My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 382 Introducing Government Bonds

Those seated high in the hall today may not be people of high rank, but they are certainly powerful confidants.

Even Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong only had a thorough understanding of the inner workings of Xuzhou, but Chen Deng, Xun You, Lu Su, Liu Ye, and other trusted confidants of Liu Bei and his sons knew much more.

The reason why Chen Deng, Lu Su, and Liu Ye proposed raising funds was precisely because of their understanding of the current economy under Liu Bei's rule.

Although the series of water conservancy projects in Jiangbei, Huai and Si provinces did not completely deplete Liu Bei's group's reserves, they certainly consumed a large portion of them, leaving at most 20-30% of the funds.

These two or three tenths of the wealth were far from enough to expand the army. Even though there were still four or five months until the autumn harvest, after which the tax collection would begin.

At that time, a large amount of grain and wealth will naturally be stored in the warehouse, but we can't just wait and do nothing for four or five months, can we?
Now that the water conservancy project has come to an end, the people of Jiangbei and Huaisi can go home to farm, but where can those more than 100,000 prisoners be released?
These people all have a certain level of training, especially the tens of thousands of people from the Sun family, many of whom are experienced veterans.

According to Liu Bei and Liu Feng's private estimates, at least 20,000 to 30,000 elite soldiers could be selected from these 100,000 people, and the rest would be more combat-effective than ordinary county soldiers.

At the same time, after more than half a year of hard labor, these soldiers have greatly shed their previous slick mentality and become well-trained.

If these soldiers are dismissed now, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but they will also need money and food to be settled after returning to their hometowns, otherwise they will become a source of instability in the local area.

This would be like lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot.

However, if they are not dispersed, the food supply for these tens of thousands of able-bodied men and their families, totaling nearly two hundred thousand people, will continue to be borne by the General of the Cavalry's office. Moreover, with so many people idle and gathered together for a long time, this will undoubtedly become a huge hidden danger under Liu Bei's rule.

In that case, the best approach would undoubtedly be to gather enough money and supplies to start expanding the army immediately.

Once the taxes and grain are collected in the future, they will be returned to the powerful clans and wealthy families.

In this way, not only will a major threat be eliminated, but six months will also be gained for expansion, integration, and training.

Chen Deng and others are all men of great talent, how could they not see this point?

In fact, Xun You was aware of these things, but he was a lone wolf, with his family all under Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, so he could only say that he was willing but powerless.

"Uncle Yuanlong, gentlemen, I have a plan and hope you can give me your guidance."

At this moment, Liu Feng spoke up, "I wish to use the General of the Cavalry's mansion as collateral to issue a public debt."

"Government bonds?"

Even though Chen Deng, Xun You, Lu Su, Liu Ye, and others were intelligent, quick-witted, and knowledgeable, they were still completely baffled.

Not to mention them, even Liu Bei didn't understand it before. It was only after Liu Feng explained it to him carefully that he understood this new thing.

"This public debt refers to the debt incurred by the General of the Cavalry's office. Regardless of status, anyone can purchase public debt from the local county or prefecture. It is called public debt because it is a form of public debt."

Liu Feng explained: "During the pre-Qin period, it was common for states to borrow money from wealthy merchants. After Emperor Gaozu founded the Han Dynasty, dukes and marquises also borrowed money from wealthy merchants. When Emperor Jing quelled the Rebellion of the Seven States, Duke Zhou Yafu borrowed seven thousand gold coins from a wealthy merchant in Luoyang. This shows that this is a story from our great Han Dynasty."

Since the Han Dynasty, the most important thing has been stories, which is somewhat similar to the case law that the British developed later, except that it is not as clear as case law and is more operable.

Liu Fengxian used a story to prove the rationality of his idea, thus forming the basis of his proposal.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Chen Deng and the others slowly nodded, acknowledging that such a trend did exist.

Even in the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty, it was common for marquises to borrow money from wealthy merchants, and there were even numerous cases of marquises killing merchants in order to become deadbeats.

Liu Feng continued, "Since public debt is public debt, it is natural that the General of the Cavalry should be the borrower, and the debt should be raised in a broad sense, with the people under his rule as the target."

Upon hearing this, Lu Su immediately became interested: "Then how do we borrow money?"

Liu Feng explained, “Simply put, the General of the Cavalry’s residence will sell silk bonds, which can be issued in three denominations: 1,000 gold, 100 gold, and 10 gold. Each bond will bear the General of the Cavalry’s seal as proof. Purchases will be made at face value, and customers can choose whether to register with the General’s residence. If they choose to register, the registered person will be the legal holder, and any transfer, except for legal heirs, will require both parties to go to the General’s residence. If they choose not to register, then the silk bond will serve as proof, and whoever possesses the silk bond will receive the benefits. The first installment can be set at one year, with principal and interest repaid upon maturity.”

After Liu Feng explained it this way, not only Lu Su and Liu Ye understood, but also Chen Deng, Xun You, and Guan Yu.

Liu Ye then asked, "What is the interest rate?"

Liu Feng pondered for a moment and said, "How about an annual interest rate of 10%? The General of the Cavalry is willing to use his garrison lands as collateral."

Nowadays, all loans are usurious; an annual interest rate of 30-50% is considered low, and doubling the rate is common.

However, while Liu Feng's interest rate was low, it wasn't unacceptable. The main reason was that Liu Feng had offered land as collateral—large tracts of land at that—which was of high value. Furthermore, he had the reputation of General Liu Bei as a guarantor, making him an extremely desirable client for borrowers. Finally, there was the fact that this was a chaotic era, and Liu Bei was now a powerful figure, a local warlord, unlike the peasants and small landowners who typically borrowed money.

Furthermore, Chen Deng, Lu Su, and others originally intended to raise funds and did not consider the issue of interest at all.

The 10% interest rate offered by Liu Feng is enough to entice many people.

After pondering for a moment and discussing it with Chen Deng, Lu Su, and others, Liu Ye felt that the matter was quite feasible and they all nodded in agreement.

When Liu Bei saw that Chen Deng and the others nodded in agreement, he felt a sense of relief.

When Liu Feng mentioned this matter to him before, he was completely confused and had no confidence whatsoever. Now that his trusted ministers had all expressed their support, Liu Bei felt that giving it a try shouldn't be a problem.

Afterwards, Liu Bei discussed the matter with everyone and decided to appoint Chen Deng as the leader, with Lu Su and Liu Ye as his assistants, to oversee the matter and strive to raise the first batch of funds within a month.

Meanwhile, the North began to expand its military affairs using existing treasury resources in order to avoid wasting time.

After discussing the matter, Liu Feng spoke up again: "Father, the matter of Jingzhou should also be decided as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned.

His attitude toward the Jingzhou affair was, in fact, a different kind of avoidance of treatment.

The reason they didn't want to target Liu Biao was because they didn't want to break ties with the emperor and the court.

Among the warlords of the world today, I dare not say that Liu Bei was a completely loyal minister, but there is no doubt that he recognized him as the number one loyal minister.

Although his loyalty to the emperor and the court was not to the point of relinquishing power to the emperor and the court, it was still far greater than that of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Zhang.

As for the warriors of Xiliang, they were not even considered human in the eyes of the emperor, let alone his subjects. Liu Bei knew very well that even if he did not take action himself, but simply allowed his eldest son to attack Liu Biao, the court would not sit idly by, and the reaction would most likely be very strong.

This trip south to Yangzhou was actually due to Liu Feng finding an excellent opportunity.

Although Yuan Shu did not declare himself emperor like in the original timeline, he was still considered an unforgivable villain in the eyes of Emperor Liu Xie. This was because he not only colluded with the Xiliang warriors but also disregarded the emperor and was arrogant and unruly.

Taking advantage of the defeat of Yuan Shu and the pacification of Yangzhou, they undoubtedly gained a huge benefit.

However, this does not mean that the emperor has no fear of Liu Bei. In fact, Liu Bei's petition for Liu Feng to be appointed as the governor of Yangzhou has been delayed until now and has not been approved.

Dong Zhao wrote to me several times, saying that it was too difficult.

General Cao Cao openly disagreed, while the emperor only wanted to grant Liu the title of Governor of Yangzhou.

Therefore, Yuan Shu is still in Shouchun, where he is being guarded along with the Imperial Seal of the State.

This can also be seen as a means for Liu Bei to protest against the emperor and the court.

Liu Feng had a plan in mind. He hoped to transfer Guan Yu to Jiangdong to guard the area, and assist him with generals such as Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, Zhou Yu, and Xu Sheng. Meanwhile, he himself would take time to escort Yuan Shu and the Imperial Seal of the State to Luoyang to pay homage, hoping to win the position of Governor of Yangzhou.

It's no wonder Liu Feng values ​​this so highly; the difference between the Governor of Yangzhou and the Inspector of Yangzhou is simply too great, completely incomparable. Even Liu Feng's current general's rank cannot compare to that of the Governor of Yangzhou.

Therefore, Liu Feng was actually quite busy afterward. If he didn't finalize the strategy for Jingzhou now, it was very likely that he wouldn't be able to bring up the matter again for another six months.

"Alright."

Liu Bei nodded: "Then let's discuss it! You can explain this matter in detail to Yun Chang, Yuan Long, and the other gentlemen."

All eyes turned to Liu Feng, wondering what matter in Jingzhou required such a solemn ceremony.

Could it be trade with Jingzhou?
Although grain was heavy, Liu Bei's territory was growing larger and larger. This southward march to Yangzhou not only did not consume too much grain, but also resulted in the capture of a large amount of reserves. Even if grain supplies were immediately cut off from Jingzhou, Xu and Yangzhou could provide a replacement.

What else could possibly happen in Jingzhou?
Amidst the puzzled and curious gazes of the crowd, Liu Feng spoke up: "Second Uncle, gentlemen, I have learned some information in Jiangdong and have formulated a plan based on it. I intend to raise an army of 100,000 and swallow up Jingzhou within a year."

"What!?"

"To swallow up Jingzhou and Xiangyang?"

"One hundred thousand people? Within a year?"

Even those present, all of whom were exceptionally talented and capable, were shocked by Liu Feng's boastful tone.

However, although Chen Deng, Xun You and others were shocked, they did not rush to refute or question Liu Feng. Instead, they quickly regained their composure after losing their composure and waited for Liu Feng to continue his statement.

Liu Feng immediately laid out his plan.

"The 100,000-strong army should be divided into three routes. The main force will advance by land and water in the middle, going upstream against the Yangtze River. One route will go through Yuzhang and Changsha to control Jingnan, and another route will go through Runan, Fangcheng, and Nanyang. The three routes will advance together to break through Jing."

"Dangerous, extremely dangerous."

Chen Deng stroked his beard and shook his head slightly after listening: "Young Master's strategy focuses on the central route. If the navy is defeated, the other two routes will have no choice but to return empty-handed if they do not want to be completely annihilated."

Liu Feng secretly praised him, thinking that Chen Yuanlong was indeed a sharp-eyed person.

Indeed, as he said, the mid lane is the key.

If the middle lane is lost, the entire game will inevitably collapse.

The problem is, Liu Feng is overconfident about the mid lane.

With naval generals such as Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Pan Zhang, Ling Cao, Zhu Zhi, and Xu Sheng, plus nearly a thousand ships of various sizes requisitioned from Jiangdong, including more than two hundred main warships and more than thirty tower ships.

Liu Feng really wanted to know how to lose!?

Sun Ce led a portion of this force, more than 20,000 soldiers, and in one battle wiped out the 30,000 elite troops that Huang Zu and Liu Biao had jointly assembled.

Sun Ce at that time only had a few hundred warships of various sizes, with very few large ships and mostly small ones. But his side had more than two hundred large ships alone, far exceeding Huang Zu's navy.

When Sun Quan destroyed Huang Zu, things weren't much better. It was still a case of small boats against large ships. Initially, the campaign was unsuccessful, but thanks to the outstanding performances of Dong Xi and Ling Tong, who managed to use small boats to force their way onto Huang Zu's large ship and then cut the iron chains to achieve victory.

Liu Feng refused to believe that he could be inferior to his defeated adversaries Sun Ce and Sun Quan, and that his current resources were far greater than those Sun Ce and Sun Quan had when they launched their western expeditions.

Xun You, however, offered a different perspective: "What Mr. Yuanlong said is correct, but in my opinion, it would be extremely difficult for Liu Biao to defeat the Southern Expeditionary Army. In naval warfare, the first three factors are weather, the second is weaponry, and the third is morale. In my opinion, since Huang Gongyuan ambushed and killed Sun Polu, he has been stationed in Jiangxia, spending his days in singing, drinking, and socializing with scholars and heroes, neglecting farming. His army is disorganized, his weapons are not maintained, and he has lost the appearance of the formidable Jingzhou army."

Xun You had spent several years in Jingzhou and knew Huang Zu quite well, so his conclusions differed greatly from Chen Deng's. He acknowledged the issues raised by Chen Deng but argued that Huang Zu's problems were more significant, and that Liu Feng clearly had a better chance of winning.

Xun You's views were reasonable and well-founded. Although Chen Deng was strong and resolute, he was not unreasonable.

Therefore, after listening, Chen Deng fell silent and did not answer for a moment.

Lu Su glanced at Chen Deng, then at Liu Bei. Seeing that neither of them intended to speak, he finally said, "If the key to this battle lies in the naval battle, I might be able to lend a hand to the young master."

"Oh?"

Liu Feng became interested and glanced at Liu Bei, who in turn looked at Lu Su curiously: "What strategy does Master Zijing have to teach me?"

Lu Su said solemnly, “There is a notorious bandit in the coastal area of ​​Guangling named Xue Zhou. He controls the coastal area of ​​Guangling and has thousands of followers and hundreds of ships of various sizes. I am an old acquaintance of his. If we can persuade him to surrender and be used for the southern expedition, it will surely increase our chances of victory.”

Upon hearing the name and background, Liu Feng immediately recognized the person.

Xuezhou was the leader of the Guangling pirates. Historically, he was taken in by Chen Deng and later followed him in his counterattack against Lü Bu. After Chen Deng's death, Xuezhou disappeared without a trace.

This is understandable. Chen Deng was the most feared scholar from Xuzhou within the Cao Wei group, and Xuezhou was originally a bandit from Xuzhou. With Chen Deng's death, Xuezhou was lucky to even keep his life; he had no chance of promotion.

(End of this chapter)