Chapter 143

"Damn, even capitalists would cry!"

"Miss Mi is too amazing! I didn't even think of that."

"This must be the largest-scale commodity circulation in the late Han!"

"It looks like the Big-Eared Thief is going to empty out all of Qing Province!"

"Miss Mi makes money during the day and has to suffer the Big-Eared Thief's torture at night; it's too hard!"

"Squeezing out the surplus value of a million Yellow Turban people—Miss Mi is mighty!"

Yan Province,

Cao Cao had recently become the Yan Province Governor and had defeated over 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, his reputation soaring for a time!

He was feeling a bit proud, and the wine in his cup tasted even better!

Xun Yu gave him a heavy blow.

"My Lord, Liu Bei defeated Guan Hai in Qing Province and took in 300,000 young and strong Qing Province Yellow Turbans, along with over 500,000 family members!"

Cao Cao's chin almost dropped.

"Over 800,000 people?!"

"Can he, Liu Bei, even afford to feed them?!"

Others were also whispering to each other.

Xiahou Dun said loudly,

"This Liu Bei is probably overthinking it. 800,000 people—the food and drink alone will cost him his life!"

Yue Jin also said,

"These Qing Province Yellow Turban soldiers are not kind-hearted people. If they don't have food, they'll probably just stew Liu Bei!"

Everyone burst into laughter!

"He, Liu Bei, must be crazy for fame."

Xun Yu shook his head.

"Everyone, Liu Bei has already thought of a way. He hosted a banquet for the noble clans of Qing Province, and everyone eagerly lent him grain. Now he has over 500,000 shi of grain and fodder!"

"According to reports from scouts, every noble clan in Qing Province now holds a copy of Liu Bei's IOU, with some lending tens of thousands of shi and others thousands of shi of grain."

Everyone: ??

That works too!

Cao Cao instantly felt the wine in his cup didn't taste good anymore!

"Liu Bei actually has such popular support?"

Xi Zhicai cupped his fists.

"My Lord, it's not that Liu Bei has popular support; it's that the noble clans of Qing Province desperately hope these Qing Province Yellow Turban soldiers will leave Qing Province."

Cao Cao thought for a moment, feeling very annoyed.

"I didn't expect Liu Bei to seize this opportunity!"

Xiahou Ding Yuan advised,

"My Lord, do not worry. Migrating a million people costs a huge amount. A mere 500,000 shi of grain is likely not enough; other supplies are also very much needed."

Cao Cao nodded; this was true.

"Liu Xuande is too impatient. Although Bing Province has few people, he's eating too much at once; I'm afraid he'll choke."

Just then,

"Report~!"

"My Lord, a letter from Qing Province."

Cao Cao opened it and instantly felt sour; his face was very ugly.

"This Mi Zhen is actually so talented."

Xun Yu took it and looked...

"Liu Bei took Mi Zhu's younger sister, Mi Zhen, as his wife in Qing Province and received a generous dowry: 3,000 servants, hundreds of thousands of shi of grain, and countless wealth!"

Everyone was shocked!

"Mi Zhen also bought Qing and Xu Province specialties and had the million people help transport them, doing business along the way..."

Everyone was even more shocked.

"This Mi Zizhong's younger sister is actually so talented? Liu Bei gained a million people, and not only did he not lose money, he actually made a profit?"

"This is truly unbelievable!"

Cao Cao's stomach was churning with acid; it was too hard!

He naturally couldn't drink the wine anymore!

Xiahou Dun cupped his fists.

"My Lord, we cannot let Liu Bei easily migrate a million people to Bing Province."

Cao Cao waved his hand. He also wanted to stop it, but Liu Bei already had tens of thousands of troops.

At this time, everyone hadn't torn off their masks yet. If he truly angered Liu Bei, he wouldn't be able to develop, and they would just end up fighting in a mess.

Xun Yu cupped his fists.

"My Lord, do not worry. Liu Bei's settlement of these million people is also a problem. With a million more mouths to feed, the grain will surely not be enough."

"We will strictly control the grain in Yan Province to prevent it from being exported."

"Now that you control Yan Province, your goal should be Yu Province. The two provinces combined have over 8 million people. Even if Liu Bei migrates a million people, he only has 4 million."

"Ding Yuan Shu has no talent or virtue and occupies Yu Province, only knowing how to extort and plunder. My Lord can crush him in one battle!"

When everyone heard this, they felt Xun Yu's words made a lot of sense! Their morale recovered.

Cao Cao nodded to himself; Xun Yu was indeed a great talent. It would be good to have a few more talented scholars from the Xun family to assist!

"Xun Yu, I heard your nephew Xun You is locked in a Chang'an prison? I will find a way to rescue him."

Although Xun You was a few years older than Xun Yu, he was indeed Xun Yu's nephew.

Xun Yu cupped his fists.

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Shouchun City,

Ding Yuan Shu's good mood from waking up naturally was instantly destroyed by Liu Bei!

After listening to Yan Xiang's report,

Ding Yuan Shu almost had his teeth turned sour!

"A million people? Liu Bei isn't afraid of choking to death!"

"The Mi family has gone too far. I am right next door, yet they married Mi Zhen to this Big-Eared Thief, Liu Bei!"

Ding Yuan Shu snorted angrily several times.

"The Mi family is absolutely blind!"

"When I take Xu Province, I will make that Mi Zizhong pay!"

"With such a large territory, I can't find someone comparable to Beauty Feng? I don't believe it!"

Ye City,

Ding Yuan Shao had been fighting fiercely with Brother Gongsun Zan during this period, with both sides having wins and losses, and neither could do anything to the other.

Brother Gongsun Zan's cavalry was fierce, so Ding Yuan Shao ordered people to speed up the manufacture of heavy crossbows while using fortified cities for defense.

He looked at the bamboo slips before him, feeling miserable in his heart.

"This Liu Bei has actually gained a million Qing Province people!"

"And he gained the support of the Mi family; the dowry is more than that of a princess!"

Ding Yuan Shao suddenly realized that the energy of great merchants like the Mi family and the Zhen family was even greater than he had imagined.

"I heard this Zhen Mi is not only beautiful and virtuous but also understands the way of business?"

"The Zhen family must be won over!"

Xu You cupped his fists.

"My Lord, Liu Bei has gained a million people this time, including 300,000 young and strong men. His strength has greatly increased, posing a huge threat to our army!"

Yan Zhang Liang stepped out of the ranks.