Liu Bei and his party accelerated their march and finally arrived outside Xuchang City before the sun went down.
Along the way, the closer we get to Xuchang City, the more people there are and the scene becomes more and more lively.
What caused this lively scene was not only the people doing spring plowing, but also the construction sites building roads, bridges, and houses.
The common people shouted slogans, bare their upper body, and hummed while doing hard physical work.
"What are you doing... corvée work?" Zhang Fei muttered as he looked at the people who were still doing hard work even though it was almost dark.
Zhang Fei's voice was only as low as his own. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others pretended not to hear, but Guoyuan replied: "If General Zhang has any doubts, you can ask the people yourself."
Zhang Fei is a man of action. After listening to Guoyuan's words, he immediately went to the people to inquire.
"Are you doing corvee service?"
The four or five men who were paving the road looked at each other in shock after hearing Zhang Fei's words.
Er, without any warning, those men suddenly burst into laughter,
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"Brother, are you a foreigner?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Zhang Fei scratched his head and replied.
"So that you know that we are not doing corvee work, but making money! We are paid for our work!" A middle-aged man said loudly.
"That's right, we look forward to the court starting work all year round, so we can earn a lot of money to support our family." Another man agreed.
This was the first time that Zhang Fei heard that people were paid for their work. He asked curiously: "How much does it cost for you to work for a day?"
"It depends on people and nature. If it is completed within the stipulated time and the quality is guaranteed, the cost savings can be turned into bonuses and paid out!"
"Human and Heaven? Bonus?" Zhang Fei's mind was filled with lawsuits and he couldn't figure it out clearly.
"Haha! Brother, don't say that I didn't remind you, if you want to make money, hurry up and sign up as a supervisor before dawn tomorrow!"
"Yes, if you want to make money, hurry up and queue up. If you are late, you won't get anything."
"Don't disturb us from paving the way. I told my wife this time that I will make at least a thousand yuan back this month!"
"..."
Zhang Fei was chased away by those men on the grounds that it would delay their deadline...
Seeing Zhang Fei come back with a confused face, Liu Bei asked doubtfully: "Third brother, what's wrong?"
Summarizing the words of the group of men, Zhang Fei said concisely: "Brother, they said they are not corvees, but working for some general as supervisors... They can earn a thousand dollars a month!"
"Hiss! What?" Liu Bei glanced at the countless workers on the construction site, took a breath, and said: "With so many people, how much will it cost?!!!"
Cao Ren laughed and explained to them: "My husband once said that if you want to be rich, you must first build roads. Therefore, my lord and my husband have always been willing to invest in building roads."
"If you want to be rich, build roads first...I don't understand..." Zhang Fei murmured.
Cao Ren didn't explain it either. Anyway, they would understand it themselves as long as they waited for the daytime and saw the endless flow of caravans.
"Everyone, please follow me into the city!"
"General Zixiao, please!"
...
Jiangdong, Wujun, the governor's mansion.
A piece of writing, a pot of wine, two copper coins, a bowl of fried peanuts...
Yes, as the trade routes of the joint caravan became wider and wider, the business grew bigger and bigger, and many of Chen Liu's commodities, such as peanuts, had been sold to the Han Dynasty all over the world.
Next to the case, two handsome men sat opposite each other. One was brave and fierce, while the other was brave and elegant with an easy-going air.
Sun Ce threw two peanuts into his mouth and chewed them loudly.
After swallowing the peanuts with the wine, he asked: "Gong Jin, you once said that Liu Bei has a heroic appearance, but why did he succumb to Cao Cao's power so easily?"
Zhou Yu also took a sip of wine, shook his head and replied: "Maybe I saw it wrong..."
After getting an answer that didn't seem like an answer, Sun Ce curled his lips, changed the topic and asked: "Gong Jin, now the six counties of Jiangdong are under our control... Can we take revenge on Huang Zu?"
The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable!
Sun Jian's revenge has always been what Sun Ce cared about the most. He could never forget the scene when Sun Jian died in his arms.
Sun Jian died in Liu Biao's ambush, but the one who shot Sun Jian to death was Liu Biao's soldier Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia.
Zhou Yu slowly picked up a peanut, placed it between himself and Sun Ce's Bronze Lord, and said: "If we want to avenge Huang Zu of Jiangxia, we must at least capture the Lujiang River in the middle."
There is also a buffer zone like Lujiang River between Jiangdong and Jiangxia. If you want to conquer Huangzu, you must first capture Lujiang River.
But now Lujiang is still under the command of Yuan Shu's old subordinate Liu Xun, and since Yuan Shu's defeat, many of Yuan Shu's old troops have gone to Lujiang to join Liu Xun.
Liu Xun relied on his large number of soldiers and horses, as well as his favorable rivers and geographical location, and he seemed to be the king of the land.
Huainan County is currently in a state of recuperation, and Runan to the west was occupied by a powerful Yellow Turban Army after Yuan Shu escaped. Therefore, Xiahou Dun, Le Jin and others who guard Huainan do not dare to go south easily to deal with Liu.
Xun.
Sun Ce picked up the peanuts placed by Zhou Yu on the table and said, "Our military is at its peak, can't we just send out troops to eat them?"
"Bo Fu, you are too impatient." Zhou Yu took a sip of wine and continued: "Do you think Huang Zu is a fool and he will just sit back and watch us capture Lujiang?"
Sun Ce raised his eyebrows and said sternly: "The bastard Huang Zu will be cut into pieces if I catch him!"
A flash of light flashed in Zhou Yu's eyes, and he said: "We still have to consolidate our strength first. As long as we are strong, let alone Huang Zu, even Liu Biao will not be a problem!"
Sun Ce was stimulated by Zhou Yu's appetite. He laughed, picked up the wine bottle and drank it for a while, then said: "In addition to Liu Biao, there are Cao Cao and Yuan Shao!!! I, Sun Bofu, will be a hero in the world!"
Zhou Yu liked to see Sun Ce's high-spirited look. He picked up his Bronze Lord, stood up, and said, "Bo Fu, there must be a place for us in this world!"
"Dry!"
...
At the same time, in a hidden mountain forest.
"Dry!"
"Clang!!!"
Three young men dressed as warriors, after drinking the blood wine from the bowl, swore to the sky: "Heaven above, we will die to avenge our master!"
At this moment, a clear female voice suddenly came: "Just the three of you, do you want to kill Sun Ce?"
"who!!!"
"Don't hide your head and show your tail, come out!"
"Are you Xu Gong's disciples?" Following the question, three people walked out from behind a big tree.
The person who spoke was a woman wearing samurai uniform, and the other two were dressed like peasants.
"Who are you?"
"I am Zhao Xue, the captain of the third team of the Yingzi Ding Battalion under General Hussars."
The other party announced his home address, which reduced some hostility at Xu Gong's doorstep.
But the eldest among Xu Gong's disciples still asked cautiously: "What is your purpose of coming here?"
A trace of murderous intent flashed across Zhao Xue's cold face, and she said: "Come to help you get rid of Sun Ce!"