Chapter 121 Meet Mi Zeng
“Of course I’m not joking.”
Liu Feng turned a blind eye and said to himself: “Since Brother Wang is unwilling to sell, then if I Are you willing to sell it to Brother Wang at this price?"
Wang Yu was so angry that he just thought that the other party was here to amuse himself. If he hadn't been afraid of the four warriors behind Liu Feng, he would have wanted to expose him. The table taught Liu Feng a lesson.
In spite of this, Wang Yu's expression also became a little ferocious: "Yes, as much as you have at that time, our Wang family will be willing to charge you at this price."
"Okay, then it's settled."
Liu Feng responded seriously, then stood up and prepared to leave.
Wang Yu was a little confused as to what the other party meant. His previous words sounded like he was asking for salt, but the price offered was too low, just like those unscrupulous people.
But now it seems like you want to sell salt?
This is even more ridiculous. Who would go to the salt farm to sell salt?
Seeing Liu Feng leaving, Wang Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was not afraid of Liu Feng, it was always a good thing to avoid a quarrel.
At the same time, he secretly asked his attendants to inform Xu Qin, asking him to make meritorious deeds and select a few smart people to follow him and feel out the other party's bottom.
Liu Feng also gained a lot here.
In fact, whether it was giving rock candy as a gift or announcing his family status just now, it was all his temptation.
The result of this trial made Liu Feng very satisfied.
First of all, Wang Yu didn't know that the Mi family had obtained rock candy, which shows that even Mi Fang did not leak the family's secrets randomly, which shows that the Mi family is still reliable.
Actually, this Liu Feng was just giving it a try. No matter how stupid he was in future generations, he would not tell his family secrets to his friends for no reason, right?
Not to mention the era of the Eastern Han Dynasty when the family was the foundation.
In this era, the family is the core, and Bingtang is the future of the Mi family. If Mi Fang dares to leak even this, then there is really nothing she dares not to leak.
Right now, the Mi family has just obtained rock candy and is undergoing large-scale trial production. All aspects are immature and are all temporarily established. This is when confidentiality is most needed.
If other families knew that the Mi family had mastered the art of making rock candy, you should know how these people would react.
I am afraid that the people who will try their best to steal the production technology will be these good friends.
The smartest way for the Mi family is to keep it secret. No information about the rock sugar can be leaked. It can be kept as long as it can. The produced rock candy can be shipped quietly and sent to other places for sale first.
It doesn’t matter if some appear locally occasionally.
After all, rock candy is rare, not unique.
In fact, this is exactly what the Mi family did. Judging from Wang Yu's reaction, Mi Zhu still has a brain.
It’s just that Mi Fang has done a lot of stupid things in history, so Liu Feng had to take precautions to avoid overestimating Mi Fang’s brain and being stabbed in the back by his stupidity.
Now it seems that Mi Fang is not that stupid. At least Mi Fang can still control it under the double suppression of Mi Zeng and Mi Zhu.
If Wang Yu learned about Bingtang from Mi Fang, just imagine how Liu Feng dared to reveal other secrets and cooperate with the Mi family.
Even if Mi Zhu is still loyal, he can't stop Mi Fang from leaking secrets behind the scenes.
Secondly, Wang Yu doesn't seem to recognize himself, which is also good news.
It shows that the Mi family has no trace of pulling its own tiger skin.
In ancient times, apart from the official and military information transmission systems, private information transmission was quite slow and often relied on the government.
Take Liu Bei's successful recovery of Langya as an example. If the warlord intelligence systems in various places had not passed on the news and it had only relied on free diffusion among the people, I am afraid that in a year or two, the western region of Yanzhou might not have known about this. thing.
The two sides are still right next to each other. If they were farther away, it would be more difficult and time-consuming to connect.
For wealthy families like the Mi family and the Wang family, although they do not have a systematic intelligence transmission system for the government and the military, they can conduct special investigations.
That is, sending specialized people to collect information that interests you.
Obviously, at least the Wang family, the leading noble family in Haidong, is not very interested in Liu Bei. They don't even know what Liu Bei's son looks like, and they don't care much.
As long as they have any respect for Uncle Fang, they must at least understand Uncle Fang's preferences and family, and at least try not to offend Uncle Fang without knowing it.
It’s no wonder. In the eyes of this group of Donghai people, Liu Bei, the uncle, was supported by the head of the Mi family, so what is there to be afraid of?
As for capturing Langya, Mr. Mi Zeng personally came out to raise food from everyone a few months ago.
Everyone was generous and collected tens of thousands of stones of food.
Food is so precious these days. In this cold winter, even if you have money, you may not be able to buy food. Isn't this enough to express the admiration and support of Uncle Fang and others?
With this idea, the powerful nobles in Donghai felt that they were kind to Liu Bei, and with the Mi family supporting them, they could not help but feel a little contempt for Liu Bei.
Even if the news of the recent defeat of Zang Ba and the recovery of Langya spreads, it has not been able to change this.
After Liu Feng's visit to Qu County this time, he has three conclusions for the time being.
First, the Mi family can cooperate more deeply. At least Mi Zeng and Mi Zhu are very reliable. As for Mi Fang, let's see if there is a chance to help him in the future.
Second, Haidong counties have deep-water harbors that are worth investing in resources for development. They also have large swathes of excellent coastal beaches that can be used to pilot the salt-drying method on a large scale.
Thirdly, isn’t it a coincidence that the powerful nobles here in Haidong are not only terrible, but they are also not very convinced by their father?
It just so happened that there was no place for this group of people in the economic map designed by Liu Feng. Just now he kindly gave them a last chance, but the Wang family refused.
Since you don't want to eat, you can only ask them to leave the table.
Liu Feng decided to show this group of shallow-sighted nobles what a dimensionality reduction attack is.
"Young Master, there are a few more tails behind you."
Zhou Tai followed quietly and reported in a low voice: "Do you want to give them to..."
< br>Looking at Zhou Tai, he raised his right hand viciously and cut it in the air.
Liu Feng, who understood what the other party meant, shook his head: "It's okay, just let them follow."
In just these few days, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin have followed Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang, and have changed their views on Liu Feng He also called me Young Master.
Liu Feng doesn't care, as long as his father doesn't care.
"Let's go, it's time to visit Mi's house."
Liu Feng had already asked about the location of Mi's house, turned around and walked there.
The people from Xu Qin's faction didn't know that they were exposed. They followed the other party all the way to Mi Mansion and watched as the other party handed over his name card. Then Mi Mansion opened the middle door and respectfully welcomed him into the mansion, and then hurried back. The king's palace reported the news.
I don’t know whether Liu Feng came by coincidence or not.
Mi Fang, the second young master of the Mi family, has just waited for the state envoy to conquer him, and Yingpi became the prefect of Langya County.
After holding a big banquet and inviting many friends to celebrate, Mi Fang had left Qu County two days ago, went to Tancheng to visit Uncle Fang, and then took office.
But after receiving Liu Feng's name call, it alarmed Mi Zeng, the head of the old family who was raised at home.
"Is this a young man?"
Mi Zeng looked at the name card in his hand, and the word Liu Feng was clearly written on it.
He couldn't help but hesitate, when did Uncle Fang's son come to our Qu County?
But there is no mistake in being careful. Like Mi Zhu, Mi Zeng has a calm and cautious personality, and he does not offend others easily. If he offends him, the other person will not be able to be a good person.
“Open the middle door and I will greet you personally.”
Mi Zeng directly put away the name card in his hand and ordered the attendant: "Change my clothes."
Soon, Mi Zeng changed into a formal suit, walked to the gate, and saw the concierge at a glance. Liu Feng happened to come out.
Mi Zeng was able to recognize Liu Feng at a glance. On the one hand, Liu Feng was indeed outstanding. He had a unique temperament that was difficult for others to imitate, making him stand out from the crowd.
On the other hand, it was Mi Zhu who secretly carved portraits of Liu Bei and Liu Feng and his son, and sent his relatives back to the East China Sea in confidence.
Of course Mi Zeng saw it the first time, and watched it again and again, keeping it in mind to avoid not knowing each other when they met, which would be a big shame.
"You are really a young master. I didn't want you to come to my humble home in person, but I missed you from afar. Please forgive me."
As soon as he saw the person coming, Mi Zeng knew that it was Liu Feng, so he prepared to pay homage to him even though he was far away. .
When Liu Feng saw it, he was startled and rushed over quickly, barely supporting Mi Zeng.
"Old Master Mi, why is this so?"
Liu Feng helped Mi Zeng and said humbly: "When I am in Tancheng, I treat you like an uncle. You are diligent in government and love the people. Working day and night to fill in the gaps for my father, the peace that exists in this state is all thanks to others.”
Mi Zeng was supported by Liu Feng. He listened to the other party's words and nodded while listening: "Although Zizhong is a calm man, he lacks wisdom. Fortunately, Uncle Fang will not give up. He is willing to make him a special driver. Although he uses tricks to make up for his mistakes, he must try his best. And for. It is his blessing to be praised by the young master."
Liu Feng quickly declined, and after a polite conversation, they both understood each other's position. Liu Feng was secretly happy, and under the guidance of Mi Zeng, the two entered the Fulou.
This Fulou is not only exquisite, but also a natural secret room.
As long as you get to the third floor and drive the servants away, no one can eavesdrop anymore.
Since both sides had confirmed each other's position, Liu Feng didn't say much after going to the Fulou. After praising the beauty of the Fulou a few times, he went straight to the point.
"Mr. Mi, I have some ideas. I would like to ask you to check them and give me some advice. I wonder if you are willing?"
Mi Zeng thought of Zizhong's letter, which often mentioned Liu. Feng often has original ideas and thoughts, and they are all very feasible.
Now it seems that what Zizhong said is true.
Just because Liu Feng had just come to the door, he had an idea to come up with, which also aroused Mi Zeng's curiosity.
Mi Zeng therefore continued: "I don't dare to give you advice, but if it's just for a look, I would also like to hear what the young master thinks."
Liu Feng turned to Xu Sheng and nodded, who hurriedly followed He took out a box from behind, opened it and put it in front of Mi Zeng.
"Mr. Mi, what is on these silks is the purpose of this kid's visit. I just don't know if the Mi family is willing to cooperate with the kid to participate in this grand event."
Mi Zeng looks at He glanced at Liu Feng and then at the box.
The box was divided into two parts, each rolled up with a bunch of silk.
Mi Zeng first picked out a piece of silk with a salt-drying method and looked at it.
This is really something you won’t know until you see it, and you will be shocked when you see it.
This bundle of silk contains several silk books, with texts and pictures recorded on them.
The text records the detailed steps of the sun-salting method and the labor and equipment required, while the pictures simply draw out the various processes of the sun-salting method.
Even with Mi Zeng's calmness, his hands were trembling slightly at this time.
Where is the teaching here?
This is obviously Jinshan blocking the door.
Mi Zeng is already over 60 years old and has reached the age of seventy. How can he still not understand Liu Feng’s subtext?
However, he also held his breath. He glanced at Liu Feng and saw that the other person had no intention of speaking. He just smiled at himself and swallowed the words that came to his mouth.
Based on his experience, this method of drying salt is much better than the current method of boiling salt.
It is no exaggeration to say that the sun salt method completely crushes the boiled salt method in many aspects such as labor, cost, consumption, output, quality, etc., and it can also turn large tracts of coastal tidal flats into treasures.
You must know that although the coastline in Xuzhou is very long, very few can be used. The main reason is that there are too many such tidal flats.
Originally this was a flaw, but now it has become a treasure. With Xuzhou's huge tidal flat area, even one-tenth of it can be used as a salt field, and the salt produced is enough for the states in the Central Plains.
And the cost of this salt will be far lower than the salt obtained by boiling salt in the past.
Other salt merchants will have no competitiveness at all and will have no choice but to surrender or follow suit.
It's just that surrendering is easy, but following the trend is difficult.
Mi Zeng is an old man, how can he not see the difference between the two?
In the past, the salt boiling method did not require a large space. Even if Fang Bo banned it, it would be half the result with twice the effort and it would be difficult to eradicate.
But the method of drying salt is completely different. You can run away, but can you run away in the salt field?
Or if the man runs away, wouldn’t it be better if Yantian stays?
What's even better is that Uncle Fang holds the right to speak and can take action at any time, while others can only respond passively.
You can only commit a thief for a thousand days, but how can you guard against a thief for a thousand days?
The relationship between host and guest has become easier.
Then Mi Zeng opened the second bundle of silk.
“The salt method.”
Just by looking at the name, Mi Zeng vaguely guessed that this should be a salt policy reform plan similar to the Hanwu Salt and Iron Monopoly.
I just don’t know how big Liu Feng’s appetite is.
Mi Zeng lowered his head again and continued reading, but was surprised to find that Liu Feng's appetite was surprisingly small.
After Liu Bang founded the country and the early Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, salt and iron were allowed to be operated by private individuals. Private individuals could operate the salt industry and then collect taxes from the state. It's just that this tax revenue belongs directly to the Shaofu, who is in charge of the royal family's finances, while the revenue from the princely states goes to the prince's government and does not belong to the central finance.
Until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went on foreign campaigns for many years, the treasury was empty. With the support of the emperor, Minister of Finance Sang Hongyang promoted the salt and iron monopoly, nationalized the salt ponds in the world, and implemented a "complete monopoly system". The imperial court dispatched officials to organize the production, transportation, and sales of salt. Completely official.
This is already the most severe salt policy in history.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu's momentary softness actually directly caused the dilemma that the benefits of salt and iron could never be recovered.
As a result, the Eastern Han Dynasty court could only rely on salt tax to collect a small part of the tax, and most of the benefits fell into the pockets of the salt merchants, making the salt merchants extremely wealthy.
Originally, Mi Zeng didn’t dare to expect to be as tolerant as this dynasty. At least, don’t be like the previous dynasty who only specialized in salt and iron.
In fact, Mi Zeng's judgment is also correct. During the Three Kingdoms period in history, the three countries of Wei, Shu and Wu all implemented strict salt and iron monopoly, copying the Han and Wu models.
But Liu Feng would not do this.
Because historical experience told him that the Hanwu model was far less effective than the Yanyan method.
Even the original version of the on-the-spot monopoly system was much better than the salt and iron monopoly of the Hanwu period, and the income was several times that of the Hanwu period.
Mi Zeng let out a light sigh, looking more and more focused.
In the silk book, Liu Feng introduced in detail the salt tax system he constructed, from production to acquisition, transportation, and sales.
In particular, this system not only has government operations, but also introduces market mechanisms. The government and businessmen divide profits, adapt to local conditions, and allow private operations, but the initiative is always firmly in the hands of the government.
The best thing is that the government does not need to maintain a large number of personnel, which has a great positive effect on improving efficiency and reducing corruption.
After reading the Salt Method, Mi Zeng had a sentence in his mind.
Seeing is worse than hearing once.
Under Mi Zhu’s influence, Mi Zeng overestimated Liu Feng as much as possible.
But no matter which of the two things the other party brought today, they far exceeded my expectations for Liu Feng.
Mi Zeng rerolled the silk book in his hand and put it carefully into the box, fearing that it would be damaged.
After doing all this, he sighed softly and looked at Liu Feng.
"Master, you have posed a big problem for the Mi family."
With Mi Zeng's wisdom, it is not difficult to see the purpose of these two things.
Liu Feng obviously wanted to use the private part of the salt drying method and the salt discussion method in exchange for his and the Mi family's support in his salt policy reform.
With such a generous and tempting offer, there was no way Mi Zeng could refuse it. This was a good thing that he could only dream of.
But even so, Mi Zeng still has a huge doubt. If this doubt cannot be explained, then Mi Zeng will not only be unable to cooperate with Liu Feng, but at least he will be worried.
That is how to solve the problem of mutual trust.
A further step is that Mi Zeng doesn’t understand why Liu Feng believes in the Mi family so much.
Is it just because of Mi Zhu's loyalty to Liu Bei?
This is too far-fetched.
Suddenly, Mi Zeng had an idea in his heart.
I and my eldest son have always cared about it, but have never found a good opportunity. Maybe now is the time to wait.
Mi Zeng raised his head and met Liu Feng's eager gaze.
His heart moved and he asked: "Master, I have a question that I can't figure out. Could you please give me some advice?"
Liu Feng was stunned for a moment, not expecting Mi Zeng to suddenly ask this question. .
But he soon came back to his senses and nodded: "Old Master Mi, speak directly when you have something to say, and don't take advice seriously. I will always try my best to give an explanation."
(End of Chapter)< br>