Chapter 181 Acting with Vigor and Resolute
Xun You said in his heart that he was not moved, but that was a lie. He really felt Liu Bei's love.
Although Liu Bei said it was easy, it was still very stressful to arrange for Xun You to serve as a high-ranking official with two thousand stones like the prefect of Guangling.
There are only a few two-thousand-stone prefects in Xuzhou. Not including Langya, there are only four. Including those from the vassal, there are only nine.
Xun You is not an entrepreneurial veteran, nor does he come to invest with great achievements.
If he was directly appointed as the governor of Guangling, there would definitely be a lot of opposition.
In fact, Liu Bei also hesitated a little, but it was Liu Feng's determination that helped him make up his mind.
"Extraordinary people are responsible for extraordinary things. How can gossip be the way? But if you listen to the words of mediocre people, you will suffer chaos."
Liu Feng knew it clearly. , Xun You's resume spanned two thousand shi.
Although he has never held office in any place, his qualifications to serve as the Prime Minister of the city and the governor of Shu County are real.
Historically, Cao Cao used Xun You, the prefect of Runan, to conquer the country. As soon as he arrived in Xuchang, he became the minister. This was a prominent official who could participate in national affairs.
Liu Bei's side is naturally not as good as Cao Cao who controls the center, but he still has to be given a prominent enough position, even if it is just to show his sincerity.
So, Liu Bei prepared three positions, representing the feudal official, the intelligence cronies, and the three major officials in the state except Biejia.
Originally, both Liu Bei and Liu Feng thought that Xun You would choose Guangling Prefect.
On the one hand, this is a prince with two thousand stones, and on the other hand, it is also an important frontline town. Whether it is going south to Jiangdong or attacking Yuan Shu, it is a place where meritorious deeds are made.
Unexpectedly, Xun You actually chose the position of Chang Shi.
This greatly exceeded Liu Bei and Liu Feng's expectations and made them very confused.
In fact, the reason why Xun You chose Changshi naturally had his own considerations.
Although Liu Bei has impressed Xun You in terms of winning people, and he admires him very much.
It may not be possible to use people, Liu Bei has not been able to prove it to Xun You.
A resourceful man like Xun You sees things far more deeply than the average person.
In Xun You's view, although the prefect of Guangling is good, the real power is definitely not in the hands of the prefect.
There are more than ten thousand troops gathered in Guangling City, and they must be led by Liu Bei's confidants. Under such circumstances, what real power can he have as an airborne prefect?
How much influence he had in the past depended entirely on the attitude of Lieutenant General Guangling Army towards him.
As for the military aircraft responsible for espionage, Xun You didn’t want it either.
At this time, he still had the idea of staying if he agreed, and leaving if he disagreed. How could he be willing to participate in Liu Bei's secret intelligence system.
Therefore, the three major officials in the state are a good choice. On the one hand, they have a respected status, and on the other hand, they are close to Liu Bei, so they can observe Liu Bei's attitude towards his strategy.
When you reach Xun You's level, being polite is not enough.
Even though Xun You has a humble and low-key personality, he still has the ambition to understand his master, make achievements, sweep the world, and help the Han Dynasty.
If Liu Bei doesn't listen to his words and doesn't follow his plans, then no matter how polite the other party is to him, what's the point?
Therefore, Xun You chose the position of Chang Shi, who was close to Liu Bei, and wanted to observe the other party better, so as to decide whether to completely bet on Liu Bei.
Liu Bei and his son did not guess what Xun You was thinking. Even Liu Feng guessed the first level, thinking that Xun You was low-key and humble by nature and did not want to go to Guangling to fight for power, but he could not guess the second level. layer.
Now that Xun You has made a decision, Liu Bei will naturally follow suit.
After sending the opponent back to the banquet, Liu Bei immediately asked: "Gongda, the six strategies you proposed earlier are believed by Bei. They can be said to be the same as heroes. Gongda didn't know something. Before. After discussing with Liu Shizong, the envoy from Jingzhou, our state has reached a preliminary intention to purchase grain from Jingzhou, but the amount is huge and Liu Shizong cannot act arbitrarily. Therefore, he has sent people back to Jingzhou to ask for Liu Jingsheng's permission."
Xun You was a little surprised. In his opinion, buying grain from Jingzhou was not an easy task.
Now that the world is in chaos, warlords everywhere know how precious food is, and it is not easy to purchase large quantities.
Xun You originally wanted to offer a strategy, but he didn't expect it to be used.
“You have been living in Xiangyang for a few years and know that Jingzhou is short of salt and Xuzhou produces salt. I originally wanted to implement this strategy to help Ming Gong purchase grain, but I didn’t expect Ming Gong to have already succeeded.”
After hearing Xun You's words, Liu Bei smiled broadly: "It's our state's frost sugar and snow salt that shocked the first emperor and made him astonished, so things went so smoothly. By the way, when it comes to this, Gongda Don’t you notice there’s something different about today’s food?” The power of snow and salt?”
"Exactly!"
Liu Bei laughed loudly, and then said: "Bei has prepared a portion for Gongda. You can take it with you when you leave. You can replace it with salt when cooking. It tastes very delicious."< br>
Xun You bowed his head and thanked him.
Liu Bei then asked: "Xuzhou has not recommended outstanding talents this year. Bei can recommend Yuan Tan as a talented person, and at the same time recommend him as a pastor of Qingzhou. It just so happens that the envoy from Jizhou is coming to Tancheng soon, so he can go with him. It is expected that it will not be difficult to ask Jizhou to preserve Kong Wenju's status."
"Is there anyone suitable to be recommended by Gongda who can hand over Yizhou and send envoys to Beijing to pay tribute?" >
Xun You smiled and replied: "Yizhou can be put aside for the time being. Liu Zhang is weak and too lenient with his subordinates. If he interacts with him, he will not be able to hide it from Liu Jingsheng. Making friends too early may be detrimental to the purchase of grain."
When Liu Bei and Liu Feng heard this, they nodded in unison.
Seeing this, Xun You continued: "When we go west to Chang'an, we must find someone who can speak well, and this person must be a confidant of Duke Ming. Only in this way can we try our best to benefit Duke Ming and achieve Duke Ming's goal. "
Liu Bei and Liu Feng looked at each other and thought of the same person.
Jian Yong, Jian Xianhe.
Xun You was so smart. Just by looking at the reactions of Liu Bei and Liu Feng, he realized that the other party already had a suitable candidate.
"It seems that we have to ask Xianhe to make a trip. Weishuo can be the deputy envoy, and Chen Dao can lead the troops to protect him."
Liu Bei thought for a while and then made a decision.
In fact, among the three people present, only Liu Feng knew that Chang'an was already in chaos at this time.
This is not a secret thing. Anyone who has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms knows that in Guanzhong this year, because Li Jue and Guo Si were hostile to each other and attacked each other, in just one year, Guanzhong was destroyed. A population of one million and the huge city of Chang'an were all wasted.
After Li Jue planned to kill Fan Chou and Li Meng in February this year and annexed their tribes, Guo Si gradually began to distance himself from him, especially Guo Si's wife who was still sowing discord among them, and said all the black beans sent by Li Jue Become poison.
Starting in March, Guo Si, Yang Ding and Li Jue officially broke up with each other and began to attack each other.
Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty made several attempts to make adjustments, but none of them worked. This group of Liangzhou beasts not only used Chang'an as a battlefield, but also burned, killed, looted, and even set fire to the city.
It is now August. At this time, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty has successfully persuaded Li Jue and Guo Si through Jia Xu to let him return eastward. He should have set off by now.
If you are sending someone, it would be better to leave as early as possible.
Because at the end of November, Li Jue and Guo Si would go back on their word, raise Liangzhou troops to pursue Emperor Xian, and defeat the escorting army twice.
If he arrived in Hongnong at that time, Jian Xianhe's life would be in danger.
So, while Liu Feng agreed, he hurriedly added: "Father, now that the matter has been decided, it is better to do it quickly rather than later. In my opinion, it is best to set off in the middle of the month. At the same time, you can also Arrange a batch of frost sugar and snow salt to go together as a gift to pay tribute to the emperor."
Liu Bei nodded in agreement, thinking that Liu Feng was a loyal emperor, and nodded at him approvingly, and then. He cursed angrily: "I hate that the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si have dominated Guanzhong and have always bullied the emperor. I just wish I couldn't get rid of thieves for the country and eliminate harm for the people."
Xun You felt a little excited. He had just offered a total of six strategies. Unexpectedly, with just this little effort, Liu Bei had already adopted five of them. Three of them even coincided with his own thoughts.
This made Xun You couldn't help but feel that the king and his ministers were in harmony with each other.
If Liu Bei can really do this all the time, then why should he, Xun Gongda, be so resourceful? He will die for him.
After sighing, Liu Bei returned to the topic. Each of the six strategies presented by Xun You earlier seemed to speak to his heart, which made Liu Bei very excited.
Now, he also wants to hear what Xun You has specific strategies for Yangzhou.
So, Liu Bei asked: "Gongda, going south to Yangzhou is a consensus we have already reached within Xuzhou. For this reason, our state is on the defensive in Langya. When we went south to Guangling before, if it hadn't been for the governor Guo to raise troops to attack Lu, , and I was asked for help by Prime Minister Chen of the State of Lu, so I had no choice but to turn westward. Otherwise, I should station troops in Guangling to observe the situation. "
"Now Sun Bofu is rampant in Wu County, Liu Zhengli is stationed in the north of Danyang, and Yuan Highway is across the river to reap the benefits of the fishermen."
Liu Bei humbly asked for advice: "Sir, what good advice can you teach me?"
< br>Xun You smiled and said: "Why did Ming Gong deceive me?"
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Gongda has already seen it?"
Xun You continued: "Ming Gong The strategy of driving away wolves and devouring tigers is also very effective. However, Sun Bofu is also a tiger, so you need to be careful when raising tigers. If it grows too fast, it may become a tiger threat."
Liu Bei's face straightened and he nodded: "Bei has asked Sun Qian, the envoy, to go to Kuaiji County by sea to pay a visit to Wang Lang, the prefect of Kuaiji. Gongyou also has a handwritten letter from Chen Yi, the Prime Minister of the State of Lu, which was written to Zhou Xin, a famous scholar in Kuaiji. Zhou Xin was the former Taifu, a disciple of Chen Fan, one of the three monarchs. I expected that Zhou Xin would be able to help Wang Lang with Chen Yi's handwriting." If this is an ambush plan, Sun Bofu may not be able to escape, but there is one thing that Ming Gong still needs to fight for."
Liu Bei immediately asked: "Which one is it? "Jiangcheng."
Xun You said: "Jiangcheng is the only way from Li Yang to Dantu, and it is across the river from Jiangdu. If Liu Yao can be persuaded to transfer Jiangcheng to our state. , crossing the river is as easy as flipping a finger."
"Not only are Jiang Cheng and Dantu connected by a smooth river road, but they are also connected by land."
"Sun Bofu is unable to look west at this time. If he waits for him to go west, I am afraid that Jiang Cheng will be the first to take action. "
After listening to Xun You's words, Liu Feng nodded repeatedly: "Mr. Gongda is right. Jiangcheng is indeed very important to me in Xuzhou. Moreover, if we station an army in Jiangcheng, Sun Bofu will at least One or two thousand people were assigned to garrison Dantu. In this way, it can be regarded as a worry for the public. "
Jiang Cheng was in the Xianlin University City area of Qixia District, Nanjing, but at this time Nanjing was the capital. It has not yet been established, so naturally there will be no Qixia District.
It’s just that Jiangcheng is still an important ferry in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, on par with Dantu.
At this time, Dantu was already in Sun Ce's hands, so the ownership of Jiang Cheng was extremely important. It would be best if the Xuzhou Army controlled it.
If even Jiang Cheng cannot be controlled, then after the Xuzhou army goes to Jiangdong, won't they face the risk of being cut off at any time and losing contact with Xuzhou?
Although Liu Bei understood this truth, he still hesitated: "If we ask for it, will it cause Liu Zhengli to misunderstand?"
Xun You smiled and shook his head: "Liu Zhengli, I met You in Shenjing. He is a headstrong person with high self-esteem and will never bow to others. Mr. Zijiang and Liu Zhengli have been friends for many years. Now that he has defected to Yangzhou, he will definitely be regarded as his right-hand man."
"Now even Mr. Zijiang, his frail and disease-ridden right-hand man, has been sent here to ask for help. You can imagine how trapped Liu Zhengli is. Besides, there is the Huai-Si-Yuan Highway on the side of Guangling. It's just a small one. Jiang Cheng will definitely not misunderstand Liu Zhengli.”
Liu Bei straightened his body, raised his hands towards Xun You and thanked him: "Mr.'s teachings have inspired me to do this."
Xun You naturally declined.
Xun You was very satisfied with the banquet.
I not only felt Liu Bei's desire for talent, but also saw Liu Bei's vigorous and resolute actions.
For a counselor like Xun You, who has a low-key personality and a humble attitude, what he hopes for in these troubled times is to meet such a wise master?
After the banquet, Liu Bei sent Xun You out in person, and then made an appointment to send an envoy to the house tomorrow to collect the land. Finally, he reluctantly left Xun You. At the same time, he prepared gift boxes of frosting sugar and snow salt on the carriage.
After Xun You saw the gift box, he sighed.
In the past, the two brothers Liu Dai and Liu Yao were hailed as the second dragon by Tao Qiuhong, but compared with Liu Bei and his son, they were really different.
Tao Qiuhong is not an ordinary person. He is recognized as a famous contemporary scholar.
He once criticized Yuan Shu and advised him to do more good deeds and less violence.
Yuan Shu was so angry that he was itching his teeth, but in the end he could only respectfully thank him for his advice.
On the second day, Liu Bei's state envoy came to the Yingbin Hotel and formally recruited Xun You to be the governor of Xu.
As for Xun You's conquest for Liu Bei, Xu Shao and the others had already expected it.
Especially Liu Xian, on the way here, he had long realized that Xun You's talent and knowledge were far superior to his own.
It’s a pity that Liu Biao didn’t know how to use such a great talent.
In fact, strictly speaking, Liu Biao and Xun You still knew each other.
Given the relationship between Kuai Yue and Liu Biao, it is impossible for Liu Biao not to know that Xun You stayed in Xiangyang for several years.
You must know that Xun You is a direct descendant of the Xun family. Not to mention that he and Liu Biao served for the general He Jin at that time.
It can only be said that Liu Biao is not powerful enough to use such a talented person.
Although Liu Xian was sighing, Xu Shao was not exempt from it either.
Xu Shao and Teng Zhou rode into Qu'a alone against Liu Yao before. Within a few months, they gathered a large group of allies to serve as their masters. They even made Wu Jing, the prefect of Danyang, and Sun Bi, the captain of Danyang, who were named by Yuan Shu. He crossed the Yangtze River.
From this point of view alone, he is not inferior to Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Bei of Xuzhou.
It’s just that the further back you go, the worse the situation becomes.
Liu Bei, in particular, had faintly expanded his influence to eight or nine counties at this time. If calculated carefully, this was a behemoth even more terrifying than Yuan Shu.
Fortunately, Liu Bei has a reputation for kindness, respects etiquette, and cares about family ties.
Now I can only hope that what Liu Bei showed is sincere and not pretending.
After worshiping Xun You as the chief historian, Liu Bei immediately started to work on practical matters.
At the Xuzhou Prefecture Meeting, it was decided that Jian Yong would be the official historian, Liu Yan would be the deputy envoy, and Chen Dao would be the commander of the other departments. He would lead two hundred soldiers to escort him to Guanzhong.
Liu Yan was a famous figure from the Lu State who Liu Bei had befriended when he was in Yuzhou. He was also a descendant of the Han Dynasty. He was also good at conversation and was deeply loved by Liu Bei. It was just right for him to go on an envoy with him and serve as Jian Yong's deputy.
I thought that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had to pass through Hongnong, a place he must pass through, and stayed in Hongnong for a long time.
Therefore, Liu Feng just told his father to tell Jian Yong to hurry up.
Although the distance along the way is very long, one advantage is that you can walk on the waterway the whole way.
Starting from Tancheng, turn from Xiapi to Pengcheng, go straight to Chenliu, and finally merge into the Yellow River at Yin, Henan, and then go straight to Hongnong.
Liu Bei attached great importance to this matter, and Jian Yong also understood the importance. It only took him five days to prepare it. Chen Dao also selected elite soldiers to escort Jian Yong and Liu Yan from the waterway to the Guanzhong.
At the same time, Liu Bei visited the Yingbin Hotel in person, on the one hand to check on Xu Shao's condition, and on the other hand, to ask Liu Yao if he could cede Jiangcheng County as a foothold for the Xuzhou Army to rescue Jiangdong.
He promised to send 2,000 to 4,000 troops to Jiangcheng. On the one hand, he would put pressure on Sun Ce, a disciple of Dan, and on the other hand, it would also strengthen the relationship between Xu Yang.
Xu Shao was not surprised by this request. In his opinion, if Xuzhou asked for help in a different place, and if Jiangdu was not in Yangzhou's hands, Xu Shao would firmly advise Liu Yao not to invest heavy troops.
Therefore, before coming, Xu Shao had already discussed with Liu Yao that Jiang Cheng could be given to Xuzhou.
However, Xu Shao still wanted to get some benefits for Yangzhou.
Unexpectedly, Xun You was standing by, directly breaking the situation and clarifying the problem.
"Mr. Zijiang, it is Yangzhou who is asking for help from Xuzhou, not Xuzhou who is coveting Yangzhou Jiangcheng."
Xu Shao nodded helplessly and said: "In that case, I should go and remonstrate with my lord. It's just that I I have another question."
Xun You glanced at Liu Bei and asked proactively: "Mr. Zijiang, please speak."
Xu Shao asked directly: "If Yangzhou is willing to cede Jiang Cheng. , How many troops can the Xuzhou Army cross the river immediately? "
"It still depends on the food and grass, but it can be guaranteed that it will not be less than 2,000 people per school."
Liu Bei's answer just hit the bottom line between Xu Shao and Liu Yao.
Two thousand people sticking to Jiang Cheng is naturally enough, but it is far from enough to attack Dan disciples.
But the problem is, Liu Bei also made it very clear, the key is food.
If Liu Yao can supply food, then Liu Bei can naturally arrange more troops.
Finally, Xu Shao agreed in principle to Liu Bei's request. Liu Yao would first inform the county magistrate Jiangcheng, and then the Xuzhou army would hand over after crossing the river.
At the same time, Liu Bei agreed to Shao's request and agreed to prepare ships for him to go to Chen State.
However, the departure time is set after Liu Fengyuan is crowned in the server.
After discussing the plan to exchange salt for grain with Jingzhou, Liu Feng planned to go to Qu County.
It has been several months since he and Mi Zeng discussed developing salt fields and improving the salt-drying method.
The first batch of salt fields should have been developed, and this is the peak period of summer, when the days are long and the nights are short, the sun is abundant, and the salt production method is at its peak.
Estimating the output of the salt field will help with planning for the next stage. After reporting to Liu Bei, Liu Feng took Zhuge brothers, Gan Ning, and Dong Xi out of Tancheng and headed straight for Qu County.
Yes, this time to Qu County, Liu Feng specially invited Brother Zhuge to go with him.
Zhuge Liang in history was quite fond of inventing.
When I was in Nanyang, I helped local people improve water trucks, farm tools, lay irrigation systems and other water conservancy projects.
Later, in Jingzhou, vehicles were also improved. After entering Shu, they improved the continuous crossbow and made wooden oxen and flowing horses. Although it was far from as magical as shown on TV, and even far inferior to the automatic walking in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was still a relatively advanced form of transportation at the time. tool.
It can be seen that Zhuge Liang himself likes craftsmanship very much, and this is the main reason why Liu Feng brought him along.
Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang and Ma Jun were worthy of being the mechanical twin stars.
The year of Ma Jun's birth and death is unknown, but judging from his deeds, it is likely that he was not born yet, so there is no rush, but the Marquis Wu sent to him cannot be wasted.
As for Zhuge Jin, no matter how you say it, he is a talent. In Liu Feng's case, he can be regarded as a Jiuqing-level talent. Moreover, if Zhuge Jin is skipped and only Zhuge Liang is brought along, he will undoubtedly be very conspicuous. How could Liu Feng do such a stupid thing?
Regarding Liu Feng's invitation, the Zhuge brothers were hesitant at first.
It's not that the two brothers don't want to travel with Liu Feng, but that their uncle Zhuge Xuan is still injured, so of course they should be there to serve him.
Unexpectedly, after Zhuge Xuan learned about this, he encouraged the Zhuge brothers to travel with Liu Feng.
The group of people traveled very quickly and arrived outside Qu County in only four or five days.
Unlike in history, Zhuge Liang was tall, strong and powerful. Not only did he not ride a four-wheeled vehicle, but he could also ride a horse. Both he and Zhuge Jin had good riding skills.
Although it is far inferior to the exquisite riding skills of Guan Zhang and Zhao Taishi, it is more than enough as a means of transportation.
This time Liu Feng did not cause any trouble and drove directly into Qu County and entered the Mi family's mansion.
When I asked the steward of the Mi family, I learned that he was actually in charge of the Mi family at this time.
Mi Zeng himself took the Mi family girl to Duzhou Mountain Island and never came back.
Liu Feng was a little stunned. He did not expect that Mi Zeng would attach so much importance to the salt field industry and do it so personally.
Liu Feng and others did not stop at Mi Mansion and went directly to the port, hoping to find a boat to Duzhou Mountain Island.
After arriving at the port, Liu Feng was surprised again. Unexpectedly, in just a few months, the original natural and broken fishing port had been cleaned up and a boat could be docked. of plank road.
Soon, the group found the person in charge of the Mi family here, ordered two boats, and headed towards Duzhou Mountain Island.
Liu Feng and others set out early, and it happened to be noon when they landed on the island.
While at sea, looking from a distance, the tidal flats along the coast of Duzhoushan Island have been transformed into sparkling salt fields. Looking from a distance, it looks like glass mirrors reflecting dazzling white light.
To Liu Feng's surprise, Mi Zeng's residence on the island turned out to be very simple, just a bamboo house.
Although there are some decorations inside, they are far from luxurious, but the food is still very good.
When Liu Feng and the others arrived, Mi Zeng was eating, and Mi Yue was with him.
Mi Yue left the main hall because of the arrival of Liu Feng and others.
"Mr. Mi is really going strong and strong. Asking you to come out is the most correct decision for me."
Liu Feng's first move was a rainbow fart.
This is not to blame for his sweet mouth, Mi Zeng is really too efficient.
Listening to Liu Feng's admiration, Mi Zeng also narrowed his eyes with a smile: "Young Master, you are so complimentary. I am also surprised that Young Master's whimsical idea has such an amazing effect. This is why I am even more excited." I'm interested."
Afterwards, Mi Zeng reported the current situation to Liu Feng.
In the past few months, Mi Zeng has opened up more than 300 acres of salt fields on Duzhou Island, and these salt fields have begun to produce salt.
Due to the season, the amount of salt produced is already quite large. Each mu of salt field can produce seven to eight hundred kilograms per day, which is equivalent to five or six stones.
The salt fields of the entire Doshu Mountain Island produce almost a thousand stones a day.
Even after summer, the output will drop a lot, but the number of salt fields is constantly increasing, and the overall output must continue to rise.
The current output is enough to meet the needs of Xuzhou. Liu Feng can even use this to manipulate the price of salt at will, easily harvesting all other powerful salt sellers.
And this is the focus of the next period of time.
In the afternoon, Mi Zeng was old after all, so naturally he could not accompany Liu Feng and others to the salt fields to watch, so he stayed in the bamboo house to rest.
Liu Feng took Zhuge brothers, Dong Xi, and Gan Ning to the Yantian.
Looking at the salt workers working hard in the salt fields and the piles of white and yellowish salt raked up under their feet, Liu Feng sighed: "If the country does not have the power of salt and iron, how can it have financial resources? "Government?"
After sighing, Liu Feng became interested and said to the Zhuge brothers: "Ziyu, A Liang, do you know why the former Han Dynasty was usurped by Wang Mang, and why Wang Mang was usurped by Guangwu? "Destroyed?"
Zhuge Jin has already been crowned and has a title, but Zhuge Liang has just turned fifteen and has not yet been crowned, so he has no title.
Upon hearing Liu Feng's question, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang looked at each other. In fact, their brothers had had similar chats in private.
The entire gentry class in the late Eastern Han Dynasty actually experienced an explosive development in their thinking. They were worried that Confucian scholarship could not save the country from danger. Although they could shift all the responsibility to their relatives and eunuchs, those who are sober cannot deceive themselves. .
Therefore, the gentry in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were very deformed. They were both conservative and radical, both righteous and greedy, worried about the country and the people, and drunken life and death.
However, compared with the gentry in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the gentry in the Eastern Han Dynasty seemed too healthy.
At least it is far from being proud of Wu Shi San.
Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang knew that although Liu Feng was asking questions, they were more about eliciting what he wanted to say, so they shook their heads and wanted to hear what Liu Feng had to say.
Unexpectedly, Liu Feng just sneered, pointed at the salt and said, "Nothing but money and food."
"The former Han Dynasty was founded with only more than 10 million people. When Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, It has reached 55 million people."
Liu Feng looked at the salt field, but the focus of his sight was not on the salt field, and murmured to himself: "When this dynasty was founded, there were only more than 10 million people. , by the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were more than 60 million people. "
Zhuge Liang's mind was sharp and he had been keenly aware of Liu Feng's intention.
Sure enough, Liu Feng went on to say: "The money and food in the world can no longer feed everyone on this land."
When Zhuge Jin heard this, he woke up. He instinctively felt that Liu Feng was The words were too philistine and calculated, but when I thought about it carefully, I felt that they were too insightful.
And Zhuge Liang woke up before him, isn't that the truth?
The money and food in the world are no longer enough to support the people of the world, so no matter who sits in the position of king, he can only be the king of subjugation.
At this time, Liu Feng suddenly stopped and turned around and asked: "Tzuyu, A Liang, what do you think we should do?"
Although Zhuge Jin is talented, he is cautious and reticent and never speaks without careful consideration.
On the other hand, Zhuge Liang was young and energetic. When he saw that his brother had not spoken, he replied: "There are only two ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Either let the output of money and food in the world increase, or let everyone save money and food." "
After listening to this, Liu Feng burst into laughter: "A Liang has a quick mind and a wide range of talents. He is really extraordinary."
Then Liu Feng asked Zhuge Jin again: " I wonder what Ziyu can teach me?”
Zhuge Jin raised his hand to Liu Feng and replied cautiously: “I’m thinking of a question.”
Liu Feng became interested. Although Dong Xi and Gan Ning on the side were a little confused, they listened attentively with their eyes wide open.
Liu Feng asked: "What is the problem?"
Zhuge Jin respectfully replied: "I am thinking about not raising my son."
Liu Feng He was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly.
What Zhuge Jin said about not raising children refers to abandoned babies.
After many people gave birth to children, they not only failed to raise them, but also deliberately abandoned them, or even drowned them directly. This was because they did not raise their children.
Throughout the Han Dynasty, it was very common not to raise a son. It was not only prevalent in the families of ordinary people, but also in the families of wealthy officials.
It’s just that the reasons are completely different.
The reason why wealthy families of officials do not raise children is due to superstition, taboos, ethics and etiquette. However, apart from superstition, the biggest reason for ordinary families is that they cannot bear the heavy taxes.
But what Zhuge Jin meant at this time was to think about whether the reason behind not raising a son was because there was not enough money and food in the world to feed the people of the world.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many lower-class people not only failed to raise children after giving birth to them, but also deliberately abandoned them, or even drowned them directly.
After listening to this, Liu Feng remained silent.
The most fundamental reason for not raising a child is naturally caused by the exploitation and heavy burden of the ruling class.
But it is also true that there is pressure that the world's money and food cannot feed the world's people.
It must be said that Zhuge Ziyu is indeed clumsy on the outside and beautiful on the inside when he holds Jin Huaiyu.
Liu Feng sighed: "As his name suggests, Ziyu really cherishes jade."
This is a very obvious compliment. Although Zhuge Jin's answer is strictly speaking wrong, he can Such an association was beyond Liu Feng's expectation.
Brother Zhuge's answer made Liu Feng very satisfied, because Brother Zhuge's ideas were similar to his and could be influenced by him.
This is the result that Liu Feng is most satisfied with.
“A Liang, look at these salt fields, do you have any suggestions for improvement?”
Liu Feng, who was in a good mood, continued to wander around the salt field with everyone, and at the same time asked Zhuge Liang for his opinion.
After all, the sun-salting method is a pioneering creation. The more authoritative time of invention in history is the Ming Dynasty, but there are also a few data that prove that the sun-salting method may have appeared in the Song and Jin Dynasties.
But whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the Song Dynasty, they were still thousands of years away from this time.
Not to mention that Liu Feng promoted the beach drying method, which was a further step forward in salt drying technology based on the Ming Dynasty.
Zhuge Liang looked at the mountains of salt piled up in the salt fields and was amazed. After hearing Liu Feng's question, he shook his head and said: "This method is very mature, with clear steps and tight links. Liang can't make up for it."< br>
After shopping, Liu Feng led everyone back to Mi Zeng's bamboo house.
At this time, Mi Zeng had just gotten up from his nap. After washing up, he came to see Liu Feng.
"Old Mi, you can start adding salt after the autumn harvest."
Liu Feng began to talk about his plan. In fact, he also wanted to ask Brother Zhuge and Mi Zeng to help find the remains. fill a vacancy.
“In the state, we sell it for one thousand two hundred yuan per stone.”
"One thousand two hundred dollars per stone?"
Mi Zeng was a little surprised. He knew Liu Feng's thoughts. Mi Zeng himself was very supportive of Liu Feng's desire to rectify the salt industry. War has always been fought with money, food and weapons. Without money and food, even the overlord of Western Chu would end up killing himself in Wujiang.
But since we want to crack down on salt merchants, it is nothing more than relying on price wars and shipments. These two points will force the other party to death. At the same time, we need strong force to support it.
Liu Feng met all these conditions.
But Mi Zeng still doesn't understand why the other party set the price so high.
There is a reason why Liu Feng set the price at 1,200 yuan. The most important reason is that he will soon enter into an agreement with Jingzhou to exchange salt for grain. How to set the price is very important.
At this juncture, Liu Feng naturally could not lower the price of salt.
Secondly, even the price of one thousand two hundred yuan per stone is far cheaper than the price of other wealthy salt merchants. If the other party does not adjust accordingly, they will definitely lose the market.
Based on the information provided by Mr. Mi, Liu Feng knew very well how much salt these powerful salt merchants cost.
Their cost per rock salt is about two hundred and fifty yuan.
But Liu Feng knew that these powerful salt merchants would never follow the price cuts honestly, because this would be equivalent to cutting off their flesh.
The most likely scenarios are two.
One of them is to eat a lot of low-priced salt products.
If you sell it cheaply, I will eat in large quantities. After I finish eating, I will continue to sell it at my monopoly price.
The second situation is to use off-board moves and use the raised thugs and salt thieves to deal with the opponent by force.
Liu Feng is naturally confident enough. The opponent's two tricks are completely useless to him. Liu Feng even has many off-board tricks waiting for the opponent.
"Old Mi, just sell it for one thousand two hundred yuan per stone. If the other party comes to buy salt, we will sell it as much as they want and keep the supply open."
Liu Feng suddenly turned around, He said to Gan Ning: "Brother Xingba, there is still time for you to work on this matter."
When Gan Ning heard this, he immediately became interested: "Young master, no matter what the order, Ning will obey. ”
The task Liu Feng gave Gan Ning was very simple, which was to provide force protection.
At the same time, Liu Feng also planned to transfer Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang back from Guangling.
This group of powerful salt merchants have experienced too much of the sweetness of salt. They are all rich and have a hard time giving up their good fortune.
In this case, Liu Feng planned to send them down directly.
Liu Feng's overall plan is to test the waters by shipping the goods at a price of one thousand two hundred yuan per stone. If the other party likes it, then he will just dump the goods and squeeze the other party first.
If the other party doesn't buy it, or if it buys a certain amount, it's time to stop selling because there's no cash left.
Then Liu Feng will start the second wave of operations here, directly issuing an order from the state government to ban boiling salt, exerting maximum pressure.
If the salt merchants start to riot at this time, it will be the best thing, just to give Xu Sheng, Gan Ning and others military glory.
If they start to lower prices, then Liu Feng will lower them even more harshly than they do, and at the same time gather their scattered salt workers.
Anyway, Liu Feng will continue to expand the scale of the salt fields, and the gap in salt workers is huge.
Because there is no official monopoly, the salt merchants in Xuzhou are quite powerful. From Langya to Guangling, as long as there are tidal flats along the coast, there are local salt merchants.
However, the most powerful among them are the powerful salt merchants of the East China Sea. Their number and strength are second to none, surpassing Xuzhou.
So it is best to attack the salt merchants of Donghai Kingdom with all your strength in the early stage. As long as the salt merchants of Donghai Kingdom are captured, the salt merchants of Langya and Guangling will most likely surrender without a fight.
After Liu Feng unveiled his plan to rectify the salt industry, most of the people present were a little excited, except Zhuge Jin.
"Young Master, is this matter too dangerous? If it causes turmoil in the East China Sea, the gains may outweigh the losses."
Liu Feng knew that Zhuge Jin also had good intentions, but the other party did not know. In other words, the importance of the salt industry was underestimated.
In history, not to mention after the start of the Three Kingdoms, in the troubled times before the Three Kingdoms, all warlords who established a stable position began to monopolize the salt industry.
From Yuan Shao to Cao Cao, to the Sun family, or to Liu Zhang in Shu, they all regarded the salt industry as an important tax tool to monopolize it.
In the process of this monopoly, bloodshed is naturally inevitable.
No warlord stopped taking action because of fear of unrest.
Liu Feng is a time traveler, is he inferior to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan?
Not to mention huge profits like monopolizing the salt industry, the sooner you can grasp it, the better.
Moreover, once Liu Feng monopolizes the salt industry, he will not only be able to greatly increase Xuzhou's income, but what's even more terrifying is that he can also rely on the salt industry to harvest leeks from other states.
Not to mention the distance, Jingzhou lacks salt, but has huge grain reserves. This is a big customer tailor-made for Xuzhou.
As long as Liu Feng can safely harvest Jingzhou's grain, Xuzhou's strength will immediately rise to another two levels.
Therefore, cleaning up the salt tycoons and monopolizing the salt industry is Liu Feng's next top priority, and there is absolutely no room for compromise.
Even if a rebellion is provoked, Liu Feng will never back down.
It just so happens that there is a lot of chaos around Xuzhou now, but Xuzhou is very stable. It happens to be a good time to fight against the rebels in the state.
(End of this chapter)