Liu Hong was very good at bargaining. In Liu Bei's opinion, his attitude and strength in bargaining were comparable to those of a grocery shopping lady at the wet market.
Others bargained for a fraction of the price, but Liu Hong bargained for a fraction of the price.
At first, he only wanted to bear one-third of the cost of Liu Bei's recruitment of troops. In the future, the court would only provide one-third of the cost of raising troops, and Liu Bei would have to raise the other two-thirds of the cost himself, saying that this was what he could do. The limit provided is too much and it won't work.
The country is having a hard time these days, and the emperor’s family has no food left! The treasury is so empty that it can run a carriage, so it’s already very difficult to even provide so much for you!
Only a ghost would believe Liu Hong, and Liu Bei was not a ghost, so he would not believe Liu Hong.
Besides, Liu Hongzhu spent all day long thinking about building a palace for himself, buying luxury goods, acquiring beauties, etc. Not only did he use his own money, he would also find ways to get money from the treasury.
The treasury may be out of money, but Liu Hong will never be out of money.
Don’t have any in the national treasury? Then lend me your inner treasury!
After all, I am fighting for you too!
So Liu Bei used his own special skills - he hated the lack of financial resources (crying), crying about poverty with all his strength, trying to get more support from Liu Hong.
He said that he really couldn't raise more funds, and all his social connections were used, so he couldn't come up with the expenses needed for the army. He also asked Liu Hong to show his loyalty and give him more money.
Boss, I am doing it for the country, for the ancestral tomb of the late emperor, and for your old man’s throne. Can you be more trustworthy?
If I don't have enough troops, I can't pacify Liangzhou, and the rebels invade the Youfufeng Emperor's mausoleum, I will certainly die, but won't you, the old man, have to die too?
If the imperial mausoleum is violated, won't your throne also have problems?
We are just grasshoppers on a rope now, please give us some strength!
Liu Bei kept wiping his tears and cried until he was hoarse. Liu Hong thought about it carefully and felt that what Liu Bei said did make sense.
He had no troops, and his throne was unstable. From the moment Liu Bei took office as the Mu of Liangzhou, the two of them had a shared destiny.
So his stance softened a bit.
Zhang Rang looked at Liu Bei with tears streaming down his face. He knew that Liu Bei was acting, but he couldn't stand it anymore, so he intervened and said a few words for him.
So Liu Hong's stance softened a bit.
In this way, Liu Bei and Liu Hong had a cruel tug-of-war over the cost of raising troops. The two bargained in units of one thousand people, one thousand people and one thousand people. The battle was very exciting.
Liu Bei said twenty-nine thousand, Liu Hong said ten thousand, Liu Bei said twenty-eight thousand, Liu Hong increased it to twelve thousand.
The two of them went back and forth to bargain for several rounds. During this period, Zhang Rang even sneaked in to stir up the trouble, helping Liu Bei at one moment and Liu Hong at another, making Liu Hong seem quite happy.
According to Liu Bei's observation, Liu Hong seemed to be really enjoying the bargaining process, haggling, arguing, yelling, and acting rogue, all with a great deal of fun.
Liu Bei cried poverty with him, and he also cried poverty with Liu Bei. The two of them cried poverty at each other, each with a lack of financial resources. In a daze, Liu Bei recalled the story of a borrowing war with his roommate when he was in college.
Are you discussing state affairs?
The two cried to each other until the end. Liu Hong approved Liu Bei's plan to recruit 30,000 troops, but said that he could only afford the military expenses of 22,000 troops at most.
There were 8,000 people left. He wouldn't let go no matter what. He wouldn't listen no matter what he said. He just said that he had no money and couldn't come up with the money. Liu Bei would find a way to do it by himself. If he couldn't get the money, he would recruit 20,000 people. Two thousand people were healed.
Yes, Liu Bei knows, this is Liu Hong's bottom line.
This means that in the 30,000-strong recruitment plan, Liu Bei needs to figure out the recruitment and subsequent maintenance costs for 8,000 soldiers by himself.
As for how Liu Bei increases his troops in Liangzhou, that is all Liu Bei's business. Anyway, the court only gave him 22,000 yuan, so what he can do in the future is entirely up to him.
The so-called pillar of the country, doesn’t it mean to share the country’s worries in various senses?
Liu Hong looked proud of his great contribution. He felt as if he had paid a lot of things that he didn't need to pay. While expressing his contribution, he also did not forget to put a high hat on Liu Bei and paint a big pie, which made Liu Bei very speechless.
He did know that Liu Hong liked to bargain with vendors in the West Garden pretending to be shopping, but he did not expect that military and national affairs could also be negotiated according to commercial principles.
Liu Hong is really a unique emperor who is rare to see throughout the ages.
However, later Liu Hong probably felt that what he had done was a bit unjustifiable, so when Liu Bei asked for privileges and understanding in appointing and removing officials, Liu Hong said that he would definitely give him the green light and would not block his neck in this regard.
If he has any officials he wants to appoint or remove, such as prefects of various counties, as long as the reasons are acceptable, the court will give priority to his opinions.
Making things difficult for Liu Bei is not what Liu Hong wants. He just hopes that Liu Bei will take care of Liangzhou as soon as possible, and then return to him to continue to solve problems for him and be his external brain.
In the end, Liu Hong probably felt that he had made a big deal and was very happy. He told Liu Bei affectionately that he should govern Liangzhou as soon as possible. He was still waiting for Liu Bei to come back.
If you want to spread the pie for me, you might as well actually allocate more funds to me.
However, Liu Bei initially thought that he would definitely not need more than 20,000 people. Now that he has an extra 2,000 people, it can be considered a small profit. The remaining 8,000 people are not too difficult to pay.
The limit of 22,000 yuan is already a big starting advantage for Liu Bei. With these troops, he also has a certain degree of risk resistance in the face of Liangzhou's complex environment and the threat of more than one million foreigners. Ability.
As for other aspects...
Liu Hong has the treasury, and he, Liu Bei, has a big family.
Cao family, Zhen family, you decide!
Liu Bei first found Zhen Yan and said that after he obtained the seal and ribbon documents of the state, he would first appoint Zhen Yan as his state bookkeeper to engage in history, be in charge of the money and grain account books, and be in charge of all the wealthy families in Liangzhou. The state's purse was entrusted to him to manage.
He believed in Zhen Yan's expertise in this area.
Zhen Yan bowed down to express her gratitude for Liu Bei's trust, and once again said that she would go through fire and water for Liu Bei without hesitation.
Liu Bei smiled and encouraged Zhen Yan, and then talked to Zhen Yan about raising money to recruit soldiers, hoping to get some help from Zhen in this regard, so that he could solve his problems.
When Zhen Yan heard this, he immediately showed a rich smile.
"Although Zhen has no property, she can still spend money and food to recruit soldiers and horses for you. Please rest assured that whenever you need something, Zhen will do it for you even if she does her best."
When Zhen Yan said he would do his best, he definitely didn't mean to give his all. Liu Bei, who knew the Zhen family's accumulation of more than two hundred years, nodded and expressed that he was very much looking forward to the future development of Zhen Yan and the Zhen family.
Next, Cao Cao, the big dog owner, cannot let go.
Ever since he learned a little bit about the Cao family's wealth last time, Liu Bei had been full of expectations for the Cao family.
He found Cao Cao and told Cao Cao that he had difficulties in recruiting troops and might need financial support from the Cao family. Cao Cao then showed a rich smile and patted his chest repeatedly, indicating that this matter was taken care of by the Cao family.
money?
Cao Cao said that after living for more than thirty years, the most direct truth he learned is that problems that need to be solved with money are not problems.
The key is that there are many problems in this world that cannot be solved with money, which bothers him.
And Liu Bei needs money, this is too simple.
