My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 253 Trading
Early the next morning

Even though he had warmly entertained Cao Xing the night before, Lu Yi drank a lot of wine.

However, he still patrolled Pingcheng as usual.

He first inspected the soup kitchen, then checked the construction site of the city wall and learned about the progress of the restoration and construction.

Afterwards, he went to the barracks for an inspection.

During this period, the bandit leader Cao Xing, who should have been executed, also accompanied him openly.

This is certainly not because Cao is brave and not afraid of his identity being exposed.

But it was Lu Yi's clever arrangement.

First of all, the “real” bandit leader was beheaded in public yesterday.

His face was covered and no one could see his true appearance.

This gave Lu Yi room to maneuver.

The person who was actually beheaded was actually just a Xianbei prisoner held by Lu Yi.

Because Lu Yi currently still regards the Xianbei people as his biggest imaginary enemy.

Therefore, he kept several Xianbei captives by his side and often sought them out to learn about the specific situation of the Xianbei people.

It came in handy at this moment, leaving a great general for Lu Yi.

Therefore, no one in Pingcheng knew Cao Xing's identity.

As for the one thousand bandit captives who were originally under Cao Xing's command, they were now gathered by Lu Yi and incorporated into the military settlement, contributing to Lu Yi's army's reclamation of wasteland.

The management of this military settlement was even stricter than that of the five hundred servants.

Because they were all criminals, they could not step out of the camp without Lu Yi's permission.

Naturally, no one came forward to identify Cao Xing.

By the time the day comes when they have washed away their sins, demonstrated their loyalty to Lu Yi and regained their freedom, the world will no longer be the same as it is today.

Lu Yi was naturally fearless.

Therefore, the day before yesterday, despite the pleas of Chen Gong, Gao Lan and others, Lu Yi still wanted to perform a righteous act, just to pave the way for clearing Cao Xing's identity later.

At the same time, it was also a preparation for completely conquering Cao Xing.

Only by taking first and then giving can people be convinced.

This taking and giving may seem to involve no increase or decrease, but the essence of how to control people is hidden in it.

Cao Xing himself did not expect that he would be able to be reborn, and turn a disaster into a blessing and become a member of Lu Yi's army with unlimited prospects.

The relief in his heart had not yet faded, but his gratitude towards Lu Yi continued to grow.

He has become a die-hard fan of Lu Yi.

After the inspection, Lu Yi took Cao Xing and others back to the county government office.

"Who are these people?"

However, the sudden appearance of a group of refugees in front of the South Gate aroused Lu Yi's vigilance, and he immediately stepped forward to ask Chen Gong, who was in charge of specific people's livelihood work.

"Your Excellency, these are the people from around Pingcheng."

Chen Gong sighed upon hearing this and replied to Lu Yi.

"Pingcheng has suffered this time, and the surrounding counties are not immune either."

"Not only are the Xianbei people exploiting us without limit, but the imperial army coming to suppress the bandits also needs the surrounding counties to supply them with military rations."

"Although the Xianbei people have been driven away by the Heavenly Soldiers, the area around Pingcheng, and even the entire Bingzhou and Youzhou, is in ruins. Countless hungry people are crying out for food. When they heard that you were distributing food in Pingcheng every day, they brought their elderly and children to beg for a bite of food."

"Alas... they are all miserable people..."

Lu Yi also sighed when he heard this.

"Since these people came to Pingcheng to seek a way to survive because of me, I cannot sit back and watch them starve to death!"

"All those who come to Pingcheng, regardless of gender, age or status, must be properly accommodated. We must not allow the tragedy of cannibalism to occur in Pingcheng again."

Chen Gong immediately stopped him upon hearing this.

"Sir, more and more people are coming to Pingcheng every day. A few days ago, there were only dozens of people, but today, there are two hundred people. If you do what I want, I'm afraid the food we brought won't be enough!"

He was worried and obviously not optimistic about the development of the situation.

"Gongtai is very thoughtful, but the people are coming to Pingcheng with their old and young. If I ignore them, I can indeed have some surplus food, but I will lose the harmony of the world and the people's hearts."

"But……"

Chen Gong wanted to persuade him again, but was stopped firmly by Lu Yi.

"I have made up my mind, please stop trying to persuade me."

"Even if I lose everything and pawn everything in my house, I will never allow anyone to starve to death in front of me."

Lu Yi's attitude was so firm that Chen Gong had no choice but to obey his orders.

"Since the county lord insists, then I will obey your orders."

Seeing that Chen Gong had accepted the order but must still be confused in his heart, Lu Yi softened his tone and gently explained the other meaning of his action.

"These people are now just starving people with nothing, but as long as they can make it through the next spring planting and autumn harvest, they will all be good farmers. As long as we give them more guidance and properly place them, starting next year they will not only not be a burden to us, but will also become our beneficial support and reliance!"

"Order and chaos go hand in hand. There will never be eternal chaos, nor eternal order."

"After the chaos, people's minds have settled down. Han people are very attached to their hometowns and would never want to leave their hometowns. This chaotic world gives us a good opportunity to gather people. As long as we can provide a stable environment and give them hope, people will come to us from hundreds or thousands of miles away."

"This is a God-given opportunity. If the imperial court is stabilized again in the future, the people will be reluctant to leave their homes once they have a way to make a living. By then, how can we have such a convenient and affordable opportunity to develop the population?"

"So that's how it is!"

Chen Gong suddenly understood, and then bowed to Lu Yi with sincere submission.

"Your Excellency is planning for the long term. I am only looking for a temporary solution, which is a short-sighted approach."

"Gongtai must not belittle himself. Those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the present; those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region."

"From now on, our future will not only be in this small Pingcheng area. The Central Plains and the world will be our final battlefield!"

Lu Yi cast his gaze far toward the south and spoke to Chen Gong in a way that was both comforting and encouraging.

"The palace should follow the instructions of the county lord!"

Chen Gong's heart surged with excitement and his eyes lit up when he heard this.

In an instant, any regret for food in my heart disappeared.

"It's just that I have always been confident in Gongtai's work, but there is one thing I need to pay attention to."

Lu Yi suddenly thought of the key point, turned around and looked at Chen Gong with burning eyes.

"I don't know what it is. Please tell me, sir."

Chen Gong's heart also tightened, and he asked quickly.

"Although we are the officials and it is our unshirkable responsibility to help the people, food is extremely precious now and we need to carefully distinguish it."

"If the whole family is willing to abandon their hometown and join our Pingcheng military settlement, we will naturally accept refugees without any support."

"If there are still ungrateful wolves who eat the food in Pingcheng during times of trouble and want to return to their hometowns after the crisis is over, not a single one of them can be left alive."

"Do you understand it?"

Lu Yi said coldly.

Although he has a little bit of love, he is not a saint who accepts everyone.

Naturally, he could be ruthless to these ungrateful people who were destined not to become members of Lu Yi's army.

"I understand!"

Chen Gong's interests are now completely tied to Lu Yi, so he naturally will not go against Lu Yi's wishes.

Moreover, Chen Gong himself has always disliked such unjust people.

"Since the number of refugees is increasing, the food in Pingcheng is definitely not enough. In order to prevent Pingcheng from returning to a hell on earth where people eat each other, I urgently need to raise some emergency food."

After Lu Yi arranged the affairs of the refugees, he immediately called Gao Shun and other officials and began to arrange what would happen after he left Pingcheng in front of everyone.

"When I am away, all matters concerning people's livelihood and government will be handled by the county magistrate."

"All military and police matters are subject to the supervision of the county lieutenant."

"promise!"

Chen Gong and Gao Shun looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

……

After arranging the matters in Pingcheng, Lu Yi did not delay.

After selecting two hundred old men from the Xianzhen Camp, he took them hurriedly to Zhongshan County.

Now, the whole of Hebei is in ruins. Only Jizhou can still cope with it relying on its original foundation.

The Zhen family of Zhongshan is the most prominent wealthy business family in Hebei, with a formidable background.

He is rich enough to rival a country!

Due to the Xianbei invasion, Hebei was left with no food for a year.

It was a crisis in the eyes of other families, but it was like the sky falling in the eyes of ordinary people.

But for Zhen, it was a godsend opportunity.

You can understand the mystery by solving a simple math problem.

The Zhen family would not have a single cent more of food.

But its value has increased several times due to this famine.

As long as the Zhen family can survive this crisis, their wealth will naturally increase several times.

It can be said that wealth will fall from the sky while you are sitting at home.

Therefore, after much thought, Lu Yi decided to go to Zhen to beg for alms again.

After all, the first time is new, the second time is familiar.

Lu Yi was already very familiar with begging for alms from the Zhen family.

After two days of running around.

Lu Yi returned to his hometown in Zhongshan.

The number of refugees outside Zhongshan County far exceeded the total number during Lu Yi's previous visits.

Almost tens of thousands of refugees gathered around Zhongshan County.

A dangerous atmosphere lingered over Zhongshan County.

If not handled properly, the 10,000 refugees could lead to a civil uprising.

"Alas... these are troubled times..."

Lu Yi wanted to absorb refugees, not because he was overly kind, but because these people were rare and important resources.

But the number of 10,000 refugees is now beyond his tolerance.

Therefore, he had no choice but to give up.

After arriving at Zhen's manor, Lu Yi found that Zhen's manor was still as luxurious as before.

It seems that the background of Hebei's richest man is definitely not something that Lu Yi can guess now.

Lu Yi estimated that even Zhen Yi, the confirmed heir to the Zhen family, might not know exactly how much wealth his family had.

He guessed that the only person who could clearly explain how wealthy the Zhen family was was probably Old Master Zhen.

Lu Yi's arrival was still warmly received by Zhen.

I don’t know if it’s because of the fighting prowess he displayed in this war, or because of his gradually increasing power.

When Lu Yi arrived this time, he was actually received in person by Mr. Zhen.

"Mr. Zhen, I wonder where Brother Yi is? Why hasn't he shown up?"

After a simple but solemn family dinner.

Lu Yi still didn't see Zhen Yi show up, so he asked Old Master Zhen curiously.

"Haha, thanks to Nephew Lu Xian's guidance, this brat has finally come to his senses."

"Seeing that he was finally willing to make a difference in his career, I swallowed my pride and helped him get a position as a filial and honest official. Now he has filled the vacancy of Shangcai Magistrate."

When Mr. Zhen heard Lu Yi mention his son, a gratified smile appeared on his face.

If Lu Yi hadn't appeared, this brat might have wanted to run away from home and become a knight-errant all day long.

"You can get a filial and honest status just by selling your reputation?"

"And you added the Shangcai Order?"

Lu Yi couldn't help feeling a little jealous when he heard this.

He worked extremely hard, took countless risks, and put in so much effort.

Finally, he obtained the long-desired status of filial and honest official from Lu Zhi.

And because Zhen Yi has a good father, he easily caught up with Lu Yi who had worked hard for one or two years.

Although Shangcai Ling was only a county magistrate.

Shangcai County is located in the heart of the Central Plains and is a county under the jurisdiction of Yingchuan County, a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery.

It is completely different from Lu Yi's poor and desolate Pingcheng.

Comparing yourself with others will really make you angry.

At this moment, Lu Yi suddenly understood why Lu Bu in history always liked to find a godfather.

There is no other reason. In the face of the opportunity to rise to prominence, a mere knee is nothing worth mentioning.

"With Brother Zhen's talent and the support of Mr. Zhen, a mere Shangcai Order can only be regarded as a starting point."

"It's not an extravagant hope that he will be appointed a general and be granted a title of nobility someday."

Although Lu Yi felt bitter in his heart, he still had to say something nice.

Zhen Yi is the apple of Mr. Zhen’s eye and his only weakness.

Now that Lu Yi has come to me for help, I have to say a few auspicious words.

"Let's not talk about this bastard anymore."

"Nephew Lu has just taken up his new post, but he has come to visit Zhen. I'm afraid he has no business visiting for no reason, right?"

Mr. Zhen waved his hand casually and asked with his smile unchanged.

"Mr. Zhen, he knows things like a god."

"Lv Yi came to visit me this time because he has something to ask for."

Seeing that they were getting to the point, Lu Yi went straight to the point.

We are all old acquaintances, and Zhen's father is such a shrewd man, so it's better to avoid beating around the bush and waste everyone's time.

"Haha, what nephew Lu Xian wants is food?"

A sharp gleam of light flashed in Zhen's cloudy old eyes, and she immediately understood Lu Yi's intention.

"Not bad!"

"I am now the mayor of Pingcheng. When I took office, Pingcheng was full of starving people, and the people had reached the point of cannibalism."

"As the chief official of Pingcheng, how can I sit back and watch the people under my rule suffer so much?"

"However, the remaining food of the Lu family can only barely sustain itself. I really have no other options, so I can only ask the Zhen family for help."

As he spoke, Lu Yi bowed to Zhen's father with a serious look and made a request to him with a serious look.

"I hope Mr. Zhen, considering my sincerity, can you please save the lives of thousands of people in Pingcheng!"

"Haha, nephew Lu and Zhen are also old friends."

Zhen's father didn't buy Lu Yi's trick. He walked forward tremblingly, helped Lu Yi up, and said nothing.

"But let's talk business."

"Right now, the price of grain in Hebei has soared more than tenfold."

"Moreover, even if the price is ten times higher, there is still no demand. Grain merchants are reluctant to sell."

"Although the Zhen family is wealthy, it is not good to break the rules."

"However, considering the friendship between the Zhen family and the Lu family, I can help my nephew at ten times the price this time."

Lu Yi's heart sank when he heard this, but he didn't show it at all.

"Zhen is willing to help me at this time, I am very grateful."

"To be honest, I do have some money."

"But compared with the current high food prices, this is really a drop in the bucket."

As he spoke, Lu Yi looked directly into Zhen's father's eyes.

"However, I have another compromise plan. I wonder if Mr. Zhen can accept it?"

"Oh?"

"Appreciate further details……"

……

(End of this chapter)