Han Ji

First, the grain merchants he knew in Jicheng suddenly changed their minds and joined forces to raise the price of grain to 130 coins per shi. Then, the boatmen who had already made agreements and paid deposits also found excuses to back out, saying that their boats needed urgent repairs or that the waterway might be affected by changes.

"It must be Chen Ji pulling the strings behind the scenes!" Liu Deran's face turned ashen with anger. "They're trying to completely cut off our supply and transportation!"

Liu Bei remained calm, as Liu Yuanqi had already warned him that he might encounter resistance.

"Qian Zhao, immediately take reliable men and head to Yuyang to purchase grain." Liu Bei pointed out a new route on the map. "Yuyang is close to the border, so grain prices are usually lower. According to intelligence reports, it's currently around 115 coins per shi. Although the journey is longer, it mainly follows the official roads, which is safer."

"Brother Deran, I would like to trouble you to personally visit Prefect Wang." Liu Bei then turned to Liu Deran and said, "In the name of my uncle, please request the government to issue a formal procurement document, stating that we are purchasing grain in order to stabilize the grain price in this prefecture."

Liu Deran looked troubled: "Xuande, you don't know this, that Prefect Wang... is a notorious money-grubber. If there's no benefit involved, he probably won't even get past the gatekeeper."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment. Now that the die was cast, necessary investments couldn't be spared. He gritted his teeth, counted out a thousand coins from the capital he had painstakingly scraped together, and handed them to Liu Deran: "Brother Deran, take this money to make arrangements. Remember, Chen Ji is definitely watching us, so we must act discreetly."

However, things were far more complicated than imagined. Liu Deran went there with the money, and returned looking even more grim.

"That Prefect Wang took the money, but he just kept spouting official jargon, saying it was a serious matter that needed to be verified from multiple sources, and told us to come back and wait for news!" Liu Deran slammed his fist on the table in anger. "I think he's just taking bribes from Chen Ji and deliberately delaying things!"

The atmosphere in the room immediately became heavy. Without official documents, their large-scale purchasing activities were like rootless duckweed, and they could be accused of smuggling grain or disrupting market prices at any time.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Liu Yuanqi sent someone to summon Liu Bei.

In the study, Liu Yuanqi looked at his calm nephew and slowly said, "I heard you ran into a snag with Magistrate Wang?"

Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat, knowing that this was a test from his uncle. He honestly replied, "Yes, nephew has failed in his duties."

"It's not that you're incompetent, it's that you've oversimplified officialdom," Liu Yuanqi said calmly. "A thousand coins are only enough to knock on the door and hear a few polite words. If you want these clerks to actually work for you, you either need power they can't refuse, or benefits that tempt them, or... you need to find something to hold against them."

He abruptly changed the subject, bringing up something seemingly unrelated: "Did you know that Prefect Wang is from Taiyuan in Bingzhou?"

Liu Bei was taken aback and shook his head.

"Although he serves as an official in Youzhou, he still misses his hometown. His mother is a devout Buddhist and recently wanted to set up a Buddhist shrine in her home, but she has been struggling to find a finely crafted gilded bronze Buddha statue. Such a thing is not rare in Luoyang and Xuzhou, but in our Zhuojun, it takes some connections to find one that suits her taste." Liu Yuanqi looked at Liu Bei meaningfully, "Coincidentally, I know of a merchant from Bingzhou in the city who urgently needs to return home and is selling a foot-tall gilded bronze Buddha statue, asking for three thousand coins."

Liu Bei immediately understood. This was a refined bribe concerning filial piety, far more valuable than a thousand coins, and it also demonstrated his thoughtfulness.

Liu Yuanqi stopped mentioning the Buddha statue and instead asked, "Even if I help you obtain the documents, do you know what the biggest risk is?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and replied, "It's transportation. Chen Ji will definitely tamper with our transportation route."

"That's right." Liu Yuan nodded. "So, I can't easily help you with this. I need you to do something for me, and also for yourself."

"Please give your instructions, Uncle."

"Thirty li outside the city lies Black Wind Ridge. Recently, a small band of bandits has taken up residence there. Although no one has been killed, they have repeatedly robbed passing merchants. The government has sent several raids, but all have failed. Our Liu family has a shipment of cloth worth about five thousand coins, which is stuck at a warehouse there, and no one dares to transport it." Liu Yuanqi's eyes were sharp. "If you can find a way to safely transport this shipment of cloth back to Zhuojun, I will believe you have the ability to handle risks. I will personally smooth things over with Magistrate Wang."

This was no longer merely a matter of business; it was a comprehensive test of courage, wisdom, and the ability to manage people. Liu Bei took a deep breath and, without hesitation, said, "Nephew, I am willing to go!"

Over the next few days, Liu Bei, Qian Zhao, and Jian Yong carefully planned their strategy. Instead of forcing their way in, they had Qian Zhao disguise himself as a wandering knight and infiltrate the taverns near Black Wind Ridge. He learned that the bandits were mostly starving people who couldn't survive, and that although their leader was somewhat brave, he was not a truly wicked person.

Therefore, Liu Bei made a bold decision. He had Jian Yong prepare three shi of grain, while he himself, accompanied by Qian Zhao, went to the foot of Black Wind Ridge to seek an audience with the bandit leader.

He carried no weapons, and his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant. He made it clear that he was not trying to provoke them, but rather to discuss a deal. He promised that if the other party allowed the cloth to pass, the three shi of grain would be a token of his gratitude. He also promised that if the Liu family's grain shop ever passed through this road in the future, they could pay a small toll each time, in order to ensure their safety.

The bandit leader, seeing that they were just teenagers yet possessed extraordinary bearing, and that the conditions they offered genuinely solved their immediate famine, hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing. After all, robbing merchants was a life-or-death struggle; a relatively stable source of income would naturally be better.

The cloth was successfully transported back. After learning the whole process, Liu Yuanqi remained silent for a long time before finally saying only one word: "Good."

The following day, Liu Yuanqi sent someone to purchase the Buddha statue and delivered it to the Prince's residence under the pretext of "a fellow townsman expressing his respect." That afternoon, the purchase document bearing the official seal of the prefectural government was respectfully delivered to Liu Yuanqi's residence.

With the documents and a huge sum of 100,000 coins in hand, Liu Bei knew that the real contest had only just begun.

Sure enough, with the official document backing them up, the subsequent procurement went much more smoothly. Qian Zhao led the team to successfully transport 500 shi of grain back from Yuyang, and Liu Deran also used his local network to acquire nearly 200 shi in smaller quantities. Combined with grain purchased through other channels, they quickly reached their target of 800 shi.

Just as they were preparing to open their warehouses to sell grain and stabilize the market, an unexpected crisis erupted.

That morning, Jian Yong rushed to Liu Bei, his face pale: "Xuande, something terrible has happened! There's a rumor circulating that our Liu family's grain store is selling inferior grain mixed with a lot of sand and moldy rice, and that eating it will make you sick!"

Liu Bei was alarmed and immediately led his men to personally inspect all the grain in the warehouses. They found that all the rice and millet were plump, dry, and clean, with no problems. This was clearly a malicious rumor-mongering.

"It must have been those bastards from Chen's gang who did this! I'm going to settle the score with them!" Qian Zhao was furious and grabbed a stick to rush out.

"Wait!" Liu Bei hurriedly stopped him. "Your impulsive actions will only play into their trap! They'd love for us to make a big scene, preferably start a fight, so they can use that as an excuse to accuse us of being cowardly and violent."

He pondered for a moment, then said to Liu Deran, "Brother Deran, I urge you to go to the prefectural government again immediately and be sure to persuade Prefect Wang, as well as several respected elders and gentry in the city, to come to our granary at once. Tell them that our Liu family's grain store earnestly requests that you, sirs and elders, inspect the grain on the spot to prove our innocence!"

Liu Deran immediately understood Liu Bei's intention: to use official authority and popular support to break the deadlock. He immediately turned around and made arrangements.