My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 40: Daydreams of Unifying the Province
Liu Bei was the ruler of a province and the first commander of the army. For Liu Feng to plan such a large-scale operation without him was simply wishful thinking.

Any action requires Liu Bei's cooperation in order to maximize the strength of our side.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's plan, Liu Bei was so astonished that he could hardly speak, muttering to himself, "This plan is so wicked... so ingenious."

In general, Liu Feng's plan was to use snow salt, white sugar, and money to purchase grain from Zang Ba's territory before the autumn harvest.

With the autumn harvest approaching, it is believed that wealthy and powerful households in places like Kaiyang would be happy to sell any surplus grain they have to make room for the new grain that will soon be harvested.

Once the grain harvest was nearly complete, Liu Bei's army launched an attack before the autumn harvest grain in Kaiyang and other places was stored, directly trapping Zang Ba in the city. At the same time, they could use the newly harvested autumn grain from Kaiyang as their rations, thus feeding the enemy.

This can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

At that time, without food, Zang Ba would be unable to defend the city.

The only options were to surrender or starve to death.

Even if Zang Ba puts up a stubborn resistance, it won't take much longer, and it's expected that the problem can be completely resolved within the year.

Moreover, Zang Ba in history was quite shrewd and did not have much ambition, so Liu Feng was confident that he could successfully persuade him to surrender.

After hearing Liu Feng's complete plan, Liu Bei was amazed.

After all, although Big Ears Brother was good at fighting, he was known for his fighting skills in battle formations and because his brothers were fearless, skilled in martial arts, and strong.

When it comes to cunning strategies, he's only half-understood yet, and he could never have come up with such a treacherous plan.

However, Liu Bei still found a flaw: "Feng'er, what should we do if Zang Ba refuses to sell the grain?"

Liu Feng laughed heartily, then explained to Liu Bei, "Zang Ba is merely a local strongman; how could he possibly see through my scheme? Besides, this plan is an open one, and even if Zang Ba saw through it, he would be powerless to break it."

Father should know that Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Chang Xi, and others are nominally ruler and subject, but in reality, they are allies. It is difficult for him to truly interfere in the private affairs of his subordinates.

Therefore, even if Zang Ba refuses to sell grain, how can Chang Xi, Sun Guan, and others resist?

At that time, it would be better if Zang Ba didn't interfere; if he did interfere with Chang Xisun Guan's grain sale, it would probably only arouse their suspicion.

"One must know that cutting off someone's livelihood is tantamount to killing their parents; if Zang Ba had any sense, he wouldn't have dared to do that."

Liu Bei suddenly realized that the more he looked at the plan, the more feasible it seemed, and that it was foolproof.

In his concluding remarks, Liu Feng said, "Father, the Battle of Langya is your first battle after taking control of Xuzhou. We must strive to achieve a decisive victory and establish our prestige in the East China Sea."

“What Feng’er said makes a lot of sense.”

Liu Bei stared at Liu Feng with eager eyes: "What after we take over Langya Commandery?"

"At that time, Father can take advantage of the great victory to go south to Guangling, coerce Yuan Sui to submit, and unify the state."

Recalling what he had said earlier, Liu Bei couldn't help but ask, "Feng'er, didn't you say before that Guangling was untouchable? Why are you able to go south to Guangling now?"

Liu Feng replied with a smile, "Times have changed. By then, even if Yuan Sui still refuses to bow to Father, Zhang Menggao will probably already be dead in Yanzhou."

Now that Zhang Menggao is dead, what wrong could my father have done by taking over the counties under his jurisdiction as governor? Even if Zhang Menggao were to survive, my father would only be heading south to Guangling to prepare for Yuan Shu's northern invasion. Yuan Sui is not a very strong-willed person and would certainly not dare to fight against my father.

By then, when the army enters the city, Father will use his position as governor to adjust personnel, appointing virtuous and capable officials, and Guangling will be under Father's control.

Liu Bei suddenly realized what was happening and was overjoyed, his mind filled with anticipation for the wonderful prospect of truly unifying Xuzhou. A hundred li east of Tancheng, in Qu County, where the Mi family of Donghai resided, Mi Fang, the younger brother of the Mi family head, was reading a silk scroll urgently sent back by his elder brother Mi Zhu, escorted by armored guards.

Mi Fang was similar to his elder brother Mi Zhu; both were gentle and refined scholars who were also skilled in archery.

Compared to Mi Zhu's introverted nature, Mi Fang was more unrestrained, with a more extroverted personality and a lack of composure.

While reading the letter, Mi Fang's brows remained furrowed.

It's no wonder he had that expression; the amount of supplies Mi Zhu promised Liu Feng was simply too enormous.

Various supplies are not a problem; the family can always scrape together enough. Even if they are short a bit, it doesn't matter. As long as they communicate with the powerful clans and gentry in Qu County, they will give the Mi family face and help make up for the shortfall.

However, the amount of 100,000 shi of grain was too frightening. The Mi family's mansion did indeed have nearly 300,000 shi of new grain, but that was enough for tens of thousands of people in the Mi family for a year.

If a third of it is drained at once, and something goes wrong, the trouble could be considerable.

It wasn't until the contents of the snow salt and rock sugar were mentioned that Mi Fang's expression changed from hesitation to suspicion.

But when he opened the wooden box containing snow salt and rock sugar that had been delivered with the letter, he was utterly shocked.

Was what my brother said actually true?

Mi Fang, who was somewhat hesitant about whether to do as her brother instructed, picked up the wooden box and the letter and headed towards the backyard.

Mi Zhu and Mi Fang's father, Mi Zeng, was still alive. After turning sixty, he retired completely, entrusting all the family affairs to his eldest son, Mi Zhu, and having his second son, Mi Fang, assist him in managing the business.

He himself went into complete seclusion, staying in the backyard of his home to enjoy his later years.

This four-story building, with a circumference of about 100 steps, is one of the tallest buildings in Qu County. Standing on the top floor, one can see beyond the city wall and overlook the scenery outside the city.

It is said that the Mi family spent a full twenty million coins to build this building, which was named Fu Lou by Mi Zeng. The interior is beautifully decorated, with six to eight rooms on each floor, and a pavilion on the fourth floor offering panoramic views.

Mi Fang ran all the way, startling the servants passing by. They wondered what could have made the second head of the family so anxious.

When they arrived at Mi Zeng's secluded residence, Fu Lou, Mi Fang knocked on the door and went upstairs.

At this moment, his father, Mi Zeng, was leisurely drinking wine and gazing at the distant scenery, accompanied by a beautiful young woman with delicate features and bright eyes.

All the windows on the top floor were open, and the interior was covered by silk curtains, revealing only the side facing the mountain view.

This way, one can be shielded from the winter winds and warm the stove while enjoying the distant snow-covered mountains without feeling cold.

Hearing the commotion downstairs, Mi Zeng, who had been all smiles with the girl by his side, suddenly turned away and looked over.

Upon recognizing that it was Mi Fang who had come up, Mi Zeng smiled again and scolded, "Zifang, how many times have I told you to be steady and not frivolous in your dealings with others? Especially for us businessmen, although we need to be decisive when making decisions, we must carefully consider things before making a decision and not act rashly."

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(End of this chapter)