Chapter 6760 Big News

Judging from the recent situation of the Roman Empire, it is very likely that they will agree to Chen Xi's proposal. After all, Odin is closest to Rome. If something really goes wrong, Rome will definitely be the first to suffer. After all, the three major empires cannot guarantee that Odin only has these few trump cards now. After all, he is a god king. If he thinks of something troublesome, it will be bad for everyone.

"Okay then, I'll send someone to communicate with Rome." Guo Jia nodded, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Rome has been quite reasonable recently."

Chen Xi raised his eyebrows when he heard this. That was not reasonable. It was just because he knew that the matter was too big and he had to be reasonable. If it weren't for the fun that Locust Sky had created, Rome would still be besieging and blocking Odin. Being reasonable? What a joke. When would the empire be reasonable?

"Then there shouldn't be any problem. Kong Ming, you keep a close eye on Prime Minister Cao. Remember to tell me if there's any news." Chen Xi looked around and after making sure that nothing serious happened, he gave Zhuge Liang a few words of advice. The death of Cao Hong was indeed a big deal, but that was all. For someone at Chen Xi's level, the most he could do was sigh.

"I will continue to pay attention to this and notify you when there is news." Zhuge Liang nodded to Chen Xi and said, "If Rome takes action, do we have to prepare in advance? Speaking of which, I don't trust Rome too much in these matters. Their behavior is somewhat confusing in some matters."

"It's okay. If something really happens, we still have Rome to support us. It won't be a big problem. Rome will be the first to suffer, and then we will be the last." Chen Xi said indifferently, "Well, what are we going to cook in the kitchen tonight?"

"If it tastes good, you can stay at work a little longer. If it doesn't taste good, you can leave work now, right?" Li You directly said the second half of Chen Xi's thoughts.

"That's about right." Chen Xi didn't deny it. He really thought so.

"For dinner, we'll have cannonballs and pancakes." Guo Jia said casually. The kitchen had sent someone to inform him today, so he decided to work overtime until dinner.

"So you guys haven't left work yet, are you actually waiting for dinner?" Chen Xi looked at this group of guys who should have disappeared by this time, all working in the Government Office, with a bit of contempt. Well, Zhuge Liang was not waiting for dinner, he might be waiting for a midnight snack.

"We can have dinner while working." Fa Zheng said casually, "It's rare that the princess ordered the kitchen to serve the emperor's eight delicacies. We can't just run away like this."

Although Chen Xi often joked that the Emperor's Eight Delicacies were nothing special, most of the time the palace kitchen would not prepare such food for the ministers on duty. After all, what matters is not only the taste but also the grade. If they always prepare such food for the ministers on duty, they will become disillusioned with Tailao, just like Wu An Jun. So after realizing this, Liu Tong ordered the kitchen to prepare the Emperor's Eight Delicacies for the ministers on duty no more than ten times a year.

So every time the kitchen received news that the emperor's eight delicacies would be served for lunch or dinner, they would notify all the ministers on duty in advance, and then more than 95% of the ministers would resolutely work until dinner time. Even if they had finished their work for the day, they would just have this meal before leaving.

"It feels like a pancake wrapped in barbecue." Chen Xi thought for a moment and said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Why don't you leave?" Guo Jia asked jokingly.

"Of course we have to eat before we leave. Roast beef?" Chen Xi asked curiously.

"Probably." Fa Zheng said cheerfully. He did not run away. He prepared the food well. Although no one would care if he ate it secretly, only here this thing was considered the Eight Delicacies of the Emperor!
While a group of people in the Executive Yuan were chatting and having a big meal at night, Liu Bei was taking Liu Chan to visit the newly refreshed elite veterans near Chang'an.

In order to ensure the strength of the Chang'an Imperial Guard and prevent the situation where the border troops are more capable than the Imperial Guard, Liu Bei would rotate these elite veterans from local areas every two years or so. During the time they serve as the Imperial Guard, Chang'an would arrange them in several residential areas specially built for the Imperial Guard.

Every time after the new guards were replaced, Liu Bei would come to take a look. Although he knew most of the guards who could come to Chang'an, after all, veterans who could reach this level were elites with very complete life experiences. Many of them had been met by Liu Bei when he was getting to know other veterans during the second or third level of training, or even earlier. When they were able to come to the Weiyang Palace to make a living...

Theoretically, Liu Bei should be able to recognize every one of them, but occasionally there would be guys that Liu Bei didn't know at all. Although these cases were rare, they did exist.

For example, now Liu Bei met an old soldier he didn’t know. Fortunately, this old soldier knew the old soldier next door, the old soldier next door knew Liu Bei, and the old soldier next door and this old soldier were from the same hometown, so it was confirmed that they were indeed brothers.

"By the way, you are from Hebei." Liu Bei looked at Mei Wan opposite him with a strange expression. He found it unbelievable that there were elite veterans in Hebei whom he, Liu Bei, did not know. This was too incredible.

"My ancestral home is not here. I moved there later. When I was in Yanzhou, I joined the Taiwei's army." Mei Wan also felt helpless. "I fought against the Great Halberd Warriors with Brother Li, and fought against the Xiongnu with Uncle Guang. Later, I was stationed in Jizhou and was given a house."

Liu Bei began to recall, and he indeed remembered that there was such a person under Li Huan, but he had never seen him. Recalling Jiang Guang, he also recalled that there was such a person, but he had not seen him either. When he conquered Jizhou and sent elite veterans to suppress Jizhou, he seemed to have seen this name when the houses were divided, but he did not see him. Thinking again, during the Jizhou case, he seemed to have heard someone mention this name, but he still had not seen him.

"What's going on with you?" Liu Bei looked strange. So I've seen you in the merit book so many times, but I've never seen you in person?

"When we were at Guandu, I was injured and carried away when I was chopping down the halberd soldiers. When we were at the northern border, I was injured again and was carried away when I was chopping down the Northern Xiongnu's royal guards. When the houses were divided in Jizhou, I was recuperating from my injuries. Later, when you called on the old soldiers to attack the Ganges, I was at the Ganges." Mei Wan said helplessly. He was also helpless. Every time he had the opportunity to meet Liu Bei, he was either being chopped down or chopping others.

"But, we still see it." Liu Bei said with a smile. This kind of unlucky situation does happen occasionally, but seeing that Mei Wan is safe and sound now, she has been injured so many times, but she is fine. It is also a skill.

"Brother Mei, come out and pick up the express." Just as Mei Wan was about to say something teasing, he heard someone calling him outside. Mei Wan quickly apologized to Liu Bei, then walked out quickly to see what the express was.

Then Liu Bei saw Mei Wan bringing four children in, and he was stunned. Aren’t they express deliveries?

"Quick, call him Lord Xuande." Mei Wan held the four children and saluted to Liu Bei. Liu Bei looked at the four kids, touched their bodies, and gave each child a red envelope. Then Mei Wan declined and let the children accept the red envelope.

"It's strange. There are only children. Isn't your wife here with you?" Liu Bei asked curiously after the children left. Mei Wan had just been transferred here from Hebei, and his wife and children had not come yet. Now that the children have arrived, Mei Wan's wife has not shown up yet. What's going on?
Logically speaking, now that the child is here, the lady should come too. The previous files had written about Madam Mei Wan's situation. After all, it is better for the imperial guards to marry and have children.

"My wife is originally from Sanfu. She went to her parents' home first and stayed there for a few days. I had someone inform her that I had arranged for her and the child to move in. She said that she had something to do at her parents' home and had to stay for a few more days. Then she sent my three daughters and one son over by express." Mei Wan said a little embarrassedly, "But the express delivery from Sanfu is really fast. Her letter arrived with the child, and the child hardly ate any of the food he brought."

"Wait? Your wife sent your children over by express delivery?" Liu Bei was silent for a long time and couldn't figure out what this was doing.

"Yes, the logistics industry in Jizhou has been developed in the past two years. My workplace is quite far from my hometown, so my wife sends my children to my workplace every half a month. After they eat and drink for a while, I will send them back from the logistics center." Mei Wan said casually, not thinking there was anything wrong with it. Or could there be any problem with it?

"Will there really be no problems like this?" Liu Bei asked with some doubt.

"What could be the problem?" Mei Wan didn't understand what the problem was. "Just prepare some food for the children when you leave. We are all being pulled by a cart, and there are people watching us along the way. We are also on a public road, so we need to confirm where we are going every day. And for children, there will be people to confirm when we arrive at the local station, so it's much faster than walking by yourself."

Liu Bei said that he had never thought that he could do this, but if he thought about it carefully, there seemed to be no problem. As for child trafficking, the logistics industry of the Han Dynasty was officially run, and the stations were also run by professionals from the military. Mei Wan used to be on duty at the Changshan Logistics Center.

"In the past, we would ask someone to bring the kids here. Later, we found that we could just get a transportation certificate and hang the kid's neck. It only cost a little money and the kid could be sent all the way here. It's also convenient. In Jizhou, many people have to go out and can't bring their kids, so they just send their kids to their relatives' homes." Mei Wan didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all and looked proud.

This operation was actually done by Mei Wan and other veterans who moved back to their hometown and joined the Jianyong Han Logistics Group. Jizhou was one of the earliest states to promote the logistics industry, and the logistics industry was relatively developed compared to other places. However, due to the particularity of the logistics industry, many veterans could not be arranged in their hometowns.

If other veterans are assigned to work far away, there is really nothing they can do. They can only see their fathers a few times a year. But it is different for the guys in charge of the logistics industry. They can ask local guys to take their children to the station, and then take a ride to the station where their fathers are.

Because they have been in large stations for a long time, they naturally see some things that are to be sent to their own towns, and they have also seen things sent from their own towns and passing through their stations. The existence of this kind of things makes Mei Wan and others realize that they can ask local brothers to bring their children to the station when picking up local goods, and then send them with the goods. When passing through this station, they can just pick up the children and it's done!

Especially later, after the logistics industry established by Jian Yong in Jizhou flourished, Mei Wan's way of playing became more convenient. Every day, there were goods shipped from her own town to her point. In other words, she could send her children back and forth every day.

Originally, this was just a benefit for people in the logistics industry, until one day, a local guy had something to do and asked someone to replace him at work. The person in charge was a little too rule-abiding, and then he gave the child a note with the delivery point, and then sent the child back and forth.

This situation became popular in Jizhou later, because logistics trucks can go to many more places than buses. Buses often have limited locations and require transfers from place to place, but logistics trucks are much simpler. They just stick to the right location and can deliver the goods all the way. Although transfers are still required in the middle, there is no need to change places. More importantly, logistics trucks are even cheaper than buses.

It has become common for people in Jizhou to give themselves notes and take logistics trucks to travel long distances. This is especially true for veterans who move, who often give their entire family a note about the destination and send them off together.

On the other hand, in Chang'an, the local couriers encountered this situation for the first time.

However, the Changan courier, who encountered this situation for the first time, did not think there was any problem.

"It seems, there is indeed no problem." After listening to Mei Wan's explanation, Liu Bei was silent for a long time, lowered his head and thought for a while, and felt that there was indeed no problem. Although it was quite strange, it seemed that he could not find any problem.

Liu Bei did not consider the safety issues or the problem of children falling from the car. These were not a problem in rural areas even in the late 20th century, let alone in this day and age.

As for the problem of kidnappers, they really couldn't beat these old soldiers, even some disabled ones. No one dared to mess with such anti-human creatures as kidnappers, because once a kidnapper was discovered these days, he would really die. If they were beaten to death directly, not only would they not be guilty, but they would also receive rewards. However, if kidnappers were caught alive, they would be crucified directly after official verification, and they were not allowed to collect their bodies.

In the Han Dynasty, all human traffickers who were caught were subject to this criminal law, and were always dealt with severely and strictly. This was because there was a big boss involved in human traffickers in the Han Dynasty, namely Empress Dowager Dou. Empress Dowager Dou’s younger brother was abducted by human traffickers when she was a child. Later, when Empress Dowager Dou became the queen, she finally found her younger brother.

When he asked about his brother's experience, he found that hundreds of people died in illegal mining, and only his brother was left. How could he tolerate this? The whole family of the human traffickers must die!
From then on, as long as it was confirmed that someone was a human trafficker, they would be crucified and the body would be abandoned. The Empress Dowager Dou's meaning was very clear. Stealing children and separating children from their parents, right? Fine, if you catch them, you will be physically separated from their parents and then you will be killed!
This law was very cruel, but it was not changed during the Han Dynasty. During the Yuanfeng Dynasty, after Man Chong's review, the old practice was still followed and the human traffickers were still treated the same way when they were caught. So you could buy and sell people these days, and you could even adopt a child after negotiating with another family, but if you stole a child, you would be killed!

In short, some parts of the laws of the Han Dynasty were indeed strange. If you killed someone, you would generally be sentenced to the conventional death penalty. If you had a reason, you might not even have to die. But if you stole a child, you would definitely ask for a quick death if you were caught.

Chen Xi felt it was a bit strange, but he thought it was understandable, so he didn't change it, so that the number of kidnappers has basically dropped to zero these days.

After all, if you do something else, the Han Dynasty will not chase you too closely. It's fine as long as you can get through. If you hide, it won't be a big problem morally, and the Han Dynasty will turn a blind eye. But if you kidnap a child, you will really be chased and chopped.

"General, is General here?" Mei Wan had some braised meat prepared from outside, and also called over a few people around him who were familiar with him and the old brothers who had made outstanding contributions that Liu Bei had met. She prepared a table of food at home, intending to have a meal with Liu Bei and his old brothers, which was also a way to show his face. However, before the banquet even started, someone outside was calling out.

"Yes, the commander is over here." Mei Wan called out to the outside.

As soon as these words came out, Huang Tao refreshed himself in the courtyard and excitedly greeted Liu Bei, "General, big news, Cao Zixiu has succeeded to the throne of Kandahar!"

"Ah?" Liu Bei was shocked when he heard this. Looking at Huang Tao's excited face, Liu Bei realized that something big had happened. Although the intelligence system in Chang'an had not received such news, Huang Tao's news was trustworthy. After all, even if Chang'an's intelligence system was equipped with carrier wings, it might not be as fast as Huang Tao's when he was risking his life. Moreover, Huang Tao would often bring Liu Bei some big news from Central Asia.

"Lao Cao fell this afternoon, and the crown prince Cao Zixiu took over. I saw with my own eyes that Cao Zixiu had someone take Lao Cao away and fly north. I quickly crossed the Himalayas and ran back in a straight line. It was so shocking. Lao Cao really fell. I saw Cao Zixiu wearing the crown." Huang Tao said excitedly, "Lao Cao's era is really over. Can I prepare weapons now?"

Liu Bei was completely silenced by Huang Tao. Although the news was extremely outrageous, Liu Bei believed that Huang Tao's news was absolutely trustworthy.

"I remember you are from Huaibei." Liu Bei was silent for a while.

"Yes, my ancestral home is Guangling in Xuzhou. Generally speaking, I am from Huaishui. My family was not massacred by Cao, but if the elder brother in the north of Xuzhou asks me to take revenge, I will definitely go." Huang Tao said very seriously, "When he was the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, I could choose not to go, but now he is not, so I can go."

"Cao Zixiu succeeded to the throne?" Liu Bei sighed and changed the subject.

"Yes, I saw with my own eyes that Cao Zixiu came out with the crown and tassels to calm people's hearts, and then he walked through the Himalayas and passed through Zangzhou to Chang'an." Huang Tao nodded and said, "Old Cao was helped by someone to fly to the north, but I can't be sure if it was Old Cao's real body."

The foreign guests have been received, the activities have ended, and I can update normally again. In other words, my updates will soon become unstable again.