Chapter 39: Desperate Measures

  Zhang Cai finished speaking and stared intently at Li Chong's face, afraid that Li Chong would turn against him. Although Zhang Cai was bold and daring, he did not dare to openly oppose the great Han court, so his words were also ambiguous and could not be grasped.

  Although the Han Dynasty has been through ups and downs over the years, its prestige remains intact. These lawless merchants still believe in their hearts that the Han will return to the right path, so they dare not go too far.

  But Li Zhongke was different, he knew that the Great Han was finished and didn't even have a chance to reflect on its past glory. The interests of the Great Han were worthless in Li Zhongke's eyes; what mattered most was his own gain.

  Li Zhongduan lifted the teacup and slowly brought it to his lips, unconsciously taking a sip. Zhang Cai quietly knelt beside him, waiting silently for Li Zhong to speak.

  "After a long time, as long as it takes to burn an incense stick, Li Chong slowly spat out a few words: 'All the profits... I want 50%.'"

  "What?" Zhang Cai listened with wide eyes and an open mouth.

  He has also experienced many county magistrates, among whom there are greedy ones, but they also speak evasively. However, none of them are like Li Chong, who opens his mouth and demands a 50% profit margin. Is this Li Chong still an imperial official? He is even more cunning than a merchant! Isn't it said that he was extremely loyal and righteous, and accompanied Cao Mengde in single-handedly pursuing Dong Zhuo? Are the stories about him false?

  Directly haggling with merchants, how shameless is this!

  Zhang Cai was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses, and saw him bitterly smile: "Sir, five successes are too many, don't be fooled...". Zhang Cai burst into tears again.

  "Hmm!" Li Chong seemed to have heard something and asked: "Then what benefits can you give me?"

  Zhang Cai gritted her teeth, stretched out two fingers and said: "Twenty percent!"

  "What?" This time it was Li Chong's turn to glare, and he angrily said: "Two percent, I, Li Chong, risk losing my official position to help you... but there are only two percent benefits. You can dream on! From tomorrow on, all incoming and outgoing goods will have to undergo strict inspection. Furthermore, I'll also dispatch people to patrol, and once anyone is found to be secretly trading with the alien tribe, they will be beheaded without pardon."

  "Three is enough! I can't have any more, I still need to hand over to others." Zhang Cai said in a low voice.

  "Good! But add another 500 stones of grain to the gift list." Li Zhong nodded heavily, Zhang Cai saw Li Zhong being so entangled in interests and felt a little relieved in his heart, but he didn't know that Li Zhong's true intention was not here.

  "No problem, I'll get someone to prepare it right away." Zhang Cai smiled and let out a long sigh of relief in her heart. She had finally settled this greedy young man's demands - 30%? Ha! You can dream on, getting 50% is already quite generous.

  Li Chong didn't know Zhang Cai was plotting against him, he smiled and stood up, bidding farewell to Zhang Cai.

  Back in the hall, Zhang Cai nodded slightly to these country squire, indicating that things were half done, and the atmosphere became more lively again. They vied with each other to offer Li Chong a toast, and some people even started to peddle their daughters or nieces, making Li Chong overwhelmed.

  It was midnight when he returned to the county government office and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

  The next day at the hour of Si, Chen Lin arrived at the rear residence and saw Li Chong, who asked rudely: "Master, today Zhang Cai sent people to deliver grain, fodder, horses, and military supplies. I don't know..."

  Li nodded heavily and said: "I know, you can take it."

  Before long, Tai Shi Cai also returned to the rear mansion and saw Li Chong, hastily asking: "Master, I heard that Zhang Cai presented 50 war horses and 100 steel knives to Master, is this true?"

  Li Chong and Taishi Ci were close friends. Upon hearing this, he laughed and said: "Zi Yi isn't taking these things seriously, is he? Sit down and talk."

  Tai Shi Zi and knelt down, laughing: "Of course, I went to take a look on purpose, they're all good stuff."

  Li Chong rolled his eyes and said: "Nonsense, I got this by colluding with Zhang Cai, how could it be bad?"

  Tai Shi Zi also smiled lightly: "What kind of deal did you and Zhang Cai make? He's so generous."

  Li Chong repeated himself in detail, and Taishi Ci sighed, saying in a low voice: "My lord... the Han Dynasty, is there really no hope left?"

  "There is." Li Chong said with a cold smile.

  "Is there still hope for the Han?" Taishi Ci asked excitedly, after all, the Han's rule of several hundred years had left a lingering attachment in many hearts.

  "For example, we defeated the vassals all over the country and then returned power to the Liu royal court. In this way, the great Han dynasty will have hope again. But in this process, we still have to bear the weight of powerful ministers, no, treacherous ministers, just like Dong Zhuo's infamous reputation, do you understand?"

  "Why?" asked Taishi Ci in surprise.

  Li Shou sneered and said, "Look at Dong Zhuo, he controlled the Han court, but was immediately attacked by the lords of Guandong. Even if Dong Zhuo were a loyal minister, he wouldn't dare to relinquish power. Without power, he would have long been dead and buried. And relying solely on that little brat Liu Xie, can he stabilize the precarious Han dynasty? Moreover, even if someone unified the world and wanted to relinquish power, they would still need to consider the reaction of the Liu family."

  "What's Liu's reaction?" Tai Shi Ci whispered a couple of sentences, and suddenly his face changed greatly.

  Thinking of "When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked." This familiar idiom made Taishi Ci smile wryly and sigh quietly.

  Li Chong looked at Taishi Ci and smiled, saying: "Here, Li Chong suddenly felt that Cao Cao was also a pitiful person. At first, he worked hard for the Han Dynasty, conquering east and west, but Liu Xie kept stabbing him in the back. Cao Cao must have been very depressed at that time!"

  In the end, even if Cao Cao wanted to return power to Emperor Liu, his civil and military officials would not agree. You want to die, don't drag everyone down with you!

  "My heart was going towards the bright moon, but why did the bright moon shine on the ditch?" Li Chong couldn't help but think of this sentence.

  Taishi Ci no longer worried about the problem of the Han Dynasty's survival, and asked: "Master, aren't you afraid that Zhang Cai will cheat you? We don't have any business talents!"

  "Deceive me?" Li Chong sneered: "Do you think I really cooperated with Zhang Cai for that little benefit?"

  Seeing Tai Shi Ci's puzzled expression, Li Chong slowly said: "I'm actually not for that little benefit, my goal is the entire... Mo Bei!"

  As he spoke, Li Zhong pointed northward with his finger.

  Tai Shi Ci took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly, and said solemnly: "I understand. Are we going to send someone to infiltrate Zhang Cai's merchant caravan?"

  "No need." Li Chong shook his head and said, "Zi Yi, find a few clever soldiers to openly monitor them. Our goal is the terrain of Mo Bei, the strength of each tribe... most importantly, the map. Do you understand?"

  "I understand!" Tai Shi Ci suddenly stood up, patted his chest with force, and his eyes shone with a fierce light, his fists clenched with a "crackling" sound.

  As long as one is a military general, who doesn't want to be like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, sweeping across the northern deserts, conquering the Wolf and Xiongnu tribes? Fighting among their own people, what kind of heroism is that?

  Writing a book with no collections and no recommendations is so painful!