Chapter 1 The Crown Prince

  Liu Bei wanted to get it, and Mi Zhu naturally also wanted to get it. Therefore, when he finished listening to Chen Guang's words, his heart suddenly thumped, knowing that something was wrong.

  This is going to get him into trouble.

  But now it's a tiger that can't be ridden down. Is it possible to defy the imperial edict? Zuo Ci could only raise his head, casting his gaze at Liu Bei with an extremely pitiful expression.

  "First deal with the situation at hand." Sun Gan pulled on Miao Zhu's sleeve and whispered in his ear.

  "Hmm." Mo Zhe nodded heavily, knowing that there was no other way out. He then bowed to Chen Guang and said: "Please wait a moment, I'll go prepare right away."

  "That servant will wait for you outside the mansion." Chen Guang nodded and said, then immediately raised his head to bid farewell to Liu Bei: "The servant takes leave."

  "Please, General." Liu Bei said with a forced smile. He then personally escorted Chen Guang out of the gate.

  After returning to the main hall, Liu Bei's face suddenly turned black. At this moment, Mi Zhu also came back and did not immediately gather his family to leave.

  Because he knew that once he stepped out of the Left General's mansion, he would be trapped by the Crown Prince. This life is likely to never follow Liu Bei again.

  Mi Zou was a merchant. He risked everything to follow Liu Bei, because he saw that Liu Bei had great talent. He wanted to learn from the story of Lü Buwei, a great merchant of the Warring States period, and seek a path to advancement. For this, he even sacrificed his own sister, after so many years of hard work, how could he give up?

  "My lord, what should we do now?"

  Mo Zhen couldn't help but speak up. At this time, this big businessman who had seen many grand scenes also lost his usual calmness.

  Liu Bei wanted to say that he didn't know what to do either. Should he defy the imperial edict or lead his troops out of the city? But how could they leave, as there might not be any of Cao Cao's spies inside the mansion, but there would definitely be some outside the gate. If they made a careless move, they would surely be reported back to Cao Cao.

  Without Cao Cao's explicit order, he cannot leave Xuchang.

  But if he did not disobey the order, he would have to send Mi Zhu over. Liu Bei neither dared to escape nor was willing to send Mi Zhu over.

  "Zi Zhong Xian, calm down a bit and don't be anxious." Sun Gan sighed and advised.

  Miao Zhu's face changed slightly upon hearing this, but she didn't say anything. She just let out a sigh.

  "Now, let's first figure out the intention of Tianzi before talking. Maybe there is still a glimmer of hope." Sun Gan said immediately afterwards.

  "Really?" Zou's eyes lit up in front of him, and he hastily asked.

  "That's right, a good opportunity." Sun Qian nodded and said. At this time, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Jian Yong and others also cast their eyes on Sun Qian, full of expectation.

  "We need to figure out the Emperor's intention, whether he wants to avenge himself on our lord or if he has listened to the Crown Prince's request and chosen to avenge himself on our lord." Sun Qian said, meeting everyone's gaze after a moment of contemplation.

  "What's the difference?" Zhang Fei asked, not quite understanding.

  "Of course, there is a difference. If it's the intention of the Son of Heaven, we won't have any room for resistance. Zi Zhong can only pack up and move to the Crown Prince's palace to live. From now on, I'm afraid it will be difficult to reconcile with our lord again." As he spoke, Sun Qian glanced at Mi Zhu.

  Mao Zedong's face looked very bad.

  After glancing at Zou Jue, Sun Gan said: "But if it's the Crown Prince, it's different." As he spoke, Sun Gan smiled slightly and whispered: "I heard that the Crown Prince loves wealth."

  "Wealth?" Liu Bei's eyes lit up, but his heart was racing.

  Yes, looking at what Liu and Feng did today, they are like mad dogs, willing to do anything for money. They can even stake their lives to challenge Cao Cao.

  It's just for extorting some money from the group of officials. He is indeed a scoundrel who loves wealth but not his life.

  But for Liu Bei and his men, it seemed like a broad and safe road.

  "I dare say it's the prince's idea. The emperor wouldn't be so bored as to retaliate simply for revenge." Guan Yu said coldly from the side.

  "Hmm." Liu Bei nodded in agreement. Before meeting Crown Prince Liu Feng, in Liu Bei's impression, Emperor Xian of Han was an ambitious and clear-headed monarch with great talent, but unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time.

  I won't do such a thing, and more than half of it was that damned prince stirring up trouble on the side.

  "This is a good sign." Sun Qian said with a smile. Even Zou Mouzhao also showed a smile, because he saw the light of hope. But soon, the smile on Mouzhao's face dried up.

  Because he thought of a question.

  "My lord, even if we knew that the crown prince was greedy for wealth, we didn't have any extra money to offer as tribute." Zou Zhuan said with a bitter smile, clasping his fists.

  "Is the prefecture short of funds?" Liu Bei's expression changed slightly as he asked.

  Liu Bei really didn't know about this matter. He was considering political or military matters, and all the financial expenditures in the mansion were handed over to Mi Zhu.

  And everything was handled in an orderly manner, never making a mistake.

  This is also one of the reasons why Liu Bei was reluctant to let go of Guan Yu, who had exceptional abilities. With his current power, it would be difficult for him to find another talent like Guan Yu.

  "It's not just insufficient, it's far from sufficient." The bitter smile on Zou's face grew larger as he spoke.

  Liu Bei was once the governor of Xuzhou, and Mi Zhu had also supported Liu Bei with his whole family, helping him to regain his prestige. However, Liu Bei was very extravagant.

  Not really, it's not considered extravagant either. Recruiting soldiers and buying horses costs money, winning over the aristocracy, and entertaining guests all require funds. Don't look at Liu Bei's current situation, when he was in Xuzhou, he had a lot of guests.

  Money spent like flowing water. Moreover, later Xuzhou was taken away by Lü Bu, and Liu Bei basically didn't take out many treasures. The little money on his body was mostly obtained in Xiaopei, and a little was rewarded by Cao Cao.

  After arriving in Xudu, Liu Bei had more people under him. He and his brother's family, Jian Yong's family, Sun Qian, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei's own family.

  So many people's expenses. In addition to being deeply trapped in Xudu, Liu Bei was also afraid that the few remaining guards beside him would leave. Therefore, the treatment of the guards is very good.

  Being poor, spending money faster.

  In short, it's all about no money. This is still the result of Liu Bei's poor management. If there was no Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei would probably not even have enough to eat.

  Mi Zhu bitterly smiled and told Liu Bei about the financial situation of the state. He had never discussed such matters with Liu Bei before, as he knew that Liu Bei already had enough worries.

  Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Chen Dao, Sun Qian, and Jian Yong were all shocked. Upon hearing Zhen Ji's words about the financial situation of the mansion, they all took a cold breath.

  "No money? How can we bribe?" Zhang Fei said with a bitter face, this generation's most powerful general on the battlefield, even if he were facing a million troops, would not change color, but was stumped by this matter in front of him.

  "Zi Zhong?" Liu Bei also found it hard to bear, and with great pain turned his head to ask Meng Zhuo.

  "A clever woman cannot cook without rice." Zou Jue sighed and said that even when he was in Xuzhou, his family was wealthy and had a lot of capital, but to do business, it still takes time.

  What's more, he is poor now and in a strange place like Xudu.

  "What's good about this?"

  It seems that there is really a dead end in front of Liu Bei's forces.