State, Dian Wei. The evil has come, Cao Cao's shortest-lived and most regrettable general. Lü Rui secretly laughed: Heh heh, Evil Come, rest assured, I won't play with women like your previous master did, making you useless. You'd better stay by my side and hunt for me obediently!

  After a three-month journey, Cao Song and Lü Rui returned to Qiao County. After returning to Qiao County, Lü Rui resumed his carefree life. With Dian Wei, the skilled hunter, he could often go hunting in the suburbs to supplement his meals. Ha ha, Dian Wei was capable of catching anything; he could catch tigers on land and dragons at sea. With Dian Wei around, Lü Rui basically had game meat every seven days!

  Today, the sun is shining brightly, Lü Rui is still lying in his bedroom, Ling'er is helping Lü Rui fan himself. Yesterday's hunting trip with Dian Wei was really exhausting, haha, they even caught a few tigers! Didn't expect that there would be so many tigers during the Three Kingdoms period! Just a few steps outside and you'd run into a tiger, no wonder later on there was Zhou Chu who eliminated the three evils!

  Suddenly, a servant came to wake up Lü Rui and told him that Cao Xiong would return to the Cao Mansion at noon and wanted to see Lü Rui after returning home. There was an urgent matter to discuss with Lü Rui. Lü Rui rubbed his eyes, although he didn't want to get up, but there was no way out. Cao Xiong rarely sent someone to inform him so formally, it should be something important. Under the service of Ling'er, Lü Rui bathed and changed clothes, had breakfast, and waited for Cao Xiong in the main hall.

  At noon, Cao Song finally returned to the mansion and summoned Lü Rui in the main hall. After seeing Cao Song sitting in the master seat, Lü Rui bowed his hands and said: "Rui'er, see Grandfather!"

  Cao Song looked at Lü Rui, this child who had grown up in the Cao family since he was a kid, and was still not yet four years old, but was already the young master of the Han Dynasty. What was this? A coincidence or a blessing from heaven for the Cao family? Cao Song didn't know, all he knew was that this child who had brought him joy since he was little was about to leave the Cao family.

  Cao Song wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes and said: "Rui'er, your mansion in Fan County has already been built, after a while you will have to go to Fan County. Once you are there, Rui'er must take good care of yourself, when you have time, come visit Grandfather."

  After finishing speaking, Cao Song again wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes.

  Lü Rui looked at Cao Song's sorrowful appearance and couldn't help but shed tears. Since Lü Rui came to this era, it was the Lü family that gave him life, but indeed, the Cao family raised him for four years now. The kindness they showed him was greater than heaven itself. As he had to leave the Cao residence, he naturally felt sad as well. Lü Rui ran up and grabbed Cao Song's plump hand, shaking it as he said: "Grandfather, Grandfather, rest assured that every year during New Year's, I will return to visit you."

  Zou comforted him, saying: "Sir, Rui is still our adopted son in the Cao family. Although we cannot go against the ancestral rules, during the New Year, Rui can still come back. Don't you have something to give to Rui? Quickly take it out and let Rui see." Lü Rui had already been appointed as the Marquis of Qi. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, a person who has been appointed as a marquis must govern his fiefdom and cannot leave without a special summons. Although the Han Dynasty is not at its peak now, its remaining prestige still exists. If Lü Rui does not go to his fiefdom, there will definitely be rumors, so he must go!

  Cao Song looked at Lü Rui, picked him up and sat him on his lap, stroking his head and saying: "Rui'er, since you have been granted a fiefdom, you must govern Fan County. However, you are still young and cannot govern the fiefdom yourself, so your grandfather has found a national advisor to help you govern Fan County." After finishing speaking, Cao Song pointed to a young man sitting beside him.

  At this time, Lü Rui suddenly found that in the hall, there was a young scholar. The scholar bowed his hands to Lü Rui and said: "Guo Yuan from Shandong, courtesy name Zi Ni, pays respects to the Marquis of Qi."

  Cao Song looked at Guo Yuan and then said: "Rui'er, this is a contemporary great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan's disciple, Guo Yuan. With his help, you will definitely be able to govern Fan County well."

  Lü Rui was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Qi, and his full title should be the Marquis of Fan County in Qi. This is a reward for being one of the founding county marquises of the Han Dynasty. The title of Marquis of Qi is an honorary title that represents Lü Rui's achievements. In fact, there were no real achievements; it was absurd to become a marquis just by sending some medicine. However, in Emperor Ling of Han's mouth, anything is possible. Fan County was Lü Rui's fief and the only place he could really control. After that, Fan County became Lü Rui's world, where he was second only to the emperor!

  Originally, Lü Rui was very happy to be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Qi State, thinking that the entire Qi State, which is equivalent to the Qingzhou and Xuzhou provinces of the Han Dynasty, would belong to him. Unfortunately, Lü Rui didn't know that being a marquis is just an honor, and the fiefdom is the place he can actually control. Fan County, alas, Lü Rui is just a county magistrate after all.

  Well, well, Emperor Ling of Han really knows how to do business, enfeoffing someone as a marquis but not giving much land. Never mind, it's still good that the medicine has been exchanged for a founding county marquis.

  Lv Rui listened, Guo Yuan? Wow, Cao Song's move is really extraordinary! Guo Yuan may not be familiar to everyone now, and there are no stories that have been passed down for centuries in history. However, for Lv Rui who has read the Three Kingdoms history thoroughly, hehe, Guo Yuan is actually one of the three great internal affairs experts in Wei State's history, a master of tuntian (a system of agricultural colonies), besides Zuo Ci and Mao Jie, it was Guo Yuan. Moreover, historical records show that his governed area was full of people who encouraged industry, farming, and commerce, indicating that he was an economic expert, and the common people under his governance were all diligent in their work, resulting in a rich and prosperous life!

  Then, Cao Song also sent a lot of money and servants to Lü Rui, and took Lü Rui hunting. After all, there won't be many such days in the future. In the future, if nothing unexpected happens, Lü Rui will only be able to return to the Cao Mansion during the New Year's festival.

  Three days later, Lü Rui took Guo Yuan, Shi A, and the Dian Wei family, along with their guards and servants, and set off for Fan County in a grand procession. After half a month of travel, Lü Rui finally arrived at Fan County, his own fiefdom, where a small eunuch was waiting for him outside the city.

  Lü Rui had just dismounted his horse when a eunuch came forward and said obsequiously: "I am a subordinate of Grand Councilor Zhang, currently serving as the Yellow Gate Official. Fortunately, Your Majesty and Grand Councilor Zhang have shown me favor, and I was tasked with overseeing the construction of your lordship's mansion. Now that it is complete, I will hand it over to you and then return to the capital to report back to His Majesty and Grand Councilor Zhang."

  Lü Rui smiled and said, "Haha, Zhang Rang, you're clever for a lifetime but foolish for a moment. Eunuchs can't regain their fertility or have descendants, it's really laughable. This is an unsolvable problem for future generations. Lü Rui couldn't do it, and unexpectedly, Zhang Rang believed his words. Alas, stupid eunuch.

  Lü Rui arrived at his own mansion under the leadership of a small eunuch. The Qi State Marquis's Mansion in Fan County! The mansion was grand and majestic, surpassing Cao Song's Cao Mansion in Qiao County. Although both were marquis mansions, the Cao family had a strong foundation, but their mansion couldn't compare to Lü Rui's. Lü Rui knew this was Zhang Rang's intention, trying to curry favor with him!

  The little eunuch looked at Lü Rui, then ran to the front of the door and pressed down on a mechanism beside it. The large gate opened with a creak. Lü Rui was shocked - a mechanism? Good grief! Zhang Rang had actually installed mechanisms in his own mansion. Such an expense wasn't a small sum. Under the eunuch's lead, Lü Rui began to enter his own mansion. Inside his mansion, Lü Rui saw the wonders of ancient mechanisms: water features and towers with hidden mechanisms; automatic water clocks for fetching water; automatic rocking chairs for resting; all sorts of mechanisms. Amazing! It was like a digitized smart home. He hadn't expected that ancient mechanisms would be so wonderful!

  Lü Rui and his entourage arrived at the main hall of Hou Ye's mansion. Lü Rui glanced at Guo Yuan, who said to a young eunuch, "Zhang Gonggong has a good heart; I'll thank him on behalf of our lord!" As Guo Yuan was now the State Minister of Lü Rui's Qi State Hou Ye's mansion, he naturally took charge of these social interactions. After all, in other people's eyes, Lü Rui was just a child not yet four years old.

  The little eunuch bowed and said, "Your Excellency is joking, Zhang Gonggong and Hou Ye are old friends, and this is also the emperor's will. Zhang Gonggong is just being loyal."

  Looking at the eunuch's appearance, Lü Rui patted his hand and said: "Alright, Zhang Gonggong is a good person, I'll sell some more elixirs to Zhang Gonggong, let him have a little baby too!"

  As soon as the eunuch heard this, his eyes narrowed into a slit, and Zhang Gonggong's mission was finally considered complete. It turned out that after Lü Rui gave some elixirs to Zhangrang, he never gave him any more elixirs again. Several times, Zhangrang sent people to urge him, but Lü Rui always refused with excuses. Zhangrang was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, and many people in Luoyang had already given birth to boys relying on the elixir. How could he fall behind others? So he thought of using the Houyefu mansion to please Lü Rui, hoping that Lü Rui would sell more elixirs to him, even if the price was higher, it didn't matter.

  Actually, Zhang Rang didn't know that this was just a case of following the crowd. After Emperor Ling of Han took Hua Tuo's elixir without any side effects, every time he had an imperial concubine, it was a thrilling experience. In ancient times, the imperial palace was indeed the center of rumors and gossip. As soon as Lü Rui's elixir left the palace, it was spread far and wide in an exaggerated manner. Many fake elixirs appeared, and many high-ranking officials took them after which some had sons and naturally attributed their success to Lü Rui's elixir. Those who didn't have a male heir found all sorts of excuses to cover up, not daring to lose face! So, Lü Rui's elixir was naturally an unquestionable divine medicine in high society, and Zhang Rang was one of those who flocked to it.

  The "Book of Wei" in the Records of the Three Kingdoms has a record: Hua Tuo first entered the mansion of Wenxinhou, practiced alchemy and pleased Emperor Wu with elixirs. He presented them to Emperor Han, who was overjoyed and said that the divine power of the elixir could make eunuchs continue their lineage. Later, elixirs flooded the streets of Luoyang, and it's unknown how many genuine ones there were. Only a few genuine ones were stored in Wenxinhou's mansion! High-ranking officials and nobles flocked to get them!

  Poor old Hua Tuo, he's been framed by Lü Bu again. It was originally Lü Bu's doing, but now it's become a conspiracy between Hua Tuo and Cao Cao to deceive Emperor Xian of Han and obtain official positions. Hua Tuo is really speechless, "I'm just researching elixirs and benefiting the people, how did it end up like this? Heaven, it's unjust!"

  The little eunuch looked at Lü Rui and then cupped his hands, saying: "Your Lordship, His Majesty has also found a steward for you to congratulate your entry into Fan County. This person is the designer of your mansion. With him as the steward of your mansion, everything will go smoothly, and he will manage your estate well!"

  Lü Rui listened and smiled, "Haha, Emperor Hanling and Zhang Rang are indeed thoughtful, they even sent a housekeeper?" Guo Yuan looked at the little eunuch and said: "Thank you for your majesty's kindness, I will thank the emperor on behalf of my lord." After finishing speaking, Guo Yuan bowed, Lü Rui was still a child after all, he didn't understand many court etiquette, so it was time for the prime minister to take action!

  Lü Rui took a bite of pear on his throne and said: "Good, bring the housekeeper over for me to take a look."

  The little eunuch bowed and said: "Yes, sir."

  Soon a young scholar in a green robe came before Lü Rui and stuttered: "Greetings, greetings, greetings to the Marquis!"

  Lü Rui was taken aback, "What's going on, Nainai? You're giving me a mute as a gift? Zhang, you old thing, it's really true that nothing good comes cheap. Sending a mute as a housekeeper? Why not send someone more clever? You deserve to be a eunuch!"

  The little eunuch bowed and said, "Your Lordship, this person was originally a small school lieutenant in the Luoyang Arsenal. Because of his clever hands and diligent work, he devoted himself to studying equipment. Zhang Gonggong specially petitioned His Majesty to recommend him as the steward of your lordship's mansion."

  Lü Rui listened and said, "Nainai's, Zhang, you old fox, I reckon this person doesn't look very clever, was demoted by you, and is infatuated with studying machinery? Probably a craftsman, wouldn't have fawned on you if Zhang hadn't sent him over?"

  Lü Rui took a big bite of the pear and then asked: "Housekeeper? Report your name."

  A man in a green robe bowed and said: "I am Ma Ma, courtesy name Deheng. It's an honor to meet you, Your Excellency!"

  Huh, mom, what's up with mom? Why does it sound like scolding someone? Ma Jun? Wait a minute, is he Ma Jun? The number one inventor of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Jun? Wei State's Ma Jun? No way! Thinking of this, Lü Rui looked Ma Jun up and down and asked: "Ma Jun, are you the Ma Jun who invented the waterwheel in Luoyang?"

  Ma Jun was taken aback, wondering how Lü Yi knew about this thing. This was indeed his own invention, but it had not been recognized by the superior officials and had not been promoted. It was only used among some farmers in Luoyang, and he himself had been demoted to this place because of this. Ma Jun cupped his hands and said: "Your Excellency, it is an invention of mine, I don't know how you came to know about it?"

  The little eunuch also stood out and said: "Your Lordship, Zhang Gonggong knows that you like strange things, Ma Jun is good at playing with gadgets, and in the future, it's also good to relieve your boredom for Your Lordship!"

  Lü Rui didn't listen to the eunuch's words at all. Ma Jun, it was really Ma Jun, the talent he wanted to get most in the Three Kingdoms. Lü Rui didn't want to be a vassal and contend for the world, but just wanted to be a rich and noble person here. Ma Jun, this inventor, was his own money tree. The ruler didn't value his inventions, but I, Lü Rui, am looking forward to it! With Ma Jun, he could make money, hehe, thinking that in the future, wealth would constantly flow into his own Houyefu, Lü Rui almost fainted with joy.

  Guo Yuan, who was standing beside him, saw Lü Rui's expression and estimated that the young master of his house had wandered off again. After all, he was still a child. Guo Yuan coughed a few times and said, "Young Master?"

  Lü Rui only reacted now, then raised his hand and said: "Thank you, young public servant. The mansion will host a banquet to celebrate your departure!"

  The little eunuch thanked Lü Rui and retreated, Guo Yuan had already prepared wine and dishes to entertain the little eunuch. After two days, the little eunuch happily returned to Luoyang with the elixir given by Lü Rui. The ceremony of Lü Rui's opening of his mansion in Fan County was officially over, from now on Fan County belonged to Lü Rui, Marquis Qi Guo Lü Rui, and he would start his first step in his official career in Fan County!

  "This dead guy, hurry up and walk, we're almost at Fan County. I heard many refugees have gone there, as long as you have a skill, you won't starve to death."

  "Here they come, here they come, madam! Aren't there still children behind?"

  This is a couple going to Fan County, it has been more than a year since they left Lv Rui's mansion. Fan County is now gathering refugees from nearby areas, as long as someone has a skill, they can survive in Fan County and avoid the disturbance of war.

  In the suburbs of Fan County, Dian Wei carried a dead tiger, took it to the riverbank to skin and debone it, then strung up the meat chunks and returned to the camp by the creek. Lü Bu was hunting here, roasting the tiger, boiling pheasants, and frying river fish - truly all the world's delicacies were gathered in this place! The officials of the Qi State Duke's mansion were all accompanying Lü Bu on the hunt.

  Lü Rui sat down on the ground, and the others also sat down. Lü Rui took a bite of the tiger meat, and it was truly delicious. No wonder rich families used to love eating tiger meat - its texture was elastic and fresh, a rare delicacy in the world! Lü Rui looked at everyone and said: "Eat, eat, why isn't anyone eating?"

  Everyone nodded their hands and thanked Lü Rui before starting to eat.

  After finishing the meal, Lü Rui took a sip of hot tea and asked: "Little Horse, your inventions are all good, but can this barbecue rack be improved to roast more things? I want to roast a whole wild boar in the future!"

  Ma Jun nodded and said: "Lord Hou, I will definitely improve. In the future, I will roast only wild boar for Lord Hou."

  Lü Rui nodded, now Ma Jun is truly in the right place. Lü Rui incorporated the original Fan County into his own fiefdom, calling it the Inner City, where all were his private industries, including the Arsenal, Granary, Equipment Camp and Workshop. These things were handed over to Ma Jun to manage. After handling the affairs of the Marquis's mansion, Ma Jun could tinker with inventions in the Inner City, occasionally surprising Lü Rui while also bringing convenience to the people.

  Guo Yuan saw Lü Rui on top of the ridge, cupped his hands and said: "Your Lordship, the construction of Fan County's new city has been basically completed. All facilities within the county have been built, and with the gathering of refugees from all sides, this year, your lordship's fief will have a harvest."

  Lü Rui was overjoyed, "This is great news! I finally have a fiefdom of my own!" When Lü Rui first arrived in Fan County, he discovered that he had been deceived. How could this place possibly provide him with a fiefdom of 1,000 households? Fan County was located north of the Yellow River and south of the Ji Water, it was a hilly region. Except for the area within a radius of thirty miles around Fan County, which was flat land, the rest were dense forests and mountains, with very few people living there. Moreover, Lü Rui could hardly find any ordinary civilians in Fan County because after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the county town had been deserted, and most of the county's residents were out hunting and gathering to make a living.

  Nainai's, if it were a big county town, surprisingly there aren't many ordinary people, only the account books have written "Fan County population of 10,000 households" in large characters. But in reality, it would be difficult to catch even 10,000 pigs within the county! It was really deceived by Han Lingdi and Zhang Rang. The old master brought nearly 10,000 attendants, servants, and guards. The city is estimated to have only a few thousand people, and they are not in Fan County either, because of the war, everyone can only go out hunting.

  However, this is the case, Lü Rui had no choice but to make a decision, which was to divide the original Fan County into an inner city, making it Lü Rui's private castle, and establish a new Fan County on the outskirts. After planning, Lü Rui handed it over to Guo Yuan to gather the refugees. Anyway, Lü Rui had a large amount of money in his hands, Guo Yuan put in effort, and Lü Rui put in money. In less than a year's time, not only was the new Fan County completed, but the population also surged, exceeding 5,000 households, and Lü Rui's fiefdom had hope!

  Lü Rui looked at Dian Wei, who was eating a pig's leg, and patted him on the back, saying: "Erlai, how are the soldiers you've been training? There shouldn't be any problems defending the county city, right? If anything happens, I'll have you roasted and eaten!" Lü Rui still followed history and gave Dian Wei the nickname Erlai.

  Dian Wei patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, young master, I've trained a thousand tiger-like warriors, enough to defend us!" After finishing speaking, he continued gnawing on his pork leg. Dian Wei was indeed a big eater, with an enormous appetite.

  Lü Rui nodded, a thousand people, enough, now is not the Three Kingdoms era of the novel and game, a thousand soldiers, enough to defend Fan County. In history, the coalition forces of the Eastern Han dynasty, the small vassals also brought only a few thousand people to conquer Dong Zhuo, a thousand people defending Fan County, more than enough. Cao Cao initially had only five thousand soldiers when he started his army, Liu Bei even less, three hundred people rushed out to destroy the Yellow Turbans. The army is not just a group of officials, but well-trained and equipped soldiers, especially Lü Rui's soldiers, with money, their equipment must be the best!

  Just as Lü Rui and others were hunting, a soldier suddenly brought news: Emperor Ling of Han had passed away!