Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 593: Boss Cao, the Entrepreneur (Part )

In addition to the two Yuans, Li Ji naturally also kept a close eye on Boss Cao's movements.

It was just that Boss Cao implemented compulsory farming during his rule, and any refugees he caught would be sent to farm, which made it quite difficult to plant spies in Qingzhou.

However, through the spies that the Jinyi Division had deployed in Qingzhou in advance and the intelligence from the Mi Chamber of Commerce, it was naturally impossible to conceal the fact that a large number of sages sleeping underground in Qingzhou had disappeared without reason.

Moreover, Boss Cao's business of opening a lid seemed to be too full of vigor and was soon noticed by the Qingzhou family.

Especially the Kong family, which was the most prominent family in Qingzhou, was furious on the spot.

Among them, Kong Rong, who was originally the prime minister of Beihai Kingdom, was forcibly conquered by Cao Cao, and was dissatisfied with Cao Cao who claimed to be the governor of Qingzhou.

When Kong Rong learned that Cao Cao had acted unethically against his ancestor, he was furious. In seven days, he wrote fourteen articles to curse Cao Cao's ancestors for eighteen generations.

For a time, there was a chorus of curses against Cao Cao in Qingzhou.

In response to this, Cao Cao refused to admit that he was the one who opened the lid for the ancient sages, and at the same time he contacted various chambers of commerce to sell all kinds of ancient treasures.

After reading the latest information about Qingzhou, Li Ji couldn't help but widen his eyes and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

As Cao Cao began to sell off rare and antique items on a large scale, Kong continued to curse him but at the same time had to buy back his ancestors' belongings at high prices in order to protect them.

This is not just true for the Kong family; it is also true for some other Qingzhou families with a long history.

In order to prevent Cao Cao from continuing to open the tombs of their ancestors, the various noble families in Qingzhou have begun to send people to guard the remaining intact ancestral tombs day and night.

"You can actually...squeeze the wealth of the noble families like this?"

With Li Ji's upbringing, he knew very well that this kind of thing was extremely immoral, but he just couldn't help wanting to laugh for some reason.

This lid opening business can be considered as a success for Boss Cao.

Especially in this era, tomb robbing is still a very rare thing, and many noble families do not deliberately set up many protective devices when burying their bodies.

Therefore, if any noble family offended Boss Cao, not only would the living suffer, but even their ancestors in the underground would be exposed.

This is extremely brutal for the Han people who value their ancestors.

This also caused Boss Cao's notoriety to skyrocket in Qingzhou. It seemed that the day was just around the corner when the infamy of "Cao Thief" would overshadow that of "Slave of Three Surnames".

However, Boss Cao did open up a lot of rare items, and the wealthy Mi Chamber of Commerce seems to be Boss Cao's main channel for cashing out.

With this thought in mind, Li Ji stood up and went to Mi Zhu, who was working in the governor's mansion, and asked Mi Zhu for a purchase list of the Mi Chamber of Commerce.

Li Ji took a quick look and found that in addition to the antiques and rare treasures from the Qin and Han dynasties, there were mainly a large number of bronze artifacts from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

"Huh? Wait, what is this?"

Li Ji pointed to a name on the list and asked Mi Zhu.

"Who is responsible? Why is there a two-wheeled cart inside? And why is it worth five hundred gold?"

At this moment, Li Ji couldn't help but wonder if Commissioner Smith was among them.

Facing Li Ji's questioning, Mi Zhu quickly took the list and started reading it, and couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Mi Zhu was shocked and explained quickly.

"My Lord, calm down. Zifang is responsible for this matter. It just so happens that Zifang is in the governor's mansion. I will call him over to question him."

Li Ji nodded slightly and signaled a clerk to go and fetch Mi Fang.

Mi Fang, once a young man, has become wealthy without realizing it as the head of the Mi Chamber of Commerce over the years. He ran over panting with a round belly.

After Mi Fang appeared, Mi Zhu started to scold Li Ji without waiting for him to speak.

"Zifang, what's up with that two-wheeled cart?" "Two-wheeled cart?"

Mi Fang, who was about to salute Li Ji, was slightly startled, then spoke with a radiant look.

"That's a good thing, it's quite a bargain. It's a great deal to buy it for 500 gold."

Mi Zhu was so angry at this that he was afraid that Li Ji would get angry, so he shouted immediately.

"Explain to me right now the value of this item."

Mi Fang said excitedly.

"Brother, that is the two-wheeled cart of the 'Saint of Strategy' Sun Bin. It is well preserved and can even be used by people..."

After a pause, Mi Fang said with a hint of fantasy on his face.

"My Lord, you are already extremely intelligent. If you can ride on the two-wheeled cart that the 'Strategist' Sun Bin once used and receive his blessing, wouldn't you be even more powerful and invincible?"

……

Li Ji.

During this period of time, Li Ji opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.

It is hard to say whether the two-wheeled cart is the real one used by Sun Bin, but Li Ji was really silenced by Mi Fang's remarks at this moment.

Mi Zhu's expression also changed abnormally, and he almost fainted on the spot because of being angry at his own brother.

Sun Bin had to ride the two-wheeled cart out of helplessness. If we prepare a two-wheeled cart for the Marquis in advance, what's the difference between that and cursing the Marquis?
"My Lord, Zifang, for a moment..."

Before Mi Zhu could speak up to plead for Mi Fang, Li Ji raised his hand to interrupt Mi Zhu and politely declined.

"Zi Fang has a good intention. I appreciate your kindness. But what virtue do I have to use the things of the ancient sages?"

After saying that, Li Ji gently comforted Mi Fang, who seemed a little lost, and then left in a hurry.

At this moment, Li Ji was not thinking about how to use the things of the ancients.

Instead, he suddenly realized that with his current fame and status, there was a risk that his name would be exposed even after his death.

Li Ji felt a little numb when he thought that his folding fan or other personal items might be opened and used by thousands of people.

This also made Li Ji understand why, since Boss Cao, the mechanisms in various large tombs have become more and more numerous and more and more advanced.

However, Li Ji had no intention of stopping the Mi Chamber of Commerce's business activities.

Because even if the Mi Chamber of Commerce boycotted, there would still be other merchants who would buy it, and then resell it to other aristocratic families at a higher price and make a fortune from it.

As long as there is demand, there will naturally be a market.

Just through these appearances, Li Ji could clearly feel that Cao Cao was frantically accumulating money and food with the intention of using foreign military force.

Otherwise, even if Cao Cao wanted to open up new avenues for wealth for the wise men, he would not have been so blatant as to even go so far as to extort money from the Qingzhou noble families.

And Cao Cao's direction of deploying troops...

Li Ji frowned and slowly slid his folding fan from Qingzhou to Yanzhou, thinking about it.

Yanzhou borders Sili, Yuzhou and Qingzhou at the same time, and is also a must-fight place for Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao who want to strengthen themselves.

"The three families are fighting for Yanzhou? This doesn't seem right..."

(End of this chapter)