In Cao's camp, if we speak of wealth, the richest would undoubtedly be the ever-demanding Grand Administrator Cao Hong.
However, if we speak of poverty, that honor belonged to the renowned Xiahou Dun.
It wasn't that Cao Cao treated Xiahou Dun poorly; on the contrary, Cao Cao was closer to him than a blood brother. They often shared the same carriage, and Xiahou Dun was one of the few, besides Xu Chu, permitted to enter Cao Cao's private chambers at will.
Furthermore, when Cao Cao's daughter, Cao Mu, had issues, Xiahou Dun was the first person he thought of to marry her to his son. Đại Phong Novel Network
Yet… Xiahou Dun remained poor. Throughout his life, he never purchased a grand mansion, nor did he ride in a luxurious carriage, and he didn't even leave much wealth for his son!
So… the question arises, where did his money go?
It turned out that Xiahou Dun distributed all his rewards, including his annual stipend, to his subordinates. Because of this, Xiahou Dun held immense prestige within the army. Despite repeated defeats, his soldiers were still willing to lay down their lives for him.
And indeed… as a pauper whose pockets were cleaner than his face, Xiahou Dun had indeed considered earning some money. However, he disdained illicit means, and the straight and narrow path of business wasn't something his mind could grasp!
And thus…
When Lu Yu spoke, especially mentioning the "guaranteed profit" of an oil mill, Xiahou Dun was the first to be tempted.
As for Cao Chun and Xun Yu, while not as destitute as Xiahou Dun, they were not wealthy either.
Cao Chun also preferred to distribute rewards to his soldiers, while Xun Yu disdained private dealings. Much of his stipend was used to support some declining talents from Yingchuan.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that both of them were tempted by Lu Yu's proposed method of "cooperative earning."
Of course, setting aside the oil mill business, partnering with Lu Yu, with his sharp and intelligent mind, was a good choice.
Poverty was never the original sin; the reason for poverty was not associating with the right people.
Having figured this out, Xun Yu's eyes gleamed. "Young Master Lu, merely by investing money, we gain proportional returns, is that correct?"
"Precisely!" Lu Yu declared confidently. "Let's set one share at a hundred thousand cash. How many 'shares' you wish to buy is up to you."
In reality… Lu Yu was just saying that. These three were poorer than each other, and it was unlikely they could produce too much. Lu Yu had already decided to give them half of the oil mill's profits, regardless of how much money they invested…
This wasn't about dividing money, but about fostering relationships!
"A hundred thousand cash?" Xun Yu's eyes darted. With his stipend, he received several hundred piculs annually. Considering the high grain prices at the time, he could afford one share at a hundred thousand cash.
Although he didn't quite understand the concept of "shares," it didn't matter. Knowing he would enjoy the oil mill's profits was enough.
"How about this," Xun Yu steadied his gaze. "I will invest fifty shares!"
"I'll invest fifty shares too!" Cao Chun announced loudly…
Not long ago, after a great victory against Lu Bu in Chenliu Commandery, Cao Cao had specifically rewarded Cao Chun with some gold. Converted, fifty shares were still within his means.
Now… all eyes turned to Xiahou Dun.
Xiahou Dun scratched his head. He wanted to buy fifty shares as well, but… his pockets were truly emptier than his face. His money had long since been distributed to his subordinates. He didn't have that much cash!
This…
Xiahou Dun hesitated.
"Commander Lu, may I pay on credit?"
Xiahou Dun felt a bit embarrassed. Lu Yu smiled slightly, "General Xiahou, credit is certainly possible. However… I actually have a better method than credit."
"What method?" Xiahou Dun perked up his ears, very curious and expectant…
Lu Yu's eyes gleamed. "It's almost mid-February, and the weather will soon turn warmer… large numbers of locusts will appear in the fields. Locusts devour crops, affecting the farmers and our taxes. Coincidentally, I have a special use for these locusts."
As he spoke, Lu Yu's tone became solemn.
"How about this, General Xiahou… if you can bring me some locusts, I will give you some cash, how about it? I'll pay a hundred cash for each locust. General Xiahou, consider it doing a good deed for the crops during the autumn harvest!"
Considering the cheapness of money at this time, a hundred cash was roughly equivalent to two mao (0.2 yuan) in his previous life. A hundred cash per locust seemed quite profitable.
At the very least, in his previous life, a plate of "Stir-fried Flying Locusts" at a restaurant Lu Yu frequented cost over seventy yuan, and there was no haggling.
Hoo… a hundred cash per locust?
Xiahou Dun began to use his not-so-bright mind to calculate carefully. After calculating for a long time, he ultimately suffered from his lack of education and couldn't figure anything out.
He immediately turned to ask Xun Yu, "Sima Xun, please calculate for me, how many locusts do I need to catch if I want to buy fifty shares!"
Uh… Xun Yu was slightly taken aback.
One share was a hundred thousand cash, so fifty shares would be five million cash. At a hundred cash per locust, then… fifty shares would be fifty thousand locusts.
Hiss, Xun Yu gasped. He hadn't known until he calculated, and the result was astonishing. Even if Xiahou Dun mobilized all his armored soldiers to catch locusts, collecting fifty thousand might be difficult.
"Sima Xun, have you calculated it yet? How many?" Xiahou Dun asked anxiously…
"Fifty thousand…" Xun Yu replied truthfully…
Ah… Xiahou Dun was stunned. Instantly, he felt like his entire head was filled with locusts, flying around buzzingly, and his head ached terribly.
"Cough cough…"
Lu Yu noticed Xiahou Dun's awkwardness and coughed lightly, saying with a smile, "General Xiahou, actually… fifty thousand isn't a lot!"
As he spoke, Lu Yu winked at Xiahou Dun, his meaning clear: we'll discuss this privately later…
How could Xun Yu and Cao Chun not understand?
Immediately… they wisely got up, cupped their hands, and bid farewell.
They all understood Xiahou Dun's poverty. Being fellow destitute individuals… even if Lu Yu gave him some, neither Xun Yu nor Cao Chun would object.
"Commander Lu, General Xiahou, Xun has taken his leave…"
"Commander Lu, Brother Xiahou, I shall also take my leave!"
With two voices, Xun Yu and Cao Chun quickly exited the pavilion. Now… the entire courtyard fell silent. They had been eating from the afternoon until dusk… the sky was almost dark.
Seeing that everyone had left, Lu Yu gestured for Xiahou Dun to sit and personally poured him a bowl of tea. "General Xiahou, actually, these fifty thousand locusts are easy to handle. Even… let alone fifty thousand, even a hundred thousand or five hundred thousand are easy!"
Locusts reproduce rapidly. If coupled with drought… as long as there were enough people, catching a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand young locusts within a few months would truly be no problem.
If there were indeed five hundred thousand, it might even help curb the locust plague to some extent!
However, catching flying locusts requires a method…
"Commander Lu, what exactly are you planning?" Xiahou Dun was bewildered by Lu Yu's words. Crucially, he had no concept of the quantity of locusts.
Lu Yu moved a step closer to him. "General Xiahou, what do you think of the price of one hundred cash per locust?"
Mm… Xiahou Dun sighed softly.
He was straightforward and disliked lying. "I think it's a bit expensive. For ordinary farmers, even thirty cash would motivate them to catch them! After all… even if they don't earn these thirty cash, they are idle anyway."
Thirty cash was equivalent to a few cents in his previous life. Catching locusts for this amount was already very cheap, very cheap labor.
But in fact… Xiahou Dun was right. Even if it were lower, there would still be many people eager to do it!
The reason was that the time spent farming each day was only three or four hours. For the rest of the time, they were idle anyway. Catching more locusts would earn them some extra income! It was a sure bet.
Ultimately, all of this was driven by "poverty"…
"This is incredible…"
Lu Yu spread his hands and reminded him carefully. "The price I am giving General Xiahou is one hundred cash per locust, while farmers would flock for thirty cash… General Xiahou, you can spread the word and have the people of all Yan Province help you catch them. You give them thirty cash for each one caught, and in this way, you can still earn seventy cash from it?"
"Fifty thousand locusts might be a large number for you… or for your armored soldiers, but… if it's for the farmers of all Yan Province, or even all Xu Province, let alone fifty thousand locusts, even fifteen thousand or five hundred thousand wouldn't be a problem!"
Never underestimate the wisdom of the masses…
As long as the money is right, let alone locusts, people would dare to risk capturing snakes!
As he spoke, Lu Yu placed his arm on Xiahou Dun's shoulder.
The words that followed were even more pregnant with meaning.
"General Xiahou, you calculate it… if you do this on a large enough scale, you can get rich! With fifty thousand locusts, you can earn over three hundred thousand cash. What about a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, or five hundred thousand?"
Hundreds of thousands, or even millions of cash were a trifle to Lu Yu, but to Xiahou Dun, this was real money, extremely tempting!
Heh…
Indeed, even though Xiahou Dun wasn't good at arithmetic, he understood that he could earn seventy cash per locust.
If he mobilized all the people in the city to do it, how many locusts could there be, and how much money could he earn?
… By then, perhaps the oil mill wouldn't be a matter of fifty shares, but a hundred shares, two hundred shares…
And then the money distributed from the oil mill could be rewarded to his brothers, wouldn't that be a win-win situation?
Xiahou Dun felt that he was quite the clever one.
However, at this moment, he had to thank Lu Yu for this opportunity…
Although he didn't know why Lu Yu wanted locusts, it was clear that Lu Yu was a good person, worth befriending, for entrusting such a good thing to Xiahou Dun!
"Commander Lu… you are righteous!" Xiahou Dun suddenly stood up, then heavily slapped Lu Yu's shoulder.
The immense force made Lu Yu's entire body go weak, almost pressing him down.
Damn it, he's really pressing hard…
Lu Yu cried out in misery.
Xiahou Dun pulled Lu Yu up and laughed heartily. "Commander Lu, your mind is sharp, and you are righteous, but your physique is too weak. How about you come to my Qing Province barracks for a few days of training? I guarantee you'll build up your physique!"
"Heh, forget it…" Lu Yu waved his hand. "I have other matters to attend to recently… I won't come to your place to train!"
"Isn't it just collecting these harmful pests, the flying locusts? Speaking of which… what do you need so many locusts for?" Xiahou Dun asked curiously…
Indeed, because Lu Yu had given him a means of win-win cooperation and making money, Xiahou Dun felt their relationship had become much closer.
One of Lu Yu's goals had been achieved.
Frankly speaking, spending so much money on locusts was Lu Yu's way of helping Xiahou Dun, but he couldn't give it directly, lest Xiahou Dun feel it was charity, which would be awkward.
Money had to be given with skill. It was better to let Xiahou Dun act as an intermediary and earn the difference!
In this way, he would feel that he had earned it himself, and with a part of Lu Yu's righteousness, their relationship would naturally deepen.
Even though Xiahou Dun was often a defeated general, this brother was special; the more he was defeated, the faster he was promoted…
Lu Yu wanted to tightly hold onto his leg in the future!
As for catching locusts, he would do it incidentally. Besides manual locust collection, Lu Yu couldn't think of any other methods.
For example, ten thousand duck armies, five thousand chicks, six thousand frogs…
If Lu Yu could obtain these, would he still worry about the grain shortage in July?
It's like saying a clever housewife can't cook without rice. Yan Province was so poor it only had people left. If people didn't catch locusts, Yan Province's crops would be ruined!
Besides, ducks and frogs don't go into wheat fields…
Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to swim in rivers and lakes?
"General Xiahou, don't ask. In short, I'm quite busy lately… with many vexing matters!" Lu Yu spread his hands helplessly…
"Tell me about it…" Xiahou Dun was curious. After all, once two people establish a financial connection, they are a community of shared fate! It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that at this moment, Xiahou Dun already considered Lu Yu a good brother.
Seeing that Lu Yu had something on his mind, Xiahou Dun naturally wanted to help.
"Alas…" Lu Yu sighed, still worried about how to get through the drought in April and the flying locusts in June? Unless…
"General Xiahou, I have an idea to promote terraced dry-field rice cultivation in Yan Province. But first and foremost, we need a pond! To reclaim land by the lake, we also need the support of many regions…"
Lu Yu referred to terraced dry-field rice as a method of cultivating rice!
Reclaiming land by the lake and planting in terraces, this method of cultivating dry-field rice could minimize water loss and maintain water absorption to the greatest extent…
These rice plants could also endure strong drought to the greatest extent through self-regulation!
By the beginning of April, the rainfall would cease, and not until the end of July would the sweet rain arrive. Even without the locust plague, the harvest of wheat and grains would likely be greatly affected. Let alone a complete crop failure, even a halving of the harvest… this year and next would be difficult.
As a precaution, Lu Yu intended to promote terraced dry-field rice cultivation around lakes. Dry-field rice is usually transplanted in April and can be harvested by mid-July. Regardless, it could temporarily alleviate the food problem.
Moreover, because the rice fields were by the lake, the frogs and ducks in the lake could more easily assist in dealing with the flying locusts, and the rice plants would have a stronger resistance to the locust plague.
Lu Yu had a basic idea in mind, but currently, he was lacking a pond to put it into practice.
Speaking of which, Yan Province was vast, but finding a suitable pond was not easy!
This, this…
Xiahou Dun did not reply but silently noted Lu Yu's idea.
Of course, he didn't know that a four-month severe drought was coming, but… based on Lu Yu's usual way of doing things, his promotion of this "terraced dry-field rice" must have a reason.
Of course, even if Xiahou Dun wanted to help Lu Yu now, he lacked the ability. Ultimately, it was still poverty. Reclaiming land by the lake… Yan Province had no lakes!
Unless they diverted the water of the great river to form a lake… but that would still require money, a lot of money.
As the two were chatting enthusiastically…
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from the courtyard. "General Xiahou, is General Xiahou here?"
Two armored soldiers ran over quickly…
Xiahou Dun looked towards the door. He was familiar with the two approaching armored soldiers; they were trusted guards by his elder brother Cao Cao's side. And their haste… and their coming to Lu Yu's residence to find him, Xiahou Dun… must mean something extremely urgent!
While talking and laughing, Xiahou Dun's expression suddenly changed to seriousness once it came to business.
"I'm here! Why the rush? Is there an urgent matter at the front line?"
Xiahou Dun didn't mind Lu Yu being nearby… he asked directly.
The two armored soldiers looked around. Upon seeing Lu Yu, they hesitated slightly.
Xiahou Dun waved his hand, "Commander Lu is not an outsider. Speak freely…"
Uh… the two armored soldiers exchanged glances and then spoke, "Duke Cao has ordered that his eldest legitimate daughter, Cao Mu, be married to General Xiahou's eldest son, Xiahou Mao. He instructs General Xiahou to arrange for a matchmaker to visit the home, prepare the betrothal gifts, and the wedding will take place next month!"
Ah… ah…
At these words, not only Xiahou Dun was stunned, but Lu Yu was also dumbfounded…
Lu Yu felt that he and his companions were all shocked.
Cao Mu… was the girl who often ran to his residence, and she was getting married? Xiahou Dun's eldest son… what bad luck!
This was Lu Yu's subconscious reaction…
Xiahou Dun anxiously asked, "Elder Brother… why is this?"
The armored soldiers replied as instructed by Cao Cao: "Duke Cao said that victory and defeat are common in warfare. General Xiahou, do not worry about the battle at Puyang City. Focus on preparing for your son's wedding. In addition, Duke Cao has ordered to allocate another three thousand troops to General Xiahou and promote him one rank."
Uh…
Lu Yu felt he almost couldn't breathe.
Although he knew… that General Xiahou Dun was quite formidable, and the more he was defeated, the faster he was promoted…
But seeing this scene unfold before his eyes, Lu Yu felt a bit dazed!
Losing the city of Puyang, and his son could marry Princess Qinghe? He himself could be promoted one rank, and… even receive an additional three thousand troops?
Then… if he lost all of Yan Province, damn it, wouldn't Cao Cao have to award him the governorship of Yan Province and all the troops…
It was strange, mystical, and unbelievable!
For a moment, Lu Yu felt that… establishing an economic connection with Xiahou Dun and becoming a community of shared fate, this step… even though he lost a little money, it was truly intoxicating!
…
…