Early in the morning, Lu Yu felt a slight ache in his back. He admitted that last night... he had been careless. Three against one, he truly was no match!
Still, he was grateful to the three unnamed "maids" who, for Lu Yu's reserve of postures, no, knowledge reserves, had sacrificed their youthful bodies.
Of course, young masters in ancient times were all like this. Such matters were merely ordinary, with teaching and enlightenment holding far greater significance than practice.
Pushing open the grand door, the first rays of sunlight shone upon Lu Yu's face, a bit dazzling.
Rubbing his groggy eyes, Lu Yu saw his sister, Zhaoji, walking gracefully towards him.
"Young brother Lu Yu doesn't seem to have much spirit..." Cai Zhaoji said with a smile...
Spirit, heh heh... Lu Yu responded with a "heh heh." He was sure... if Cai Zhaoji had been there last night, she would have had even less spirit than him. He had that much confidence.
"Sister Zhaoji, that thing..." Lu Yu stopped speaking, wanting to say more. For a moment, he felt his face was indeed very thin. To talk about such matters with his own sister, he would blush.
"What?" Cai Zhaoji blinked her large eyes. She didn't feel anything. After all... her arrangement with her brother, Lord Cao, was as written in books.
"Sister Zhaoji, from now on... one is enough." Lu Yu didn't state things too explicitly.
Those who understand, understand.
He was still a fifteen-year-old boy, in his growing years. He couldn't expend too much energy or exert himself too hard. What if his nutrition couldn't keep up?
Of course, men of this age were usually full of vigor, and it shouldn't be a big problem. However... having lived two lives, Lu Yu knew the road ahead was long. There was no need to prematurely exhaust himself on a group of concubine maids.
"Oh..." Cai Zhaoji scratched her head. "Sister was thinking, if three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me, hence the 'Rituals of Duke of Zhou' were arranged as a group of three..."
As these words left her mouth, Lu Yu immediately felt three black lines appearing on his forehead.
He inwardly lamented—whether Sister Zhaoji was a true scholar, a true innocent, he didn't know, but Sister Zhaoji's arithmetic must have been taught by the physical education teacher. What a divine "if three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me." Last night, it was clearly four people!
"Cough cough..." he coughed lightly. "Sister Zhaoji, from now on... never mind..."
Chatting about such matters with an innocent girl would likely lead nowhere, unless it was through demonstration.
Sensing this, Lu Yu bypassed the topic. "Sister Zhaoji, I'm a bit hungry. Is there breakfast?"
Of course, he was hungry...
Anyone who toiled all night would be hungry, not just hungry, but also aching!
"It's been prepared since early morning. Old Master Wei was worried there wouldn't be any delicious meals in the new residence, so he specially delivered a table himself..."
Speaking of this, Cai Zhaoji suddenly thought of something. "Also... General Cao Xiu has arrived with three deputy generals. They said there is urgent military business to report to you... they have been waiting in the main hall for an hour."
Oh... military affairs?
Speaking of which, ever since Cao Xiu followed him with these thousand cavalry, Lu Yu had basically left them to their own devices. If Cao Xiu wanted to train, he could train. Anyway, Lu Yu knew nothing about training soldiers and couldn't help much.
As for urgent military affairs? Their most urgent task was to protect his safety... Besides that, what else was worth reporting?
Lu Yu couldn't quite figure it out, but... since they were here, they should report.
"Sister Zhaoji, please have Cao Xiu and his deputy generals go to the dining hall..."
"Alright!" Cai Zhaoji agreed. The maids behind her went to relay the message, while she held Lu Yu's hand.
A brother and sister slowly walked towards the dining hall.
...
The dining table was filled with dishes. Unlike the lamb, dog, and deer at the Wei residence last time... this time there was beef. Lu Yu loved eating beef the most.
In the Han Dynasty, killing cattle was not allowed, as cattle were good friends to farmers. Killing a cow meant less than a hundred mu of land could be plowed!
However, Lu Yu heard from Wei Hong that this was a stupid ox, which accidentally bumped its neck against a knife and killed itself. There was no choice but to stew it and eat it...
For a moment, Lu Yu felt that such a stupid ox, though foolish, was very sensible and cute. He could encounter a few more like it in the future.
"It's rare to encounter a 'stupid ox,' and Old Master Wei specially sent it to Young Master Lu Yu. Cai Yan thanks Old Master Wei on behalf of my brother..."
Sister Zhaoji bowed to Wei Hong. In his eyes, Wei Hong was truly good to her and her brother.
"...Miss Zhaoji is Young Master Lu Yu's sister. This gift, this old man cannot accept it! Haha..." Wei Hong, stroking his beard, replied with a smile.
"Sister Zhaoji, Old Master Wei... let's quickly eat the beef!" Lu Yu placed a large piece of beef into Cai Zhaoji's bowl. Although beef didn't have as rich collagen as pig trotters or chicken feet that could quickly promote the growth of certain parts... it still had some protein. It was better than nothing.
Lu Yu muttered inwardly, "Sister Zhaoji, you must grow up quickly too!"
Just then...
Four burly men strode into the dining hall.
"Young Master Lu, Old Master Wei, Miss Cai!"
Lu Yu looked up, and who else could it be but the newly appointed Ya Men General Cao Xiu?
"Greetings, Young Master Lu, Old Master Wei, Miss Cai!" The three strong men behind Cao Xiu also bowed gracefully.
"We are all brothers, no need for formalities." Lu Yu waved his hand, signaling them to dispense with the ceremony. He disliked these rituals, finding them cumbersome, but living in this era, he had to follow the customs.
"General Cao, why are you here so early? Is there something important?" Lu Yu asked back...
As Cao Xiu and the three deputy generals were about to answer, they looked up and first smelled a rich aroma of meat, then, before their eyes, lay a table full of delicacies.
Instantly, tears of uncontrollable desire flowed from the corners of their mouths.
This sight naturally did not escape Lu Yu's notice.
"General Cao, Generals? Haven't you had breakfast? Come, let's eat together?" Lu Yu beckoned...
Cai Zhaoji gracefully rose and personally set out bowls and chopsticks for them. "Generals, please don't be polite. We are all family, don't be reserved."
"We dare not." How could Cao Xiu dare to dine at the same table as Lu Yu, Cai Zhaoji, and Wei Hong? He quickly cupped his hands and politely declined.
The other three deputy generals also cupped their hands, subconsciously taking a step back. However, the drool at the corners of their mouths had already betrayed them. They were very hungry!
Lu Yu mused, this wasn't right. In the military camp, although it couldn't be as good as Lu Yu's three meals or four meals a day, at least two meals a day could be guaranteed.
It wasn't possible that Old Cao was withholding the military rations for these thousand brothers, was it?
With this thought, Lu Yu knitted his brows.
"General Cao, tell me truthfully? Is Lord Cao withholding your military rations?"
"If you, as a Ya general and a centurion, are so famished, what about the soldiers below? Wouldn't they be unable to get enough to eat?"
"What exactly happened?"
This...
When Lu Yu asked this, Cao Xiu and the three deputy generals exchanged glances.
These words... were exactly the "urgent military business" they had come to report to Lu Yu.
Last night, their thousand brothers received ten days' worth of rations. Normally, this was a common occurrence.
But... they were informed that this was their army's grain for the next two months, and they had to find a way to raise the remaining portion...
The reason for this...
Was because the grain from Yanzhou had to be shared with the hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers and their millions of dependents.
The grain storage in Yanzhou was already stretched thin and almost empty. Not only Cao Xiu's cavalry, but also other officers and soldiers, and even the Qingzhou soldiers, had only received ten days' worth of rations to last for two months.
Now, throughout Yanzhou, the army was in turmoil, the people were restless, and the morale was in great disarray!
...
...