In February of the second year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu superstitious in the talisman offered by the priest Zhang Jiong, thinking that he should be in response to the mandate of heaven, so he called himself the emperor in Shouchun and called himself 'Zhong Jia'.

With Jiujiang Taishou as Huainan Yin, set up a hundred officials.

At the beginning of March, Yuan Shu worshipped heaven and earth in accordance with the gift of the Son of Heaven, and was officially called a lonely widow.

Yuan Shu, a descendant of the Yuan clan in Runan, is Yuan Shao's younger brother. But because he is a descendant, he and Yuan Shao have not been convinced.

The two brothers dominate the north and the south, and there is not much contact between them.

After Yuan Shao learned that Yuan Shu was called emperor, he objected to it at the first time, and announced that he had drawn a clear line with Yuan Shu, which meant to kill relatives in a righteous manner.

After all, it is still acceptable to divide one side.

But once you become emperor, it is like rebellion. The fourth and third dukes of the Yuan family are equivalent to being destroyed in the hands of Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shao does not take a stand, he will inevitably be abandoned by the people of the world. Although the Han family is in decline now, the luck of the Han family is still there. Even if everyone has bad intentions, no one dares to be the first to stand up. Everyone knows the truth of shooting the first bird with a gun. Yuan Shu became the emperor at this time, and suddenly became a traitor in the eyes of the world.

In the early years, Cao Ying and the Yuan brothers had a good relationship.

After learning the news of Yuan Shu's proclamation as emperor, he immediately sent people to Shouchun to try to persuade Yuan Shu to retract his decision.

Cao Ying served the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and Yuan Shu was like a rebellion, so Cao Ying could naturally send troops to conquer. It's just that not long after the defeat of Wancheng, Cao Ying really didn't dare to send troops at this time. Can you convince Yuan Shu? Cao Ying didn't know either. It was just a ploy for him to stall for time.

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In late spring and March, the silver rain continued.

For more than a dozen days in a row, the peach blossoms and apricot blossoms outside the capital were blown down by the wind, and they were in a mess.

The winding road, wet and crimson. Outside the moat of the city gate, there is a group of pines, and in the hazy rain, it exudes a majestic atmosphere.

A convoy of cars came from the end of the road, their wheels crushing against the muddy ground, making a creaking sound.

Getting closer and closer, when they arrived outside the city of Xudu, the doorman stepped forward to stop them......

"Who?"

At first, he was a one-armed young man, and he was born very delicate.

He got off the horse, bowed slightly, and said, "We are waiting for the order of the Zhonglang to buy and return." ”

As he spoke, the one-armed young man took out a token and handed it to the doorman. The token is cast in bronze, and there are tiger patterns carved on it, and the overall appearance is very bold.

The front side has a "dictionary" word, and the back is carved with the word "tiger ben".

The doorman couldn't help but be startled when he saw the words on the token clearly.

The attitude towards the young man was followed by a lot of apologies, and even some flattery, and he said respectfully: "Please wait a moment, sir, the villain will come when he goes." ”

He took the token, walked over to Menber, and handed it over.

After seeing it clearly, the doorman also hurried over......

This time, he didn't want to embarrass the other party, but counted the car battles and prepared to let them go.

However, when he saw the wheels of the car that was almost submerged in the mud, he couldn't help but wonder in his heart. What's in this car?

Subconsciously looked over, but found that the top of the car was covered with black cloth.

There are 30 cars in total......

Dian Wei is in Xudu, he is notoriously honest, and he has no property at home. In addition to a mansion in Xudu City, he only has three hundred hectares of land and a dock fort outside Xudu. Buying so many things at once? Could it be that Dian Zhonglang wants to do business in Xudu?

"What's in this car, sir? Why does it look so heavy? ”

The one-armed young man smiled slightly, "It's just some ordinary mountain goods." ”

Bah!

Can your mountain goods press the car like this?

Menbo muttered to himself, but he didn't have the courage to go over and check.

Everyone knows that Dian Wei is very trusted by Cao Ying, and he is newly promoted to the general of Hu Benzhonglang, and he is a serious confidant of Cao Ying. Even those children of the family did not have the favor of Dian Wei. Moreover, Dian Wei is notoriously short-tempered, and he will repay the old fist at every turn, who dares to provoke?

Forget it, he can do whatever he likes, and it's not my turn to be a little person.

Thinking of this, the doorman waved his hand, ready to let him go.

Thirty wagons creaked and creaked into the city, while the one-armed youth took out a money bag and threw it into a wooden box at the city gate.

This box was used to collect the gate tax.

The main purpose of the gate tax is to increase tax revenue. After Cao Ying welcomed the Son of Heaven to Xudu, he repaired the capital, distributed hundreds of officials, and offered various needs to the Han Emperor, which cost a lot of money. It is difficult to break even with past taxes alone.

So Cao Ying opened the city gate tax, and the main object of its collection was bulk commercial goods.

The more goods that come in and out, the greater the taxes that will be levied. And those small merchants have not been affected too much.

The one-armed youth pays taxes, almost 20 times. His behavior also shows that the purpose of these thirty carts of goods is commerce.

I don't know, what's inside?

People are like this, the more they don't know, the more curious they become.

Menber chatted with the young man without saying a word, and watched the convoy go towards the city.

Crunch, crunch, the wheels of the car crashed against the ground, making a screeching sound. The gravel on the road was broken and splashed because it could not bear the weight of the vehicle.

Suddenly, a car crashed.

The car pumped a little unbearable and suddenly snapped......

The goods on the car were suddenly scattered all over the place.

Menber's eyes widened, for he found that the carriage was loaded with black stones.

"It's ......"

The one-armed young man's face changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward and scolded loudly.

A coachman was busy cleaning up the mess, and three wagons were brought in from the carriage and carriage outside the city gates, and the black stones were reloaded.

"Sir, these are ......"

"This ...... It's called the Xuantie Stone, which was collected by the people of the Dian Zhonglang. ”

"Darkstone? What is it used for? ”

"To make knives, of course!"

Menbo's face suddenly changed again.

Knife making is a sensitive topic.

If there is chaos today, Cao Ying has an extremely strict control over salt and iron.

Dian Wei, do you want to make a knife?

"You know this in your heart, don't spread it."

The youth is warned, and the Menbo Vivi is a no.

"Dian Zhonglang, do you want to make a knife?" However, the doorman couldn't help but ask more.

The young man mysteriously looked around, and said softly: "Dian Zhonglang has found a hidden master from Nanyang and is going to make a knife for Dian Zhonglang...... Listening to the instructions of the middle man seems to be of great use. You must be stricter in this matter, otherwise you will only ask. ”

Menber was startled and nodded repeatedly.

But he secretly complained in his heart: You overturned at the city gate, you don't need me to say, it is estimated that it has already spread in the city of Xu Capital at this time.

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"Dian Wei bought a lot of black stones?"

In Xufang City, Xili, Xudu City, several scribes were sitting by the window, whispering.

This Xili Xu, in later generations, should belong to the kind of surname in the commercial area, with many merchants and restaurants connected. The whole Xudu, divided into four miles, east and south, close to the imperial city, belongs to the official family, the residence of the emperor's relatives. Sirish is a commercial district, while North Lich is where ordinary people live.

"Gong Wen, what did you say that Dian Junming bought so many black stones?"

It was a scribe who spoke, dressed in a green shirt and holding a fan, shaking it gently and asking questions.

Looking at the age, he is about forty years old, with a white face, a black beard, sword eyebrows, a gorgeous demeanor, and an extraordinary appearance.

This person is Kong Rong, a famous man in the Lu country.

And the person he asked looked younger than Kong Rong, probably in his thirties, less than forty. He is very burly, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, and he is particularly eye-catching in a group of scribes. Thick eyebrows and big eyes, bronze complexion, and a short hair under the chin.

"This ...... How can I know? Gong Wen scratched his head and replied with a smile: "Dian Junming may want to add a little elegance to the family?" ”

"Ha, you're joking, Dian Junming...... Can a few pieces of black stone be elegant? ”

Kong Rong couldn't help laughing, and in his words, he seemed to be quite disdainful of Dian Wei.

"Wen Jugong's words are not bad, Dian Wei has never paid attention to these things, he has always been known for his bravery, what do you want to be elegant?"

The one who spoke was a young scholar, about twenty-six or seventeen years old.

The body is thin and slightly thin.

His face was a little pale, and his eyes were as bright as stars, which was extremely exciting.

"Fengxiao, what do you think?" Kong Rong asked.

The handsome young man smiled when he heard this, "I'm afraid that this Dian Junming is to prepare for the competition between the two tigers in July." ”

Cao Ying appointed Dian Wei as the general of the Tiger Ben and asked him to form the Tiger Ben Army.

At the same time, an order was issued to ask the Tiger Ben Army and Xu Chu's Tiger Guard to have a competition.

Everyone knows that Xu Chu's Tiger Guard is an elite army composed mainly of the Xu clan, while Dian Wei is a letter to Cao Ying, determined to draw sharp soldiers from Cao Wei's army to form a Tiger Ben. But in terms of combat effectiveness, the Tiger Ben formed by Dian Wei may not lose to Xu Chu; But after all, it was temporarily formed, and it seemed that there was a lack of time to compete with those Xu Huwei who had been with him for a long time. Therefore, in Xudu City, many people began to discuss, four months later, Hu Ben or Hu Wei, who can win.

Kong Rong said with a smile: "In my opinion, even if Dian Junming forms a tiger ben, he can't beat Xu Zhongkang." ”

"That's why Dianzhonglang has to prepare."

Gong Wen was stunned for a moment, suddenly remembered something, and clapped his hands, "Could it be that Dian Junming wants to make a knife?" ”

"Knife making?"

"In my early years, I once read a book that said that there were strange stones in the Western Regions, and the color was black...... A hundred refinements can become a divine soldier, and it can sharpen iron like clay. Those black stones that Dian Wei bought, could it be Qiwu in the Western Regions? If he can practice a batch of good swords, Xu Zhongkang may not be his opponent......"

Kong Rong was slightly stunned, revealing a contemplative expression.

"Chiwu of the Western Regions?"

A gleam flashed in the young man's eyes, "But there are only four months, can Jun Ming fight a divine soldier?" ”

Gong Wen thought about it and smiled!

"That can't be...... Even if there is Qiwu in the Western Regions, it is impossible to make a good knife. A good knife requires very strict conditions. Not only the condition of the material, but also the caster's excellent memory. As far as I know, even if Ou Yezi is reborn, he may not be able to create a batch of good knives within three months. In my opinion, Dian Junming was in a hurry to go to the doctor, and he was out of order. ”

The young man said, "Then what if there is a master by Dian Junming's side?" ”

"No way, I know most of the great casters today. These people were either controlled by the princes of various places, or they were attached to the high lords. As far as Xu Du is concerned, the best casters are concentrated in Zhuye Prison. Even if Dian Wei asked those people to make a move, it would not have been possible to succeed in four months. ”

The young man rolled his eyes and untied the white deerskin pocket around his waist.

"There are three gold coins and twenty copper coins...... I made a bet with the princes, and I bet that the gentleman would be able to make a good knife, how about it? ”

Kong Rong laughed and said, "Fengxiao, you are sending money to us." ”

"Wen Jugong, do you want to gamble?"

"Bet!" Kong Rong immediately responded, "How can I not gamble on this money that must be won?" ”

But Gong Wen did not speak.

The young man drank a few more glasses of wine and then got up to take his leave.

After the young man left, Kong Rong grabbed Gong Wen, "Gong Wen, are you really sure, that Dian Junming can't hit a good knife?" ”

Gong Wen thought for a while, "As far as I know, a good knife is difficult to make for more than a year. Not to mention making a good batch of knives in four months. It's just that I see Feng Xiao and am a little hesitant. Wen Jugong, there are a lot of strange people in these years, if Dian Wei really ......"

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

Kong Rong frowned and said to himself: "Could it be that Dian Junming really invited a master?" ”