Can I get to the other side?

"Manager Mi, how is Xuande these days?"

Gongsun Zan first exchanged pleasantries with the manager of the Mi family, building a good relationship, and then asked about Liu Bei's recent situation.

The last time he heard about Liu Bei was when he persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender and made great contributions in capturing the false emperor, but Yuan Shao targeted him and only gave him the title of governor of Jingzhou.

At that time, he was still indignant for Liu Bei.

The steward of the Mi family said: "In accordance with the emperor's order, the governor of Jingzhou is still in Yangzhou with Lord Wen to fight against Sun Ce of Jiangdong who covets Yangzhou and Cao thief who pretends to be the emperor."

"Although Cao thief has retreated, Sun Ce has strong soldiers and horses, and Lord Wen can't continue. Therefore, the governor of Jingzhou asked us to come to the north to buy war horses and form cavalry to suppress Sun thief."

At this point, the steward of the Mi family said to Gongsun Zan with gratitude: "It is not easy to buy war horses. Now that we have the help of the governor of Youzhou, we are really lucky!"

"Alas! Steward Mi is wrong!"

Gongsun Zan said righteously: "Yangzhou is the Yangzhou of the Han Dynasty. How can it fall into the hands of Sun thief and Cao thief? Xuande and this general are classmates. Now I have been ordered to fight against the thieves. How can I not help a little?"

"By the way...how many war horses do you need?"

The previous words were just polite words, and the last question was what Gongsun Zan wanted to ask. If the Mi family only wants a few hundred or a thousand horses, then it's meaningless.

He also hopes to sell some horses for military use.

If the number is small, it will be useless.

"Not a lot."

The Mi family's steward looked embarrassed and said hesitantly: "It's only... 5,000 horses. Will the Youzhou governor think it's too little?"

"How much? 5,000 horses?"

This number stunned Gongsun Zan.

You call it not a lot?

The Mi family's steward saw Gongsun Zan's eyes wide open as if he was dissatisfied, and hurriedly said: "Five thousand horses are just what we need now. We will definitely continue to purchase more in the future, and it will definitely increase to 10,000 horses within a year."

Gongsun Zan was silent.

Originally, he felt that Liu Bei was targeted by Yuan Shao and was miserable following Lu Bu's ass, and he felt a little sympathetic.

But now he only has jealousy.

How did you get the Mi family's strong thigh?

You really got this soft rice!

Opening his mouth, he asked for 5,000 or 10,000 war horses. How rich and powerful can you say that!

Damn big-eared thief!

Even he couldn't take out so many war horses at once!

Gongsun Zan took a deep breath, suppressed his jealousy, and said stubbornly: "This number is barely enough, but this general is now ordered to fight against Yuan thieves, and war horses are in short supply at the moment. I can't take out 5,000 war horses at once."

"In this way, this general will give you 3,000 horses first, and the remaining war horses must be delivered within half a year."

Gongsun Zan can actually take out 5,000 war horses.

But the premise is that he does not reserve spare war horses for his cavalry, which is obviously impossible.

Under the premise of ensuring that his own army has enough war horses, he can only take out about 3,000 horses at a time.

After all, raising horses also requires money, and he will not hoard so many war horses for no reason.

It is better to put them in the hands of the foreign tribes outside the pass, let them raise them, and send people to rob them when they are short of horses.

The Mi family manager nodded repeatedly and said, "Enough, enough. We originally planned to buy them back in batches. If we buy too much at one time, it will be inconvenient to transport them."

"I wonder what price the Youzhou governor plans to sell them at?"

When it comes to the price, Gongsun Zan hesitated. After thinking for a while, he asked tentatively, "How about 10% cheaper than the price you bought from the foreign tribes?"

The price he offered was a bit unscrupulous.

Because there are many horses in the north, but because Bingzhou and Jizhou are occupied by Yuan Shao, he has no way to sell horses to the Central Plains. It is rare to have such a big customer as the Mi family.

Don't say 10% lower, 30% or 50% lower is fine!

Anyway, he will make a profit!

But who knew that after hearing this price, the Mi family manager had no intention of bargaining at all. He waved his hand and agreed: "No problem, just this price!"

Such generosity shocked Gongsun Zan again.

Five thousand war horses were bought immediately, and the number was increased to ten thousand later. Such a huge quantity was not bargained for. Could this be the foundation of the Xuzhou nobles?

"Really rich."

Gongsun Zan sighed in his heart and became more jealous of Liu Bei.

He thought he was not doing well and wanted to help him.

How could he live so well, which made Gongsun Zan feel very uncomfortable.

In the following time, he discussed the specific delivery date and settlement method with the Mi family manager.

In the end, both parties got a satisfactory result.

After the business was over, Gongsun Zan wanted to keep Mi manager to stay and entertain him, but Mi manager declined on the grounds that the caravan had something else to do.

So he asked Gongsun Xu to send the people back respectfully, and even sent soldiers to protect the Mi family caravan, for fear that this god of wealth would have any mishaps.

After sending the Mi family manager away, Gongsun Zan felt much better, and his face was full of smiles, and he was completely free of his previous depression.

"Now we don't have to worry about not having enough money to fight Yuan Shao!" Gongsun Zan said to Jia Xu excitedly.

He had been worried about money and food before, but now that he has a business relationship with the Mi family by selling horses, why should he worry about these things?

You know, he can sell more than just horses to the Mi family, but also various other things. He will go outside the Great Wall to rob whatever the Mi family wants. It is simply a profitable business!

Jia Xu said with a smile: "As the saying goes, those who have attained the Dao will receive many help, while those who have lost the Dao will receive little help. The emperor has the Dao, and the general will fight for the emperor's thieves, so God will help the general!"

"What you said is absolutely true." Jia Xu's words greatly benefited Gongsun Zan.

Scholars speak differently. They talk about truths one after another, and they are well-founded.

"Sir, please help yourself. I am going to send people to seize the horses outside the customs. This is the first business with the Mi family, so there must be no mistakes."

After Gongsun Zan finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

Jia Xu took a sip of tea, and her smile became even wider. She swayed her feather fan and left the prefect's mansion leisurely, all the way to the inn where the Mi family's caravan lived.

"Guang Luxun."

In one of the wing rooms, the Mi family has been waiting for them for a long time.

When he saw Jia Xu, he immediately saluted respectfully.

Jia Xu frowned and shook his head, saying, "You acted a little too deliberately this time. That is because Gongsun Zan was in a state of excitement, so he didn't notice the flaw."

In his opinion, the performance of the steward of the Mi family in the prefect's mansion was extremely poor and full of flaws.

As a businessman, he doesn't even pay back the price when doing business with others. Where can there be such a businessman in the world?

Although he wanted to help Gongsun Zan secretly to resist Yuan Shao, it couldn't be so obvious as it would easily lead to suspicion.

Compared with His Majesty's acting skills, he is not even qualified to carry shoes.

"This...is a small oversight."

The manager of the Mi family felt a little bitter. He was only a businessman and was not good at this.

It would be too difficult to satisfy Gongsun Zan without letting him notice.

"That's all." Jia Xu didn't criticize too much. Anyway, the goal was achieved now. "After obtaining the war horse, send it to Yangzhou as soon as possible and hand it over to Duke Wen."

"Now is the critical time for Duke Wen and Sun Ce to fight for Yangzhou. We must not miss the opportunity."

"Understood!" The steward of the Mi family nodded in agreement, and then asked: "Those obsolete new weapons and equipment, as well as stirrups and horseshoes, do you want to sell them to Youzhou Mu now?"

"No need for the time being." Jia Xu shook his head and said with a deep look: "Just wait for my news about when it will be sold. Don't expose it before then."

"We just need to let Gongsun Zan have the power to consume Yuan Shao. We can't let him lose, and we can't let him be strong enough to defeat Yuan Shao."

"Only when the two sides are in a stalemate and Yuan Shao is restrained, General Wenyuan's army can gradually encroach on Jizhou and return Jizhou to the Han Dynasty."

Double stirrups, horseshoes, and the first generation of sophisticated preparations created by the new iron smelting technology are all trump cards. They can be sold to Gongsun Zan, but they have to be sold when he is about to lose his ability to continue to strengthen his strength. Wave fate.

In this plan, the main purpose is to consume the power of both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan at the same time.

Zhang Liao's 10,000 troops entered Yecheng and took the opportunity to capture the major counties and counties in Jizhou.

"I understand, little one."

The steward of the Mi family nodded in agreement. As Mi Zhu's cousin, his ability to observe people's actions and analyze situations was actually not small.

After Jia Xu finished instructing the steward of the Mi family, he slowly walked to the window, held the edge of the window and looked out at the scenery of the street, his mind gradually drifting away.

"I hope Kong Rong can successfully raise his troops. As long as Zhang Liao's army can enter Jizhou, your majesty will be in good hands."

"In this way, as long as Yuan Shao is defeated and the entire Jizhou is under control, Gongsun Zan will naturally come to surrender."

"At that time, the four northern states will be unified, the foundation will be solid, and the world will be successful."

…

Yecheng, Imperial Palace.

Zhang He is reporting to Liu Xie the latest progress in his formation of a city defense army.

"Your Majesty, the General has successfully recruited 4,000 city defense troops, divided into five battalions. The leaders of each battalion are close associates drawn from the Imperial Guard."

"Now Yecheng's city defense is completely under control!"

In order to fulfill Liu Xie's order, he and Gao Lan had used all means to reorganize the city defense army during this period.

The matter is not that simple.

First of all, it is definitely not possible to recruit young people directly from the people in the city. The soldiers of the city defense army should not be as elite as the Imperial Guards, but they must not be inferior. Otherwise, the combat effectiveness will be too weak to shoulder the important responsibility of city defense. Recruiting young people is still difficult. You have to train first, it takes too long.

Therefore, in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the city defense army, he and Gao Lan directly recruited nursing homes from the major wealthy families in the city and even surrounding counties.

Most of the guardians of these big families are veterans who have been on the battlefield, and many of them are strong men with outstanding martial arts.

Their basic skills are not bad, and they are not bad at eating and drinking. They are a natural elite unit.

And to be on the safe side, he also disrupted all these people and then reorganized them, and then let his cronies lead each battalion, taking turns guarding the four city gates, eliminating all hidden dangers.

"good."

Liu Xie nodded slightly, moved his eyes away from the military strategy in his hand, and looked at Zhang He and Gao Lan.

"I have a golden saying, your meritorious service this time can make up for the sin of seconding the Imperial Guard without authorization last time."

"But I don't want this to happen again, otherwise no matter what your reasons are, I will punish you severely!"

Zhang He was overjoyed when he saw the two men. He quickly clasped his fists and lowered his head and said, "Thank you for your grace! I will keep this in mind and will never do it again!"

"Back off."

"promise!"

After the two left, Liu Xie smiled at Guo Jia and said: "With the city defense under control, I can finally have a peaceful sleep. Now I just need to wait for Zhang Liao to lead the army."

"Is there any movement over there in Beihai County, Qingzhou?"

He sent an imperial edict to Kong Rong, ordering him to raise an army to cause chaos and attract Yuan Tan's attention, so that Zhang Liao would have a chance to lead the army.

I don't know if Kong Rong followed his orders.

"Your Majesty, I just received news today that Kong Rong raised an army in Beihai ten days ago, with Taishi Ci as his general. This Taishi Ci is actually a rare and fierce general. He is unstoppable with only 5,000 troops and took down three cities in just a few days."

"Now Yuan Tan has sent troops to suppress it." Guo Jia replied with a smile on his face. As long as Zhang Liao's army arrives, the whole world will be able to hear the dragon roar of the emperor who has been dormant for a long time.

Liu Xie was surprised and happy when he heard this.

This time Kong Rong did not choose to be neutral, but raised an army to help him, which means that he has recognized him as the emperor in his heart.

This is undoubtedly great news!

With Taishi Ci, Yuan Tan will not be able to suppress the rebellion for a while, and he can't stop Zhang Liao's army.

Besides, Kong Rong recognized him, Qingzhou would no longer be Yuan Tan's Qingzhou, and it would soon become Liu Xie's Qingzhou.

Liu Xie began to think about it in his heart, and felt that the current situation was very good. Once Yuan Shao left, he would have a broad mind and everything would go smoothly.

However, when it came to Yuan Shao, he had to think of Yuan Xi.

"What has Yuan Xi been doing recently?"

Guo Jia heard this and said, "He followed Xu Ziyuan's advice and spent all his family wealth to recruit volunteers, but because of his bad reputation, not many people were willing to follow him, and he barely recruited 3,000 troops."

"In addition, he also purged Yuan Shao's remnants in the city, slaughtering all those who were loyal to Yuan Shao and their forces. Now all the big families in the city are afraid of Yuan Shao and regard him as a tiger."

"It seems that he wants to show his loyalty to His Majesty in this way."

Guo Jia could see through Yuan Xi's mind at a glance. He just wanted to use this behavior to prove to the emperor that he and Yuan Shao were irreconcilable.

And the purpose, of course, was to hope to be trusted and reused by the emperor.

"Let him go."

Liu Xie smiled faintly. He would never reuse Yuan Xi. He just kept him hanging. He could just be a knife for him to deal with the remnants of Yuan Shao and recruit soldiers for him. He is an excellent tool.

Leaving Yuan Xi, the tool, behind, Liu Xie continued to ask: "How is the situation on Ziyuan's side? Does Yuan Shao suspect him?"

When mentioning this, Guo Jia's expression was a little solemn, and he said: "Yuan Shao did not suspect your majesty and Ziyuan, but Ju Shou became suspicious for some reason, and even suspected the two generals Zhang He and Gao Lan."

"Ziyuan believes that if Ju Shou is not removed, it will be too threatening to your majesty, and he is ready to kill him."

During this period, Guo Jia was responsible for handling the news from all parties, and then sorting out and analyzing them one by one and reporting them to the emperor.

He knew the situation on Xu You's side very well.

In this matter, his idea was consistent with Xu You's-Ju Shou must die!

"Ziyuan is right..."

Liu Xie's eyes were deep, and there was a cold flash.

Guo Jia didn't know why Ju Shou suspected him and the Imperial Guards, but as the person involved, he knew it very well.

Apart from Cao Cao, only Yuan Shao and Ju Shou knew his identity.

Yuan Shao was arrogant and looked down on him as a refugee from the bottom of his heart; but Ju Shou was different, careful and cautious, and had been wary of him since he showed his superb acting skills.

Now that so many changes have happened, it is hard not to suspect him.

Of course, he didn't think he could keep it a secret from Ju Shou.

The other party is a smart man, as long as he moves more, it is impossible not to see it.

But... what can he do if he sees it?

Even if Yuan Shao knew that he was unwilling to be a puppet, or even unwilling to be a fake emperor, what could he do to him?

Even if Yuan Shao gambled everything, he could just run to Xuzhou!

At that time, he would only lose Jizhou, but Yuan Shao would be attacked by all the princes.

Liu Xie sneered in his heart and said to Guo Jia expressionlessly: "Tell Xu You that no matter what means he uses, he must first kill Ju Shou!"

"I don't want him to live."

At this point, it's time to start eliminating those who know his identity.

From Ju Shou to Yuan Shao, to Cao Cao and even...Emperor Xian of Han!

He wants to be the real emperor!