Lu Bu, who was far away in Anyi, seemed to hear Cao Cao's wild words, and sneezed twenty-three times in a row, snot and tears, and hummed: "I want to die of poverty like this, dreaming!" ”

That being said, food and money are necessities for survival, while the black stones, war horses, and weapons owned by Lu Bu are only second-class consumer goods, and the importance of the two is not the same.

Cao Cao and the others can use inferior weapons, how can they replace the black stone with charcoal, and they can not expand the cavalry, without these he still has the strength to fight. But Lu Bu is different, hundreds of thousands of troops are waiting to be fed, there are wealthy families who need to take a cut, and hundreds of thousands of workers who have no land to grow are waiting for subsidies. Nowadays, the goods are unsalable, but it is a matter of life and death.

At this point, Lü Bu had to turn to Ma Chao who was in Chang'an again, Ma Chao was stationed in Chang'an, and Han Sui was intercepted in Luoyang, so that when Cao Cao attacked, Han Sui had no way to escape, and was finally assassinated by his subordinates, and the soldiers and generals were all attached to Cao Cao. And Ma Chao took advantage of the situation to control Liangzhou, which was his hometown, and he had some roots there, and it didn't take much effort to capture it.

And Hongnong under Ma Chao's rule is opposite to Anyi, if he wants to open up the trade road, he has to ask him for help, and his father Ma Teng and Lu Bu still have a friendship between the top and bottom, so I don't think I should refuse.

Lü Bu urgently summoned Hou Cheng to return to Anyi, appointed Shang Shuling Zhong Xuan as the chief envoy, and Hou became the deputy envoy, and went to Chang'an to lobby Ma Chao through Hongnong. Because Zhong Xuan and Ma Teng had a close relationship during the court, and Hou Cheng listened to orders in front of Ma Chao's account several times, both of them had old friends with Ma Chao, and it was naturally easier to gain trust when they spoke.

After the two of them left, Lu Bu couldn't be relieved, after all, although Hongnong was good, it was a remote place, too far away from the Central Plains population gathering, even if the trade route was opened, the cost and freight would definitely rise, and how could Ma Chao sit idly by, and it was inevitable to extract the profits, in the end, I am afraid that there would not be much left in the hands of Lu Bu.

In order not to hang himself on a tree, Lu Bu discussed other countermeasures with the generals, Jia Xu admonished: "An egg is intact, if you want to be bad, it must start from the inside, since ancient times, people are good, there are better things, but you have to retreat to the second, this is perverse, Cao Cao in order to achieve the goal of curbing the lord, did not hesitate to pull everyone into the water, but how can everyone be as ambitious as him?" Under his rule, there must be resentment, see the profit and forget the righteousness, the lord can be lured by heavy profits, so that they secretly open the way, even if Cao Cao found that graphite flowed into the Central Plains, he would only think that it was Hongnong's Ma Chao, and he would never suspect that there was an inner ghost under his rule. ”

Seeing that he was full of confidence, Lu Bu seemed to be confident, and asked, "Wen He, is there already a candidate?" ”

Jia Xu smiled and said: "Exactly, does the lord still remember the fact that Zhang Miao and Chen Gong dedicated Yanzhou to the lord?" ”

Lu Bu was puzzled: "Naturally remember, it's just that Zhang Miao was executed by Cao Cao, and Chen Gong is a capricious villain, and it is unknown where he lives now, how can he rely on them?" ”

Jia Xu shook his head and said: "At that time, the two of them rebelled against Cao Cao and Cao Cao's general Wei Chong, when Cao Cao broke through Chen Liu, Wei Chong escaped on a single horse, and later fled to shoot dogs, when the lord was in danger, Zhang Yang was afraid that Cao Cao would take the opportunity to attack Hanoi, so he escorted him to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao remembered that he was quite economically talented, not only spared his life, but also appointed him as the official Du Taishou, this person is capricious, loves money like life, if the lord promises heavy profits, he will rush to it. ”

Lu Bu thought about it, if this thing can be successful, it is very good, even if it is not successful, he has nothing to lose, and he can still make Cao Cao's generals centrifuge, why not? He promised Jia Xu's plan and let him act according to the plan.

As the prime minister's chief historian, Sima Lang disagreed, and said: "This kind of economy and trade is a small road, and the output of its own grain and grass is fundamental, now is the spring planting season, I and the state is not without cultivation, but suffering from sparse population, even if countless people migrated from Yizhou back then, it still can't change the status quo, the lord still has to vigorously tun the field, if you can make this thousand dumps of land not wasted, why worry about the food sound?" ”

Lu Bu nodded again and again when he listened, and the population of Bingzhou was originally only five or six hundred thousand, even if the Central Plains War later, Bingzhou was spared from hardship, and accepted countless displaced people, the population still failed to exceed one million, and the huge land of a state was not as large as a Nanyang, the reason for this is that Bingzhou is located in the northern Xinjiang, and there were Xiongnu alien invasions in ancient times, and the terrain is mainly mountainous and hilly, so it is really not a place to raise people.

Now Bingzhou has more than 200,000 soldiers, plus nearly 300,000 miscellaneous soldiers, and an average of one soldier for every three people, which is naturally overwhelming, not counting the 50,000 Yizhou soldiers who were newly surrendered by Gao Shun. Although Lü Bu prospered in commerce and did not compete with the people for profit in recent years, and was exempted from most taxes, it was impossible to be self-sufficient. I had no choice but to order the soldiers to temporarily disarm and return to the field, and then talk about it after finishing the spring planting.

After some discussion with the generals, Lu Bu ordered that only 10,000 standing main forces should be left in Anyi, Mengjin, Muye and other places facing the enemy, and the rest would be arranged by the generals of each department to open up wasteland in the countryside and be busy with spring planting. The Blackstone Mine has a huge backlog, and during the closure of business, hundreds of thousands of miners are all strong at home, and they are allowed to divide the land in the local area and settle their families according to Chen Lin's overall planning.

For a while, everyone in Bingzhou had a few more acres of land out of thin air, and they all had a foothold, and they were no longer floating leaves, and they were in full swing everywhere, and it was a busy scene.

Lu Bunian's population in Bingzhou was too small, and in order to encourage childbearing, he ordered that every new child in every household could go to the county order office to receive a cart of blackstone mines and a copper coin, which was valid for five years and would never be changed.

When the people heard about this order, everyone was happy, how could they not take advantage of the cheap money they earned, and they were busy with spring sowing, so they just stayed at home, everyone worked overtime, and the happiness index of life was greatly improved. Marriageable men and women are even more impatient to ask the matchmaker to say goodbye, for fear that it will be too late and miss such a good thing.

However, Lu Bu was no longer able to afford the follow-up grain and grass, so he ordered Gao Shun to be the governor before the war, and sent Gao Rou and Mi Heng to Yizhou to manage the internal affairs of Yizhou and raise grain and grass on the spot. The number of residents in Yizhou is far greater than that of the state, and the permanent population of Changshan, Julu, and Xindu alone is more than that of the state. Hebei is full of fertile plains, guarding such a rich land, there is no reason to give up the near and far.

Lu Bu was busy recuperating, Yuan Shao was also unable to counterattack, Yizhou was captured by Lu Bu, and a large area of territory was hollowed out, and now it has become the shape of a crescent moon, although there are many troops, but there is a long border to defend, scattered in various counties, it is more than enough defense but not enough progress.

Gao Shun had no logistical support, and he did not dare to attack the city wantonly, for fear that he would be attacked by the enemy and lose the place he had already occupied, so he could only divide his troops to defend the cities everywhere and stick to the rear.

The war has entered a phase of stalemate, and the two sides have attacked and defended each other, but they only stop at a superficial level, for fear of affecting the whole body.

Besides, Zhong Xuan and Hou Cheng came to Chang'an to ask to see Ma Chao, Ma Chao naturally greeted him with laughter, he and Lu Bu had no holiday, and even Lu Bu was kind to him. His father, Ma Teng, was once a former general of Lu Bu's tent, and he was also deeply favored. The previous time Lu Bu united himself and asked him to take the opportunity to capture Han Sui, but he missed the opportunity and was taken advantage of by Cao Cao. Now that I think about it, Lu Bu's situation of being attacked on both sides also has his own merits, and he can't help but feel a little ashamed in his heart.

Hurriedly put on a banquet, banquet Zhong Xuan, Hou Cheng two, during the banquet heard that the two of them came to the intention, Ma Chao did not hesitate, a mouthful, but let him rest assured, with him Ma Chao is there, will be able to ensure that the land of Hongnong is unimpeded.

Zhong Xuan was so surprised when he saw that he agreed so happily, he originally thought that he would definitely have to take some oil and water, but he didn't expect him to mention it.

After the wine banquet was enjoyed, Ma Chao returned to the back hall, and his wife Dong Bai had already learned of this time, and advised: "The husband is in danger, and Cao Cao and Lu Bu on his side are all tigers and wolves, just let them fight each other, why get involved, now that you have a position, you can't be alone in the future." ”

Ma Chao drank a lot, and when he heard Dong's words, he suddenly lost a little drunk, and said: "I was in a hurry, I didn't think about it so much, and besides, Lu Bu and I have kindness, and I can't refuse." ”

Dong Bai said: "It's not wrong for the husband to have a benevolent heart, but as the landlord, we don't have half a benefit, isn't it that Lu Bu despises it?" ”

Ma Chao's expression changed a few times, and he was about to go to reason with Mi Heng and Hou Cheng, Dong Bai pulled him and said: "Don't worry, husband, it's getting late today, and it's not too late to theorize tomorrow." ”

After a night of silence, early the next morning, Mi Heng and Hou Cheng jointly begged to see, Ma Chao sulked all night, and was about to summon the two, seeing that they came uninvited, it was in harmony with his heart.

With a gloomy face, he said, "You came so early, do you have something important?" ”

Mi Heng said: "We don't want to disturb the general's dream, but the stakes are very high, and we have to discuss with the general about the details of the opening of the trade route." ”

Ma Chao said unhappily: "The other details are fixed, and I only need three percent of them." ”

Mi Heng and Hou Cheng glanced at each other, looking a little embarrassed, Ma Chao suddenly became more angry when he saw this, thinking that these two people were really not good people, they just wanted to use themselves as guns, and they were about to have a seizure, but they heard Mi Heng say: "The prime minister promised the general fifty percent of the profit, and the general only needs thirty percent, and it is really difficult for us to call the shots." ”

Ma Chao swallowed the words back into his stomach and said with a look of surprise: "The prime minister is so benevolent, why is he so generous?" ”

Mi Heng said: "The prime minister has a saying, the general plays a pivotal role in this matter, there is the righteousness of the landlord, if it is not for the general to open the way, what we plan must not succeed, and the general is majestic enough to be compared with the prime minister, is willing to share the profits with the general." ”

Ma Chao was moved by his words, and blushed at his villain's thoughts, and said with a guilty face: "You just have to rest assured, I still say the same thing, as long as I Ma Chao is here, the Hongnong Commercial Road will be absolutely unimpeded." ”

The three of them discussed some more details until they were satisfied.

Out of Ma Chao's mansion, Zhong Xuan said to Hou Cheng: "Thanks to General Hou knowing Ma Chao's temperament, otherwise we are afraid that we will return in vain." ”

Hou Cheng said with a smile: "Although Ma Chao is brave, he has no opinions, marching and fighting is his forte, but he is powerless in governing internal affairs, and he is often controlled by his wife's subordinates, otherwise he will not make Luoyang's business a mess." ”

Fifty percent is the highest concession given to them by Lu Bu, and now they are thrown out at the right time, and Ma Chao's heart is greatly collected, Zhong Miao sighed: "Ma Chao does not seem to be an insatiable person, but a young man, it is inevitable that he is a little impetuous, if he can polish it, he may be a good general." ”

In the meantime, Zhong Miao needed to go back to Anyi to resume his life, leaving only Hou Cheng here to assist Ma Chao in preparing various matters.

At the same time, Jia Xu assigned Mengjin Taishou Wang Ji to Mengjin to meet Wei Chong in person, Lu Bu was not worried about his safety, so he was ordered to find Zhao Yun through Muye, Zhao Yun used to be a ranger, and he was the best at guarding safety, so he could rest assured that he was in Lu Bu. And Zhao Yun is now recuperating from the army, and it is enough for Muye to have Zhang Liao in charge.

Although Wei Chong got Cao Cao's understanding, he also lost Cao Cao's trust since then, and now he is only a county guard, and he has no past scenery, and he often secretly saddies.

On this day, Wang Ji and Zhao Yun came to ask for a meeting, and after learning Wang Ji's identity and intention, they were shocked, and they thought in their hearts, if this person was captured and dedicated to Cao Cao, wouldn't it be a great achievement, and he might be able to regain trust in the future, and he might be able to soar to the top.

When Wang Ji saw his expression, he knew what he was thinking, and sneered: "Has the general ever seen a broken mirror that can be reunited?" ”

Wei Chong was puzzled: "I haven't seen it, why did Mr. say this?" ”

Wang Wei said: "The general once betrayed Cao Cao, and Cao Cao is a suspicious person, you are a broken mirror for him, if the bronze mirror is broken, it has lost its cleanness, even if the general will sacrifice us to Cao Cao, for him, this is just your obligation, it is really not a credit, what benefits can the general get from it?" ”

Zhao Yun was holding a long sword on the side, and his murderous aura burst out, which only frightened Wei Chong's heart.

Wei Chong followed Cao Cao's side very early, even earlier than Li Dian, Le Jin and others, naturally knew that Wang Ji's words were true, and was surprised that Wang Ji could understand people's hearts, and this young guard around him was even more amazing, and the murderous aura he exuded was chilling, so he was calmed by them for a few points, and said: "Then what benefits can I get from cooperating with you?" ”

Seeing that he was tempted, Wang Ji also secretly let out a sigh of relief, and said: "If the general can make a convenient door, we are willing to offer a hundred taels of gold every month." ”

Wei Chong was taken aback, one hundred taels of gold, and he didn't have so much money for a few years, the huge profits in this can be imagined, and after pondering for a while, he said: "I don't want gold either, I only need to extract two percent of the goods every time I cross the port." ”

Wang Ji secretly sneered, this person was insatiable and was really criticized by Jia Xu, but he was so short-sighted, did he still think that this kind of market could not be achieved for a long time? didn't bargain, so he clapped his hand and said, "Then it's a word." ”

However, he said that Cao Cao was in a bad mood recently, and Guan Yu, who was treated by him as a guest, heard that his brother was now under Yuan Shao's account against Lu Bu, so he impatiently led his two sisters-in-law to find Liu Bei, regardless of his preferential treatment for many days.

Cao Cao was grateful for his loyalty, he couldn't bear to do harm, and he wanted to have such a general go to help Yuan Shao fight against Lu Bu, it was better than doing nothing here.

Under the inquiry, it turned out that Ma Chao colluded with Lu Bu to transport a large number of blackstone mines in Hongnong, and merchants from all sides rushed to buy them, so that the land of Hongnong, which was originally empty because of the war, actually prospered.

Cao Cao's surprise was not trivial, originally just one Lu Bu was enough for him to have a headache, but now Ma Chao actually colluded with Lu Bu, making him suffer from the enemy.

On this day, he convened the generals to discuss countermeasures, and Xiahou Dun, who was stationed in Chi Rope, said proudly: "Brother, why worry, I have long seen that Ma Chao Xiaoer is not pleasing to the eye, as long as I give me 20,000 soldiers and horses, I can capture Hongnong within three days and kill Chang'an." ”

Xu Chu on the side smiled and said: "You only have one eye, who has seen it?" I only need 10,000 soldiers and horses to capture Hongnong. It's half the effort! ”

made everyone laugh, and Cao Cao also laughed: "If you are really a tiger idiot, what do I want you to do with half the effort?" It's just that now Lu Bu is peeping on the other side of the Yellow River, and it is really not appropriate to start a war here, and then we will face the enemy on both sides, which is a taboo for soldiers. ”

Xun Youjin said: "This place in Guanzhong has experienced many years of killing and changing, and it has long been a withered population and full of devastation, and there is Lu Bu in the north and Ma Chao in the west, it is really not a place to live for a long time, since there is no plan, why not withdraw to Yanzhou?" After all, Yanzhou is the top priority of the lord, and there is absolutely no room for error. ”

Cao Cao thought so, but after spending countless soldiers, horses, money, and food, he just obtained an empty city and captured Luoyang by himself, originally in order to contain Lu Bu and prevent him from going all out to capture Yuan Shao, but although he restrained Lu Bu and did not dare to move, Lu Bu still captured most of Yizhou, and Yuan Shao's fall was only a matter of time, and he now stayed in Luoyang and had no way to enter, so there was no meaning.

I only heard Xun You say again: "Lu Bu's plan has been successful for nearly half of it, and the lord should also plan for himself, otherwise when Lu Bu unifies Hebei, we will become a weak side, and it will be difficult to match it." ”

Cao Cao hurriedly said: "Gongda has no plans, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

Xun You said: "Now Yuan Shu is living in Yuzhou with mediocre capital, and Yuzhou is a rich land with a large population, taking advantage of Lu Bu and Yuan Shao's respective attacks, there is no time to take care of others, why not take it!" At that time, even if Lu Bu goes south after unifying Hebei, the lord has the rich land of Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Yuzhou, and the people are millions, so why be afraid of Lu Bu? ”

Cao Cao actually had this intention for a long time, but he was still weighing the matter of withdrawing troops, which was after listening to Xun You's words, he had already made up his mind, and his eyes were shining.

He immediately ordered the army to withdraw to Yanzhou in three days, and ordered Yu Ban, who was familiar with Luoyang's defense, to be Henan Yin, leaving him with 30,000 troops to garrison Luoyang to deter Lü Bu on the north side of the riverbank.

And Lu Bu naturally didn't know Cao Cao's intention to withdraw his troops, and still inspected the river defense every day, only to see that Cao Cao's riverbank guards had not decreased, where did he dare to slack off for a moment.

At this time, it was the height of summer, and Lu Bu saw that in addition to the military fortifications on the south bank of the Yellow River, it was a barren grassland and wilderness, which was very different from the scene of vigorous seedlings on his side, and secretly sighed that Luoyang, which was extremely prosperous in the past, was not as good as a county in Hedong, and the population had withered to what extent!

When he returned to the city, there were guards who came to report, and the emperor sent an edict to the prime minister.

When he came to the palace, above the main hall, the general ministers sat in turn, as if they were just waiting for him to come.

The emperor exempted him from paying homage and asked him to sit down directly, and Lu Bu was not polite, and went straight to the emperor to sit down.

He asked the emperor, "Is there something wrong with Your Majesty's summoning of ministers?" ”

Before the emperor could speak, the emperor Lu Zhi trembled and said: "In a few days, it will be the Dragon Boat Festival, the emperor wants to sacrifice to the sky, pray for the gods to protect the people of the Han Dynasty, and pray for the wind and rain in Kyushu in the world, and the peace of the country and the people." But I couldn't go back to Luoyang and couldn't go to Taimiao. His Majesty wanted to set up an altar along the Yellow River in Mengjin to worship the ancestors and ancestors, what did the prime minister think? ”

Lu Bu thought about it, the emperor was also suffocated, and it was okay to go out for a walk at the right time, and there was no accident with Wei Yue's personal guards, so he said: "Your Majesty's love for the people has moved the ministers, since Your Majesty has a heart, the ministers will accompany Your Majesty." ”

The emperor was overjoyed and said: "Aiqing's compassion is very valuable, and I have to worry about Aiqing preparing the altar and affairs in advance. ”

Where does Lu Bu know this, seeing Cai Yong, the servant sitting in the hall, he secretly said that this matter is what he is good at, so he said: "Let the servant do the work of this matter, the minister doesn't understand this, just say what you need." ”

Only then did the emperor say lightly: "Then it will be too tiresome." ”

Cai Yong was originally blind, since he was killed by Wang Yun and was corrupted, he had some trouble with the world, and just wanted to write history books quietly. ”

During the period, the emperor asked about the war in Yizhou, Lu Bu told the truth, and the emperor said indignantly: "The fourth and third princes of the Yuan family, loyal and good from generation to generation, I didn't expect that in this generation, there were rebellious ministers and thieves such as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, which is really hateful, and the prime minister needs to make persistent efforts to recover the mountains and rivers for me." ”

And above this hall, it is naturally indispensable to praise Lu Bu by the smugglers, which makes Lu Buzhi frown, if he is outside, it will be enough, in front of the emperor, he is so blatantly advocating himself, what is his intention?

The emperor didn't seem to care, and encouraged Lu Bu.

The court was scattered, and among the ministers, only Cai Yong and Lu Bu were close, and Cai Yong was not far from the palace in order to facilitate his stay in the palace, and he could only walk with tea.

Lu Bu saw that he was old and severely punished, and that he had lost his energy, and that he was walking in the wind, and he felt that he was about to fall down when the wind blew, so he invited him to go with him.

Cai Yong didn't shirk either, got into the car and walked with Lu Bu, and was silent for a long time before sighing: "The Han world is crumbling, can Feng Xian have the heart to replace him?" ”

Lu Bu looked furious, he didn't want him to ask such a question, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.

Cai Yong had already smiled and said: "It's me who lost my words, don't blame the prime minister." ”

When he arrived at Cai Yong's mansion, Cai Yong invited him to sit in, but Lu Bu refused, he still had many important things, how could he delay here.

Cai Yong lifted the curtain and got out of the car, and Lu Bu saw a woman standing outside the gate of the mansion to greet him, it was Cai Yan, who he hadn't met for a long time.

The four looked at each other, and the two of them were shocked.

A gust of wind blew, rolling up countless dust, sand and stones, Lu Bu closed his eyes, but his heart fluctuated, inexplicably remembering a lyric that once came: The sand blown by the wind falls in the eyes of sadness......

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