After receiving the results of Jingzhou, Yizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Youzhou, Situ Luzhi asked the Empress Dowager to convene a court meeting to discuss the deployment of the Kwantung operation. The Empress Dowager www.biquge.info agreed, and the edict general Dong Chong, the hussar general Song Feng and the three dukes and Jiuqing attended, and the general Liu Xiu was too late to rush back because he was in Liangzhou.

Hearing the news of this meeting, the former general led the Yanzhou assassin Cao Cao to send Cao Mao Jue to Luoyang, briefed the ministers attending the meeting on the tense situation of the Yanzhou war, and asked the Son of Heaven to issue an edict and order Liu Xiu, the general of the chariot cavalry, to send troops to support. After Yuan Shu withdrew from Nanyang, the pressure on Yanzhou increased greatly, and he had to fight Yuan Shao in Jizhou and Yuan Shu in Yuzhou, and Yanzhou was a little unsustainable in terms of military strength and financial resources.

Lu Zhi asked Xun Yu if the general was capable of sending troops at the moment. Xun Yu smacked his lips, there are soldiers, but there is no food! It's okay to contain it, but it's not very realistic to send troops on a large scale. Jingzhou has soldiers and food, why not let Zhennan General Liu Biao send troops to attack Yuan Shu, and let Yuan Shu taste the taste of being attacked on both sides, so that the pressure on the former general can be a little less.

Lu Zhi was a little unhappy, he felt that this was Liu Xiu's rebellion for not putting the Zhennan general Liu Biao under his control. Jingzhou has soldiers and food, but Liu Biao is not a person who can fight, he is now competing with Yuan Shu's general Sun Jian for Jiangxia, Sun Jian is fierce, and Liu Biao is defeated and retreated. It is not easy for Liu Biao to keep Jiangxia intact, and he still wants him to attack Yuan Shu?

Xun Yu then came up with another idea: the former general Cao Cao was caught by the Yuan brothers, but the Yuan brothers were also attacked. In addition to Liu Biao's attack on Yuan Shu, the left general Gongsun Zan could also send troops from Youzhou to contain Yuan Shao's rear, and Youzhou Shima was strong. I haven't fought any battles in these years, so I should have the strength to send troops. Instead of traveling thousands of miles from Liangzhou to transfer troops, it is better to send troops from Youzhou.

This sentence reminded Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi and Duan Cheng discussed, let's put the breakthrough in Jizhou, and there are three sides of Bingzhou, Youzhou and Yanzhou Qingxu. Jizhou can be broken. After defeating Yuan Shao and going back to fight Yuan Shu, the cavalry of Youzhou can be discharged and the certainty of annihilating Yuan Shu in the Jianghuai region is greatly increased.

Duan Cheng disagreed. Although Jizhou is said to be attacked on three sides, don't forget. The number of hukou in Jizhou is too large, and the combined number of Jizhou and Youzhou is less than half of Jizhou, and the Qingxu area has been fighting for many years, and its financial resources have been greatly damaged. Although there are fine horses, but the financial endowment is seriously insufficient, it is difficult to continue to fight, and there are many strong cities in Jizhou. Cavalry can have an advantage in field battles, but not sieges, and in the end they have to rely on foot soldiers to besiege the city for many years, and the siege must be backed by strong financial endowments. You can't fight without money, and you can't move without food. It's common sense.

Say 1,000, 10,000, still no money and no food.

Seeing that the court did not give a clear answer, Mao Jue was anxious, and begged one by one, and the court did not increase its efforts to ask for help. Cao Cao really couldn't hold on. It's a pity that it's useless for him to say that his mouth is dry, and there is no food in the court, so no one can do anything. Most of the anointed land of the Han Dynasty was occupied by the Yuan brothers. In the past two years, the general of the Che Cavalry has spent a lot of effort, but it is just that they do not eat relief and are self-reliant. It's impossible to support the entire Han Dynasty, and the imperial court still has a lot of places to use money. You can't just go to war.

Mao Jue finally ran out of tricks and ran to Cai Yong's mansion to ask for a meeting. They are all Chen Liuren, although Mao Jue's knowledge cannot be compared with Cai Yong, but his reputation is not small, and Cai Yong does not dare to slack off. After seeing Cai Yong, Mao Jue said straight to the point that since the Yellow Turban Turmoil in Guanghe three years, Yanzhou has fought for four or five years, and now Yanzhou is also full of mourning, not only ordinary people have no way to live, but even powerful big families have fallen into crisis. The grain was all eaten by the soldiers, and the sericulture that Chen left to get rich with had no market, and the exquisite silk fabrics were piled up at home, but they could only look moldy, and there was nowhere to sell them. Because there was nowhere to sell, the price of food plummeted, and on the contrary, the price of food skyrocketed. In order to requisition grain, Cao Cao has used all methods, coaxing and scamming, and doing everything he can, but the situation is still getting worse day by day.

Mao Jue finally said, sir, the former general is already in a hurry, and if he can't get any more money, he is ready to dig a grave and dig a grave to find money in the grave. The Han people pay attention to thick burials, and there are many families in the Chenliu area, and there is a lot of money in this land. If you don't help, it's hard to guarantee that you won't dig up your Cai family's ancestral grave in the end.

When Cai Yong heard this, he jumped up with a thud and shouted angrily: "He dares!" ”

"Mr. Cai, don't say it, he really dares." Mao Jue smiled bitterly: "You should know what kind of person the former general is." Last time, Bian Rang said a few strange words, and he slaughtered Bian Rang with one sword. Although the Yanzhou Shi clan later rebelled and drove Cao Cao out of Yanzhou, Cao Cao later came back, and he cleaned up all those who opposed him one by one. Who else in Yanzhou would dare to bark his teeth at him now? As you know, the imperial court is now relying on him to support him in Yanzhou, as long as he wins this battle, no crime is worth mentioning, even if he kills all the Yanzhou scholars. If he loses, even if the entire Yanzhou people support him, what good is he for? ”

"If he digs a grave, the old man will impeach him."

Mao Jue was speechless at Cai Yong's book. Impeach? The backer of the Cao family is Queen Song, the Son of Heaven, and he is a general relied on by the imperial court.

"He doesn't dig, but the yellow scarf does." Mao Jue asked rhetorically: "He said he snatched it from the Yellow Turban, what can you do with him?" ”

Cai Yong then remembered that Cao Cao and the Yellow Turban had colluded, and although the Yellow Turban had not yet been named, it was just a strategy adopted by the imperial court for convenience. The reason why the Yellow Turban was not recruited was to let the Yellow Turban do some evil things that were inconvenient for the imperial court. If Cao Cao instructed the Yellow Turban to dig up the grave to get money, he really couldn't help it.

Cai Yong was anxious, he was filial, he had guarded the tomb for three years, and when he thought of his deceased old mother being thrown into the wilderness, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Awn." A crisp voice sounded behind the screen. Cai Yong was stunned for a moment, knowing that it was his daughter Cai Yan, just when she was here to ask about learning, how could he be in the mood to talk about learning at this time. He replied impatiently: "What's the matter?" ”

"Ah Weng, silk is money." Cai Yan said softly behind the screen.

"I know it's money, but that money can't be exchanged for food now." Cai Yong smiled bitterly.

"You can't change food in Yanzhou, but you can change it when you get to Guanzhong." Cai Yan turned from behind the screen and saluted Mao Jue. He smiled lightly: "I heard that Zhang He, the chief of the Western Regions, has achieved initial results in renovating the Western Regions, and it is imperative to reopen the trade routes. Why not send these silk silks to Guanzhong and exchange them for food, which can be somewhat relieved. ”

When Mao Jue heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up: "The trade routes in the Western Regions are going to be reopened?" ”

Cai Yan nodded. She also just heard what the Son of Heaven said. Liu Xiu wants to reopen the Silk Road, of course, he must report to the imperial court.

When Mao Jue heard this, he was not interested in talking nonsense with Cai Yong, a scholar, and got up to find Xun Yu. Xun Yu didn't live in the post house, he lived in the Chu Palace. Mao Jue didn't say a word, and rushed to the Chu Palace.

Xun Yu was discussing the Silk Road with Liu Yuanqi, the king of Chu. Liu Yuanqi has been hiding in the rivers and lakes for so many years, relying on business. Although his business is a little unpopular, I have to say that in terms of business, Liu Xiu is still too far behind him. The several big business groups in Liu Xiu's hands are basically transferred to him by Liu Yuanqi. Like Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, the big businessmen in Zhongshan, they were originally the people in charge of commercial affairs in Liaodong under Liu Yuanqi, and there are several other very powerful forces, which have not yet been handed over to Liu Xiu.

"The Western Regions are far away, but the profits are high, and it is still worth doing." Liu Yuan had already received Liu Xiu's letter. Some preparations have been made: "Now that Zhang He is making good progress in the Western Regions, of course it is a good opportunity." But you want to know, doing business in the Western Regions. The biggest pressure is not on money or supplies, but on food and water. ”

Xun Yu nodded, he understood this truth. There is little arable land and little water in the Western Regions, once a large number of merchants pour into the Western Regions. It is difficult to meet the demand by relying on the Western Regions' own grain production capacity alone. It may create a few thriving commercial oases in a short period of time, but it will soon be in trouble due to food and drinking problems.

Of course. When those problems have not reached the point of seriousness, the most urgent thing at the moment is the supply of goods. With Yizhou, it can be regarded as solving the problem of some supply of goods, but Yizhou has just arrived, and it is difficult to meet the needs of the Silk Road in the short term. Xun Yu came to Liu Yuanqi to ask if Liu Yuanqi had any foundation in Shandong and whether he could start this business in the shortest possible time.

At this moment, Mao Jue came excitedly and said, I have a large amount of silk silk in Yanzhou that can be sold, and the price is negotiable, but it must be exchanged for grain.

Xun Yu was overjoyed at first, and after listening to Mao Jue's request, he shook his head again and again. In the past two years, Guanzhong has developed rapidly, and grain output has increased substantially, but in addition to supporting its own grain needs, Guanzhong must also allocate a part of it to support Liangzhou. It is obviously unrealistic to ask Guanzhong to come up with food to support Yanzhou.

Liu Yuanqi was very calm, he asked Mao Jue a few questions, how much inventory do you have, what price, and how much grain can you exchange for.

Mao Jue was asked all of a sudden, he only knew a rough idea, how could he say the specific number. However, he said to Liu Yuanqi, I will go back to check these numbers immediately, as long as you have food, we can do business.

Liu Yuanqi smiled slightly: "Okay, you immediately gather those silk silks, count them, and then send them to Luoyang." I'll take care of the food you need. However, this business belongs to my Chu Wangfu and has nothing to do with the imperial court. ”

Mao Jue has gone crazy in order to raise grain, so he doesn't care if you are the palace of the king of Chu or the imperial court, and whoever can sell him grain, he will sell those backlogged silk silks to whomever he wants. He immediately discussed with Liu Yuanqi a rough discussion, and did the first business at a price nearly one-third lower than the market price, and then talked about it later. Mao Jue knew that if those silk fabrics were not sold out, he would not even be able to get the capital back, and although the price he was talking about now was low, those families who were already in a hurry would definitely be able to agree.

Mao Jue immediately sent someone to hurry back to Chenliu and report the news to Cao Cao. Cao Cao immediately brought those heroes over, and I found a way out of the backlog of silk silk at home, but the price was lower. If you wish, ship it to me now, and I will pay you for it before the year. If you ask for money, I will give you money, and if you ask for grain, I will sell you food. Of course, this price, as you know, is a shortage of food now, and the price is a bit high.

When those powerful families heard this, they scolded Cao Cao's eighteen ancestors in their hearts. Is there anything more shameless than collecting silk fabrics at a low price and selling their grain at a high price? But now that the military power is in Cao Cao's hands, they have nowhere else to sell it except to Cao Cao. Jizhou and Yuzhou are all rebellious, whoever does business with them is rebellious, and if they are caught, they will die, and they will not be able to lose a single money.

It's better to sell it than to rot at home. The heroes gritted their teeth and transported their backlog of silk to Cao Cao's military camp. Cao Cao sent someone to escort him to Luoyang, and within two days, a young man found Cao Cao and said straight to the point, I have 500,000 stone rice, which is used to pay for the first batch of silk silk, and ask the general to send someone to the beach with me to receive it.

Cao Cao was overjoyed, he had just gotten 4,000 war horses from Luoyang, and now he had 500,000 stone rice, enough for 30,000 troops to eat for three or four months, there were soldiers and food, and Lao Tzu was still afraid of what Yuan family brothers.