Chapter 081: Qiwu, Western Regions

In February of the second year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu was superstitious about the charisma offered by the alchemist Zhang Jiong, thinking that he would respond to the decree of heaven, so he proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun and called himself the "Zhong Family".

The prefect of Jiujiang was appointed as the governor of Huainan, and all officials were appointed.

In early March, Yuan Shu, in accordance with the emperor's rituals, worshipped the world in the suburbs, and was officially called the lonely and widowed.

Yuan Shu, a son of the Yuan family in Runan, was Yuan Shao's younger brother. However, because he was born in the legitimate state, he was not very convinced with Yuan Shao.

The two brothers dominate the north and south, and there is no much contact with each other.

After Yuan Shao learned that Yuan Shu had proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately expressed his opposition and announced that he had drawn a clear line with Yuan Shu, which was quite meaningful to destroy his relatives for justice.

After all, separatist parties can still be accepted.

But once he was promoted to emperor, it would be like rebellion. The Yuan family's four generations and three dukes were destroyed in the hands of Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shao did not make his position, he would be abandoned by the people of the world. Although the Han Dynasty is declining now, the luck of the Han Dynasty is still there. Even if everyone has ulterior motives, no one dares to stand up first. Everyone knows the principle of shooting a first bird. At this time, Yuan Shu became an emperor and suddenly became a rebel in the eyes of the people of the world.

In the early years, Cao Cao and the Yuan brothers had a good relationship.

After learning that Yuan Shu had proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately sent someone to Shouchun to try to persuade Yuan Shu and take back the decision.

Cao Cao was appointed as the emperor to order the princes, and Yuan Shu rebelled, so Cao Cao could naturally send troops to conquer. However, not long after the defeat of Wancheng, Cao Cao really did not dare to send troops at this time. Can he convince Yuan Shu? Cao Cao didn't know. This was just a means of delaying time.

In late spring, the rain continues.

The sky was not clear for more than ten days, and the peach and apricot flowers outside the capital were blown down by the wind, making a mess.

The winding road is wet and spreading with crimson pink and white. Outside the moat of the city gate, there are twisted pine trees, which exudes a majestic spirit in the hazy rain.

A fleet of cars came from the end of the road, and the wheels crushed the muddy ground and made a creaking sound.

As we got closer and closer, when we arrived outside Xudu City, the gatekeeper stepped forward to stop him...

"Who?"

At first, he was a one-armed young man, and he was very handsome.

He got off the horse and bowed slightly and said, "We are the order of the Dian Zhonglang and bought it and returned."

As he spoke, the one-armed young man took out a token and handed it to the doorman. The token was cast in bronze and carved with tiger patterns on it, which looked very rough and luxurious overall.

There is a character "Dian" on the front and the two characters "Hu Ben" are carved on the back.

The guard saw the words on the token clearly and couldn't help but be shocked.

He apologized for his attitude towards the young man, and even said respectfully: "Please wait for a while, and the villain will come when he goes."

He took the token, walked to Man Bo and handed it over.

After seeing it clearly, Uncle Men hurried over...

This time, he did not want to make things difficult for the other party, but counted the car and prepared to let it go.

However, when he saw the wheels of the car that were almost infiltrated into the mud, he couldn't help but feel surprised. What was there in this car?

I looked over subconsciously, but found that the car was covered with black cloth.

Thirty vehicles in total...

Dian Wei was famously honest in Xudu and had no property at home. In addition to a mansion in Xudu City, he only had 300 hectares of land and a fort outside Xudu. He bought so many things at once? Could it be that Dian Zhonglang wanted to do business in Xudu?

"Sir, what's in this car? Why does it look so heavy?"

The one-armed young man smiled slightly, "It's just some ordinary mountain goods."

Pooh!

Can your mountain goods crush the car into this?

Uncle Men muttered to himself, but he didn't have the courage to check it out.

Everyone knows that Dian Wei is very trusted by Cao Cao. He was promoted to the Central General of the Hu Ben and was the confidant of the serious Cao Cao. Even the children of those aristocratic families were not favored by Dian Wei. Moreover, Dian Wei is famous for his bad temper and will always respond to his old boxing. Who dares to provoke him?

Forget it, he does whatever he likes. It’s not my turn to worry about small people like me.

When Uncle Men thought of this, he waved his hand and prepared to let go.

Thirty carriages walked towards the city, while the one-armed young man took out a purse and threw it into the wooden box at the gate of the city.

This box is used to collect city gate tax.

The main purpose of city gate tax is to increase tax revenue. After Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xudu, he repaired the capital, distributed the salary of officials, and offered various needs of the Han emperor, which cost a lot. It was difficult to achieve balance of income and expenditure based on previous taxes alone.

So Cao Cao opened a city gate tax, and his main object was to collect bulk commodity goods.

The more goods in and out, the greater the taxes are collected. And those small merchants are not affected too much.

The one-armed young man paid taxes for about twenty cents. His behavior also shows that the purpose of these thirty trucks of goods is commercial.

I don't know what is inside?

This is how people are. The more they don’t know, the more curious they are.

Uncle Men chatted with the young man without a word, watching the convoy walking towards the city.

Cruff, crunch, the wheels crush the ground, making a harsh sound. The gravel paved on the road could not withstand the weight of the vehicle and splashed.

Suddenly, a car collapsed.

The car was a little overwhelmed and suddenly broke...

The goods on the car were scattered all over the ground.

Uncle Men widened his eyes because he found that the carriage was loaded with black stones.

"This is……"

The one-armed young man's face changed and he hurriedly stepped forward and shouted loudly.

The coachman rushed to clean up the mess, and someone came from the carriages outside the city gate and reloaded the black stones.

"Sir, these are..."

"This... is called Xuan Tie Stone, which was collected by Dian Zhonglang."

"Black iron stone? What is it for?"

"Of course it's used to make knives!"

Men Bo's face changed suddenly.

Making a knife is a sensitive topic.

As today's chaos is coming, Cao Cao has extremely strict control over salt and iron.

Dian Wei, do you want to make a knife?

"You know this in your heart, don't spread it."

The young man warned seriously that Menbervivi was no more.

"Dian Zhonglang, do you want to make a knife?" However, Uncle Men couldn't help asking more.

The young man secretly looked around and said softly: "Dian Zhonglang found a hidden master from Nanyang and was preparing to make a knife for Dian Zhonglang... It seems that it is of great use when he listened to Dian Zhonglang's instructions. You must be strict with this matter, otherwise Dian Zhonglang will only ask."

Uncle Men was startled and nodded repeatedly.

But I secretly complained in my heart: You have been overturned at the city gate, I don’t need to say that, I guess it has spread in Xudu City at this time.

"Dianwei bought a lot of black stones?"

In Xufang City, west of Xudu City, several scholars were sitting by the window, whispering.

This Xilishu should belong to the nature of a commercial district in later generations, with many merchants and restaurants connected. The entire Xudu is divided into four miles, east and south, close to the imperial city, and belongs to the place where officials and royal relatives live. Xilishu is a commercial district, and north and late, where ordinary people live.

"Duke Wen, what is the purpose of Dian Junming buying so many black stones?"

The person speaking was a scholar wearing a blue shirt and holding a round fan, shaking it lightly while asking.

Judging from his age, he is about forty years old, with white face, black beard, sword-browed eyebrows, gorgeous appearance, and extraordinary appearance.

This person is Kong Rong, a famous scholar in Lu State.

The man he asked looked younger than Kong Rong, about thirty or less than forty. He had a burly figure, wide-skinned waist and round waist, and looked particularly eye-catching among a group of scholars. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, his skin color was bronze, and a short beard under his jaw.

"This...how can I know?" Wen Gong scratched his head and replied with a smile: "Dian Junming may want to add some elegance to his family?"

"Ha, you're just joking. Dian Junming... Can a few black stones be elegant?"

Kong Rong couldn't help laughing, and in his words, he seemed to be quite disdainful of Dian Wei.

"Mr. Wen Ju said this. Dian Wei never valued these things. He is famous for his bravery. How elegant is it?"

The person who spoke was a young scholar, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

She is thin and slightly thin.

His face was a little pale, and his eyes were as bright as stars, which were extremely dazzling.

"Wangxiao, what do you think?" Kong Rong asked.

The young man with a pretty face smiled when he heard it, "I'm afraid that Dian Junming is going to prepare for the two tigers fighting in July."

Cao Cao appointed Dian Wei as the General of the Hu Ben and asked him to form the Hu Ben Army.
To be continued...