Cao Thief

Chapter 95 The Western Regions Qiwu (22)

In February of the second year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu superstitiously believed in the life talisman offered by the alchemist Zhang Jiong, thinking that he was in line with the destiny, so he proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun and called himself "Zhongjia".

Take Jiujiang Taishou as Huainan Yin, and set up a hundred officials.

At the beginning of March, Yuan Shu worshiped the heaven and the earth in the suburbs according to the ritual of the emperor, and was officially called a widow.

Yuan Shu, a son of the Yuan family in Runan, is Yuan Shao's younger brother.But because he is a descendant, he and Yuan Shao have not been convinced.

The two brothers dominate the north and the south, and they don't have much contact with each other.

After Yuan Shao learned that Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately expressed his opposition, and announced that he would draw a clear line with Yuan Shu, which meant killing relatives righteously.

After all, it is still acceptable to separate one side.

But once proclaiming emperor, it is like rebellion.The four generations and three princes of the Yuan family are equivalent to being destroyed in Yuan Shu's hands.If Yuan Shao did not express 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 be the first to stand up.Everyone knows the truth of shooting the top bird.Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor at this time, and immediately became a traitor in the eyes of the world.

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

After learning the news that Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately sent people to Shouchun to try to persuade Yuan Shu to withdraw his decision.

Cao Cao served the emperor to order the princes, and Yuan Shu was rebellious, so Cao Cao could naturally send troops to conquer.It's just that not long after the defeat of Wancheng, Cao Cao really didn't dare to send troops at this time.Can Yuan Shu be persuaded?Cao Cao didn't know either.This is just a means for him to delay time.

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In late spring and March, it rained continuously.

There was no clear sky for more than ten days in a row, and the peach blossoms and apricot blossoms outside Xudu City were blown down by the wind one after another, leaving a mess.

The winding road is wet and crimson and pink and white.There is a group of pine trees outside the city gate and moat, showing a majestic spirit in the hazy rain.

A caravan came from the end of the road, and the wheels of the cars rolled against the muddy ground, making a creaking sound.

It was getting closer and closer, and when it reached the outside of Xudu City, the guards stepped forward to stop it...

"who?"

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

He got off his horse, bowed slightly and said, "I am following the order of Dian Zhonglang to buy and return."

As he spoke, the one-armed youth took out a token and handed it to the guard.The token is cast in bronze, with tiger patterns engraved on it, and the overall appearance is very rough.

There is a word 'Dian' on the front and the word 'Hu Ben' engraved on the back.

The doorman saw clearly the words on the token, and couldn't help being startled.

He apologized a lot for his attitude towards the young man, and even flattered him, saying respectfully: "Please wait a moment, sir, the villain will come as soon as he goes."

He took the token, walked up to Uncle Men, and handed it over.

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

This time, he didn't want to embarrass the opponent, but counted the cars and prepared to let them go.

However, when he saw the wheels of the car that were almost submerged in the mud, he couldn't help being surprised.What is in this car?
Subconsciously looked over, but found that the top of the car was covered with black cloth.

A total of thirty cars...

In Xudu, Dian Wei was famously clean and honest, and his family didn't have much property.In addition to a mansion in Xudu city, he only has [-] hectares of land outside Xudu and a dock.Buy so many things at once?Is Dianzhong Lang going to do business in Xudu?
"Sir, what's on this car? Why does it look so heavy?"

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

Pooh!
Can your mountain goods crush the car battle like this?

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

Everyone knows that Dian Wei is very trusted by Cao Cao, and the newly promoted general of Huben Zhonglang is a serious confidant of Cao Cao.Even the children of those aristocratic families are not favored by Dian Wei.Moreover, Dian Wei is notoriously short-tempered, and will retaliate with old punches at every turn, who dares to provoke him?
Forget it, he can do whatever he likes, and it's not up to little people like me to worry about it.

Menbo thought of this, and waved his hand, ready to let him go.

Thirty carriages creaked towards the city, and the one-armed youth took out a money bag and threw it into a wooden box at the gate of the city.

This box is used to collect the city gate tax.

The main purpose of the city gate tax is to increase tax revenue.After Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xudu, he spent a lot of money on repairing the capital, distributing the salaries of all officials, and enshrining the emperor of Han.It is difficult to achieve a balance of payments based on past taxes alone.

So Cao Cao set up the city gate tax, and its main object of collection was bulk commercial goods.

The more goods that come in and out, the bigger the tax.And those small merchants were not affected too much.

One-armed young people pay taxes, almost twenty.His behavior also shows that the purpose of these thirty carts of goods is business.

I don't know, what's in it?
People are like this, the more they don't know, the more curious they are.

Uncle Meng chatted with the young man without saying a word, watching the convoy heading for the city.

Creak, creak, the wheels of the car rolled against the ground, making a harsh sound.The gravel paved on the road shattered and splashed because it could not bear the weight of the vehicle.

Suddenly, a car collapsed.

The car couldn't take it anymore, and suddenly broke...

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

Uncle Meng's eyes widened, because he found that the carriage was loaded with black stones.

"This is……"

The expression of the one-armed young man changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward to shout and curse.

A group of coachmen rushed to clean up the mess, and someone brought three carriages from the carriage post outside the city gate to reload the black stones.

"Sir, these are..."

"This... is called Xuan Tieshi, and it was collected by Dian Zhonglang."

"Black iron stone? What is it for?"

"Of course it is used to make knives!"

Meng Bo's expression suddenly changed again.

Making knives is a sensitive topic.

Now that the world is in chaos, Cao Cao has extremely strict control over salt and iron.

Dian Wei, do you want to make a knife?
"This matter, you know it in your heart, don't spread it."

The young man sternly warned, Meng Boweiwei is a promise.

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

The young man inquired around mysteriously, and said softly: "Dian Zhonglang has found a hidden master craftsman from Nanyang, and is going to make knives for Dian Zhonglang... Listening to Dian Zhonglang's orders, it seems to be of great use. You must be strict with your mouth on this matter, otherwise Lang Dianzhong will only ask you."

Meng Bo was taken aback and nodded repeatedly.

But in his heart he secretly complained: You overturned the car at the gate of the city, I don't need to tell you, probably the word has spread in Xudu city by now.

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"Dian Wei bought a lot of black stones?"

In Xufang City, Xili, Xudu City, several scribes were sitting by the window, whispering.

This Xili Xu should belong to the nature of a commercial district in later generations, with many merchants and restaurants connected to it.The entire Xudu is divided into four lis, the east li and the south li, and it is close to the imperial city.Xilixu is a commercial area, while Beilixu is where ordinary people live.

"Mr. Wen, what do you think Dian Junming bought so many black stones for?"

The person who spoke was a scribe, dressed in a green shirt, holding a round fan, shaking it lightly while asking.

Looking at his age, he is about 40 years old, with white face, black beard, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, with a gorgeous demeanor and an extraordinary appearance.

This person is Kong Rong, a famous scholar in the state of Lu.

And the person he asked looked younger than Kong Rong, probably in his thirties, not in his forties.He is tall and tall, with broad arms and round waist, which is particularly eye-catching among a group of scribes.He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, a bronze complexion, and a short beard under his jaw.

"This...how can I know?" Wen Gong scratched his head and replied with a smile: "Maybe Dian Junming wants to add a little elegance to the home?"

"Ha, you are 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 towards Dian Wei.

"Wen Jugong's words are not bad. Dian Wei has never paid attention to these things. He is famous for his bravery. Why do you want to be elegant?"

The one who spoke was a young scholar, about 26 years old.

Thin build, slightly thin.

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

"Feng Xiao, what do you think?" Kong Rong asked.

The handsome young man smiled when he heard it, "I'm afraid this Dianjun is going to prepare for the battle between the two tigers in July."

Cao Cao appointed Dian Wei as the general of Huben Zhonglang and asked him to form the Huben Army.

At the same time, an order was issued for a contest between the Huben Army and Xu Chu's Tiger Guards.

Everyone knows that Xu Chu's Tiger Guard is an elite army mainly composed of Xu's clan, while Dian Wei wrote to Cao Cao, determined to draw elite soldiers from Cao Wei's army to form a tiger ben.But in terms of combat effectiveness, the Tiger Guard formed by Dian Wei may not necessarily lose to Xu Chu; but after all, it was formed temporarily, and it seemed that there was not enough time to compete with those Xu's Tiger Guards who had been with him for a long time.Therefore, many people in Xudu City began to discuss, who would win between Huben and Huwei four months later.

Kong Rong said with a smile: "In my opinion, even if Dian Junming formed Huben, he would not be able to beat Xu Zhongkang."

"That's why Dian Zhonglang has to prepare."

Wen Gong was stunned for a moment, suddenly remembered something, and clapped his hands, "Could it be that Dian Junming wants to make knives?"

"Knife making?"

"I read a book in the early years, saying that there are strange stones in the Western Regions, and the color is black... One hundred refinements can become a magic weapon, which can cut iron like mud. Could it be that those black stones that Dian Wei bought are the strange black stones in the Western Regions? If he can practice With a batch of good knives, Xu Zhongkang may not be his opponent..."

Kong Rong was slightly taken aback, showing a state of contemplation.

"Qiwu from the Western Regions?"

A gleam flashed in the young man's eyes, "But there are only four months, can Jun Ming be able to make magic weapons?"

Wen Gong thought about it and laughed!

"That's definitely impossible...Even if there is Qiwu in the Western Regions, it is impossible to make a good knife. A good knife requires very strict conditions. Not only the conditions of materials, but also the memory of the caster. Superb. As far as I know, even if Ou Yezi is reborn, he may not be able to forge a batch of good knives within three months. In my opinion, Dian Junming is in a hurry to go to the doctor, and he is already in a mess."

The young man said: "Then what if Dian Junming is around, and there is an expert?"

"Impossible. I know the names of most of the major casting masters today. These people are either controlled by princes from various places, or attached to high-ranking lords. As far as Xudu is concerned, the best casting masters are concentrated in Zhuye. Prison. Even if Dian Wei invites those people to act, it is impossible to succeed in four months."

The young man rolled his eyes and untied the white deerskin bag around his waist.

"There are three yi of gold and twenty guan of copper coins... I will bet with the gentlemen, betting that Dianjun will make a good knife, how about it?"

Kong Rong laughed and said, "Feng Xiao, you are giving us money."

"Wen Jugong, bet or not?"

"Gambling!" Kong Rong responded immediately, "How can I not bet on the money that is sure to win?"

But Wen Gong did not speak.

The young man drank a few more glasses of wine and got up to leave.

After the young man left, Kong Rong grabbed Wen Gong, "Wen Gong, are you sure that Dian Jun can't shoot a good knife?"

Duke Wen thought for a while, "As far as I know, it's hard to make a good knife for a long time. Let alone make a batch of good knives within four months. It's just that I think Feng Xiao is sure, and I'm a little hesitant. Wen Jugong, there are many strange people and high scholars in this year, if Dian Wei is really..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning behind his words was clearly expressed.

Kong Rong frowned, and said to himself: "Could it be that Dian Junming really invited an expert?"

(End of this chapter)