With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 98, The Secret of Tomb Raiding
Guo Jia, who was usually calm and composed, now wore an expression of disbelief.

He looked at Liu Xie in surprise, "Your Majesty, are you joking with me?"

It is now 197 years, and the year Guo Jia died was exactly 207 years!
Guo Jia was usually calm, but upon hearing Liu Xie's words, his heart was filled with turmoil. He was only twenty-seven years old this year, and ten years later, he would only be thirty-seven.

Liu Xie looked at him with clear eyes and a calm expression. "Fengxiao, you should know that I have a rudimentary understanding of medicine and some knowledge of divination."

Last time, Liu Xie's prediction that Yuan Shu would declare himself emperor caused quite a stir in Xuchang.

Even a top strategist like Guo Jia had to admit that Liu Xie was indeed quite capable.

This is, after all, ancient times. Zhuge Liang's clever use of the east wind during the Battle of Red Cliffs earned him the title of a divine being.

People in ancient times were quite superstitious. For example, Yuan Shu believed that he was the chosen one of heaven because someone had divined his fate and he had the imperial seal in his possession.

Whenever a major disaster or calamity occurs in the world, people feel that it is Heaven punishing the people, and the court wants to dismiss one of the Three Dukes to atone for the sins.

If a woman's husband dies after she gets married, it is considered an ominous sign; the woman is believed to bring bad luck to her husband and will be cursed by everyone.

Guo Jia looked at Liu Xie with some skepticism and asked, "Your Majesty should know that I am someone that Cao Cao greatly appreciates, so why are you being so kind to me? Why are you helping me reduce the toxicity of the Five-Stone Powder?"

Liu Xie laughed, “Fengxiao, Cao Cao and I are inseparable. When you work for Cao Cao, you are working for me. Your loyalty to Cao Cao is also your loyalty to me.”

Liu Xie's smile was very friendly and infectious. After a while, Guo Jia also smiled.

"Your Majesty's heart is filled with the world's bounty; I am far inferior to you!"

Liu Xie treated Guo Jia and Xun Yu well, and he also treated Cao Cao well. After spending so much time together, Guo Jia naturally trusted him.

"Your Majesty, it seems that Cao Hong's money shop is in trouble."

After walking for a while, Guo Jia changed the subject, wanting to hear Liu Xie's opinion.

Liu Xie glanced at him, said nothing, and smiled.

Guo Jia was taken aback. "Has His Majesty discerned something?"

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I'm afraid this matter has something to do with you."

Guo Jia paused for a moment, then smiled. "I've said it before, Your Majesty is a wise man. So why don't you tell me what I've actually done?"

"I just felt it was related to you. I'm not a strategist with such outstanding wisdom as you, how could I possibly know so much?"

If Liu Xie acts like he knows everything and is very capable, that wouldn't be a good thing.

Guo Jia glanced at him again, as if to confirm, and then explained, "Actually, I didn't do anything. I just took advantage of people's hearts. People come to the bank to deposit money for two reasons: convenience and security. Security is especially important. With so many people depositing their money here, everyone will worry about any disturbance."

After a while, Guo Jia sighed, "Your Excellency has tried to persuade Cao Hong many times, but to no avail. I have no choice but to resort to this last resort."

Liu Xie nodded. "I understand. Cao Cao meant well and wanted Cao Hong to focus on military affairs."

On this day, Cao Hong truly experienced what madness meant.

People were like madmen, crowding the money exchange, and the streets were packed with people. The crowds of onlookers blocked the road, and some even climbed onto the rooftops.

People rushed to withdraw money, almost breaking down the threshold.

Cao Hong's repeated attempts to appease him were completely ineffective.

"I'll take three million."

"I need to withdraw four million, please hurry."

The more people there are, the more panicked and anxious they become.

Cao Hong kept calling out to persuade everyone, "Don't rush, everyone line up properly."

However, at this point, no matter what Cao Hong said, it was useless; people had gone mad.

The money shop manager, with a mournful face, pulled Cao Hong aside and said, "General Cao Hong, in less than half a day, thirty million coins have already been withdrawn. This can't go on; we can't sustain this."

Cao Hong was extremely anxious. By the afternoon, the situation had worsened, and another 50 million was taken away.

The next day, Cao Hong came up with a foolish idea: to temporarily close down his business.

This made things even more complicated, with many people rushing to the Sikong Mansion to file complaints. Even Cao Cao had to intervene and have Cao Hong open the door.

Cao Hong was so anxious he was almost in tears. "My lord, if this continues, the bank will be finished in less than two days."

Cao Cao's face darkened, and he said seriously, "You can't close the door. If you do, everyone will think you're trying to embezzle their money, and that will be terrible. You should know those big customers who deposited money; they are all noble families. If you withhold their money, this will be a real problem. You'll be going against all the noble families in Xuchang, and even I can't protect you from that consequence!"

Cao Hong had no choice but to reopen the door. Two days later, all the money in the bank was withdrawn, including the money Cao Hong himself had earned. But it still wasn't enough.

Cao Hong went to Cao Cao again, wanting to get back the money Cao Cao had borrowed before. However, Cao Cao said with great difficulty, "Zilian, where would I find any spare money? Just a few days ago, Xun Yu came to me, asking me to allocate some more money to continue building the palace. Kong Rong's project to dig an artificial lake also requires a large sum of money." "But, my lord, I have no money left." Cao Hong was so anxious that tears streamed down his face, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

In less than seven days, Xu Du's money shop went bankrupt.

Although there were money shops in other places, they simply couldn't keep up with the turnover, and that was the most fatal flaw.

Seeing Cao Hong sitting on the ground without any regard for his image, looking as if he had aged considerably in an instant, Cao Cao shook his head and sighed heavily.

"I warned you long ago that the money exchange business is not enough for you to handle alone. So, hand over the money exchange and I'll figure something out."

By this time, the money shop had become a hot potato for Cao Hong, and he couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Cao Hong had no choice but to nod. Cao Cao comforted him, saying, "Neither of us wanted to see things come to this."

The crowd scrambling for money was about to demolish Cao Hong's money shop when Cao Cao appeared, surrounded by a group of armored soldiers.

"Minister Cao has arrived."

The previously chaotic crowd suddenly fell silent.

Hundreds of fully armed soldiers maintained order at the scene. Cao Cao stepped to the front of the crowd, looked around at everyone, and said loudly, "These past few days, everyone has been very worried, worried that the money stored in the bank is not safe. I have already understood the whole story."

"I want to tell everyone not to panic. They are just some Yellow Turban bandits who have wandered into the area and managed to steal some money. Don't worry, those bandits won't escape. Give me a few days, and I will wipe them all out!"

"Furthermore, from now on, the money shops will be officially under the unified management of the imperial court, and no matter whose money it is, there will be no loss!"

Moreover, on that very day, Guo Jia arranged for many people to come and deposit money.

Liu Xiehui finds accomplices, and so does Guo Jia.

"We trust Minister Cao, and we trust the imperial court!"

"The imperial court will send people to help us protect the money in the bank, and the army will escort the money throughout the transfer process. You can rest assured."

"Cao Sikong is the most loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. I have three million coins in my account."

"Count me in too, I'll save two million!"

With Cao Cao's intervention, the money shops officially adopted the name of the imperial court, transforming themselves from privately owned to state-owned!
The change in identity conveyed a lot of information. In short, compared to Cao Hong, Cao Cao personally stepped forward to protect the money shop, which immediately boosted everyone's confidence.

The crisis at the money shop was quickly resolved. A few days later, Cao Cao indeed captured some Yellow Turban rebels and publicly beheaded them on Zhengyang Street.

They also claimed that these people were the thieves who had previously robbed the money cart.

The money shop's business not only recovered, but became even more booming than before, and the Great Han Money Shop truly lived up to its name!

On this day, Liu Xie came to Tianxiang Pavilion again. Ma Kui told him, "Your Majesty, I have just received news that Cao Anmin got drunk a few days ago and accidentally revealed a secret."

"Oh?" Liu Xie immediately became interested.

"What secret?"

He said that Cao Cao had secretly sent people to excavate the royal tombs as early as last year.

Cao Cao sending people to rob tombs was no secret to Liu Xie, but he didn't know exactly when Cao Cao started doing this.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Xie's eyes lit up. "So, he had already started this as soon as the capital was moved."

Cao Cao did this very secretly, and even established the official positions of "Captain of Tomb Raiders" and "General of Tomb Raiders".

They've made tomb raiding a specialized and highly valued activity, with organized and planned operations that have reached a considerable scale.

"Is the news reliable?"

“Reliable. Cao Anmin often comes here to hang out and spends a lot of money. A few days ago, he just resold some jade artifacts stolen from the tomb. He probably whispered it in the ear of the girl he was sleeping with because he was too excited.”

"Good, very good!" Liu Xie patted Ma Kui on the shoulder twice in approval.

“Ma Kui, since Cheng Yu’s death, it has become less convenient for me to come and go from here. I will send someone to contact you from now on. Also, don’t forget that you and Wang Cai should recruit more wandering knights. They must be loyal. You should also train some assassins on your own side. These people will come in handy sometime.”

Ma Kui nodded quickly, "I will certainly do as His Majesty instructs."

Ma Kui's eyes were a little red. He still remembered when Liu Xie redeemed him. At that time, he had just run away once and was beaten by his master. Even his collarbone was pierced with an iron hook.

It was Liu Xie who saved him, gave him a second life, and bestowed upon him enviable wealth and status.

Liu Xie stood up and looked down, intending to enjoy the performance of the women below, but he happened to see Cao Hong.

Cao Hong looked completely lost and was drinking alone, gulping down bowl after bowl of wine. He had no interest in appreciating the women around him.

(End of this chapter)