Chapter 339

"My lord, this batch of goods, plus the money from the Yanzhou noble clans, is worth four thousand gold!"

Chen Gong glanced at Lu Bu as if he were looking at an idiot!

Lu Bu actually didn't know that cotton-padded clothes had become a huge hit in Xuzhou recently!

In Chen Gong's view!

This was Lin Yang's open conspiracy!

As long as one cotton-padded garment was sold, it weakened the strength of other warlords!

In Yuzhou, cotton-padded clothes had also become a huge hit!

Chen Gong had seen this long ago!

"What? Four thousand gold?"

Hearing that one trip was four thousand gold, Lu Bu was also stunned!

Four thousand gold was not a small amount!

A batch of warhorses only cost about five to ten gold!

These four thousand gold could be exchanged for eight hundred warhorses!

And this was just for one trip!

"If my lord is tempted, there is a business deal this time...!"

Chen Gong had been assisting Lu Bu for some time and understood Lu Bu's thoughts very well!

Since Lu Bu had already been framed anyway!

He might as well just pull off a job!

With these four thousand gold, Lu Bu's development in Pei State could be even better!

"Oh? Gongtai, speak quickly!"

Speaking excitedly, the next moment, Chen Gong whispered into Lu Bu's ear!

In an instant, Lu Bu's eyes lit up!

Several days later, at the border of Pei State Commandery

"Alright, money and goods are settled. See you next time!"

The merchant who had received the money was just about to leave when, the next moment, he saw smoke and dust approaching from afar!

"Haha, where do you think you're running to!"

Accompanied by a loud shout, Lu Bu's figure, leading the Bingzhou Iron Cavalry, came charging over!

Almost in an instant, the merchant and his men fled in panic!

Lu Bu, who had arrived, was also not polite at all and packed up everything to take away!

As for the Yuzhou noble clans, Lu Bu didn't take them seriously at all!

In an instant, following this plunder, the entire Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and other places were shaken!

Xuzhou, Donghai Commandery, Xuzhou City

"A fine Cao Mengde, a fine Lu Bu!"

Lin Yang, who received the news, was immediately angered to the point of laughter!

These two guys were simply bandits!

They didn't keep their word at all!

Cao Mengde was slightly better, knowing how to throw this blame onto Lu Bu!

Lu Bu was even worse, just opening it up and robbing openly!

"Does this Lu Bu really think I can't handle him?"

Daring to rob his things, these two, Lu Bu and Cao Mengde, really had guts!

Although he had guessed long ago that these people would take action!

Lin Yang hadn't expected it to be so fast!

Losing tens of thousands of cotton-padded clothes this time didn't have much of an impact on Lin Yang!

"My lord, now that the new recruits in Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Qingzhou have just been enlisted, it is not advisable to mobilize troops!"

Cheng Yu, who was familiar with Lin Yang, also reminded him at this moment!

Ever since the cotton-padded clothes became highly profitable, Lin Yang had also recruited new soldiers in Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Qingzhou!

Forty thousand new recruits in Xuzhou, thirty thousand in Qingzhou, and thirty thousand in Yangzhou!

A total of one hundred thousand new recruits!

Relying on the grain and grass he possessed and the money he had earned, he could fully afford to support these people now!

However!

For new recruits to enter battle, they still needed to undergo training!

"My lord, I still feel that the troops in the three provinces are a bit too many!"

Gu Yong, who was to the side, also spoke up when the matter of new recruits was mentioned!

Lin Yang had suddenly conscripted one hundred thousand soldiers!

Many people had opposed it at the time!

Yangzhou already had one hundred thousand troops, and with the recruitment of thirty thousand new soldiers, Yangzhou's troops had reached one hundred and thirty thousand!

Yangzhou's population was only four million, and a large portion of them were Baiyue people!

The permanent population of the four commanderies was only about two point eight million!

This ratio of population to troops was still acceptable!

But Xuzhou and Qingzhou were already a bit off!

Xuzhou had a population of four million, but its troops had already reached one hundred and ninety thousand!

It didn't look like a big problem!

But if Qingzhou were added, then the problem would be big!

In the two commanderies of Qingzhou, there were only seven hundred thousand commoners!

Previously, fifty thousand troops were already stationed there, and now with the recruitment of thirty thousand new soldiers, the troops had reached a staggering eighty thousand!

Relying solely on the two commanderies of Qingzhou, they could no longer support these eighty thousand troops!

So, in summary, Xuzhou plus the two commanderies of Qingzhou, with a total population of less than five million, were supporting a massive army of two hundred and seventy thousand!

It was too many!

With so many troops, the consumption of grain and grass alone was an astronomical figure!

"Too many? I actually feel it's a bit too few!"

Lin Yang shook his head; he really felt it was a bit too few!

Xuzhou plus the two commanderies of Qingzhou only had an army of two hundred and seventy thousand, and adding Yangzhou, there were only four hundred thousand troops in total!

It seemed like a lot, but Lin Yang felt it really wasn't enough!

Xuzhou was a land of four battles; now that he occupied Yangzhou, the situation had improved slightly, becoming a land of three battles!

Yuan Benchu to the north, Cao Mengde and Yuan Gonglu to the west!

And there was also Sun Jian, who was trapped in Lujiang Commandery!

Among these four people to deal with, which one of the three above didn't require one hundred thousand troops to handle!

"My lord, our new recruits are currently undertrained and cannot be sent out!" Guo Jia frowned, a bit confused. "Furthermore, Yuan Gonglu and Cao Mengde on the west side are both eyeing us covetously; it is not advisable to act rashly!"

The situation was different now!

Cao Mengde had dealt with Lu Bu, recovered the entire Yanzhou, and also parts of Sili, with one hundred and fifty thousand troops under his command!

Yuan Gonglu of Yuzhou originally had three hundred thousand troops, and with the help of Lu Bu, Pei State Commandery had an extra Lu Bu, as well as his two thousand elites!

Yuan Gonglu was undoubtedly even harder to deal with!

At this time, only two choices were left for Lin Yang!

One was the four commanderies of Qingzhou!

The other was the two commanderies of Yangzhou!

These two were undoubtedly the easiest!

But to capture these two places, the one hundred thousand new recruits Lin Yang had enlisted needed to finish their training!

Otherwise, if Lin Yang sent troops from Xuzhou and got bogged down, Yuan Gonglu and Cao Mengde would inevitably come to attack!

"Sigh, what I fear is not them acting rashly; what I fear is them besieging me together!"

Looking around, Lin Yang thought silently in his heart!