Chapter 120 Yanhao of Qu County
“If you don’t believe me, you can follow me to Qu County. My young master will tell you the whole story and explain it carefully to you.”
Liu Feng suddenly felt happy. Okay, this Xu Qin is really a talent. He can tell lies one after another. But how can he deceive Liu Feng with these excuses?
His village only has a few people, and it has to cook salt during slack periods. How much salt can it get?
Even if I sell it, I won’t be able to sell it for much.
Look at the beautiful face of the girl again. Isn’t it clear what the young master of the Wang family is thinking in his heart?
But Liu Feng is not that easy to deal with.
He started directly and walked towards the girl.
Pan Zhang, who was behind him, was the first to follow, followed closely behind, staring at Xu Qin and others with murderous intent.
If Pan Zhang is the wolf king, then Xu Qin is not even a male wolf. He was already a little weak after being stared at by Pan Zhang.
Xu Qin was not a good person on weekdays. He beat countless villagers in these ten miles and eight villages, and even killed a few people under his hands. But compared with Pan Zhang, there is really a difference between a tiger and a dog.
Not to mention that behind Pan Zhang, there are three great gods: Xu Sheng, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin.
Every one of them is like a dragon and a tiger, such as Xiong Zhu. Just being stared at by them made Xu Qin unable to stand.
Liu Feng walked up to the girl, stared at the two strong men in Tsing Yi who were holding the girl with a half-smile, and said softly: "Let go."
The two strong men in Tsing Yi even Not daring to look at Xu Qin, he already let go of his hands.
The girl was caught off guard and was about to fall, and Liu Feng had to reach out to help her.
"Your father sells salt, how much does it cost?"
The girl's face turned red, she lowered her head and replied softly: "My lord, one hundred and twenty coins per fight."
One hundred and twenty coppers per dou, that one stone is one thousand two hundred coppers.
The price of salt in the Eastern Han Dynasty fluctuated between 800 Wen and 1,100 Wen per stone.
But that was the price of salt in peacetime. What time is it now?
As far as Liu Feng knew, the price of salt in Xuzhou had already skyrocketed to two or three thousand yuan per stone.
The salt sold by this girl's father is less than half that of the big salt tycoons. If the current increase in fuel prices is taken into account, this price is quite conscientious.
Obviously, this price cannot be tolerated by the powerful people. They do not care about such a small shipment volume, but this price is tantamount to a slap in the face of the salt powerful people.
At this time, Liu Feng actually had the time to ask about other things: "How much profit can be made from one stone at this price?"
The girl was very anxious and worried about her father's safety, but the only hope for their family was the noble young master in front of them. Naturally, she did not dare to neglect, so she could only suppress the anxiety in her heart and replied: "You can get three hundred coins." "
Liu Feng was surprised. He didn't expect that such a low price could still make a net profit of more than 20%. This should be the profit after removing the salt tax.
Think about those salt tycoons who often sell salt for two or three thousand yuan per stone. Isn’t their profit as high as three to four hundred percent?
Isn’t this like going to heaven?
Liu Feng sneered in his heart, all this money went into the pockets of the salt tycoons. The state government could only collect 100 wen per stone at most, which was even less than the girl's father.
No wonder these salt tycoons want to unite and fight against the state capital. The interests in this are too great.
Seeing that Liu Feng was a little surprised, the surrounding villagers also boldly spoke up and interrupted.
"Uncle Zhao also saw that it is difficult for our villagers to eat salt. Even though they all rely on the sea, they still have to buy their Wang family's salt at a high price. One liter costs 30 cents, and it is also mixed with salt. Shasha.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Xu Qin was anxious and wanted to find the person who just spoke.
Pan Zhang didn't tolerate him, so he stepped forward and slapped Xu Qin, spinning him around in a circle. He was completely stunned.
The villagers erupted in loud applause. With Pan Zhang's actions, the villagers' fear of Xu Qin and other young men was greatly reduced, and they started to complain in droves.
“Young master, you don’t know that we originally bought salt from the Wang family at a high price. At the beginning of this year, the young master from the Wang family suddenly became kind-hearted and asked us to raise 10,000 yuan and allow three people around us to do so. The village cooks its own salt, but is not allowed to take it out. "
"Uncle Zhao has been a businessman before. He has a lot of experience and a good heart. When everyone begged him, he stood up and picked the salt. The three villages pooled together 10,000 yuan, bought a prison plate from the Wang family, and built a fire pit. They could only cook a dozen dan, which was not enough for the three villages, so they were bullied by the Wang family."
"Yes! They insisted that we were taking out food, but there was no evidence. We couldn't eat enough salt ourselves, so how could we sell it for money? Even if we stopped eating salt and used it to exchange for money, the surrounding villages would It’s under the control of the Wang family. Who dares to buy salt from us?”
"Now that the prison plate has been broken, we won't be able to boil salt anymore. Even Uncle Zhao was injured. The Wang family is too bullying."
The villagers started talking one after another. words, outlines a more complete picture of the situation.
After listening to this, Liu Feng had already made up his mind. As he had guessed before, the young master of the Wang family probably fell in love with the smart girl in front of him and set up a trap to harm them.
So, Liu Feng nodded clearly, changed the subject, and said to the smart girl: "It will be easy for me to save you today, but after I leave, they will not spare you. Wait. If they come again, I'm afraid even the villagers won't be able to save our family."
What Liu Feng said was true. Xu Qin swallowed and opened his mouth to say something, but Pan Zhang stopped him. He stared and quickly closed it again.
The girl was really smart. After hearing this, she immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowed to Liu Feng and said, "I beg you to save my little girl's family. I am willing to be your slave."
"There is no need to be a slave. I'll let the doctor take a look at your father. You and your mother should clean up quickly and leave this place."
Liu Feng turned around and shouted to the team behind him: "Mr. Zou, please give me a hard time. ”
This Mr. Zou is also a famous doctor in Xuzhou. Although his fame is not as good as Hua Tuo, he has just passed away, but he is already a leader among the younger generation.
Mr. Zou responded, stepped forward to check, and replied after a while: "My heart has been hurt a little, it's not serious, I just need to recover for a while. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Liu Feng looked over with some confusion.
Mr. Zou explained: "When the lungs are injured, it is best not to move lightly, as it can easily cause internal injuries and lead to death."
Liu Feng suddenly realized that he should be worried about internal bleeding.
After thinking for a while, he replied: "Then send him back to the house first, and we will raise him for a few days."
Then, he ordered Xu Sheng: "Wen Xiang, please leave a few people here to watch, so as to prevent people who are short-sighted from acting randomly."
"Yes! Young Master!"
Xu Sheng respectfully accepted the order and then made arrangements.
The four soldiers were called by name, walked out, and stayed in the village.
Xu Qin and others lowered their heads and did not dare to say a word.
Xu Qin can be considered a smart man. From these soldiers, it can be seen that the young man is extremely wealthy. He is probably a descendant of the aristocratic family in Tan City, and he must be a direct descendant.
Although the world is in chaos now, not everyone can travel with soldiers cheering for them.
Among the elders of this noble man’s family, there must be at least a two thousand stone captain.
The Wang family has been in Qu County for more than a hundred years, and has served several county magistrates who are more than Qianshi. They are also on good terms with the Gan family and the Tian family. Maybe they will not be too afraid, but Xu Qin himself knows that if If he dares to offend the young master in front of him because of the Wang family's affairs, the Wang family will definitely throw him out afterwards to calm the other party's anger.
It is impossible for any wealthy family to fight for him as a knight errant against such a wealthy family, even if he is loyal.
Now Xu Qin just wants to get into the ground. It would be best if the noble young master never sees him.
But the more you worry about something, the more it will happen.
Liu Feng actually walked up to him, looked at him and said, "Let's go, take me to meet your master."
Xu Qin complained in his heart, he wanted to take Liu with him before Feng went to see Wang Yu because he wanted to sever the connection between Liu Feng and these unruly people. At the same time, he wanted Wang Yu to come forward to communicate with Liu Feng and find out more about it, or to fool the other party.
But now that Liu Feng has asked everything clearly, isn't he asking for trouble by taking this person to see the young master?
If there is another conflict with the young master, no matter which side suffers the loss, he will be the unlucky one in the end.
So, Xu Qin forced himself to apologize and said with a smile: "Whatever you said, noble man, I will do whatever you say. I will do whatever you want, but you don't need to disturb my young master anymore."< br>
Liu Feng smiled. He couldn't tell that this guest of the Wang family was a little smart. He knew how to admit his cowardice and knew how to take advantage of others. It was a pity that he had to meet the young master of the Wang family today. Nothing he said would work. .
"You either take me there, or I break your legs and ask your men to take me there."
After Liu Feng finished speaking, he did this to Pan Zhang A gesture.
Pan Zhang was immediately overjoyed and walked towards Xu Qin with a ferocious expression.
Xu Qin was so frightened that he could no longer care about his inner thoughts and nodded repeatedly: "I choose the first one, I choose the first one. I only ask for your life."
Pan Zhang Then he stopped, his face full of regret.
Liu Feng and others, led by Xu Qin, entered Qu County.
There are several powerful noble families in Qu County. The most famous one is naturally the Mi family, which boasts its wealth in Haidong. However, the Gan family, Wang family and other noble families are also wealthy families, but they are hidden in Mi family. It’s all about the family’s reputation.
This time Liu Feng was looking for Wang Yu, the eldest son of the Wang family.
This son is a good friend of Mi Fang, and they have an irreversible friendship. They often ride in the same car and travel together, and they have a very good relationship.
A few days ago, Mi Fang left for Tancheng. Wang Yu went out of the city to see her off and returned only thirty miles away. It was still a good talk in Qu County. The children of the gentry all lamented and admired the friendship between Mi Fang and Wang Yu.
After Wang Yu remembered the smart girl today, he asked Xu Qin to come over and try to solve the problem.
As for how to solve it?
Of course, people pay off their debts and disappear.
Unexpectedly, Xu Qin failed to handle the matter and instead came back with a strange young man.
The young man actually brought dozens of soldiers with him, which was a bit troublesome.
Wang Yu first glanced at Xu Qin, who was so frightened that he lowered his head and dared not say a word, and then asked Liu Feng: "Wang Yu in Xiaqu County, what do you call this little brother? ”
Liu Feng was very polite at this moment. He cupped his hands and said, "Liu Feng in Zhuozhou has met Brother Wang."
Wang Yu was stunned for a moment, Zhuozhou?
That should be on the border of Hebei, right?
Is it Youzhou, Jizhou, or Bingzhou?
This place was so far away that Wang Yu couldn’t tell the difference for a while.
But as long as the other party responds, it's a good thing, and it's also convenient for you to feel the other party's bottom.
"It turns out to be Brother Liu, please sit inside."
While politely leading Liu Feng inside, Wang Yu casually swept past the people behind Liu Feng.
Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin stand out from the crowd. Such warriors may not be seen in ordinary times, but now four of them appear at once. This Liu Brother, it's not easy.
The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was an era of schizophrenia. From top to bottom, from literati to warriors, schizophrenia manifested itself.
The literati tortured themselves whether Confucianism could save the world, and whether the Confucianism they learned was true and effective, or whether it was self-deception.
While despising the warrior, he also realizes that troubled times are coming and the warrior's status will be greatly improved.
This is why Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin are famous in Jiujiang, and merchant ships coming and going are willing to pay taxes, but no county governor is willing to recruit them as officials.
Although the noble family realizes the useless value of Zhou Tai and others, they still only want to treat them as dogs, used to guard homes and homes, rather than real talents.
The same goes for Zhou Tai and others. While they were indignant at the suppression and blockade of the nobles on official roads, they could not help but yearn to be accepted by the nobles, even as thugs.
The final dignity just prevents them from lying down and completely acting like dogs.
Wang Yu is now showing the typical logic of the nobles in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He has seen the strength of these four warriors. Not only Qu County, but also Donghai County has never seen such warriors.
But he was not worried at all that the other party would hurt him, because in his understanding, these warriors were just lackeys raised by Liu Feng, and they did not dare and could not hurt him, who was different from Liu Feng. Descendants of the same class of nobles.
“I wonder why Brother Liu came to our Qu County?”
Wang Yu was very polite. He not only introduced Liu Feng into his main hall, but also served him hot soup. He was very considerate. : "If there is anything you need help with, Brother Liu, feel free to speak up."
Liu Feng smiled, put down the tea soup and said: "Brother Wang is very righteous, Feng really has something to ask of Brother Wang."
Wang Yu was a little surprised. His words were half polite and half provocative. reacted.
He immediately came back to his senses, glanced at Su Lizai again and said tentatively: "Brother Liu, you don't have to be polite, but just give me the order."
"I don't dare to obey the order."
< br>Liu Feng said with a smile: "I heard that Brother Wang cooks salt at home?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that I was buying salt. I just came from Zhuozhou to Xuzhou to buy salt. This is too far. Does Hebei not produce salt?
He was thinking wildly, but it did not prevent him from answering: "Exactly, my salt is sold in Xu, Yan and Hezhou. It has clear grains and bright yellow color. It is a rare good salt. What's even more rare is that The Mi family and the Gan family, both of whom are prominent in Qu County, once joined forces to suppress the price of salt and stipulated that the price of salt produced in this county should not exceed 3,000 yuan per stone. This is indeed a great merit. "
Three thousand yuan per stone, still. Not to be exceeded?
Liu Feng was almost happy.
Not to mention the distant ones, even the Zhao family’s boiled salt that I just saw sold for 1,200 ren and made a profit of 300 ren. Then I bought a hundred cents worth of salt water, and the total cost plus labor was only eight hundred cents.
“Three thousand yuan? This price is quite high.”
Liu Feng smiled and said: “If my demand is large, I wonder if it can be cheaper?”
Wang Yu Blinking, I didn’t expect it to be a big business.
"Brother Liu and I hit it off at first sight. Since you ask for so much, then my family will be cheaper, and we will treat it as a good relationship with Brother Liu."
After thinking for a while, Wang Yu said seriously: "How about two thousand eight hundred coins per stone?"
Liu Feng did not answer and asked: "How many stones can Brother Wang provide each year?"
Wang Yu was suspicious, laughed and drank tea.
Liu Feng clapped his hands, and Zhou Tai, who had been guarding him, walked out, holding a small black box in his hand and placed it in front of Wang Yu.
"Brother Wang, you might as well open it and take a look. I believe this can give Brother Wang a little idea of my family's financial situation."
Liu Feng's words were sarcastic: "It's not like we can't even afford some salt."
Wang Yu's face was as usual. For him, wealth is the most important thing. He was stabbed with a few basic words. Nothing.
He opened it curiously and saw that there was only a handful of white crystals in the small box, wrapped in silk.
"This is rock candy, Brother Wang, you can try it."
Although Liu Feng said so, Wang Yu would not really eat anything brought by strangers.
"Brother Liu, Rong is rude."
He thought for a moment and called a waiter to let him taste it first.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the waiter finished tasting it, he exclaimed: "It's so sweet! Master, this is sugar, it's really sweet!"
But Wang Yu waited patiently. After a moment, he made sure that the attendant was okay and then waved him away.
Obviously everything was done in front of Liu Feng, but Wang Yu didn't feel embarrassed at all. This time, he tasted the rock sugar with his own mouth, and his eyes suddenly became hot.
Wang Yu couldn't control himself and asked involuntarily: "Brother Liu, where did your rock candy come from?"
Liu Feng sneered, looked sideways at Wang Yu, and said with a smile: "Brother Wang, this I'm afraid it's not something you should be concerned about, right?"
"Hahaha."
Wang Yu laughed dryly, and after a moment, he looked at Liu Feng eagerly: "I don't want Liu Feng. There is such a treasure in the little brother's clan. I wonder if this rock candy can be sold to my family?"
Liu Feng smiled half-heartedly: "Brother Wang, your question is so funny, but I forgot that you have never answered it before? My question.”
Wang Yu pretended to be surprised and nodded repeatedly: "Brother Liu, don't be surprised. Since you have shown your sincerity, naturally I can't hide it. To be honest with Brother Liu, my family can produce six thousand shi of salt a year."< br>
Liu Feng silently calculated and felt that Wang Yu might have concealed something.
Xuzhou had a population of more than 2.8 million before. People in this era were very economical in eating salt, but saving it was also a necessity, especially working in the fields. It was physical work, very heavy, and required a lot of intake. of salt to ensure strength.
So no matter how little the per capita intake is, the average annual income must be more than six pounds.
More than 2.8 million people consume nearly 500,000 kilograms of salt every year.
Even if we do not consider purchasing salt from other states, and excluding the salt output of Langya and Guangling, the minimum annual output in the East China Sea must be more than 200,000 shi.
The Mi family accounts for the majority. If 60% is removed, there will still be a gap of 80,000 shi.
The Wang family can rule the roost in Qu County with the Mi family and the Gan family, but they can only produce six thousand shi of salt per year. This is to make him look like a fool.
Even if Xuzhou suffered a tragic war and its population plummeted, resulting in a subsequent decline in salt production, it would not be just a few thousand dan.
Seeing that there was still no truth in Wang Yu's mouth, Liu Feng didn't bother to test the other party anymore. He directly raised a finger and said: "One thousand coins and one stone, how much salt does the Wang family have? How much do I want?"
Wang Yu's face suddenly turned cold, he glanced at Zhou Tai and others, and said with an ugly expression: "Brother Liu, are you kidding me?"
(End of Chapter)