My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 550 Gongsun’s intention
The person sent by the Gongsun family this time was Gongsun Gong, the second son of Gongsun Du.

Gongsun Gong is almost unknown in history, but he was a very interesting person.

After Gongsun Du's death, Gongsun Gong's elder brother, Gongsun Kang, inherited Gongsun Du's power and territory, becoming the new master of Liaodong. Gongsun Kang ruled for sixteen years, but when he died, neither of his two sons had come of age.

Therefore, the Gongsun family unanimously recommended Gongsun Gong to succeed him as the acting governor of Liaodong.

After Gongsun Gong succeeded to the throne, he not only did not kill the two orphans left by his elder brother, but also took good care of them and gave them a certain amount of real power.

However, Gongsun Gong's good deeds were not rewarded. A few years after succeeding to the throne, he contracted a disease of the reproductive system and had to undergo surgery, thus becoming a eunuch.

Although the surgery successfully saved Gongsun Gong's life, it also severely damaged his body, rendering him unable to handle state affairs.

As a result, many powerful figures and officials in the country sided with Gongsun Yuan, the son of his elder brother Gongsun Kang.

A few years later, Gongsun Yuan launched a coup and imprisoned Gongsun Gong. It was not until Sima Yi launched a campaign to Liaodong and exterminated the Gongsun family that the eunuch acting as the head of the family was released.

Judging from the outcome, this was probably not Sima Yi's benevolence, but rather a kind of perverse pleasure.

After Sima Yi conquered Liaodong, he beheaded the entire Gongsun family, including officials and commoners, totaling over 7,000 people. He virtually wiped out the Gongsun family completely. Even Gongsun Huang, Gongsun Yuan's elder brother who was being held hostage in Cao Wei, despite repeatedly reporting that Gongsun Yuan harbored ambitions and was about to rebel, could not escape with his life.

When Gongsun Yuanzhen rebelled, Gongsun Huang still ended up being executed by slow slicing. Cao Rui may have felt some pity for him, and after his "plea" for mercy failed, he granted Gongsun Huang the right to commit suicide by swallowing gold, so as to avoid the humiliation of slow slicing.

After Gongsun Huang's death, Cao Rui bestowed upon him a coffin and clothing, and arranged for Gongsun Huang and his wife to be buried in his home.

It's pitiful that Gongsun Huang, as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, ended up in such a state.

After Sima Yi's battle, only one member of the Gongsun family, the old eunuch Gongsun Gong, survived. Sima Yi's actions truly lived up to the saying "feigned leniency, but real severity."

Gongsun Gong, the second son of Gongsun Du, is now a young man in his early twenties. He is tall and has a dignified appearance, but his skin is not very good, with the rough features of a Hu person.

There's nothing that can be done about it. After all, the borderlands are bitterly cold, and winter takes up almost half the year. With skin exposed to the sun and wind, even wealthy families aren't much better off.

Before meeting with Gongsun Gong, Liu Feng held a small internal meeting to discuss how to deal with Liaodong.

Intelligence obtained from Xuzhou indicates that Liaodong sent Gongsun Gong south for two main purposes: first, to adjust the trade balance; and second, to form an alliance with Liu Bei to counter Yuan Shao.

Although the Gongsun family held sway over Liaodong, they could not withstand the presence of Yuan Shao, whose power and influence extended to the entire country.

Compared to the Yuan family, the Gongsun family, which occupied a third of Youzhou and had also annexed a portion of the Korean Peninsula, immediately became a nobody local tyrant.

Yuan Shao enfeoffed his second son, Yuan Xi, to Youzhou, appointing him as the governor of Youzhou. This move greatly provoked the Gongsun family.

On the one hand, the Gongsun family actively contacted the Xianyu family in secret to discuss an alliance, and on the other hand, they thought of the Liu family as a major customer.

The Gongsun and Liu families had been engaged in maritime trade for over a decade, and had built up considerable goodwill between them. In particular, last year Liu Bei and Yuan Shao fought a battle in Qingzhou, which ended in a draw with both sides experiencing victories and defeats, demonstrating that the Liu family was not afraid of the Yuan family at all.

This greatly shocked the Gongsun family and aroused their great enthusiasm, which is why Gongsun Gong came.

The opinions of Liu Feng's cabinet ministers and clerks were mainly divided into two factions.

One faction argued that with a major battle imminent and the Left General's army constantly undergoing reorganization, the most valuable and scarce resource was undoubtedly warhorses.

Warhorses are fragile, and a single crucial battle can cost you thousands of them.

Although the horse farms in Huaisi have already been put into use, the first batch of warhorses can be ready for slaughter this year and equipped for the troops. However, most of these warhorses can only be equipped for light cavalry and cuirassiers (medium-armored cavalry). The first-class warhorses needed for heavy cavalry require a longer training period compared to light cavalry and cuirassiers due to the difficulty and complexity of heavy cavalry training.

Another issue is that it will take time for the production of Huai-Si warhorses to increase. This year, only a little over 100 warhorses can be sold, but next year the number will increase to more than 300, of which first-class horses will account for one-sixth of the total.

This production volume seems substantial, but compared to demand, it's far from sufficient. Currently, Liu Feng's army's warhorse losses still primarily come from purchases from Liaodong and Hedong. If they could capture Yizhou and Hanzhong, another source of warhorses would be added—Xiliang horses from Longyou.

Therefore, this faction hoped to persuade the Gongsun family to guarantee the supply of horses, at least until they took Yizhou.

The other faction suggested that Liu Feng agree to the Gongsun family's request. It wasn't that this faction had accepted benefits from the Gongsun family and was using public office for private gain, but rather that they felt they could contact the Gongsun family to betray Yuan Shao.

The Gongsun family, which occupied Liaodong, could not compare with the Yuan family, but they were still able to mobilize 100,000 troops, as recorded in historical materials such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

However, there is a lot of exaggeration in this figure. When Cao Cao marched south to the Yangtze River, he claimed to have an army of 830,000, but in reality, he only had 150,000, half of whom were surrendered soldiers from Jingzhou.

Of the 100,000 troops of the Gongsun family, there were roughly 50,000 regular soldiers. Among them, those with strong field combat capabilities were probably between 20,000 and 30,000. The strongest cavalry numbered about 10,000, but there were very few heavily armored cavalry. The vast majority were unarmored or lightly armored cavalry, and even cuirassiers were extremely rare.

Even so, the Gongsun family was still a powerful vassal state, and was absolutely qualified to form an alliance with Liu Bei to restrain some of Yuan Shao's troops and energy.

This faction believes that since the Gongsun family desperately needs sugar, sesame oil, and snow salt, it's clear that the other side isn't unwilling to provide warhorses, but rather that they genuinely lack the resources.

In that case, if the Liu family insists on forcing the other party, the other party may not be able to produce more warhorses.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to use this to exchange for the other side sending troops, cooperate with Cao and Liu, and have the three of them attack Yuan. This would be a win-win and cost-free plan.

Both sides have their own reasons, and neither can be judged right or wrong because of the lack of information.

Whether the Gongsun family truly had no more warhorses was something that Liu Bei and Liu Feng's side couldn't ascertain. The two factions, each with their own judgment on this matter, naturally couldn't determine who was right or wrong.

Therefore, in the end, it still had to be Liu Feng who made the final decision.

However, this discussion was not in vain. First, they helped Liu Feng analyze the situation, then they provided two feasible strategies and their corresponding outcomes. Finally, they compiled detailed data for Liu Feng's reference.

When Gongsun Gong arrived in Wu County, Liu Feng personally went to the dock to greet him.

Accompanied by Lu Su, Gongsun Gong stepped off the ship and immediately saw Liu Feng on the dock. Gongsun Gong dared not be negligent and, without any of the reserve of the second son of the ruler of Liaodong, went directly to Liu Feng and bowed deeply: "Your subject Gongsun Gong greets the Left General."

"He Zhi, please rise quickly."

Liu Feng stepped forward, supporting Gongsun Gong's elbows with both hands to help him up. He then took Gongsun Gong's arm and said in a friendly manner, "Although we have never met, we have long admired each other. I have prepared a banquet in my residence to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey. Please join me at the table."

Then, Liu Feng greeted Lu Su, who was standing next to Gongsun Gong, saying, "Master Zijing, you must be tired from your journey."

Lu Su naturally dared not presume to be arrogant. He had a very close relationship with Liu Feng, being both a teacher and a friend, and even sharing a half-masterly bond with him in addition to being the young master. He could be considered a staunch supporter of Liu Bei's heir apparent.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's greeting, Lu Su quickly replied, "To be loyal to my lord and to serve the country, there is no need to talk about hardship. I am grateful for your concern, young master, and I am deeply humbled."

Liu Feng laughed heartily, then reached out his other hand and grabbed Lu Su's arm: "Let's take our seats first, have a few cups of fine wine from Wu, and shake off the dust of the journey."

That evening, under Liu Feng's warm hospitality, Gongsun Gong returned home drunk.

Liu Feng did not sleep in the same bed as Gongsun Gong, but he did prepare a magnificent private courtyard for him to rest in.

The following day, Liu Feng formally met with Gongsun Gong.

Upon their meeting, Gongsun Gong made several requests, largely consistent with the information received from Xuzhou. These included reducing the procurement of warhorses, increasing the purchase of other supplies, and increasing the export of scarce goods such as sugar, sesame oil, and snow salt.

Liu Feng remained noncommittal. In the hall, Gu Shao, Han Ji, Sun Quan, and others took turns speaking, all emphasizing the importance of warhorses to the southeast and persuading Liu Feng not to agree.

Gongsun Gong immediately became anxious. For the Gongsun family, the deepest goal was to use other goods to make up for the export volume of warhorses. In this way, they could preserve more warhorses while ensuring the procurement of materials such as sugar.

Therefore, Gu Shao and others' suggestions were tantamount to direct confrontation, making further discussion impossible.

Gongsun Gong had no choice but to bring up historical data to prove that the Gongsun family had exported more than three thousand warhorses to the southeast over the years. This was no small number and was enough to demonstrate the Gongsun family's friendly attitude towards the Liu family in the southeast.

Just as the two sides were arguing, Liu Feng spoke up.

"In this case, the volume of warhorse trade should not only not decrease, but should increase."

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Gongsun Gong nearly jumped up.

Immediately, Gongsun Gong shook his head vigorously. If he agreed to these conditions, how could he return to Liaodong?
"General Zuo, this is impossible..."

Gongsun Gong wanted to argue, but saw Liu Feng raise his hand to stop him.

"Hezhi, don't be anxious, just listen to what I have to say."

Liu Feng's expression was gentle and his tone was mild, but the content of his words left no room for argument.

Gongsun Gong had no choice but to stop, anxiously waiting for the other party to speak.

Liu Feng then said unhurriedly, "Since I have made a request, I will naturally not leave it unrewarded, nor will I let the Gongsun family suffer a loss. As long as the Gongsun family agrees to my request, I can promise three things."

"First, I will increase the purchase of cattle, wool, general livestock products, reed products and other items on the basis of the existing trade."

As soon as Liu Feng finished stating the first condition, Gongsun Gong was immediately tempted. His previous burning desire vanished instantly, and his mind was filled with the conditions Liu Feng had proposed.

It's no wonder Gongsun Gong reacted this way; Liu Feng had given him far too much.

In the past, the Liu family in Southeast China, father and son, only purchased a small amount of oxen for draft purposes, and disdained low-end trade goods such as wool, ordinary livestock products, and reed products.

Because these things are of almost no value to the Liu family in the southeast.

Wool is indeed good for keeping warm, but processing it is quite troublesome, requiring a lot of manpower and costs. After processing and washing, it then requires a lot of manpower and spinning machines to spin the wool. Finally, it requires a large number of skilled workers to weave it into wool products.

Each step requires a large amount of manpower and huge costs, and the scrap rate is extremely high, with almost every stage wasting 20% ​​to 30% of the raw materials.

Of 100 shi of wool, only about 30 to 40 shi of wool products can be made. Due to the huge labor and material costs, the price of wool products remains high, and only the wealthy and powerful can afford them. Moreover, unlike consumables such as sugar, salt, and sesame oil, wool products have a long product lifecycle.

Moreover, Liaodong was sparsely populated and had a lot of land, so there were simply not enough manpower and craftsmen to build workshops and textile machines to produce cashmere.

While wool wasn't entirely worthless in Liaodong, it was certainly not considered a high-quality trade commodity.

During peaceful times, caravans would purchase some wool and transport it back to the Central Plains for textile production. But now, with the world in chaos, trade routes blocked, and the Central Plains almost deserted, it's impossible for any caravans to come and buy wool anymore.

The situation regarding wool and livestock products is relatively good. At least in Liaodong, besides using textile technology to process wool, they can also perform simple processing, such as heating, boiling, and beating the wool into cake-like cold-weather items. Directly purchasing these cold-weather garments to equip the army would be a good option. Dairy products such as cheese, milk wine, and ghee can also supplement the army's protein intake.

However, reed products are truly worthless to people in Southeast Asia.

The coastal mudflats from Xuzhou to Jiangdong are covered with reed marshes, a vast reed field stretching for thousands of miles, no less impressive than those in Liaodong.

The reed mats and curtains woven from these reeds are of very low value, and purchasing them would be a losing proposition. Liu Feng's agreement to purchase them is tantamount to indirectly giving money to the Gongsun family as a subsidy.

Liu Feng's procurement list turned waste into treasure. Gongsun Gong could imagine that if this agreement could be reached, the Gongsun family would surely make a fortune.

Gongsun Gong wanted to agree, but after being swept over by Liu Feng's gentle gaze, he immediately fell silent.

Liu Feng then raised his second finger and said, "Secondly, the shipment volume of goods most favored in Liaodong, such as frosted sugar, snow salt, sesame oil, iron pots, silk, and tea, can be increased by 30%, while the price can be reduced by 10%."

(End of this chapter)