Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 118 Mi Zhu: Quite Wealthy

Chapter 118 Mi Zhu: Quite Wealthy

The first year of Xingping, mid-November.

The weather turned suddenly cold, making people feel cold all over. Even though Liu Bei had sent more clothes to Dongjun and Pingyuan, many soldiers suffered from nasal congestion and cough, and hundreds of people fell ill.

Fortunately, every time they went on an expedition, the auxiliary soldiers were already skilled in collecting wood and cooking, repairing equipment, and boiling hot water and ginger soup, and they quickly stabilized the colds that were transmitted in the barracks.

Liu Bei's military camp was set up on the bank of the Jishui River, which flowed eastward through Yuanqu County and then turned north through Dingtao County.

This year's winter is even colder than in previous years. Not only is the wind strong, but the snow and rain are also gradually freezing the river surface.

Five days ago, the county soldiers and troops that Liu Dai brought from Dongping and Shanyang were defeated in a field battle by Liu Bei, and Liu Bei led the remaining troops to flee into the city and hold their ground.

The powerful tribesmen tried to attack the city for several days, but they couldn't get through the city in a short time with their battering rams, which made Liu Bei shake his head.

As the weather turned cold, Liu Bei temporarily withdrew his troops and set up camp outside Dingtao City.

Later, the weather dropped suddenly and many members of the noble families fell ill. Liu Bei sent people to boil ginger water to relieve their cold, which made many people burst into tears. Originally, if you caught a cold, you had to rely on your body to endure it, but you didn't expect that Lord Xuande was worried about you.

Seeing that something was wrong, the patriarchs of the Ma, Wen, and Zhong clans quickly sent people to comfort the sick people. Only the patriarch of the Wei clan and Li Qian turned a blind eye.

The powerful families had too many people to crowd together, so each family built a camp to support each other.

Someone suggested that they should gather together to discuss whether Lord Xuande wanted to intervene in the army. It would be best if all families could advance and retreat together to avoid losses in their interests.

While everyone was discussing, Li Qian, who was stroking his beard, saw that Wei Ying turned a deaf ear to what was said, as if he had not heard that Liu Shijun was trying to win people's hearts. He ignored them completely and even dozed off while sitting.

This made Li Qian a little alert. He didn't take the other three families seriously, but it was different with the Wei family.

An old man who refuses to die is a thief. The old thief Wei Ying has gone through many dynasties and seen too many ups and downs. He absolutely does not believe that the Wei family has not secretly made trouble for Liu Shijun.

Rumor has it that Mi Zhu, the deputy governor of Xuzhou, came here on Tao Qian's orders to form an alliance with the envoy to fight against the two Yuans, which also caused the powerful families to talk about it secretly.

The discord between the Yuan brothers was known to the world. Wasn't it unwise of Liu Shijun to put Qing and Yan provinces in the middle of the dispute between the Yuan brothers of Runan in order to form an alliance with Xuzhou?

The three elders of the powerful family dared to think but not to speak, and could only speculate in their hearts.

Liu Bei ignored the undercurrents among the powerful families. Two families completely surrendered to him, and there was no need to worry even if the remaining three families defected to Liu Dai's side.

What's more, he has been quietly on guard.

It was freezing cold, but Liu Bei did not hide in the camp to warm himself by the fire. Instead, he led his cavalry to climb a high slope and looked over the top of Dingtao City. He saw that the city wall was high and thick, with sufficient defensive equipment and stones. Further attack would only increase casualties.

He turned sideways and asked, "Ziyi, have you calculated the casualties of the various tribes?"

Taishi Ci said in a deep voice: "Each family killed and wounded 675 people."

Liu Bei sighed and said, "Let's order the assistant soldiers to dig the soil."

After all, he still couldn't learn how the powerful families treated the people they depended on as non-human beings and wasted their lives on meaningless sieges.

There is no need to force an attack after probing.

Besides, he had long planned to incorporate the powerful followers into the military as auxiliary soldiers, so in the final analysis, it was his soldiers who were lost.

"How is Yunchang holding on in Fanyang? Has any documents been received recently?" Liu Bei asked again.

Taishi Ci bowed and said, "Sir, General Guan has not received any letter recently, so I think he is fine."

"General Guan is a prudent person. He rarely sends letters when there is nothing to do. When there is something to do, he will write several letters a day with great details to reassure you." Liu Bei chuckled. Although he paid attention to the north from time to time, it would not be easy to break through if Yunchang and Gongda were guarding the city together. Even if Yuan Shao was personally supervising the battle in the center, it would not be so easy to break through.

"The Xiongnu in Henei County massacred thousands of people in Yan County and Baima County. After looting women, did any scouts find any traces of the Hu people?"

Liu Bei asked solemnly.

He hated colluding with the Huns to harm the people the most. Yuan Shao and other high-ranking children were accustomed to treating the common people as weeds in the field, and would cut them at will after they grew up.

Anyway, it can be reborn after death, just like the weeds that never die.

I really want Yuan Shao to experience what it's like to be humiliated by a woman from the Yuan family.

Taishi Ci reported: "Sir, the scouts have not found any traces of Hu cavalry yet. There are often Xiongnu people crossing the border near Hanoi in Suanzao County, Chenliu Prefecture, and they plunder many items."

"The weather is unusually cold right now and the Xiongnu also need winter supplies. I heard that Luandi and Yu Fuluo often led their tribes south to plunder in Bingzhou."

Taishi Ci was the commander of Liu Bei's personal guards, and a lot of information had to pass through him, so he was very familiar with the past movements of the Huns.

The agreement between him and Guan Yu was no joke. If Guan Yu killed the son of the Chanyu, Yufuluo's head would belong to him.

A real man should keep his word.

Ever since he came under the command of the envoy, he has been highly valued, and he has no way to repay him.

Taishi Ci was waiting to conquer the Xiongnu and retrieve the things that were entrusted to Fuluo so that he could present them to the envoy.

After returning from Jizhou, Taishi Ci quietly paid attention to the movements of the Xiongnu Chanyu. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles.

He would not stab the enemy's neck with a spear like Yun Chang did. Instead, he would stab the enemy to death on the horse, then cut off his head neatly with a knife, wash off the dirt and fishy smell at the riverside, and then wrap it up and give it to the envoy.

Unlike Yunchang, who wrapped his head carelessly, he even fell off his horse and was almost not found.

Liu Bei frowned slightly, looked to the northwest and said to himself: "We need to pacify Yanzhou as soon as possible. If we don't eliminate the Xiongnu in Henei, it will always be a disaster."

What could affect his going to war was the problem of food and fodder. If there was enough food, he could conquer Hanoi in the first half of next year.

It can be said that Zhang Yang, the governor of Henei, was in collusion with the Huns from Bingzhou. If they dared to become enemies, he would destroy them together.

"Zi Zhong, please help me find some of the wealthy families and nobles in Xuzhou who have the most grain, and tell them that Liu Bei needs to buy grain."

"If Xuande needs food and fodder, the Mi family is willing to provide gold and silver coins to help with military expenses. You can buy 200,000 bushels of millet and then send it to Yanzhou via Yuzhou and Lujun. You must send troops to escort the food on the way to prevent it from being lost."

Mi Zhu, who was standing beside him, heard that Liu Bei needed food and fodder, and immediately stepped forward to take care of it.

The Mi family's ancestors had been merchants for generations, and now they had tens of thousands of servants and huge assets. There was already a lot of grain in the granary, and after calculating the consumption on the road, they simply bought some more to make up the total of 200,000 hu.

Since Xuande needs it, if not now, when will we help him?

Liu Bei was slightly startled, then he smiled and said, "Zi Zhong, I still have enough money and silk, so please help me find some corn. The more corn I can eat, the better."

After saying that, he looked towards the Dingtao city wall and realized that hiding inside might not be safe.

While waiting for the auxiliary soldiers to dig a tunnel and burn down the city wall, he rushed into the city through the gap and captured Liu Gongshan alive.

After pacifying Shanyang and Dongping counties, Yuan Shao would have made a wasted trip. Yanzhou would be his and no one could stop him.

(End of this chapter)

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