My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 700

“Kang'er. What do you think of the two offers?” Gongsun Du asked his son inside his residence.

“Father. I think it is better to side with Prime Minister Cao.” The Young Master and heir of the Gongsun Family, Gongsun Kang replied. As the heir, Gongsun Du discussed everything with Gongsun Kang.

“Cao Cao? Why?” Gongsun Du laughed as though testing his son.

“Father. Regardless of anything, we are still Han. The Prime Minister is the representative of the Han, the legitimate successor. We should submit to him.” Gongsun Kang said respectfully to his father.

Gongsun Du has the titles Pingzhoumu (Governor of Pingzhou) and Liaodonghou (Marquis Liaodong). But these were titles he gave himself. He wasn't actually conferred this titles by the court. Because of this, there were still many in Liaodong who refused to concede to him.

The tiles Cao Cao offered him would actually give him a lot of benefits.

Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang had their differences. Gongsun Du started from humble beginnings. He had to strive for his own success and thus, he had no interest in the Emperor. He believes in his own strength rather than some mandate from Heaven.

On the other hand, Gongsun Kang was educated from a young age. After Gongsun Du became successful, he sent his son to school to study a variety of things. Most education in that era were all Confucianism, which also taught things like showing respect to your father.

Because of this, Gongsun Kang still worshipped the Han Emperor and fancied those court titles.

“Legitimacy? Haha. Can those things feed you? General Wuwei, Yongning Xianghou.” Gongsun Du sneered. “Kang'er. Do you see these beads on my chest?” Gongsun Du said and pointed on the nine jade beads on his chest.

“Yes father. I see it.”

“Do you still think I need those titles?” Gongsun Du asked.

“This…” Gongsun Kang could not say anything back as these beads symbolized Gongsun Du's power. It was something only worn by royalty. If Gongsun Du accepts those titles, then these beads would be too dazzling.

“Kang'er. You must know why I chose Yangzhou. First of all, you have seen our transaction with Yangzhou.” Gongsun Du explained to his son.

Gongsun Kang nodded. Yangzhou's warships allowed trade between Yangzhou and Liaodong. Liaodong had tens of thousands of warhorses. If it were domestic horses, they had even more. Like those from beyond the Great Wall, they had so many horses that they commonly ate horse meat.

But in the Central Plains, horses were a luxury. A good warhorse is worth over a hundred gold. Even ordinary horses could be sold for more than ten gold each. Eating horse meat was too much of a luxury.

Besides that, horses were also animals. They grow, breed and die from old age. In other words, the horses needed to be managed so that they do not eat up the entire plains. This is also why the northern tribes all rode horses. They have lived with horses for so long.

TFor the ancient people, cavalry were the kings of the battlefield. This was why Cao Cao blocked the trade routes to prevent trouble. He would definitely not allow horses to flow to areas outside the Central Plains.

As a result, the horses in Liaodong can only be killed and used as food. This was too much of a waste.

But now, Liu Mang opened up a trade route through the ocean. These horses were now exchanged for gold, food and even equipment that Liaodong lacked the most. (1)

On top of that, Liaodong only needed to provide Yangzhou with horses. It was an extremely beneficial trade. Even the armor that Gongsun Kang was wearing right now was first grade goods from Yangzhou.

“If we accept Cao Cao's offer, we will antagonize the King of Shu. At that time, we would no longer be able to receive all these equipment.” Gongsun Du said to his son.

“We will have to give up all these for a few insignificant titles? Does Cao Cao think I am stupid?” Gongsun Du harrumphed.

“But Father. If we agree to Liu Mang's request, we would have to send troops to fight against Cao Cao. I heard that his men are all experienced veterans. This is why Yuan Shao also lost to him.” Gongsun Kang was still worried. Cao Cao's army of three hundred thousand was stationed at Hebei. Just hearing about it was frightening. ř₳ＮỘΒËŜ

Meanwhile, Liaodong had less than a hundred thousand men. If Yuan Shao could not defeat Cao Cao, what chances does Liaodong have?

“Haha. Do not worry, Kang'er. Even if the sky were to fall, we would be protected. Cao Cao will not attack us until he has dealt with the Yuan brothers. We also do not need to worry if the Yuan brothers can no longer fight. What the King of Shu asked us to do was simply send aid. How much aid we provide is still up to us. Right now, what the Yuan brothers need are not troops but provisions.” Gongsun Du explained.

Gongsun Du wished Cao Cao and the Yuan brothers would beat each other to death. The longer they fought each other, the more benefits Gongsun Du will receive. On the other hand, if he were to side with Cao Cao, Cao Cao could just as well easily turn his back on him once the Yuan brothers were defeated. At that time, it would be too late for Gongsun Du to regret. On the other hand, Yangzhou was a different story. As Yangzhou and Liaodong were separated by the ocean, Liu Mang could not fight his way here directly. He would need to deal with Cao Cao first even after growing stronger. This is why Yangzhou needed time. Gongsun Du also needed more time if he wanted to earn more money.

The Yuan brothers were rich but they were running out of food. Naturally, they would need to buy. Who else could they buy food from aside from Liaodong? Cao Cao would definitely not sell anything to them and the other tribes from the North could supply themselves. This meant that Liaodong has a monopoly on trade.

With this situation, Liaodong could sell provisions at ten times the price and the Yuan brothers would still have to buy it.

Meanwhile, Yangzhou who wants to hinder Cao Cao would definitely sell provisions cheaper than usualk, maybe at half the original price. In other words, Liaodong could profit over twenty times by buying from Yangzhou and then selling it to the Yuan brothers. This was easy money. Who would not want it?

Besides that, there was also the profitable business of buying Yangzhou's equipment. Many of Liaodong's equipment have already been exchanged for Yangzhou's equipment. Their old equipment can either be left in the storage to gather mold or be used to expand the army. However, expanding the army was not possible because Liaodong was a cold place. Originally, only exiles came here. Not many civilians would choose to live here.

Eighty thousand men was Gongsun Du's limit.

But now, the Yuan Family definitely want those armor. They would buy up all these armor and give them to the civilians so that these people could at least fight better on the walls.

In the past, Liaodong had no way of making money at all.

“Father is talented. I have learned a lot.” Gongsun Kang could not help but admire his father. Gongsun Du looked at his son and laughed happily. There were no parents who did not like to be admired by their child.

“Report! The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty has sent an envoy!” A messenger reported.

“Cao Cao's envoy? Didn't he just leave?” Gongsun Du was a little confused but he still met with the envoy.

“This envoy from Prime Minister Cao greets the King of Liaodong.” The envoy's words immediately shocked Gongsun Du.

“The King of Liaodong?”

***

“Brother. I was wrong a few days ago. I would like to apologize to you by drinking first.” Yuan Shang said and drank a cup of wine. They were at Yuyang, Youzhou. This was now the safe haven of the Yuan brothers.

Cao Cao had first divided his army into three. One attacked Bingzhou, one attacked Jizhou, and one attacked Youzhou.

The Yuan brothers not only fought against Cao Cao but also each other. As a result, their territory became smaller and smaller.

Jizhou and Bingzhou originally belonged to Yuan Shang while Yuan Tan had control of Youzhou and half of Qingzhou. The territories they controlled was huge. It was enough for them to be considered local rulers. Just look at Liu Biao who only has Jingzhou.

But now, they had lost most of their territories and only Youzhou is left. The both of them controlled half each and was using it to fight back against Cao Cao.

These brothers were now like Gongsun Zan who was forced to burn himself to death by Yuan Shao. It was only then did they realize that they would also soon lose Youzhou and become like Gongsun Zan. Because of this, they turned to Yuan Xi so that they could cooperate to fight against Cao Cao.

“No, my little brother. You were simply tricked by a villain. Our bond is deeper than the oceans. How could I as an elder brother hate you?” Yuan Tan smiled. He raised his cup and drank with Yuan Shang.

“That's good! That's good! Haha. This is really refreshing!” Yuan Shang quickly drained his cup.

“Haha.” Beside the two of them was Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi shared the same mother as Yuan Shang. Yuan Xi was the older brother. Though his mother pampered the younger one more, she did not neglect Yuan Xi. So the relationship between brothers is not that bad.

When Lady Liu gave birth to Yuan Xi, Yuan Tan's mother was still alive. As a result, Lady Liu treated Yuan Tan well and the two grew up like brothers.

When Yuan Tan's mother died, Lady Liu changed her treatment of Yuan Tan. In addition to that, Yuan Shang was born and they stopped communicating altogether. However, Yuan Xi never competed with Yuan Tan for anything as he knew that his mother loved Yuan Shang more. Even if Yuan Xi competed, he would not get anything. Competing would simply antagonize both his mother and his brother.

As Yuan Xi had no interest in the disputes, his relationship with both brothers were good.

However, it was also because of this that Yuan Xi was placed in a difficult position. These two brothers came before him and started acting out. You would never have thought that it was only last month when these two wished to kill each so badly and even use each other's head as wine jugs.

These awkward feelings aside, it was actually thanks to Cao Cao that these three brothers could get together again.

“Alright. We three brothers have the same father. We should be supporting each other. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, we should unite and show the world the might of the Yuan Family!” Yuan Xi said to his brothers. Most of the officials in the world were either part of the Yuan Family or one of their students. They have many supporters.

“Of course. No matter what grudges we have with each other, it is just a quarrel between brothers. That Cao Cao is truly inhumane to make use of our argument for his own ambition. We will surely defeat him and seize his foundation. At that time, Shang. His foundation would become yours.” Yuan Tan said generously.

“Haha. At that time you will take father's position as Grand General.” Yuan Shang also flattered back.

“At that time, you can govern while I pacify the world. We will change this to the Yuan Dynasty!” Yuan Tan added. When that happens, they would still need to determine who becomes Emperor.

Yuan Xi did not know what to say to these two daydreaming brothers. If he said too much, they would beat him up. If he said too little, they would become even more arrogant.

These fools were already dreaming about becoming Emperor before they even defeated Cao Cao. Besides that, it was the Yuan Family who is struggling rather than Cao Cao. However, the two have already begun to discuss about how to divide the territory.

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly as he internally complained to his father for giving birth to two morons. His only solace was that these two were no longer fighting each other.

“Brothers. We are running out of supplies. If we are besieged by Cao Cao's army, we will only last for three months.” Yuan Xi said to wake the two from their daydreams.

As expected, the moment this issue was brought up, the two brothers frowned and no longer talked about their ambitions. This was a life or death matter.

“Supplies? If we need food we can just take from the people! If it weren't for us, these people would have all suffered from Cao Cao's tyranny long ago. They should be glad to contribute to us! If every household were to provide us with one shi, we would be able to last a year.” Yuan Tan suggested.

Take one shi from the people? These people won't have that much food. Even if they do, taking this much was a quick way to lose public support. Besides that, they were also counting on getting these common people to fight on the walls. If you want to take their food and then send them to die, you might as well just tell them to open the gates for Cao Cao.

“Milord! We cannot do this!” Fortunately, Guo Tu, one of Yuan Tan's strategist objected because Yuan Xi needed to say anything. “Milord. It is almost winter. The common people would not have much to eat. If we take their food, these people would all side with Cao Cao.”

Guo Tu should not be underestimated. Though many people think of him as a simple villain, this man was one of the few people who had the same ideas as Cao Cao. That is, to make use of the Emperor to control the other warlords.

Guo Tu even suggested to Yuan Shao to kill Liu Bei, ally with Sun Ce and defeat Cao Cao. Most of Yuan Shao's foundation was also thanks to Guo Tu.

Unfortunately, Guo Tu's suggestions were overruled. It was not because he is useless but there were too many checks and balances. If he were any worse at scheming, he would have a bad ending like Tian Feng and the rest. Due to this, Guo Tu is forced to follow the majority.

Another thing to take note of is that Guo Tu was also working for Yuan Tan. To work for the heir's benefit was something a subject should do. This is also why Guo Tu framed the other loyal officers like Gao Lan and Zhang He.

Guo Tu immediately saw that if Yuan Tan's strategem was implemented, everyone would die. Guo Tu originally planned to speak later but this was no longer something to be delayed. He had to stand and speak up against his Lord.

“Who cares about their support?” Yuan Tan immediately got angry out of humiliation due to be objected to by his own strategist.

Meanwhile, Shen Pei, one of Yuan Shang's strategist quickly gave Yuan Shang a signal. His intention was have Yuan Shang find a way out for Yuan Tan.

Yuan Shang wanted Yuan Tan to be humiliated but also realize that this was not the time. “Brother. There is no need to be angry.” Yuan Shang said while raising his cup of wine. “These peasants are uncivilized but we still need them to conquer the world. They are like ants. Why get angry at them?” Yuan Shang's words made Yuan Tan feel a bit better.

Though his words were harsh, the other advisors nodded. It would seem that the third son was more slightly more reliable than the eldest. This thought only lasted for about three seconds before it changed.

“How much food can these peasants have anyway? If we can't get food, we simply need to feed the soldiers less. Just feed them enough so that they won't starve to death. We can feed them two cups of rice instead of three a day.

“Pft!” Yuan Xi almost choked to death hearing this.

One tried to ruin the people's support for them while the other tried to lower army morale. Are these two monkeys supposed to be reinforcements or Cao Cao's spies?

This was not a strategy. This was self destruction.

The people and the soldiers support were all indispensable but these two brothers want to mess with it. If you listened to their advice there was no need to fight. It was easier to just surrender.

“Cough!” Shen Pei also felt embarassed. “Milord. We cannot reduce the food supplied to the army. The soldiers worked hard the past few days. They should be eating more.” Shen Pei advised. Rather than reduce the amount of food given to the soldiers, he wanted to increase it even more.

“We cannot do this! We cannot do that! Then what do you suggest we do?” Yuan Shang also became angry.

Shen Pei and Guo Tu both looked at Yuan Xi. It was at this moment that they realized that their Lords were extremely unreliable. How they wish they had chosen to serve Yuan Xi earlier. But it was too late for regrets.

“Brothers. Do not worry. I already have a plan to solve this problem.” Yuan Xi said to his two brothers.

“Brothers. How much money do you have?” Yuan Xi then asked the two. He had no other choice as he was the weakest of the three of them. As he initially planned to fight Cao Cao from the beginning, his army had already been wiped out. All he could bring was a cavalry of two thousand men. Food and money were all prepared by the other two brothers. Because of this, Yuan Xi could only turn to the two for help.

Liaodong actually has iron mines but apparently (according to the author) those iron mines are all underground and cannot be excavated.