The next day, as the morning light just illuminated the treetops, Chen Gong hurried over to meet Lu Bu.
Seeing Chen Gong's sad face, Lu Bu felt even more happy and asked tentatively, "Gongtai, what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Chen Gong smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "Marquis Wen, are you kidding me? Yesterday I contacted several companies and the asking prices for food were all very high. There were also nearby counties. It was said that the prices of food had increased, so I came over to ask." After saying this, Chen Gong sighed in his heart, "You said this yourself, I don't have to worry about the money issue.
Raising his head, Chen Gong saw that Lu Bu's brows were also frowning, with a frown on his face, and he asked tentatively, "Marquis Wen, what's wrong with you? If it's a money problem, we can slowly find a solution." Lu Bu sighed, "Gongtai, I also have a problem that worries me, and I need you to help me solve it."
Chen Gong was stunned and asked in confusion, "What's the matter?"
Lu Bu stood up and waved his hand, "Gongtai, come with me, and I'll show you my troubles."
After finishing speaking, Lu Bu did not wait for Chen Gong's answer, stood up, left the room first, and walked towards the backyard.
Chen Gong was puzzled as to what Lu Bu wanted to do, so he could only follow him.
When the two came to the backyard, Chen Gong suddenly realized that something was wrong, because the number of sentries here had increased a lot. There used to be one soldier standing on each side of the door, but now, there were more than a dozen soldiers standing on both sides of the door, looking solemn. Chen Gong took a look and saw that there were about a hundred soldiers, all of them strong and elite in the army, surrounding the house in front of him.
What's in the house?
Chen Gong was puzzled and followed Lu Bu to the door of the room.
Lu Bu waved the soldiers away and asked them to stay away. He took out the key, opened the lock on the door, and then waved to Chen Gong, "Gongtai, come on, let me show you my troubles."
Chen Gong stepped into the room. Since there were no windows in the room, it seemed a bit dark. He could only vaguely see the neatly arranged goods in front of him.
Lu Bu closed the door, took out the fire stick and lit the oil lamp on the wall.
As the dim oil lamp illuminated the entire room, Chen Gong's vision suddenly opened up, and he saw brand-new copper coins in front of him.
Chen Gong stepped forward, reached out, picked up the copper coins and weighed them, "It turns out they are all copper coins."
After saying this, Chen Gong was stunned. He suddenly raised his head and looked around. Gradually, the expression in his eyes changed from surprise to full disbelief.
"Money, here are all copper coins."
"Oh my god, it's all money, so much?"
"Is it true? Isn't it dazzling?"
Chen Gong rubbed his eyes hard, trying to prove whether he was seeing hallucinations.
When it became clear that everything in front of him was real, Chen Gong suddenly turned his head and looked at Lu Bu, and asked in a trembling voice, "Marquis Wen, is this all money?"
Lu Bu nodded and sighed, "Gongtai, this is my trouble. How can I spend so much money?"
Chen Gong looked at Lu Bu blankly, and after a while, he suddenly raised his head and laughed, "Haha, great, I like this kind of trouble so much, let me spend it, I will spend it all for you, haha."
Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong's gaffe and suppressed a smile, "Gongtai, this is only half of my troubles, and there is the other half. I hope you can solve it for me."
"The other half?"
Chen Gong put away his smile and looked at Lu Bu with wide eyes, "Apart from these, is there anything else?"
Lu Bu nodded, "Gongtai, these are only half, can we buy enough food?"
Chen Gong nodded, "No problem, the food purchased will definitely be enough for our army."
Lu Bu shook his head and said, "Gongtai, you have to remember that the food we need to buy should not only be enough for us this year, but also for next year."
"Next year?" Chen Gong frowned, "We will naturally have enough after the grain is harvested next year, so why do we need to reserve it?"
At this point, Chen Gong paused for a moment before continuing, "Furthermore, if the grain is stored for too long, it will easily spoil. It would be more appropriate to wait until next year to purchase it."
Lu Bu shook his head, "Gongtai, if I said there would be a severe drought next year and there would be a locust plague, would you believe it?"
"Locust plague?" Chen Gong's expression changed, "Marquis Wen, how did you know?"
Lu Bu sighed and said slowly, "Gongtai, haven't you heard that after a severe drought there will be a locust plague?"
Chen Gong smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "This is just rhetoric. Locust plagues only happen once in a thousand years and are not that easy to appear. Marquis Wen, you are worrying too much."
Lu Bu shook his head and said, "Gongtai, you have to remember to prepare more food. Even if it breaks, it will be enough for next year.
Maybe there won’t be a locust plague next year, but we can’t push our luck. If there is, there’s no harm in us storing food. If there is, then we can survive the crisis safely.”
Having said this, Lu Bu turned to look at the huge pile of money and said slowly, "Gongtai, just send people to buy food. The more, the better. I still say that money is not a problem.
I have given you the money now. If there is no food next year and everyone is hungry, I will come to you."
Seeing that Lu Bu didn't seem to be joking, Chen Gong frowned and wanted to persuade him again, but Lu Bu waved his hand with a solemn look on his face.
"Gongtai, this is an order, don't disobey it."
Chen Gong cupped his hands and said with a wry smile, "Since Marquis Wen is worried about next year, just do what I do."
Lu Bu nodded, "Okay, let's go back and come to discuss matters with everyone. Cao Mengde should be back soon."
Chen Gong thought of Xun Yu and Xiahou Dun, and suddenly sneered, "Cao Mengde heard that something happened to his two generals, and I'm afraid he would be furious if he was distressed."
……
When the two came to the front hall, the generals had also arrived and were standing on both sides waiting.
Lu Bu came to the main seat and sat down, looked around and said slowly, "Now that Cao Mengde will be back soon, our army will face a big battle. Is there still a shortage of various ordnance required?"
Zhang Liao took the lead and said, "I would like to report to Marquis Wen that during several battles, the cavalry battalion was in short supply of bows and arrows. Thirty percent of them have been lost. I hope they can be replenished as soon as possible."
Gao Shun also stepped forward and said, "Although the number of people trapped in the camp is full, nearly half of the equipment is missing."
"I report to Marquis Wen that all armies are in short supply of bows and arrows, and their weapons are also severely damaged."
After hearing what everyone said, Lu Bu secretly made a note of it in his heart.
In fact, even if no one said it, he knew it very well.
Why are there elites in an army?
These elites are not just young men, but also equipped with equipment.
If an army of 10,000 people has 40% soldiers and horses, and has armor or defense, it is already considered very luxurious.
Of these 40%, at least half are elites in the army. As for the rest of the ordinary soldiers, only some generals or army leaders are qualified to equip armor.