When Zhou Yu returned to the main hall, Lu Su stepped forward and asked, "Why did the Pang family come to visit you?"
At this time, Pang Tong may not be a well-known person in Xiangyang or even Jingzhou, but in the eyes of Lu Su, who is from Qingzhou, the most important symbol on him is the Pang family of Xiangyang, or the nephew of Pang Degong.
"What can happen?"
Zhou Yu sat down slowly and chuckled, "I heard that the people in Yangzhou are short of food. The Pang family is worthy of being a famous family. They are kind and righteous, so they come to help the weak."
"The implication is that the Pang family is willing to sell grain to me?"
Lu Su couldn't help but said happily, but then he looked suspicious again, peeked around, leaned down and said softly, "Gong Jin, something seems wrong?"
Zhou Yu looked up at Lu Su and asked, "What's wrong?"
"They know what we want in our hearts and are so desperate right now. How can they take the initiative to come to the door?" Lu Su asked, "Shouldn't we wait for the price and sell it?"
Yes, since Liu Biao agreed, these wealthy families were naturally willing to do business with Yangzhou. This was no problem. After all, no one would fight against money. However, being willing to do business is one thing, but how to do business is another.
And what you in Yangzhou are short of is nothing else but food!
This fatal shortage of supplies can be said to have caused the buyer in Yangzhou to lose the right to refuse from the very beginning, that is, they must make this transaction. In other words, the initiative has been completely lost.
Lu Su also came from a wealthy family. In his opinion, it is the nature of merchants to pursue profits. If he were a wealthy family in Jingzhou, what he had to do at this time was to sit at home with peace of mind, waiting for people from Yangzhou to come to his door, while thinking carefully about what to do.
Just kill him with a ruthless knife.
It is unreasonable to not only visit the Pang family like this, but also to hand back the "initiative" to them, the "weak party".
"Haha, Zijing, if you wait for a price and sell it, it's just a businessman's business, using the art of planning." Zhou Yu smiled slightly, "How can it be regarded as supporting the weak?"
"you mean?"
"If it's a normal business, the Pang family certainly shouldn't behave like this, but in this case, the favor that solves your lord's urgent need will only fall on Liu Biao."
Zhou Yu said: "If the price is too harsh, it will not only be unfavorable, but also resentment. The Pang family has many capable people, and Pang Shiyuan is even more distinguished. How can he not see this? Today's visit is just a gesture. They
Not only will they sell grain to us, but the price will be slightly lower than the normal market price."
If you were an ordinary person, you might have doubts. Since the Pang family wanted to sell favors to Wang Zheng, why not just send food to them?
If this is the case, the favor given to Wang Zheng is enough, but it is too conspicuous and may even arouse the suspicion of other wealthy families such as Liu Biao and even the Cai family. Therefore, the favor must not be given, not even too much.
Selling cheaply.
Lu Su could naturally think of this, and nodded happily after hearing this: "My lord is wise, powerful, and has a reputation far and wide. Those who have attained the Tao will be of great help." After a pause, he asked in surprise: "Since we are talking about this matter, why not
Do you want to discuss with me, the envoy?"
Immediately, he reacted first and laughed: "I think it was Gong Jin who had a verbal battle with the Confucian scholars yesterday and was a distinguished debater in the court. He actually impressed all Jingchu's clothes, hairpins and hairpins with his own strength. He became famous in the city in one day, so this Pang Tong just did it."
Come here because of its reputation and want to have a glimpse of it?"
Zhou Yu smiled slightly. There was indeed this reason, but of course there was a more important reason.
The posture put forward by the Pang family is a great benefit to Yangzhou. Not only can the Pang family get food at a reasonable price, but it also gives them confidence when negotiating with other families. With the Pang family
If you set an example first, others will naturally shout the price too high or too darkly.
From this point of view, the Pang family has actually blocked other families' financial paths. They have made enemies and accumulated resentment for Wang Zheng. This favor is not a big one. Since they have made such a big sacrifice, Wang Zheng must be punished.
Clearly understand and fully receive it!
Lu Su doesn't know who Pang Tong is, and the same goes for him. People don't know who Lu Su is. Can you understand the Pang family's painstaking efforts, and will you tell Wang Zheng clearly about this painstaking effort?
Hard to say.
Zhou Yu was different. He came from a famous family and was in the limelight yesterday. His character was endorsed by his family, and his intelligence and ability had also been demonstrated. After Pang Tong came to the door, he immediately understood Zhou Yu's "understanding" in a few words. He felt relieved and left happily.
go.
On the other side, although Liu Biao had already passed down the order to borrow grain and open up the city, there were still many details that needed to be discussed with the Yangzhou mission. Under the leadership of the Huang family and the Pang family, the wealthy families in Jingzhou also came together with
Lu Su started bargaining for a while, and finally decided that as a sign of friendship, the Huang and Pang families would pay 20% of the grain slightly lower than the market price, while the others would pay 30% of the grain slightly higher than the market price.
The price was agreed upon, and we discussed how to transport it.
Several million hu of grain is not a small amount, and it is certainly impossible to go by land. If we go by water, will the ship transport the grain be Liu Biao's ship, or will Yangzhou send its own ship to transport it?
Even if we take the water route, we still have to walk a section of land beforehand, and we still need Jingzhou to arrange transportation for this section. It is impossible for Yangzhou people to drive straight in and run rampant here in Jingxiang, right? Liu Biao can rest assured that Cai Mao and others
I don’t agree either.
So this means that Jingzhou has to recruit farmers and dispatch ships to borrow food from Yangzhou. How to calculate the money rations, that is, freight and food, that these farmers need on the road? It is directly from the grain of one million dendrobium.
Will it be deducted from the money, or will Yangzhou convert it into silver money and pay it to Jingzhou together?
All of this needs to be decided before Lu Su returns to Yangzhou. After all, it will be too late to go back and ask Wang Zheng for instructions. How much time will be wasted by going back and forth? It is the New Year's Eve, and spring plowing will be after the New Year's Eve, so there is no time to delay.
There is also the hidden danger of long nights and many dreams. On the one hand, there are many civil and military officials in Jingzhou who are like Cai Mao and are firmly opposed to lending food to Yangzhou. On the other hand, once the news leaks out, all the princes in the world will know about Yangzhou's current food shortage.
What will be the reaction?
Will Cao Cao and Yuan Shao put pressure on Liu Biao?
Will Emperor Xian issue an imperial edict to stop it?
This must be considered, so for Wang Zheng, once Jingzhou agrees to provide grain, whether it is borrowed or sold, the sooner the grain is transported to Yangzhou and settled in the bag, the better, so
Lu Su had long been given the power to make decisions on the fly.
In the next few days, Lu Su went to discuss with Jingzhou officials during the day, and discussed and weighed with other members of the envoy at night. In this way, he slept less than three hours a day and stopped three or four times for a meal. Many days later,
The two sides eventually reached an agreement.
First, all the grain produced in Jingzhou was eventually exported to Yangzhou for sale.
I don’t know whether he was persuaded by others or regretted it later. Liu Biao finally changed his mind and proposed that Guancang, like the Pang and Huang families, would be sold to Yangzhou at a price lower than the market price. If there was insufficient money and food, it could be offset by supplies.
Is Wang Zheng rich? He definitely is!
Just as Zhou Yu had guessed before, he now covers nine counties, and has successively obtained the treasury funds of Tao Qian, Kong Rong, Yuan Shu and others, hundreds of thousands of gold, which is a terrifying astronomical figure for ordinary wealthy families.
Numbers, in his eyes, may not be unpayable.
But being rich does not necessarily mean pretending to be generous. He did not consider this, but Lu Su did. Xuzhou and Yangzhou were both in need of development. There were many places where money was needed, and they could not invest too much in buying grain.
Therefore, it was proposed that Yangzhou could pay part of the gold and silver in cash, and if the shortfall was insufficient, it would be better to barter and use other things, such as copper, iron, special products, etc., as payment for food.
Liu Biao did not have much disagreement with the local wealthy families in this regard. Jingxiang was already wealthy and had no shortage of money. It was not unreasonable to exchange grain for copper, iron, and even some ginseng and other luxuries.
The second is the handover location, as well as transportation and freight.
Although they were allies, the two parties still used each other's methods, and the handover location was finally decided at Xunyang, a town in Linjiang County south of Lujiang County.
Jingzhou is responsible for transporting grain from counties and counties in Jingzhou, including the section from Xiangyang to Xunyang, regardless of land or waterway. All transportation costs are converted into silver and paid to Yangzhou together. After Xunyang, Yangzhou transports it by itself.
.
Naturally, Lu Su would not care about the shipping cost, and fully agreed to Jingzhou's conditions, which were preferential and lenient. He only made one request, which was to do it quickly!
On the day of the agreement, Lu Su asked Zhou Yu and Gongsun Shu to return early to send the news back to Shouchun.
The dinghy raised its sail and moved forward in the cold winter rain. The raindrops fell on the water, causing ripples. When the wind was favorable, even though it was loaded with grain, it sailed very fast. It left Nanjun in two days.
.
"Hey, look, it's wild geese. They fly so fast, they can leave us behind in the blink of an eye."
"The humidity in the cabin is heavy, so we need to prevent the grain from getting moldy." Zhou Yu touched the deck, which was damp and cold. "When the rain stops, uncover the upper deck and shine the sun."
"Look, there are two white birds on the shore. What are they? Are they easy to raise?"
"That's a stork."
Zhou Yu patted away the slender hands holding his sleeves and continued to tell Gongsun Shu, "Although the winter rain is light, the humidity and cold are heavy. Cover it with a few more straw mats and make the cage thicker."
After he left, he turned to look at the girl who was looking far away from the bow of the boat, and sighed helplessly: "Don't mess around anymore, we are about to enter Jiangxia County, and we will find a city to dock later.
, I will send someone to take you back."
"I won't call you a little thief, and you don't want to send me back to my senior brother."
Qiao Shuang, or Xiao Qiao, turned around and said with a smile: "Aren't you going back to Yangzhou? It just so happens that I also want to go back to Wancheng to have a look."
Why Xiao Qiao appeared on Zhou Yu's boat must start from the day before yesterday.
Since he was returning first, Lu Su asked Zhou Yu to bring some food back first. The Huang family took care of it, hired Li Bang for the cargo ship, and lent Zhou Yu a dozen old boatmen to escort him along the way. A total of five dinghy boats were loaded with people and cargo.
, left the dock.
"Brother Zi, this trip went smoothly, and I rely on your generous helping hand."
Before leaving, Zhou Yu clasped his fists and bowed and said, "When I go back and see Wangzhou Mu this time, I will tell you the truth. With your great talent, how can it be compared to a bandit? Wangzhou Mu should be able to distinguish the seriousness, and maybe he can tell the story of Zhang Chongyue."
Write it off with one stroke.”
"This offer of assistance is because Gong Jin and I hit it off immediately, but it is not for Wang Yukou's sake." Taishi Ci smiled lightly and said, "It would be best if we can write it off in one stroke. If not, don't worry."
"Whether or not you vote for the king's government is up to you, but..." At this point, Zhou Yu paused and lowered his voice slightly: "Liu Jingsheng is by no means a wise master!"
"Thank you Gong Jin for your kind words."
Tai Shici nodded, "Of course I know, but since Uncle Huang has said it, I always have to meet him face to face."
Zhou Yu nodded and said no more. He immediately bowed his hands and said goodbye to Taishi Ci, then turned around and boarded the ship.
After driving for most of the day, the waterway could not be seen clearly after dark, so the fleet found a spacious area, dropped anchor and docked, lit a bonfire, grilled fish and cooked meat, and was lively for a while. Later, because it was dawn,
When they got to the helm, most of the people, except those who were watching the night at the shore camp, went into the cabin to sleep.
Zhou Yu, however, was not sleepy for a while, so he stayed alone on the deck to enjoy a moment of leisure. As he was walking around, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from a side cabin, as if a group of rats were gnawing at the straw mat and stealing rice.
"Is there a thief?"
Surprised in his heart, Zhou Yu walked over and opened the cabin door. The moonlight was bright, and he saw the prodigal girl Xiao Qiao at a glance. He didn't know where he got the strength to move the grain bag, clear a piece of land, and spread a silk cloth.
, with a carved double-layered food box and chopsticks in front of him, he was holding a mouth full of food, his cheeks bulging.
"you"
Zhou Yu almost thought he was dazzled, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, he was dumbfounded and asked, "Why are you here?"
Faced with the question, Xiao Qiao did not panic. He swallowed hard first, then blinked at Zhou Yu, curled his lips and said with a smile: "Want to eat? The chefs of the Huang family are very good at cooking.
The grilled venison breast is very delicious, but a bit cold."
As he spoke, he fanned his nose again, "It's not bad here, but it's a little darker with the door closed, and it's a bit smelly."
This pampered daughter-in-law was so calm that she hid silently for a whole day. If she hadn't discovered it by chance, it would have taken two or three days for her to notice the extra "goods."
No matter how bright the girl's smile was, when it fell into Zhou Yu's eyes at this moment, she became more and more confused, "Why are you hiding on the boat? Does my sworn brother know?"
"Who is hiding on the boat? I just came over to take a look. I fell asleep and was confused for a while."
Xiao Qiao turned up her nose and snorted, "In the end, you sailed the boat."
"."
Zhou Yu looked at a bundle of food, snacks, a kettle, and even a package of clothes, feeling dumbfounded.
Did Xiao Qiao think he was stupid? He was asked to come over and take a look at his behavior?
This was clearly planned!
But the other party has already arrived, and the ship has already sailed out of Xiangyang. What can he do?
He could only specially spare a room and make simple arrangements to let her stay. At the same time, he asked the steward of the Huang family on the other ship to quickly send someone back to report to Tai Shici, asking him to send a speedboat as soon as possible to get this girl as soon as possible.
My sister-in-law picked me up.
The name Qiao Shuang doesn’t sound good to me, so I’ll just call her Xiao Qiao from now on.
PS: I wish all book friends a happy Winter Solstice.