Chapter 110

"I've already screenshotted Ding Yuan Shao's little expression—a giant 'awkward' face!"

"Haha, hilarious!"

"Why isn't the 1.5-meter-tall fierce general from the Dwarf Kingdom, Honda Tadakatsu, going up? This is the perfect time to save face, don't be a coward!"

"The Big-Eared Thief is too fierce right now, dominating everything!"

The gossiping citizens on the walls of Outside Yecheng were also pointing and gesturing.

"My god, he's too strong!"

"Lord Liu Xuande is mighty!"

"Ding Yuan Shao has been beaten into silence."

"Yan Zhang Liang and Wen Chou are peerless generals? I spit on that!"

A young girl of ten or so, pulling her sister's hand, said worshipfully.

"Sister, that is the Liu Liu Xuande who shakes the nine provinces. He's so amazing, his presence is dazzling!"

"Sister, if you marry, you should marry a great hero like this—someone with astonishing martial arts, endless strategies, and who also cares for the common people."

The little girl's skin was like congealed fat, her features were extremely beautiful, and her eyes were bright and clear. She would definitely be a super beauty in the future!

Her sister looked eighty or ninety percent like her; she was also extremely beautiful, with a tall figure and eyebrows like a painting.

"Little sister, keep your voice down. A young girl shouldn't be so immodest!"

The little girl was Zhen Mi, and the other was her sister, Zhen Zhen Jiang. The two were visiting relatives in Outside Yecheng with their family and had rushed to the city wall when they heard there was excitement to see.

Zhen Zhen Jiang looked at Liu Bei's figure in the distance with a dazed expression.

"Such a great hero..."

Zhen Mi's beautiful eyes rolled.

"Sister, why don't you marry Lord Liu Xuande? That way I could talk to him, and I could also learn from the Great Scholar Cai."

Zhen Zhen Jiang's mouth twitched.

"I thank you so much. Your sister's purpose is just to build a bridge for you?!"

"Little sister, prepare to be hit!"

"Ouch, sister, have mercy!"

In the field, Ding Yuan Shao was amiable.

"Liu Xuande, Han Fu wants to give Jizhou to me; I have no choice in the matter."

Liu Bei's mouth twitched. The two sons of the Ding Yuan family were truly shameless to the extreme!

Liu Bei smiled.

"Then I must congratulate Brother Benchu. Jizhou is the head of the world's nine provinces; it is far stronger than my Bingzhou."

Ding Yuan Shao's expression was somewhat sorrowful.

"It's a pity the Emperor is still in the hands of that old thief Dong Zhuo. Once I finish training my troops in Jizhou, we will all go together to attack Dong Zhuo and save the Emperor."

Liu Bei couldn't listen to this anymore.

"Brother Benchu, I heard you intend to enthrone Liu Yu as Emperor?"

Ding Yuan Shao, who was about to say another string of pretty words, was choked off!

"This Liu Bei has killed the conversation!"

Liu Bei didn't want to waste words.

"Brother Benchu, Han Fu intends to return to Taiyuan with me to teach and educate at the Taiyuan Academy. I ask that you make things convenient for us."

Ding Yuan Shao was delighted. It was fortunate that Liu Bei didn't want to snatch Jizhou, otherwise, there would be more fighting.

"Alas, I wanted to appoint Han Fu as General of Martial Vigor, but since his heart is not set on it, so be it."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Brother Benchu, my Bingzhou is extremely short on grain, and Jizhou has plenty. I ask that you lend me some."

Ding Yuan Shao... borrowing again?!

He coughed. "Liu Xuande, Jizhou has been through the Yellow Turban Rebellion; we aren't exactly wealthy either. How about I lend you fifty thousand shi?"

Zhang Fei shouted loudly.

"Alliance Leader, are you trying to dismiss a beggar? Big Brother, Jizhou is so good, why don't we just have the people of Bingzhou come here to eat and live!"

Ding Yuan Shao's mouth twitched.

"Liu Xuande, two hundred thousand shi, no more than that."

Liu Bei cupped his hands.

"Many thanks, Alliance Leader. Adding the eighty thousand shi you promised earlier and the one hundred and fifty thousand shi promised by Inspector Han, that makes four hundred and fifty thousand shi in total. I thank you, Alliance Leader!"

Ding Yuan Shao?? There seems to be something wrong with these numbers! Who taught Liu Bei his arithmetic?!

"No wonder he could get rich selling straw sandals!"

Ding Yuan Shao shook his head. Forget it, just treat it as sending away a plague god.

Brother Gongsun Zan was still waiting to divide Jizhou over there; only by sending Liu Bei away could he deal with Brother Gongsun Zan in peace!

"Hmph, Big-Eared Thief, once I control Jizhou, Youzhou, and Qingzhou, you'll have a hard time then."

Ding Yuan Shao secretly planted a flag!

The matter was settled just like that.

Next came the division of property, the division of goods, and moving house.

Han Fu's family of several dozen people actually packed dozens of carts. Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh—Jizhou was indeed wealthy!

Ju Shou's family also had several dozen people, all of whom were moving to Bingzhou with him this time, though their wealth was very little.

Zhang He had even fewer relatives.

Han Fu's Registrars, Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan, also led ten thousand soldiers capable of drawing hard bows back to Outside Yecheng.

Liu Bei let the soldiers choose for themselves. In the end, over four thousand were willing to go to Bingzhou. They were all bachelors who had heard that Bingzhou won battles and distributed land and women, so naturally, they were willing to go!

Liu Bei divided the soldiers into three, assigning them to be led by Chen Dao, Zhang He, and Ju Yi.

Ju Yi was secretly grateful for Liu Bei's trust!

The Zhen family of Hebei, Outside Yecheng residence.

Several major families of Jizhou gathered together to drink and chat with Liu Bei.

"Lord Liu Xuande, I didn't expect that in just half a year since we parted in Taiyuan, you would have become world-renowned!"

Zhen Yao sighed repeatedly, deeply moved.

Back then, through his trade of horses and grain with Liu Bei, he had gained huge profits, and after talking with Liu Bei, he felt that Liu Bei was someone worth associating with.

But he hadn't expected that in half a year, Liu Bei would rise to fame, shaking the nine provinces, to the point where even Ding Yuan Shao didn't dare to confront him head-on.

Liu Bei raised his cup.

"Brother Zhen is not bad either; your business is probably spreading across the world by now."

Zhen Yao hurriedly indicated that he was far inferior to Lord Liu Xuande.

The Zhen family's second son, Zhen Yan, who was to the side, was somewhat unimpressed.

He thought to himself.

"Liu Bei is indeed a hero of the world, but Jizhou will be Ding Yuan Shao's world in the future. Why must Third Brother praise Liu Bei so much?"

Ding Yuan Shao had also already contacted Zhen Yan, appointing him as an official in the Inspector's office.

After drinking with both of them, Liu Bei already knew their situations.

Zhen Yao highly regarded him and wanted to build a good relationship.

Zhen Yan, however, wanted to defect to Ding Yuan Shao, favoring his background as a family of four generations of high officials.

In the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, with war raging, whether fighting or governing, one could never get around the word "money."

Recruiting soldiers requires money, raising troops requires grain and pay, and the attrition of war is an astronomical figure.

At this time, there were five merchant families as wealthy as nations: the Mi family of Taking Xuzhou, the Zhen family of Hebei, the Lu family of Yangzhou, the Ma family of Jingzhou, and the Qin family of Xichuan.

The most famous were the first three; the Mi and Zhen families go without saying.

Then there was Lu Su's family. Once, when Zhou Yu went to borrow grain from Lu Su, Lu Su gave him an entire granary directly; the aura of the nouveau riche completely intimidated Zhou Lang!

Cao Cao had no major merchants in his territory, so he took a different path, establishing the offices of General of Mound-Exploration and Captain of Gold-Touching, specializing in tomb raiding.

Perhaps this behavior shortened his lifespan; many of the Cao family's descendants died young.

Cao Cao himself lived to sixty-five, but the subsequent Cao Pi and Cao Rui only lived to around thirty-five, and in the end, Military Sima Yi plucked the peach.