Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

Song Jin led the way, bypassing the main gates of the two markets and choosing to walk through the less crowded alleys.

The further you walk, the more remote the area becomes, the fainter the sounds of the city fade into the distance, replaced by the damp, musty smell and the stench of sewage. At the entrance of the alley stands an inconspicuous general store, its facade dilapidated and its sign faded.

But there was someone sitting in front of the door, whittling bamboo strips, eyes never up, hands never stopping.

He appears to be an idle person, but in reality, he is on lookout duty.

Cao Cao paused slightly, glanced at the man, and immediately put the bamboo strips aside and stood up to report inside.

Xiahou Yuan moved forward as if giving a casual push, and the man staggered and crashed into the wall, his throat tightening, unable to utter a sound.

Cao Ren blocked the alley entrance, acting like a wall to block the view from outside.

Song Jin's face turned even paler, and she said in a trembling voice:

"It's right behind... in the backyard."

The storehouse was nearly empty, almost like a shell. Passing through the front hall, the entrance to a cellar covered by wooden planks was revealed in the backyard. Several old stones were pressed down on the planks, and a musty stench seeped from the cracks—like a mixture of human sweat, urine, and rotten vegetable leaves, sour and rancid.

Song Dian stood to the side, his face grim, but dared not speak first.

Liu Bian frowned slightly and raised his chin.

Cao Cao nodded, and with a flick of his bamboo cane, the wooden plank was pried open, and a wave of cold, damp air rushed out.

The cellar was so dark it seemed to swallow all light, with only a single oil lamp flickering in the corner. In the lamplight, clumps of figures were huddled together: a woman held a child huddled against the wall, the child's mouth gagged with a strip of cloth, unable to cry out, only emitting soft sobs; a boy had his hands tied behind his back, his wrists rubbed red and purple; and two even younger children were curled up in a ball, their eyes wide open, as if they might be dragged away at any moment.

In the corner were several broken bowls, with blackened porridge left at the bottom; next to them was a wooden bucket, from which a stench rose.

That's not imprisoning people; that's treating people like animals that can be traded.

Liu Bian only glanced at it before his stomach churned violently.

He struggled to stand firm, but still turned to the side and gagged, his throat filled with a sour taste.

Upon seeing this, Song Dian felt a pang of anxiety.

He didn't care about these people at all, nor did he care about Song Jin's life.

What he feared was that the crown prince would lose control on the spot, that things would escalate, and that it would implicate those in higher positions.

He almost instinctively thought, "Quickly cut the wire."

The next instant, Song Dian's face darkened, and he abruptly turned to Song Jin, his voice shrill:

"You bastard! How dare you do such a despicable thing under our name!"

Before Liu Bian could speak, he had already raised his hand and waved:

"Drag him away! Beat him to death!"

Song Jin's pupils contracted sharply, his face turning deathly pale. Just as he was about to scream, his mouth was covered. Two eunuch-like men stepped forward and dragged him out like a sack of potatoes.

Liu Bian hadn't recovered from the nausea when he looked up and saw Song Jin's toes leaving two messy marks on the ground before she was dragged out of the courtyard.

A muffled thud came from outside, and then there was no more sound.

Liu Bian's face immediately darkened.

It's not that he hasn't witnessed murder, nor that he doesn't understand the principle of eliminating the root of the problem.

But Song Dian's move was too fast and too urgent, as if he had been preparing for it all along, just waiting for an excuse.

This isn't about avenging him; it's about silencing him, protecting the unseen hand behind his back.

Liu Bian suppressed his anger, his voice cold:

"Attendant Song, you are quite efficient."

Song Dian was startled and immediately knelt down, his forehead kowtowing to the ground:

"Young master, please calm your anger! This scoundrel deserves to die! I... I was just cleaning up the mess to avoid offending your eyes!"

Liu Bian stared at him for a moment, but ultimately did not pursue the question of "who ordered the person to do it."

Now that he's dead, pressuring him further with empty words will only drive Song Dian into a mad dog, causing him to hide the clues even deeper.

He turned to look at the group of people in the cellar, suppressing the nausea churning in his chest, and said slowly:

"Release everyone."

"Take a list of names. Those who can name their village and clan should be sent back immediately. Those who cannot should be placed in a safe place, given enough to eat, wash, and change their clothes."

He paused, looked at Song Dian, and added:

"From now on, you are responsible for providing these people with sufficient money, silk, and food every month until they are able to support themselves."

"If anything goes wrong, you will be held responsible!"

Song Dian suddenly looked up, but quickly looked down again. A hint of disbelief flashed in his eyes.

In his eyes, these people were nothing but trouble, a bunch of "ants".

But he dared not object and could only agree repeatedly:

"Yes, yes! Rest assured, young master, I will do as you say! Every month... every month you will be given enough money and food, not a penny less!"

He was outwardly respectful, but inwardly he couldn't help but think: The crown prince is still young and too soft-hearted. Those destined for greatness wouldn't care about such lowly lives.

Just then, a low announcement came from outside the courtyard.

A eunuch-like man quickly entered and whispered something in Song Dian's ear:

"His Majesty summoned the Attendant-in-Ordinary to the inner palace to serve at his side."

Song Dian's expression changed; it was an imperial edict from Emperor Ling of Han, and there was no time to delay.

He quickly turned to Liu Bian and whispered:

"Young master... I have been summoned by the palace and must return."

Liu Bian nodded:

"go."

Just as Song Dian breathed a sigh of relief, Liu Bian called out to him again, his voice not loud, but like a nail driven into his back:

"Remember what I just said."

"Not a single word of today's events is to be missed."

"Outside, still call me Young Master. But if I hear even the slightest whisper of you leaving here—you know the consequences."

Song Dian felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly kowtowed:

"I understand! I would never dare to reveal it! I would never dare!"

He hurriedly left, and the people he brought with him also withdrew from the courtyard like the receding tide, leaving only the people in the cellar to be helped out one by one, as if they were being pulled back to the world from darkness.

Liu Bian stood in the courtyard, listening to the suppressed cries, his chest feeling as if something was blocking it.

When those people were helped out, their steps were unsteady.

Some people gripped their sleeves tightly, as if afraid that if they let go, they would be dragged back into the darkness; some held children, the gags just untied, but the cries were hoarse and painful, as if stuck in their throats. There were also a few teenagers with vacant eyes, as if they had left their souls in that cellar.

Liu Bian looked at them and suddenly understood.

The "business" he had previously envisioned was mostly about accounts, routes, and middlemen—cutting money back from brokers to work for the Crown Prince.

But what he saw before him told him: if rules are not established, the first thing to be swallowed up is never money, but people.

He slowly exhaled, his throat still feeling sore, but his gaze gradually settled.

"Mengde," he called softly.

Cao Cao took half a step closer, his voice extremely soft: "Young Master."

Liu Bian did not look at him; his gaze remained fixed on the people who had been rescued.

"Now I know what the business is supposed to do."

He paused, speaking slowly, as if pressing a piece of iron into the ground.

"It's not just about buying and selling."

"It's about making people live like human beings."

He turned his head and looked at the alley leading to the marketplace. The lively atmosphere of Luoyang still rippled in the distance, the cries of vendors rising and falling like tides.

That was the sound of life, and also the sound of cannibalism.

"I want to enter the fray as a commoner," Liu Bian said. "I will not use the title of Crown Prince, nor will I rely on anyone's power."

"First, we need to figure out the direction in the city and then establish a meeting."

Cao Cao's eyes flickered slightly: "The Chamber of Commerce?"

"Yes." Liu Bian nodded, "Let's gather together the scattered skills, the scattered sources of goods, and the scattered labor."

"First, let them stop being choked by brokers, then let the loopholes in the law be slowly closed by officials taking money to change it."

He glanced at the group and added:

"It also gives these kidnapped people a way to survive."

Xiahou Dun clicked his tongue, about to say something, but was silenced by a look from Cao Ren. Xiahou Yuan, however, kept his eyes fixed on the alleyway, watching to see who would come next and who would hide.

Liu Bian said no more. He tucked his cuffs into his clothes, as if trying to suppress the stench from the cellar.

"Walk."

"Back to the city."

Cao Cao followed and asked in a low voice, "Which area would you like to start with, sir? Salt? Cloth? Grain?"

Liu Bian continued walking, his tone calm, yet carrying an unprecedented certainty:

"First, observe how people live their lives."

"What did they use to start a fire, what clothes did they wash, what words did they write, what did they eat, and how did they survive?"

He paused, then swallowed the rest of his sentence.

"Then, I want to do a few things that don't exist in this world yet, but that can make life easier."

Cao Cao glanced at him, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes, but he did not press for details, only saying, "Your subject understands."

Liu Bian's gaze passed over the alleyway and landed on the smoke rising from the distant market. What he saw was an even larger net—not a net of money, but a net of the lives of all the people in the world.

He did not hesitate.

From that moment on, his business was not just a "treasury," but also a knife, a net, and a road.

The knife cuts through the middle, the net catches the hidden threads, and the road opens up for the people.

He will begin his journey in Luoyang, the noisiest, dirtiest, and most authentic city.