Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 523: Survival in Troubled Times
After reading the content of the letter, Lu Xun said, "Indeed."

"But there's still one element of instability left."

"Sun Bofu has always refused to engage in open war with Yuan Jiujiu because his leader is Yuan Jiujiu."

"If it were him"

Yuan Xi didn't take it seriously and said: "I recommended him for an official position in front of the emperor, so I can be regarded as his recommender."

"Sun Bofu can be said to be aggressive, or he has a bad temper, but no matter what, it cannot be said that he cannot see the situation clearly."

"He's just asking for a price."

"I heard that he moved forward to attack Kuaiji County. I'm afraid it's almost over now, right??"

Lu Xun nodded and said, "Yes, before Yuan Gongli established himself, Sun Bofu organized his troops to attack Kuaiji County."

"Counting the time, Yan Baihu of Kuaiji has been defeated by him. The next step should be to fight against Yuzhang."

To the south of Wu County was Kuaiji, and to the southwest was Yuzhang. Sun Ce started from Lujiang County and made a large circle clockwise in Yangzhou. If Yuzhang County was captured again, the entire Yangzhou would be in Sun Ce's pocket.

Yuan Xi sighed, "Sun Ce still has a grudge against Jingzhou."

Lu Xun deeply agreed. Sun Ce’s next step on this expansion route would definitely be to Jingzhou.

On the one hand, although there is a reason for revenge for the death of his father Sun Jian in the attack on Jingzhou, there is no doubt about the direction of his expansion.

After all, north of Yangzhou is Yuzhou, where Yuan Shu is located. If Sun Cer openly goes to war with him, not only will he be criticized morally, but the Jianghuai Plain is not suitable for Jiangdong soldiers to fight, and it will be difficult to defend the territory they have established.

But Jingzhou is different. Most of its area is south of the Yangtze River and can be defended by relying on natural dangers. As long as Sun Ce captures Jingzhou, he can occupy almost all the areas south of the Yangtze River. In this way, no matter how chaotic the north is, he can still sit there. Watching tigers fight from the mountains.

Moreover, Jingzhou occupies the largest and most convenient passage from the Central Plains to the south. If Sun Ce does not capture Jingzhou, Jiangdong will not be safe. Therefore, due to emotions and reasons, Sun Ce's choice to attack Jingzhou is correct.

But Jingzhou is definitely not that easy to fight.

The city it fortified along the Yangtze River was full of natural dangers. Without heavy siege weapons, no matter how many lives it would take, it would not be enough.

Now what Yuan Xi wants Sun Ce to do is to break into Jingzhou and go north to copy Yuan Shu's route. However, it seems that the possibility of Sun Ce agreeing is very small. After all, he wants to occupy Yuzhang and Jingzhou first.

Lu Xun thought for a while: "Yuzhou has very little appeal to Sun Bofu. I'm afraid it will be difficult to tempt him."

Yuan Xi pondered: "The only way I can think of is to use the emperor's edict to stimulate him."

"After all, I have been granted the title of Emperor, and I don't even have the strength to do it, and I can't justify it."

"Bo Yan thought about it and wrote a letter to him, asking him to contain Yuan Shu's rear."

"Even if it's just a show, as long as we can divert some of Shouchun's troops away, our goal will be achieved."

Lu Xun nodded and accepted the order.

Yuan Xi looked at the sycamore tree outside the window and sighed: "I lied to Yang Ya before and said I was going to Guangling, but it turned out that I really did."

"Get ready. Let's go south to Guangling and cooperate with Ling County's actions."

"This matter must be kept secret. Let Zilong continue to put pressure on Xiapi Tan City, at least so that they don't dare to come to Guangling."

In Qiao Rui's mansion in Wancheng, Lujiang City, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao sat side by side under the eaves, watching the rain dripping down from the patio.

Xiao Qiao said dullly: "Sister, do you think my father will be back after sending out troops this time?"

Qiao Rui was previously imprisoned for being evil to Yuan Shu, but he was re-employed some time ago. Together with Zhang Xun, he led troops to the north of Yuzhou.

Da Qiao felt a little uneasy. She looked up at the sky and said, "It seems that the food in the city has increased a lot recently?"

Xiao Qiao nodded, "I heard from my servant that there is a locust plague in some places in Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Our Lujiang River is close to the water, but there are few disasters. It must be the profiteers in the city who are spreading panic and taking the opportunity to raise prices. It's really disgusting."

Da Qiao thought about it and said, "You can't say that. Although there is still food in Lujiang, other counties are short of food, so they will definitely come to Jiujiang to buy it. When the food is not enough, food prices will inevitably rise."

Xiao Qiao said indifferently: "How much can this increase?"

"The number of people who lack food will only increase several times, and the price of food will only increase several times."

"What's more, Yangzhou is not like the Central Plains where wars have been raging for years and food prices have soared. I heard that when Guanzhong was short of food a few years ago, food prices rose to thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per stone, which is simply outrageous."

There was a great famine in Guanzhong, and tens of thousands of dollars of rice were eaten. ——"Hanshu·Gaodiji"

With five thousand meters and five thousand stones, if people eat each other, more than half of them will die. ——"Hanshu·Shi Huo Zhi"

"This must be a merchant from Guanzhong taking the opportunity to raise prices. It's very abominable. Nowadays, merchants in Anhui City have a good reputation. They will definitely not be as unscrupulous as merchants from Central Plains."

"With the money my father left us, even if the price of food increases several times, it will be enough to support us for one or two years. By then my father will definitely be back."

Da Qiao sighed, "Little sister, that's not how the account is settled."

"Do you know why food prices rose so high in Guanzhongyuan at that time?"

"Do you know that if there is a shortage of food, the price of food here in Wancheng will only rise higher?"

Xiao Qiao was confused, "Sister is joking, how is this possible?"

"Isn't the high price of food in Guanzhong caused by frequent wars and Dong Zhuo secretly minting small amounts of money?"

"At the same time, the grain harvest in Youzhou under Liu Yu's rule was bumper. I heard that one stone of grain only cost [-] yuan."

Da Qiao said with a smile: "My little sister knows a lot, which is beyond my expectation." Xiao Qiao said proudly: "Of course, I have read all the letters in my father's study when I have nothing to do. !”

"Although I know that my sister has also seen it, the things I have seen are not much less than her!"

Da Qiao smiled, his beautiful and fragrant face blooming with an extremely moving charm, which made Xiao Qiao, who was opposite him, feel a hint of jealousy in his heart.

Xiao Qiao had to admit that in terms of appearance alone, she was inferior to her sister.

Da Qiao thought for a while and said, "Reading more is indeed a way to understand the causes and consequences of things."

"But at the same time, you have to see what's hidden in it to fully understand the truth."

"Little sister, let me ask you, the current price of food in the city is calculated at one hundred yuan per stone. There is just enough food in the city for everyone."

"But if one day the city runs out of food and there is only enough food for nine out of ten people, how much will the price of food rise per stone?"

After hearing this, Xiao Qiao counted on his fingers, "Ten people are short of food for one person?"

"I guess it will go up to 110 yuan?"

"No, maybe a little higher?"

"No, if all ten of us eat less, wouldn't it be evenly distributed?"

"In this case, maybe food prices won't rise so much?"

She calculated for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out, and couldn't help but said: "Sister, this problem is so troublesome. There seem to be many changes. I can't figure it out."

Daqiao sighed, "Little sister, if you knew there was a shortage of food in the city, would you share your own rations with others?"

"Even if you are willing, how much are you willing to pay out, and how will you do it?"

"Could it be that when you should buy ten shi of rice, you will buy one less shi and only buy nine shi?"

Xiao Qiao thought about it again and again, and finally shook his head and said, "It's hard to say."

"But when I think about the shortage of food in the city, I will buy more and save it, right?"

Da Qiao sighed: "That's it. Now that the news of the locust plague has come, the price of food in the city has started to rise."

"Then, going back to our previous question, under such a panic situation, how high will the price of food, which is [-] yuan per stone, rise in the end?"

Xiao Qiao seemed to have understood something, her face became solemn, she lowered her head and thought for a long time, then raised her head uncertainly, "How many times?"

"Even dozens of times?"

Da Qiao sighed softly, "Everyone wants to have enough to eat, and everyone is afraid that others will buy up all the food. This will make people suspicious of each other, and under the panic of food shortage, the final result will be that food prices will rise to an extremely high level." point."

"At this point, it will probably be the amount that the remaining ten people can't afford to buy food even if they lose all their money."

"So food prices will eventually rise to the point where some people can't afford food."

"The remaining people will do their best to hoard food and continue to push up food prices."

Xiao Qiao gradually came to understand, and she said in a trembling voice: "If this continues, won't people in the city starve to death?"

Da Qiao looked grave, "Yes, when more people starve to death, there will naturally be no shortage of food, and food prices will slowly fall."

"But it's hard to say what kind of chaos will happen."

"We should at least be grateful to our father for allowing us to live a better life than most people. If we were civilians making a living on the streets, I'm afraid it would be difficult to survive at that time."

Xiao Qiao finally figured it out, "Is there no one who can control the price of food?"

"Wouldn't the city guard do these things?"

Da Qiao shook his head: "Maybe there is a place in the world, but under the rule of Yuan Gongdao."

She lowered her voice and said: "After Yuan Gongli became independent, he lived a luxurious and lustful life. The officials below him were also crooked, and they were corrupt and perverted the law from time to time. If there was a food shortage, I'm afraid these people would be the first to stock up on food to protect themselves. .”

Xiao Qiao was anxious, "Then should we stock up on some food?"

Da Qiao said: "I stocked some in advance and hid them in the cellar I dug a few days ago."

She lowered her voice and said, "Only the two of us know this. If there is any danger, I will let everyone in the house escape and the two of us will hide in."

"When that day comes, the city will be in chaos. We can't protect ourselves, and we won't be able to care about others."

Xiao Qiao had a look of sadness on her face and sighed: "This kind of world is really terrible. I don't know when it will end."

Da Qiao remained silent, the world was in chaos, and no one knew whether he could live through tomorrow, and whether his family could live in peace and harmony until a peaceful and prosperous age. This was already an extravagant hope that he could not even dream of.

He doesn't know who can end the troubled times. Now the two Yuans are fighting, but looking at what Yuan Jiuji has done, if he wins the world, it may not be a good thing.

And it’s not necessarily Liang Yuan. Does Sun Bofu, whom my father often praises, also have a chance?
Da Qiao suddenly remembered that after his father came back, he talked about Sun Bofu less, but he praised the fierce tiger more.

Thinking of the rumors about the fierce tiger, Da Qiao shook his head. I heard that the man was extremely lustful and took many noble women as concubines?

What did my father like about him?

Forget it, I shouldn’t have anything to do with him for the rest of my life anyway, right?
(End of this chapter)