Cao Cao slowly dressed himself up, bowed his hands slowly, bowed like a slow old man, saluted loudly, and spoke in a measured tone, deliberately placing an accent on the word "big".
"Cao Cao of Pei State, whose pseudonym is Meng De, pays homage to General Hussar!"
Liu Xiang rolled her eyes, knowing that he was causing trouble, and looked at Cao Mengde with a smile, who was saluting half a beat slower than normal people, and also deliberately used an accent on the word "大", neither stopping nor talking to him.
He had to wait until he bowed to the end before saying in a sarcastic tone: "Is it interesting?"
"I forgive you, General Hussars. I have no official position and a low status. I hope you will not be blamed for my lack of etiquette."
Liu Xiang didn't want to play with him anymore, nor did she want to guess the deep meaning of his behavior: "Okay, okay, if you say weird things again, get out. You and I have known each other for more than a day or two. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Cao Cao was still pretending, and said with a panicked face: "Oh, the power of the hussar general is growing day by day, and the common people are terrified."
Liu Xiang pointed to the door and stared at him without saying a word.
Cao Cao smiled and thought to himself, looking at this, Liu Yicheng still misses the old friendship, so it would be easier to persuade him.
I was thinking in my heart and didn't hesitate to speak: "Hey, don't I just want to make you smile? I haven't seen you for a long time, so I want to make someone laugh."
Liu Xiang smiled indifferently: "Haha, I only heard the ridicule. I haven't seen you for many years, and you come to mock me. Is this Cao Mengde's style?"
"It's just a joke. Don't be upset. Yicheng was promoted to General of Hussars and fulfilled his life's ambition. Congratulations from Cao. It's just that it came in a hurry. I'll wait until next time to make up for the congratulations."
Liu Xiang waved his hand: "The official position given by Dong Zhuo cannot be taken seriously. If you don't enjoy the blessings in Luoyang, what's wrong with you coming to my place?"
Cao Cao took advantage of the situation and answered: "Dong Zhuo is really a rebellious official and a traitor. He has acted recklessly and abolished the establishment. I do not want to be associated with him. He abandoned his official position and fled, and came to seek Yicheng's protection."
Asking for his own protection? Liu Xiang didn’t believe it. He was afraid that he wanted to use his family wealth to recruit troops, right?
Historical records record that after Cao Cao escaped from Luoyang, he went to Chenliu County in Yanzhou to disperse his family wealth and recruit troops. However, he was from Pei State in Yuzhou. Instead of returning to his hometown, he went to Chenliu County to disperse his family wealth? Whose family property did he scatter when he escaped alone?
There was no UnionPay in the Han Dynasty.
What was scattered was the family property of Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, right?
Now, this idiot is targeting me?
Want to invest in yourself?
There is nothing wrong with supporting Cao Cao and easing the relationship with the Guandong nobles, but giving some copper coins is fine, but asking for soldiers and food is definitely not allowed.
After making up his mind, Liu Xiang extended his hand and invited Cao Cao to sit down and talk.
The two sat opposite each other, and the attendant served hot wine to warm themselves up. Liu Xiang reached out and filled it for Cao Cao, and said straight to the point: "If you have anything to say, please speak frankly. The Cao family in Pei State is a famous family, why do you need me to protect you?"
Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was originally a child of the Xiahou family and a descendant of the famous Western Han Dynasty general Xia Houying. He was later adopted as a stepson by Cao Teng and inherited the Cao family's ancestral hall. Although the Cao family has sided with the eunuch group for several generations
, but they are the descendants of Cao Shen, the famous Prime Minister of the Western Han Dynasty, and they are truly a famous family.
Peiguo is the land of Liu Bang's Longxing. The Cao family and the Xiahou family have thrived here for four hundred years, and they have long been deeply rooted and intertwined.
As a descendant of eunuchs, Cao Cao associates with famous people. Don't think that he will be discriminated against. His little friend is Yuan Shao.
Although Yuan Shao's mother was of low birth, she was later adopted by her uncle who died early and became the heir to one of the three branches of the Yuan family in Runan, thus getting rid of his status as a concubine.
"The Female CEO's Almighty Soldier"
The legitimate sons of top aristocratic families in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were Cao Cao's associates. Zhang Miao, Xu You and others were called running for friends at best, but at worst, these people were their followers.
He was a lot of mischief when he was young. Have you ever heard that he suffered a loss? Xu Shao, a celebrity who organized the Moon Festival Review, was unwilling to comment on these dudes. Cao Cao put a sword on his neck and forced him to comment on him. As a result,
It's a beautiful story.
Try it with someone from a lowly background, and you'll be beaten to death before you even get out of the house.
Do people like this need to be protected by themselves?
He only cares about his own people and money.
Despicable!
Cao Cao didn't talk about money. He took a sip of hot wine and said angrily: "Dong Zhuo acted recklessly and abolished the establishment. He was treasonous and unethical. He helped the puppet emperor ascend the throne as a puppet and made the emperor dirty. Why didn't Yicheng attack with troops to bring order to the chaos?
When Emperor Bao returns to the court again, he will accomplish this extraordinary feat and his name will surely remain in history and be praised throughout the ages."
Liu Xiang knew that when the Kwantung gentry raised an army, they used the name of supporting the young emperor Liu Bian. As a result, Dong Zhuo poisoned Liu Bian to death as soon as they raised an army.
This can be used as an excuse to refuse.
"We can't fight. If we raise an army, we will force Dong's thieves to kill His Majesty. Who can bear such a crime? Once His Majesty dies, the false emperor will be justified. What will happen when he falls? Recognize or not? Fight or not fight? I am a clan member.
To fight is to seek the throne; if not to fight, it is to destroy the morale of the army. I am in a dilemma! Maybe Mengde understands my difficulty?"
Cao Cao said in his heart, you used the Yellow Turban to cause chaos and occupied the three states of You, Hebei, and Ji, and you also want to earn the reputation of a loyal minister? Do you think I will believe you? If you were not the only one who could compete with the Dong thief, I would not come.
But the words cannot be spoken clearly, and the face cannot be torn.
Cao Cao said sadly: "If we don't get rid of the national traitors, the world will be in chaos. Yicheng should put national affairs first, and his personal reputation can only be put aside for the time being. Stabilizing the world, comforting the common people, and devoting oneself to serving the country is the right way. Right and wrong, merits and demerits,
It is recorded in the annals of history, recorded in classics, and will be commented upon by future generations."
Liu Xiang stretched out his hand to fill the wine glass for him again, and said with a wry smile:
"Mengde needs no further persuasion. I will not raise an army, and I cannot bear the reputation of killing your majesty. I know that in your eyes, taking advantage of the chaos to occupy territory is really an act of rebellious ministers, but the people are displaced and many people die of cold and hunger.
Bodies are scattered across the streets. I just want to put them down and let them live, that's all."
Cao Cao didn't believe this and frowned and said, "Why does Yicheng need to be so prevaricating? Do you think I'm a fool?"
Liu Xiang sighed, looked at Cao Cao's angry eyes and said, "Mengde, you come from a noble family. Your eyes are always looking up, thinking about the world's major events. Have you ever lowered your head and glanced down?"
He shook his head slightly and continued: "You don't know how difficult it is for the people, and you don't care. You don't have them in your eyes. I was originally a poor and humble person from Lushui Pavilion. I plowed fields, let cattle go, and endured hardships.
Hungry, I know the hardship of not having enough to eat.
Alas~, the ways are different and difficult to understand, and I don’t expect you to understand. Just like this, you do your own affairs in the world, I will settle my people, and we all go our own way. As you said, right and wrong, merit and fault, will depend on each other.
There are comments from later generations.
I will not raise an army, but I am willing to help you with 30 million yuan, and you can send someone to get it at any time."
Cao Cao looked at Liu Xiang in surprise, as if he had some doubts about his own judgment, but he was determined to give up immediately, so he picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"Okay, I'll come and get the money in a while."
After saying that, he went out without looking back and headed south alone, continuing to work for his ideas.
Now Cao Cao is still a Han minister, wanting to calm down the chaos and restore the prosperity he saw when he was a child.
In that world, the country was prosperous and the people were strong, the barbarians were subdued, and the Han Dynasty dominated the world.
That is his utopia.
Using Cao Cao's identity to ease the relationship with the Kwantung gentry and eliminate the hidden danger of the coalition attacking Jizhou, Liu Xiang did not feel that he suffered much at all after paying 30 million yuan for this.
Five baht is almost worthless. If you don't spend it quickly, it will become a pile of scrap copper.
Not only did he promise Cao Cao 30 million yuan, but he also prepared 400 million yuan to buy grain in the south. The Youzhou caravan used only a lot more copper coins.
The price of grain has already skyrocketed this year, and with his promotion, one stone of rice in Sili, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Qingzhou has already exceeded a thousand yuan. Xuzhou and Yangzhou are slightly better, with eight or nine hundred yuan. Jingzhou, Yizhou Shang
If the team can't get through it, the price probably won't be lower either.
Only in Youzhou, Jizhou and most of Bingzhou, the price of grain can still be stable at 160 yuan. The Zhen family, as a large grain merchant under Liu Xiang's rule, played an important role.
Troops have been deployed to blockade the highways and ports everywhere. Smuggling of food southward is absolutely prohibited, and people are encouraged to report. Anyone who hoards, smuggles, or has their homes confiscated will be beheaded, and women will be demoted to slaves. People who report truthfully will be given 10% of their property.
Under Liu Xiang's rule, people had a shortcut to getting rich: reporting illegal acts.
Those who are loan sharks, those who gather to gamble, those who resell prohibited items, those who hoard, those who hide armor and crossbows, those who mint coins privately, those who forge land deeds to privately seize property, those who intend to rebel, as long as there is a crime of confiscating the house, report it truthfully and investigate and deal with it
They can all divide the property of criminals.
There are also rewards for assisting in catching criminals.
A brand new industry has emerged among the people in Youzhou. They call themselves "knife catchers" to catch criminals, explore privacy, and make money by reporting illegal crimes.
There are advantages and disadvantages. Liu Xiang did not issue an order to ban it. I am going to take another look. There are militia groups in every township. At most, they will cause some security incidents.
When the time came to November, the coin exchange offices in each county opened their doors, and notices had already been issued to all rural kiosks. Ping'an Tongbao was exchanged for five baht coins for a period of three months. After three months, the transaction of five baht coins was prohibited under the General's Mansion.
When exchanging, there will be no distinction between whole money, pod money, weighing and exchange, and iron money will not be collected.
Ping'an Tongbao weighs half a tael, twelve baht, and sixty percent copper.
A five-baht coin weighs five baht, good money contains 70% copper, and bad money contains between 30% and 50% copper.
When weighing and exchanging, one is probably exchanged for three or four. The five-baht coins that have been circulated for a long time have wear and tear, and there are also pod coins with cut edges and buttons.
The monetary value is one to three.
But the people prefer the golden Ping'an Tongbao, which is heavy, good-looking, difficult to imitate, and bad coins are rare, because the crackdown is so strong that it is a crime of death for private individuals, and the punishment for damage is hard labor.
Therefore, the price of new money is a bit exaggerated. Generally, one can be exchanged for four or five good coins, and those pods have even more money.
Therefore, many smart people have appeared, taking new money to various rural kiosks to exchange for five baht, and then going to the official exchange office to exchange it, making a profit in the process.
Liu Xiang turned a blind eye. This could be regarded as getting rich through hard work, and it could also help speed up the exchange of coins. As long as there was no private minting of bad coins, he was happy to see the results.
This kind of business will not last long. Not to mention the three-month period, starting from November, the salaries of soldiers, officials, craftsmen, and laborers will all be paid in new coins, and all goods produced in workshops everywhere will be paid in new coins.
Settlement.
Especially grain, priced at fifty Ping'an Tongbao and one stone.
Prices will soon stabilize and exchange prices will gradually stabilize.