Chapter 144

"My Lord, this subordinate is willing to lead troops to go and snatch the people!"

Wen Chou had been beaten very miserably by Liu Bei last time and wanted to reclaim his face this time.

"My Lord, I am willing to go!"

Ding Yuan Shao also didn't want to see Liu Bei grow stronger; the more prosperous Bing Province became, the greater the threat to his Ji Province!

Ding Yuan Shao stood up, intending to show off his power!

Tian Feng interjected,

"My Lord, our army is already somewhat exhausted from dealing with Brother Gongsun Zan. If we create another strong enemy in Liu Bei, I fear it will be dangerous!"

Shen Pei added,

"My Lord, the food and clothing for a million people is not a small number. Our Ji Province has many people and very little wasteland; I fear it will be very difficult to settle a million more people."

That's right, the idea is good,

But reality is very harsh!

Even if Ding Yuan Shao gained these million people, he would have nowhere to settle them. Instead, these Yellow Turban soldiers would have no food and would cause chaos again!

By then, he would truly be exhausted from dealing with it!

Ding Yuan Shao sat down dejectedly.

"Then tell me, what should we do?"

Guo Tu bowed.

"My Lord, Bing Province has little farmland, and even less fertile land. It will be very difficult for Liu Bei to feed so many people; he will inevitably buy grain everywhere."

Everyone's eyes lit up!

Ding Yuan Shao nodded; Guo Tu understood him best.

"Pass down the order: strictly control the grain trade; absolutely no grain is to be sold to Bing Province!"

"Understood!"

Guo Tu added,

"My Lord, Cao Cao defeated the Yellow Turbans and became the Yan Province Governor. We can form an alliance with him to oppose Brother Gongsun Zan and Ding Yuan Shu."

Ding Yuan Shao felt jealous.

"My former little brother, Cao Cao Aman, has actually become the Yan Province Governor."

Just then, a guard came to report.

"Report~!"

"My Lord, Cao Cao has sent an envoy, saying he looks to you as the leader of the alliance and asks if you have any recent instructions."

Ding Yuan Shao felt proud in his heart; this Cao Cao was very respectful.

He laughed heartily and stood up.

"Pass my order: go all out to compete with Brother Gongsun Zan for the Pingyuan State of Qing Province!"

"Understood!"

Tian Feng frowned, feeling worried in his heart.

"This Cao Cao is already the Yan Province Governor, yet he is still so humble. At this time, he is enduring what others cannot; he must be plotting something big!"

Liu Bei had actually anticipated the reactions of Cao Cao and Ding Yuan Shao long ago.

Cao Cao had just taken control of Yan Province and was continuing to expand his territory; he wouldn't make an enemy of him yet.

Ding Yuan Shao was fighting with Brother Gongsun Zan; even if he wasn't happy with him, he wouldn't start a war with him yet.

He could still migrate people now, but in a year or two, I'm afraid it would be difficult.

Baima Ferry,

It would take a long time for a million people to cross the Yellow River.

Liu Bei had taken in another 100,000 people along the way; now he had a million people.

Mi Zhen had just finished calculating the harvest of the past few days.

"Husband, along the way, not only did we not lose money, we even made 30 million cash!"

"When we reach Wei Commandery and Henei Commandery, we can make another profit."

Mi Zhen's eyes were shining; she was truly a little money-grubber.

Liu Bei hugged her from behind.

"Wife, you are truly my virtuous helper."

Mi Zhen's face turned crimson, and she drew out her voice.

"Husband, then how will you reward me?"

Liu Bei smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"You tell me..."

Mi Zhen felt her husband was being naughty!

After a long time,

Mi Zhen rested on Liu Bei's arm.

"Husband, Cao Cao and Ding Yuan Shao have both strictly forbidden the large-scale sale of grain. We only have less than a month's worth of grain left."

Liu Bei laughed.

"No matter. By then, we can reach Hedong. A grain blockade? It's not hard to break; I have already made arrangements."

Mi Zhen was very impressed.

"Husband, you're really capable!"

"Really capable, is that so?"

Zhen Mi's little mouth opened slightly, "Ah!"

Zhen Mansion,

"Cough! Cough!"

Zhen Yan's face was pale, and he coughed violently.

Zhen Yao was very worried.

"Second Brother, you should rest more lately; I will help keep an eye on other matters."

Zhen Yan shook his head.

"Your personality is too impulsive. Our Zhen family's foundation is in Ji Province, yet you are always hanging around with Liu Bei."

Zhen Yao frowned.

"Eldest Brother, Lord Liu Xuande is a hero of the world. He previously crushed Dong Zhuo and now has taken in a million Qing Province people. Everyone under heaven is looking at him. Why don't you think highly of him!"

Zhen Yan's tone was unkind.

"Liu Bei is a hero of the world, but our foundation is in Hebei. The Ding Yuan family has been high officials for four generations; their future is much greater than Liu Bei's!"

"Zhen Mi already knows about my illness; she will be home soon."

Zhen Yao was truly speechless, his tone complex.

"Second Brother, the Mi family also thinks highly of Liu Bei, otherwise they wouldn't have given such a large dowry. Why must we..."

Zhen Yan slammed the table.

"Am I the head of the family, or are you! Lord Ding Yuan hinted to me that he wants his second son, Ding Yuan Xi, to take Zhen Mi as his wife!"

"Did you hear clearly? It's as a wife, not a concubine!"

Zhen Yao also got angry.

"Second Brother, you know full well that Little Sister has feelings for Liu Bei, yet you still do this!"

"That Ding Yuan Xi is extremely mediocre; he is neither the eldest son, Ding Yuan Tan, nor the third son, Ding Yuan Shang, whom Ding Yuan Shao loves. When Zhen Mi was young, a fortune teller said she would be unimaginably noble; it definitely shouldn't be with Ding Yuan Xi!"

Zhen Yan was furious.

"Get out! It's not your turn to be the head of the Zhen family!"

A few days later, Zhen Yan's condition worsened, and he passed away early!

Zhen Mi also returned home, very heartbroken.

However, she didn't expect that her marriage had already been negotiated by Zhen Yan and Ding Yuan Shao.

Zhen Yao was even more depressed; just after becoming the head of the family, Ding Yuan Shao sent someone over, his tone full of threats.