No matter how Cao Rui beat Xia Houmao in the palace, the lack of food in Guanzhong has become an unchangeable fact.
More importantly, now in Guanzhong, even the private sector cannot collect food, otherwise Xiahou Mao would not have spent his own money to buy food in Guandong.
Two years have been enough for Longyou to clear out the excess private grain reserves in Guanzhong.
After all, since the beginning of the Huang Dynasty (the reign of Cao Pi), the price of grain has always been low. Now that someone is willing to buy it at a high price, who wouldn't throw it away happily?
Xia Houmao, who was good at running his family business, took advantage of his special status to buy low and sell high, making a lot of money.
He is not a complete idiot. He naturally knows the importance of food, so although he resells food, he actually retains a batch of food.
At the same time, he also made an appointment with a large family in Guandong to buy a batch of grain to fill the gap after the summer harvest.
After all, Guanzhong has always been safe and sound after so many years, so when Xiahou Mao came to think about it, he could only borrow the old grain from the treasury for two months at most.
After two months, he can replace it with new grain.
Unexpectedly, it was such a coincidence that at this time of drought, Shu captives suddenly emerged from Hanzhong, and their momentum was extremely large. They actually mobilized the entire country to invade the border of Wei.
The Wei Dynasty had to send a large army into Guanzhong, so the food left in Guanzhong was suddenly no longer available.
Xia Houmao felt as if someone had hit him seven inches, his eyes were black, and he almost couldn't breathe.
In fact, as long as Cao Zhen can cut off the Shu captives' food route in Wudu, or Zhang He can take back Longguan and defeat the Shu captives as soon as possible, he can think of a way to deal with this matter.
But now that both of them have returned in defeat, seeing that more armies from Guandong and Hebei are coming to confront the Shu captives, the food issue can no longer be covered up.
When Cao Rui heard Xia Houmao explain the whole story clearly, he wanted to kill him on the spot.
Just thinking of his special status, he had no choice but to order Xia Houmao to be imprisoned first. After returning to the palace, he was still angry and smashed several things.
"Why is Your Majesty so angry?"
Suddenly a slightly feminine voice sounded, and a man with extremely handsome appearance walked in without being informed by the waiter. Seeing Cao Rui's appearance, he couldn't help but ask warmly.
As soon as Cao Rui saw this man, the scowl on his face disappeared and his expression softened, "It turns out to be Ah Si!"
The man who came in was Cao Zhao, the son of Grand Sima Cao Xiu, also named Changsi.
Cao Zhao is now a regular attendant of Sanqi, a member of the emperor's entourage.
Cao Zhao was originally a royal family member. He had known Cao Rui since he was a child. When Cao Rui was deliberately ignored by Cao Pi and suffered from the cold and warmth of the world, Cao Zhao was one of his few friends.
When Cao Rui became emperor, he did not alienate his good friend because of his change in status.
On the contrary, he often even let Cao Zhao spend the night in the palace and sleep with him. The relationship between the two became closer than before.
That's why Cao Zhao was able to come in at such a time without being informed by the servants.
When Cao Zhao saw the debris on the ground, he first asked his chamberlain to come in and clean it up. Then he helped Cao Rui sit in front of the desk. He sat down next to him and asked softly, "Is your Majesty worried about Longyou?"
Cao Rui didn't have any precautions in front of Cao Zhao. He put down all his pretense and sighed, "Other than that, what else can I do?"
When Cao Zhao heard this, he said with relief, "Emperor Wu is wise and powerful, and he has conquered the four seas, but he still suffered defeats in Chibi and losses in Hanzhong."
"Your Majesty has just ascended to the great treasure. When the Central Plains is uneasy, he can defeat cunning prisoners like Sun Quan. This is the legacy of Emperor Wu. Now that the Wei Dynasty has become the orthodoxy of the world, the Shu captives are just a corner of the country, and they are only successful for a while."
"The situation your Majesty is facing now, compared to Emperor Wu's defeat at Chibi and Hanzhong, is only a scabies disease compared to the illness of his confidants. How could your Majesty be so out of position and in disarray?"
After hearing this, Cao Rui's troubled mood eased slightly, and he looked at Cao Zhao gratefully, "If everyone knows my thoughts like Ah Si, why should I be so troubled?"
Cao Zhao smiled slightly, and it was actually a bit soft and charming, which made Cao Rui look a little distracted.
"Your Majesty, reinforcements from Guandong and Hebei are now entering Guanzhong. The land of Longyou will be recovered sooner or later. Why worry? Besides, no matter how upset Your Majesty is, it will not help the matter now. It is better to relax and avoid being too distracted. Work hard.”
"That's true."
Cao Rui gently pressed Cao Zhao's hand and nodded.
Cao Zhao stretched out his hand to smooth Cao Rui's brow, and then said, "Your Majesty is worried about state affairs and frowns. I can't bear to see it. Why don't we come and play with Ai Pu so that Your Majesty can relax."
"Oh, that's good. It's just that this opera has to have a bet to make it fun. I wonder what Ah Si would make a bet for?"
As expected, Cao Rui's attention was drawn away. He looked at Cao Zhao, who was empty-handed, and asked jokingly.
Cao Zhao looked at Cao Rui's clothes and smiled, "Then how about we make a bet with our two clothes?"
"Very good!"
Cao Rui's eyes lit up.
The next morning, Cao Zhao came out of the palace, looked for an opportunity, and quietly found Qin Lang's residence.
When Qin Lang saw Cao Zhao, his face lit up. Seeing that there was no one outside the door, he quickly closed the door, then looked him up and down, and then asked, "Chang Si's clothes..."
Cao Zhao smiled proudly, "Does it look familiar?"
Qin Lang nodded.
"These are His Majesty's clothes. Yesterday, I played a game of clothing with Your Majesty, and I never wanted to lose all the time. When I came out of His Majesty's palace just now, I wore this clothes while His Majesty was not paying attention."
Cao Zhao said loudly.
When Qin Lang heard this, he was even more surprised, but he also knew that if anyone was close to His Majesty, it was Cao Zhao.
I'm afraid His Majesty may not be aware that Cao Zhao took his clothes, and maybe he did it on purpose.
Thinking of Cao Zhao's words again, Qin Lang felt happy, "His Majesty spent the night in the palace again last night?"
"Otherwise, why would I come out now?"
"That's great!"
Qin Lang took Cao Zhao's arm, took him into the house, and sat down separately.
Then he whispered, "Your Majesty's order for me to go to Qian County yesterday was beyond my expectation. I didn't know that Your Majesty had other intentions. I couldn't sleep well last night, just waiting for long thoughts. Here’s the news.”
Hearing this, Cao Zhao comforted him, "There is no need to worry about Yuan Ming. I also asked your Majesty yesterday. Your Majesty is reluctant to part with you. It's just that he couldn't stand the persuasion of the two old thieves Liu Fang and Sun Zi, so he had no choice but to let you go to Qian County." Lead.”
When Qin Lang heard this, he immediately gritted his teeth and said, "I expected that these two people were the one causing the trouble!"
Cao Zhao also showed a look of shared hatred on his face, "These two have been in charge of secrets for three dynasties for a long time. They are veteran ministers, so they can't stand us new ministers."
"Now that I have the opportunity, I will do evil things secretly. I asked you to go to Shouqian County. On the surface, it seems that you are talented, but in fact, I am transferring you away from His Majesty. It is really abominable!"
When Qin Lang heard this, there was a hint of anxiety on his face, "What should I do? Although Your Majesty trusts me, I am still relatively inexperienced. If I go to Qian County, I am afraid that I may not be able to convince the public."
"It doesn't matter that I have suffered some grievances, but if it ruins His Majesty's important affairs, I will never atone for my sin."
"Don't worry." Cao Zhao was not worried about this. He only smiled confidently, "Yuan Ming is just in the middle of the game. If you care about it, it will cause chaos. The current guard of Qian County, Wang Shuang, was originally my uncle (Cao Ren) The general has a deep connection with our Cao family."
"You have lived in the Cao Mansion since you were a child, and you are half of the Cao family. How can he make things difficult for you? I will write another letter to him then. In addition, you are His Majesty's confidant. Who among these Qianxian soldiers would not Obey orders?"
Qin Lang nodded and sighed, "I'm afraid that Liu Fang and Sun Zi also thought of this, so they persuaded your majesty to let me go to Qian County without any scruples."
"What are you afraid of? Just take advantage of the situation." Cao Zhao's face was originally feminine, but now his face became gloomy, and there was even more gloominess, "Yuan Ming, you already have a military strategy, and it's just right to go to Qian County. Show off your strengths.”
"If you can make a contribution, that would be the best. Then you will be in charge of the army outside, and I will serve His Majesty inside. Are you still afraid of those two old thieves?"
When he said this, he was secretly calculating in his heart. His lord has now become the Grand Sima and the most important minister in the Wei Dynasty. Liu Fang and Sun Zi will definitely not dare to do anything to him. Even if he is invincible place.
As long as given time, I will be able to replace these two and become His Majesty's most trusted eyes and ears.
