In the seventh year of Jian'an (AD 202), Yuan Shao died of depression due to the defeat of Guandu.

Taking advantage of the victory, Cao's army pursued them to Ye. Guo Jia admonished him: "Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang already have conflicts. The attack is too urgent and they will inevitably join forces to resist. Instead of temporarily returning to the army, we can wait until the conflict between the two breaks out."

It will be decided in one battle."

Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice and returned the army to Xudu. On the one hand, he urged counties and counties to run schools and educate people. If they could pass the first level or above, they would be awarded officials by Taichang in grade; on the other hand, he built fortifications for the attack on Hebei.

One day, Cao Cao asked about Liu Bei, and he replied that he was staying in Xinye to help Liu Biao clear out some rebel bandits.

Later, Cao Cao asked Li Qi again: "What are the movements of Li Qi, who used to be the county magistrate of the ancient city and is now the prefect of Xicheng."

Adviser Cheng Yu said: "Li Qi is sticking to Xicheng and Shangyong, and has not made any big moves for the time being. But I heard that he started a Sichuan brocade business with a big local family and made a lot of money."

Cao Cao: "Oh? Haha... instead of attacking the local tycoons this time, he joined forces with the local tycoons to do business?"

Cheng Yu: "Maybe I have learned the lessons from before, and paying tribute on weekdays is considered positive."

Cao Cao: "Then let's see what the consequences are. If you really have business talent, you can also appoint him as an internal affairs official."

Cheng Yu immediately patted him and said, "Sikong is so generous, even though Duke Zhou, Lu Wang can't match him."

At the same time, news of Li Qi's Shu brocade business also reached Liu Zhang's ears.

Liu Zhang asked: "Who is this Li Qi?"

Don't drive Zhang Song and said: "I heard that Cao Cao sent him to Xicheng to be the governor. I don't know why. As soon as he arrived in Xicheng, he eradicated the local snakes Shen Dan and Shen Yi. I thought he also wanted to conquer the world, but I didn't expect him to be safe.

I have been living in Xicheng for more than a year, but I haven’t seen anything big happen.”

Liu Zhang said: "In this case, he may have been ordered by Cao Cao to eradicate the Shen brothers."

Zhang Song said: "Maybe so. I heard from merchants in Yizhou that this man exchanged grain for Shu brocade, and his reputation is pretty good."

Liu Zhang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Yizhou's continuous wars have made the people suffer. Now, in addition to cultivating food, they can also rely on crafts to earn a living. Finally, they can have a moment of peace."

Zhang Song said with a smile: "That's right, that's right. My Lord cares about the common people, which is really a blessing to all people."

Lord Bo Huang Quan gave Zhang Song a hateful look and said to Liu Zhang: "But in the past, Shu brocade could only be exchanged for one bushel of grain, but now it can be exchanged for one and a half bushels of grain. When the people saw this situation, many abandoned farmland and devoted themselves to raising silkworms.

.If Yizhou itself does not produce food, and the other party suddenly interrupts the transaction, Yizhou will be in danger."

Wang Lei, who was in charge, also added: "What Gong Heng (Huang Quan) said is absolutely true. In the past, Guan Zhong of Qi State used this method to cut off the livelihood of Lu State, and then easily defeated Lu State."

Liu Zhang: "Uh..."

Zhang Song said with a smile: "Qi State did this with premeditation. The person trading Shu brocade with Yizhou today is just a prefect of Xicheng. Even if he wants to imitate Guan Zhong's method, he does not have the strength of Qi State."

Liu Zhang: "Well..."

Huang Quan said: "Of course, a mere Xicheng prefect does not have this strength. What if he gives orders to Cao Cao like how he eradicated the Shen brothers?"

Zhang Song said: "I would like to send an envoy to Xu Du to make friends with Cao Cao on behalf of my lord, and also to inquire about Cao Cao's intentions."

Liu Zhang nodded, thought for a moment and then said: "I'd better send my brother Zhang Su to go."

Zhang Song: "..."

Zhang Song relied on his talent, but was not reused under Liu Zhang, and he had already harbored resentment.

He wanted to send Xu Du because he actually wanted to make friends with Cao Cao and choose another emperor for himself. However, due to various reasons, Liu Zhang would rather let Zhang Su go than Zhang Song, which deepened Zhang Song's resentment.

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The original history confirmed that Liu Zhang's choice was not wrong. Zhang Song ridiculed Cao Cao non-stop when he saw him, and finally said that Boss Cao had neglected him.

Of course, when Liu Zhang reassigned Zhang Su as an envoy, he may not have considered such a long-term perspective, but simply felt that Zhang Su's image and temperament were more popular with people than Zhang Song.

It is said that after Zhang Su was sent on an envoy to make friends with Cao Cao, he was appointed as a rafter in the Prime Minister's Palace and worshiped as the Grand Administrator of Guanghan.

This is also a way for Cao Cao to win over Liu Zhang, which means that Zhang Su has made great contributions to the relationship between our two families, so he should be emphatically praised.

As a result, Liu Zhang no longer suspected that there was something fishy about the Shu Brocade transaction.

Because Li Qi and Wang Li's bids were higher than those of other counterparts, and they traded in the food that Yizhou people liked most, the people in Yizhou liked to sell Shu Brocade to them. In addition, they had geographical advantages and Meng Gongwei, etc.

With the help of famous merchants, Li Qi did not have to worry about sales and got his money back quickly, so he purchased Shu brocade more frequently than other merchants.

However, Li Qi also has a condition. If you want me to be your customer, I must be your exclusive agent. In other words, except selling your Sichuan brocade to me, you cannot buy it to anyone else.

Although Yizhou merchants didn't know how Li Qi sold so much Shu brocade, he just provided him with food, and who cares about so much.

In fact, Li Qi also found merchants who wanted to buy Shu brocade, resold the goods to them at par or low prices, and asked them to form subordinate agents, whose purpose was only to monopolize the supply of Shu brocade.

Wang Li also complained that the cost of purchasing Shu brocade was too high, and even including shipping costs, he did not make much profit, and sometimes sold at a loss. Now that a monopoly has almost been formed, the price of Shu brocade sold to the Central Plains has gradually increased, and Wang Li and

Li Qi also made a lot of money.

At the same time, Li Fu, who was far away in Yizhou, warned his tribesmen that the grain obtained from selling Shu Brocade must be preserved.

In addition, because Li Qi transported a large amount of grain to Yizhou and it was inconvenient for ordinary people to store large quantities of grain, Li Fu asked his tribe to buy the excess grain from the people at a low price and store it in the granary.

With food, it is natural to recruit many refugees and make them the effective force of the family.

Everything was going according to Li Qi's expectations, but at this time Li Qi was still patient and stood still.

According to Li Qi's knowledge, Zhang Lu separatist Hanzhong and rebelled against Liu Zhang, who then killed Zhang Lu's mother. There was a bitter hatred between the two people and they often met each other at war. This was no secret in the world at that time.

Therefore, Li Qi hoped to wait for an opportunity: when Zhang Lu launched his army to attack Shu, Li Qi would intervene from the east of Yizhou and discuss with Zhang Lu how to divide the fruits of victory.

However, fate is not as good as fate. After Liu Zhang suppressed Zhao Wei's rebellion, he assigned Zhao Wei's troops to Pang Xi and asked him to attack Zhang Lu.

Seeing that a great opportunity was coming, Pang Xi actually went to Brazil to support his own troops.

Because Pang Xi was quite self-aware, he knew that he was not even as good as Zhao Wei, so he did not send troops to attack Liu Zhang. The war with Zhang Lu was just a show of force, and his purpose was to make the invaders self-respect.

The life that Pang Xi longed for was just to have soldiers and food, and to enclose a piece of land and become a local emperor.

In this way, Pang Xi was placed between Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, forming a buffer force between Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu.

This not only made Liu Zhang feel pain in his balls, but also made Li Qi feel pain in his balls.

Zhang Lu had no hope. If he wanted to seize Xichuan, he had to rely on himself.
Chapter completed!