In Lu Ren's rather high-spirited singing, the time came to the twenty-first year of Jian'an. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Liaodong is determined, and there are a lot of messy things, so Lu Ren stayed in Liaodong to preside over the overall situation. In other respects, Lao Cao returned to Yecheng around March, and Liu Bei stepped up the internal affairs of Shuzhong after hearing that Lao Cao himself had left Hanzhong, and anyone with a discerning eye understood that Liu Bei was preparing for an attack on Hanzhong and ensuring that this gateway to Shuzhong was being prepared.

Sun Quan was not idle. Now that Liu Bei has taken the central Shuzhong region, of course, he wants to continue to talk nonsense with Liu Bei for the problem of Jingzhou, and he is also careful to guard against the Jiangbei frontline. Speaking of which, if it is according to the original history, Lao Cao will come to fight Sun Quan after a little rest after returning from Hanzhong in this year, but it is difficult to say in the current situation.

The reason is that after Lu Ren took Liaodong and Liaoxi, there was a huge potential threat to the northeast of Lao Cao's territory, and with Lao Cao's military and political ability, he naturally would not take this situation lightly. And in this case, he still sent troops to fight Sun Quan? No matter how old Cao is, he doesn't have the courage to be a peerless hero.

But right now, what Lao Cao needs to be busy with most is not this, but Lao Cao's internal political struggle. In the original history, Lao Cao was promoted to the throne as the king of Wei after returning to Yecheng from Hanzhong in the 21st year of Jian'an. This matter is not as simple as simply adding an official to a knight, and the hidden secrets involved are not the slightest bit.

There are two of them, one is that Lao Cao wants to borrow the matter of Jin Jue to increase his prestige and suppress the opposition, which is part of the political struggle; As for the second, Lao Cao can now represent the interests of a large number of people, and his title has been promoted, so that those people can justifiably get some soup and water from Lao Cao. If Lao Cao can't distribute these soups and water to those people, then Lao Cao himself will have a hard time here. To put it bluntly, if you can't give others the corresponding benefits, don't expect others to do things for you.

This was the case in the original history, and the current situation is not much different, that is, Lao Cao jumped out immediately after returning to Yecheng, saying that Lao Cao's merits are too great, and he should be made the king.

Correspondingly, there are many people who are silent, but in this part of the people are divided into two parts. Part of it was a silent protest, and part of it was a standard wallhead. Whether you are the king or not, it doesn't seem to have much impact on these wall grasses.

If it is according to the original process, Lao Cao will embark on the road to becoming the king, and perhaps it can be said that he will not hesitate to "accept Jiuxi and be the king". But now Lao Cao hesitated, because just a few days ago, Lao Cao received a handwritten letter from Lu Ren who asked Zhao Yu to forward to Lao Cao.

There was not much on the letter, just these few words:

"Old man Cao, everything should be remembered in moderation. If you want to take that step, then I'm probably going to have a complete turn on you, don't force me to do it. You're smart and should understand what I'm talking about. If you really don't understand, you might as well think about why Xun Wenruo came to me.

"It's meaningless to say too much, and I, Lu Ren, don't bother to play with those writings, in short, you can do it yourself. And I think your old Cao is a smart person, and you shouldn't go that step without absolute certainty. If you don't feel like it's easy to explain to the people around you, don't worry, I'll help you settle them and give you a beautiful staircase. ”

Such a letter, of course, will make Lao Cao hesitate. Of course, Lao Cao knew what Lu Ren meant by "that step" in his letter, and at the same time, he also knew that Lu Ren was probably just using this to earn political capital. But the problem is that with the threat that Lu Ren is forming now, Lao Cao really can't help but take Lu Ren seriously. But with such words, how can Lao Cao open his mouth to those people?

So what Lao Cao paid attention to was the last sentence in Lu Ren's letter, Lu Ren would help Lao Cao settle those people, and then give Lao Cao a beautiful step. Because of this, when Lao Cao was caught in the battle of words and tongues of several people, he wisely chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb, wanting to see what kind of tricks Lu Ren could use to make some people shut up.

By the way, Lao Cao also wanted to see if Lu Ren was bluffing or if he really had a way. If Lu Ren was bluffing, Lao Cao would laugh unceremoniously at Lu Ren, and then embark on the road to becoming king; If Lu Ren really had a way to help Lao Cao settle those who wanted to get some benefits from Lao Cao's claim to be king, Lao Cao wouldn't mind. Because of such a group of people, Lao Cao is actually difficult to feed them, so many times Lao Cao also has a headache for such a group of people. If Lu Ren had a way to teach this group of people a lesson, so that these people could restrain a little because of this, Lao Cao would be happy.

However, correspondingly, Lao Cao immediately began to rearrange the deployment of troops after returning to Yecheng, the purpose of which was naturally to prevent Lu Ren from launching a military attack. Lu Ren now holds Liaoxi and Liaodong, the army can gather tens of thousands of cavalry, not to mention the navy, how dare Lao Cao take this lightly?

In this way, when Lao Cao pretended to be deaf and dumb, and the people in Lao Cao's group were arguing, Lu Ren suddenly made a move. As for Lu Ren's tricks, it really surprised many people, including Lao Cao.

What tricks? If you want to put aside the words of modern society, it is a trade embargo, but this word and this thing did not seem to be very common in that era, and because ancient China has always adhered to the small peasant economy and the ability to be self-sufficient, this trick is not very effective in many cases. But it's not that it really hasn't been used, at least like in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty's trade embargo on Western Xia almost dragged down the entire country of Western Xia.

Well, I didn't go too far, just said that when the people on Lao Cao's side were still arguing about Lao Cao's claim to be king, they suddenly found that all the trade exchanges between Lao Cao's territory and Yizhou were unilaterally interrupted by Lu Ren's side.

Yizhou's merchant fleet no longer appeared in the coastal ports of Lao Cao's territory; The fleets in Lao Cao's territory that went to Yizhou for business and trade either arrived in Yizhou but could not make any transactions, and could only return the same way after making some supplies, or they were expelled from Yizhou's sphere of influence by Yizhou's fleet before they even entered the coastal waters of Yizhou.

In a word, the trade between Lao Cao and Lu Ren was all interrupted.

Some people may say, what is the use of Lu Renlai with such a hand? Lao Cao's territory is so large, not to mention that he is rich in products, and the small-scale peasant economy he pursues also has a strong self-sufficiency, is he still afraid that Lu Ren's trade embargo will not succeed? After all, this is not a war in modern society, and it is inseparable from things like oil and rubber to fight.

Then at this time, I can only say I'm sorry, and I really underestimated Lu Ren on this issue. Or it can also be said that after Lu Ren has endured for many years and carefully operated for many years, the seeds that were quietly planted at the beginning finally bloomed at this time.

Let's put it this way, when did Lu Ren arrive in Yizhou and start operating? Lu Ren escaped from Cao's camp and arrived in Yizhou in the sixth year of Jian'an, and the sixth year of Jian'an to the thirteenth year of Jian'an was the period when Lao Cao was committed to leveling the Yuan Shao group, and it was also the period of economic recovery on Lao Cao's side. If it weren't for that, where would Lu Ren's market for Lao Cao's territory be so easy to open? In other words, Lu Ren also has a taste of "taking advantage of the void".

And so, things went on year after year. It is not wrong that Lao Cao's military and political abilities are very strong, and the self-sufficiency of the small-scale peasant economy is also very strong, but Lao Cao is almost "no year without levy", and the consumption in all aspects is also terrifying. It is precisely because there is a large amount of consumption, and because there is a guy like Lu Ren who provides Lao Cao with a large number of urgently needed materials in the form of commerce, which will inevitably make Lao Cao's side dependent on Lu Ren's trade provision at some levels.

On the other hand, Lu Ren is quietly breathless, and he is almost pervasive and drills into many layers of Lao Cao's side, so over the years, Lu Ren has actually controlled the economic lifeline of Lao Cao's side at many levels. But due to the limitations of the times, the people on Lao Cao's side didn't notice much about it, or they actually found out, but they all felt that Lao Cao had a vast territory and strong production capacity, so he couldn't take Lu Ren's control seriously, right?

And in this case, Lu Ren suddenly completely cut off the trade with Lao Cao, which was no less than hitting the head of the gang of people with a stick, making them dizzy.

For example, Sima Yi, the history of Xuzhou Thorn, cold sweat came down at this time. Xuzhou, which he governed, was the area where Lao Cao had the most frequent contacts with Yizhou, and under Lu Ren's intentional guidance, there were also many large-scale workshops in Xuzhou that were similar to the prototype of the factory.

In normal times, these large-scale workshops rely on trade with Yizhou to engage in production and processing, and the money is going to drill into the pockets of the wealthy families who opened the workshops, in Lu Ren's words, this already has the prototype of the capitalist bourgeoisie, and although the workers in the large workshops are exploited by them who don't know much about it, in terms of wage income alone, they are actually much better than the ordinary peasants at that time, and the small life is naturally more nourishing.

But now that Lu Ren suddenly cut off trade exchanges, what kind of results did it bring to these large workshops? I wanted to produce something without corresponding raw materials, and the production machinery I bought from Yizhou broke down and there were no parts to repair it, and the goods that I was going to sell to Yizhou suddenly became unsellable...... Well, to put it simply, in a very short period of time, these large workshops fell into a situation where the workshops stopped production and the workers lost their jobs.

The wealthy family can't make money, and even starts to lose money, of course there will be some trouble; The workers in the workshop are unemployed and have no food to eat, so they will naturally make some trouble. So Sima Yi, who was quite complacent because of the smooth sailing of Xuzhou, was in a panic at this time, and he was busy writing a letter to report such a thing to Lao Cao.

Not only Xuzhou, there are many such places in Lao Cao's territory, but Xuzhou has the closest contact with Yizhou, so it will be more representative when things come out. But at the same time, it can also be explained that the areas where such a situation has occurred are basically the most developed areas in Lao Cao's territory at present. There are so many such situations at once, where can Lao Cao and his gang of people still sit still? You must know that if this matter is a little bigger, Lao Cao will send troops to quell the rebellion, and so many developed areas have been affected, do you know how much less Lao Cao's economic income here will be?

That's not all, it wasn't until this time that Lao Cao and the others were horrified to find that there were too many things in their territory that were quite dependent on the things produced by Lu Ren. To put it mildly, do you know how inconvenient it is for people to suddenly become unavailable to the people who are now accustomed to matches?

There is also high-quality tea sold in Yizhou...... You have to know that tea is basically produced in the southern region, and it is rarely seen in the areas north of the Yangtze River. And once this hobby has formed a habit, how uncomfortable will it be to suddenly cut it off?

Well, the influence of this thing may be okay to say, and it will be over after putting up with it. But at this time, another hobby exerted its incomparable "lethality". What is it, you ask? I'm sorry, it's the tobacco produced here in Luren.

The original tobacco plant that Lu Ren had on hand was actually relatively late, but it was planted very successfully. And then with the powerful "attack power" of tobacco, he soon succeeded in entering Lao Cao's territory, and even Lao Cao himself now has to be regarded as half a smoker. Not for anything else, the refreshing function of tobacco is very real, and Shirley has been improved at Lu Ren's request, which greatly reduces the original toxicity of tobacco......

Well, it's better not to go too far. Let's put it this way, many people may know that most of the scholars in the Han and Jin dynasties had such a problem, that is, they liked to take things like "Yaosan", and they were happy to do it because of the hallucinogenic properties that the so-called "Yaosan" could bring. For example, Lu Ren's good friend Guo Jia liked to take "medicine powder", so Lu Ren didn't know how many times he persuaded Guo Jia, but unfortunately Guo Jia couldn't listen to it.

As soon as Lu Ren sold the tobacco, it was quite popular with the literati class, so much so that in Lao Cao's territory, there were often such scenes in the wine shop: several literati sat in a circle, and in the middle was a multi-mouthed hookah produced in Yizhou, and then these literati each grabbed a smoking pipe in their hands, and after chatting a few words, they took a hard breath, and a large pile of excellent poems sprayed out, and then a bunch of people were dizzy...... Tobacco is a refreshing thing if you smoke it in moderation, and if you smoke it too much, it will have a certain hallucinogenic properties.

In any case, tobacco has become an indispensable hobby for literati almost every day, and without it, everyone will feel uncomfortable. If you don't understand it, think about how difficult it is to get smokers to quit smoking in modern society.

And it's not just the high-end cigarettes smoked by the literati, but also a large number of affordable low-grade cigarettes sold to the common people here. Do you know how many people will be uncomfortable all day long? And Lu Ren himself could only smile helplessly when he learned about this situation afterwards, and said in his heart that it is no wonder that in modern history, the people will be made into that shape by things like opium/tablets, and once the "power" of some things is exerted, it is really irresistible.

What he is doing now is really not much different from those evil people who imported opium/chips into China, which made Lu Ren feel a deep sense of guilt in his heart. Thinking of this, Lu Ren could only comfort himself, saying that the tobacco he sold was all improved by Shirley, and the toxicity had been greatly reduced, and it was not as evil as opium/tablets. On the other hand, how many years ahead of time I have seized the market and people's hearts with these improved tobacco, it is much better than the results of the introduction of those original tobaccos that are harmful to health in the future, right?

Let's take a look at the results. Lu Ren's cut off supply, the ordinary people may be in a good situation, at most they will complain a few words, and then live without smoke, but what about the literati class? These guys are missing something that is already almost a daily necessity, but they don't go along with it like ordinary people. And their mouths, their pens, are in many cases sharper weapons than murderous knives.

Well, don't talk too much, and the influence of tobacco is just one of the more representative of Lu Ren's many pervasiveness. On this basis, many wealthy families in Lao Cao have been greatly affected in terms of interests, and even lost a lot of money in a short period of time.

In this way, in June of the twenty-first year of Jian'an, many wealthy families in Lao Cao fell out, and then naturally through various methods and means, they wanted to find out what happened between Lao Cao and Lu Ren, why Lu Ren would unilaterally and completely interrupt the trade with Lao Cao.

In fact, to be honest, Lu Ren's coming to such a single hand will not bring down these wealthy families, after all, at this point, don't underestimate the strength and heritage of these wealthy families. But the problem is that after losing a lot of money, won't those wealthy families be in pain? Is it to ask how many people in the world can be indifferent when they can watch a lot of money disappear in front of their eyes? Even if there are a few people who can keep their hearts beating without changing their colors on this occasion, they can't stand the constant nagging of the people in the clan, right?

As a result, a large number of letters were sent to Lao Cao, and Lao Cao finally understood what Lu Ren was talking about...... No, it should be said that Lao Cao had actually understood the trick that Lu Ren was going to use earlier, but Lao Cao couldn't imagine that this trick, which originally seemed to him to be not powerful, would actually be so powerful......

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(Much of the effect of Lao Cao's trade embargo is a bit overdone, so please don't delve into it.) There are also some things that haven't been written yet, so let's read them tomorrow. If there is anything wrong, please forgive me! The bottle is tired and wants to sleep. ）