At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Guo Peng happily accepted a large number of gifts from these tribes, such as cattle, sheep and horses, bone products, leather products, gold and silver, and then obtained a certificate from Guo Peng to participate in the Hu City.

Guo Peng didn't take all these incomes, but gave them to his subordinates for meritorious service, and used them to improve the life of the army, etc. The soldiers were very happy, and they trained harder.

On the other side, the Zong members re-established a relationship with a group of mild-mannered soldiers and local tyrants through Hushi, improved the mutual distrust between them, and successfully attracted some people who were willing to do things for them.

Of course, some people were rejected by the clan members, because they had always had personal grievances with the clan members. The clan members saw that they were unhappy, so they would not be allowed to participate in the Hushi.

This is a matter for the clan members, and Guo Peng will not interfere.

He and the sect members exchanged lists and trade contents, and announced the convening of the Hu Market together, with a time limit of one month, allowing people from all over the country to participate in the Hu Market in Ning County.

Guo Peng mobilized the army to set up the Hushi market, and set the Hushi market some distance away from the county seat of Ningxian County to ensure that the people of Ningxian County would not be affected.

For this reason, Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were also sent to lead the army to guard the place and maintain order.

Then, Guo Peng sat and waited for those wealthy businessmen who came here to participate in Hushi to come to see him.

Power, status, status, and prestige can’t just do nothing. You have to do it well and do it well. On the basis of social consensus, you can maximize your status, power, and reputation.

The military exploits exchanged for life is not just a Yangzhai Tinghou rewarded by the court. Many things that come with it are not directly delivered to the hands, but they must be developed by themselves.

The first people who came to see Guo Peng were recommended by Liu Bei. They were Zhongshan horse merchants Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping who had helped Liu Bei raise his troops.

These two people knew their status, so they came to visit Guo Peng cautiously. As a result, Guo Peng entertained them very warmly and talked with them cordially. There was no intention of belittling or blackmailing them in his words, which made them flattered.

They brought a lot of gifts, and the most valuable ones were war horses. They gave away twenty horses. These twenty horses were not ordinary horses, they were all white horses.

As soon as Guo Peng guessed, he knew that it was Liu Bei who reminded them.

Liu Bei once saw the war horse under Guo Peng's crotch, and asked Guo Peng if he liked white horses. It seemed unintentional, but he didn't expect to use this place.

Is this really going to be the White Horse General?

Needless to say, after defeating Helian, Guo Peng went to the Karasuma Tribe several times to negotiate with them and mediate conflicts between the tribes. They already had the perception that "the one riding the white horse is Guo Xiaowei".

Guo Peng took the hands of the two and told them that the Hushi Market would reopen, as long as they wanted to come, they could come, and as long as they followed the rules, doing business was a good thing.

The two were very happy, and left Guo Peng's mansion with gratitude.

After that, many Han businessmen came to visit Guo Peng.

These Han merchants are often not here to buy things, but to sell things, compete with the Hu people, and sell horses and other supplies that are in short supply in the Central Plains.

Because of this relationship, I hope to get Guo Peng's care.

Seeing the gifts they gave, Guo Peng naturally happily agreed to take good care of them.

Merchants who came to buy things also came to visit Guo Peng. Of course, they came to buy things and had different needs.

The main purpose of coming to see Guo Peng was to get to know Guo Peng, with some other purposes, such as obtaining a stable market for buying horses, cattle and sheep, etc.

Guo Peng met a lot of businessmen, some of these businessmen were from the south of the Yangtze River. They were businessmen with the four surnames of Gu Lu, Zhu and Zhang. I have lived and done business in Hebei for a long time. aspects of cooperation.

Guo Peng has great prestige and holds the lifeline of Hu people's transactions. In the eyes of these people, he is a very important figure.

Only with Guo Peng's permission can they legally contact the Hu tribe and buy huge amounts of goods directly from the Hu tribe without worrying about being seized.

Among them, Guo Peng came into contact with well-known local wealthy families such as the Mi family in Xuzhou, the Chen family in Xuzhou, and the Wuji Zhen family. They made friends with Guo Peng one after another, gave gifts, and sought ways to buy goods.

Some of their introductions made Guo Peng realize that he can actually rely on his own power and advantages to find a way to become rich for himself.

He controlled the Karasuma tribe, and the Karasuma tribe respected him and presented him with many horses, cattle and sheep. In addition to the seizures from previous wars, he mastered a large number of cattle, sheep and horses, and sent people to graze them at the foot of the Great Wall to improve their lives. .

But here, these livestock are either used for food or farming, and the horses can only be used for riding. However, if they are sold to the Central Plains, the profit will be several times or even ten times as soon as they are changed hands. How many of the same things can be bought with the money ?

Guo Peng felt that he had to adapt to local conditions, give full play to his own advantages, and use his geographical advantages to gain more wealth, so as to expand his power.

But Guo Peng would have to spend a lot of effort if he did it himself, and he didn't have the energy. There was no reliable merchant in his family, and it would be embarrassing if he couldn't find a market for the goods.

Moreover, mutual wariness and discrimination between regions are very serious these days, and outsiders are absolutely not acclimatized.

Then the best way is to find someone to cooperate with, and find a merchant with a reliable market to cooperate with.

After thinking about it for a while, Guo Peng decided to contact the Xuzhou Mi family.

Chapter 106. Some Questions about Zhang Fei

Before writing this article, I collected a lot of historical materials. For each character to be written, I read their biographies in "Three Kingdoms" and "Book of the Later Han Dynasty". After all, they are first-hand historical materials with the highest reliability.

Some modern people's views on Zhang Fei are mainly derived from the Ming Dynasty. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was written in the Ming Dynasty, which is far away from the Han Dynasty. Like modern people, when Luo Guanzhong wrote the Romance, he would not be able to get close to the times and impose the situation at that time on the The situation in the late Han Dynasty.

The conditions of their times were worse than those of modern times. The means of searching for information in modern times were more and more comprehensive, but the conditions at that time were even worse, and the information available was even less.

For example, Zhang Fei is a butcher, a local tyrant, and has family assets. In fact, Zhang Fei’s biography in the official history does not mention Zhang Fei’s background. Regarding the records of his early years, there are only “Zhang Fei’s character is Yide, and he was born in Zhuojun. Shao and Yu are both masters in advance, Yu is a few years older, brother Fei is the same as this sentence.

The so-called Zhang Fei is a local tyrant, very rich, good at calligraphy, a white-faced scholar, very handsome, good at drawing pictures of beauties, etc. There is no record in the history books that can prove it.

And many people think that Zhang Fei should express the word Yide to match "Fei", but in fact, the ancient character "Yi" is a common name for "鹢", which is a kind of water bird that can fly.

All theories originated in the Ming Dynasty and were fabricated by literati in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. The causes of formation are relatively complicated. There are special detailed explanations on the Internet, and those who are interested can learn about it.

In fact, if you think about it, you can understand that Liu Bei was not an aristocrat, he could only be regarded as a knight-errant at the time, and there were tens of thousands of clan members in the Han family.

Guan Yu is another murderer who committed a crime and fled to Youzhou for refuge. This status can make Zhang Fei "brother matter". Obviously Zhang Fei is not from a wealthy family.

Another point, which one of the rich children in the family didn't get married early?

Even Guan Yu got married and had children in his hometown, but Zhang Fei took Xia Houyuan's 36-year-old niece as his wife at the age of 14, and then had children. Obviously, they were not children from rich families, and their family background was not even as good as Guan Yu's. .

In 184, the three fought against the Yellow Turban. At that time, Liu Bei was 24 years old and Zhang Fei was 20 years old. Before that, he and Guan Yu had been with Liu Bei, which means he followed Liu Bei at the age of sixteen or seventeen.

There are also some common sense issues, such as the so-called beauty painting, the traditional famous beauty painting is the painting of ladies, which only shined in the Tang Dynasty, and the paper that can be used for painting at the end of the Han Dynasty did not meet the standard, and people still use bamboo slips and silk to write. , Painting murals, brick paintings, and Zhang Fei painting pictures of beauties, it really doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

The so-called two daughters are queens, so Zhang Fei must be handsome. In fact, it cannot stand up to scrutiny. Specifically, you can go and see the actor Li Jingfei who played Zhang Fei in the old version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. , by personal experience, his daughter is so beautiful.

chapter 107. one hundred seven

The reason why Guo Peng chose Xuzhou Mi's is very simple.

The background of the Mi family in Xuzhou is simple and uncomplicated. No one from the ancestors of the family is an official. The official connection is weak, and the social status is low, so it is easy to win over and negotiate conditions.

Guo Peng not only has the source of goods and the right to approve and approve the Hu tribe, but also has a relationship with the central government and his status as a celebrity.

To the bosses, I am naturally nothing, but to a pure local tyrant like Xuzhou Mi's, such an identity is fatally attractive.

But for those powerful families who have official figures in their families and their own network of relationships, they don't have such a big advantage.

Speaking of it, I really want to thank Liu Bei. If he hadn't thought of Liu Bei's series of encounters in Xuzhou later, Guo Peng would never have thought that he could have a relationship with the Mi family in Xuzhou.

So Guo Peng immediately sent people to Mi's family members to negotiate.

Mi's family came to Guo Peng's mansion anxiously, saw the enthusiastic Guo Peng, and it took a while to understand what Guo Peng meant.

It turned out that Guo Peng wanted to use his sufficient resources of cattle, sheep and horses to cooperate with the Mi family. He would provide goods and escorts.

Mi's is in charge of sales, and everyone can sit down and talk about the profits they get.

This somewhat shocking news made Mi's family a little confused, and it took a while to react, and it was a bit difficult to ask Guo Peng whether the matter was true or false.

"Will Guo make you happy with this kind of thing?"

Only then did the Mi's family confirm that Guo Peng was definitely not joking, but had an idea in this regard, so they immediately said that the matter was serious and he could not make the decision by himself, so he would inform the Xuzhou family about this as soon as possible, and let the Xuzhou family Give Guo Peng an answer as soon as possible.

Guo Peng said yes.

During the waiting period, Hushi went smoothly. Guo Peng arranged for soldiers to maintain order, and he himself went to Hushi three times to check the fairness of Hushi transactions.

He repeatedly warned everyone that although money is a good thing, but based on honesty, you can continue to make money. If you cheat and deceive people, you will lose your reputation. Everyone must distinguish between the serious and the serious.

As a result, Guo Peng's reputation of being fair and wise spread again, and many businessmen came to Hushi to participate in the trade. Many people returned with full rewards, and the transaction went smoothly.

Those who were too far away to participate in the Hu Fair asked Guo Peng and the Zong members whether they could be notified in advance of the future Hu Fair, or to extend the opening period, etc.

Upon learning of this, Guo Peng communicated with the members of the sect, saying that there might be some hope for the cost of Youzhou in the future.

During the same period, Guo Peng received a letter from his hometown Qiao County, which was written by Guo Dan himself.

Guo Dan asked about his recent situation, praised his efforts, told him some ways to be an official, etc., and finally mentioned some family matters.

For example, after he became Prime Minister of the Pei Kingdom, his family's manor and the land under his control increased, and many refugees from the surrounding area came to join him.

He took in these refugees to reclaim wasteland, and wanted to build a solid foundation for Guo Peng to use in his career.

He didn't want Guo Peng to rely on other people honestly and accept the kindness of others, so that it would be difficult to pay back in the future.

So he worked very hard to build a new manor, recruit refugees to expand the scope of Guo's manor, and use his authority to benefit himself. Guo Peng didn't know how to express this.

But there is no doubt that this is a good thing.

Guo Peng thought about it carefully. The Xiahou family, the Cao family and the Guo family gathered in Qiao County. The three families are his own family, and they are the forces he can rely on. The stronger the power, the more refugees will be taken in, and the more wasteland will be reclaimed. When troubled times come in the future, one's family background will be richer.

Especially the Guo family, which is completely his own, if he uses it well, he can provide him with great help.

So Guo Peng started to send his extra money back to his hometown to Guo Dan, and asked Guo Dan to use it to expand the scope of Guo's manor and accommodate more refugees.

The more people in the family manor, the more powerful they can accumulate.

Liu Bei was almost destroyed when he was in Xuzhou. At the critical moment, Mi Zhu handed over more than 2000 servants of the Mi family to Liu Bei's commander, and paid for Liu Bei's rebuilding of the army. .

The family takes in refugees, and they can draw manpower from them to form family soldiers, whose obedience and loyalty far exceed those recruited from outside.

In addition, Guo Peng also called Guo Jin and Guo Tu, and asked them to take a batch of horses back and continue to do what they had done.

"Don't stop the training of the family soldiers at home. Select 500 of the strongest men to become the guards. I will send you horses one after another. I will train all of these 500 men to become cavalry, practice riding and shooting, practice all day long, and don't have to give birth. Drill when the fields are slack, cultivate when the fields are busy, and don’t leave any of them behind.”

Guo Peng patted Guo Jin and Guo Tu on the shoulders: "You are the people I trust the most. I can only leave this matter to you."

"I will live up to the young master's entrustment!"

The five most trusted people around Guo Peng, who grew up with Guo Peng from childhood, have deep feelings and absolute loyalty.

Guo Peng made them feel honored with different treatment and unusual names, which made them more loyal.

They may not have the ability to manipulate the world, but it is enough to guard their homes and gardens, train their soldiers, and protect their own safety.

If there can be excellent generals among them, that would be the best.

From Guo Peng's point of view, Guo Huo is the most likely to become a general, and Guo Peng's three hundred cavalry will be commanded by him.

Among the five, he was also the best in martial arts. He was the tallest and strongest, and the most proficient in riding and shooting. Guo Peng also took the time to explain the art of war to him, trying to develop his talent.

Not only that, Guo Peng also changed his name, changed his name to Guo Lie, and asked him to change his name to Guo Lie, paving the way for him to go out to lead the army alone in the future.

Guo Peng wrote a letter and asked them to take it back to Guo Dan, asking Guo Dan to provide some help, increase the number of craftsmen in the manor, and build Guo's manor into a relatively complete production line like Cao's and Xiahou's as soon as possible. A self-sufficient manor will increase Guo's power.

Right now, there is only so much that can be done. To increase one's strength one step at a time, one cannot become a fat man with one bite.

In late August after the end of Hu City, when Guo Peng led the cavalry to gallop on the grassland for training, a guest from Xuzhou appeared in Ning County.

Mi Zhu Mi Zizhong.

Guo Peng was not surprised to learn that Mi Zhu had come in person.

If you propose cooperation to him in such a status as yourself, he will naturally rush over to have an interview in person, and discuss and decide on all the details.

Being able to get the cooperation of officials with power is undoubtedly a trick for businessmen. They can get news faster from other colleagues, better grasp the situation, and make profits more easily. Just pay attention to building a good relationship. .

Chapter 108. One hundred and eight

Mi Zhu's family lived in Xuzhou for generations, and made their fortune by reclaiming wasteland, gradually accumulating to Mi Zhu's generation.

Their family has tens of thousands of servants and followers in Xuzhou, and has a large amount of good land real estate. After the family becomes rich, the descendants will seek a better advancement. The Mi family was born as a merchant, and their social status is very low, so naturally they want to have a better one. future.

Therefore, the younger generation learns literature and martial arts. The younger generation of the Mi family not only learns cultural knowledge, but also learns riding and archery. The family has soldiers.

The Mi family's property in Xuzhou is more abundant than that of the equally wealthy Chen family.

But the Mi family never dared to be compared with the Chen family, because the Chen family was a noble family, and some members of the family were officials, and their social status was much higher than that of the Mi family.

Mi Zhu has been running business in Luoyang all year round, not only for doing business, but also for seeking advancement.