Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 96 Just Say You Want It (Bonus Chapter for Saigyou Sakura - Alliance Leader)

"Empress He is favored, and He Suigao is the Governor of Henan. I suppose Brother Mengde is unwilling to compete with him at this time... Brother Mengde wants my horse farm, so that he can be a stationary merchant and let the He family be traveling merchants, right?"

Liu Bei stopped rubbing his face and said seriously, "Since that's the case, just say it! Brother Mengde and I are bound by loyalty. As long as Brother Mengde speaks up, I will offer you the horse farm. Why fight this battle?"

"Hmph? I just want to smash your face..."

Cao Cao squinted at the red and swollen area on Liu Bei's face, quite suspicious: "You're really willing to give up the horse farm? You big-eared scoundrel, what price are you asking for?"

It seems he was a little jealous... jealous that Liu Bei was handsome.

"What's the point of talking about money? Brother Mengde, you are a hero of the world. This mere horse farm is all I need to give you!"

Liu Bei spoke with great magnanimity, completely disregarding Cao Cao's petty jealousy.

"This...is it for me? Really?"

Cao Cao was still somewhat suspicious. Could such a source of wealth really be given away so easily?

Not going to discuss the price?

“Indeed! I am well aware of my own limitations. I have neither the family support of Brother Mengde nor the protection of the harem of He Suigao. I only wish to be a wealthy old man, farming, raising mulberry trees, getting married, and having children…”

"Given Brother Mengde's background, he is coveted by many. If I were to amass too much wealth, I fear I would not live to enjoy it. It would be better to give it to Brother Mengde to secure his protection. As Brother Mengde said, I cannot allow those who depend on me to die with me."

Liu Bei looked at Cao Cao with sincere eyes: "I have a 30% share of this horse farm, which I will give to Brother Mengde. Manager Su has the talent to raise horses, and I can also help Brother Mengde negotiate his share."

"But the forty percent of horses belonging to Commander Zou, the Protector of the Wuhuan, cannot be moved. If it weren't for Commander Zou, we wouldn't have been able to get so many horses..."

As for the horse ranch, Liu Bei couldn't be happier to give it away as soon as possible...

Su Shuang had already made enough money and wanted to quit, but now he couldn't transport the money back home and could only leave it with Liu Bei.

Liu Bei himself had already made a lot of money, so he should have temporarily stopped and kept a low profile. Making money was no longer the primary goal; the most important thing was to develop safely and turn his money into immediate combat power.

Besides... Xiheting and Shanggu Wuhuan tribe are the real places to buy horses. The horse farm in Xinting on the Juma River is just a resale market. We can just "sell" a few horses here every now and then.

Anyway, Cao Cao himself wouldn't stay here, so giving the horse farm to the Cao family would be safer—whether it's the horse trade in Luoyang or the horse farm at Juma River, both are deadly businesses. If it were handed over to relatives, it would be harming both themselves and others. More money is not necessarily better.

Faced with the Yuan family and the He family, a leader of a gentry clan and a favored empress, even someone like Cao Cao, who had a very good relationship with the Yuan family, was coerced. What would be the outcome for others?
Moreover, Cao Cao, who has not yet been severely beaten by the aristocratic clans, is at least willing to keep his word.

"This... I underestimated Xuande..."

Seeing that Liu Bei had clearly explained who would share the profits, Cao Cao no longer had any doubts and forced himself to sit up straight: "I never expected Xuande to be so generous... In that case, consider this your use of this property to buy Bian Ji..."

"This property is a gift I gave to Brother Mengde. It could be a token of friendship, a way to avoid disaster, or even a bribe to Lord Cao... but it is not for buying people! I am certainly not virtuous, but I would never regard Bian Ji and the others as commodities..."

Liu Bei spoke to Cao Cao very seriously.

Just then, the door of the tavern suddenly opened, and the sounds of a brawl outside rushed in.

A slender and beautiful woman stood at the door.

The two turned their heads at the same time: "Bian Ji?"

"Liu Lang, have you been coerced by powerful figures? If you are to abandon your family and property for me, I will die..."

Bian Ji ignored Cao Cao and rushed straight to Liu Bei, reaching out to touch the red and swollen area on Liu Bei's face, her eyes filled with heartache.

Clearly, she overheard Cao Cao and Liu Bei's final conversation.

"No, no, Brother Mengde is not a bad person. He was just sparring with me... Don't talk about life and death so lightly."

Liu Bei, supporting himself with Bian Ji's hand, stood up and turned to Cao Cao, asking, "Brother Mengde, the fighting outside is fierce... should we ask them to stop?"

Cao Cao deliberately started a fight to let people know that he had a conflict with Liu Bei. It is estimated that there were people from the Yuan and He families among the people Cao Cao brought, so Liu Bei asked Cao Cao for his opinion.

With Guan Yu present, Liu Bei didn't think his troops would suffer any losses, so he didn't care if the fighting continued.

Cao Cao... seeing Bian Ji's affectionate way of looking at Liu Bei, his mind went blank, and he remained silent for a long time before getting up: "You big-eared scoundrel, I want to beat you up again!"

But that's what he said. Cao Cao didn't have the strength to fight anyone right now. He stumbled to the door, leaning against the wall, and looked back one last time.

Bian Ji held Liu Bei's arm, her eyes only on her Liu Lang.

Liu Bei kept his eyes on Cao Cao, but his face remained calm, showing that he was indeed sincere in offering the horse farm.

Cao Cao sighed, covered his eyes, and went out the door: "Yuan Rang, stop!...Huh? Yuan Rang?"

……

The fighting outside had almost stopped, as there weren't many Cao family retainers left who could still stand.

Cao Cao is in a bit of a sad state now.

He wore inner armor and padded elbow pads and iron knees, but he didn't expect Liu Bei to be equally well-equipped... He didn't gain any advantage in the one-on-one fight and even had his eyes swollen.

He knew that most of his troops would be outmatched, since they hadn't been trained much yet, and he had expected that. But he didn't expect that in such a short time, more than half of his troops would be defeated...

The group fight ended in a worse defeat than the one-on-one fight.

Xiahou Dun is now unable to get up; his face is swollen like a pig's head, and all that can be seen is his chest and abdomen heaving violently.

Xiahou Yuanrang was also a famous fierce man in Pei State. At the age of fourteen, he killed someone because someone insulted his teacher. He was also Cao Cao's number one fighter with the strongest martial arts skills. He was a double-flowered red stick, yet he was beaten like this.

Cao Cao now felt that his eye sockets didn't hurt as much anymore. Seeing that his brother was in a worse state than him gave him a strange sense of psychological comfort.

The burly, red-faced man in the arena was chasing and beating up ten people at once... and he was doing it all with his bare hands.

In the blink of an eye, he knocked another one down with just a casual punch...

"Yun Chang, stop!"

Liu Bei also spoke up.

Guan Yu turned back, stopped pursuing, and returned to Liu Bei's side.

Seeing that Liu Bei's face was red and swollen, Guan Yu glanced at Cao Cao but did not speak. He simply bowed to Liu Bei and waited for orders.

"Liu Xuande, you sent men to beat my subordinates, I will make you pay..."

Cao Cao casually uttered harsh words, but his covered eyes were actually scrutinizing Guan Yu from head to toe, a glint of light seemingly in his eyes.

"You hit me first, and you even tried to force me to buy something... Hmph... Yun Chang, form ranks, let's go."

Liu Bei glanced at him sideways and waved to his men to finish their work.

"Humph……"

Cao Cao snorted, walked up to Xiahou Dun, and reached out to help him up: "How is Yuanrang?"

"Dun is incompetent... Guan Yu is truly formidable!"

Xiahou Dun struggled to his feet: "Dozens of people couldn't even surround him!"

"That man is Guan Yu? What a valiant warrior!"

Cao Cao glanced at Guan Yu's retreating figure again, then said to Xiahou Dun, "This horse ranch will soon be handed over to me. Yuan Rang, please guard this property for me. I see that Guan Yu's family is not wealthy, so Yuan Rang should send him more wealth to befriend him... Liu Bei can't hold a grudge, but Guan Yu will have to help me make money..."

"Don't worry, elder brother. Although I am not as skilled as others, I admire Guan Yu's abilities and will definitely persuade him to come and join you."

Xiahou Dun nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)