Lu Zhi continued to say to Liu Xian: "In his early years, Lu studied under Taiwei Chen Qiu, Daru Ma Rong and others, and he was still the same senior brother of Zheng Xuan, Guan Ning, Hua Xin and others. He also served as a local taishou, quelled barbarian rebellions, and proofread Confucian classics with Ma Riyan, Cai Yong and others, and participated in the continuation of the "Han Ji" ......"

"You are talking to Marquis Wu Yong about this, but I want to tell you, don't look at Lu Mou's return to the field as an apprentice, he seems to be a wild man in a mountain village, who doesn't know the world. Don't look at Lu Mou leaving home again, serving as the general of Beizhonglang to crusade against Zhang Jiao, and then being falsely accused, he almost lost his life. Don't think that in this way, Lu has no relationship and no ability. I tell you that I want to tell you that Lu Zhi has also traveled extensively and has friends all over the world. I still know a little about the situation of some powerful and wealthy families in Dahan. ”

"If Zheng Xuan and Cai Yong are in your Liulin City, one is Lu's fellow disciple, and the other is Lu's friend. You don't know, they praised you, and asked Lu in letters many times to take more care of you in this capital. However, Marquis Wu Yong, you are really good, Lu did not take any care of you, but you made such a big move in the capital of Luoyang and gained a firm foothold. It's really good. ”

Lu Zhi was really full of admiration for Liu Xian at this time.

"Master Lu, in fact, Mr. Zheng Xuan and Mr. Cai Yong are both overrated...... Xiaohou is just ......"

"Needless to say, be modest. Lu now wants to tell you that the economic lifeline of our Han Dynasty is actually in the hands of some wealthy families and some local tycoons. All walks of life are inseparable from their control. Over the years, although many powerful people have fallen, they have never been able to change the situation of the Han Dynasty. Well, let's not talk about that, now I'll talk about food. ”

"Okay, Xiao Hou listens." Liu Xian said solemnly.

"When it comes to food, we must first talk about the origin of food. Our Han Dynasty has the land of fish and water in the south of the Yangtze River, the water town of Zeguo in the Jingchu area, the country of Yizhou Tianfu and so on. These places are all areas rich in rice grains. The real grain merchants of our Han Dynasty are actually from these places. ”

Liu Xian listened, secretly remembering Lu Zhi's words.

The Han Dynasty now is different from the time of the later generations.

In later generations, there were four major granaries, which refer to the four plains. They are the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain, the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, and the Pearl River Delta Plain.

But in this ancient era, the Northeast Plain was still a paradise for those nomads, and it was basically not developed, and those foreign people, they basically did not engage in farming.

As for the North China Plain, it is the area of Youzhou and Jizhou today. However, now the situation in Jizhou and Youzhou is unstable, and the people are displaced, and if they cannot rule the land of these two states more effectively, they will not be able to play the role of "granary" for the time being.

In addition, the Pearl River Delta Plain, which is now Jiaozhou. Originally, those places were still uncivilized. It was only after the Qin Emperor sent hundreds of thousands of troops into Lingnan that it developed. But after all, it has only been developed for more than 300 years, and the constraints of population, culture, and so on, cannot play the role of a "granary" for the time being. And the most important thing is that Jiaozhou is too far away from the economic, political, and cultural center of China, and the sense of existence of Jiaozhou is actually relatively low throughout the Three Kingdoms period.

Therefore, the grain producing areas of Dahan are mainly Jingxiang area, Xuzhou, Yangzhou area, Dongwu Taihu Lake area, Yizhou and other areas.

The Yellow Turban Riots two years ago had a relatively small impact on the entire Jiangnan area, and it also benefited the Zhou region. Therefore, most of the current food comes from those areas.

Lu Zhi continued: "Well, there are some things, you only know one for the time being. The old man didn't say much. After all, those are too far away from us, and far water can't save you from this near fire. ”

"As far as Lu knows, there are several major grain merchants in our Luoyang City. Among them, they also represent the interests of several powerful forces. It's really hard to get food from them. ”

Liu Xian couldn't help but interject: "Lord Lu Zhi, who are the powerful forces you are talking about?" “

"The Yuan family, General He Jin's mansion, and the eunuchs all have a share, and of course, there are other powerful families large and small, and so on. Hehe, aren't our big men empty treasury? In fact, it is not that the treasury is empty, but that all the money has fallen into the hands of those powerful. They took what originally belonged to the Han state, and through some means, transferred it to their private ownership. And then what? When the Han encountered foreign enemies and rebellions, they wanted to use sword soldiers, but there was no money and food to maintain the Han army's operations. Often, many times the Han army is ineffective in fighting, and it is for these reasons. The imperial court has no money and food to supply supplies, so what will the soldiers take to fight? At this time, you have to ask for those powerful. “

As soon as Lu Zhi said this, he felt resentment in his heart.

Because when he and Zhang Jiao were fighting in Julu Guangzong, they ate a loss of food and grass. It's not that he doesn't want to eliminate Zhang Jiao as soon as possible, but the grain and grass are in the hands of those eunuchs.

"I see, ......" Liu Xian was a little relieved.

But anyone who has ambitions may have already begun to prepare. And what to prepare? Naturally, it is food, grass and weapons and equipment.

Among them, food is definitely the most important. If there is no food, who will follow him? If he doesn't even have something to eat, who will die for him?

Accumulate grain and slow to become king. These are all things that some ambitious people have to do.

Having said that, doesn't Liu Xian do the same thing?

Whether it is the Yuan family or He Jin, they are not Yang Jie, the local landlord when Liu Xian was in Yangshi County. Liu Xian wanted to get the grain they had secretly accumulated from their hands, and it was indeed difficult to climb to the sky.

It was the food they planned to use in case of any eventuality. They would never have taken it out now, let alone exposed their food hoarding now. They didn't admit it when they came to kill them, and Liu Xian really didn't have any way to deal with them.

"Hey, Lord Lu Zhi, you said you know a person, you know that she has food, who is she? Hurry up, now it's all burning eyebrows. ”

Liu Xian remembered what Lu Zhi said earlier, and hurriedly urged.

"Hehe, I know you're going to ask. Well, I'll tell you. There is a grain merchant in Luoyang Beijing, but he was not originally from the capital, and he can be regarded as half a fellow countryman with Lu, because he was originally from Youzhou. The old man knew him in his early years, and after arriving in the capital, he often met with him. It's a pity that he died suddenly in a catastrophe. ”

"Huh? He's dead? You still say it's dead? ”

"Don't worry, this person's surname is Zou Mingshuang, and the words are often square. He is a very talented man, and after arriving in the capital, his grain store is running well, and it is said that he has a lot of food resources in his hands. It's a pity that he is no longer here, but there are still three points of nails in the rotten ship, and his home will definitely not be broken all at once, and there must still be a lot of food resources. ”

The origin of the Zou family is in Zou County, Shandong, and then there is a long-term process of reproduction and migration. During the Han Dynasty, Fanyang County was also the main county of the Zou family. Fanyang is the area of Zhuo County, so it is not an exaggeration for Lu Zhi to say that Zou Shuang Zou Changfang is his hometown.

"That's fine, that's fine. Since Lord Lu Zhi and you know this grain merchant, then you don't bother the two masters about anything. If you don't get along, you must ask your lord to introduce the current head of the Zou family, no matter what, Ben Hou must also persuade them to purchase a batch of food from them for emergencies. Liu Xian hurriedly said to Lu Zhi.

"Okay, so let's go now?" Lu Zhi didn't push and agreed on the spot.

"Good! Ben Hou likes Lord Lu Zhi's style of acting like the wind. Well, Mr. Drama, do you want to go along? Anyway, you will inevitably have to hand over to those grain merchants in the future. ”

"Okay, let's go together. So here'......"

"Mr. Tao Qiuhong, Mr. Shan Yong, you call these adults, and discuss together first, where we should go to relief first. Book a place as soon as possible and plan your trip. Liu Xian commanded.

"Okay. With the old man here, he will be able to do this very well. Tao Qiuhong agreed.

The Zou family is in the east of the city, not too far from the Marquis Wuyong's mansion, but it is also separated by more than ten streets.

Liu Xian didn't let anyone prepare the carriage, so he simply walked with Lu Zhi and the others.

On the way, Lu Zhi said: "Now the Zou family is in charge, but it is a female doll. It is Zou Shuang's daughter Zou Xue. Well, it has the same name as your young lady Kong Xue. Kong Xue, this girl...... Hehe, and Cai Yan's girl, do you think you can hide it from the old man? The old man didn't expect Kong Rong and Cai Yong to marry Kong Xue to you. ”

Liu Xian was speechless, now that he thinks about it, in fact, these old guys not only know each other, but also have a really good relationship.

Lu Zhi, Cai Yong, Zheng Xuan, Kong Rong, Ding Yuan, Huangfu Song, etc., they are either officials in the same dynasty, or they have studied in the same school. Speaking of which, they are really all people in the same circle. Rarely, they all seem to be somewhat similar in temperament. In this way, it is not surprising that they usually exchange letters.

In other words, this Lu Zhi's personality is indeed good, otherwise, when he was framed for committing a crime, how could Huangfu Song use his military exploits in exchange for Lu Zhi's exoneration?

"Zou Xue, this girl, it's really hard for her. Let me tell you something, she's in trouble right now, and if you can solve those problems for her, then the food thing will be easy to say. It's a pity that although Lu is named the imperial court scholar, he can't do anything about her family's affairs. Lu Zhi said with some embarrassment as he walked.

"What's the trouble with her Zou family?" Liu Xian was not afraid of trouble and asked directly.

"The person who is eyeing the Zou family's grain is not you, Wu Yonghou alone, there are other forces that are also fighting the Zou family's idea. It is no wonder that Zou Shuang's business time in Beijing is still short, and his relationship network has not really been built. To put it bluntly, there is no support from the powerful. It turned out that the old man could still help one or two, but now, the old man himself is difficult to protect, so naturally he can't take care of the Zou family. ”

"Ha, when you say that, my heart is settled. At the very least, it can be said that the Zou family can indeed get a batch of grain, which is enough. No matter what troubles the Zou family has, we Liu Xian will take it! Liu Xian said on the spot.

"Have you heard of Zhang Ji?" Lu Zhi said suddenly.

"Zhang Ji?"

Liu Xian didn't understand why Lu Zhi suddenly said this person.

Zhang Ji and Liu Xian naturally knew that during the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo's subordinates, after Dong Zhuo's death, supported the army and became a figure of a prince.

"Zhang Ji can be regarded as a rising star of the Han military. It's a capable guy who can do things. The old man didn't know him well. However, recently the old man knew that he was secretly buying a large amount of grain, but he didn't know whether he did it himself or for others. Lu Zhi thought that Liu Xian didn't know Zhang Ji, so he said: "He is in the army, mainly responsible for logistics matters, according to some known generals in the army, Zhang Ji has always been secretly selling grain and grass in the army, but unfortunately he can't get hold of these evidence." ”

"It was definitely acquired for someone else. If Zhang Ji has already done these things of reselling military rations in the army, then he will definitely not store food for himself. At least not yet. Liu Xian said affirmatively.

At this time, Zhang Ji should have taken refuge in Dong Zhuo. The purchase of grain must have been ordered by Dong Zhuo.

Liu Xian feels that this is also the right reason. Dong Zhuo has been desperately recruiting troops in the name of quelling the Xiliang rebellion over the years. The amount of food needed must be huge. No one is secretly raising food for him, so why does he feed so many troops? You must know that now the military rations provided by the imperial court are tight, and it is somewhat difficult to supply the Han military for the original Han army. Therefore, Dong Zhuo must have gotten food by himself and desperately developed his own army.

Soon, Dong Zhuo had to feed at least 200,000 or 300,000 military horses, including more than 200,000 cavalry. How much food and grass do these armies need to eat and drink?

"I think it should be the same......" Lu Zhi also nodded.

Liu Xian did not immediately tell Lu Zhi that Zhang Ji had taken refuge in Dong Zhuo, and now it is very likely that it is not a matter of preparing military rations for Dong Zhuo.

"You suddenly said Zhang Ji? He is also fighting the idea of the Zou family now...... Hey? ”

Liu Xian said to himself, but he was suddenly stunned, and a person flashed in his mind.

The Zou family? Grain merchants? Zou Xue? Zhang Ji? Zou?

Liu Xian quickly connected these together, and then he was a little surprised, could it be that the Zou Xue in Lu Zhi's mouth was the Zou family, the wife of Zhang Ji in history? Mrs. Zou, who was slept with by Cao Cao later?

It can't be such a coincidence, right? If it is true, then isn't it that at this time, Zhang Jidu has not yet married the Zou family?

At this time, Lu Zhi said: "This Zhang Ji, sure enough, has some means, he did not directly threaten the Zou family like those ordinary magnates, and wanted to steal the Zou family's food resources. Instead, he proposed to the Zou family, hoping to marry Zou Xue as his wife. Well, Zhang Ji's original wife died, and because he didn't have anything to do with Mrs. Yuan. Therefore, he plans to marry Zou Xue as a continuation, hoping to give him a son and a half daughter. “

"Humph! Zhang Ji's boss is not small, but he dares to propose to the Zou family under such an excuse and wants to marry a little girl? I'm not ashamed! Of course, there is a threat behind the scenes. Clear-eyed people can also see at a glance that he is going for the food resources of the Zou family. Lu Zhi said with some annoyance.

Zhang Ji should be in his thirties and forties now, right?

He died in mid-196, ten years later, when he would have been in his forties and in his fifties. And Mrs. Zou, at that time, she should also be in the best years of a woman. Otherwise, it would be impossible to charm Cao Cao, causing Cao Cao to lose his beloved general Dian Wei and his eldest son Cao Ang, and also compensated a nephew Cao Anmin.