The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 133 Li Ru: I'm No. on the List
Li Ru remained cautious after coming out of Xinfeng County.

Even though his ankle was aching, he still refused to hire a carriage and just took a shortcut to continue eastward.

It was not until he boarded the ferry to Hedong in Puban and his feet finally set foot on land outside Guanzhong that Li Ru breathed a sigh of relief and had time to buy a bowl of jujube tea from a shed at the ferry.

As the sweet tea poured into his throat, Li Ru's Adam's apple shook up and down unconsciously.

The rare sweetness in it made Li Ru feel like spring breeze, as if all the tiredness from traveling for many days disappeared at this moment.

"Shopkeeper, three more bowls please."

Hearing that Li Ru wanted more, the merchant selling jujube tea was a little embarrassed: "Sir, there is only one bowl left. And it's the tea at the bottom, it's a little turbid, I wonder if you want it or not?"

"want!"

Although the bottom is turbid, it is actually where the date meat is the most, and you can taste more sweetness, so why not?
But Li Ru was still puzzled: "Shopkeeper, it's not even noon yet, how come you've sold out all the dates? I'm afraid this is not going to work."

The shopkeeper brought the bowl of deep red jujube tea to Li Ru, and apologized: "It's enough on normal days. But now there are not only boatmen and boatmen at the ferry, but also soldiers transporting salt. There are dozens or even hundreds of soldiers coming and going every time. Those guys drink like water buffaloes, I'm afraid no matter how much jujube tea we prepare, it won't be enough!"

Military Lord?

Li Ru looked towards the ferry and discovered that there were some shirtless men moving in an orderly manner with the solemn and murderous aura of a battlefield. They were obviously not ordinary boatmen but soldiers.

"That Zhong Yuanchang is really capable. He was able to convince Li Jue and Guo Si's soldiers to transport salt for him."

Li Ru picked up the bowl and took another sip. He suddenly asked the shopkeeper who was selling jujube tea, "Did those soldiers pay after they drank from you?"

The shop owner was obviously in a difficult situation.

But he still whispered to Li Ru: "Of course I won't pay. There is chaos and turmoil in the war. Those soldiers have their eyes in the sky. How dare I ask them for money?"

"But after the government learned about this, they came to pay some copper coins. Although there is not much profit, at least the cost can be covered and the loss is not too heavy."

Ok……

Li Ru didn't believe that there was no profit to be made.

However, after drinking the jujube tea in the flying dust on the roadside, Li Ru still gave the shopkeeper an extra five-zhu coin when paying the bill, thinking that the jujubes were sweet and worthy of reward.

After coming out of the ferry, Li Ru was confused for a moment.

He originally wanted to go directly through Hedong, cross Henei from Chenguan, and enter Hebei.

But now he suddenly wanted to go to Anyi, the seat of Hedong County, to meet the Hedong prefect Zhong Yao.

Today, Hedong is a springboard for the imperial court.

Not only can it suppress Hebei militarily, but it is also the only way to obtain intelligence, food and goods.

If there was any news from Hebei, Zhong Yao would definitely know it first, and then it could be transmitted to Guanzhong.

If Li Ru wants to go to Hebei, he should first find out the specific matters of the Hebei court.

Today, people in Guanzhong only know that Yuan Shao has established a fake emperor, but they know nothing else.

such as.

Who are the three dukes and nine ministers of the pseudo-dynasty now? I don't know.

How is the power distribution in the pseudo-dynasty now? I don't know.

Even the role of Yuan Shao in the pseudo-dynasty was not known.

It was precisely because of the lack of intelligence that Li Ru decided to meet Zhong Yao.

"You should go and meet him."

If he was still in Guanzhong, or if Zhong Yao was born in Xiliang, Li Ru would definitely not dare to meet him.

But now, since Zhong Yao is the emperor's man and can suppress Xiliang generals like Li Jue and Guo Si, he no longer has this concern.

Li Ru first went to Anyi, the seat of government.

But they came to nothing, as they only heard that Zhong Yao was not there, but had gone to the Salt Lake Governor's Salt Administration.

Helplessly, he left Anyi and walked dozens of miles before he finally met Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao had only been in Hedong for a few months, but his fair skin, which had been cultivated in the Shangshutai, had turned dark. The loose flesh on both sides of his cheeks had fallen off, revealing two deep pits.

When Zhong Yao heard that it was Li Ru who wanted to see him, he was slightly stunned.

"Why is he here? Did he escape secretly?"

But when I thought that there was an emperor, a grand tutor, and Jia Xu in Guanzhong, even Wang Yun couldn't escape, let alone Li Ru?
"Then it must be the Emperor who released him."

Zhong Yao smiled bitterly and said, "The emperor is really bold to let this man out."

In his opinion, Li Ru should not have been alive in this world.

Who would have thought that I could actually see such a living person with my own eyes?
After thinking for a few moments, Zhong Yao decided to meet her.

After all, there is a high probability that he was sent by the emperor, and there might be something that needs my help.

After bringing Li Ru to a small room by the salt lake, Zhong Yao still looked a little unnatural.

When Zhong Yao learned that Li Ru was going to Hebei, his eyebrows were furrowed.

For a moment.

Just a moment!

Zhong Yao already had murderous intent in his heart and wanted to kill Li Ru!

However, thinking that he was sent by the emperor after all, and considering that the emperor was always so smart, Zhong Yao suppressed the murderous intent in his heart.

But even if it was only for a moment, Li Ru still felt the murderous intent.

Li Ru looked Zhong Yao up and down, but did not state his own request first. Instead, he asked Zhong Yao: "You are a high-ranking official, but you came to the Salt Lake to supervise the grain supply in person. You seem to be quite upset. What is puzzling you?"

Of course!
And the biggest confusion is you!
Zhong Yao couldn't help but complain a bit, but waved his hand: "It's not a big deal."

But Li Ru just smiled without saying anything, and kept staring at Zhong Yao, which made Zhong Yao feel a little creepy.

"It's not a big deal."

Zhong Yao came to Yanchi in person and indeed encountered some trouble.

"It's because of Yuan Shao."

Zhong Yao thought about it and finally told the truth -

"We have already established a system to exchange Hedong's salt for Jizhou and Yanzhou's grain."

"Since I came to Hedong, I have started to restore the Hedong Salt Administration. I have finally managed to produce several thousand stones of salt, which enables us to trade with Yuan Shao."

"But that bastard Yuan Shao!"

Zhong Yao is usually steady, but at this moment he actually burst into swearing in front of Li Ru, completely forgetting all the books of sages he had read in the past!
"Do you know what that son of a bitch did? He promised to send food, but all he sent was bran and wheat chaff!"

"Not only that, it would have been fine if he just sent bran and wheat chaff! He even mixed a lot of sand and soil into it!"

Zhong Yao could hardly suppress his emotions: "What a bastard! If you don't want to do this business, you should have said so earlier! And you have to disgust me! Yuan Shao! It's really against the style of a famous family!"

The white salt was sent over, but what was sent back was bran and wheat bran mixed with sand...

No wonder Zhong Yao was so angry. Yuan Shao really made a "good deal".

After all this back and forth, I'm afraid Zhong Yao must have suffered heavy losses. No wonder he had to come to Yanchi as a prefect. It turned out that his job was to supervise the government in name only, but in reality to appease the people.

"What should we do next, Grand Master?" "What else can we do? Of course, we should cut off all ties with Yuan Shao!"

Zhong Yao, who felt he was being fooled by such a lack of integrity and principles, decided not to trade with Yuan Shao anymore.

"We have also already started contacting Zhang Yang in Hanoi and Cao Cao in Yanzhou. The food we buy from these two places may not be enough for the people in Guanzhong to eat."

Li Ru saw the key at a glance.

"Zhang Yang and Cao Cao both followed Yuan Shao's lead."

"If the governor cuts off ties with Yuan Shao, how can you guarantee that the two of them can still trade normally with Hedong?"

Zhong Yao frowned again.

I'm afraid that I've frowned more since I came to Hedong than during the years I spent in Chang'an!
He had thought about what Li Ru said.

But Zhang Yang of Hebei and Cao Cao of Yanzhou were independent princes after all, and were not directly dependent on Yuan Shao.

If it were a direct trade, they might agree.

But after all, Yuan Shao was closer to the two of them, and his military strength in Hebei and Central Plains was greater than that of the imperial court. It was difficult to guarantee that Yuan Shao would not use his military power to force the two of them to surrender.

If that happens, won’t trade still be cut off?

"Therefore, I hope the governor will continue to trade with Yuan Shao."

Zhong Yao was puzzled.

But he soon realized that Li Ru might have a plan.

Putting aside his prejudice, Zhong Yao bowed and said, "If Wenyou has a plan, please let me know. After all, this matter concerns the livelihood of millions of people in Guanzhong and Hedong, and it cannot be delayed."

Li Ru said: "Why should the governor care whether the food being transported is bran, wheat chaff, or real grain?"

"I rushed all the way from Chang'an, and I saw all kinds of people on the way. Many people eat food that is actually no better than bran and wheat bran. In this case, what is the difference between using bran and wheat bran to save people and using grain to save people?"

"Of course, if that's the case, since the other party is using bran and wheat bran in exchange, then we certainly can't use pure salt in exchange."

"After boiling salt, bitter brine will remain."

"If they can bring bran and wheat chaff here, why can't we bring brine there?"

Brine?

That thing... can be eaten?

Li Ru saw that Zhong Yao was a little hesitant and immediately shook his head.

"Yuan Shao doesn't even treat the people of Guanzhong as human beings, so why should the governor treat the people of Hebei as human beings?"

"In troubled times, if you show even a little bit of softness to your enemies, you will be struck by lightning from them."

"Your Majesty is better than the governor in this regard. Your Majesty is naturally kind to his own people, but he is a bit cruel to his enemies."

Li Ru was actually a little proud when he said this: "Otherwise, Your Majesty would not have ordered me to go to Hebei!"

Zhong Yao then realized the emperor's intention of releasing Li Ru...

And what Li Ru said does make sense.

The people of Hebei who have to eat bitter brine are pitiful, but aren’t the people of Guanzhong who have to eat bran, wheat bran, and even sand also pitiful?

Being generous to the enemy but cruel to your own people is not called benevolence and righteousness, it is called son of a bitch! Born of a slave girl!

"What Wenyou said does make sense!"

Salt production has just resumed and the output is not large.

But the bittern has been accumulated in the salt pond for hundreds and thousands of years! We have as much as you want!
Since Yuan Shao was unkind first, there was naturally no need for Zhong Yao to be unjust!
“Besides, there is the matter of mixing sand.”

Li Ru continued to give Zhong Yao strategies.

"You can't just follow my example."

"A bushel of salt is worth dozens of dan of grain, so the sand mixed in it is naturally not worth the same price."

"In that case, why not pour some water into the salt and then transport it over."

"Don't pour it all at once, but put some in every bucket of salt. After all, we have such a hard time picking up mud and sand, so we naturally can't let the other side have an easy time."

"So, what do you think, Governor?"

……

……

If he was not sure that the person standing in front of him was Li Ru, Zhong Yao would have suspected that the person in front of him was Jia Xu in disguise!

poison!
Really poisonous!

But it’s really useful!
At this moment, Zhong Yao suddenly understood the emperor.

Who can bear to have two old poisonous guys around?

Instead of torturing yourself, it is better to let him go and let him torture the enemy!
Zhong Yao made a decision decisively: "In this case, we should follow Wen You's plan and give him back his way!"

Seeing that Li Ru had helped him solve a big problem, Zhong Yao's attitude towards Li Ru was not very good, and he took the initiative to ask directly: "I don't know why Wenyou came to see me specifically, but is there anything you need help with?"

Li Ru did not hesitate to tell Zhong Yao his demands.

"So he was trying to gather intelligence on Hebei?"

Zhong Yao admired Li Ru's meticulousness.

It is indeed less troublesome to ask for information from me than to go directly to Hebei in the dark.

"After Yuan Shao established Liu He as the false emperor in Yecheng, he ordered his daughter to marry Liu He as the queen and took on the position of general."

"Later, he probably heard the rumor that the Grand Tutor was being promoted to Duke, so he was promoted to Duke of Wei."

When talking about this, Zhong Yao sneered again.

"Your Majesty has appointed the Grand Tutor as a Duke, and the fiefdom he is planning to build is just a few selected counties for the Grand Tutor to enjoy."

"But what about Yuan Shao's Duke? Apart from Yecheng, he has almost made most of Jizhou his own fiefdom!"

"In addition, he also has the power to establish a government. The three dukes, nine ministers, and ministers of the fake dynasty are just decorations. Almost all government orders come from Yuan Shao's Weiguo Mansion!"

"He nominally supports Liu as the emperor, but in reality he has already usurped the emperor's power! He is so impatient, I'm afraid he will replace Liu He and establish himself sooner or later."

"In addition, I heard that Liu He had a legitimate son, so he asked Yuan Shao to make his son the crown prince of the pseudo dynasty."

"But Yuan Shao directly ordered the poisoning of Liu He's descendants! He also said to Liu He - where did the prince come from? I have never seen him!"

"Even if Liu He is a fake emperor, he is still of Liu's bloodline! Yuan Shao talks about how noble the bloodline of the King of Donghai is, but then he kills Liu He's descendants. It's really laughable!"

?

Li Ru was a little confused at this moment.

On that day, when he poisoned Liu Bian, Liu Bian had already been abolished and became a minor clan...

But now, Yuan Shao actually dared to attack Liu He’s legitimate son directly, and even said, “Where is the prince? Why can’t I see him?”
The world outside...is progressing so fast?

Li Ru had only been silent for a short while, but he had already dropped to second place on the list?

(End of this chapter)