Chapter 231 War Horse Trading
Although the Baibo Army and the Xuzhou Army were not hostile, they were still quite wary of each other. The two sides were stationed on both sides of Anyi, one in the south and the other in the north. It felt like water from a well did not interfere with the water from the river.
Fortunately, Xu Huang came to the camp of King Qin's army in Guandong and knew where the Xuzhou army was stationed.
Although I couldn't drive straight in, after I reported my name at the door, I was quickly greeted by Liu Fengqin.
Liu Feng was followed by Gao Shun and Pan Zhang. Guan Yu was in charge of the entire army at this time and could not get away. Zhang Liao and Tai Shi Ci had already left Anyi and rushed to Puban County with their elite cavalry. Pingyang County, purchasing horses.
The reason why these two places were arranged for them to go was mainly because they were very important.
Pingyang County is an important channel connecting Bingzhou and the only channel from the north to the south. It gathers a large number of people and materials all year round. It is also the location of the largest horse market in Hedong.
Although Puban County is not as important as Pingyang, it is also an important pass in and out of Hedong. It is closely connected with the Hetao and Guanzhong areas. It is supported by the Yellow River waterway and water transportation is very developed. Especially if horses from Hetao and northern Shaanxi want to enter Hedong, Puban must pass through.
Therefore, Zhang Liao and Taishi Ci each brought five hundred cavalry and were responsible for the procurement affairs in Pingyang and Puban.
At the same time, Liu Feng also specially transferred 800 naval troops led by Zhou Tai from Hanoi to be responsible for the waterway to connect the two men.
As for the ships, half renting and half buying a batch is enough to cope with the situation.
The reason is simple, because the waterways in these places cannot carry large ships.
Even on the Yellow River waterway, large ships can only travel as far as Sanmenxia. It is not impossible to go down further, but it is difficult to turn back.
Once you have passed Sanmenxia, it is very difficult to return to the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and the risk factor is also very high. It requires a lot of trackers' labor, otherwise there will be a risk of shipwreck and death.
Liu Feng was a little surprised when he saw Yang Feng for the first time.
This is a middle-aged and elderly northern man who looks ordinary.
“I didn’t know that General Xingyi was here. I missed the welcome from afar. Please forgive me, General.”
Liu Feng actually had a good impression of Yang Feng. This man was quite pitiful in history. , except Xu Huang, everyone else deceived him in various ways, but this person actually believed everything.
Ding Chong and Dong Zhao lied to him, saying that Cao Cao wanted to form an alliance with him and was willing to provide him with food, and he believed it.
Dong Zhao then lied to him, saying that Luoyang was in ruins and was not conducive to defense. It was better to go south and garrison in Liang County next to it. Not only could it control Ru River, cover Luoyang, but also radiate Yingchuan, and Cao Cao would give you It is also convenient to travel by water for food. He believed it again.
When Cao Cao entered Luoyang, he scared Han Xian to death. He rode out of Benliang County to join Yang Feng, instigating that Cao Cao was going to destroy Bai Bo. He believed both.
Cao Cao explained that I was going to take the emperor to Liang County to find you and replenish food for you. He believed it.
As a result, Cao Amo performed a 196 AD version of the hearse drift for Yang Feng. It made a big drift along the edge of Liang County and went straight to Yangcheng, Yingchuan. When Yang Feng confirmed the news, Cao Cao was He took the emperor to Yangdi.
In the future, Yuan Shu tricked him into fighting Lu Bu, and Lu Bu tricked him into fighting Liu Bei.
Finally, Liu Bei tricked him into drinking.
Yang Fengquan believed it!
Finally died at Liu Bei's Hongmen Banquet.
After careful calculation, this guy died at the hands of his father historically, and he could be considered an acquaintance in disguise.
Liu Feng sighed in his heart while introducing Yang Feng into the army.
Yang Feng is quite courageous. He actually brought Xu Huang and dozens of his followers here without worrying about being attacked by Liu Feng. This shows that this man is born with a big heart. Yes, it cannot be changed.
After welcoming Yang Feng into the tent, Liu Feng curiously asked him about his purpose.
Yang Feng replied: "There is insufficient food in the army. I heard that you are purchasing war horses in Hedong. Our army is willing to exchange the horses for food."
Yang Feng was so frank that Liu Feng was surprised. , but he also took a high look at the other party.
"It's true, but with the current price of grain, it may not be satisfactory to trade horses for it."
Hearing Liu Feng's persuasion, Yang Feng felt better. , he glanced at Xu Huang, who said: "I wonder if your army can exchange more food for our department. The food stored in the army is now less than a month's use."
The inventory of military rations is less than one month, which is a very dangerous signal. No wonder Yang Feng is so anxious.
Liu Feng didn't care either. He had recently purchased a large number of war horses, and now he just wanted to change his trading partners. After a few words of relief to the other party, Liu Feng casually told the other party the latest offer.
Even though Yang Feng and Xu Huang had already received the news and were mentally prepared.
But they were still frightened by the low price. What shocked them even more was that although there was no limit on first-class horses, the limit on second-class horses was less than 1,800 horses.
One thousand eight hundred second-class horses can only be exchanged for nearly six thousand stones of grain. How can it be enough?
But there are not many first-class horses, and even if they are all replaced, they may only be able to exchange for more than a thousand stones of food, which will not help.
Xu Huang couldn't help but ask: "Why is there a quota for these second-class horses?"
With Liu Feng's consent, Gao Shun explained: "Gongming didn't know something. Since the exchange began, the number of second-class horses has far exceeded that of first-class horses, and now there are more than a thousand horses collected. If there is no limit, there may be insufficient food. "
What Gao Shun said is true. , since Liu Feng entered Hedong, he spread the news of exchanging grain for war horses, especially for first-class war horses.
But even if there are a large number of local horse farms like Hedong, and it is also an important transportation point for Bingzhou and Liangzhou war horses to be imported into the Central Plains of Henan, first-class horses are still relatively rare after all, and they are also the horse species that everyone prioritizes to preserve.
On the contrary, it was second-class horses, thousands of which were used at once.
But Liu Feng became picky instead. The more than a thousand second-class horses he eventually exchanged for were actually quite close to first-class horses. They were carefully selected from thousands of second-class horses. The best parts that come out are of very high quality.
In the past, Liu Feng’s choice would probably have been boycotted by the horse dealers.
But now, the other party still has to beg Liu Feng with a smile to buy a few more horses.
It’s no wonder that so many people like the Year of Disaster. Liu Feng didn’t do any tricks. He just borrowed the protection of tens of thousands of troops to carry out normal transactions and made a fortune.
After listening to Gao Shun's explanation, Yang Feng and Xu Huang were both stunned.
But I understand that the food still needs to be replaced.
Liu Feng asked with some surprise: "This time when we return eastward, General Xingyi's troops will definitely work with us. No matter how short of food our troops spend on the journey, we will not see it. Why should the general join in the fun and sell his troops while his troops are starving?"
Liu Feng didn't mean to fish, but he really couldn't understand Yang Feng's behavior.
Yang Feng had already decided to return east. Not to mention that Yang Feng himself still had more than a month's worth of grain in hand, and the emperor also had thousands of grains in store. There was no need for Yang Feng to join in the fun.
Li Le and Hu Cai are short of food, so you can just ask them to trade without Yang Feng having to step in.
Yang Feng sighed and said: "Li Le and Hu Cai are both old brothers of Yang. In the previous bloody battle in Hongnong, they were also called by Yang to help and finally defeated the stubborn enemy. Now They are short of food. If Yang turns a blind eye, how are they different from animals?"
Liu Feng glanced at Yang Feng. If Cao Cao said this, he could think that the other party was polluting the air, but Yang Feng said this. He really found it believable.
If you are trustworthy, you still have to exchange war horses for food. At most, you will be given a preferential price.
So, Liu Feng asked tentatively: "What does General Xingyi want?"
Yang Feng suddenly became hesitant. After a moment of silence, he raised his head and glanced at Xu Huang. Finally, he bowed to Liu Feng and said, "Feng, I am a general under the command of the traitor Li Jue. I conspired with others to commit the crime of General Li." Jue miscalculated and failed to succeed. Emperor Meng refused to give up and became General Xingyi to take charge of the situation. Now that he is deeply unable to do what he wants, if Liu Shijun is willing to assist the government, he is willing to help! "
The expressions of everyone present suddenly changed.
Xu Huang was naturally happy, but he did not expect that his general would finally listen to his advice.
Liu Feng, Gao Shun and Pan Zhang were shocked. Yang Feng's words were no different from asking for surrender, or in other words, surrender.
Yang Feng was appointed by the emperor to oversee the affairs of the state. Whether he could actually take over or not, that was a matter of his personal ability, but legally he had this power. And the one who asked Yang Feng to bow his head and help him was naturally another powerful minister who had an overview of the government affairs.
This obviously also means that Yang Feng recognizes the powerful position of Xuzhou Army and is willing to respect this power.
Yang Feng's low profile seemed like a good thing, but Liu Feng found it a bit tricky.
First of all, Liu Feng does not want to obey the emperor's orders for the time being, because he is worried that the foundation of the old Liu family is not stable enough.
If you rush to welcome the emperor, you may be taken away by the emperor in turn.
It is true that Liu Bei was the pastor of Xuzhou worshiped by the emperor, and most of the officials in the following states and counties were appointed and dismissed by Liu Bei.
But one key point must not be ignored, that is, although these people were appointed and dismissed by Liu Bei, the food they ate was called "Han Lu". They will be grateful for Liu Bei's promotion and recommendation, but for the time being, they are unlikely to feel that they are eating the salary given by Liu Bei.
On the contrary, the military aspect is more pure than the political aspect. The generals' support for Liu Bei and his son is undoubtedly more firm.
In this case, if the emperor directly bypasses Liu Bei and appoints and removes the governors of the counties below, what can Liu Bei do at that time?
Revolt?
Then it's really better not to welcome the emperor.
Suffering a loss by default?
It won’t take long for Xuzhou to be taken over by Emperor Xian himself.
It is not that easy to serve the emperor and disobey his subjects, nor is it a magical strategy without any drawbacks.
Cao Cao did benefit a lot from this strategy, but it was not without cost.
The price for serving the emperor and ordering the princes is that he must be able to contain the emperor.
Cao Cao almost rolled over his car, more than once.
Cao Cao was a native of Pei State in Yuzhou. His power had grown so much that he dared to proclaim himself Duke, but he did not dare to enfeoff the country to Qiao. He did not even dare to stay in Henan, but wanted to go to Yuan Shaona in Hebei. Just the tiniest part of the price.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, no one had ever successfully rebelled against the old Liu family.
The four hundred years of grace from the old Liu family will not completely disappear overnight.
Liu Feng's plan is very clear. With Xuzhou's efforts this time, a three-gong general is standard.
The general can be given to Yuan Shao, or he can only be given to Yuan Shao. Whoever wants to grab this position just wants to have a fight with Yuan Shao.
Historically, Cao Cao awarded himself the title of general first. As a result, he was unable to sit in this position, so he received a letter of dissatisfaction from Yuan Shao.
I have to say that Cao Cao really could bear it. He actually gave up the position of general to Yuan Shao, and then made himself a Sikong, a riding general.
In fact, it is more reasonable for Cao Cao to be Situ. After all, Situ is the counterpart to the prime minister.
But who made Situ the gift that Cao Cao originally wanted to arrange for Yuan Shao?
Yuan Shao doesn’t want it, can I, Cao Cao?
So, it can be seen from here that the most important thing is the position of the Three Dukes and Generals.
Since the general belongs to Yuan Shao, then the second-ranked hussar general must belong to Liu Bei.
The golden seal and purple ribbon are indispensable, and Liu Bei can therefore open his government openly, appoint his cronies, and legitimately establish his own private power.
This is what Liu Feng values the most, and he also feels that this is the power that the Liu family needs most at the moment.
As for Emperor Xian himself, it doesn't matter whether he is placed in Luoyang or Xuchang.
When Yuan Shao really pressed down from the north, Cao Cao did not necessarily rely on Liu Xie to weaken Yuan Shao. Instead, he sent tons of secret letters of surrender to Yuan Shao like crazy.
In addition to serving the emperor to command his subjects, this is not as effective as imagined. At the same time, Yuan Shao's general position is also quite effective.
Therefore, Yang Feng was arranged as a personal bodyguard for the young emperor Liu Xie in Liu Feng's plan.
This bodyguard has a certain level of strength, but only a certain level of strength.
Liu Xie, who needs to support his troops, will always be short of food. As long as Xuzhou survives this year, starting next year, the grain harvest will increase greatly. With sufficient food, it can be "purchased" from Liu Xie "The title of crusade against unsubordinates.
In this way, Liu Feng can have the name of conquering unconquered subjects at any time, but does not have to bear the burden of "serving the emperor". This is the countermeasure Liu Feng came up with.
After all, compared with Xuzhou, Yuan Shao in Hebei and Cao Cao in Yanzhou will undoubtedly be more anxious.
I never expected that Yang Feng would surrender directly to him now.
This greatly exceeded Liu Feng's expectations and made him feel caught off guard.
Liu Feng calmed down quickly. He first returned the gift to Yang Feng, and then explained: "Feng is just a captain. Although he has the responsibility of leading the army and receiving orders, such a big event cannot be done without my father's approval." General Xingyi trusts him and is willing to help him with the great work of revitalizing the Han Dynasty. Feng is so grateful that he is naturally willing to work together with the general and is willing to provide food, grass and thousands of stones to relieve the general's worries. "
He rushed to speak. Before, Liu Feng specifically added: "If it is still insufficient, you can trade horses and wars, and Feng will exhaust all the food and fodder to meet the needs of the general."
Liu Feng put the matter on Liu Bei's head, but in his heart They were worried that Yang Feng would be displeased.
Fortunately, Yang Feng was indeed a trustworthy person. He actually recognized what Liu Feng said, and then made a request for a large number of war horse transactions.
According to Yang Feng's request, he asked for at least two thousand war horses to be traded.
This number is equivalent to directly drying up all Liu Fengming's food reserves, but Liu Feng has no reason to refuse. At the same time, Liu Feng could not refuse when Yang Feng surrendered and showed his kindness.
So, the two parties finally reached a deal. Yang Feng and Bai Bo would provide a total of 300 first-class horses and 1,700 second-class horses in exchange for 10,000 shi of corn from the Xuzhou Army.
According to the external price, the total price of this transaction should be 6,600 shi of grain. The quoted price of 10,000 shi is equivalent to half the price Liu Feng paid to the other party.
Therefore, Yang Feng and Xu Huang also recognized it and were very grateful to Liu Feng. With these 10,000 shi of food, and the war horses of Li Le and Hu Cai, the remaining food was enough to sustain them in Hedong until the autumn harvest.
After Yang Feng returned, he discussed the specific situation with Han Xian and the others. Even Li Le and Hu Cai found the deal acceptable.
As for the emperor's edict, Li Le and Hu Cai no longer paid attention to it.
The two parties traded for two days and finally completed this big deal.
On the third day after that, the emperor made another move.
He first arranged for Shizhong Zhongji to take people to Hanoi to observe the specific movements of the Hebei army.
Then he ordered the Hedong Army to be ready to set off at any time to escort the emperor's car back east.
It seems that Liu Xie is quite bloody at the moment and wants to cross the dangerous Hanoi to Luoyang as soon as possible.
The same order was also passed to the King Qin's Army in Guandong, but the effect was obviously much worse than that of the Baibo Army in Hedong.
Bai Bojun was willing to have a fight with Yuan Shao for the emperor as long as it was beneficial.
But the King of Guandong Qin's army was different. They did not want to conflict with Yuan Shao. Even except Cao Cao, no one else was worried that the emperor would be snatched away by Yuan Shao.
After receiving the news, King Guandong Qin's army finally began to split.
Zhang Yang first apologized and was the first to say goodbye and leave, returning to Hanoi.
After all, Hanoi is his only foundation. If this is lost, Zhang Yangke will become homeless.
Therefore, it is understandable that Zhang Yang rushed back to Hanoi in a hurry.
The second is Guo Gong. He mainly came here to make up the numbers to increase the weight and power of King Qin's army in Guandong. His main attitude is to follow Liu Bei, but he has a natural fear of Yuan Shao.
Only Cao Cao had the most and most urgent ideas.
Originally, Cao Cao wanted to wait until the emperor returned to Luoyang, but now faced with the threat of Yuan Shao, he seemed to be alone and had to win over reliable allies.
Cao Cao looked around and found that only Liu Bei and his son had such strength and status.
So, Cao Cao came to the door, and when he saw Liu Feng, he shouted: "Zisheng, I heard that Ben Chu has sent troops into Hanoi, and the army has arrived at Ji County."
Liu Feng His expression changed slightly. He had just received similar news. He didn't know what Yuan Shao was thinking, but he actually took action. Guo Tuna's five thousand people had already reached Jixian County.
Although there are not many people in Guotu, only 5,000 people, the significance it represents is huge.
Because the person standing behind him is Yuan Shao, the most powerful and powerful prince in the world today.
(End of this chapter)