I seek economic hegemony in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 227: Deceiving Sun Quan

Half a month later, Jiangzhou, Free Trade City.

"See the general." Zhang Xiu, the envoy from Wu State, hurried over and walked quickly to Li Heng.

At this time, Li Heng was standing on the top attic of Nashangsi, looking at the ships coming and going at Chaotianmen Ferry.

"Uncle, there is no need to be polite." Li Heng said lightly.

"Thank you, General."

"I have been busy with government affairs for more than a month. I have not seen you. I am rude." Li Heng's eyes were still on Chaotianmen.

"The general has a lot of things to do, and I still come to disturb you. I feel sorry for you." Zhang Xiu said, "It's just that my master has told me that I must apologize to your country."

"Are you just fighting at Baidi Mountain?"

"Yes." Zhang Xiu said, "That was actually a misunderstanding, and it was Wei Guo who instigated it."

"Didn't you say that a businessman was lost in Jiangzhou?" Li Heng looked back and looked at Zhang Xiu with a smile, "You are in Jiangzhou now, do you want to look for him?"

"The general was joking. We later found those merchants at the border of Wei State."

"found it?"

"found it."

"Then this is really a misunderstanding?"

"It is indeed a misunderstanding."

"But your army crossed the line, how does this count?"

"My Lord has apologized."

"Is that the end of apologizing?"

"The two countries resume trade and jointly conduct a northern expedition."

Li Heng smiled and said, "Is this the end?"

"What other conditions does the general have?" Zhang Xiu looked at Li Heng.

He looked at Li Heng carefully.

Recently, several counties in Shu County have gone crazy with killings, and it is said that other counties have also begun to arrest accomplices of Wang You and others.

Zhang Xiu did not know how many officials were executed.

But after staying in Chengdu for more than a month, Zhang Xiu had a very deep impression of this great purge.

Even he, the envoy of Wu State, has spent nearly a month in panic and fear.

He was afraid that one night, a group of armored soldiers would rush in, take him out and execute him on the spot.

All these gave him a new understanding of Li Heng.

This young man who looks frail on the outside seems to have a majestic power in his body.

"I don't have many demands." Li Heng said in a kind tone, "Both of us have always been adhering to the concept of win-win cooperation and fighting against thieves together."

"Yes, my lord has emphasized this many times. The general is indeed a hero of the world."

"I only make one condition: I am not allowed to interfere with the free trade of business."

The free trade here, of course, refers to the new salt that is forcibly linked to Shu money.

It's just that speaking directly of "New Salt" is too blunt in a diplomatic situation.

So a new, respectable word was used.

"No problem, we will not interfere in any business activities in the future." Zhang Xiu said.

"You can make the decision in this matter?"

"My Lord has given me this power."

"Okay, that's fine. I don't have any objections to the rest."

Zhang Xiu knew what he was doing. Before going on an envoy, Sun Quan summoned him and the top officials of Wu State had already discussed Shu money.

The inflow of Shu money into Wu State will definitely have a great impact on Wu State. This is the unanimous consensus of Wu State’s senior officials.

But now, having lost the war, Sun Quan still hopes to repair the relationship between the two countries.

Out of political competition, Sun Quan had to consider that Wei might rebel at any time in the future.

Once Wei rebels, Ji Han's attitude will be very important to Wu.

So considering balancing the situation, Sun Quan made concessions.

But this kind of concession does not mean that there will be no action.

Sun Quan simply minted hundreds of coins directly!

Make money and go to Jiangzhou to buy salt!

This situation is exactly what Li Heng wants, which is equivalent to directly recognizing Zhibai money as legal currency.

If there is such a situation, there are two things that can help Li Heng:

1.0. Li Heng has now initially completed the transformation of Ji Han, which means binding some big families to the business ship.

And supporting business systems have been established throughout Yizhou.

For example, production system, logistics system, trading company management system.

This means that Ji Han is transitioning to commercialization.

If you want to grow further, you must make external conditions more conducive to business.

How can external conditions be more conducive to business?

Two foundations: popular currency and smooth transportation.

During the Three Kingdoms era, currency was very weak. If Wu took the lead in recognizing Zhibai money and began to mint it in large quantities, this would mean a large increase in the amount of money.

This is definitely a huge advantage for Ji Han, who is already several steps ahead in the industry group. Ji Han, who has mastered the core productivity, can harvest a lot of wealth on this basis.

As for smooth traffic, this is not a black and white matter.

There is a certain amount of river transportation, which can facilitate a certain degree of traffic and promote a certain degree of commerce.

It is enough in the first stage, and there is certainly no way to compare with the Age of Discovery, let alone the 21st century.

In the era without the Grand Canal, being able to achieve half of the Song Dynasty was already very powerful, enough for Ji Han's benefit.

2. Once straight money begins to appear in large numbers and commerce develops, you can consider paper money in the copper money exchange system.

At this time, the role of the bank will quickly become apparent, and Li Heng will be able to regulate the country's financial and investment strategies through the bank's mechanism, and bind it to the military.

Arouse the military's fighting will on an unprecedented scale.

Of course, this is something.

In short, in order to fully realize the potential of a country, a lot of preparation work needs to be done.

It is impossible for these Wu people to know that what they saw was only the current paper, new salt, Shu money, etc.

Both Sun Quan and Cao Rui had already begun to follow suit, but they could not have known that Li Heng's actions were just preliminary preparations.

"Then can I make a condition?" Zhang Xiu quickly climbed along the pole.

"But it doesn't matter."

"I hope your country's new salt will be cheaper."

Li Heng said: "This is not decided by me, it is the merchants who set their own prices."

"Is there nothing the general can do?"

"Let me ask you, how much food can be exchanged for ten thousand pieces of paper in the first place?"

"A thousand stones?"

"what about now?"

"Five hundred stones."

"why?"

"Because the amount of paper increases again."

"So, I didn't set the price."

Zhang Xiu was startled. This was the first time he heard this statement. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.

Zhang Xiu couldn't help but become more interested in Li Heng.

This guy killed so many people in Yizhou and didn't even kill him. He is really a wonderful person!

Zhang Xiu changed the topic and said: "I heard that the general has recently transferred many people from Shu County to Jiangzhou. Does the general want to form troops in Jiangzhou?"

"The first is to expand Jiangzhou City and build it into a commercial center connecting Nanjun and Guanzhong; the second is to replenish troops. Last year, our army fought several big battles with Cao Wei in Guanzhong, resulting in considerable losses. We need timely supplies of troops. , Speaking of which, I would like to ask, Lord Wu keeps talking about the Northern Expedition, now is a great time for the Northern Expedition, why is there no movement?"

"My lord has begun preparations for war."

"When?"

"I can't give the general an accurate answer as to when to go north."

"Okay, we are waiting for Master Wu's reply."

Li Heng did not continue to ask questions, because this was just his pretext, and he did not expect Sun Quan.

Not only does he not count on Sun Quan, he will also give Sun Quan a big surprise in the near future.

However, such a large manpower mobilization in Jiangzhou could not be hidden from Wu's scouts, so Li Heng used the excuse of increasing troops to go north and building trade to confuse Sun Quan.

"Come, envoy, let's go take a look at the current free trade city." Li Heng pointed to the west, "I plan to expand this free trade city five times its original size, overlap it with Jiangzhou City, and give it a new name. It’s called Chongqing, what do you think?”

Without waiting for Zhang Xiu's answer, Li Heng began to draw cakes: "From now on, most of Yizhou's commodities will be gathered in Chongqing. From here, go down to Jiangling, pass through Wuchang, and go to Jiankang."

"It seems that the general is preparing to expand business."

"The Northern Expedition needs supplies, and the current situation in Guanzhong is not going well!" Li Heng deliberately sighed, "I will rely on you more in the future!"

After sending Zhang Xiu away, Li Heng asked Ma Yong to give Zhang Xiu some blue and white porcelain and two pieces of Shu brocade. Zhang Xiu was very happy.

The general is right, and he will report the truth truthfully when he returns.

On March 24, Jiangzhou was officially renamed Chongqing.

Next, Li Heng prepared to go north.

What are you doing going north?

Go see Zhuge Liang.

What did Zhuge Liang do at this time?

Discuss the reconstruction of the land policy of the Han Dynasty and the reshaping of the country's military and political system.

Because, through this great purge, the imperial court already had a large amount of land in its hands.

There cannot be destruction without reconstruction.

This time's reconstruction not only involves Yizhou, but also covers Hanzhong, Guanzhong and Longyou.

The implications are far-reaching.

It can be said that commerce is the second layer, and the land system is the first layer.

(End of this chapter)