Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

Chapter 103: Preparing to Hit the Aristocratic Family with a Stick ( Words)
After returning to Luoyang City.

Li Hong was strictly ordered by Liu Hong to go home and rest.

Seeing this, Li Hong did not refuse.

It doesn’t matter whether we suppress the Yellow Turbans one day earlier or one day later.

In fact, if possible, Li Hong would be happy to delay for some time before going to war against the Yellow Turbans.

The reason is that Li Hong did not want to consume too much of his own strength on the Yellow Turbans.

Just as he had anticipated at the beginning that the Yellow Turban uprising would soon break out and he would lead his troops directly to the grassland to temporarily avoid the conflict.

The early stages of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were extremely swift and frenzied.

At that time, the Yellow Turbans were pure and determined to overthrow the Han Dynasty. It can be said that everyone was determined to die. On the battlefield, if you stabbed a Yellow Turban, even if the Yellow Turban knew that you were going to die, they would still rush over and bite off your neck.

It's just so crazy.

This was the madness of the Yellow Turbans in the early days of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Historically, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion entered its middle and late stages, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Rebellion won many victories and became arrogant, forgetting their original intentions. The Yellow Turbans began to bring the people into the Yellow Turban Rebellion without caring whether the people were willing or not. Then, the Yellow Turban leaders, relying on their expanding power, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. In addition, the Yellow Turbans did not engage in production, but only plundered, and eventually embarked on the road to destruction.

At that time, the aristocratic families in various places had finally recovered from the blow they had suffered from the Yellow Turbans.

Then they mobilized their family members to recruit volunteers and assist private armies, officially sounding the clarion call for the demise of the Yellow Turbans, and took the opportunity to expand the family's power.

Therefore, there was a reason why Li Hong chose to temporarily avoid the forefront in the early stage of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and return in the middle stage. He also came back to reap the fruits of victory.

Under the cover of night, at the General of Chariots and Cavalry’s mansion.

In the meeting hall.

Li Hong sat at the head of the group and called together a group of civil and military officials to discuss the family's situation after the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Huang Zhong, Jia Xu, Mi Zhu, Zhen Yi and others gathered in the hall.

"Although the Yellow Turbans are in chaos, family business is still very important. How is the business of our five families going?"

Li Hong looked at Mi Zhu and Zhen Yi and asked in a deep voice.

It's no wonder that Li Hong is concerned, because the business of the five families is related to the food, supplies and blood transfusions to Bingzhou of the Qihuo Army and the Beiwei Army.

Mi Zhu stood up, smiled bitterly at Li Hong and bowed:
"My lord, now everywhere is in chaos, with Yellow Turbans everywhere. Our caravans in various places can only temporarily avoid the sharp edge and retreat to the nearest city. In the past two months, business in the Han Dynasty has almost been cut off. The snow salt and Han paper in Wubao are piled up like mountains and cannot be transported out."

Mi Zhu explained the situation to Li Hong with a wry smile, which made Li Hong, who was sitting at the top, look gloomy.

In two months, the family business was almost cut off?
Although Li Hong had long known that the Yellow Turban Rebellion would affect his business and had tried his best to have the five companies operate in important cities in various states and counties, it was obvious that this massive uprising still affected his business.

However, Li Hong understood that there was no way to deal with this matter.

Although the Li family is powerful, the Yellow Turbans will not give the Li family face and allow the Li family's caravan to travel normally.

"What about the money and food situation? The Qihuo Army is on the grassland, so they can fight to support themselves, so we don't have to worry about it for the time being. But the Beiwei Army needs money, food and fodder supplies!" Li Hong pondered for a moment and then asked again.

Mi Zhu heard this and his bitter smile deepened. He bowed to Li Hong and said:

"My lord, we are not short of money. Snow salt and Han paper are very profitable. The noble families are very willing to pay us as long as they have the goods. Therefore, we still have a lot of money. Now, what we lack is food. Now Luoyang and Bingzhou can only mobilize 300,000 dan of food. This is the result of our best efforts to stockpile food."

"These 300,000 dan of grain are probably only enough for the Beiwei Army to eat for more than two months. So, if the Beiwei Army goes to fight the Yellow Turbans, there will still be a large gap in grain. At least another million dan of grain will be needed."

"We simply can't afford that much. In order to support the Beiwei Army, we have already consumed no less than one million dan of grain."

Mi Zhu's reply made Li Hong frown and remain silent for a while.

The Beiwei Army is an elite army he built, and the food they receive is several levels better than that of this dynasty.

Three meals a day.

They eat meat every two days.

And there is also a generous salary.

This was the main reason why Kebi Neng was paralyzed, frightened and panicked as soon as the Beiwei Army attacked on the grassland.

However, Li Hong still felt that the existence of the Beiwei Army was worthwhile.

In the hands of Li Hong, the Beiwei Army is an extremely powerful deterrent force for the Li family.

"It seems that I should look for His Majesty and the ministers. If we want the donkey to work, we must at least give it fodder first." Suddenly, Li Hong slammed the table and said with a smile on his face.

Li Hong changed his mind.

Before, he used snow salt and Chinese paper to build and support the Beiwei Army.

In one fell swoop, he controlled the Han salt market and earned a lot of money to support the Beiwei Army.

This is actually not a loss at all.

Not to mention that the Beiwei Army is extremely powerful and is the strength of the Li family. Just the fact that they can control the snow salt business for a long time is like a golden hen that lays golden eggs, which is also a big profit.

Even now, because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, business has been temporarily interrupted.

But after the Yellow Turbans were pacified, the snow salt business was able to recover quickly. Moreover, it was able to expand rapidly, sweeping across the entire Han Dynasty and reaping huge profits.

Now that the snow salt business has been cut off, the Beiwei Army can no longer be supported because they cannot afford to send out soldiers. So they can ask the court and the noble families for money openly.

After all, when the Yellow Turbans were wreaking havoc in this world, it wasn't him, Li Hong, who suffered the most misfortune.

Rather, it was the local aristocratic families who suffered the most serious damage.

Every day of delay will cause huge damage to the other side.

Maybe, he could take this opportunity to strike a blow to the noble family and extort a large sum of money and grain from them.

"My lord, you are right. The snow salt business has been interrupted, but the Beiwei Army lacks money and food supplies. If the court wants to use the Beiwei Army to quell the rebellion, the money and food will need to be supplied by the court and the noble families before the uprising is put down."

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said with great satisfaction to Li Hong's words.

At the beginning, when he saw Li Hong taking on so much responsibility to support the army for the court, he felt worried.

Now it seems that Li Hong was not a sucker, but took every step very steadily.

"Okay, Wenhe has agreed. I will go talk to His Majesty later!"

Li Hong stroked his graying beard and felt relaxed all over.

Bingzhou is in our hands, and the vast grassland is also under our control.

Now he has led the Beiwei Army back to the Han Dynasty as expected by the people, preparing to pacify the Yellow Turbans, and he can gain a lot of reputation again.

It would be even better if we could make a big profit from the noble family.

In Li Hong's mind, it was a huge sum, and it was definitely not a small amount.

……

Next, for two consecutive days, Li Hong rested in his mansion and studied military books. He was not in a hurry to leave the mansion and was in a relaxed and relaxed state.

The only pity is that all the ladies in the backyard are in Jinyang, Bingzhou, and cannot have children happily.

In Luoyang City, the only person who still had a friendship with Li Hong was the Queen.

It’s a pity that the Queen cannot be seen casually.

He had just returned from the grassland, and everyone's eyes were on him. If he dared to play some happy games with the queen again, he would probably die without knowing how.

Li Hong is naturally not so stupid as to be controlled by sperm.

However, Li Hong learned from others that the queen gave birth to a "prince" and named him "Liu Yu".

The word "jade" refers to a soft, transparent and shiny stone that can be used to make ornaments or carvings. Because it is relatively precious and rare, it has been referred to as "gold and jade" together with gold in history to describe valuable things.

In addition, the word "jade" also has the extended meaning of whiteness and beauty.

Therefore, the name "Liu Yu" implies purity, beauty and nobility, giving people a feeling as gentle as jade.

However, when Li Hong heard this name, he was very dissatisfied. You know, this little guy was trying to scam Li Jing, the god of war of the Tang Dynasty.

Only the name Li Jing is worthy of this little guy's future abilities.

However, although Li Hong complained about his son's name, he did not say much.

The name is just a title. Now Liu Hong is the emperor and his power is stronger than anyone else.

Just wait a few more years, until the Liu family's rule is over, and he, Li Hong, will take their place, ascend the throne and become emperor, and change Liu Yu's name back to "Li Jing".

really.

On the third day after Li Hong returned to Luoyang, Liu Hong finally couldn't bear it anymore.

When it was almost time for the next morning court session, Zhang Rang was sent to invite Li Hong to the court.

Li Hong was mentally prepared. He changed into a vermilion official uniform of a Han Dynasty military officer and followed Zhang Rang into the palace.

……

In the court, when Li Hong stepped into the hall, he found that all the civil and military officials were present.

"I greet your majesty!"

Li Hongzhong bowed to Liu Hong with full energy, and the haggard look he had that day disappeared completely.

Seeing that Li Hong was in high spirits, Liu Hong who was sitting on the dragon throne and a group of civil and military ministers were all delighted.

"Old General, please stop being polite!"

Liu Hong said to Li Hong hurriedly, and then couldn't help but say:

"Old General, I just received news that the important towns of Xuzhou, such as Pengcheng and Tanxian, were captured by the Yellow Turban bandit Zhang Xi. Three hundred thousand Yellow Turbans poured into Xuzhou, destroyed the state and the county, killed officials, and broke into the Wubao of the aristocratic family to rob food and money. The Yellow Turbans are really getting more and more rampant. I need the old general to lead the troops to fight and wipe out these bandits immediately!"

Liu Hong said to Li Hong anxiously.

Yuan Feng, who was standing in the row of civil officials, gritted his teeth when he heard Liu Hong mention Zhang Xi's name. It was this Yellow Turban thief who broke into the Yuan family's Wubao, not only robbing the Yuan family of their years of accumulation, but also destroying the foundation of the Runan Yuan family.

When Li Hong heard what Liu Hong said, he was slightly stunned. Li Xi's performance was so fierce?

Not only did Li Xi help Zhang Mancheng capture the imperial capital of Nanyang, he also moved to Runan, Shouchun and other places, massacred the Yuan family's hometown in Runan, and now he has entered Xuzhou and captured important towns in Xuzhou such as Pengcheng and Tanxian?

Three hundred thousand Yellow Turbans?
Break into the noble Wu Castle and rob food and money?
Li Hong took a deep breath, and his mind was shaken.

He was wondering how huge the wealth accumulated by Li Xi would be!

Yes, this Zhang Xi is the pseudonym of Li Xi.

Four generations of the Li family.

He had implanted a red quality entry into it and arranged it to join the Yellow Turbans.

He had been in contact with Li Xi before, and personally taught Li Xi to display his talents and gain the trust of Zhang Jue. Then, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he formed a team to develop outside.

Don't confront the main force of the officers and soldiers. Just attack cities and seize territories in the rear and seize the wealth of local noble families.

Obviously, Li Xi was very obedient and did his job very successfully.

just.

Unfortunately, the Yellow Turbans were destined not to last long and were rootless.

Destruction is only a matter of time.

Li Hong had also arranged Li Xi's retreat. After the Yellow Turbans were defeated, Li Xi led his army into the Taihang Mountains.

One day, when the Han Dynasty fell and the princes rose up, Li Xi led his people to surrender and return to the Li family.

These thoughts flashed through Li Hong's mind. At this moment, Liu Hong and a group of civil and military officials in the hall all looked at Li Hong expectantly.

They were expecting Li Hong to directly and generously agree to go on the expedition and promise to pacify the Yellow Turbans that were wreaking havoc throughout the country.

Unfortunately, to their disappointment, Li Hong did not show any heroic spirit. Instead, he looked serious and bowed to Liu Hong, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

"Hmm?" Liu Hong was startled, then hurriedly said: "General Li, please tell me what you want to say!"

"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to send troops, but the Beiwei Army consumes a lot of money and food every month, but the food in the army is only enough for one month. Even if we mobilize the food from Bingzhou, it will only last for two months."

"After I returned to Luoyang, I summoned the heads of the Zhen and Mi families to come and get the news. I suddenly learned that the Yellow Turbans were rampant everywhere, and the sales of snow salt and Han paper were almost cut off. In the past month or two, there was almost no money or food income. Even if I fought bravely and valiantly, I couldn't let all the soldiers fight with me on an empty stomach. Isn't this just courting death!"

"If your majesty doesn't believe it, you can ask General Jian. General Jian should also know the situation in the army. If you don't believe it, you can ask the ministers about the sales of snow salt and Han paper. Yuan Sikong and others know it."

Li Hong spread his hands and said helplessly.

"What? No more money and food?"

As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, everyone from Liu Hong to the officials were in an uproar.

They were all waiting for Li Hong to lead his troops to quell the Yellow Turbans, and now Li Hong suddenly said that the Beiwei Army could not move?

Jian Shuo, with a serious expression, stood up and bowed to Liu Hong, saying:
"Your Majesty, the Beiwei army only has enough food for more than a month. Even if we mobilize Bingzhou, it will only add another month. This expedition to the Monan grassland will consume a lot of money and food!"

Jian Shuo stood up again to corroborate Li Hong's words, and an uproar broke out in the hall.

"What should we do? The Beiwei Army has no food left. Doesn't that mean they can't send out troops?"

"Who says it's not true? However, the business of snow salt and Chinese paper was indeed interrupted because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. This should not be false."

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, but Li Hong narrowed his eyes slightly, and a hint of coldness emerged in his heart.

These ministers from aristocratic families really have the mentality of just making the donkey work without giving it fodder.

From the emperor to the officials, everyone was counting on him and urging him to lead the Beiwei Army to quell the rebellion.

But no one cared about the food and supplies of the Beiwei Army?
Or maybe Liu Hong and a number of civil and military ministers simply did not want to mention the issue of food and fodder for the Beiwei army.

But, at this moment.

Li Hong exposed the Beiwei Army's problems with money, food and supplies.

Liu Hong and a group of civil and military officials had to face it and had to confront it.

A cold look flashed across Li Hong's eyes. He finally had the chance to get rich just by talking.

This time I will definitely make a lot of money.

(End of this chapter)