My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 69 Sons Should Stand with Fathers to Pacify Chaotic Times (Bonus Chapter! Surprised?)

Xu Sheng was also very excited, but he forced himself to calm down and said, "I have a close relative who is a senior official in the prefectural government. A few days ago, an envoy from Kaiyang came to request an audience with the prefect. Later, news spread from the prefectural government that Cavalry Commandant Zang Ba came to borrow money and also wanted to marry the prefect's daughter, so that the two families could be united by marriage."

"oh!?"

Liu Bei turned and exchanged a glance with Liu Feng; both of them were now very sensitive about food and money.

Why did Zang Ba suddenly go to Xiao Jian to borrow money and grain?

Moreover, they even went so far as to arrange a marriage alliance, considering that Zang Ba was the overlord of Langya County.

Although there are many other forces in Langya Commandery, the most powerful of them is Xiao Jian, who is stationed in Ju County and appointed as the governor of Langya Commandery by the imperial court.

However, Xiao Jian could never defeat Zang Ba. He was bullied so much that he fled to Ju County. Moreover, the surrounding cities of Kaiyang, Yangdu, and Linyi were all in the hands of Zang Ba's allies and underlings. He was practically a powerless governor.

But then, Zang Ba suddenly wanted to marry the other party, which was quite strange.

Liu Bei couldn't help but wonder if his side had leaked information, arousing Zang Ba's vigilance and precautions.

But soon, Liu Bei realized what was happening.

This is impossible.

If the news had leaked out on their side, Zang Ba's best course of action would not have been to borrow grain, but to immediately mobilize troops for defense.

Could it be that Zang Ba is truly short of food?

But besides borrowing grain, he also borrowed money.

At this point, Xu Sheng continued, "Zang Ba and Xiao Jian have always been at odds, and they are disobedient to the governor, monopolizing local power and resisting the prefecture. I, Xu Sheng, was summoned by the governor and, as a prefectural official, how could I not be loyal to the governor?"
Therefore, Sheng exhausted all his efforts and spared no expense in bribing people everywhere, and finally found out the specific situation from Xiao Jian's concubine.

It turned out that Zang Ba was short of money. He had a past relationship with Gongsun Du, a trusted subordinate of the Northern Lands, which stemmed from their time fighting the Yellow Turbans together in Qingzhou.

Zang Ba sent gifts year after year, finally persuading Gongsun Du to sell him a batch of warhorses.

These warhorses were all of the second and third class, with the second class horse costing 60,000 coins per horse and the third class horse costing 30,000 coins per horse.

The total number of horses is one hundred, including twenty second-class horses, which cost 1.2 million coins, and eighty third-class horses, which cost 2.4 million coins, for a total of 3.6 million coins.

Zang Ba only had a little over two million coins and wanted to borrow one million four hundred thousand coins from Prefect Xiao.

Xu Sheng continued, "Zang Ba is borrowing grain because Kaiyang has no surplus grain. Once this batch of horses arrives, there probably won't be enough grain to feed them. So he wants to borrow 5,000 shi of grain in advance to feed the horses."

"Xiao Jian refused to lend grain, so Zang Ba's envoy expressed his willingness to buy grain at the market price, but it would have to be on credit and repaid together with the loan next year."

Upon hearing that Kaiyang had run out of grain, Zang Ba was willing to buy grain to obtain it, which made Liu Bei and Liu Feng's eyes light up.

This doesn't mean that Kaiyang is out of food and about to run out of food.

Rather, it means that apart from the rations for the army and the people, the treasury under Zang Ba's control in Kaiyang had no surplus grain.

If an extra bushel of grain is used, a soldier may starve to death.

Liu Feng had previously calculated that Zang Ba might have between 50,000 and 150,000 shi of grain in his possession. This included surplus grain circulating among the people, as well as commercial grain controlled by merchants.

However, this number is based on a broad assumption about the enemy, so it is naturally calculated in a wide range.

But if Xu Sheng's words are true, then Zang Ba has far less grain than Liu Feng calculated.

If there's any way to extract more grain from Zang Ba's treasury, then Zang Ba might not only be able to continue defending Kaiyang, but he might also face the risk of running out of food.

It seems Zang Ba is taking a risky gamble. With food shortages so severe, he still wants to buy warhorses, which clearly indicates his intention to strengthen his fighting power and continue expanding outwards.

Liu Bei went straight to the point: "Has Prefect Xiao made a decision?"

Xu Sheng shook his head and said, "From what I've found out so far, Prefect Xiao has directly rejected the request to borrow grain, not even in cash, let alone on credit. But the matter of borrowing money is something we can discuss."

"Prefect Xiao was also very interested in the warhorses. He replied to Zang Ba's envoy, offering to contribute half the money to jointly purchase the warhorses with Zang Ba, and then split the profits equally. However, Zang Ba's envoy was very unwilling and was only willing to give up 20% of the warhorses."

"Prefect Xiao was furious and drove the other party out of the city. No agreement was reached between the two sides."

"We are already aware of this matter, and Wen Xiang has done a great service this time."

Liu Bei patted Wen Xiang's hand heavily: "I will never forget this merit, and I will reward him handsomely in the future!" Xu Sheng couldn't help but smile. He had gone to great lengths to gather intelligence and had rushed to Tancheng for two days and two nights. He didn't even rest when it got dark, but stood guard outside the prefectural government. What was he after?
Isn't it just a matter of birth opportunity and merit?
Pan Zhang was also extremely envious, but his background was much worse than Xu Sheng's.

Xu Sheng could be considered a powerful figure, but he was just a wandering knight-errant.

Pan Zhang, who was neither born into privilege nor particularly intelligent, eventually gave up.

Anyway, as long as I can cling to the young master's coattails, why should I be afraid of not getting any credit?

After settling Xu Sheng in, Liu Bei and Liu Feng left.

Once outside the courtyard, Liu Feng couldn't help but volunteer to Liu Bei, saying, "Father, I humbly request that you allow me to go to Kaiyang."

Liu Bei's expression changed, and he said impatiently, "This is unacceptable. There's no need to discuss it further. I will not agree to it."

Liu Feng knelt down with a thud: "Father, I have heard that in the far west there is a divine bird called the gyrfalcon, which likes to push its young birds off their high nests to force them to spread their wings."

Those who spread their wings soar through the heavens.

Those who do not perish and turn to mud.

Therefore, the fledglings will eventually leave the nest, and the tiger cubs will inevitably emerge from their dens.

I am unworthy, but I am a descendant of my father and grandfather, and a member of the Han imperial family.

In this chaotic world of war, a son should stand with his father in times of peace!

"The Han dynasty is in decline; sons must join fathers in saving it!"

Liu Bei stared blankly at Liu Feng, his eyes slightly moist.

Yes, why have I fought for half my life without regret, and wandered for twenty years without complaint?
Isn't it all for the sake of the Han dynasty's rule?
Pan Zhang, who was standing to the side, also fell silent. Although he only understood the general meaning of what was said, he felt a tightness in his chest.

He wanted to vent, but didn't know how.

In the end, he could only mutter a resentful sentence in a low voice.

"This damn world."

"Get up."

Liu Bei sighed and looked up, then reached out and pulled Liu Feng up: "Your father grants your permission."

"Thank you father!"

*****************************
The next day, Liu Bei summoned Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Lu Su, Cao Bao, and his trusted generals Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Tian to discuss the matter, and had Xu Sheng recount the details again.

Under the strong advocacy of Liu Feng, Chen Deng, and Lu Su, it was decided to accelerate the pace of the operation.

First, the state government immediately raised the banner of land reclamation and began to summon refugees, allocate land, and prepare for the start of spring plowing.

Meanwhile, the Lu and Mi families immediately mobilized merchant caravans to Kaiyang, using the prefectural government's claim of grain shortages in its agricultural settlements to purchase grain at high prices. Whatever amount they received was immediately shipped out, with the aim of avoiding stockpiling grain in Kaiyang to prevent Zang Ba from temporarily detaining people and confiscating grain.

In addition, Cao Bao also promised to allocate four thousand troops to Liu Bei within ten days, while continuing to prepare the remaining troops for deployment at any time.

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu were filled with excitement. The thought that most of the four thousand troops would soon be under their command, and that there would be a major operation against Kaiyang in the prefecture, filled them with immense exhilaration.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were somewhat envious of their two younger brothers, Zhao Yun and Tian Tian.

Unexpectedly, the two of them, who started later, have caught up with the two older brothers.

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(End of this chapter)