Section 13: Opponent

The next day, Cao Chong got up with a refreshed spirit and just finished practicing his fists and feet, Liu Ba walked over to the door. When he saw Cao Chong smiling happily, he was a little stunned: "Young master is in a good mood."

"It's okay, okay." Cao Chong responded happily, throwing the sweat-wiping towel into Sun Shangxiang's hand: "Mr. Zichu comes so early in the morning, what's wrong?"

Liu Ba is in good spirits. These days, he listened to Cao Chong's theory of 80% and 20% and changed his previous way of doing things and assigned most of the specific things to his subordinates. He suddenly felt much more relaxed, his complexion improved, and his voice became brighter.

"Young Master, you have decided what Mr. Zhongyu promised Geng Jixing yesterday?" Liu Ba asked tentatively.

"It's decided." Cao Chong smiled and pulled Liu Ba down, saying Xun Wenqian's idea. Liu Ba laughed and raised his thumbs up and said, "It's still a madam. Yang Weigong and I thought about the idea in the middle of the night, and the lady came out. This idea is good, I'd rather be lacking than being overly bad, that's right. Of course, the dignified emperor uses treasures."

The two laughed and were in a happy mood.

"The glass cups of Daqin merchants are given to the emperor. Although this thing is not practical, it is a good thing to show off." Cao Chong smiled and picked up the teacup and said, "This also reflects the royal face."

Liu Ba smiled and nodded, and added: "But we must first make the two imperial envoys understand. If they are not satisfied, His Majesty will still be in a dark place. No matter how much the young master does, he will not do it."

Cao Chong smiled and said, "Zichu, let's leave it to you. Prepare some novel things for them. You can't let them go for nothing. No matter what, Nanjun is now a wealthy county that is worthy of the great man. You, the prefect, cannot be too stingy."

"Of course." Liu Ba agreed: "Young Master is the backbone of Xiangyang. You should not come forward for the next trip, so as not to let them underestimate the young master. Mr. Zhongyu, Xu Wenxiu and others are accompanying me, and I have already given them a good face. Before they leave, the young master will give them a trip, and this matter will be all."

Cao Chong smiled, but he did not object. He believed that Liu Ba would handle the relationship between Yang and Yu well. He really didn't like to be with such bureaucrats. It would be better to accompany a few wives at home. In the summer, it was time to enjoy the beautiful scenery that he was too lazy to accompany Fu Dian and Geng Ji everywhere. However, the imperial envoy was here, and he didn't want to run away without saying a word. He had to find an excuse to say. Just when he was thinking about what kind of excuse was more appropriate, Zhang Song came.

Zhang Song's face was still not very good. The clown's face, which had been round, had thinner again, and his eyes were still like pandas. When Cao Chong saw his debilitating look, he became a little unhappy: "Yongnian, have you stayed up late again?"

Zhang Song smiled tiredly: "Young Master, maybe it's okay. There are too many people in Xiangyang these days. Just because Xi Su and Lei Tong are too busy to inspect, I have to help. When the half month is over, I can rest easily for a while."

Cao Chong had no choice but to take a bunch of official documents from Zhang Song's hand and scan it briefly. Naturally, he knew why Zhang Song was so tired. There were nearly 100,000 people in Xiangyang City these days, and every bed in every inn was living in. Many inns and even in horse sheds had people sleeping. If you don't step up your investigation, it's hard to guarantee something will come out. No wonder Zhang Song was so worried and had to go into battle in person.

"This is the suspicious candidates found by the tiger soldiers. They have found out their identities, and there is no problem... These are merchants from the four counties in Jiangnan, totaling 152 people. I have asked Xi Su to arrange people to pay attention to them. If they do business honestly, they can make a fortune. If they want to do something else, I will control them immediately." Zhang Song said proudly: "The people transferred from the army are different. I just need to explain and they can do it properly and have extremely high efficiency. Even if it is a bit unexpected, don't transfer people like before. They can subdue them and send them to me directly. Now there are our people in restaurants, brothels, and the market. There are Lei Tong and four thousand troops outside the city to respond at any time. The young master can sleep with peace of mind."

"I'll be relieved if you are here." Cao Chong said with a smile.

Zhang Song smiled proudly and introduced his arrangements again, but finally frowned and said, "Young Master, there are 100,000 people in Xiangyang City. So far, there is only one person's identity. I have not yet figured out."

Cao Chong looked up at Zhang Song with some surprise, thinking to himself that you are too bragging, 100,000 people are under your control? He smiled, looked at Zhang Song's dark circles, and said nothing more: "There are people like this who can actually escape your eyes?"

Zhang Song was half annoyed and half yearning and said: "Yes, this person is like he is here to take the school to take the abilities. His whereabouts are mysterious, he often goes to brothels, markets, and restaurants, and is in front of our people every day, but he can't keep up with him. I sent people to understand him, but I can't figure out where he came from, and what he came from. He seems to be proficient in stalking techniques, quite like a scout in the army, but his body is not strong and looks a little weak, but the military masters I sent cannot follow him."

Cao Chong suddenly became interested. There was such an expert in Xiangyang City. He was really a master in martial arts novels. He just wandered in front of you, but he didn't let you catch it. He played with you with a mouse and cat mentality. He was really gossipy. Cao Chong pulled Zhang Song and inquired in detail about the information he collected. The more he heard, the more interesting he felt. This person appeared in Xiangyang City, and he was like he was entering and leaving his backyard. He lived in brothels every day. He spent the night in brothels every day. He had no followers around him. He wandered around during the day, and went wherever he was lively. He looked like a handsome scholar who came to be casual. If it weren't for his background that he could not find out at all.

"We blocked him in a dead end several times, but when people searched in, they couldn't find him, and it seemed to have disappeared out of thin air." Zhang Song said embarrassedly.

"What... what is he in contact?" Liu Ba was silent for a long time and suddenly interrupted.

"The peddler, a merchant, a scholar, can get familiar with the people around him anywhere, and he doesn't ask about daily necessities, and his parents are all wrong." Zhang Song scratched his head: "I didn't notice him at first. Once a subordinate hurried in a corner to solve his problem. He saw him entering a dead end, and when he came out, he became a different person. Then he began to pay attention to him. Unexpectedly, after chasing him for a few days, he got nothing."

“I can’t hear the accent?”

"I can't hear it. His accent is very mixed. I heard three accents with my own ears, Yingchuan dialect, Yecheng dialect, and an authentic Xiangyang accent."

Cao Chong thought about it and laughed: "Okay, you don't need to check this matter anymore. He is playing tricks on you. I asked Master Deng to take a few to see it. If it really doesn't work, just use his strength and just catch it, then you will ask everything clearly."

When Zhang Song heard this, he suddenly realized and clapped his hands and sighed. These days he always felt that this person had not shown anything wrong and had always wanted to use detection methods. He never expected that he would ignore such a simple and direct method.

"So you should not be too obsessed with meticulous matters. You should spend more time thinking, otherwise you will easily get stubborn." Cao Chong smiled, turned to Liu Ba and said, "There will be a hard work for the imperial envoy."

Liu Baha smiled and said, "It's okay, I will make them come happily and return with satisfaction, and we can't let them emptie the young master's purse." After saying that, he stood up and said goodbye, leaving hurriedly. Zhang Song finished reporting on his work and also got up to do his business.

"Madam..." Cao Chong stood up and greeted loudly: "Don't sleep in, I'll take you to see the real giant panda today..."

Zhuge Liang sat behind the desk, pinched the military newspaper in his hand with white fingers, and looked at Jian Yong angrily: "Xianhe, who suggested that the lord go deep into Jingke County?"

Jian Yong was a little puzzled. He came to report the good news excitedly. Why did Zhuge Liang look so bad? After Liu Bei borrowed the two counties of Yulin and Cangwu from Sun Zhongmou, he transferred Guan Yu as the prefect of Yulin and protected Cangwu County, and asked Mi Fang to be the prefect of Guiyang. Zhao Yun brought the people drawn from Cangwu and Yulin counties with him to enter Cangke County. He originally thought that he would encounter resistance from the local barbarians and large clans of Jingke, but he did not expect that the progress was extremely smooth. After defeating several small groups of barbarians, he

He did not encounter much difficulty, and went straight along the Gui Ke River and arrived at the vassal state of Jianwei, occupying a piece of territory of the eldest son of Gui Ke County. The progress was smooth and Liu Bei could not imagine it. He also made his military rations come to the bottom. If there was no food, he would be in chaos. He immediately sent Jian Yong back to Zhuge Liang and asked him to allocate food and grass. In addition, he also accelerated his advance in Fuling. He wanted to attack both sides and take the southern part of Yizhou while Cao Chong held a breaking expo in Xiangyang.

"It's the lord's own idea, and no one can suggest it." Jian Yong whispered. In fact, he did not tell the truth. Not only did no one suggest it, but someone opposed it. Zhao Yun, who followed Liu Bei to fight, opposed it, but Liu Bei didn't listen.

Zhuge Liang was choked, and he couldn't say anything to Liu Bei's suggestion. It was okay to say it privately, but it was not convenient in front of Jian Yong. He thought for a while and said, "Xianhe, after you go back, you told your lord that the terrain in the south is complicated and you should not go deep alone. Although the lord has tens of thousands of people, he is not familiar with the terrain in the south, and there will definitely be an impact when fighting a war. Please be careful. In addition, the road is too far, and it is difficult to allocate military rations. It is best to gain a foothold in the local area, use the local manpower and material resources, and need to interact with those barbarians, and use his kindness to conquer the barbarians. This is not something that can be done in one day. I will take Fuling as soon as possible, and then I can transfer Wuling Man to support the lords in the south, so I will be more confident at that time."

Jian Yong nodded: "I will definitely tell the lord the military advisor's words, but the lord should allocate military rations as soon as possible. The lord went deeper into more than 500 miles at once, and the military rations he brought were insufficient. Now he has a solar eclipse. If the time goes on, I am afraid that there will be an accident and it will be difficult to clean up at that time."

Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "I know this. I will immediately allocate military rations for you to take away. You can go down and rest first."

Jian Yong left, Zhuge Liang sighed, picked up the pen and prepared to write an order, but he had not finished writing for a long time. He was upset and got angry. After thinking for a long time, he threw down the pen and said to Fei Yi who had been standing next to him without saying anything: "Wenwei, come here with the map."

Fei Yi responded and hurriedly took a map. However, the map was very simple, with only a few rivers and several county governors. The proportions were not accurate, and it was very rough. If the generals under Cao Chong saw it, they would definitely rub the map and throw it away. However, this was a treasure for Zhuge Liang. He looked on the map for a long time and sighed: "Wenwei, the lord is too anxious."

Fei Qi smiled and said nothing. When Zhuge Liang calmed down, he said softly: "Military advisor, we transferred the military rations to the lord. The five hundred miles were transported to the road, and even if the people on the road were eating horses, they would have to remove half of them. I am afraid that it would not last much, and Fuling was fighting again. The barbarians were urging grain every day. We had only been garrisoning a year of land, and the accumulation was limited and the supply was not enough."

Zhuge Liang looked at Fei Yi and smiled bitterly: "Wenwei, I don't know. Although our army has a lot of troops, the food and grass are a big weakness. The land that I had been stationed in Lingling for a year last year was only enough for 50,000 troops to eat for a year. Originally, he made a decision with his lord that his purpose of sending troops was to occupy Jingke. After conquering the barbarians for about a year, he then used barbarians to march northward. Our army followed up. Now, he drove the barbarians away and marched into the barbarians by himself. This... Isn't this a way out of his own way? Those barbarians are familiar with the terrain. If they go around behind him, wouldn't it be...ah--"

Fei Yi looked at the map and smiled softly: "The south is barren, and the more you go north, the more you become rich. It is natural for the lord to be anxious. He thought that Cao Cangshu was not in Chengdu in Yizhou, and Pang Shiyuan and Fa Xiaozhi were divided into their respective positions and restrained each other. This is a great time to march."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and sighed repeatedly: "He doesn't know the interests of Shiyuan. Although I don't know much about Fa Xiaozhi, as soon as he joined Cao Cangshu's tent, Cao Cangshu could feel at ease to let him be responsible for the affairs of the provincial governor's office. It can be seen that this person is not an ordinary person. Let's talk about Shiyuan. Since he followed Cao Cangshu, which battle has been lost? In such a difficult situation in Xiling, he can even send out surprise troops, defeat He Qi, kill Cheng Pu, capture Zhou Yu, and win consecutive battles. How could it be... Alas——"

"Pang Shiyuan is so powerful, why can't even solve the problem of Fuling? I heard that Cao Cangshu's subordinates had limited troops. They had just obtained Yizhou, so their main energy was naturally focused on important places like Shu County. Fuling, Ji Ke was afraid that there would not be many troops, otherwise the lord would not be able to fight Jianwei so easily." Fei Yi guessed with some uncertainty. He knew that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were as famous as Feng Chu. Zhuge Liang admired Pang Tong so much. If Pang Tong was too bad, he would not be good at Zhuge Liang's face.

"Maybe you make sense, but Ma Youchang's contribution to the fight in Fuling is like this." Zhuge Liang was in a much better mood when he talked about Ma Su. Ma Su had achieved such a result when he first led his troops to fight, which made Liu Bei, who was not optimistic about him, suffer a defeat. For Zhuge Liang, it was an invisible victory, and a potential victory in a battle with Liu Bei. If Ma Su could really become a famous general and lead a heavy army outside, then when he saw Guan Yu again, his voice would be brighter.

"That's right. I didn't expect that Ma Youchang, a scholar, could lead troops to fight. I was a little worried at that time. I didn't expect that he really had military talent. He was a military advisor who knew people with a keen eye, and was beyond our reach." Fei Yi smiled and bowed: "I admire him."

"Wenwei has been awarded too much." Zhuge Liang shook his head: "Nothing is useful. You Chang can fight, and you can't fight without food. Those barbarians are greedy for immediate benefits. This time, the military rations will be transferred to the lord, and they will have less support to You Chang. Alas, if I give me another two years, why would it be so difficult to do?"

The two were speechless.

Zhuge Liang frowned and thought for a long time, then picked up his pen helplessly, wrote a document and handed it to Fei Yi: "Wenwei, you go to Changsha and tell Liao Gongyuan that he would collect all the supplies from Changsha and Jiangxia. Jiangdong recently wanted to deal with Xiahou, who was going to Lujiang. He said that there would be no war in Changsha for the time being. General Guan took away most of his troops. He should be tighter. He will get through this level before he can talk about it. When the military farms in Lingling and Wuling are collected in September, we will be relieved."

Fei Yi hesitated for a moment: "Changsha, Jiangxia, I'm afraid the supplies will not be too abundant. Even if I collect them, I may not be able to support the autumn harvest."

"There is no choice. I'll go to the big tribes to borrow money from the remaining gap." Zhuge Liang said sadly.

Fei Yi wanted to speak but stopped. He glanced at Zhuge Liang with a bad expression and took the document and left. Zhuge Liang sat alone, pondered for a long time, then picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Wuling Prefect Zhang Fei. After writing, he called a person in person and told him to deliver it to Zhang Fei immediately with a quick horse. Then he sat back in front of the case, carefully drafted a list, waved to a guard, and said, "Go and invite all the people on these lists, and say I would invite them to the banquet and discuss with them if there is something important."

In mid-June, just as Xiangyang City was immersed in the joy of wealthy people, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei invited local tribes in Lingling and Wuling respectively to borrow food from them. Zhuge Liang was polite, using both soft and hard, and he would return them in full after receiving them, and also put interest on them. When the new policy like Xiangyang was implemented in the future, those who borrowed more grain would give more discounts. Under his solemn promise and invisible threat, the tribes looked at each other and remained silent for a while. He hesitated to pick up the pen and wrote the number on the pledge book he handed to him. However, there were few wealthy families in Lingling and the scale was limited. Coupled with his fear of the future, Zhuge Liang raised very limited military rations.

But Zhang Fei didn't have such a good temper. After he invited the big clans, he sent a team of personal guards to show off his sword. To be honest, Lao Zhang is going to fight Fuling now, and there is no food or grass. The rice fields in Wuling Xintun are still green. You want to borrow some food from you, so you can do it.

The big clans looked at them coldly and kept pouring the treats into their stomachs. Zhang Fei's hair stood up and didn't dare to say a word. He was silent for a long time and pushed and humbled for a while. Until Zhang Fei coughed impatiently, he wrote down the number one by one with his trembling hands. Zhang Fei took the bamboo slips from his entourage and glanced at him, sneered, stood up and walked to a thin old man, bent down, stared at the old man with two big eyes: "Yi Qianshi, do you think you are sending beggars?"

The old man looked at Zhang Fei's white face and sweated. He said tremblingly: "Sir, I really don't have any remaining food at home. These thousand stones were squeezed out from the gap of my teeth. I lent this thousand stones to my family. Before the autumn harvest, I could only drink porridge."

Zhang Fei smiled, straightened his waist and stared at the old man with condescending contempt, waved his hand and said, "Come here, go to their house to search. If it is true, I don't want this thousand stones. If it is not, don't blame me for being rude." He suddenly stopped laughing, and the voice was almost as cold as he came from hell: "I copied it all."

When the old man heard this, he almost collapsed on the ground. He struggled to pull Zhang Fei's clothes and begged in a hoarse voice: "Sir, my family is really in a bad situation. A few years ago, Liu Jingzhou... No, I was talking about Liu Jingsheng, not the lord... In order to resist the court... No, no... Liu Jingsheng searched all the food in the four counties of Jiangnan in order to resist the court... No, no... He was resisting the Cao thief and searched all the food in the four counties in Jiangnan. If you don't believe it, you don't believe it. Ask the others, we really have no surplus food, just an empty shell..."

Zhang Fei snorted, raised his legs and kicked the old man's skinny hand away, and said impatiently: "If you are really poor, I, Lao Zhang, will not do anything to you. What are you afraid of? Are you lying to me, Lao Zhang? You are unkind for wealth and I, Lao Zhang, are fighting for you in blood. Now I have no food to eat, and I will not lend you some food." He turned around and looked at the rich men with a look of horror, and shouted angrily: "Do you really think my Lao Zhang's knife is a vegetarian?"

The lobby was silent. The old man's face turned red. He clattered twice in his throat. He fell to his head and fell to the ground and slapped it twice, stopping.
Chapter completed!