"Master, you're back!" When Mi Zhu returned home, the housekeeper hurried forward to help him take off his coat. The room was warm from the charcoal fire.
Mi Zhu nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Old Guan!" The housekeeper's face was cold. He had been waiting for Mi Zhu to come back.
"It's nothing. It's my duty to serve you!" Old Guan waved his hand.
"Master, are you going to eat?" Old Guan asked. It was already noon when the meeting ended. Ordinary people ate two meals a day. For the rich, they ate three meals a day.
"No, I'll go to the study first!" Mi Zhu originally wanted to eat, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. This was because the news he received from Jian Yong made him very excited. Once the Mi Family obtains the title of nobility, they would no longer be a lowly merchant family. They would become a noble family. Mi Zhu was very excited, so he didn't want to eat.
"That's right. Second Master and Young Miss are not here!" Old Guan's words made Mi Zhu's heart sink.
Mi Zhu's originally happy mood also disappeared. The house had become cold and cheerless. The two important people had disappeared.
Old Guan saw his master's gloomy eyes and knew that he had said something wrong. He quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed. "Master, please forgive me. Please forgive me!"
"Old Guan, get up. It's not your fault!" Mi Fang shook his head. During the Battle of Yangzhou, Liu Bei's army attacked Yangzhou. He wanted to merge with Jiangdong's Sun Ce and Wancheng's Zhang Xiu to destroy the Lvbu's Army. However, he did not expect that Liu Mang's army would also attack Yuzhou. His younger brother was the defending general of Yingshang. After Yingshang's city was destroyed, there was no news of his younger brother.
Mi Zhu did not know if they were dead or alive. If they were killed by Liu Mang's army, there should at least be a corpse for Mi Zhu to bury. Mi Zhu used all his abilities to find his younger brother. He hoped that his younger brother and sister were captured by Liu Mang. That way, they would still be alive.
"Come, Old Guan, let's go eat!" Mi Zhu sighed and stopped thinking about it. Thinking too much about it would only make him sad.
"No no no! Old Master, aren't you making fun of me? " Old Guan cried out in alarm. Mi Zhu actually told him to close the table. He was a steward, the head of the servants. But even so, he was still a steward. He couldn't change the nature of a servant. How could a servant sit on the table? It would be a joke.
"What's the big deal? Could it be that you want me to eat all these dishes by myself? "Mi Zhu said nonchalantly. There were dozens of dishes on the table.
"No, no, that doesn't make sense!" Old Guan still shook his head. There were dozens of dishes. If the master couldn't finish them, the servants could heat them up before eating, but they definitely couldn't serve them on the table.
"Gifts?" Mi Zhu sneered. "Who decided on these gifts? The landowning households! " Mi Zhu answered his own question. "And who am I? I'm just a lowly merchant. I don't need to care about such things. Come and sit on the table!" Mi Zhu pulled Old Guan to the table.
"Old Master, I, I!" Old Guan wanted to decline, but Mi Zhu glared at him. He sat down at the table and reluctantly picked up his chopsticks. Carefully, he picked up the vegetables.
Mi Zhu didn't care. With one more person on the table, he didn't need to be alone anymore.
… …
"It's time for Xinye's commerce to have a manager!" This was what Liu Mang said a few days ago in Jingzhou. With Liu Qi's help, a steady stream of goods from Jingzhou was sent to Yangzhou. Fatty Liang and Skinny Wu were also actively persuading the merchants from Jingzhou to set up a business in Yangzhou. However, it was too chaotic. Sooner or later, there would be trouble. It was time for a manager to take charge of the commerce between Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Whether it was Xu Shu or Jia Xu, Xu Shu didn't know much about commerce.
Merchants were of low status. Thus, there were no merchants who sold martial arts to the imperial family.
Thus, a group of rare guests came to Nanyang County. This group of rare guests was split into two groups. One group went to Nanyang County's capital, Wan City. Although the other group also went to Wan City, the two groups, one in the open and one in the dark, obviously went to different mansions.
"What?!" Liu Bei was about to rest when he received a big piece of news. Liu Mang had sent an envoy to Yangzhou. This caused Liu Bei to be stunned.
Yangzhou was Yangzhou. It wasn't important that both sides were enemies. The important thing was that Liu Mang's 3,000 light cavalry was still in Nanyang County. Yangzhou had actually sent an envoy to Nanyang. Was he not afraid that Liu Bei would be killed by his envoy?
"Why did Liu Mang send an envoy? Is he trying to persuade them to surrender?" Liu Bei mocked. However, Liu Bei still waved his hand. "Bring Liu Mang's envoy here!"
"Yang Jie, the envoy under His Highness the King Of Shu, greets the Left General!" Liu Mang's envoy was one of Yang Hong's juniors. Yang Hong was in charge of Liu Mang's intelligence. This kind of mission was given to his subordinates. Yang Jie was the one who volunteered to step forward.
Yang Jie was worthy of being Yang Hong's nephew. His etiquette was not bad. Although Liu Bei was Yangzhou's archenemy and both sides had fought many times, Yang Jie still respected Liu Bei's position and called him the Left General.
As for Liu Bei's Imperial Uncle, Yang Jie could not say that. If he admitted that his lord, Liu Mang, was Liu Bei's nephew, then he would be one generation younger than Liu Bei.
"No need for formalities!" Liu Bei nodded. Liu Mang's envoy, Liu Bei, did not go overboard and nodded, acknowledging Yang Jie's title.
Yang Jie was only one of Liu Mang's messengers. Naturally, there was no need for Liu Bei to personally answer such questions. Jian Yong immediately stepped forward and asked Yang Jie. "May I know why Your Lordship has sent thee to my Lordship?"
"My Highness sent me here to send the Left General's wife and brother-in-law back!" Yang Jie answered without being arrogant or humble.
"En?" Liu Bei frowned. His wife and brother-in-law.
"Lady Mi and General Mi Fang!" Yang Jie explained.
"They're not dead?" Liu Bei blurted out without even thinking about it.
Seeing Liu Bei's reaction, Yang Jie smiled. Before he came, his uncle, Yang Hong, had told him about Liu Bei's reaction. At first, he was surprised.
"Although my Highness took down the Left General's Yingshang, he did not kill General Mi Fang. General Mi Fang also did not die on the battlefield. Lady Mi and General Mi Fang are now guests in Yangzhou!" Yang Jie cupped his fists and said.
"Guests?" More like captives.
"Speak! What does your Highness want? " Liu Bei was born in the marketplace. The marketplace could not compare to the nobles, but it was the same. Everyone was greedy for benefits. Would Liu Mang be so kind as to send his wife and brother-in-law back?
"The Left General is straightforward!" Yang Jie smiled and said, "These days, Lady Mi and General Mi Fang have been in Yangzhou. Although my Highness is not here, Military Advisor Xu Shu has been taking good care of General Mi Fang and Lady Mi, satisfying all their needs. However, the Left General also knows that Yangzhou has been at war for years. The former General Yuan Shu and Cao Sikong have been in constant disputes, so Yangzhou is barren. It is difficult to take care of Lady Mi and General Mi Fang. This time, we have to send General Mi Fang and Lady Mi back to Yuzhou, so we have no travel expenses. Therefore, my Highness hopes that the Left General can fork out a sum of travel expenses so that we can send General Mi Fang and Lady Mi back to Yuzhou! Send them to the Left General's residence! "
"How much?"
"Not much, just a hundred thousand shi of provisions!" Yang Jie said.
"Pfft!" Yang Jie's number made everyone present spit out a mouthful of blood. A hundred thousand shi was not much? It was just a small amount! This was already tens of thousands of gold. Moreover, who didn't know that Yangzhou was lacking in provisions? This was why your Highness, Liu Mang, personally went to Jingzhou to obtain provisions from Jingzhou. Liu Bei was waiting for Yangzhou to run out of provisions and run out of ammunition, so he could take advantage of the situation! How could he give you provisions?
Most importantly, Liu Bei's net worth was around a hundred thousand shi. If he gave it to you, Liu Bei and Liu Bei, not only did Liu Bei have troops in Nanyang, he also had troops in Yuzhou to raise. He was even preparing to expand his army to a hundred thousand. If he gave it to Liu Bei, he would not be able to survive.
"What a cheap travel expenses!" Liu Bei mocked. There was an angry look on his face.
"Your Highness's request is simply impossible!" Jian Yong also saw his Lord's anger. Liu Bei could not directly get angry at Yang Jie as it would cause him to lose face. However, Jian Yong did not care! As a subject, his job was to solve his Lord's problems.
"A hundred thousand shi is too much!" Yang Jie deliberately pretended to be surprised. "Of course, my Lord also knows that the Left General started from nothing and knows how to be thrifty. Therefore, my Lord empathized with the Left General and specially reduced the amount by half. Only fifty thousand shi of provisions is enough!"
"Yang Jie, you really are not afraid of death!" Yang Jie's words were simply a provocation. What did he mean by starting from nothing? What did he mean by thrifty? To put it bluntly, he was looking down on Liu Bei. He was just a poor man who sold straw sandals. After Liu Bei was recognized as Emperor Liu's Uncle by the Han Emperor, Liu Bei felt that his experience as a straw sandal seller was a taboo. However, Yang Jie directly pulled it out.
"Does the Left General want to kill me?" Yang Jie smiled indifferently. "That won't happen. Even Li Gui and Guo Si know that envoys are not to be killed in a war. With the Left General's benevolence, how could you kill me?"
Yang Jie blocked Liu Bei's words. What kind of people were Li Gui and Guo Si? They were almost defined as national traitors. Even such people knew that envoys were not to be killed. If Liu Bei wanted to kill him, he would not be as good as Li Gui and Guo Si. Furthermore, Liu Bei had always been known for his benevolence! Yang Jie was taking a risk by saying such words. This was because no one knew if Liu Bei would kill him in a fit of anger. This diplomatic mission was originally very risky, but Yang Jie still came without hesitation. He was gambling!
"Hmph, Yang Jie, open the door and speak frankly! Fifty thousand shi is impossible. Jia Xu and Jia Wenhe should be in Yangzhou. They must know about the fire in Nanyang! " Obviously, Yang Jie had made the right bet. If not for the matter with Jia Xu, Liu Bei might still be able to take out fifty thousand shi of provisions. However, Jia Xu had burned the entire savings of Wan City. Now, Liu Bei was eating the remaining provisions of these cities. He was still counting on Yuzhou's financial support. Otherwise, he would not have sent Pang Tong to Jingzhou. He was also going there for provisions.
At first, Liu Bei did not pay attention to Jia Xu. However, after Jia Xu burned the granaries of Wan City, he paid attention to this person. After that, he found out that this person was a great talent. That year, Li Gui and Guo Si attacked Chang 'an. Liu Bei's intestines turned green on the spot.
"Thirty thousand stones, no bargaining!" Yang Jie shouted out another price.
"Thirty thousand shi?!" This price was still okay. Although thirty thousand shi was a lot, it was not impossible to gather together. Mi Fang was originally not worth much, but Mi Fang was following Lady Mi. This Lady Mi was Liu Bei's wife. No matter how heartless Liu Bei was, he still had to redeem his wife.
"Alright, my army will send provisions in exchange for General Mi Fang and Lady Mi's safe return!" Jian Yong looked at Liu Bei's eyes and knew that thirty thousand shi was still in Liu Bei's mind.
"No problem, a total of sixty thousand shi. Just send it to Xinye! We will also send General Mi Fang and Lady Mi to Xinye! "Yang Jie nodded. He was very satisfied with this price.
"Sixty thousand shi?!" Jian Yong was stunned again. Didn't they agree on thirty thousand shi? How did it become sixty thousand shi?
"That's right, thirty thousand for each person. Isn't it sixty thousand shi for two people?" Yang Jie looked at Jian Yong innocently. "What's wrong, Chancellor Jian? You can't be reluctant to part with the thirty thousand shi of provisions, right? It's only a thousand gold! It's only two thousand gold in total! "
Two thousand gold? Jian Yong wanted to go up and tear Yang Jie apart. Indeed, 2000 gold was enough to buy 60,000-shi worth of provisions. However, how many years ago was that? The current price was at least 4-5 times higher, and it was still not enough to buy 60,000-shi worth of provisions. If he could use money to buy it, Liu Mang wouldn't have gone to Jingzhou. It was forbidden to sell provisions recklessly.
"Envoy Yang, if you put it this way, then there's no room for discussion! You don't even want to send General Mi Fang and Lady Mi back! "Jian Yong said to Yang Jie with a cold face.
"How can that be!" Yang Jie said exaggeratedly. "My lord is very sincere. Back then, General Mi Fang's dowry for General Zuo was three thousand servants, countless carriages, and over ten thousand gold and silver. My lord only wants a small portion of it!"
Yang Jie's words made Liu Bei vomit blood. Although the dowry given by the Mi Family was huge and could even be said to be the biggest in the world, these things had been used up over the years. If it wasn't for that Lü Bu, Liu Bei wouldn't have to suffer so much! With the Mi Family's wealth and Xu Province, Liu Bei would have become the master of the family long ago. He wouldn't be in this state now.
To be honest, the mission Yang Jie received when he came was to try his best not to talk. Or rather, Yangzhou didn't want to talk at all.
If Liu Mang wanted to send Mi Fang and Lady Mi back, why did he have to do this? Mi Fang was at most a second-rate general. He was also someone with confidence but no strength. At best, he was slightly better than Huang She. Lady Mi! Liu Mang admitted that this white jade beauty was very beautiful. However, Liu Mang's family had two tigresses. This wasn't the main point. The main point was that Liu Mang wasn't a perpetual motion machine. He only had so much ammunition. With Lady Mi who was at the age of starvation, Liu Mang shouldn't fight for hegemony.
If it was possible, Liu Mang would want to exchange these two people for ten thousand shi. Lu Su Liu Mang was only sold for a thousand gold, not to mention these two! On the other hand, Liu Mang asked for a hundred thousand just to disgust Liu Bei.
He knew that Liu Bei would bargain until it was thirty thousand shi. This was the price Liu Bei wanted. Yang Jie gave him another thirty thousand shi. Two of them would be sixty thousand shi.
Would Liu Bei give it to him or not? If Liu Bei gave it to him, Liu Mang wouldn't go back on his words. With these sixty thousand shi of provisions, Liu Mang would be able to live comfortably for a long time. Based on Liu Mang's estimation of Liu Bei's provisions, giving him sixty thousand shi wouldn't starve him to death. However, he would still have to expand his army by a hundred thousand. To be able to maintain the normal size of his army was already very thrifty.
If Liu Bei didn't give it to him, then Liu Mang's goal would have been achieved. As mentioned before, Liu Mang's army didn't lack strategists. The top strategists were Jia Xu, Xu Shu, and Liu Ye. If his cheap father-in-law, Lü Bu, was included, then there was also Old Man Chen Gong. His cheap father-in-law was a top general. Liu Mang's top generals, Zhao Yun, Xu Sheng, and Wei Yan, as well as Zhang Liao and Zang Ba, were not included. They were the commanders who trained the troops! None of them were bad.
What Liu Mang lacked right now was provisions and fodder and a top notch merchant.
A person who could manage the business of the entire Yangzhou. The top merchants in this world were the Zhen Family of Hebei and the Mi Family of Xuzhou. The Zhen Family was too far away in Hebei. Not to mention that Lao Cao was currently fighting with the Yuan family, even if there wasn't a war, how could the Zhen Family come when Liu Mang asked them to? They had a family to feed! They couldn't leave just because they wanted to.
Mi Fang used to have a large family business, but he had already used up all his wealth. This wasn't like what Poet Li said, "I am born with a purpose. Money will come back after it has been used up." That was because Poet Li didn't have to worry about food and drink. The Mi Family's wealth was comparable to a country. How could they come back after using up all their wealth? Even if they wanted to make a comeback, they needed capital.
Liu Mang had his eyes on the head of the Mi Family, the number one merchant in Great Han, Mi Zhu.
The twenty-first century lacked talents, but Great Han also lacked talents. Liu Mang was even more lacking.
However, Mi Zhu had already joined Liu Bei. How could Mi Zhu join Liu Mang? The Mi Family siblings alone couldn't threaten Mi Zhu. Mi Fang betrayed Liu Bei and joined Jiangdong. Lady Mi died while Mi Zhu remained by Liu Bei's side. This person was like the old fox Kuai Yue in Jingzhou. They both prioritized their family. Only when you forced them to the extreme would they wake up.
Liu Mang used Kuai Ran and Kuai Liang to force Kuai Yue to side with him. Similarly, Liu Mang wanted to use Mi Fang and Lady Mi to force Mi Zhu.
If Liu Bei did not pay the ransom for Mi Fang and Lady Mi, what do you think Mi Zhu would think? He had worked hard for his entire life and even married his sister to you. Now, he wants you to spend some money to redeem your sister and brother. (This small amount of money is compared to the Mi Family's wealth.)
If you don't give him the ransom, Mi Zhu would be disappointed and Liu Mang's opportunity would come.
"Impossible!" Sixty thousand shi? Why not just rob? Liu Bei immediately decided that it was impossible.
"Envoy Yang, go rest at the relay station. Once there is news, my lord will inform you!" Jian Yong didn't immediately tell his lord to reject Yang Jie. Instead, he planned to take things slowly.
"If that's the case, Yang Jie will take his leave first! I hope that the Left General will hurry. You also know that Yangzhou's provisions are insufficient! It wouldn't be good if General Mi Fang and Lady Mi starved! " Yang Jie was warning him. If Liu Bei didn't give him the ransom, Liu Mang's plan would be ruined. Liu Bei didn't say that he wouldn't give him the ransom. He would give it later! What could he do if he dragged it out until the end of time? Therefore, Yang Jie was either giving Liu Bei a heads-up or threatening Liu Bei. If this continues, Yangzhou would no longer be responsible for the safety of Liu Bei.
"Hmph!" Liu Bei suppressed his anger. Originally, Big Eared Liu had a red face. Now, his face became even redder, almost as red as Guan Yu. Yang Jie's lips curled into a smile as he excused himself.
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