Cao Cao trusted Xun Yu very much. When he led his troops to fight Yuan Shao, the entire rear area was almost completely handed over to Xun Yu. Now in Puyang City, Xun Yu is the figure with the power of life and death, not to mention those businessmen and ordinary people. Even Chen Qun and others who stayed in Puyang behaved very humbly in front of Xun Yu, but Mi Fang, a businessman from a foreign country, dared to give Xun Yu a shut-in.
However, what is even more shocking is that Xun Yu left without saying a word. This result disappointed those who were also not treated by Mi Fang and were waiting to see Mi Fang's show. But even Xun Yu did not No matter what measures were taken, it seemed that this grain merchant from the south had a good background, and the others had no choice but to put aside their little thoughts of giving Mi Fang some color.
Xun Yu did care about the grain in Mi Fang's hands, but he could not take any drastic action against Mi Fang because he knew Mi Fang's identity.
Cao Cao aims at the world, so he will naturally have his eyes and ears everywhere. Although the ability of these eyes and ears cannot be compared with Liu Xin's phantom secret agents, how can Mi Fang hide from them with such a large convoy without any cover-up.
Now that he knew that Mi Fang was Mi Zhu's biological brother, Xun Yu did not dare to be aggressive with him, and also ordered others not to act rashly. Because Xun Yu knew better that the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had reached a stalemate. If this happened If Mi Fang is touched, Mi Zhu will be offended, which will most likely lead to Liu Xin's revenge, causing Cao Cao to be attacked from both sides, making it difficult for him to remain undefeated. Therefore, no matter how powerful Xun Yu is, he does not dare to force himself.[
Xun Yu did not dare to touch Mi Fang, but it did not mean that he gave up his idea of this batch of grain. He knew very well that what businessmen wanted was money, and Mi Fang spent so much effort transporting grain to Puyang. It was definitely not just I came here for fun. Sooner or later, he will have to sell this batch of food. The key problem is that he doesn’t know how he will sell it.
This did not trouble Xun Yu. He did not dare to deal with Mi Fang directly, but he could use his power to prohibit other merchants, nobles, and officials in the city from contacting Mi Fang. In this way, Mi Fang had only two options, either to send the grain Sell it for military ration, or transport the food back yourself. Now is the time to be more patient.
Not deliberately embarrassing Mi Fang does not mean that Xun Yu will leave him alone. The spies sent by Xun Yu have been densely surrounded around the inn. Mi Fang's every move will be reported to Xun Yu's desk every hour. Feedback from these spies Judging from the information, Mi Fang seemed not anxious at all. For three days in a row, he was either sightseeing in and around Puyang City, or looking for flowers and flowers. It seemed that he came to Puyang simply for tourism, not for business.
Mi Fang is not in a hurry, but Xun Yu can't sit still. Within three days, Cao Cao has received three documents asking for food and grass. The food and grass on the front line can only last another half month, and so far, no one can compete with Mi Fang. Discuss the deal in person.
The situation was extremely urgent, so Xun Yu summoned all the officials who stayed in Puyang to discuss countermeasures. Even Dong Cheng and Kong Rong, who were not in Cao Cao's camp, were also invited over. Xun Yu gave everyone the documents urging them to collect grain and grass. After reading it again, he said: "Do you have any good suggestions?"
Le Jin, who came back from the front line specially to escort the grain and grass, raised his hand and said: "Master Xun, the last general has gone to the four gate grain requisition office. Except for Qiao County, the military grain of other counties has not been released in place. But the soldiers on the front line cannot For one day's worth of food, the general will ask for an order to collect it from the people."
Chen Qun stood up and said: "General Le's remarks are inappropriate. My lord has already conducted two food levies before setting off. Now there is not much food left in the people's homes. If we force the levies again, I'm afraid it will trigger a civil uprising."
Le Jin couldn't help but jumped up from his seat, rushed to Chen Qun, and shouted sternly: "Can Mr. Chen just bear to watch the soldiers in front of him go hungry?"
Although he was a military general, he was not very tall and was obviously a head shorter when standing next to Chen Qun. However, his aura was so terrifying that Chen Qun couldn't help but take a step back and said coquettishly: "What did General Le say?" In other words, when he was in Yecheng, General Meng Le rescued Chen. How could he have the heart to let the soldiers starve? Chen was just talking about the matter. It is true that the food and grass of the people can no longer be forcibly requisitioned. However, Chen heard that from A businessman named Mi came from Runan, and he has a lot of food on hand, which may be able to solve the lord's urgent need."
Le Jin had a fierce personality. When he heard that there was such a businessman in the city, he couldn't help but said angrily: "Since he has food in hand, why doesn't he buy it and send it to the army?"
On the day when Mi Fang first arrived in Puyang, Chen Qun also visited the inn, wanting to buy some food to store at home for emergencies. However, he was rejected and has always held a grudge. If Xun Yu hadn't been suppressing him, he would have been there long ago. So he went to look for misfortune on Mi Fang. Now that Le Jin was in a hurry for food and grass, Chen Qun was not willing to let go of such an opportunity. He couldn't help but smile and said: "General Le doesn't know something. Master Xun and Chen don't want to take that batch of food away." The merchants who bought all the grain are treacherous and cunning. He just wants to hoard it and raise the price. But the general also knows that the lord is not only short of grain, but also short of money..."
As expected, Le Jin was furious and roared: "Fart! Such a profiteer should be beheaded in the street and his food confiscated, but how can he be allowed to go unpunished! The general will lead his troops and arrest him."
Xun Yu had already seen Chen Qun's purpose, and quickly waved his hand and said, "General Le, please calm down. We can't touch this businessman named Mi right now."
Although Le Jin dared to yell at Chen Qun, he did not dare to salute Xun Yu because he knew very well Xun Yu's status in Cao Cao's mind, so he had to bow his hand and said: "He is just a profiteer from the south. Xun Yu is just a profiteer from the south." Why did Mr. treat him..."
Xun Yu shook his head and said: "You have all thought it over. Since this businessman named Mi can get so much food from Runan, he must have a way. And the Lord's food shortage is no longer a matter of a day or two. There may be no way to alleviate the situation in the short term. Therefore, we must seize these opportunities to maintain such a stable source of food."
As for the real reason why he did not dare to touch Mi Fang, Xun Yu would naturally not disclose it here, otherwise it would have a big impact on morale. However, the reason Xun Yu came up with was also high-sounding, and people could not help but believe it.
As expected, Le Jin calmed down, clasped his hands and said, "The general is being reckless, I hope you will forgive me. I wonder if you have negotiated this matter with that person?"
Xun Yu sighed: "Xun Mou also came to see him several times, but the businessman named Mi only asked for help in every possible way. So far, Xun Mou has never met him, so how can we talk about it? However, Xun Mou listened to him. His tone is that he would only meet people he knows well. I wonder if any of you can have some friendship with him?"[
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. They all rushed to the inn almost immediately, and they also encountered a neither soft nor hard nail. If they could establish friendship with this businessman named Mi , then I bought the grain a long time ago. You know, once this batch of grain changes hands, it will be a huge income.
Xun Yu turned to Dong Cheng, Kong Rong and others, raised his hands and asked, "I wonder if you have any good ideas?"
Some of these people were important officials of the imperial court who had fled with Liu Xie, and some of them had their territory occupied by Cao Cao and had to come to Puyang to take up idle posts. None of them were trusted by Cao Cao. During normal discussions, they had no chance to interrupt. However, it was different today. , because the food problem was so urgent, Xun Yu had to brainstorm ideas.
It's just that Dong Cheng and others have real power, but are also being squeezed and monitored by Cao Cao. Even if they are willing to help him sincerely, they just keep their heads down and say nothing.
Xun Yu stood up and said: "It seems there is no good solution. General Le, you immediately lead the troops in Puyang City and collect military rations from house to house. If there are any hidden grains and refuse to pay, you will be killed on the spot!"
But I heard someone hurriedly say: "Master Xun, you must not do this!"
Xun Yu looked up and saw that it was Kong Rong. He couldn't help but frown and asked, "So, does Mr. Wen Ju have any good ideas?"
Kong Rong was originally the governor of Beihai. After Cao Cao occupied Beihai, he took him to Puyang and made him a general. In fact, it was just a sinecure without any real power. However, Kong Rong always loved the people. I heard that Xun Yu wanted to If you want to forcefully requisition military rations, the people will inevitably suffer. He stood up in a hurry to dissuade him and said, "I dare to ask Mr. Xun where this businessman surnamed Mi comes from. If you know, you might as well make it clear so that we can discuss it. Maybe there is someone there." You can make friends with him."
Xun Yu had no intention of forcibly requisitioning military rations. All Cao Cao's confidants around him knew Mi Fang's identity. If someone could establish a relationship with him, the problem would have been solved long ago. There would be no need to discuss this matter here. , the reason why Dong Cheng, Kong Rong and the others were invited here was to use them.
However, Xun Yu did not tell all the information he had, but just pretended to think about it and said: "Xun Yu doesn't know who he is. I only heard that this person was originally from a prominent family in Xuzhou, so he was able to get it." This is a lot of food.”
Kong Rong muttered: "Kong has been to Xuzhou before and happened to know a gentleman named Mi, but I don't know if he is related to him. If Mr. Xun trusts Kong, Kong is willing to go and give it a try."
During these days in Puyang, Kong Rong rarely participated in political affairs. He only talked about poems and essays on weekdays. However, he was of a noble nature and did not bother to run around for food, so he did not visit Mi Fang in the inn. Now for the people in the city In order to avoid the pain, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask for this job. However, he had no hope in his heart and was just trying his luck.
However, Xun Yu looked overjoyed and agreed happily. He bowed deeply to Kong Rong and said, "The hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line and the people in the city are all in my hands, sir!"