Guanjiazhuang is a dock located on the north bank of the Yellow River. It is located at the junction of Yangping and Wei counties. It is one of the only routes between east and west. Many merchant ships passing by the Yellow River will stop here.
The owner of the village, Guan Ding, has some wealth, but neither he nor his ancestors have ever held official positions. His greatest wish in this life is for one of his children and grandchildren to be an official. The bigger the official, the better.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of thing can only be thought about in dreams. From a local powerful to becoming an official, one has to spend a lot of money and start from the grassroots step by step.
It is easy to just find a civil servant position in the county government. When the late emperor was in power, the price was clearly marked, and ten thousand yuan was enough. But rising up was very troublesome.
From the county magistrate with a salary of 1,600 shi, to the county magistrate, meritorious official, county lieutenant, county magistrate, chief registrar, court official, chief recorder's office, Shaofu, the subordinates of the family, the subordinates of the subordinates, the subordinates of the subordinates, and the subordinates of the subordinates.
, gate clerk, Lu division chief, county assistant, and finally to county historians with a salary below Baishi. The county-level government agencies of the Han Dynasty can be regarded as complying with the saying: Although a sparrow is small, it has all its internal organs.
Upgrading from one level to another, even if each level only costs 10,000 yuan, when all is said and done, it is still more than 100,000 yuan! For an ordinary village owner, this is quite an unbearable amount. What's more, if you make money in a wise way,
The late emperor was not stupid. He set a doubling and increasing standard for officials of different ranks.
At the beginning, Situ Cui Lie spent a full five million yuan in order to be promoted. Even so, when Emperor Ling read out the edict, he regretfully said to Shi Changshi: "The decision was a little hasty at the beginning. In fact, this official Situ
, can be sold for ten million."
Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, also bought an official position with a lot of money. Therefore, in the circle of celebrities, Cao Cao's status as a son of an aristocratic family has been questioned because his ancestors were eunuchs and his father bought an official position. He does not have the character of a family member.
.
Of course, they are despised, but this does not affect their interactions with the Cao family. At the end of Emperor Ling's reign, how many officials who were promoted did not pay for it? It's just a few. Everyone's contempt for Cui Lie and Cao Song,
Just like the allusion of laughter at fifty steps, a sense of superiority will always be discovered as long as you dig hard.
Guanding is not as wealthy as the Cui family of Qinghe and the Cao family of Chenliu. They have neither connections nor financial support. Wanting to be an official or a high official is just an illusion after all. However, the Ling Emperor collapsed, and now it is a chaotic world.
Among them, the rules of the Taiping years are not so easy to use.
Guan Ding, an old official fan, is keenly aware that the opportunities brought to him and the Guan family in troubled times are definitely once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
In fact, as early as the Zhongping period, he strictly supervised his sons and ordered his eldest son, who was weak since childhood, to study. He had higher expectations for his second son Guan Ping, who was precocious and smart.
The general who has both abilities comes out.
Nowadays, the eldest son Guan Ning is already over 20 years old, and he has not shown anything outstanding in all aspects. Lao Guan Ding had no choice but to leave the family business to him, which surprised him.
Surprisingly, the ordinary eldest son showed great talent in business and managed the family business in an orderly manner.
Especially after Qingzhou began to establish a sea salt monopoly, Guan Ning took advantage of the convenient location and contacted Qingzhou despite Yuan Shao's ban. He was able to expand his family's business several times in just one year.
The exponential increase in wealth made Lao Guan Ding smile from ear to ear. What he coveted was not money, but the opportunities that money could bring.
You know, the youngest son Guan Ping is very consistent with his expectations.
Although this boy is still fifteen years old, still a few years away from the crowning ceremony, he has emerged as a talented person. Not only is he superb in martial arts, but he has also learned a lot about military tactics. What is even more valuable is that this young man has no trace of
He is free from the impetuousness of ordinary teenagers and has a calm personality, which makes every teacher praise him and call him the style of a general.
With a son like this, and the family's wealth rapidly expanding, the old official fan Guan Ding decided that his dream was just around the corner.
Taking advantage of the turbulent situation in Hebei, he spent a lot of money to recruit soldiers and horses, stockpile ordnance, and recruited a private army with considerable size and combat power.
In addition, he also rejected the proposal of Guan Ping's last teacher, Han Qiong, to let his young son join the Jizhou Army. It was not that he saw through the final failure of the Jizhou Army, it was just that he hated the routine.
Han Qiong's recommendation will at most make his son a small soldier among the Euphorbia soldiers. Mr. Yuan rarely goes to battle in person. Even if he does, he will not take the lead and be his personal guard. How can he have the chance to perform meritorious service on the battlefield? Really?
Getting a chance would be even worse, it just means that Yuan Jun has reached a precarious situation.
Do you expect your son to turn the tide and defeat the enemy?
Guan Ding is just an official fan, not a fan of fantasy novels. He will not have such a sweet dream. When the army collapses, an individual's power is very small. Those who can save their lives are blessed by God. Those who can turn the tide must be possessed by gods.
.
Therefore, although he also felt that the situation in Jizhou was better, he still did not intend to let his youngest son serve because it would not be conducive to rapid promotion.
The eldest son Guan Ning was very disdainful of his plan. He said many times that if he wanted to join the army, he should go to Qingzhou and fight under the command of the champion. However, the old Guan Ning always felt that Qingzhou could not win this battle, and the general in the Qingzhou army
There are too many, and there is no way for his son to rise.
After all, he still wanted to find a shortcut.
Guan Ning couldn't resist his father, thinking that his younger brother was still young, so he didn't want to rush into this matter.
However, fate is not as good as man. Just when the news of the war in the plains came, Guan Ning was overjoyed and rushed to the plains with all the caravans to look for new business opportunities. Guanjiazhuang also ushered in the long-awaited victory of Guan Ding.
guest.
"Mr. Xuande, Mr. Ziyuan, please take a seat!" Guan Ding smiled so hard that he couldn't even close his mouth. The light shining in his slightly narrowed eyes was even brighter than Guan Yu's.
He was so happy that the Ming Zhu he had dreamed of finally came.
Just like the stock investors of later generations, some people like to chase the rise, while others like to kill the fall. In Guan Ding's eyes, Liu Bei is the best potential stock he can think of and meet.
Liu Bei has a reputation and a clan status. He has moved to Hebei and the Central Plains over the years and has accumulated a lot of connections. Although he is down and out, who can guarantee that he will not turn around and make a difference in the future?
Of course, this kind of investment carries great risks, but Guan Ding, who has been in business for half his life, also has his own opinions. Wealth is gained through risk. If you want to change your social status without following the step-by-step process, how can you do it without taking some risks?
Being down and out has its advantages!
Isn't the kindness of providing help in times of need much better than the icing on the cake? In the eyes of Jizhou before the war or Qingzhou after the war, their wealth and resources are nothing but a drop in the bucket. But for Liu Bei, hundreds of dollars are just a drop in the bucket.
An elite private soldier with hundreds of thousands of dollars in food and supplies is enough to give him the strength to make a comeback.
As long as Liu Bei becomes a hero, Ping'er will be a pioneering general with meritorious service. Although his status is not as good as Guan Yu's, he should not be lower than those five generals in Qingzhou!
This is the shortcut to reach the sky! Guan Ding is full of expectations for this.
"Ning Wengfang is the master of the house, and he can only serve as a guest. How can a dove occupy a magpie's nest? It is better for Ning Weng and Mr. Ziyuan to take the lead, and Bei and his second brother to accompany the Prime Minister. Only in this way can we feel at ease."
The meaning of the product leaving the customs is definitely not clear.
His identity is quite special. He belongs to the Qingyou Alliance Army in name, and is the victor. However, due to the secret contest between him and Wang Yu, they have actually fallen apart.
Fortunately, it was a secret war and had not been exposed, so the Qingzhou side could not make a big fanfare of wanting him. Even if the Jizhou side did not take care of themselves, they would not regard him as the main enemy or an important role. Therefore, when Liu Bei was walking around the borders of Hebei,
There won't be any official trouble.
Despite this, he could not always receive such hospitality wherever he went. Such a rich food supply was something he had never enjoyed even when he occupied half of the county.
As the saying goes, when you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something.
After being defeated in Luoyan Valley and fleeing, his original intention was to cross the river south from the area controlled by Yuan Shao to avoid Wang Yu's pursuit. Before crossing the river, he happened to meet Guan Ding and lived in Guanjiazhuang for more than half a month. Liu Bei observed his words and actions, and he knew about Guan Ding.
Ding's mind has already seen everything like fire.
Liu Bei very much welcomes the emergence of speculators like Guan Ding. If he wants to turn around, he must rely on such people. In troubled times, there is always no shortage of speculators, just like Wei Hong, who helped Cao Cao raise his army.
For this kind of person, Liu Bei can make generous promises to ensure the other person's status and future in his own power in the future. Among the heroes, no one understands better than him the difficulty of starting from scratch.
Wang Yu seems to have grown up very quickly from being unknown to being famous all over the world. However, it must be noted that when he started his army, he was not poor and empty-handed. Instead, he had 500 elites that Lao Wang Kuang had painstakingly accumulated, and thousands of Hanoi County commanders.
Needless to say, soldiers, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian, among all the heroes in the world, only Liu Bei truly started from scratch.
The bitterness of it is really known to everyone who has experienced it. It is difficult to describe it in one word.
Liu Bei secretly observed the villagers in Guanjiazhuang and was very satisfied to see that these villagers were strong and energetic. With a little training, they could be comparable to the white-eyed guards he once trained.
With more than 300 people as the backbone, as long as we recruit some people to bluff, an army of several thousand people will be formed.
Although the dust has settled in Hebei, the world is still open, and wars are taking place everywhere. With such an army and the bravery of the two sworn brothers, are you afraid that you will not be able to break out a new world?
Of course, these alone are not enough.
The third brother is still in the Qingzhou Army, but Liu Bei is confident that as long as his news reaches the enemy's ears, the third brother will come all the way to join him. As long as Wang Yu doesn't kill him, he will definitely not be able to stop him.
The shortcoming he realized was not Zhang Fei's problem, but another more important problem.
Through a secret contest with Wang Yu, Liu Bei discovered his own shortcomings. In terms of battle formation, he was not much worse than Qingzhou; in terms of strategy, the gap should not be huge. The reason why he was completely defeated,
Not to mention fighting back, even the specific reasons for the failure were summarized after the fact. The key lies in the overall backwardness in intelligence and overall view.
It is difficult to make up for this shortcoming, and it cannot be solved by one or two wealthy and powerful speculators.
Fortunately, after the tragic defeat, God seemed to be taking pity on him and provided him with opportunities one after another. First, he met Guan Ding when he was helpless, and then he rescued Xu You when he came to observe the battlefield closely... The hope of regrouping and the hope of making up for the shortcomings actually appeared at the same time!
Who dares to say that he is not destined by destiny?
At this moment, Liu Bei's eyes were bright. (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)