My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 73 Meeting Zang Ba [45 Reads Requested!]

The Mi family was a large and wealthy family, a well-known merchant family in the country, and a leading merchant family in Xuzhou. Their integrity was beyond question.

If it weren't for the fact that Zang Ba's life or death was at stake, he would have believed it immediately.

Zang Ba thought for a long time but couldn't make up his mind, so he turned back to ask Zang Ai for her opinion.

But Zang Ai couldn't give an answer either.

Besides, the pot was too heavy for him to carry.

Zang Ba frowned and asked, "How much grain do they want to buy?"

"We'll take as much as you have, up to 100,000 shi, at twice the market price. But if you need them to resell, we'll only offer one and a half times the market price."

hiss……

Zang Ba did some mental calculations. At present, the price of millet was 220 coins per shi (a unit of dry measure), and 100,000 shi would be 22 million coins.

The Mi family is really willing to invest.

Zang Ba felt a surge of jealousy for no reason. Why didn't any powerful merchants like him take notice of him?

He's clearly quite good at fighting, and he can also keep the area stable.

Hasn't Kaiyang managed to govern itself quite well?

He shamelessly used his military might to coerce the powerful merchants and wealthy families in Kaiyang and the surrounding areas, managing to extort only two or three hundred thousand coins. He was not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the Mi family.

But even with such a small amount of money, he still caused resentment among the powerful merchants, and his reputation would plummet along with their discontent.

If the miscellaneous taxes for the next three years were collected in advance, Zang Ba's reputation would likely suffer even more.

Zang Ba composed himself and returned to the main topic.

He now only has 110,000 shi of grain left in his treasury.

This is the food rations for six months for his four thousand loyal soldiers, five thousand allied troops, and all the officials, big and small, in the counties under his control, totaling more than nine thousand people.

According to the method suggested by the Mi family, they could replenish the grain supply by early May at the latest.

If they only need to keep enough food for four months, they can sell almost 30,000 shi of grain and get millions in money.

The Mi family will resell the grain to them at the market price. 30,000 shi will only require 7 million coins to keep, and the extra money can almost buy another 100 warhorses.

This deal not only fostered good relations with the Mi family and superficially supported Liu Bei, but also allowed them to claim credit from the state government and gain a hundred warhorses for free.

This is killing multiple birds with one stone!

Thinking about all the benefits, Zang Ba and Zang Ai were even more tempted.

If Zang Ba hadn't always been known for his caution and meticulousness, he probably would have agreed to the deal long ago.

The father and son stared at each other, hesitating for a long time before finally deciding to talk to the Mi family again.

This time, Zang Ba is prepared to take action personally.

Upon receiving an invitation from Zang Ba's residence to visit, Liu Feng knew that his plan was halfway to success.

If I can dispel Zang Ba's worries, or even escalate the situation until Zang Ba makes a decision, then I can completely ensnare this big fish, the Taishan bandits.

Liu Feng continued to have the Mi family caravan gather intelligence so that they could discover more information, even if it wasn't useful now, it might come in handy soon.

The next day, Liu Feng and Mi Lu arrived at Zang Ba's Cavalry Commandant's residence, where Zang Ai was already waiting outside the gate.

After Liu Feng and Mi Lu feigned surprise and delight, they followed Zang Ai into the mansion and met the main figure of the group: Zang Ba, the leader of the Taishan bandits, Tao Qian's cavalry captain, the local tyrant of Langya, the governor of Langya two years later, Lü Bu's close vassal, and Cao Cao's King of Qingxu.

Indeed, this man has so many titles.

His abilities were enough to allow him to achieve more, but his ambitions were not big enough, which limited him from climbing to higher peaks.

Zang Ba's most famous deeds all reflect his character. When Cao Cao besieged Lü Bu, Lü Bu sought help from several allies.

From distant friends like Zhang Yang, the governor of Hanoi, to more recent figures like Yuan Shu, the overlord of the Huai and Si regions.

In the end, the only one who actually sent troops to help and formally engaged Cao Cao's army was Zang Ba of Langya.

Later, he was recruited by Cao Cao and put in charge of guarding Xuzhou and the Qing and Xu battlefields.

During the Battle of Guandu, Zang Ba selected elite troops and directly invaded Qingzhou, at one point controlling most of Qingzhou.

But at that moment, he stopped and stopped fighting.

Zang Ba's mindset was different from that of ordinary people.

Others might have wanted to sit back and watch the show, but Zang Ba seemed more like he was there to complete a task, and once he finished, he would clock out.

He promised Cao Cao that he would help Cao Cao guard the flank and prevent reinforcements from crossing the Yellow River from Qingzhou to launch a flanking attack on Taishan County in Yanzhou.

So he started with great determination, gathering all his elite troops and conquering three or four commanderies in one fell swoop, driving Yuan Shao's army back to the north bank of the Yellow River.

And then...and then I went home from get off work.

For the next year, Zang Ba and Yuan Jun of Qingzhou stared at each other across the Yellow River, neither side attempting to cross it even once, until the main battlefield at Guandu decided the outcome.

Zang Ba then abandoned any intention of further attacking a defeated enemy and instead withdrew his troops and returned home.

Throughout the entire operation, Zang Ba's forces remained concentrated on the front line, confronting Yuan Shao's army, without posing any threat or attempting to threaten Cao Cao's flank.

This is the man Zang Ba, a man with outstanding talent who could win people's hearts and recruit heroes, yet who had little ambition. He caused the vast provinces of Qingzhou and Xuzhou to disappear completely from the public eye starting from the Battle of Guandu.

During the Three Kingdoms period that followed, Qingzhou and Xuzhou were almost completely forgotten, as if they had disappeared.

The mastermind behind this miraculous scene was Zang Ba.

Liu Feng secretly sized up Zang Ba, a robust and powerful middle-aged man with rough skin and unremarkable features, yet possessing a natural air of heroism.

Liu Feng and Mi Lu stepped forward to greet them and presented the gifts they had brought.

One of the boxes, a familiar small black wooden box, stood out conspicuously.

That's right, it's magical snow salt and rock sugar again.

Liu Feng had already found out that Zang Ba's desire to buy horses was not kept secret. In fact, the fundraising had made it known to all the powerful and influential families in Kaiyang City.

Therefore, Liu Feng became even more confident in persuading Zang Ba.

Liu Feng originally thought that Zang Ba was rather aloof and would cooperate with his son in a good cop/bad cop game.

To Liu Feng's surprise, Zang Ba was much more enthusiastic than he had imagined, showing no airs whatsoever.

Liu Feng instinctively became wary. As the saying goes, "Those who offer unsolicited kindness are either up to no good or are thieves."

Given Zang Ba's historical fame and status, even if he wasn't the same person he would be in the future, he shouldn't be this easy to talk to.

"I heard you two want to buy grain?"

After the host and guests were seated, Zang Ba served tea and then got straight to the point: "Please forgive my haste, gentlemen, but I am currently overwhelmed with problems. If the Mi family can lend me a hand, I will surely repay them handsomely in the future!"

Liu Feng and Mi Lu exchanged a glance, then both lowered their eyelids and remained silent, as if deep in thought.

Seeing this, Zang Ba realized that he couldn't fool the two of them with just words.

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(End of this chapter)