Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 102 It's all business
Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er rode at full speed and then sneaked back to Xudu. They were relieved when they heard that Chen Deng had not entered the capital.

Wei Xiaobao took all the silk that Cao Cao had rewarded him with to the market and sold it, and then hired some people to inquire about Chen Deng's entry into the capital every day.

Two days later, Wei Xiaobao, who received the news, dressed up as a dandy young man and took Shuang'er, who was dressed as a man, to meet Chen Deng at the county mansion.

Soon after Cao Cao moved the capital to Xuchang, the various states were occupied by the princes, so there was only one county residence in Xuchang.

Chen Deng didn't know Wei Xiaobao's identity, but seeing that he was dressed in fine clothes and could enter and leave the county residence freely, he thought he must be a son of an official, so he was very polite to him.

Chen Deng asked, "May I know your name, sir, and why have you come to the county residence to see me?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "My name is not important. I just heard that the Chen family in Xuzhou is very rich and a very powerful family in the local area, so I wanted to come and chat with them."

Shuang'er reminded from the side: "It's clinging."

Wei Xiaobao quickly changed his words: "It's just to cling to you."

Chen Deng smiled slightly, wondering how someone could describe himself as "climbing on the ladder". He thought that Wei Xiaobao was just a wealthy kid from Xuchang, who wanted to find some prestigious families to rely on after becoming rich.

Chen Deng said, "My father and I only own a few acres of land in Xuzhou. How can we compare to your wealth?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I have millions of taels of silver in the Qing Dynasty. Of course, you can't compare to me. But whether you have money or not is no longer important. I'm here today to help you reincarnate. The glamorous world of this life will soon have nothing to do with you. It would be best if you were born into a poor family in your next life and let you go hungry for a few days. Let's see if you dare to work for bad people again in the future."

Wei Xiaobao said, "We have plenty of money, but unfortunately, no matter how much money we make, we still have to depend on the officials. If you can help me donate money to get an official position, you will naturally get some of the benefits."

Wei Xiaobao had already found out in the past two days that the Chen family in Xuzhou had spent a lot of money to donate official positions and had also helped other people get many official positions, so he dressed up like this to get close to Chen Deng.

During the reign of Liu Xie's father, Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, various official positions were openly sold at fixed prices, even setting up a special residence called the West Residence for this purpose. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked. Since the emperor profited from selling official positions, it was natural for those below him to profit from it. After Dong Zhuo usurped power, he seized the power to confer official titles and ranks, using it as leverage to win over the people.

These so-called aristocratic families have long tasted the sweetness of the business of selling official positions. Now that business is coming to their doorstep, how could they refuse it?
Although Chen Deng was tempted, he didn't dare to be careless. He said, "Sir, you are joking. A gentleman loves money but earns it in a proper way. How can we have the final say in the affairs of the royal family?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "That's a shame. I was planning to spend five million to buy a small official position like a county clerk, so that our ancestral graves can be filled with smoke. Unfortunately, I can't spend this money."

Chen Deng was overjoyed. Five million yuan during the reign of Emperor Ling was enough to buy a minister-level official position. In Chen Deng's view, Wei Xiaobao's words were simply like he had met a fool who didn't understand the market.

The Eastern Han Dynasty continued the system of three dukes and nine ministers, establishing the three dukes: Grand Marshal, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Works. Above the three dukes was the position of Grand Tutor. Towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the position of Grand Marshal was also established, also ranking above the three dukes. Below the three dukes were the nine ministers: Minister of Rites, Minister of Honor, Minister of Defense, Minister of Justice, Minister of the Imperial Household, Grand Herald, Minister of the Imperial Household, Minister of Clan Affairs, and Minister of Agriculture.

In addition to the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, the capital also included generals of various ranks. The highest rank was the Grand General, followed by the General of Cavalry, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of Guards. Next in rank were the four generals: the Front, Back, Left, and Right. The Grand General ranked above the Three Dukes, while the General of Cavalry, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of Guards ranked below them. The Front, Back, Left, and Right Generals ranked below the Senior Minister.

The five million yuan that Wei Xiaobao mentioned to buy a county official was like using the money to buy a cow to buy an egg. Of course, Chen Deng looked like a fool.

Chen Deng asked, "What books have you read, sir? Who is your teacher?"

Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment and said, "Well, that's a long story. I'm hungry now, so why don't we talk while we eat?" Chen Deng couldn't help but feel sarcastic in his heart, but he had to give in to him just to make money, so he nodded.

Wei Xiaobao turned to Shuang'er and said, "Xiao Shuang, go get the food that the young master has prepared and have them serve it to Master Chen."

It turned out that Wei Xiaobao had already bribed the chief minister of the county residence with money, and he even prepared a table of wine and food, which almost used up all of Wei Xiaobao's money.

Looking at the dishes being served on the table, Wei Xiaobao felt extremely distressed.

After the food and wine were ready, Wei Xiaobao didn't hesitate to pick up his chopsticks and took two bites. Then, while standing up, he secretly dropped the knockout drug that had been prepared long ago into the wine pot.

Chen Deng was also a resourceful man, but he had always regarded Wei Xiaobao as a fool with a lot of money. He had never seen the despicable tactics that Wei Xiaobao usually used, so he was naturally caught off guard and fell on the table after drinking a glass of wine.

Seeing that Chen Deng was motionless, Wei Xiaobao kicked him twice out of concern, then quickly called Shuang'er to help Chen Deng.

Shuang'er asked, "Xiaobao, are you really going to kill him?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "We must not let him see Cao Cao at any cost. Otherwise, Cao Cao will give Lü Bu an official position, and Brother Liu Bei will have to wait until Lü Bu is dead before he can retake Xuzhou."

Shuang'er then asked, "How do we get out?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Let's pretend he's drunk and take him outside to sober him up. The Chief Secretary has taken my money and won't ask any questions. Once we're outside, find a secluded spot and kill him with a single knife. If I had Hai Dafu's corpse powder with me, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

As Shuang'er turned Chen Deng's body over, she saw a piece of silk covered with words falling out of his arms.

Wei Xiaobao also saw the letter, picked it up and read it, then handed it to Shuang'er and asked, "What is this?"

Shuang'er unfolded the silk, took a look at it, and said, "Xiaobao, this looks like a letter written by Chen Gui to Cao Cao."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Read it to me."

After reading the letter, Shuang'er said, "Xiaobao, it's a good thing you haven't taken action yet, otherwise you would have killed a good man by mistake. It turns out that Chen Gui and Chen Deng, father and son, pretended to surrender to Lü Bu and are now looking for Cao Cao to get rid of Lü Bu."

Wei Xiaobao said, "These two, father and son, have alternately joined Brother Liu Bei, then Lü Bu, and now they're joining Cao Cao. They're not good people. But he's still useful to me. Go get some cold water to wake him up, and I'll interrogate him thoroughly."

Shuang'er came back with cold water and saw that Wei Xiaobao had tied him up with Chen Deng's belt.

Chen Deng woke up with a start as cold water poured down his head. Just as he was about to move, he found himself tied up. He hurriedly asked, "Master, what are you doing?"

Wei Xiaobao chuckled and said, "Today I'm going to teach you how to be a human stick!"

(End of this chapter)