Lu Bu waved his hand and said, "Hey! Mr. Zhuge, don't rush to confuse things. We have to sort this out first.
The five hundred thousand taels of gold I want is the price for Yuan Shu to redeem his son!
After he paid the money, I will return his son, with the price clearly marked, so he can do no harm to his son!
If he wants to form an alliance with me to fight against Cao Ma, he has to show some sincerity. These two things cannot be confused! "
Zhuge Xuan and Lu Su looked at each other and felt a little confused.
This guy Lu Bu is very thoughtful and logical, how can he look like a warrior?
This is clearly the face of a cunning, greedy politician!
Lu Bu asked with a smile: "What? Should we talk about Yuan Yao first, or should we talk about joining forces to fight against Cao first?"
Zhuge Jin smiled reluctantly and said: "Then let's talk about how Marquis Wen is willing to let the prince go."
Lu Bu nodded and said, "Actually, you don't have to cry about poverty with me. I know that Yuan Shu lives a very extravagant life.
In addition, he is the best at expropriating taxes, so five hundred thousand taels of gold is really not a big amount for him.
It's just that it's really a problem for him to come up with so much money at once.
Especially at this juncture, he had just been defeated by Liu Biao. If he continued to impose high taxes, it would inevitably cause public resentment.
They have become enemies with me again. If they really go to war with me, Liu Biao and Cao Cao will definitely be willing to take the opportunity to stab Yuan Shu in the back, right? "
Zhuge Xuan nodded and said: "What Marquis Wen said is true. But if my lord really loses Yuzhou, will Marquis Wen be able to take Yuzhou as his own?"
Marquis Wen only had more than 10,000 troops under his command. Can Marquis Wen trust the men and horses under Tao Qian's command now?
Expansion too blindly may lead to backlash. And Cao Cao certainly wouldn't just watch Wen Hou grow bigger, right?
In my humble opinion, the safest way for Marquis Wen now is to consolidate Xuzhou first and increase his strength. "
Lu Bu was not angry at all, but nodded and said:
"Mr. Zhuge's words are on point! So I need an ally now.
I can benefit from choosing Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, or even Liu Biao! All in all, the initiative is in my hands! "
The two of them felt even more chilled after hearing this. If Lu Bu really negotiated with this intention, let alone wanting to form an alliance with Lu Bu, it would be difficult to negotiate the price for Lu Bu's release!
Unexpectedly, Lu Bu paused and then said: "But, since Yuan Shu has appointed you two to come here to talk, then I can't be without any sincerity, right?
To be honest, I wrote the letter to Yuan Shu asking for 500,000 taels of gold out of anger.
Now that you are here, Yuan Shu must have told you a bottom line. Why don't we tell you honestly, how much money is Yuan Shu willing to pay to buy back his son? "
"This..." Zhuge Xuan hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and said, "How about fifty thousand taels?"
Lu Bu couldn't help but laugh and said: "Mr. Zhuge! Has anyone told you that you are not suitable to be a retainer and counselor? You should go into business!"
It's enough to cut the price in half, but you're going to see your ankle with one knife! "
"Don't be anxious, Marquis Wen, I haven't finished speaking yet. What I mean is, take 50,000 taels first, and then let Marquis Wen go. After my lord, the crown prince, returns... I can collect another 50,000 taels to give to Marquis Wen." come over!"
Zhuge Xuan laughed awkwardly, but he was scolding his mother in his heart: Who told you to open your mouth like a lion?
Lu Bu smiled, obviously not believing Zhuge Xuan's little trick, and said, "I have a suggestion, please tell me."
Zhuge Xuandao: "Marquis Wen, please speak!"
Lu Bu said: "Actually, I have admired these two gentlemen for a long time. As long as you two are willing to give up Yuan Shu and join my account, I will send back not a hair of Yuan Yao's hair. How about that?"
"Ah?" Neither Zhuge Xuan nor Lu Su expected that Lu Bu would make such a blatant poaching request!
Lu Su took the lead and said: "Marquis Wen, please forgive me. My entire family is in the east city of Linhuai. Although the Lu family is not a wealthy family, it is prosperous and has a small income. And I am only the chief of the east city, not Yuan Yuan." I am a retainer and counselor on the highway. This time I was also entrusted to see Marquis Wen in times of crisis."
This is very clear. I, Lu Su, am Xianyun Yehe, not Yuan Shu. If you want me, there is no way.
Lu Bu was a little amused. Who doesn't know how much money your family has?
If you hadn't devoted your whole family's efforts to supporting Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, it's not certain whether Soochow would have survived!
If Mi Zhu made Shu Han successful, then the person who made Soochow Wu successful was you, Lu Su!
Zhuge Xuan also said: "Although Xuan admires the reputation of Marquis Wen, he is old and has three sons (nephews) to take care of. He has long wanted to retire..."
Lu Bu pretended to be a little surprised and asked, "Oh? I wonder which three servants they are?"
Zhuge Xuan didn't expect that Lu Bu would actually ask more questions, so he had to answer: "My brother Gui died young. He left behind his eldest son Jin, who is eighteen years old, his second son Liang who is thirteen years old, and his youngest son, who is ten years old and has no one to teach him..."
Lu Bu nodded: That's it! This little guy Zhuge Liang is only thirteen years old! Should we try our best to get it, or should we kill him?
Lu Bu still somewhat approved of Cao Cao's attitude towards talents: Those who cannot be used by me will be killed by me.
But Zhuge Liang is actually not as miraculous as in the novel.
Zhuge Liang was not responsible for such things as Bowang Slope, borrowing arrows from thatched boats, burning Red Cliff, and the empty city strategy.
Zhuge Liang's military ability is actually not that outstanding.
As for the ability to govern the country... When the Shu Han Dynasty was first founded, the registered population was 900,000. After 42 years, the Shu Han was destroyed, and the registered population was 940,000.
In 1942, the population increased by only 40,000 in two generations.
Of course, these are just the registered numbers, and the actual number of black households is far more than that.
However, as the weakest branch of the Three Kingdoms, the Shu Han Dynasty supported an army of 100,000 people with more than 900,000 taxpayers. The Northern Expeditions finally exhausted the national power, and Zhuge Liang also contributed a lot.
Because he said: "I heard that your family is from Langya?"
Zhuge Xuandao: "That's right, my ancestor is from Yangdu, Langya."
Lu Bu laughed and said: "In this case, I guess if you want to retire and return to your hometown, you will also go back to Xuzhou? Welcome!
When the time comes, whether Mr. Zhuge returns to Langya or comes to Pengcheng, Budu will welcome him!
Speaking of educating people, I also have a set of ideas. I want to set up schools in Xuzhou to educate the people.
Presumably Mr. Zhuge also has some experience in this, just right! Come here, go get a set of books and ask Mr. Zhuge to correct me!
It's hard work for these two gentlemen to come all the way. I've already had a banquet prepared for them.
It's not too late to have some food and wine and then have a good rest, and then talk about business tomorrow. "
Both Zhuge Xuan and Lu Su were a little confused about what kind of drama Lu Bu was going to sing, but they said that they couldn't insist on it, so they just did as they pleased.
After a while, someone came in with a stack of books.
Lu Bu couldn't hide his pride: "Two gentlemen, please take a look. This is the book I plan to use to enlighten children in school!"
