Reborn in the Three Kingdoms, I stole Liu Bei's uncle

Just as Guo Jia had expected, not long after Liu Yu pacified Yecheng, the Zhen family showed up outside the mansion, asking to see him.

Liu Yu smiled faintly and asked his soldiers to refuse the Zhen family's invitation on the grounds of health.

This happened again and again, and the Zhen family began to panic. At this moment, Mi Zhu happened to appear in Yecheng.

Upon hearing about this, Mrs. Zhang, the head of the Zhen family, hurried to Mi Zhu's residence to ask for a meeting.

Mi Zhu smiled and invited Madam Zhang in. He said calmly, "I just arrived in Yecheng and Madam came here in a hurry. I wonder what's the matter?"

"Now that Yecheng is occupied by Uncle Liu, his soldiers are still attacking. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that it won't be long before Jizhou and even the entire four northern states will fall into Uncle Liu's hands.

The Zhen family is a merchant family, so they naturally have to follow the situation and join the army of Uncle Liu. However, after several visits, Uncle Liu was not available to meet them. Could it be that Uncle Liu has a grudge against the Zhen family because they are too close to the Yuan family?"

Mi Zhu understood what was going on, but he said in a serious tone, "Uncle Liu is kind and generous, and he takes it as his responsibility to revive the Han Dynasty. He can even forgive people like Ju Su and Shen Pei who died for the Yuan family. How could he only blame your Zhen family?"

Madam Zhang's puzzled expression deepened. She murmured, "What Zi Zhong said makes sense. I knew that Emperor Liu was kind and tolerant, so I boldly went to visit him. But I was turned away three times in a row. That's when I started to wonder, could it be that Emperor Liu was really unwell?"

Mi Zhu sighed, "Uncle Liu is indeed ill, but not because of his body, but because of his mental illness."

"Heart disease? What is the heart disease of Liu Huangshu? Please tell me clearly, Zizhong."

Mi Zhu pondered for a moment and sighed, "Uncle Liu has always had great ambitions and has made it his mission to revive the Han Dynasty. Now that the war in Jizhou is still unsettled, there are three forces in the south that are gradually gaining momentum.

The first is the Sun family of Jiangdong. After Sun Ce died, his brother Sun Quan ascended to the throne. He implemented wise policies at home and launched military campaigns abroad, and gradually gained a foothold in Jiangdong.

The second is Jingzhou Liu Biao, who entered Jingzhou alone and stabilized Jingzhou in one fell swoop. For the Han Dynasty, this was a great achievement, but Liu Biao, a relative of the Han Dynasty, had been in Jingzhou for a long time and wanted to establish himself, which made Liu Huangshu very worried.

The last one is Cao Cao. After leaving Jizhou, he took Hanzhong and now has surrounded Chengdu. It won’t take long before he will occupy Yizhou.

Cao Cao was extremely ambitious, and was described as a hero in troubled times in his early years. Now that he had led his troops to Yizhou, it was obvious that he wanted to use the terrain of Yizhou to gather strength and plot to conquer the world.

With these three forces, when will the Han Dynasty be unified and when will the people be able to live and work in peace? Thinking of this, Emperor Liu felt depressed and lay down in his mansion to rest. "

Madam Zhang said, "Uncle Liu is concerned about the world, which is a sign of a wise ruler. He is so young, it is only a matter of time before he unifies the Han Dynasty. Why should Uncle Liu worry too much?"

"Madam, you don't know that once they all form a force, they will form a combined force. At that time, even if Emperor Liu wants to send troops, he may not be able to win the battle. That's why I'm worried."

Madam Zhang said, "Although I don't know much about military affairs, I know that we should attack while we are victorious. Since the emperor's uncle is worried about this, why not send troops to attack now?"

Mi Zhu was secretly delighted to see that he had led Madam Zhang here step by step, but his face remained expressionless.

"Uncle Liu also has this intention, but Madam also knows that leading troops to fight is ultimately about money and food. Now that we have fought so many battles, there is no extra money and food in the treasury to support the next attack."

Madam Zhang pondered for a moment and said slowly, "I still have some surplus food in my family, and I am willing to help the emperor's uncle with 300,000 dan. However, the Zhen family has a request, so please give it to the emperor's uncle."

"Madam, please speak?"

“Back in Chang’an, there was a kind of wine that was extremely clear and fragrant, and it was different from what we usually drink.

I inquired from many sources and learned that the brewing process of this wine came from the hands of Emperor Liu, so I dared to pass the brewing secret recipe to the Zhen family. "

Mi Zhu said, "I have heard of this wine from my uncle. The reason why it is not popular is that it is difficult to brew and consumes too much grain. That is why my uncle stopped making it. Even if Madam gets the brewing technology, it will be difficult to make a profit."

Mi Zhu's words were mature and steady, and they were the most accurate judgment of the wine at present. In troubled times, survival is always the top priority. In this world, the only business that can make a steady profit is food.

Madam Zhang said slowly, "What Zi Zhong said makes a lot of sense, but this chaotic world will eventually be pacified. I think as long as the world is peaceful and the people are prosperous, this wine will surely become popular when it appears again."

Upon hearing this, Mi Zhu stood in awe of Madam Zhang in front of him. According to past historical experience, it would take at least several decades for the world to be peaceful and prosperous. Madam Zhang, living in troubled times, had already made preparations for a rainy day, thinking about the layout of the Zhen family decades later. Her thoughtfulness and foresight were even better than his own.

He couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart that the Zhen family had indeed something extraordinary to be able to stand firm and remain at the pinnacle of wealth in this era.

"Madam, I will report your words to Uncle Liu truthfully. As for how Uncle Liu will decide, I cannot guarantee it to you."

"Of course, Zi Zhong can tell Uncle Liu that even if he is unwilling to give the wine-making secret recipe, the Zhen family will provide all the grain."

……

……

"Three hundred thousand dan?" Liu Yu was puzzled when he heard Mi Zhu's report. "Zi Zhong, did the Zhen family really say three hundred thousand dan?"

"My lord, it is absolutely true."

Liu Yu took a deep breath. The Zhen family was so wealthy that they could come up with so much food at once.

If we roughly calculate that each person consumes two kilograms of food a day, an army of 10,000 people consumes 20,000 kilograms of food every day, which is 100 dan of food. 100,000 dan of food can support an army of 10,000 people for 100 days.

Three hundred thousand dan can support an army of 60,000 soldiers for half a year.

During the past six months, even if he could not defeat Jiangdong, Xun Yu would save enough grain for the summer harvest.

Guo Jia smiled and said: "The Zhen family is indeed the most powerful merchant in the world. They took out 300,000 dan of silver at once. The Zhen family played an indispensable role in Yuan Shao's rapid development in Jizhou.

It's a pity that the Zhen family didn't expect that Yuan Shao would be defeated so quickly. If my guess is correct, the 300,000 dan of grain provided by the Zhen family will inevitably weaken the strength of the Zhen family.

But there was no other way, because they had misjudged the dealer from the beginning.

When Zi Zhong returns, he can tell the Zhen family that the lord has agreed to the food and grass issue. As for the rest, we can discuss it again after the Jiangdong issue is resolved.”