Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 288 The mastermind behind the scenes
The news quickly spread across the country, with Yinguan City as its center.

"What? Someone in the Anhan Trading Company in Yinguan City is actually going to sell 40,000 war horses in 20 days. Is this true?"

"This is a huge sum of money, forty thousand war horses. I remember that four years ago, the biggest deal Zhang Ding and Su Shuang of Jizhou made was just selling more than twenty thousand war horses to the imperial court at one time."

"Yinguan City is located in Yanmen, with grasslands to the north. These war horses must be of excellent quality, and the price is cheaper than in the Central Plains. Let's buy dozens of them and take them to Qingzhou and Xuzhou to sell. We will definitely make a lot of money!"

"You're overthinking it. There are two rules for this sale. The first is that it is only for food. The second is that all 40,000 horses are sold together, which means that they can only be bought by the same buyer at once."

"What! This is six or seven million dan of grain. Even the Zhen family in Jizhou can't raise such a large amount of grain in a short period of time."

"Let alone a family, I don't think even the current imperial court can come up with so much at once. What is the seller behind this thinking? Isn't he deliberately trying to ruin his own business?"

While all the caravans were looking worried, somewhere in Jinyang City, a group of people were toasting each other and having a great time.

"Haha, this is a brilliant plan to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron. Without food and grass, let's see how Liu He can still be so arrogant."

A middle-aged man in a brocade robe with three beautiful wisps of beard was smiling happily.

A green-robed man beside him said, "Mr. Yuan is worthy of being the leader of our family. This time, with a little trick, he made it impossible for Liu He to turn over, and also relieved the anger of the nobles like us."

"Mr. Yuan certainly made great contributions, but Mr. Chen personally participated in the planning of this matter and rushed from Yingchuan to Jinyang to take charge. He also made an invaluable contribution. We should toast to Mr. Chen!"

Everyone raised their wine cups and toasted to the old man in a grey brocade robe who was sitting in the center seat.

The old man laughed a few times and said, "Thank you for your kindness. I am old and sick, and can't be of much use, but you still want me to come forward to make plans. I am also very nervous."

"Mr. Yuan Fang, you are too modest. The Chen family of Yingchuan is a prestigious family and a leader among the nobles. Your brother has been ill in bed for the past two years. Now we naturally have to rely on you, Mr. Yuan Fang, to lead us."

"Yes, the counties under Liu He's rule are heavily guarded. We have sent many spies there before, but they all failed. The granary is even more heavily guarded. If it weren't for Mr. Chen's reputation, he could have asked a group of scholars in the city to pretend to be injured and lure away some patrolling guards. He also sent out the Chen family's elite spies to take action. This fire would never have started."

Chen Ji's face was flushed and he was very proud in his heart. He raised the wine jar and drank with everyone.

At this time, one of them said, "By the way, there was news today that on the tenth day of next month, a large number of war horses will be sold in Yinguan City, with a total of 40,000 horses. The requirement is to exchange them only for food, and all must be bought from the same merchant at once. Mr. Chen, what do you think about this matter..."

Chen Ji remained unmoved, still wearing that signature kind smile of an old man.

"There are only a handful of people in the world who can produce so many war horses. And at this critical moment, they specifically asked to exchange them for food. It's obvious who is behind this."

"Liu He! It must be this boy!"

Everyone was a little skeptical at first, but now that they saw Chen Ji say so, they became even more certain of their guess.

"Speaking of Liu He, he is a rare talent for leading troops to fight. He has only been in Yanmen for two years, but he has already made such a great name for himself. It's a pity that he has to go against us."

"Mr. Chen, are we not going to take care of this? Forty thousand war horses, and they were all captured from the Xianbei cavalry. They are definitely not ordinary horses. If they are exchanged for food and fodder, I'm afraid he won't have to worry about military food expenses for two years."

One of them said with a worried look on his face.

"Haha, brother, you worry too much. If the caravans were allowed to trade in batches, even if the 40,000 horses could not be sold in a short period of time, at least they could be exchanged for food and fodder for emergency use. But he insisted on asking one caravan to take them all. Hehe, as the saying goes, haste makes waste. Liu He is young after all. When faced with such a big event, he was anxious and made such a decision. As a result, these war horses cannot be sold."

"Yes, yes. Which caravan can raise six or seven million shi of grain in twenty days? Even if a group of caravans gather together and let one of them go out to trade, twenty days is far from enough."

After everyone said this, the person who asked the question earlier also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then we can rest assured. This little Liu He is young and inexperienced. He is no match for us after all. Haha!"

"Foolish! If this kid is really so useless, how could he have survived until today?"

Chen Ji's reprimand made everyone quiet down immediately. "Mr. Chen, what do you mean?"

Chen Ji said: "This Liu He is not stupid, but very smart. Today I finally understand why he has developed to where he is now in just a few years. It is true that the young generation is to be feared."

The others looked puzzled.

"But even if Zhang and Su, the two wealthy merchants, joined forces, it would be impossible for them to gather so much food and transport it to Yanmen in 20 days."

Chen Ji shook his head and said, "You all know these things, don't Liu He and Cui Jun know?"

Everyone was speechless, as if it was indeed the case.

"If they know this, why do they still do this?"

Chen Ji said, "Who in the world can gather such a large amount of food in such a short time? Can you think of anyone who can do it?"

Everyone looked at each other, but soon seemed to have thought of an answer.

"We! Only our noble families can do this together. Otherwise, even the imperial court would not be able to do this!"

Chen Ji nodded.

"Yes, Liu He had already guessed that we were the ones who set the fire, so he deliberately used war horses as bait to lure us to trade. By then, his current food problem would be solved. As for the war horses, hehe, if we get the war horses on his territory, can we get out of Yanmen?"

Everyone gasped, looking terrified.

"This Liu He is really sinister and cunning! In this way, we have spent so much effort to set fire to the grain, but in the end, not only is it all in vain, but we also have to contribute a large amount of grain to him for nothing. Everyone is so vicious!"

"So vicious at such a young age!"

These people cursed Liu He one by one, and they all seemed to be righteous.

"Mr. Chen, should we notify the neighboring families as soon as possible and ask them to ignore this transaction?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Ji said: "No, we want to participate, and we must get these war horses!"

"Why?"

"Yes, since we know it's a trap, why should we send food to Liu He for nothing?"

Seeing the people in front of him all with confused faces, Chen Ji sighed secretly, but his expression soon returned to normal.

"The Han Dynasty lacks war horses. Whether it is for the court or for the great families like us, a group of excellent war horses must be fought for. I am afraid that I don't need to say more about the current situation in the world, right? We are suppressed by foreign relatives and eunuchs. After two party imprisonment disasters, the influence of the nobles in the court is no longer as strong as before. It was not easy to take advantage of the Yellow Turban Rebellion to expand our power in the local area. Once the world changes, these forces will be the foundation of our survival, and the role of war horses, do I need to say more?"

Everyone seemed to understand a little bit, but still didn't fully understand.

"But for the sake of 40,000 war horses, isn't it worth it to let go of the hard-won opportunity to destroy Liu He? As long as he dies, we will send someone to take over the post of governor of Yanmen. Won't these war horses be ours?"

Chen Ji glared at him.

"stupid!"

Just this one look, this one word, seemed to make this seemingly frail old man suddenly burst out with powerful majesty, making the person who spoke pale.

"The noble families in this world are not completely united. This time, there are only about twenty families who took action against Liu He. Not to mention that the Cui family, the Lu family, the Huangfu family, and the Zhu family all have their own allies. There are also many people in the court who have different political views from us. Even if we stand idly by and watch this matter, some of them will definitely take action. If they get 40,000 war horses, one day when there is a dispute in the world, hehe..."

(End of this chapter)