The Rebirth of Lu Bu in the Legend of the Heroes of the Later Han Dynasty

After the expedition, it was the autumn harvest season, and it was another good year. The grain produced in the black soil of Liaodong was enough to feed an army of 200,000 for a year. Add in the grain delivered by each county, and the granaries were already full. How to dispose of food has become a problem that troubles Lu Bu.

When encountering these problems in the past, Lu Bu always consulted Chen Gong and Xu Shu. On this day, the three of them were drinking tea in the courtyard as usual. Lu Bu poured tea for them, "This is the best tea I bought from Luoyang. Give it a try."

Xu Shu smelled the fragrance of the tea and said, "The tea is good. I wonder what kind of trouble my lord has encountered."

Lu Bu smiled and said, "I can't hide anything from you, Xu Yuanzhi. There is something I need you two to give me an idea about."

Chen Gong took a sip of tea and said, "The problem that worries my lord is the extra food."

"As expected, do you have any good ideas?" Lu Bu asked.

Chen Gong said, "I have discussed this matter with Yuan Zhi. I have an idea that my lord knows. Yuan Shao is seriously ill. Several of his sons are fighting for the throne. The eldest son Yuan Tan is constantly recruiting troops. This is We need a lot of food, and Qingzhou produces salt and iron, so there is not much food. He sent people to Jinyang several times to buy food, but I blocked them all. Now I can sell the food to him."

Lu Bu said, "What's going on with Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang?" In the memory of later generations, the Yuan family perished because of internal strife between the brothers. The Battle of Guandu did not wipe out the elite of the Yuan family, but only because of Yuan Shao's death. Cao Cao won the final victory, and in this life, it will be him, Lu Bu, who captures the four states of Hebei.

Xu Shu said, "According to the reports from the Mohists lurking in Yecheng, Yuan Xi has completely lost hope of being the crown prince and has turned to Yuan Shang's camp. More than half of Yuan Shao's civil servants and generals support Yuan Shang. After all, Yuan Shang is young and is more conducive to control. "

Lu Bu said, "I plan to sell the grain to their brothers. Yuan Tan needs to use salt and iron in exchange, and Yuan Shang needs to pay twice the market price."

Chen Gong said, "I'm afraid Yuan Shang won't agree. After all, this is a big expense."

Lu Bu said, "It all depends on Gongtai's ability to tell the truth. I will send Xun Chen to Yuan Tan, and Yecheng and his party will be handed over to Gongtai. After you leave, the government affairs of Bingzhou will be handed over to Yuan Zhi. .”

"My lord, this is a difficult problem for me, but I can only handle this matter personally." Chen Gong answered while drinking tea.

After handing over the government affairs of Bingzhou, Chen Gong went to Yecheng to meet Yuan Shang. After receiving Lu Bu's letter, Xun Chen also set out from Youzhou to meet Yuan Tan. After Yuan Shao fell ill, Xun Chen switched to Lu Bu's camp. , this is his opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

Yuan Tan warmly received Xun Chen, "Sir, he voted for Lu Bu and came to Qingzhou today. He must have brought me good news."

Xun Chen said, "The lord has promised to sell grain to the young master, but he does not need money and silk. He needs to exchange salt and iron."

Yuan Tan was overjoyed when he heard this, "I have plenty of salt and iron in Qingzhou. I am willing to exchange a cart of salt and a cart of refined iron for a cart of grain."

Seeing that Yuan Tan agreed so quickly, Xun Chen remembered that Lu Bu's letter mentioned that he wanted to move Qingzhou's bones, and then said, "There is still a business I want to discuss with you."

Yuan Tan was confused, "What business are you referring to, sir?"

Xun Chen said, "The horses are exchanged for fine iron, and one horse is exchanged for a cart of fine iron. With the horses, the young master can form a cavalry, and it will be much easier to deal with the third young master in Yecheng."

Yuan Tan was right after thinking about it, so the two parties agreed on the quantity of the business. One thousand carts of grain and three thousand horses were exchanged for one thousand carts of salt and four thousand carts of refined iron. With these refined iron, they could be replaced by an army of 200,000. Two new sets of weapons and equipment.

On the other side, Chen Gong arrived in Yecheng and wanted to visit Yuan Shao first. At this time, Yuan Shao could no longer manage the government. All military and political affairs in Jizhou were taken over by his third son, Yuan Shang. Yuan Shao's intention was already obvious, which was to make Yuan Shang his heir apparent. It just hasn’t been announced yet.

Yuan Shangsheng had red lips, white teeth, and voluptuous figure. In later generations, he was called a sissy. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the sissy style was prevalent, but now, masculine beauty is still prevalent.

Jushou, Tian Feng, Xu You, Shen Pei, and Feng Ji were all supporters of Yuan Shang. In contrast, Yuan Tan only had support from Xin Ping and Guo Tu, but generals such as Wen Chou, Chunyu Qiong, and Zhang He were not. They all support Yuan Tan because they think Yuan Shang is too feminine and not suitable for commanding an army.

Yuan Shang took advantage of his great power to collect the military symbols of Chunyu Qiong and Zhang He. As for Wen Chou, he did not dare to move for the time being. After all, Wen Chou still needed to lead troops to garrison Guandu to stop Cao Cao's army from moving north.

Chen Gong met with Yuan Shang, informed him of his interests, and analyzed that after Cao Cao dealt with the plague and drought in the Central Plains, his troops would be directed towards Jizhou. At this time, he would recruit more troops and reserve more food for future needs.

After all, Yuan Shang was young and had never seen the market. He occupied a lot of money in the Jizhou government treasury and agreed to buy grain at twice the price. He also sent Tian Feng and Jushuo to jail for criticizing him for being short-sighted. Xu You saw Yuan Shang acting like this and expected him to do something like this in the future. He was destined to die, so he took his family across the Yellow River overnight and went to his old friend Cao Cao. In the end, only Shen Pei and Feng Ji were left with Yuan Shang. They could handle government affairs well, but they were not good at strategic planning and cunning schemes.

After Chen Gong completed his mission, he secretly met with the Mohists in Ye City and asked them to assassinate the merchants selling grain in Ye City, then replace them, then drive up prices and put Jizhou into a state of food shortage. In this way, Yuan Shang would buy more from Lu Bu. Grain can achieve the purpose of consuming Jizhou's treasury. As for Chunyu Qiong and Zhang He who were in the opposition, because Lu Bu had promised to subdue the two, Chen Gong asked Mo to closely monitor their actions and be ready to frame them at any time and alienate Jizhou. The relationship between king and minister.

An accident in which brothers build walls and alienate monarchs and ministers will take place in Hebei. This time, Lu Bu chose to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.