Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 86 The Rich and Powerful Love Disaster (Seeking First Subscription)
Jian Yong was a worldly man, and he was clever and quick-witted from a young age, especially good at understanding people's thoughts and words.

Seeing Cao Cao speaking to the beautiful musician in such a manner, and noticing the familiar straw sandals on the musician's feet, Jian Yong instantly understood what was going on.

Liu Yuanqi didn't lie to me... Elder brother really did choose the most beautiful courtesan at the music hall!

Those fancy straw sandals were clearly made by my elder brother...

Jian Yong was wearing official boots when he came to Luoyang, but he often played with Liu Bei when he was a child and always wore Liu's straw sandals, so he was very familiar with that style.

During the year Liu Bei spent observing mourning at home, he felt guilty for not protecting his mother and for not being able to take the real culprit's life. He often wove straw sandals to calm his mind, and once he finished making them, he gave them all to his brothers.

At this moment, Jian Yong's bundle contained a new pair of shoes... exactly the same as the ones Bian Shi was wearing!
Hmph, my elder brother said it was some kind of misunderstanding and brushed it off... It seems it wasn't a misunderstanding, but rather that he misled people!

Alright, all brothers understand—if elder brother asks about junior sister, I can only say it's a misunderstanding…

The junior sister is the maid that Jian Yong bought to serve Yue Yin. After Yue Yin returned her to Jian Yong, she lived in Jian Yong's house and addressed him as junior sister... Now this junior sister has become Jian Yong's concubine.

"Ahem... Mr. Cao, may I have a word with you in private?"

Jian Yong's eyes darted around, sensing that this business might be a bit difficult. The matter at hand was somewhat tricky; Cao Mengde clearly had a strong liking for this courtesan...

A love triangle?
Is Cao Mengde trying to poach his elder brother's man?
Hmph, look at yourself, so short and ugly...

Actually, Cao Cao wasn't bad-looking; he was at least of decent appearance. Although he was a bit short, he still had a certain imposing presence, especially with his sharp and piercing eyes, and his overall demeanor was much better than that of the average person.

But Jian Yong had seen many extraordinary people during this time: his elder brother Liu Bei was calm and handsome, the governor Liu Yu was kind and refined, the warrior Guan Yu was as powerful as a dragon, and even his younger brother Zhang Fei was a fierce and powerful man.

So when Jian Yong met Cao Cao... he didn't think much of him.

However, Cao Mengde had a somewhat roguish air about him, which Jian Yong found endearing; it was the air of a wandering knight-errant.

"You just said that Liu Bei is your elder brother?"

Cao Cao clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking: "He said he wanted to do me a good deal... but his deal is probably illegal..."

"Oh, what Cao Jun said..."

Jian Yong shook his head repeatedly and beckoned to the musicians' servants: "Find a quiet inner room, and put Cao Jun's expenses on my account as well."

After instructing the servants, Jian Yong turned to Cao Cao and smiled, "I'll tell you a story, Lord Cao... If it's against the law, then consider it just entertainment, after all, this is a music hall..."

“Jian Xianhe, your brother, that big-eared scoundrel… cough, Liu Bei, said he would give me a fine horse to pay off a debt. I saw the horse; this debt can be settled…”

Cao Cao squinted at Jian Yong, a hint of distrust in his eyes: "Since you only want to tell stories, then I'll accompany you with wine. But if you don't tell them well, I'll make you stay here and tell your stories for another two years..."

"Haha... Cao Jun understands me! If I could stay in this music hall for two years, it would be exactly what I've been hoping for!"

Jian Yong clasped his hands in a fist and laughed heartily, seemingly eager to stay there for an extended period.

This is the truth; Luoyang Music Hall has both beautiful women and wine, and Jian Yong really wants to stay a few more days.

Cao Cao's face twitched: "You brothers are all like this, truly birds of a feather!"

"Mr. Cao is a kindred spirit. My elder brother said that Mr. Cao is his lifelong friend, so Mr. Cao is also my brother. Please come into the inner room and take a seat of honor..."

Jian Yong's ability to cultivate relationships was on par with Liu Bei's, mainly because he was just as thick-skinned as Liu Bei; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get along.

Those who shared the same interests entered a quiet private room.

The beautiful musician was very sensible; she didn't follow them in but instead stood guard outside the private room—in those days, a musician who didn't know better would have a hard time surviving. "What story does Jian Xianhe want to tell?"

Cao Cao was relatively kind to Jian Yong, probably because Jian Yong's carefree and chivalrous nature suited his taste. However, it was difficult to be friendly with him, given the significant difference in their social status.

"This kind of story is everywhere, and I think Mr. Cao must have experienced it deeply... That year, the world suffered a great calamity..."

Jian Yong was actually talking about Cao Cao's own affairs.

When Liu Bei encountered Cao Cao, it was a year of great calamity.

First came the floods, then the plague, followed by the drought, and then locusts.

But the more widespread the starvation, the fewer people were willing to sell grain, leading to rice prices in Luoyang reaching as high as 10,000 coins, and even then, there was no market for it.

Cao Cao wanted to provide disaster relief in Dunqiu, but he couldn't buy any grain in the surrounding area.

They wanted to transport the grain from their hometown of Pei, but at that time there was a severe drought and the rivers were dry, so they could not transport it by water. If they transported it by land, there would not be much grain left by the time it reached Dunqiu.

That's why he sent Liu Bei to raid the grain supply at Lihu, which is very close to Dunqiu, minimizing transportation costs.

The fact that no wealthy and powerful households were selling grain indicated that they were hoarding it for speculation, as it was a basic necessity.

Wealthy families did not only focus on land and agriculture; their understanding of economics was more profound than that of most people in later generations. They monopolized land, food, education, connections, and official positions... These were all essentially commercial activities, only the traded goods were not necessarily money.

They would try to monopolize everything that could be monopolized, including the emperor.

For a long time, the canal transport in Luoyang was monopolized by the Yuan family in cooperation with eunuchs, so much so that most of the grain shops in Luoyang were Yuan family businesses.

Yuan Shu had repeatedly caused trouble on the road, often in order to intercept messengers who reported illegal activities in the grain transport system. Cao Cao even argued with Yuan Shu about this.

However, the Yuan family's control over the Grand Canal was not merely for profiting from selling grain at high prices; it was primarily to hold the imperial court hostage.

The imperial court was the biggest customer in need of grain, as it had to support not only the officials inside and outside the palace, but also the army.

When there is a great disaster in the country, the imperial court will need more grain than before, but it cannot forcibly collect it. Instead, it has to reduce or exempt taxes.

Especially during floods and droughts, the Luo River was impassable by boat, and transporting grain over land for thousands of miles cost more than 90% of the grain, which was simply insufficient to support the imperial court's expenses.

At this point, the grain hoarded by the Yuan family will demonstrate a value that money cannot measure; the grain will be transformed into official positions and power.

Everyone knew that Yuan Shao was keeping assassins in Luoyang to rescue his cronies, but only Zhao Zhong in the palace came out to reprimand him and tell him to restrain himself.

If anyone else had rescued the party members, their entire families would have been exiled long ago…

The story Liu Bei conveyed through Jian Yong was about how the Yuan family controlled the grain transport system, used the famine and food shortage to coerce the court, causing rice prices in Henan to soar to tens of thousands of coins, making it difficult for Cao Cao to provide disaster relief.

"The emperor rejoices in a bountiful year, while the wealthy love misfortune. Mr. Cao's family is rich and has a past relationship with Yuan Shao, so he must be well aware of this matter. However, Mr. Cao is upright and incorruptible in Luoyang and rescued the people from dire straits in Dunqiu. My elder brother often praises him for this, and I, Jian, also deeply admire him. I, Jian, drink this toast to Mr. Cao's benevolence and righteousness!"

After Jian Yong finished speaking, he deliberately flattered Cao Cao and then took a big gulp of wine.

My throat is dry from talking, I need to drink more.

The network was a little unstable, so I was a few minutes late, but I continued to post new chapters.

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(End of this chapter)