In the General's Mansion, Lu Bu was looking at the bamboo slips in the salt village. There was not much expression on his face, but he couldn't hide the smile in the corner of his eyes.
Chen Gong has not yet sent any news about the deal with Yuan Shu, but the income of the salt village in the past few days has given Lu Bu enough reason to smile.
Since the capture of Xuzhou, what bothered Lu Bu the most was not his employees. Even if the county magistrates and even the governors were not his own people, they were still in charge, and Xuzhou could not be in chaos. What really bothered Lu Bu was the same thing, money.
Recruiting soldiers and horses costs money, buying war horses costs money, and training elite soldiers also costs money. Not to mention other things, the military expenses alone are almost a bottomless pit. For this, Lu Bu gave up his former pride. Even so, the taxes collected
The wealth is only enough to make a living, and it is possible to raise an army, but it is extremely difficult to expand the army.
Generals from various ministries often come to complain, saying that someone is deducting food and grass, and they want Lu Bu to investigate.
Where is anyone deducting money? There really isn't anyone.
But what can Lu Bu do? As the lord, the soldiers fight on the battlefield with their lives, and it is naturally what he must do to provide food and grass for the soldiers. But Lu Bu is good at fighting, where does the money come from?
Although he didn't say it, Lu Bu had gradually accepted the son-in-law found by his daughter from the initial rejection.
"Why are you so happy, husband?" Diao Chan helped Lu Bu serve fruits and vegetables and asked with a smile.
"Happy?" Lu Bu put down the bamboo slips and looked at Diao Chan and asked.
Diao Chan smiled and nodded: "My husband has not smiled like this for a long time."
Although Lu Bu didn't express much on his face, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and the smile in the corner of his eyes was not forced, but radiated from the inside out. Diao Chan has followed Lu Bu for many years, and as her pillow partner, Diao Chan can naturally tell Lu Bu's emotions.
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"Lingqi has found a good helper for me!" Lu Bu took a piece of apple and threw it into his mouth, sighing.
"Is there any news about Chu Nan?" Diao Chan asked with a smile.
"Well, now that the food and grass are safe, maybe we won't have to worry about food and grass in the future." Lu Bu said with emotion.
"Their wedding day will be in a few days. Counting the time, it's time for Zi Yan to return." Diao Chan didn't know much about these political affairs and didn't want to talk about it much, so she changed the subject.
"Well, a few days ago, I sent a letter to him, asking him to come back and get married." Lu Bu nodded, and when he said this, his face suddenly darkened. After this incident, Chu Nan has proven his worth. Lu Bu is very interested in this marriage.
He no longer objected, but... when he thought that the precious daughter he had raised since childhood was about to get married, as a father, Lu Bu still felt very complicated.
"How are you going to take care of Zi Yan?" Diao Chan asked with a smile.
"Let's be a Piling first." Of course Lu Bu had already made arrangements for this. Chu Nan solved his big problem this time. Although Jin Cao is good, he is just an official after all. He should be a Piling first. With his current position,
It’s hard for others to say anything about your contribution, but the most important thing is that it’s by your own side.
Lu Bu has now realized that he needs someone by his side who can advise him and is trustworthy. Although Chen Gong is good, Lu Bu cannot fully trust him.
Chu Nan was different. With his son-in-law, with this relationship, although Lu Bu was quite dissatisfied with him for abducting his daughter, he already recognized this son-in-law in his heart.
If he can do more things, Lu Bu is ready to let him be the governor of Xiapi, taking charge of the people's livelihood of the county.
"My lord, Jin Cao Chunan wants to see you." While Lu Bu was thinking about how to use this son-in-law, a general came in and saluted Lu Bu.
"Let him in!" Lu Bu nodded.
"Here!"
"Don't leave. We are a family from now on, there is no need to avoid it." Seeing Diao Chan getting up to leave, Lu Bu waved his hand.
In terms of etiquette, when Lu Bu meets his ministers, the female family members have to avoid taboos. However, Lu Bu was born in the frontier fortress, so he doesn't care much about these etiquette. In the border area, the female family members meeting guests together is a sign of intimacy, but in the eyes of scholars, the female family members sit together at the same table.
It is a kind of contempt. It is the conflict between these two concepts that makes Lu Bu somewhat out of place in the Central Plains and has never been able to integrate.
After a while, Chu Nan came in under the leadership of the family general. When he saw Diao Chan, Chu Nan was slightly startled and subconsciously looked at the woman next to Lu Bu.
She has an extremely beautiful appearance, with an oval face that is slightly thin, and a pair of peach blossom eyes adorning it. They are not the most perfect, but when they are combined together, they have a strange charm. They are cold but charming, two contradictory temperaments.
On her body, it is perfectly integrated, with a natural charm that makes people feel that the whole world is eclipsed by just one look.
Diao Chan?
An unknown name flashed through Chu Nan's mind, but at this moment, he was sure that this girl must be Diao Chan, who was listed as one of the four beauties.
Seeing his gaze, Diao Chan nodded lightly. Chu Nan did not dare to look at him, lowered her head and saluted, "See you, Marquis Wen."
"Huh!" Lu Bu snorted softly when he heard this, with a bit of dissatisfaction.
"The wedding day to Lingqi will be in three days, how can I still call him Marquis Wen?" Diao Chan reminded the maid on the side to offer snacks to Chu Nan.
"I've met my father-in-law!" Chu Nan saluted Lu Bu again.
"No need to be polite, take a seat." Lu Bu pointed to the starting position and asked Chu Nan to take a seat.
"The Ganyu matter was well done." Lu Bu signaled Chu Nan that there was no need to be formal, and then said directly: "After you marry Lingqi, I plan to transfer you to Xiapiling. What do you think?"
Xiapi magistrate is different from ordinary county magistrates. Xiapi is not only the seat of Xiapi County, but also the state capital. It is the core county of Lu Bu's power. Its status is naturally much higher than that of ordinary county magistrates.
He was promoted to Xiapiling, which was definitely an exceptional promotion.
But who allowed himself to be Lu Bu’s son-in-law?
It feels like there's someone up there... it's really nice~
"It all depends on my father-in-law's orders." Chu Nan nodded. Spring plowing was coming soon. If he could get a county, he had many ideas that he could put into practice.
Moreover, the county magistrate is responsible for the people's livelihood of a county, and the luck of the people is gathered together, and the luck gained may be higher than that in the military camp before.
"Come here today. In addition to handing over orders, there are a few things I need to explain to my father-in-law." Chu Nan paused. Seeing that Lu Bu had no intention of letting Diao Chan avoid it, he told what happened in Ganyu during this period, including Mi Fang.
He also told Lu Bu about his surrender and Zhang Yuan's affairs.
"Why not just take it and confiscate his family property?" Lu Bu's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard that the Mi family even raised pirates privately. He was scared of poverty.
"Of course it's possible, but in this case, we can only get a temporary benefit. However, the Mi family has countless wealth, and the land is easy to talk about, but if the Mi family is accused of such things as shops, it will take a lot of energy just to accept them, and
How to operate this shop, purchase goods, and ship goods requires re-paving the road. During this period, other wealthy families and aristocratic families will definitely intervene."
"How can they interfere?" Lu Bu raised his eyebrows when he heard this.
"A shop is just an empty shell. The most important thing is its transactions. Take the cloth shop as an example. It needs to buy silk and linen materials, and it also needs craftsmen to weave. Where can the finished products be sold? Once this is implemented, I am afraid that it will be broken in a short time.
It is difficult to recover, and even a lot of money needs to be invested. The Mi family's shops are almost all over Xuzhou, and the trade contacts are all over half of the Central Plains. If we directly ransack the Mi family's homes, no one would dare to rob the shops, but the number of Mi family's behind this
The trading network operated by the agent is going to be handed over to others."
"Now that the Mi family is in control, Mi Fang is not willing to give the entire Mi family to Liu Bei, but is willing to work for his father-in-law. These things can continuously provide money and food for his father-in-law. This is a long-term solution."
After saying that, Chu Nan smiled and said: "Of course, if the father-in-law doesn't want to, he can also confiscate it."
If Lu Bu wants to be stable, he must change his bandit mentality, learn to delay enjoyment, and know how to give up immediate interests, so that he can go further.
"Are you sure that Mi Fang can be used by me?" Lu Bu frowned.
Fortunately, he can understand it, but he can't trust the Mi family.
"There are no absolutes in this world, but if Mi Fang doesn't want to disband the Mi family business, she can only rely on her father-in-law." Chu Nan did not guarantee that there were no absolutes in the matter of people's hearts, but Mi Fang had no better choice now.
"Zhang Yuan..." Mi Fang's matter has been settled for the time being, but Zhang Yuan... is not a good person.
"Although his moral character is deficient, it is precisely because of this that he must rely on his father-in-law. On the other hand, Xuzhou scholars are mostly scheming for the family. Maybe their moral character is not faulty, but how many of them can sincerely assist their father-in-law?" Chu Nan asked with a smile.