Chapter 97

"This Sun Sun Jian can fight and endure, but it's a pity his eyes were blinded by the Imperial Jade Seal. He who holds a jade ring is guilty of a crime; can one become Emperor just by holding the Imperial Jade Seal? What a joke!"

Sun Ce, who was over there, looked at Liu Bei,

"Is this the hero Liu Liu Xuande who shakes the nine provinces? I really want to fight him!"

Sun Quan, who was still a little brat at this time, looked at the majestic Zhang Zhang Liao,

"Big Brother, who is he? He looks so fierce; I'm going to have nightmares tonight!"

Sun Ce didn't care,

"That is the surrendered general Liu Bei just took in, Zhang Zhang Wenyuan; his martial arts are not bad."

"Oh."

Liu Bei seemed to see a beautiful figure in Sun Sun Jian's army,

"The young Ye Huang? So it was the Goose who chose Sun Sun Jian."

Sun Sun Jian left with his men.

Liu Bei entered the hall, and everyone immediately drank several rounds of wine.

Kong Rong sighed with emotion,

"Liu Xuande's cunning is outstanding; I deeply admire it!"

Liu Bei, however, was hanging his head at this moment,

"Liu Xuande?"

"Liu Xuande, what's wrong with you?"

Liu Bei suddenly looked up, his eyes already red, with tears faintly visible.

The warlords were shocked (agfh) and felt their hearts soften; what was wrong with Liu Bei?

Liu Bei stood up and said in a deep voice,

"Everyone, Dong Zhuo is lawless, and the Xiliang soldiers are brutal, burning the homes of Luoyang commoners and looting their valuables and grain."

"Although I have saved 700,000 commoners, it is very, very difficult to help them survive this winter. Bingzhou is barren, and grain is in short supply."

"Just now, as I was drinking, I thought about how the grain used to brew this cup of wine would be enough for a refugee family in Luoyang to eat porridge for several days, and my mood instantly plummeted."

"Sigh, it's hard to swallow."

The warlords looked at the wine in their cups; it truly didn't smell good anymore. If they kept drinking, wouldn't they be stabbed in the spine by others!

At the same time, they felt that this Liu Bei was truly loyal and righteous; he only thought about the lack of grain at home after saving the people!

Ding Yuan Shu almost laughed out loud; did Liu Bei think managing grain was easy?!

Han Fu coughed once,

"Liu Xuande, don't worry. Seven hundred thousand commoners are indeed a huge burden. My Jizhou has surplus grain; I will support you with 150,000 shi!"

Tao Tao Qian also said,

"My Taking Xuzhou will support you with 120,000 shi."

Kong Rong's Qingzhou didn't have much grain,

"I will also support you with 40,000 shi."

Brother Gongsun Zan supported him with 50,000 shi!

The other warlords were embarrassed not to donate, and everyone gave grain ranging from several tens of thousands of shi.

Everyone looked at Ding Yuan Shao, the Alliance Leader.

Ding Yuan Shao cursed secretly; his grain was also swindled from Han Fu, but if he didn't give any now, his reputation would likely be damaged,

"I will also support Liu Xuande with 80,000 shi of grain!"

Ding Yuan Shu gritted his teeth and also gave 50,000 shi; he also cared about his face.

Liu Bei bowed deeply,

"On behalf of the commoners of Luoyang, I thank you all for your generous gifts!"

The live stream exploded,

"The Big-Eared Thief is awesome; it turns out he came to crowd-fund grain!"

"A cup of wine led to a little story, swindling hundreds of thousands of shi of grain; the Big-Eared Thief is mighty!"

"The warlords are probably crying; if Liu Bei doesn't come back, he works them to death; if he comes back, it's even worse, he swindles their grain!"

"I seem to hear the Big-Eared Thief saying, 'Thank you for the generous gifts from all you kind-hearted people.'"

"Remember, it's a gift, not a loan!"

"The Big-Eared Thief is definitely the big winner!"

"You can't even refuse to give; if you don't give, you're wealthy but heartless, not caring about the commoners. The Big-Eared Thief uses the concept of 'righteousness' too well!"

"You guys don't think about it; seven hundred thousand mouths need to eat, it's not easy for Liu Bei either."

"That's right, look at these warlords, has anyone said they would help take in refugees?"

Zhang Fei scratched his head,

"Big Brother, I truly admire you; you went to drink once and actually got 700,000 shi of grain."

"Why don't you go drink with them again, Big Brother!"

Zhao Yun cupped his hands,

"The Lord is benevolent and righteous, so the warlords couldn't help but give grain."

Liu Bei nodded,

"Zhao Zilong, Zhang Wenyuan, you organize the commoners still in Luoyang. For those willing to help us transport grain back to Hedong, I will provide them with food for this winter and free temporary housing."

"Understood!"

A few days later,

The warlords felt there was no point in staying, and it was time to break up!

Ding Yuan Shao announced that this alliance was very successful, having driven away Dong Zhuo, but it was a pity the Emperor wasn't rescued; we'll talk about it next time!

The warlords knew there would be no next time; what followed would be the time for everyone to meet on the battlefield!

Ding Yuan Shao left first, in a hurry to return to Jizhou to contact all parties.

Han Fu didn't dare to linger either, arranging to meet Liu Bei in Ye City to collect the grain.

Qiao Mao and Liu Dai planned to go back and fight it out, so naturally, they hurried back.

Ding Yuan Shu wanted to embezzle the remaining grain of the Allied Forces, but was stopped by Liu Bei and Zhang Fei,

"Ding Yuan Gonglu, I have seven hundred thousand mouths in Luoyang to feed; this remaining grain should be taken by me!"

Ding Yuan Shu was naturally unhappy,

"Liu Bei, everyone has already supported you with 700,000 shi of grain; don't push your luck!"

Zhang Fei roared,

"Ding Yuan Shu, your Nanyang Commandery is rich in products. In this alliance, your soldiers haven't fought a single battle, yet you have the nerve to embezzle the Allied Forces' grain!"

Ding Yuan Shu retreated a few steps in fear and said stubbornly,

"This is the Allied Forces' grain; I'll store it first and use it next time."

Liu Bei was amused by Ding Yuan Shu; this guy wasted his background of four generations of high officials, acting petty, shifting blame, and being greedy.

"Ding Yuan Gonglu, seven hundred thousand commoners in Luoyang are still waiting for grain. Let this 200,000 shi of grain be a loan to me; I will return it to the Allied Forces at the next alliance!"

Ding Yuan Shu?!

Is this Big-Eared Thief borrowing? Who knows if there will be another alliance, but he was the one who said it just now, so he couldn't refute it.

Tao Tao Qian, Kong Rong, and others also persuaded him,

"Gonglu, just treat it as a loan to Liu Xuande; it's not easy for him, having seven hundred thousand more Luoyang commoners."

Ding Yuan Shu's expression was twisted,

When it came to righteousness, he couldn't out-talk Liu Bei!

When it came to speaking loudly, he couldn't catch up to Zhang Fei!

Fighting? That was even less of a match for Liu Bei!

He could only swallow his anger,

"Fine, Liu Liu Xuande, this is a loan; you better return it to me—no, to the Allied Forces!"

Liu Bei nodded,