Lu Bu's strongest strategy

Chapter 143 Negotiation
Chen Gong said with a smile, "In addition to Wang Wenxing, the people in charge of the refugees here include General Han and General Qin. Why not just leave General Han here and let General Qin go to Juye."

At this point, Chen Gong's tone paused, and then continued, "General Qin already has experience in managing refugees. Going to Juye, on the one hand, you can gather the refugees there, and on the other hand, you can also check out Dingtao. The movement on the side.”

Hearing this, Lu Bu understood Chen Gong's thoughts and nodded, "That's fine, then send General Qin to Juye."

……

In the next few days, officials from various places appointed by Lu Bu went to take office one after another, preparing to completely integrate Yanzhou.

People and refugees from all over the world heard that Lu Bu had sent people to come, and they were all overjoyed, and they waited by the roadside to greet them early.

In addition to the common people, the local tyrants were even more overjoyed, thinking at home how much food should be donated?

It wasn't that Lu Bu forced them, but voluntary, because they had heard long ago that the tyrants in the three places of Dong'a had already boarded Lu Bu's ship because of the donation of food, and the children in the family had also been appointed.

These tyrants have money and food, and they have a lot of influence in the local area, but most of them have no official status, and the donation of food this time also gave them a chance.

Yanzhou had just experienced drought and locust plagues, when it was short of food, Wang Kai and others were overjoyed when they knew that these tyrants wanted to donate food, and hurriedly sent someone to send a message to Lu Bu.

When Lu Bu heard the news, he hurriedly called several of his counselors to discuss.

In the past, only the three places in Puyang donated food, and the local tycoons were not too many, and they would not have much influence, so Lu Bu was not worried.

However, if all the tyrants in Yanzhou wanted to donate food, it would be no small matter.

After all, why these people are eager to donate food, isn't it because they want to obtain official status through donations.

If the number of people is small, the impact will not be too great, but if a large area is donated, how many officials will be appointed!

Soon, Chen Gong and others gathered in Lu Bu's residence, and they were both surprised and happy when they heard the news.

Their minds were the same as Lu Bu's, and they all understood the pros and cons of it, so naturally they didn't dare to talk nonsense.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Xu Si tentatively said, "Marquis Wen, since it's difficult to resettle, and we have enough food, how about refusing their donations and saving trouble?"

"no!"

Zhang Miao was the first to object, "Although our current food seems to be sufficient, it is only limited to Puyang. Now that Dingtao and Juye have also sent people to other places, it is bound to restrain a large number of refugees. If Puyang's grain is transported there, I'm afraid we may not have enough grain."

Hearing this, Chen Gong also nodded, "That's right, transporting it from Puyang to the two places will inevitably cause a lot of losses. I'm afraid our existing food will be stretched."

Hearing what the two said, Xu Si shook his head with a wry smile, "But if you accept their food, you have to resettle them. There are quite a few people, how should they be resettled?"

Chen Gong frowned and thought for a while, then said slowly, "Dexian, if you also send them to various places to do business, how many people can you accommodate?"

Xu Bang smiled bitterly and said, "According to the number reported by Wang Wenxing and others, I am afraid that at the maximum limit, only half of the people can be arranged."

Zhang Miao waved his hand, "If only half of the people are resettled, what about the rest? They will definitely be dissatisfied, and this will be even more detrimental to us."

Chen Gong nodded, "It's just the furniture, it really can't support so many people?"

Hearing this, Xu Si's eyes lit up, "Mr. Gongtai, do you mean to open up new business opportunities?"

Chen Gong nodded, "Of course it would be the best if it can be done like this."

Zhang Miao smiled bitterly and said, "But, what new business opportunities are there?"

Xu Si frowned and thought for a while, "No matter what kind of thing it is, the four things of food, clothing, housing and transportation are inseparable, and we still have to find a way among these four things."

Zhang Miao turned his head and cupped his hands at Lu Bu, "Marquis Wen, since we can't accommodate them anymore, why don't we let them be small officials in the local area, what do you think?"

Hearing this, Chen Gong waved his hands, "No, as a local official, if something happens, it will damage Marquis Wen's reputation."

Hearing this sentence, Zhang Miao reacted immediately, and shook his head with a wry smile.

After several battles, they already understood that the reason they were able to drive Cao Cao away was because of Lu Bu's reputation.

Once Lu Bu's reputation declines, the consequences will be disastrous.

Therefore, even if they don't want these people's food, Lu Bu's reputation cannot be lowered.

Zhang Miao spread his hands with a wry smile, "Then what do you think should be done, if not, if not, it's really a headache!"

Xu Si tentatively said, "Why don't you form a caravan, buy some food from outside, and let them transport it back?"

Zhang Miao shook his head with a wry smile, "Dexian, let's not talk about how high the price of food is outside. How can we accommodate so many people just by transporting food?
When there is food, they can do things, but what if there is no food?"

Chen Gong frowned, "So, we must have something like furniture to keep the supply flowing and to ensure that these people have something to do."

Hearing what the two said, Xu Si also smiled wryly, turned to look at Lu Bu, but suddenly found that Lu Bu seemed to have never heard of the discussion, and looked at a corner of the room without looking back for a long time.

Xu Si followed Lu Bu's gaze, but found that what he looked at was just a corner of the wall, and there was nothing surprising. He suddenly felt strange in his heart, and couldn't help asking in a low voice.

"Marquis Wen, can you do something?"

When everyone heard these words, they all turned to look at Lu Bu.

How many times have Lu Bu solved everyone's headaches with just one sentence when everyone was at a loss. Now, the three of them hope that this time, Lu Bu can still easily solve this headache.

"Oh!"

Lu Bu was startled awake by Xu Si's voice, and was taken aback for a moment, "De Xian, what did you say?"

Xu Si hastily cupped his hands, "Wen Hou, I would like to ask, is Wen Hou able to solve this problem?"

Lu Bu frowned slightly, looked at the corner of the wall, hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "There is one way, but I'm thinking about it, should I use this method?"

When the three of them heard the words, their eyes lit up, and they hurriedly asked, "Marquis Wen, what is the solution?"

Lu Bu looked at the three of them and said slowly, "Make paper."

"papermaking?"

Zhang Miao was the first to react, waved his hands hastily, and said with a wry smile, "But paper is expensive, so it's not suitable for us!"

Xu Si nodded, "Yes, not only is the cost expensive, but the price is also very expensive, not many people can afford it!"

Lu Bu smiled slightly, "If I say that the price of making paper is not high, what do you think?"

Zhang Miao shook his head, "How is this possible?"

Lu Bu didn't answer his question, but turned to look at Xu Si, and said with a smile, "De Xian, you should ask De Chu to come over as soon as possible to see if you can make cheap paper."

Although Xu Bang had doubts in his heart, he still bowed his hand and said, "I obey."

Chen Gong secretly sighed in his heart, and said with a wry smile, "De Xian, how are you thinking about the matter of the title?"

Xu Si thought for a while, "I've thought about it now. If there is another title, it's not good. It's better to adopt the old system of the Qin Dynasty, so that everyone is familiar with it and we can settle it."

Zhang Miao said suddenly, "However, if you want to confer a title, you need to be appointed by the court. Isn't it inappropriate for us to set it up privately?"

Hearing this, Chen Gong's heart suddenly moved, he clapped his hands suddenly, and said with a smile.

"Marquis Wen, it's indeed a little inappropriate for us to set up a title privately, but isn't it a good opportunity for the emperor to send someone to ask for help?"

Lu Bu came to his senses and asked with a smile, "Gongtai, do you mean that we let the emperor make an order?"

Chen Gong nodded, "That's right, the title awarded by the emperor's decree will definitely satisfy everyone."

Hearing this, Zhang Miao's heart moved, and he suddenly said with a smile, "Since I can invite a reward from the emperor, I think it's better to focus on this food donation this time, what do you think?"

Chen Gong's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile, "Meng Zhuo, what do you mean, instead of appointing an official position, use a title instead?"

Zhang Miao nodded, "The title conferred by the emperor's decree is a formal appointment. Not to mention them, even I am a little tempted. I don't believe it, and I can't dismiss them."

Hearing this, Lu Bu couldn't help but nodded, and said with a smile, "I never thought that the Son of Heaven could solve this big problem for us when he came to ask for help. It seems that even God is taking care of us."

Xu Si also reacted, and said with a smile, "Since this is the case, I think the reason for donating food this time is better to just talk about the title, so as to save everyone from being disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Zhang Miao snorted coldly, "Dexian, don't worry, not only will they not be disappointed, but they may even be extremely happy. This is a title officially appointed by the imperial court. Who wouldn't want it?"

Xu Si thought for a while, "Although this method is good, there is also a problem."

Having said this, Xu Si paused for a moment, and then continued, "As long as a soldier of Qin kills a soldier on the battlefield, he can be promoted from a commoner to a first-class official, and at the same time get one hectare of land and one hectare of house. Do it, servant one.

When he is promoted to the seventh-level nobleman, he will also have food.

The higher the title, the higher the treatment, but the question is, can we give them these treatment? "

Hearing these words, the expressions on everyone's faces froze immediately.

Xu Si smiled wryly, and continued, "There are a lot of lands that are distributed free of tax. If all the land is distributed, where will there be tax revenues, and how can we support soldiers and horses?"

Zhang Miao tentatively said, "Can we not divide the land?"

Xu Si shook his head, "If the land is not divided, is there only honor left in the title?
In this way, wouldn't the effect of the title be discounted? "

Zhang Miao sighed, "It seems that the road to title may not work!"

Chen Gong tentatively said, "Why don't you just pay the salary and not divide the land?"

Xu Si shook his head, "Even if I only pay a salary, where do I have that much money?"

When Chen Gong heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, "De Xian, have you forgotten that these people are going out to do business, so isn't the goods they sell enough to pay them salaries?"

Everyone heard the words and immediately reacted.

"Yes, you can pay from here."

Hearing the three people's words, Lu Bu turned his head to look at Xu Si, and asked with a smile, "Dexian, how is the furniture manufacturing in various places?"

Xu Si cupped his hands, "Now the venue has been selected, and it won't take long for production to begin."

Having said that, Xu Si's tone paused, "It's just that no one is sure about how much it can sell for."

Lu Bu nodded, "Dexian, don't worry about this matter. Let's test it first to see how it works and how much money we can get back. It's not too late to make a decision."

Chen Gong nodded, "There is one more thing we have to guard against."

Lu Bu turned his head to look at Chen Gong, "Gongtai, what's the matter?"

Chen Gong said slowly, "Cao Mengde went to Xuzhou and was placed in Xiaopei by Liu Bei. Although his strength has been severely damaged, but with his talent, I believe he will recover in a short time. At that time, we have to guard against him. Come and attack Yanzhou."

Zhang Miao snorted coldly, "Marquis Wen, why don't we take advantage of the fact that Cao Mengde's foothold is not stable, and we directly send troops to eliminate him, and it will be over once and for all."

Chen Gong smiled wryly and shook his head, "Meng Zhuo, Cao Mengde was severely injured, but don't forget that our loss is not small, and up to now, we have just stabilized and have not recovered our strength.

If we go to attack Cao Mengde now, let alone who wins and who loses, Xiaopei is under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou. If we go to attack Cao Mengde, it is equivalent to attacking Xuzhou. How could Liu Bei ignore things? "

Zhang Miao frowned, "Why don't we send someone to contact Liu Bei and tell him that we only eliminate Cao Mengde and will never attack Xuzhou, so he should be relieved?"

Chen Gong shook his head, and said with a wry smile, "Meng Zhuo, you said why Liu Bei left Cao Mengde in Xiaopei because he wanted him to contain us and prevent us from attacking Xuzhou.

If my prediction is correct, as long as we attack Cao Mengde, Liu Bei will definitely send troops to help. At that time, we will not only face Cao Mengde, but also have to deal with the joint efforts with Liu Bei. "

Hearing what the two said, Xu Si shook his head with a wry smile, "We are just attacking Cao Mengde, maybe there is still a glimmer of hope to destroy him, but if Liu Bei also joins the battle, I am afraid our army will definitely be defeated."

Chen Gong nodded, "This is also what I am worried about. It is really not wise to attack Cao Mengde before our army has recovered its strength."

Zhang Miao sighed, "If we don't take the opportunity to eliminate Cao Mengde, in case he recovers his strength, he will definitely not let us go."

Hearing this, Chen Gong frowned, lowered his head and thought about it, and suddenly said, "The best way now is to prevent Cao Mengde from recovering his strength."

Zhang Miao was taken aback for a moment, and then said with a wry smile, "Gongtai, you're joking, is Cao Mengde still listening to us?"

Chen Gong shook his head and said slowly, "Although Cao Mengde won't listen to us, but if my prediction is correct, Liu Bei will keep him in Xuzhou, but he will definitely worry about Cao Mengde taking Xuzhou."

(End of this chapter)