After Ma Yun finished speaking, she looked at Liu Xin proudly, which meant, don't show off, I know everything you know.
Zhao Yun was relieved: "Thank you, madam." Apparently he accepted the word Ma Yun gave him.
Liu Xin suddenly looked at Ma Yun's belly as if she had discovered a new world, and said: "Okay, okay, you don't want my name. I can just name my own child."
Ma Yun glared at him: "Come on, this is none of your business." She looked like a shrew.
Liu Xin turned her head helplessly, just in time to see Dian Wei's big yellow face, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, alas, my whole life of fame is over, and it was all caused by naming me for you!
After returning from the outing, he returned to the prefect's mansion. Liu Xin gathered everyone together. What he saw in the wild today shocked him. The drought this time was much more serious than he expected: "Everyone, what do you think of this drought?"
What do you think of drought?”
Tian Feng said: "Back to your lord, I have gone to the surrounding counties to find out. Spring plowing cannot be carried out in many places due to lack of water, and refugees have begun to appear in some places. Fortunately, your lord has the foresight to build a large number of ditches, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
Liu Xin said worriedly: "Even so, the summer harvest and production reduction are inevitable. I wonder if there are any refugees entering this county?"
Jushou said: "We haven't discovered the large number of refugees yet, but there are already many people coming to the river to visit relatives and friends."
Zhao Yun interrupted: "Yes, some people from Zhaojia Village came from Changshan to join me and Uncle Fan yesterday. All the wheat seedlings in the fields in Zhaojia Village withered to death."
"Zhao Yun, you have to resettle these villagers. If you have any difficulties, just tell me." Liu Xin looked at Tian Feng again and said, "Mr. Tian, Mr. Ju, you two must be prepared to help the refugees. If necessary, you can mobilize
The squire donated money and food. Also, the increase in refugees is likely to cause unrest in the market. We need to strengthen inspections to prevent lawless people from taking the opportunity to cause trouble. By the way, how did you go about contacting you to buy horses when I told you last time?"
Tian Feng said: "Good horses are mostly produced in the north. There is a merchant in this county named Zhu Mingfu. He just came back with a letter saying that there is a merchant in Youzhou who sells horses all year round. He has hundreds of good horses on hand. Seeing the impending famine, he
We are willing to sell the horses at low prices, but buyers need to come to us in person.”
Liu Xin knew that in the era of cold weapons, cavalry was the most powerful force. The conflict in the first month of the year caused more casualties because there were too few cavalry. However, there were not many horses in the river, and it was not easy to acquire them. Now I heard that there were
There were hundreds of good horses, and he immediately said impatiently: "The acquisition of horses is a top priority and should not be delayed for a long time. I will take people there now."
Tian Feng said: "Sir, this matter needs to be considered in the long run. The imperial court does not allow smuggling of military horses. If it is thirty or fifty horses, it can be covered up, but hundreds of horses will be difficult to deal with."
"This..." Liu Xin couldn't help but ponder. He bought the horse to cope with the upcoming revolution, and did not want to be accused of rebellion.
Jushou thought for a while and said, "I think we can do this. We can take more people with us. We will all be infantry when we go, and we will dress up as cavalry when we come back."
Liu Xin slapped her thigh: "What a great idea. Without further ado, let's get ready now and set off early tomorrow morning."
Early the next morning, Liu Xin said goodbye to Ma Yun, took Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and Zhao Yun with him, ordered five hundred flying tiger soldiers, and headed for Youzhou. At the gate of the city, Zhu Fu was already waiting there.
Liu Xin looked at Zhu Fu, who had a short stature and a chubby face, and seemed to be born with a smile. He couldn't help but think of the smiling tiger Zhu Fulai from Liangshan in The Water Margin, and asked casually: "Does Shopkeeper Zhu have a brother named Zhu Gui?"
"
Zhu Fu replied with a smile: "Sir, Zhu Gui is Xiaoren's younger brother. Xiaoren is a traveling businessman and travels all over the country. But my brother is a businessman and runs a hotel at home."
Liu Xin couldn't help but laugh. There were really two brothers, Zhu Fu and Zhu Gui. This man answered ten questions and he was indeed a good candidate for business. Liu Xin asked again: "Which county in Youzhou is the merchant you are talking about? His last name is
Who is your name?"
Zhu Fu still smiled and replied: "This merchant's name is Su Shuang. He is actually from Zhongshan County, Jizhou. He has a good relationship with another merchant named Zhang Shiping. The two have been together selling horses in the north all year round. Now they are temporarily living in Zhuo.
Within the county.”
When Liu Xin heard these two names, they seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember them for the moment.
Along the way, we saw dry rivers, withered seedlings, withered grass and trees, and a desolate scene. From time to time we encountered groups of people, supporting the old and the young, fleeing famine. Liu Xin's group brought hundreds of carts.
In addition to money, there was also a lot of dry food and drinking water in the car. Naturally, it couldn't go any faster. After walking straight for half a month, we arrived at Zhuojun. Zhu Fu had walked this road countless times and soon found Su Shuang's house.
On the bank.
Su Shuang's village was the same as other places. There were cracks on the ground. The big tree at the entrance of the village had few new buds and its branches were drooping listlessly. Su Shuang was very happy when he heard that someone was willing to buy his horse. He knew that if
It hasn't rained yet, so many horses will die of thirst if they are kept for a few months. There is almost no difference between the two parties on the price. These horses and horses have not made a penny, but the horses are not fed well during these times, and they are all a bit
emaciated.
Knowing Liu Xin's identity, Su Shuang was even more enthusiastic. That night, Su Shuang insisted on hosting a banquet in the village to entertain them. Dian Wei and Xu Chu finally took the opportunity to have a drink.
Seeing their arrogance, Su Shuang praised them repeatedly: "You two are really good drinkers! You can compete with Zhang Tu, the pig butcher in this county."
Dian Wei blushed and said, "Oh, is there anyone in Zhuo County who can match my drinking capacity? I would like to see him."
Liu Xin suddenly remembered and asked, "Is this person's name Zhang Fei?"
Su Shuang asked strangely: "It's Zhang Fei. Does your Excellency know this person?"
Liu Xin thought to herself that this opportunity should not be missed, but she wanted to see if this Zhang Fei was as powerful as the legend, so she said vaguely: "I have heard about it a little bit, but I have never met him in person. I wonder if shopkeeper Su can help introduce him."
Su Shuang laughed and said, "What's the problem for you to see him? I will accompany you tomorrow."
Everyone was drinking and talking here, and hearty laughter came from outside: "Brother Su, we have a special guest at home, and you didn't call me."
Su Shuang quickly stood up and went out to greet him: "Brother Zhang, what kind of wind has brought you here?"
After hearing this, Liu Xin thought to herself, maybe Zhang Fei came just as he mentioned Zhang Fei. Thinking of this, he also stood up and went out to greet him. He was a tall and thin man, about forty years old, with a fair face.
net.
When Su Shuang saw Liu Xin coming out, he introduced: "This is Mr. Liu, the governor of Hejian, and this is my sworn brother Zhang Shiping, shopkeeper Zhang."
"Long time, long time." The two exchanged greetings and sat down again.
Zhang Shiping said: "Brother Su, you are not very interesting. Why don't you call me when selling horses? I still have more than 300 horses at home with nowhere to go." Then he turned to Liu Xin and said: "Mr. Liu, if you are willing,
I also bought my horse."
Liu Xin saw that this Zhang Shiping was obviously in a hurry and did not look like a businessman at all, so he said: "Shopkeeper Zhang, why didn't you come earlier? I just bought more than 300 horses from Shopkeeper Su. I'm afraid it will be difficult to buy more."
Zhang Shiping hurriedly said: "The price is easy to talk about, the price is easy to talk about. I still have several thousand kilograms of iron and steel at home. Can I sell it to you at a cheaper price?"
Liu Xin knew that iron and iron were rare in this era, and several thousand kilograms of iron was not a small amount. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, then I will be cruel and buy them all." Everyone was happy.
The next day, Su Shuang, Zhang Shiping and Liu Xin went to Zhangfei Village. From a distance, they saw a big man standing at the entrance of the village, looking at the road in a daze. Su Shuang pointed with his hand: "Sir, please look at the big man at the entrance of the village.
That’s Zhang Fei.”
Zhang Fei has always sold wine and killed pigs to make a living, and his family also has some wealth. But these days, the drought is getting worse and worse, and the people are almost unable to survive. Who else comes to buy wine and buy meat? Zhang Fei looks at the business
As the days passed by, I could not help but sit bored at the entrance of the village, secretly feeling sad, when I suddenly saw a puff of smoke rising in the distance.
Zhang Fei quickly stood up and heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the road. He had heard about the horse thieves in various places some time ago. Although he was extremely strong and had extraordinary martial arts skills, he did not have any weapons that he was good at.
The number of people in that formation was always around eight hundred, and I couldn't help but feel anxious.
Liu Xin's team is indeed now all cavalry. There are also more than 200 horses in the team, carrying iron and steel. From a distance, it looks like there are nearly a thousand people. The horses' hooves are very fast, and they have arrived at the entrance of the village in the blink of an eye. Liu Xin takes a closer look
At that time, Zhang Fei's appearance was indeed similar to the one in the legend. He was eight feet tall, with a leopard head and eyes, and the beard on his face stood up like steel needles.
Zhang Fei saw this person staring at him intently and was about to get angry when he saw two people in the team whom he knew, so he asked: "Zhang Shiping, Su Shuang, who are these people? Bring them to my village."
.”
Liu Xin didn't wait for Su Shuang's answer and shouted loudly: "Is that Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide in front of you? I am Liu Xin, the governor of Hejian, and I'm here to find you."
Zhang Fei shouted sternly: "You and I are strangers, why are you looking for me?"
Liu Xin had already arrived in front of him, got off his horse, gave him his hand, and said: "I have heard about Yide for a long time. I have two brothers who are very good at wine. I specially brought them here to compete with you."
Zhang Fei was addicted to alcohol all his life, so he was killing pigs and selling wine at the same time. When he heard that someone was asking him to fight for wine, he immediately became excited and said, "Okay! If you want to drink, just follow me back to the village."
Liu Xin knew that excessive drinking was harmful to health, and he was very strict with himself and would not drink. As for Zhao Yun, Liu Xin always treated him as a child, so naturally he would not let him drink. The task of drinking with Zhang Fei naturally fell into place.
When they arrived at Dianwei and Xu Chu, it was just what they wanted. The three of them came and went, changing cups, drinking from morning to dusk, and they were all drunk. Liu Xin and Zhao went to take Fei
The tiger soldiers also stayed in the village.
Early the next morning, Zhang Fei shouted loudly in the yard: "Happy! I haven't drunk so happily for a long time."
Dian Wei and Xu Chu also said in unison: "Master Zhang is a good drinker! He is the opponent of the two of us."
Zhang Fei said: "It's a pity that you are leaving today. Who can accompany me to drink so happily in the future? I really envy you two, you can drink so happily every day."
Dian Wei said: "Actually, the two of us can't drink like this every day. The adults said that drinking should be done in moderation, as long as we are half full."
Zhang Fei said: "I usually can't drink until I'm half full. No one in this village can drink that much with me."
Xu Chu said: "That's not easy, just come with us."
Zhang Fei seemed a little tempted: "If I leave, what will happen to Zhuangzi? Without Zhuangzi, what will I do for a living?"
Dian Wei said disapprovingly: "As long as you follow my master, what else will Zhuangzi do?"
Zhang Fei was a reckless person, so he immediately said: "Okay, I'll go with you. The three of you and I are of the same mind, how about we become brothers with different surnames?"
In fact, this was all Liu Xin's plan. He knew that Zhang Fei loved wine, so he asked Dian Wei and Xu Chu to compete with him for wine. The three of them really hit it off. Not far away, Liu Xin listened to the three of them saying they were sworn brothers.
Something unexpected happened, and he quickly stood up and shouted: "Wait a minute!"