He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Lu Wan's strategy for Cao Cao was to use a bubble economy, which he originally intended to apply to Zang Ba, but it failed to materialize due to various reasons. Who knew that before he could even fire a shot, Zang Ba would fall?

This made Lu Wan admire the fact that someone could remain rational in such a critical situation; she had indeed underestimated people at this moment.

Having learned this lesson, Lu Wan became even more meticulous when formulating plans for Cao Cao. He knew that if the financial battle was fought well, a powerful enemy could be wiped out effortlessly; if it was played poorly, one would have to swallow the bitter fruit of one's own actions.

The peaceful and normalized relationship with Lü Bu is the foundation for future cooperation. Lu Wan will build an economic corridor connecting the three provinces of Yu, Yan, and Xu. Yes, it's the same as before, connecting the two provinces of Qing and Xu.

The difference is that before it was to obtain food and raw materials, now it is to absorb the wealth of Yu and Yan provinces.

This route was even more convenient than the previous Qingxu trade route because a river flowed through the three prefectures of Yu, Yan, and Xu. This river was the Bian River, which later became known as the Bianshui River.

This river, a tributary of the Si River, originates in Junyi County (northwest of present-day Kaifeng), and is over 300 kilometers long, flowing into the Si River at Pengcheng. Passing through several counties, it was a valuable waterway. Historically, it played a vital role in logistics and transportation in the Central Plains until the Yellow River later diverted into the Huai River and flowed into the sea, gradually diminishing its importance due to siltation.

Lu Wan's envisioned trade route would start from Xiapi, pass through Pengcheng and Yuxian, and finally reach Chenliu. By utilizing water transport, Xuzhou could supply large quantities of goods to Yu and Yan provinces.

That's not all. Lu Wan also designed a set of paper coupons, which were mass-produced using paper produced locally in Xuzhou and printed using woodblock printing.

To others, this might just appear as another instance of exploiting the common people with inferior currency. However, in reality, this was a grand undertaking planned by Lu Wan, an economic reform powerful enough to overwhelm all other warlords.

This is not simply the introduction of paper money, but rather the creation of a kind of bill that can function as legal tender out of thin air, with absolutely no precious metal backing! The only thing that can support its value is the more than 30,000 troops in Xuzhou and the salt production in Liu Bei's hands.

How did Lu Wan do it?

He first established a Xuzhou Procurement Department, which was mainly responsible for purchasing goods from the public on behalf of the Xuzhou government. Many of its members were people from aristocratic families who were skilled in mathematics. However, when making payments, they did not provide Wuzhu coins, silk, or grain, but instead gave Lu Wan's "Jian'an Tax Certificates," a type of discountable bill of exchange.

Of course, under normal circumstances, no one would accept this thing. No problem, Liu Bei had already promised that as long as you take this piece of paper to any money exchange in Xuzhou, you can exchange it for five-zhu coins. So why would the money exchange accept this kind of paper? The reason is that this piece of paper can also be exchanged again at the main money exchange in Xuzhou.

You wouldn't believe it, but Lu Wan even made a special meal of dumplings and established a department similar to the central bank just for this dish of vinegar.

When it was first implemented, merchants and money changers were all trembling with fear when they received this money, thinking it was just a way to pay off Liu Bei's bad luck and keep him calm for a while. But some people, due to cash flow problems, gritted their teeth and took the money to the main money changer in Xuzhou to exchange it, and to their surprise, they actually got cash.

Upon hearing this, many people tried exchanging some of the paper, discovering that it was indeed officially backed, available for exchange at any time with no upper limit. As a result, the people of Xuzhou gained confidence in this piece of paper, and many even stopped exchanging it, because for the same value, a single piece of paper was enough, but exchanging it for Wuzhu coins would be an incredibly heavy lump.

Essentially, the "Jian'an Tax Certificate" was a form of fiat currency. Of course, it was far too advanced for its time, so Lu Wan dared not completely abandon its precious metal backing. She could only allow the "Jian'an Tax Certificate" to circulate alongside the Wuzhu coins in the market, and it could also be exchanged for sea salt at the official exchange.

With this, Liu Bei could increase or decrease the issuance of "Jian'an Tax Certificates" with a single word. As long as Liu Bei's reputation remained intact, he could continue printing "Jian'an Tax Certificates" to revitalize the economy.

This situation also presents significant risks. Ordinary people wouldn't have many "Jian'an tax certificates," but the aristocratic families are a different story; these servants are incredibly wealthy. They could easily use Wuzhu coins in the market, but they would use a large number of Jian'an tax certificates for major transactions. In the end, these people would retain a substantial amount of "Jian'an tax certificates."

If these people didn't cause trouble, things would be fine, but if they came with such a large sum of "Jian'an tax vouchers" to exchange, Liu Bei definitely wouldn't have been able to come up with that much. Therefore, Liu Bei not only needed to maintain good relations with these people, but also needed to retain a mobile armed force so that he could confiscate their property and kill the creditors at any time.

Furthermore, Lu Wan also insured the voucher by giving it an expiration date. Although it could still be redeemed at the main store after the expiration date, the voucher would be destroyed and would not be reintroduced into the market.

The coupons are valid for six months, but can be extended multiple times, up to a maximum of five years. Once the five-year period is up, these "Construction Tax Coupons" will vanish, essentially starting from scratch and ending from scratch again.

However, another problem arises: these papers are easy to destroy, but the credit demand that accompanies them will not disappear, and this credit demand also needs to be endorsed by the Xuzhou government.

This is a huge test for a country in peacetime, but given the current state of affairs in China, where people are fighting like dogs, this problem is easy to solve. The solution is external expansion—to plunder things from elsewhere to fill the hole. And the target for plunder is undoubtedly the prison.

Lu Wan was also trying to spur on his lord Liu Bei. Ever since the finances and security in Xuzhou gradually improved, this guy started to become a hands-off manager, dragging Jian Yong, Zhang Fei and a few others around to play every day. In his words, "If you only work and don't play, even the smart Liu Bei will become stupid."

Liu Bei's petty-bourgeois mentality of being content with small gains completely baffled Lu Wan. Dude, you're still not out of danger. Right now, you've just dragged Xuzhou from the morgue to the ICU. Do you really think the world is at peace now?

Chen Qun also approached Lu Wan several times because Liu Bei was nowhere to be found when they needed his signature and seal. So he suggested that Lu Wan talk to Liu Bei, saying that playing around was fine, but everything should be back on track first.

As for Lu Wan's question about why Chen Qun didn't go personally, Chen Qun's answer was: "Reforming the economy is easier said than done. You handle these matters; I have many things to attend to, and I need to focus my energy on the law."