Liu Xin said: "I have indeed thought about the monopoly of salt and iron for a long time, but it is not the time to implement the monopoly of salt and iron. Besides, I think the purpose of implementing the salt and iron monopoly is not to extract profits from it, but because these two things are directly related to the lives of the people, and it is necessary to stabilize their prices at a relatively reasonable level. However, when you mention the salt and iron monopoly now, it reminds me of one thing. ”

Fu Zhu always thought that Liu Xin wanted to implement the monopoly of salt and iron, but it was just to solve a tax channel, but he didn't expect Liu Xin to do it for this purpose, so he couldn't help but admire, and asked repeatedly: "I don't know what the lord remembered?" ”

Liu Xin was silent for a moment and said: "Now that the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River are under control, they are close to the sea, and they should be able to find a place to boil salt." In the future, a few more government-run salt farms can be opened, and if enough salt is produced, it can be monopolized. At present, the price of grain in various places has risen sharply, and only Jing and Yizhu prefectures have maintained grain prices at the same level, and if the price of salt can be maintained at a lower level, more people can be attracted to move here. ”

Population is an important resource, and as long as the people under Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others move in large numbers, they will not be able to recruit enough soldiers, and it will be difficult to organize a strong army.

This truth, Fu Zhi naturally understood, he nodded and said, "The lord is wise. It is Yu Zhongxiang's hometown, and the establishment of a salt farm is also beneficial to the local people, according to what his subordinates have seen, this matter will be handed over to him to handle. ”

Liu Xin gradually led the topic to the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River, in fact, he was thinking about Er Qiao, but he didn't want to ask how he was doing, seeing that he didn't seem to understand what he meant, he had to say haha and said: "I plan to go to two places for a walk after the New Year." One is Jiangnan, see what Zhongxiang is doing there. The second is the Western Regions, which must open up a new sales channel for Xiang paper and white porcelain. ”

Frustrated, he said uneasily: "Lord, seeing that there will be a big battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and the Xuzhou Rebellion is just around the corner, Xiangyang is still relying on you to command, you must not leave." ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "If my expectations are good, the chaos in Xuzhou will end before the end of the year, and at the turn of spring and summer next year, the Yuan and Cao families will meet each other, and the four prefectures of Jing, Yi, Si, and Liang will be fine for the time being. ”

Fu Zhu knew that Liu Xin was a person who couldn't sit still, and in order to quietly launch an offensive against Yizhou that year, he hid in the mansion for more than half a year, and almost didn't get sick. So I heard that Liu Xin wanted to go out for a walk again, and I knew that I couldn't persuade him, so I had to give up.

Wang Tu had been driven out of Xiangyang City at this time, his injuries were all on his face, and now he had used the best Jinchuang medicine, and it was bandaged tightly, looking from a distance, it was a bit like Ah San in later generations. Before leaving, that Zhu San also scared him, telling him not to open it within three days, otherwise he would worry about his life. Wang Tu originally thought that if he offended Liu Xin, he would definitely die, but now he can save his life, which is a great luck, where dare not listen to Zhu San's words, he really doesn't dare to open the white cloth that bandages the wound along the way.

The journey from Xiangyang to Puyang is really not short, but fortunately, Wang Tu's injuries are all on his face, which does not affect his riding on horseback. After three days, the group had already left Liu Xin's territory, Wang Tu was very relieved, asked the accompanying soldiers to open the bandaged white cloth, and found a bronze mirror to take a photo, and was immediately shocked. His originally fair and handsome face was covered with many scars, and the color of these scars had all turned black. The nose was also cut off, and the black wound was exposed with two black holes in the middle, which was very ugly.

It turned out that Zhu San himself was ugly and couldn't see others handsome, so he mixed some ink into the golden medicine he gave Wang Tu, and directly dyed Wang Tu's wound black, just like a tattoo on his face, three days passed, and now he can't wash it off even if he wants to.

Wang Tu doesn't have any real talent and learning, the reason why he was able to get Cao Cao's favor is because of this face, following behind Cao Cao, which makes Cao Cao feel very face-saving, and now this face has been ruined, Wang Tu really wants to cry without tears.

After a few more days, Wang Tu finally returned to Puyang and hurried to meet Cao Cao. He was originally the captain of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he had a waist card with him, and he was favored by Cao Cao, so he didn't need to report it, and went straight to the study. Wang Tu is usually obedient, only respectful to Cao Cao alone, and is very mean to his own soldiers, so his own soldiers don't like him. The pro-soldiers who went to Xiangyang with him already knew that Wang Tu had become like this, and they didn't know how happy they were, and as soon as they returned to Puyang, they spread the word, and almost everyone in the prime minister's mansion knew about it.

Although Cao Cao knew people well, he also knew that Wang Tu had no real skills, but Wang Tu followed him a long time ago, but he just gave him a personal captain, and it was not an important position, and he didn't want him to have any talent. Moreover, Wang Tu also followed the rules in front of him, and he was also humble in front of other civil and military personnel, so no one spoke ill of him in front of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao had no way of knowing his performance in front of his subordinates.

Several cases were piled up with bamboo slips, although the paper was convenient, but it was too expensive, Cao Cao could not afford to use it, so he had to continue to use the bamboo slips to convey military information. Although he controlled most of Qing, Yan'er Prefecture and Yuzhou, these places were deeply affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the past, and most of the people were poor, so Cao Cao was not rich, and many of his military expenses were supplemented by stealing and digging the tombs of vassal kings and ministers.

Cao Cao was looking at the news reported from all over the country, making final preparations for the attack on Xuzhou. Cao Cao knew very well that war between himself and Yuan Shao was inevitable. And the agreement he made with Liu Xin was only two years, and he had to defeat Yuan Shao in two years before he could free up his hands to fight Liu Xin.

However, if you want to defeat Yuan Shao, you must first solve your worries. He has two worries, one is Liu Xin and the other is Tao Qian. Liu Xin has promised not to use troops against him for two years, although he can't be fully trusted, but it can make him feel at ease. Tao Qian of Xuzhou would not have been taken to heart by him, but once he started a war with Yuan Shao, Xuzhou would be in his rear, and if Tao Qian made any changes, he would fall into a situation where he would be attacked by the enemy, so if he wanted to use force with Yuan Shao, he must first deal with Tao Qian. In other words, even if there was no murder of his father's family, he would have taken action against Tao Qian, but the murder of his father provided him with a better reason to go to war.

Cao Cao thought for a long time, suddenly raised his head, and saw an ugly man with a bare head, a messy face tattoo, and no ears and nose appeared in front of him, startled, jumped up from the seat, and shouted angrily: "Who are you?" How dare you come here? ”

The ugly man said with a crying voice: "Lord, the villain is Wang Tu!" ”

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, just now he suddenly saw a living person, afraid that he would come to assassinate, and was about to draw his sword to defend himself, now listening to him, the voice was indeed Wang Tu, and he couldn't help but calm down, only then did he find that he was already in a cold sweat. Cao Cao sat down again and asked in a deep voice, "Are you really Wang Tu?" How did you get to be like this? ”

When Wang Tu heard Cao Cao ask, he couldn't help but burst into tears, and even cried and complained about what happened to Xiangyang.

Cao Cao groaned: "You said that woman is Liu Xin's woman? ”

Wang Tu nodded vigorously and said, "Back to the lord, the villain heard with his own ears that the girl was called Liu Xin's father, calling that woman a mother, and there will definitely be no holidays." ”

Since Cao Cao's power has become stronger and stronger, he has listed Liu Xin as an important opponent, and he has also sent people to Xiangyang to collect information on Liu Xin, knowing that Liu Xin does have a few beautiful relatives around him. Cao Cao couldn't help but think of Ma Yun's stunning beauty outside the south gate of Luoyang, as well as the drunken jade Linglong, I don't know if the woman Wang Tu met is the two of them, but I haven't heard that the two of them have given birth to a daughter, could it be Cai Yan? Cao Cao unconsciously glanced at Wang Tu again, and said in his heart, you guy is so glamorous, although he didn't eat it, he had a good time in his hands, but the master can only think about it once in a dream. However, one thing Cao Cao can be sure of, no matter how tightly Xiangyang is defended, Liu Xin's women will also be left alone, so there will be an opportunity. Cao Cao couldn't help but have a bad thought.

Wang Tu saw that Cao Cao's face was cloudy, and said uneasily: "Lord, then Liu Xin also asked the villain to bring a letter back." ”

Cao Cao's face sank and said, "Show it to me!" ”

When he sees Wang Tu's face now, how uncomfortable he looks, he can't wait to send him away now, so as not to be embarrassed in front of him. Cao Cao endured his unhappiness and read the letter. The letter did not say much, only that Liu Xin expressed great regret and condolences for Cao Song's death, and that Cao Cao was advised to try to ensure the safety of the people when the troops sent to Xuzhou, and in order to show neutrality, he also withdrew all the troops stationed in Xuzhou.

In fact, no matter which side of the princes, there will now be a lot of secret agents in various places, and Cao Cao has long known the news of Liu Xin's army withdrawing from Xuzhou. Liu Xin was also very clear about this, but he didn't want to let go of any opportunity to show his generosity, so he turned this matter over again, so that Cao Cao felt that he owed him a favor.

Of course, Cao Cao would not owe Liu Xin this favor, he sneered and said: "The cat cries and the mouse is fake mercy!" ”

Although this letter was carried by Wang Tu all the way, it was sealed with a strange fire paint pattern, and Wang Tu did not dare to open it privately to peek, so he did not know what was written in the letter. Now when I heard Cao Cao say this, I only thought that Liu Xin apologized for the torture in the letter, and I couldn't help but feel sad for a while, and said with a salivating face: "What the lord said is that this Liu Xin is too vicious, and he hurt the villain like this, and he is embarrassed to fake mercy in front of the lord." ”