Chapter 20: Fan County's Business District, Another Trap?

  After a half-month journey, Lü Rui finally returned to Fan County. At this time, Fan County had already taken shape under the governance of Guo Yuan and Xu Shu. The new city had a market and some small industrialists had begun to do small business in Fan County to make a living. Lü Rui was very happy to see all this, because commerce is the foundation of prosperity for a city.

  Lü Rui returned to his own Marquis's mansion, where a group of officials came to pay their respects and report on the political achievements of the past few months. Although Lü Rui was still young, he still had to do the work of reviewing reports, and with his extraordinary intelligence, they didn't dare to deceive him. If there were any problems, Lü Rui's methods for punishing people were many!

  Guo Yuan's focus over the past few months has been on gathering refugees and tilling the land. He gathered many nearby Yellow Turbans, trained strong young men, and supplemented the county's government officials with those who were less capable. Those with exceptional abilities were incorporated into the military. To alleviate the pressure of tilling the land on the civilians, Guo Yuan implemented a military farming system, distributing fertile land near Fan County to soldiers for farming. In addition to paying taxes, this also provided food for the soldiers' families, greatly boosting their morale.

  Lü Rui still highly approved of Guo Yuan's approach, his own army only needed to defend and the military settlement was indeed very suitable. The fields in the military settlements generally belonged to the families of the soldiers. If an enemy came to attack Fan County, they would definitely fight to the death to protect their land!

  Then, Ma Jun reported his work over the past few months to Lü Rui. Firstly, he improved many farm tools, doubling production efficiency and increasing grain and crop yields. Now Fan County has started building large granaries to store surplus food. This surprised Lü Rui greatly - Ma Jun was indeed a talented person! According to historical records, the late Eastern Han period was an era of food shortages. Cao Cao's troops in Danyang were disbanded due to lack of food. Yet, Ma Jun managed to make Fan County not only self-sufficient but also have surplus grain stores. This is no easy feat - even the great Han Empire can't do it!

  Secondly, Ma Jun also set up many semi-automatic defensive crossbows and machinery on the city tower, which can help the defending generals defend themselves. At the same time, Ma Jun also invented a new city gate that can withstand the attack of ordinary siege engines. Lü Rui listened and nodded his head in approval, showing appreciation for Ma Jun's invention. Historically, it is recorded that after Ma Jun saw Zhuge Liang's repeating crossbow, he immediately improved it, increasing its power by several times. If not for the fact that the Cao Wei regime did not value it highly, perhaps the "Little Zhuge" would have been killed by a hail of arrows!

  Just as Lü Rui was listening to the reports of the crowd, suddenly, the gatekeeper reported that there were merchants from Xuzhou who wanted to see him. One was named Chen Ying and the other was named Mian Fang. They represented the Chen and Mian families of Xuzhou and hoped to discuss with Lü Rui the commercial development of Fan County.

  Lü Rui listened and was stunned for a moment. Mei Zhu and Chen Deng were quite good at doing business, having just obtained the tax policy, they wanted to come to Fan County to enclose land? Hehe, exactly what I wanted, you will invest in my Fan County with no return!

  Lü Rui waved his hand, indicating that the two could be brought to the governor's mansion. Soon, they were taken to the governor's mansion. Chen Ying and Mi Fang bowed their hands after seeing Lü Rui: "Greetings, Marquis of Qi!"

  Lü Rui nodded to the two men, and they sat down after bowing their hands. At this time, Lü Rui looked at the two men, Mei Fang, whom he had met in Xuzhou before, was a martial artist, familiar with archery and horse riding, and a qualified general. However, Chen Ying, whom Lü Rui had never seen before, was another son of Chen Deng, with little historical records about him. But Lü Rui inferred that he should have inherited the Chen family's business, following the rules of the Eastern Han dynasty where descendants were generally divided into two categories: business and politics.

  Guo Yun looked at the two of them and cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Guo Yun, Prime Minister of Qi. I have seen you both!"

  The two immediately returned the courtesy: "We have met, Lord Guo!" The two knew that although Lü Rui was clever, he was still young, and in fact, the manager of Fan County was Guo Yuan. For Guo Yuan, they had to be a bit more respectful.

  Then, Mei Fang first flattered Lv Rui and said that Lv Rui left Xuzhou too hastily without allowing the two families to fulfill their obligations as hosts. Today, he came to apologize to Lv Rui, who agreed to exempt the two families from paying taxes at the border in Fan County. Now, the two of them are representing the two families to discuss specific matters.

  After Zhen Fang and Lü Rui finished speaking, Chen Ying cupped his hands and said: "The Marquis of Qi has allowed our two families' goods to pass through here, we Chen and Zhen families are very grateful. To thank the Marquis for his kindness, our two families have decided to invest here and build a business district, please grant us permission!"

  Lü Rui listened and hummed, Chen's family and Mi's family are indeed big merchants. They thought of this trick so quickly. Taking advantage of the low land price in Fan County, they first purchased and built real estate. After Fan County prospered, they unknowingly saved on costs and might even make a fortune when the land price rose. Indeed, not simple!

  Lü Rui looked at Guo Yuan and nodded, saying: "You two, since it's an investment, first of all, we need to buy land. Our Fan County will hold a public land auction in March. Please wait for the auction in Fan County, and then we can discuss how to proceed after March."

  The two of them exchanged a glance and said, "Thank you, Lord Hou. We will wait in Fan County for the land auction conference!" After finishing speaking, the two presented gifts from their respective families and left Lord Hou's mansion.

  Guo Yuan looked at Xin Bi and asked: "Is what Suo Zhi, Mi Fang and Chen Ying said about the tax true?" One piece of money? That's too little!

  Xin Pi smiled and said: "Zi Ni, the two of them are right. This is the contract signed by Lord Hou with them." After finishing speaking, Xin Pi handed the contract to Guo Yuan.

  Guo Yuan was taken aback and asked in confusion: "Lord Hou? The first month's tax quota has already been fulfilled, hasn't it?"

  Lv Rui waved his fists and said: "Xiao Nini, you're so stupid!"

  Xin Pi then took out a stack of papers from his bosom and said: "Zi Ni, Yuan Zhi, this is the tax two years later!"

  Guo Yuan and Xu Shou looked at each other in stunned silence, then cupped their hands and said: "Your Lordship is wise!"

  "Hey, this is the secret I discovered by studying arithmetic from 'Huainanzi'! How's that? Isn't it awesome?"

  The two nodded and said: "Master Hou is indeed talented and not an ordinary person!" The Huainanzi is an ancient book that introduces mathematics, but it only contains some simple math, let alone square roots! That's a far-fetched thing!

  Guo Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Lord Hou, now that the Chen family and the Mi family from Xuzhou have come to buy land, isn't our price too low? Should we send someone to participate and raise the land price?"

  Xu Shou immediately stood up in opposition, saying: "Zi Ni, even if we send someone to participate, the expenses will still be borne by our lord's household. I'm afraid this won't do. Moreover, both families are major merchants, and I'm afraid the assets of the mansion are insufficient."

  Lü Rui glanced at the two of them, smiled to himself, and thought that they were indeed wise men from ancient times who looked at problems very carefully. Unfortunately, they had not studied modern economics, so he decided to teach them a lesson. Lü Rui waved his fist and said: "Xiao Nini, Xiao Xuxu, are you two too stupid? During the New Year's festival, the people in the nearby villages of Qiao County knew that there was a market in the county seat, so they all came to buy things, and the Cao family's store made a lot of money. Can't you think of a way why the Cao family can make money, while our Qi State Duke's mansion cannot?"

  The two of them listened, stunned for a moment, and fell into deep thought. Xīn Pǐ nodded his head and said: "Is the young master's intention to let us announce our contract with Xúzhōu to the world, attracting merchants from all over to compete, thereby increasing the value of our land?"

  Lv Rui smiled and said, "Haha, Xing Bi still has a business mind! No wonder he's from a family of entrepreneurs, it only takes a hint to understand!" After hearing Xing Bi's words, Xu Shu and Guo Yuan suddenly realized the truth and bowed their hands, saying: "Sergeant, we admire your great talent!"

  Lü Rui saw that the three of them had already understood what to do, so he signaled for them to go down. Then Lü Rui ran back to his own backyard, haha, it's been a long time since I've pinched Xiang'er's face! First, go pinch that little girl!

  The next day, the Qi State Duke's mansion in Fan County began to implement Lü Rui's plan. Xu Shu started sending out secret agents to spread the contents of the contract between Lü Rui and the Chen and Mi families of Xuzhou throughout the Han Dynasty, all through underground rumors, of course. The contract stated that its contents were not to be leaked, but small talk couldn't be controlled!

  At the same time, Guo Yuan issued a manifesto in the name of Lü Rui, Marquis of Qi State, announcing that Lü Rui would take over Fan County. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Fan County was left in ruins and Lü Rui wanted to restore it to prosperity. The Qi State Duke's Mansion decided to invest in building a commercial district in Fan County, modeled after the commercial district of Linzi, the capital of Qi State during the Warring States period, to revive Fan County!

  This memorial, when it came out, did not cause much of a stir in the imperial court. After all, a marquis governing his own fief and promoting local development was the marquis's business, and with Dong Zhuo's chaotic policies at present, few people would pay attention to a marquis's memorial. However, this memorial had a huge impact on the merchants of Great Han and the families who were mainly engaged in commerce. With the rumors spread by Lv Rui and Xu Zhou's Mi family, Chen's contract, many families with business operations were stirred up. The Zhens from Hebei, the GUs from Jiangdong, the Lus, the Zhus, and the Zhangs; the Huangs, the Cais, the Zhangs, and the Pangs from Jingzhou; the Weis from Hedong, the Zhangs from Hanzhong, the Rus from Huainan, and the Zhaos from Xichuan all sent their representatives to come. Some big merchants also began to flock to Fan County.

  After March, Chen Ying and Mi Zhu arrived at the Hou Mansion to inquire about the land bidding conference. As soon as they arrived in front of the Hou Mansion, the two were stunned. There were not a few old acquaintances here. Chen Ying was okay, but Mi Zhu was sweating profusely. These people were all famous merchants from big families and some well-known local businessmen. How did they all come to Fan County?

  The two entered the Hou Mansion to see Lü Rui, but were informed that Lü Rui was not in the mansion and had gone hunting outside. The land auction would be postponed for a month, so they sent the two away. For several days in a row, the two of them got such results and could only return to the inn helplessly.

  Miao Fang looked at Chen Ying and said: "Brother Chen, what does it mean that Lord Hou's mansion is like this?"

  Chen Ying coldly smiled and said: "Hmph, we underestimated the Qi Guo Hou Ye Fu. Although Lü Rui is young, there are many wise and strategic people around him. He must have had someone clever to advise him, to invite merchants from all sides to Fan County, and raise the land price!"

  Meng Fang thought for a moment, then combined with the recent news she received, and said: "Hmph, isn't Lü Rui betraying our trust? Isn't the content of our contract confidential?"

  Chen Ying took a sip of tea, shook his head and said: "This is just a rumor in the streets, what can we do with Lü Rui? If we investigate, Lü Rui can still counter-accuse us, saying that it was our people who leaked the information. At that time, I'm afraid we won't even be able to get a piece of land in Fan County!"

  Miao Fang nodded and said: "Are we still staying here? Continue buying land?"

  Chen Ying took out the map and looked at it, saying: "Stay, even if various families come here, we must establish a foothold here! Fan County is too important geographically!"

  Miao Fang saw Chen Ying being so resolute, and it wouldn't be good for him to return alone without a proper explanation to Miao Zhu. When Miao Fang came to Fan County earlier, Miao Zhu had instructed him to spare no expense in putting down roots and purchasing property in Fan County!

  Just as Chen Ying and Miao Fang were waiting, many wealthy families and merchants from the Han Dynasty rushed to sign a contract with Lü Rui for a so-called "one-wen coin tax". Everyone was excitedly waiting in Fan County for the land bidding conference. By the fourth month, the commercial land bidding conference of Fan County finally began.

  Lü Rui wore the attire of a marquis for the second time and arrived at the bidding meeting, the first time was when he saw Emperor Ling of Han in Luoyang.

  Lü Rui glanced at the group of dark-haired people below, laughing wildly in his heart. A group of fools! Two years from now, I'll let you know my greatness! Lü Rui just sat quietly on the stage, while Guo Yuan handled everything and represented Lü Rui to speak. After three hours of fierce bidding, many aristocratic families had obtained their desired properties.

  At night, Lü Rui counted the rare treasures sent by various wealthy families and merchants, laughing loudly. The ancients were indeed not deceiving me! With just a small trick of my own, I got such a huge benefit. This is much easier than robbery, no, this is robbery, it's civilized robbery!

  Chen Ying and Mian Fang returned to the inn, Chen Ying shook his head and said: "What a pity! In April, it was still an empty land, now it's building after building, we wasted a lot of money!"

  Miao Fang nodded, indeed, four months ago it was still empty land. Four months later, Lü Rui had already built a house on the empty land and sold it. Of course, selling houses is more expensive than selling empty land, and there are so many competitors. Miao Fang looked at Chen Ying and could only comfort him: "Brother Chen, don't worry, we have the deed to the property tax, that's also a gain!"

  Chen Ying nodded and said: "Not bad, a year's taxes are only more than 3,000 wen, it's really worth it!"

  The rest of the wealthy families and businessmen who had signed contracts with Lü Rui were very satisfied, although they had spent a lot of money buying properties, but it was worth it! However, two years later, they all found out that this was a losing deal, a big loss!

  Just as Lü Bu was selling land in Puyang, Tian Feng looked at the intelligence sent by the secret agent in the Bohai County Governor's Office and muttered to himself: "Puyang Business Street? Is it another trap? What does the mastermind behind Lü Bu want to do? Prosperous business? Money? Support Cao Cao? Hehe, it seems that Cao Mengde is not simple. There are still masters arranged around Lü Bu, nominally for Lü Bu's affairs, but actually for his own military expenses."

  Thinking of this, Tian Feng walked out of the study and looked up at the sky: Cao Mengde, you will be my master's greatest enemy from now on!

  At this time, Cao Cao, who was preparing to go to Dongjun to quell the Yellow Turbans, let out a sneeze. Cao Cao wiped his nose and said, "Who is cursing me?"