"Kang'er, what do you think of these two families?" Gongsun Du stood in his mansion in Liaodong and asked a young man next to him who looked very similar to Gongsun Du.

The governor of Liaodong has long been changed to Pingzhou by Gongsun Du himself, and Gongsun Du himself took over the prefecture of Pingzhou.

"Father, I think this Prime Minister Cao is better!" Gongsun Kang is the eldest son of Gongsun Du and the future successor of Gongsun Du, so Gongsun Du will not avoid Gongsun Kang's big or small matters.

"What about Cao Cao?" Gongsun Du asked with a smile. "Why?" Gongsun Du had the idea of ​​taking his son.

"Father, no matter what, we are all Han ministers. This Prime Minister Cao represents the Emperor of Han and is the orthodox Han Dynasty. We will submit to him!" Gongsun Kang said respectfully to his father.

Behind Gongsun Du, there are Pingzhou Mu and Liaodong Marquis, these titles, but these titles are all rewarded by Gongsun Du himself, not given by the court. The so-called reputation is not right, there are still many people in Liaodong who are not convinced by him, Gongsun Du.

Now Cao Cao represents the court and the Emperor of Han. It is not without benefits to use the emperor to command the princes.

Gongsun Kang is different from Gongsun Du, who started from the underworld. Gongsun Du came out of the underworld, so he was a struggler and was not interested in the emperor or the like. He only believed in his own strength, not the emperor's destiny.

As early as decades ago, Gongsun Du learned that the Central Plains was in turmoil, he said to his trusted subordinate Liu Yi and Yang Yi: "The Han royal family is about to be destroyed, and it is time for me to discuss and plan the throne with you."[

Gongsun Kang is different because he has no culture. So Gongsun Du let his son read books after he became famous and learned poetry and calligraphy etiquette. Since Dong Zhongshu abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism, unless some people born with tradition, such as Zhuge Liang's master Mr. Shui Jing, or a wise man like Yang Hong, others are learning Confucianism. One of the key points of Confucianism is to respect the king and the ministers.

Therefore, Gongsun Kang still admired the Han Emperor a little, and also valued the rewards of the court.

"Orthodox? Haha. Can orthodox be used as a food? General Wuwei, Marquis of Yongning Township." Gongsun Du sneered, "Did Kang'er see the Dongzhu in front of my chest?" Gongsun Du pointed at the nine beads on his chest.

"I saw my father, this is Dongzhu!" Gongsun Kang nodded.

"Do you think your father still needs those generals of Wuwei, Yongning Township Marquis?" Gongsun Du taught his son.

"This!" Gongsun Kang really couldn't argue, because this is the Nine Kings Pearl, the limit of the number represented by the Nine Kings. The so-called Nine Five Emperors takes the number in it. And the only one who can carry the Nine Kings is the princes. This thing is similar to the so-called Nine Tripods in ancient times.

If Gongsun Du accepted the general of Wuwei and the Marquis of Yongning Township, this Dongzhu would be dazzling.

"Kang'er, you have to know why I chose Liu Mang, Yangzhou. First, you have seen the transaction with Yangzhou over the years!" Gongsun Du said to his son.

Gongsun Kang nodded. It was precisely because the warship of Liu Mang, the King of Shu in Yangzhou, that the trade routes between Liaodong and Yangzhou were completely opened. What are the many things in Liaodong? War horses, countless war horses, a wild horse herd can have thousands of war horses, and there are more domestic horse farms. These war horses are really worthless when staying in Liaodong. In addition to being used as military horses, it can be said that the wild horses of the people outside the border are even used as meat horses.

Eating horse meat is definitely a luxury in the Central Plains. A good war horse is worth hundreds of gold. Even some ordinary war horses, even those slow horses can sell for more than ten gold.

If you ask them to kill the war horses and eat horse meat, isn’t this a luxury?

And it is really a common thing in Liaodong, and there are more war horses to this level.

War horses are also an animal. As they grow year by year, they will always die of illness or old age. In order to control the scale of the horse farm, they will even control the growth of horses. It can be seen that there are so many war horses.

This is why the nomadic peoples in the north are born to ride horses, and they can only ride horses for the rest of their lives.

Originally, the sea route was blocked and there were Yuan brothers on the land, which was blocked. Even without the Yuan brothers, Cao Cao would not allow the war horses from Liaodong to flow outside the Central Plains, especially in the Jiangnan area. Isn’t this feeling uncomfortable!

For ancient people, war horses were chariots, and cavalry were always kings on the battlefield.

Therefore, the war horses in Liaodong can only be killed by themselves as food horses, thanks to this.

But now it’s different. Liu Mang, the King of Shu in Yangzhou, used war horses to open up sea transportation, turning these war horses that were eaten into pieces of gold, into ships of food, and even the steel weapons and armor that Liaodong lacks the most. (Not mentioning, the iron ore in Liaodong, those underground and cannot be mined!)

And they just need to pay for the war horse, it is simply turning waste into treasure.

Now Gongsun Kang is wearing the best armor he has obtained from Yangzhou.

"If we accept Cao Cao's official position and title, then we will hate King Liu Mang of Shu. Will these salt, iron, steel, and armor and gold come?" Gongsun Du taught to his son.

"A mere village marquis, a general of Wuwei, if he exchanges such weapons and armor, Cao Cao and Mengde are stupid, Gongsun Du!" Gongsun Du snorted coldly.

"But father, if we agree to the request of King Liu Mang of Shu, we will send troops to fight Cao Cao and Mengde directly. I heard that Cao Cao's subordinates are all experienced in battles, otherwise Yuan Shao and Yuan Benchu ​​would not have failed." Gongsun Kang was still a little worried. Cao Cao's 300,000 troops were in Hebei, and it was very uncomfortable to hear this number.

There are only less than 100,000 soldiers in the entire Liaodong. Yuan Benchu ​​is not Cao Cao's opponent. How can he fight in just a place in Liaodong?

"Haha. Don't worry. Kang'er. Even if the sky falls down, there are tall men staring at us. Cao Cao will not attack us after he dies of the Yuan brothers. Even if the Yuan brothers are not good, we don't need to worry. Although this is what King Liu Mang of Shu said, how much is it, how much it is to go? That's our plan. The Yuan brothers have reached this level. What they need is not more troops, but food and grass." Gongsun Du said to his son with a smile.

Gongsun Du wanted Cao Cao and the Yuan brothers to fight to death. The longer the fight, the more he would be, the better he would be. He would be in a distance and attack near and far. If he agreed to Cao Cao's request, once Cao Cao took down the Yuan brothers, he would turn against him. Who would he cry to? The deal with Liu Mang from Shu King is different. The two sides are separated by the sea. Liu Mang cannot fight, and no matter how powerful he is, he must deal with Cao Cao first. Therefore, what Liu Mang in Yangzhou needs is time, and he, Gongsun Du, also needs time, just making money in war.

The Yuan brothers wanted food, but they didn't have much food and grass. They only had money in their hands. What should I do? I can only buy it. Where can I buy it? It is naturally from the nearest Liaodong. Cao Cao could not sell it. The northern nomadic peoples themselves cannot eat enough, so how could they give it to the Yuan brothers? Selling food in Liaodong is a monopoly ending.

With this monopoly, the price will naturally be higher. I can sell the food and grass that was originally worth a piece of money here, but it is not expensive for three or five yuan. Even after ten yuan, your Yuan brothers will have to pinch your nose and recognize it.

As for Liu Mang, the King of Shu in Yangzhou, he also wanted the Yuan brothers to hold Cao Cao back, so he would naturally lower the price of food and grass to sell it to Liaodong. The original price of one yuan was Liu Mang, the King of Shu in Yangzhou, might have sold it for only 50 cents.

In this way, 50 cents of grain can be sold at a price of ten yuan and a profit of twenty times. This is completely a robbery of money. Who doesn’t want it? On the one hand, the grain is also weapons and armor, which is also a profitable transaction.

The Liaodong army has changed into a lot of Yangzhou armor, so those dilapidated armor can only have two functions. The first is moldy in the warehouse, and the second is expansion. If it could expand the army, Gongsun Du would have expanded his army long ago, and there would be no need to wait until now. The key problem is that the army cannot be expanded. Liaodong is a cold place, and it was originally sent to the warehouse before it was sent to it. It is easy to imagine how much the people can have.

The 80,000 army was already his limit. So those armors could only get moldy.

Now, your Yuan brothers have already fought for the wrong end. If you lose, you will naturally be defeated together. If you win, you will have a broad sky.

The Liaodong Army looked down on these worn-out armors, but the Yuan brothers wanted them. If you buy them back, they would wear another miscellaneous army for the common people. If you can't fight in the field, you can still defend the city walls.

After a while, Liaodong couldn't do it without making money.

"It's still my father's talent, my child has been taught!" Gongsun Kang couldn't help but look at his father in admiration. Whose father doesn't like his son's admiration? Gongsun Du couldn't help laughing as he looked at his son's expression.

"Report! Report to the Marquis, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, is here to envoy!" A messenger entered the hall and reported to Gongsun Du.

"Cao Cao's envoy? Didn't he just leave?" Gongsun Du was a little confused, but he still met Cao Cao's envoy.

"The chief envoy under the command of Prime Minister Cao of the Great Han Dynasty has met His Highness the King of Liaodong." As soon as Cao Cao's envoy came in, he immediately stunned Gongsun Du.

"King of Liaodong?"

...

"Brother, I've been wrong some time ago. I'm sorry to you for your respect!" In the Yuyang of Youzhou, this former capital of the Great Yan Kingdom has now become a safe haven for the Yuan brothers.

Cao Cao's army divided into three groups, attacking Bingzhou, marching into Jizhou, and sweeping Youzhou.

The Yuan brothers not only had to resist Cao Cao but also had to resist the war between their own brothers. Therefore, the larger the territory, the smaller the strength, and the smaller the strength.

The two brothers were shocked after fighting. Originally, Jizhou Bingzhou was in Yuan Shang's hands, and Yuan Tan had Youzhou and half of Qingzhou.

The territory of the two was not small. They could be one prince, but Liu Biao was only one Jingzhou.

But now, look at Jizhou, the entire territory has fallen, and Bingzhou is almost the same. Qingzhou belongs directly to Cao Cao, leaving only Youzhou. The two of them occupy half of it to resist Cao Cao's army.

How much the Yuan brothers are like Gongsun Zan, the governor of Youzhou who was forced by Yuan Shao at that time.

It was precisely because the two brothers discovered that if this continues, Youzhou might be over, and they would not have a good end with Gongsun Zan. So with the help of their respective brother Yuan Xi, they worked together to unite and prepare to fight Cao Cao together.

"Where are, I'm just blinded by villains, it's just that Cao Cao used his trick. The friendship between you and me is deeper than the water of the East China Sea. How could I hate you as my brother?" Yuan Tan also picked it up with a smile and was drunk by his half-brother.

"So best, so best! Haha! When this is a big white man!" Yuan Shang drank it all in one go.

"Haha!" There is another person beside the two brothers, and that is Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang are two mothers. Yuan Xi is Yuan Shang's brother, and his mother loves the younger son. But it is not too bad for the eldest son, and the relationship between the two brothers is still good.

When Yuan Shao's wife Liu gave birth to Yuan Xi, Yuan Tan's mother was still alive at that time, and Liu was good to Yuan Tan for a while, so Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi also walked around very frequently, which was also considered a brotherhood.

Later, when Yuan Tan's mother died, Liu changed his face. With Yuan Shang's birth, the two broke off contact, but Yuan Xi never competed with his elder brother Yuan Tan. Because he knew that his mother liked younger brother, even if he fought, he would not get to that position. If he fought, he would just turn against his mother and brother.

Without the entanglement of interests, Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang have a good relationship.

It is precisely because of this that the two brothers got together under Yuan Xi's steps and the scenes in front of them appeared.

Who would have thought that just before this month, the two of them would want to kill each other and take off their heads as wine pots.

No matter how emotional it is, it is Cao Cao's fortune to be able to keep the three brothers together.

"Okay, brother, third brother! You and I are born with the same father, and we should support each other. Now that the enemy is in front of us, we should unite to reflect the style of my Yuan family." Yuan Xi said to his third brother and his elder brother. The fourth generation and third master of the Yuan family are not just a joke. It can be said that most of the officials and gentry in the world are related to the Yuan family. They are disciples of the Yuan family, or from the Yuan family. This is a appeal.

"This is naturally. No matter what the grudges between you and my brothers are, it is a fight between brothers. Cao Cao is definitely not a son of man, and he actually uses the battle between you and my brothers to fully understand his ambitions. This time, my Yuan family must destroy its army and seize its foundation. Brother Shang, after defeating Cao Cao, this great man's Sikong is yours!" Yuan Tan was very generous. If he beat Cao Cao, you will be Sikong of the great man.

"Haha, brother, this general who is the father's position may be the one who is in the position of the eldest brother!" Yuan Shang also patted Yuan Tan's horse.

"At that time, brothers, you are in charge of the government and I will pacify the world, and this great man should change his surname to Yuan!" Yuan Tan's whole horses were comfortable to take pictures of each other. It is hard to say whether Yuan Tan will become the emperor or Yuan Shang will become the emperor.

Yuan Xi looked at these two daydreaming brothers and didn't know how to say it was. If they talk too much, it would hit them, and if they talk too little, it would make them arrogant.

Before Cao Cao was destroyed, he was sitting on the emperor's dream. Now Cao Cao's army is about to destroy their Yuan brothers. The Yuan brothers are the struggling parties, not Cao Cao.

But now it seems that the two of them are thinking about how to divide the Cao Cao's place after defeating Cao Cao. Here, you take Jizhou, I want Yanzhou, and then say that Brother Bingzhou has given you, I just want Zhili.

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and shook his head, Father, what kind of son did you give birth to? But the only thing that made Yuan Xi happy was that the two of them finally stopped flirting with each other.

"Brother, third brother, we have no food and supplies. If we are besieged by Cao Cao's army, it will only be enough for three months." Yuan Xi said to the two. This is a small cold water to make them sober and refreshed.

Sure enough, as soon as the problem of food and grass arises, both of them frowned. They no longer had the kind of ambitions. A penny could not kill a hero. The same way, the food and grass that could achieve their level may cause them to be entangled for a day.

"Food and grass? There is insufficient army, so we can go to the people to pick it up! It is time for those ordinary people to contribute. You and I will shelter them from the wind and rain. If we hadn't received Cao Cao's poison, each household would have given a stone of food to eat, which would be enough for my army to use for the first half of the year!" Yuan Tan asked for a plan, which scared Yuan Xi and turned pale.

Damn it, just go to the local area? If you give me a stone, can the people have so much food at home? Even if you have it, the people's hearts will be basically done. You still expect the people to help you with the city wall. If you take the food from the people, you force the people to death, just wait for the people to open the city gate for you to welcome Cao Cao.

"Lord, no!" Fortunately, what Yuan Xi was worried about did not happen. A strategist who sat down next to Yuan Tan stood up and hurriedly stopped Yuan Tan. "Lord, it's winter now, and the people's food is not enough. If we take it again, then the people's people in Youzhou may be facing Cao Cao!" This middle-aged strategist is called Guo Tu.

Don’t underestimate Guo Tu. When it comes to Guo Tu, everyone thinks that this person is a villain, but in fact it is not the case. Cao Cao uses the emperor to command the princes. In addition to Xi Zhicai and others, there is another person who also thinks of this person, Guo Tu.

Later, Guo Tu made the leader Yuan Shao kill Liu Bei, joined forces with Sun Ce, and then decided to Cao Cao. Yuan Shao had the capital to come out, which was Guo Tu who offered the advice.

It’s just that Guo Tu’s plan was completely rejected. This is not that Guo Tu is useless, but that they are really checking and balanced each other too much.

If you, Guo Tu, don’t know how to play tricks, you will be like Tian Feng and others and will not have a good ending in the end.

Therefore, Guo Tu could only follow the crowd, not to mention that Guo Tu was the main force of Yuan Tan at the beginning. It was also necessary to work hard for the master to get the benefits, which led to the formation of loyal and kindness, such as Gao Lan and Zhang He and others.

Guo Tu saw at a glance that if the plan of his master Yuan Tan was implemented, it might be fine, and everyone would be done together. Originally, Guo Tu planned to speak again afterwards, but now it was already time and he could not delay any longer, so he had to stand up without giving face.

"What is the people's heart!" After being refuted by his advisers, Yuan Tan was a little embarrassed and angry and was about to make a move.

On the other side, a middle-aged adviser was also placing a secret code at Yuan Shang. This person was the chief adviser who was the leader of Yuan Shang.
To be continued...