Chapter 179 Salt, Sugar and Food
The reason why Liu Feng mentioned Liu Biao was actually a decision made after careful consideration.
Liu Yao seems to be in danger now. Compared with the situation in history, he is much better now.
Liu Yao still has at least 10,000 elite soldiers in Niuzhu, as well as various supplies such as food, ordnance, and uniforms stored in Niuzhu.
Currently Niuzhu has enough food to feed 20,000 people for a year.
After Sun Ce successfully crossed the river, he swept across the east of the Yangtze River. The main reason was that he obtained this batch of grain.
Due to Zhou Shang's sudden betrayal and sneak attack, the Niuzhu defenders had no time to burn food. Not only did the entire grain depot fall into Sun Ce's hands, but also the various warehouses for ordnance, clothing, etc. were also captured.
This made Sun Ce, who had money, food and weapons, take off directly after crossing the river, chasing Liu Yao and beating him all the way.
Therefore, Liu Feng judged that although Liu Yao and Xu Shao came to Xuzhou for help, they were not really at the end of their rope. They still had time and capital.
In this case, Liu Bei can naturally delay it.
Then it would be perfect to bring Liu Biao in.
If Liu Biao is willing to provide food, the Xuzhou army will not be afraid of fighting. Now that there are many refugees in the Central Plains, they are not worried about not being able to recruit soldiers at all, they are only worried about insufficient food.
If Liu Biao is unwilling to send food, compared with Liu Biao, Xuzhou is at least willing to send troops. However, due to lack of food, you can't force Liu Bei to starve the people of Xuzhou to rescue you in Yangzhou.
As for Chen Wang Liu Chong, they are actually the same thing as Liu Biao.
There is a saying that happiness comes from contrast.
Doesn’t Chen Wang Liu Chong and Jingzhou Liu Biao’s indifference towards Liu Yao Group further reflect the value of Xuzhou’s friendship?
Speaking of which, Xuzhou can do some trade with Chen State. In fact, the transportation between the two places is very developed.
Chen County, the county seat of Chen State, and Suiyang, the county seat of Liang State, are famous for land transportation. The roads are wide and smooth and are very important trade routes. Once you arrive in Suiyang, you can take the water route and follow the Suishui River directly to Tancheng.
Xuzhou will be short of food in the next few years. After all, there will be a severe drought in Huainan the year after tomorrow. Although this wave of drought seems to be a curse to Yuan Shu, it is concentrated in the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang, and has little influence on the surrounding Guangling and Pei. country, Runan’s influence is not great.
But if Liu Bei wants to take this opportunity to attack Yuan Shu, he still needs a lot of food.
Otherwise, once the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang are starved to death and the people are in dire straits, it will really be Yuan Shu's fault and Liu Bei will take the blame.
The only one with large grain stocks around Xuzhou is Chen Guo.
According to Liu Feng's estimation, Chen State has at least 300,000 shi of grain in storage, which is quite an astonishing scale of reserves.
"Father, King Chen Liu Chong has a firm character, is brave and strong, but he gets along very well with the Prime Minister Luo Jun and can listen to each other's suggestions."
Liu Bei sends Xu Shao away. Afterwards, returning to his seat, Liu Feng came over and whispered: "Luo Jun respects celebrities awe-inspiring. Xu Zhengyi is a famous celebrity in the world. If he asks for food, there may be some possibility of success."
Liu Bei nodded: "Father, I know."
Afterwards, Liu Feng returned to the table, and Liu Bei asked everyone in the hall: "Everyone has heard what Mr. Xu just said. I don't know what you think. Opinion? "
We are going to receive the Jingzhou envoys next. Liu Bei is obviously giving the important ministers a chance to speak.
If there are no urgent matters or opinions, then Liu Bei will summon the Jingzhou envoy.
Liu Bei's eyes passed over Chen Deng, Liu Ye and others. If he had any suggestions, they were the most active.
However, unexpectedly, Chen Deng, Liu Ye and others did not speak, but Mi Zhu spoke.
"Ming Gong, according to my understanding, the trade route from Chen County to Tancheng is very smooth. I am short of food in Xuzhou. If possible, can you take this opportunity to buy some food? Even if it is only three to five thousand Stone, you can also arrange one or two hundred more households."
Liu Bei just thought about it briefly and felt that what Mi Zhu said was right. At the moment, wealth is far less important than food.
If you have the opportunity to buy food, you really shouldn’t miss it.
Liu Bei followed suit and assigned the task directly to Mi Zhu: "But, Biejia will be responsible for this matter."
Mi Zhu obeyed his orders respectfully.
After a while, Jingzhou envoy Liu Xian walked into the main hall.
Liu Bei had already left the table and stood up to show respect to Liu Xian and Liu Biao behind him.
When Liu Xian saw this scene, he was very happy and stepped forward to pay homage to Liu Bei.
“Messengers don’t need to be polite, please take a seat quickly.”
"The foreign minister has thanked the envoy."
Liu Xian handed over his hand again before sitting in the banquet.
After everyone sat down at the table, Mi Zhu asked: "Your envoy has come all the way to Xuzhou, and I don't know what is important."
Liu Xian straightened up at the table and said to Mi Zhu bowed his hand politely, and then turned to Liu Bei: "Your Majesty, the foreign minister came here on the order of my lord. He came to Xuzhou to express his closeness and friendship to the envoy."
"Zuo General Yuan Shu holds a prominent position, but he does not want to serve the imperial court. He attacks the city and erodes the power of the state. He is obviously a traitor to the Han Dynasty's rebellious ministers. If I don't hide it from the envoy, my lord has suffered greatly. Jingzhou has been in war for many years. Given by Yuan Shu.”
"Although my lord had driven him out of Jingzhou before, he didn't want Yuan Shu to go to Yangzhou again and occupy the land of two counties."
When Liu Xian mentioned Yuan Shu, he was not only disdainful, but also resentful It means: "My lord is deeply afraid that this thief will reappear, so he sent me to Xuzhou to join forces with Duke Xuande and Duke Zhengli to destroy this thief."
Liu Xian's words are actually correct. Yuan Shu is indeed a fly in the pit. Once he has some strength, he will expand everywhere.
Historically, he was later besieged, and he provoked almost all the enemies except Sun Ce first.
Even Sun Ce was disgusted by Yuan Shu and left his heart.
Although Sun Ce is indeed ambitious and will not be content to stay under others for a long time.
Have the relationship between Yuan Shu and Sun Jian been there? In addition, after Sun Jian's death, he protected Sun Ce's family. If they hadn't been played like monkeys two or three times, the generals of the Sun family would not be like this. Firmly support Sun Ce.
After all, Yuan Shu is really good to the generals of the Sun family. The generals of the older generation of the Sun family basically followed Yuan Shu, and they also served as prefects.
The reason why everyone turned against Sun Ce in the end was that Yuan Shu tricked Sun Ce several times, which was chilling to watch. Secondly, Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, which was unpopular.
For example, Sun Ce’s uncle Wu Jing, his brother Sun Bi, his uncle Sun Jing, and his cousin Xu Kun all came to Sun Ce after Yuan Shu became emperor. Before that, their status was higher than Sun Ce is still taller.
In this time and space, after Yuan Shu came to Yangzhou, he not only provoked Liu Bei, but also actually sent troops to compete with Liu Bei for Guangling. The two sides had already forged a lot of hatred.
This is also the reason why Liu Biao dared to win over Liu Yao and Liu Bei.
After receiving Liu Bei's look, Liu Ye was the first to speak: "Does your Majesty know the situation in Yangzhou?"
Liu Xian is a gentleman, and naturally he will not tell such low-level lies.
“The foreign minister came from Yangzhou, and he does know something about the situation in Yangzhou.”
Liu Ye continued to ask: "Since Duke Jing Sheng intends to form an alliance, Ye would like to ask your envoy whether Duke Jing Sheng has any plans to assist Duke Zhengli in his current crisis?"
Liu Xian nodded. : "Foreign ministers received orders from our lord to send envoys to Yang and Xu, so they naturally came with good intentions. Yangzhou was invaded by General Zuo, Sun Ce massacred Wu County, and everyone in Jingzhou, from my lord to the soldiers and people, felt the same way. Therefore, , the foreign minister has sent a letter back to Jingzhou. Within one month, he will first send 600 sets of leather armor, 3,000 long knives, 3,000 wooden shields, 200 bows, 80,000 feather arrows, and 5,000 stones of grain and grass. To relieve Yangzhou's urgent needs."
Hearing this, Liu Bei nodded slowly and praised: "Brother Jing Sheng is indeed a role model for the clan."
Liu Xian thanked Liu Bei for his praise, and then He asked back: "I heard that Duke Xuande is also a clan relative and is close to Yangzhou. I wonder if I can help Duke Zhengli. If the clan can help each other, it will comfort my lord's heart. Secondly, it can also be called Zuo. The general is wary and should not act recklessly."
Hearing this, Liu Bei did not answer. Instead, he sighed and beat his legs with his fists.
At this time, Chen Deng straightened his body and said in a voice like a bell: "Your Majesty, this is a great kindness! Our Lord's benevolence is well known, and everyone in Xuzhou admires it. After hearing about the incident in Yangzhou, my Lord naturally wanted to help Duke Zhengli. I only regret that our state was invaded twice by Cao Yanzhou, and there were many disasters in the state, and there was a shortage of food.” There is a shortage of food in the state, and Yangzhou cannot afford the food supply for our army, so the rescue has been delayed."
Chen Deng stared at Liu Xian with a burning gaze: "I have heard for a long time that Jingzhou is rich and full of money and grain. Duke Sheng is willing to assist our state with some grain and grass. Our state will be able to send tens of thousands of troops to assist Jiangdong within half a month."
Liu Xian's expression did not change, but his brows frowned slightly.
He is not a fool, how could he agree to such a condition. Liu Xian straightened his face and refused directly: "Our state does have some grain reserves, but there are bandits from Zhongliangzhou in the north, there are heavy troops from Shu in the west, and there are also rebels in the four counties in the south who do not respect the king's principles. Food is the foundation of the people. , do not move lightly.”
"We are fully aware of your envoy's intention. I have an idea, but I don't know if it is feasible."
The person who spoke was Mi Zhu.
Liu Xian looked at his seat and knew he was a big official in the state, so he asked: "I wonder who you are?"
Mi Zhu replied: "I am Mi Zhu, Duke Mengming. Don’t give up, I’ll say goodbye.”
"It turns out to be Mi Biejia."
Liu Xian cupped his hands: "I don't know what Biejia can teach me?"
Mi Zhu said modestly: "I don't want to take the advice seriously, I just have some ideas. . It is a fact that Xuzhou has soldiers and lacks food. If this were not the case, our state would be able to mobilize thousands of soldiers and horses to cross the river to help. Jingzhou has food, but cannot send soldiers and horses to march eastward. In this case, can you please invite me? Lord Sheng sold a batch of grain to our state. Whether it was purchased or exchanged, our state still has some savings."
Liu Xian was silent for a moment. Compared with the previous temptations of Chen Deng and others, Mi Zhu's words were very sincere.
If money is really used to buy food, I believe Liu Biao is interested, even if it is bartered, it is very possible.
Liu Xian continued to ask: "I wonder how much food Guizhou needs, how much the price is, and if it is barter, what kind of materials are they?"
The expressions of everyone present changed, and there was a hint of joy.
Mi Zhu glanced at Liu Feng without leaving any trace, but saw that the other party was also looking at her. After meeting his eyes, he nodded towards him.
Mi Zhu immediately understood that Liu Feng was hinting that he should proceed as planned.
“Refugees are everywhere in Xuzhou, and there are still more than 100,000 people in the state. Outside the state, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou are all raging with war, and the people are displaced. Many refugees have poured into Xuzhou, which has reduced the food supply in our state. More and more inadequate. ”
Mi Zhu continued: "I beg Duke Jing Sheng to take pity on the people for the sake of our Lord being a member of the Han clan. Our state is willing to purchase a large amount of corn at the price of two hundred and thirty-one stones. If the money is not enough, I would like to buy it in large quantities." In exchange for rock sugar, snow salt and table salt."
Liu Xian originally lowered his head, but when he heard the fighting around Xuzhou, he was also frightened, and he did have compassion for the refugees.
It's just Liu Biao's thoughts, he can detect it to some extent. Moreover, in these troubled times, food is naturally extremely precious. Even for the sake of the clan and the people, it is already good to sell it to Xuzhou for a few thousand shi. , no more than twenty thousand stones at most.
It’s just that Liu Xian didn’t expect that the barter materials Xuzhou brought out would hit Jingzhou’s weakness.
Jingzhou is located in the Central Plains, and salt is produced in all directions, but not in Jingzhou.
Originally, because there was Sichuan well salt in the west, medium brine salt in the north, and sea salt in the east and south, Jingzhou was connected in all directions and had the advantage of waterways, so there was no shortage of salt.
But now the situation has changed.
Because Liu Biao coveted Shu and instigated Gan Ning and others to rebel, he had offended Liu Zhang to death. The current relationship between the two parties could only be life-or-death.
The Liangzhou army in the north coveted Jingzhou's wealth and repeatedly raised troops to invade the south.
Since defeating Yuan Shu, Jingzhou’s biggest enemy is the Liangzhou Army in Guanzhong.
Although Liu Zhang in Shu hated Liu Biao to death, he was unable to take the initiative to send troops to attack Jing because of his character and internal stability.
On the contrary, the Liangzhou Army almost regarded Jingzhou as a pasture, and would go south to harvest from time to time. Nanyang, formerly the number one county in the world, was almost reduced to nothing.
As a result, the braised salt in Guanzhong was also out of stock, and even private caravans did not dare to take this trade route. Who dared to count on the integrity of the Liangzhou Army?
The bold businessman is afraid that his life and goods will be eaten by the Liangzhou army.
Although Jiaozhi in the south also produces salt, the quantity is far less than that of Yangzhou and Xuzhou, and the transportation is extremely inconvenient.
There is no businessman who would sell salt from Jiaozhi to Jingzhou and sell other special products, whether it is pearls or cane sugar, which one is not more profitable than table salt?
Furthermore, salt is not easy to store, and it is rainy in the south. Once it rains, it may lead to bankruptcy.
The last remaining Xuzhou and Yangzhou, because of Yuan Shu, the salt road in Yangzhou was also cut off. Moreover, Wu County is now in such a state, the salt production will inevitably be greatly affected.
Liu Xian's mission to Jiangdong and Xuzhou this time was also to find a new source of salt for Jingzhou, and this supply must be huge.
Millions of people in Jingzhou are waiting to eat salt.
More importantly, Liu Feng knew that there was food in Jingzhou, and there was a lot of food.
Although Jingzhou seems to be fighting for years, in fact its food reserves are quite amazing.
Because both Yuan Shu and the Liangzhou Army took the initiative to attack Liu Biao, this meant that Liu Biao did not have much extra expenditure.
In ancient battles, the greatest consumption of food was in the transportation link.
Your soldiers stay in the city, whether they are fighting or not, they need to eat and drink. At most, when fighting, let the soldiers eat more, and they will not be able to double their strength even if they are exhausted.
But if you include transportation losses, it's completely different. Smooth waterways only require less than 10% of the losses per hundred miles.
But land transportation doubles the loss per hundred miles, far exceeding water transportation.
More importantly, if you take the waterway, you don’t need to mobilize too much manpower at all.
If it can be transported by land, at least thousands of people will be needed to transport food for 10,000 people. For every hundred miles, the number of people transporting food will double.
If it exceeds a thousand miles, the number of civilians required for the ten thousand people may even reach as many as sixty or seventy thousand.
These people cannot engage in production, and their food rations have to be borne by the state. This loss is huge and shocking.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Liu Biao, who was guarding the city, was able to save so much food. Not to mention that in the early stage of the war in Jingzhou, it was on the front line of Xiangyang, and in the middle stage, it was directly pushed to Nanyang County, which did not affect most of Jingzhou's production and harvest at all.
According to Liu Feng's estimation, if Chen Guo can have 300,000 to 500,000 grains in stock, then Jingzhou may have more than 300,000 to 5 million grains in stock.
In fact, after Emperor Xian of Han escaped from Guanzhong next year, Liu Biao promptly sent a large amount of food to feed Emperor Xian of Han and his hundreds of civil and military officials, as well as the 10,000 to 20,000 troops under Emperor Xian of Han.
In addition, Liu Biao also provided money and people, and together with Zhang Yang, he helped Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty renovate the palace in Luoyang. Although it was far from compared with peacetime, it was still quite exaggerated.
One can imagine how much food Liu Biao had in his hands.
It happened that Liu Biao was short of salt at this time, which was a good opportunity to dig grain from the opponent's hands.
Sure enough, when he heard that there was salt available for trading, Liu Xian immediately became interested.
Liu Xian didn’t know that Liu Feng had already seen through his trump card, so he calmly said: "I wonder how much salt Guizhou can supply, and what is the quality? What kind of frosting sugar and snow salt are these? ?”
Mi Zhu looked up at Liu Bei and his son, and saw Liu Bei and Liu Feng nodding slightly at him.
So Mi Zhu stood up and personally brought the wooden box beside him to Liu Xian.
Liu Xian quickly straightened up to show respect.
Mi Zhu put down the wooden box and opened it.
Liu Xian took a look and found that the wooden box was divided into two parts, each containing two completely different white crystals, which were naturally frost sugar and snow salt.
"Your Majesty, the lump on the left is frosted sugar, which is a specialty of Xuzhou. It is crystal clear, like frost, but sweet and delicious, without any odor."
Mi Zhu then pointed at the snow salt and said: "This is snow salt, which means it is as pure white as snow. It tastes extremely delicious and does not have the bitter taste of other table salts."
Finally, Mi Zhu also invited Liu Xian to taste it. one time.
Liu Xian tasted it dubiously, his eyes widened and his mind was shaken.
When did Xuzhou have such a treasure?
Even if you are willing to trade such treasures, Xuzhou is really short of food.
Liu Xian first composed himself, and then tried his best to behave naturally: "I don't know how much these two things are worth. If they are exchanged for these two things, how much will they be?"
Seeing that Liu Xian was tempted, Liu Bei, Liu Feng and Mi Zhu were all very happy.
(End of this chapter)