Chapter 352

Gu Yi and Dong Bai also expressed their understanding.

After Old Dong handed over the power in his hands to Gu Yi, he officially began a retired life.

And in his retired life, being able to have this great-grandson A-Huan accompany him was undoubtedly the happiest thing in the world for Old Dong.

……

After Dong Bai gave birth to the eldest son A-Huan, Diao Chan, Wu Mi, and Ma Yunlu also gave birth to children one after another.

However,

the three of them all gave birth to daughters.

But for Gu Yi, daughters were also equally important.

He didn't have the patriarchal thoughts of the ancient times.

As the saying goes, a daughter is a close-fitting little cotton-padded jacket.

After having the eldest son A-Huan,

even if the children born to these concubines were all daughters, Gu Yi wouldn't have any complaints in his heart.

However,

the concubines giving birth one after another formed a great stimulus in the eyes of Gu Yi's other concubines.

They also wanted to have a child as soon as possible.

Consequently, this group of beautiful concubines developed a competition among themselves.

They displayed all eighteen martial arts, hoping that Gu Yi would favor them more often.

Gu Yi wouldn't intervene in the benign competition between the harem.

Anyway, no matter how this group of concubines tossed and turned,

the ultimate beneficiary was himself.

And he could experience different knowledge and happiness from this group of beautiful concubines, so why not do it?

Gu Yi, who possessed a 'steel kidney,' quickly impregnated all the concubines who hadn't become pregnant yet.

However,

half a month later,

the scale of his harem expanded somewhat.

Besides the newly taken Sun Shangxiang, Gu Yi also obtained two stunning beauties brought by Qiao Rui from Huainan.

These two were precisely Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao.

Besides being a subordinate general of Yuan Shu, Qiao Rui was also a collateral branch of the Qiao family of Huainan.

(PS: In the late Han era, 'Qiao' and 'Qiao' are actually the same; they are interchangeable characters.)

(Some novels set Qiao Rui directly as the father of Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, but according to existing timeline research, this statement is not very accurate.)

(Here, the little author sets Qiao Rui as a collateral branch of the Qiao family, and the father of Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao is still set as the Qiao family head, Qiao Gong.)

The Qiao family of Huainan could be considered a famous and powerful clan in the early Eastern Han Dynasty.

But as time passed, the Qiao family became increasingly decadent.

Especially the death of the Administrator of Dong Commandery, Qiao Mao, which caused the young generation of the Qiao family to directly break off.

Qiao Mao was once one of the Guandong warlords, that is, the nephew of the Qiao family head Qiao Gong, and the cousin of Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao.

The Qiao family exhausted almost all family resources to barely send Qiao Mao to the position of a capital official.

But after Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Qiao Mao chose to mix with Yuan Shao and was recommended to the position of Administrator of Dong Commandery.

After the first coalition of warlords against Dong Zhuo failed, because Qiao Mao had a conflict with the Inspector of Yanzhou, Liu Dai,

under the instigation of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Liu Dai and Qiao Mao fought fiercely.

Liu Dai was, after all, a dignified Inspector of Yanzhou, and the troops he could control were far more than this fellow Qiao Mao.

Ultimately, Qiao Mao was defeated and died.

And his death also doomed the complete decadence of the Qiao family.

Afterward, the Qiao family head, Qiao Gong, set his sights on the collateral branch of the family, Qiao Rui.

After Yuan Shu died, Qiao Rui thought that joining Gu Yi should be done with his own sincerity.

According to his understanding of Prime Minister Gu, beauties were undoubtedly the Prime Minister's favorite.

Classic examples include:

Zhang Lu married his sister Zhang Mei to Gu Yi, ensuring the Five Pecks of Rice Sect of Hanzhong could continue to exist.

Wu Yi married his sister Wu Mi to Gu Yi, not only ensuring his status and identity but also becoming the leader of the Shu region's military generals under Gu Yi's command.

Qiao Rui himself didn't have much ability.

Compared to other military generals under Gu Yi's command, Qiao Rui could almost be said to be completely crushed.

Therefore, he had to save the country through some alternative means.

Only in this way could he ensure a smooth official career.

Under such circumstances, Qiao Rui set his sights on the two daughters of Qiao Gong, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao.

These two daughters were just at the prime age of sixteen.

In the Huainan region, they were already famous beauties far and near.

Qiao Rui persuaded Qiao Gong to marry these two daughters to Gu Yi.

Not only could it ensure the survival of the Qiao family, but it might also make the Qiao family restore its past glory!

Persuaded by Qiao Rui, how could Qiao Gong have any objections?

He readily handed Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao to Qiao Rui, letting Qiao Rui offer these two daughters to Gu Yi.

The facts were exactly as Qiao Rui had envisioned.

Gu Yi greatly appreciated those who knew how to handle things.

He immediately conferred an official position on Qiao Rui and also bestowed a title.

This made Qiao Rui overjoyed, and he patted his chest to swear allegiance to Gu Yi.

However,

Qiao Rui was not someone without self-awareness.

He knew that commanding forty thousand troops with his ability was truly asking too much.

Therefore, Qiao Rui directly handed over the military power in his hands and transferred to become a civil official.

Regarding this, Gu Yi did not stint on the rewards for Qiao Rui.

Along with it, the Qiao family also gained quite a few benefits.

Gu Yi allowed the Qiao family to move their family from Huainan to Chang'an.

The current Huainan, due to the fierce battle between Sun Ce and Liu Bei, was already dilapidated.

By comparison, Chang'an, as the capital of the Han Dynasty, could be called the most prosperous city in the world without any exaggeration.

The Qiao family naturally wouldn't have any aversion to the migration.

Furthermore, with Qiao Rui serving as an official under Gu Yi, the Qiao family would always be able to obtain a place in Chang'an in the future.

Although they couldn't restore the glory of the Qiao family's peak in the past for the time being, this was already an extremely difficult thing for the Qiao family, which was going downhill and never returning.

And the sisters Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were also extremely grateful for Gu Yi's generosity.

The two sisters exerted all their strength to show their most beautiful side to Gu Yi.

It must be said,

different styles indeed bring different experiences.

Lujiang Commandery is close to Jiangnan, and the sisters Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao had a unique demeanor of southern beauties since childhood.

The sisters serving Gu Yi together added a different kind of charm.

……

Yanzhou.

Chen Liu City.

Cao Cao looked at the intelligence presented on the desk, his brows locked.

Originally, he thought that sending Xia Houyuan to lead fifty thousand troops to take Yizhou was a very exquisite move for the Cao army.

But now, Cao Cao finally realized that this Yizhou was completely a huge pit!

In Cao Cao's inherent impression, Yizhou was one of the two most prosperous states in the entire Great Han.

And Yizhou was known as the base camp of the aristocratic families of the world.

Moreover, Yuzhou is known as the base camp for the aristocratic families of the world.