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

Chapter 95 Cao Cao is still the same Cao Cao
The underlings outside were fighting fiercely, but inside the tavern, the two bosses had stopped fighting.

Cao Cao's eyes were so dark they were barely open, and he leaned against the corner of the wall, panting heavily.

Liu Bei's cheeks were red and swollen, and he remained seated to the side without getting up.

In terms of skill, Liu Bei was slightly better, but in reality, neither of them gained the upper hand.

"Brother Mengde, shall we call this a draw today?"

Liu Bei rubbed his face, which was a little numb from the beating, and asked through gritted teeth, "Brother Mengde, you didn't come here today for Bian Ji, did you...? Who are you trying to impress by deliberately fighting with me?"

From Cao Cao's actions, Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao must indeed have business to discuss with him, because Cao Cao did not intend to kill him.

Of course, Cao Cao definitely wanted to beat himself up to vent his frustration...

I guess he wants to convince himself before getting down to business.

However, now that Cao Cao's eyes are swollen like buns, he definitely doesn't want to fight anymore.

"Hmph... Big-eared thief, you're quite cunning... With such skill, why didn't you fight me when I single-handedly went to capture you back then?"

Rubbing his eyes, Cao Cao asked weakly, "And there's the profit from selling horses... why give it to me specifically?"

“At that time, I was a thief and you were an official. It was right for you to arrest me. I had no will to fight, so naturally I would not fight you. As for Ma Li… Brother Mengde has shown me kindness by releasing me and giving me a horse. I should repay him a hundredfold. This is repaying kindness with kindness.”

Liu Bei replied very seriously: "But I am not a thief today. You beat me for personal reasons, so of course I must retaliate. This is to repay honesty with honesty."

"So, you're a gentleman after all? Hmph... Liu Xuande, it's true that Jueying is repaying my debt, but you only sought me out to trade horses because you couldn't do it yourself."

Cao Cao, supporting himself on the ground, turned away: "There's a virtuous gentleman in the court who's looking for trouble with you!"

Cao Cao's right eye was swollen, and after rubbing it a couple of times, tears started to flow involuntarily. He didn't want Liu Bei to see it.

"Is the gentleman from Runan that Brother Mengde speaks of Yuan Shao or Yuan Gonglu?"

Liu Bei took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over, but he didn't look at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao glanced at them, grabbed a handkerchief to cover his eyes, and turned back: "They are the fathers of these two! You have an old grudge against the Yuan family... and now you've stirred up trouble for Yuan's Ma Li, Liu Xuande, you are doomed!"

"Brother Mengde, it wasn't me who caused trouble for Yuan Shikai's Ma Li, it was you..."

Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao was using the tactics of the strategists, first intimidating him, then finding a weakness to exploit.

But the Yuan family will definitely cause trouble, that's a fact.

Cao Cao was probably unwilling to give up the profits from horse trading, but also unwilling to confront the Yuan family head-on.

“Yuan Shao came to see me… and asked me where the horses I sold came from.”

Cao Cao raised his head and rubbed his eyes: "I didn't mention your name, only that you came from Youzhou. But with your horse farm here and the large amount of money and silk transported, the Yuan family already knows about this place... They went to Empress He's house and said they wanted to set up a border horse breeding ground for the royal family. Guess where that horse breeding ground will be located?"

Liu Bei sighed. If that were really the case, it would truly be a disaster.

What Cao Cao said is probably true.

However, the truth is often the most deceptive lie.

"So, Brother Mengde deliberately beat me up so that the Yuan and He families would see... that you're going to give up this horse deal? Brother Mengde is indeed a loyal and virtuous man, willing to hand over such huge profits to the maternal relatives..." Liu Bei continued Cao Cao's words.

"He Sui has been promoted to Governor of Henan and is currently recruiting many officials. He has always coveted Ma Li. Empress He is also extremely favored by the Emperor. If a horse breeding park is established, it would be common for the Emperor to use the entire area within a hundred miles as a royal border park... I came here today because I don't want to see you suffer such a disaster, so that Lady Bian might also die with you!"

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he squinted at Liu Bei, his eyes no longer filled with tears, his swollen eyelids obscuring his expression.

"Brother Mengde, why are you deceiving me? I'm afraid He Suigao has no time to scheme for the borderlands of Youzhou right now. I think the He family is probably after Brother Mengde's business... The one who's after my horse farm is probably Brother Mengde himself, isn't it?"

Liu Bei immediately saw through Cao Cao's strategist tactics.

Cao Cao was deceiving people.

The people who went to the horse farm are definitely not from Empress He's family, because the He family doesn't have that kind of power right now.

He Suigao, also known as He Jin, was originally a butcher from Nanyang. He rose to prominence three years ago because his sister, Consort He, gave birth to Prince Liu Bian.

At the end of last year, Consort He was made empress, and He Jin was promoted to governor of Henan as a result, which is when the He family finally gained power.

The He family doesn't have enough resources. No matter how greedy they are, they can't seize the horse resources in the border region so quickly. They need to have the manpower to raise horses and the connections in the border region before they can do this.

Even if the horse farm were given to the He family, they wouldn't be able to run the business anytime soon.

The business that the He family can do now, and what they most want to do, is terminal retail—the same business that Cao Cao is currently engaged in, because this business can leverage the emperor's edict to requisition horses to gain the allegiance of officials in various regions.

This is also the business most suitable for being controlled by maternal relatives.

Cao Cao made a fortune selling horses in Luoyang, so it was inevitable that he would be targeted.

However, given Cao Teng and Cao Song's influence, no one would usually dare to target the Cao family.

Cao Cao was right. Liu Bei did indeed ask Cao Cao to do this business because he couldn't do it himself.

There are rules among wealthy families. They can cooperate or fight. They can scheme against each other before the distribution of benefits is determined, but once the dust settles, they will not easily cut off each other's source of income.

The reason why cutting off someone's source of income is said to be like killing their parents is because such matters usually involve a wide range of people—families are intermarried with each other, and there are entanglements everywhere. Every established source of income involves various parties and forces, and it is only during factional struggles that such conflicts become irreconcilable.

Just like when Cao Cao sold horses, the eunuchs got a share, the He family, his maternal relatives, also got a share, and the share that he presented to Cao Song would also be distributed by Cao Song to aristocratic officials. Selling horses was also a way of cultivating good relations with aristocratic families, and at the same time, it was also serving the emperor's edict.

When every faction benefits, few would be foolish enough to take such a huge risk to rob it.

Only the He family would be that fool.

The Yuan family lost business to Cao Cao, so they tricked the He family into competing with Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao did not want to fall out with the He and Yuan families at this time, so he took advantage of the situation and wanted to transform himself from a downstream distributor into an upstream wholesaler.

Cao Cao instigated the fight to let others know that he, Cao Cao, had become his enemy, and to use this as an excuse to seize his property...

Cao Cao is still the same Cao Cao, Liu Bei knew that.

"Xuande is indeed extraordinary... Yes, He Jin has become the Governor of Henan, and he is indeed plotting to take over my Luoyang business."

Seeing that he had failed to deceive Liu Bei, Cao Cao sighed and spoke the truth with a hint of sarcasm: "The He family were originally butchers, they rose to power in just three years, and gained influence in just three months... They know nothing, they only know that trading horses is extremely profitable..."

It seems the He family hasn't learned how to behave like a gentry family yet; these nouveau riche relatives of the emperor certainly don't understand the proper etiquette.

(End of this chapter)