The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 217: Bring down the price of salt (two-in-one) [Please subscribe and vote monthly]

"Don't worry about these things. They are too far away from you!" Yan Yan waved his hand. Such things are too far away from Xue Nu and the others.

"Thank you sir!" Snow Girl insisted on saluting.

"Do you, the Mo family, want me to go to the farmhouse and ask?" Yan Yan turned to look at Jing Ke and asked.

Jing Ke was stunned. He had just seen the possibility of Yangchun Baixue's blessing to Nongjia Dize 24. The Nongjia would definitely not miss it, especially because it was Yan Yan's recommendation. It was even more impossible to miss it.

"The world's martial arts masters are from the Mo family. Why do you go to a farm to raise pigs and farm?" Jing Ke expressed his position in a hurry, not forgetting to step on the farm.

"In troubled times, if you want to have the ability to protect yourself, it is not enough to have talent and ability alone. To get around, you need to have a background!" Yan Yan looked at Xue Nu and continued.

Xue Nu also didn't expect that Yan Yan would add another identity after becoming her apprentice!

That's the Mohist family, one of the most prominent schools in the world, and one of the thickest and biggest thighs besides the princes in troubled times!

Jing Ke's idea is also very simple, or it is one of the rules for the survival of hundreds of families. If he cannot use it, he will not take advantage of others!

All the schools of thought and princes are the same!

Therefore, Yan Yan could understand Wei Guo's approach at the beginning, but understanding did not mean that he could accept it. It was just from a different perspective.

If he were the people from Wei State, he would do it even more ruthlessly. If he couldn't get it, he would completely destroy it and send killers to worship him? Nonsense, just send a large army, kill the people and throw them into the forest, then suppress the bandits again and throw the blame on the non-existent bandits.

Who cares much about a person who is already dead? Would you offend a prince for this?

Therefore, Wei State is still a bit petty and lacks courage.

But if King Wei had such courage, he would not let the talent drain, let alone such a situation.

"It's not easy to get into the Moh family. I can be your introducer, but whether you can pass the test of the Moh family depends on you!" Jing Ke still expressed his stance.

Mohist disciples also have strict standards for accepting disciples. At least they must not have any problems with their character, otherwise the world would not be like this.

A chivalrous man may not necessarily be a Mo, but Mo must be a chivalrous man!

You may not have martial arts or strength, but your actions must conform to the chivalrous spirit of the Mohist family.

"Xue Nu thanks Hero Jing Ke and Mr. Shudong!" Xue Nu didn't know how much she wanted to thank her tonight, but she knew that after tonight, there would be a new beginning and she could decide her own destiny!

In the next few days, Yan Yan stayed at Zilanxuan, met the former disciples of Jade Villa and their families, and mostly planned some things that others didn't know about.

In short, Zi Nu and others remained in a state of turning a blind eye and hearing nothing. After all, those people hid themselves in bamboo hats when they came, obviously not wanting to be known.

"This iron smelting technology actually exists in Tangxi, but the output is too low and it is easy to break!" The owners of several sword-making workshops of the Tangxi Sword Alliance also came in person.

This was informed by Yan Yan through the Yan family's intelligence network. The purpose was to get Tangxi to help him forge a batch of iron tools, whether they were weapons, equipment or farm tools.

"The Da Yuezhi have some iron smelting technology, but the output is also a problem. Whether they can produce refined iron depends on luck!"

"However, I don't believe in luck, and I think you won't either!"

Yan Yan looked at all the Tangxi shop owners and said.

As swordsmiths, the owners of Tangxi naturally do not believe in luck. It may be difficult for them to forge unique and famous swords and weapons, but as long as ordinary standard weapons appear, they will study them and then turn them into capable ones. mass production.

However, with Qixing Longyuan in front, they also thought that the highest level of iron smelting technology would end here. In addition, they tried to imitate it several times, but all ended in failure, so they did not continue their research.

Now that Yan Yan is providing them with funds and some technology to continue their research, they have no reason to refuse.

"We will send some disciples to Yunzhong!" In the end, after discussing with others, Gao Tang, the leader of the Tangxi Sword Alliance, still felt that he could give it a try. Anyway, if the research fails, it is still an exploration, and they do not need to pay for it themselves.

Where can I find something that can support a group of disciples with free money?

And if they succeed, there will be one more way to make a living.

It may even trigger a technological innovation in the smelting industry.

"Thank you, leader!" Yan Yan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Talent is the rarest thing, especially skilled workers.

Let those people in Yunzhong study iron smelting and casting from scratch, and they will never succeed in ten or eight years. But if Tangxi sends people to help and guide them, they will be able to cultivate a batch of casts in less than two years. Master, even if he is not as good as Tangxi, he is still good enough.

"We are all a family, what can we say!" Gao Tang smiled and shook his head.

They really regarded Yan Yan as their nephew. Who would be unhappy and not help him when they saw that their nephew was promising?

Therefore, each branch decided to send a group of elite disciples to Yunzhong to help.

After solving the weapons problem, Yan Yan met with major grain merchants from various countries in Zilanxuan and signed an agreement with them privately. He raised the market price by another 30% and asked grain merchants from all over the country to send the grain to the border in batches. .

"Salt tea!" Yan Yan sighed.

Although grain is a war preparation material that is prohibited from being sold in large quantities by the princes of various countries, major grain merchants will have a lot of grain in their hands, and it will not be so easy to detect it if it is secretly sent to the border.

Just salt and tea!

Salt is a luxury product, and governments in various countries have specially set up salt departments to take charge of it. Once they are found selling illegal salt, death will be light, and the minimum is to sit together!

All countries have extremely strict control over salt.

Tea is not yet popular, and tea leaves grow freely and wildly in the wild. Professional large-scale cultivation has not yet been formed, so the yield is pitifully low.

"Perhaps we can meet the Prime Minister of Qi and win later!" Yan Yan suddenly thought.

Today's salt production mainly includes well salt and sea salt, but sea salt technology is not very sophisticated.

Only Qi State has salt drying fields, but the output is not very high.

"Help me make an appointment with the Prime Minister of Qi, and I will win later!" Yan Yan turned to look at Yan Lingji and said.

Yan Lingji nodded, and there was no need for Yan Yan to teach her how to do it.

After watching them for so long, she also knew how to use the opportunity to contact these important people who she had never been able to contact before.

Therefore, Yan Lingji quickly sent a secret letter in the name of Yan Yan, and it was delivered to Linzi through the Yan family, Lord Xinling, or other connections.

The content is also very simple. Xiangbang, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to make a lot of money, right? Want to know, see Zilanxuan in Xinzheng!

Victory came faster than Yan Yan imagined.

When he received the secret letter, he rushed to Xinzheng with the help of the Mohist Suzaku the next day.

Therefore, even Yan Yan was surprised by Hou Sheng's efficiency.

If Hou Sheng can use this efficiency in Qi's court, the princes will be afraid, and a powerful and wealthy Qi will reappear in the princes' vision.

It's a pity that the corruption in the court of Qi State is the worst in the world. If you are an official in Qi State and you don't know how to be corrupt, you are unqualified!

With his mustache, paunch, and brocade clothes, he gave people the impression of a nouveau riche who looked like a slender man. The image of a businessman was the first impression Hou Sheng had on Yan Yan.

After a little thought, you can understand that as the younger brother of the queen, the Hou family was just a poor historian in Jucheng before. Hou Sheng became the prime minister of Qi because of the queen, so his sudden wealth was indeed a sudden explosion. Standard configuration for households.

"Speaking of which, we are still a family!" Hou Sheng was very good at talking, and when he saw Yan Yan, he smiled and got closer.

"Jucheng historians are indeed a branch of Confucianism!" Yan Yan thought for a while. The Hou family is a branch of Confucianism. Among them, the queen and Hou Sheng's father, Taishi Jiao, also served as historians of Qi State, so they were called Taishi. Jiao, with Taishi as his surname.

It's just that because the queen and King Zhang of Qi eloped, which violated Confucian etiquette, the queen was not allowed to return to Jucheng to pay homage or sacrifice until her death, which was equivalent to expelling the queen from the house.

Therefore, the queen could not use Taishi Jiao's surname, so she was called the queen by the historian, without even leaving her name.

"I know a place that can produce sea salt in large quantities!" Yan Yan continued.

Hou Sheng narrowed his eyes. He came so quickly because most of the grain merchants Yan Yan met a few days ago were from Qi State. Naturally, many of them were also his property, so when he heard Yan Yan say that there are still The big business came in person. "In the territory of Qi State?" Hou Sheng asked.

"Yeah!" Yan Yan nodded.

"Where!"

"Yeyi!"

"Yeyi?"

Hou Sheng thought about Yan Yan's words. It was not even a county. It was just called a town, which proved that it was not a very big city. Therefore, Hou Sheng also needed to think about where Ye Yi was.

"The fiefdom of General Tian Dan!" Hou Sheng couldn't remember where Yeyi was, but it was enough for him to know whose fiefdom it was.

Therefore, after being reminded by his attendant Chang Shi, Hou Sheng also understood where Yeyi was.

"That's Mr. Anping's territory, I can't interfere!" Hou Sheng thought for a while and said.

There are many powerful people in Qi State that he cannot offend, and Anping Jun Tiandan is the thickest and biggest one!

Tian Dan was the most critical figure for the restoration of Qi. Tian Fazhang could become the king of Qi, and he could become the prime minister of Qi. It can be said that Tian Dan was inseparable from it.

Even though Tian Dan went to Zhao State to become the prime minister and died in Zhao State's Anping City, Tian Dan's position was absolutely unshakable in the hearts of the people of Qi.

If he took Tian Dan's fief by force, he would offend too many people.

"Mr. Anping has passed away, hasn't he?" Yan Yan asked with a smile.

Is Hou Sheng really helpless against Ye Yi? That's impossible, it's just an attempt to raise the price.

"But this matter still needs to be negotiated with Anpingjun's descendants, right?" Hou Sheng also asked with a smile.

He really didn't dare to touch Tian Dan's fiefdom and descendants, but he could cooperate with them. After all, who didn't have a big family to support?

"That's why I went to the prime minister instead of directly to the descendants of Lord Anping, right?" Yan Yan said with a smile, not admitting that he only knew that Yeyi was Tian Dan's fiefdom.

He thought that after Tian Dan went to Zhao State to become the prime minister, his fiefdom in Qi State was also taken back. Only now did he know that even if Tian Dan left Qi State, his fiefdom would still be retained.

"How many do you need?" Hou Sheng asked again.

"Ten thousand stones per year!" Yan Yan said seriously.

"So much!" Hou Sheng was stunned. This is salt, not grain. There is so much, do you want to use it to pickle salted fish?

"The price is consistent with the market!" Yan Yan continued.

Hou Sheng narrowed his eyes. Generally speaking, when doing business, the demand is large, and the price will be lower than the market price. Once it is consistent with the market price, it means that the profit will be greater than selling in bulk at a high price.

Therefore, even if it is only the market price, the income of 10,000 shi per year will be enough to cover the annual salt tax revenue of Qi State.

"Can Yeyi produce so much salt?" Hou Sheng hesitated.

Now it seems that the annual output of the largest salt farm in Qi is not that much.

Yan Yan smiled, Yeyi could naturally produce salt. As one of the four major salt fields in later generations, Laizhou's ancient name was Yeyi. However, although Yeyi also produced salt at this time, it did not produce salt on a large scale.

Moreover, the annual output of Laizhou Salt Field is as high as 12.6 tons, and its own unit is only stone. Even if the productivity was low in ancient times, it would not cause a gap of thousands of times.

The bottom line is that it has not formed a scale and has not been taken seriously.

But if you need it and pay for it, the winner will pay attention to it, and naturally it will be able to form large-scale and large-scale output!

"Sunshine, climate temperature, and topography all mean that Yeyi can become the largest salt field in the world today. As long as the Prime Minister is willing, Yeyi's output alone can meet the entire world's salt demand!" Yan Yan smiled. said.

There are only a few people in China today, and one Laizhou salt field is enough to meet the needs of all the people in the entire pre-Qin Dynasty.

"Didn't Xiangbang ever think about going down in history?" Yan Yan continued.

After hearing this, Hou Sheng sat up straight and looked at Yan Yan. Who doesn't want to be famous in history, but he also knows that his reputation is not good. He is known more because he has a powerful sister, the Queen. .

"What do you want to do, sir?" Hou Sheng asked.

"All you want in life is firewood, rice, oil, and salt. If Xiangbang can make people all over the world eat refined salt, how will Xiangbang think it will be recorded in the history books?" Yan Yan asked rhetorically.

Hou Sheng narrowed his eyes again. He was born in a historian, so he naturally knew how ruthless the historian's pen was.

I also know that historians’ Spring and Autumn style of writing avoids the important and favors the light!

To put it simply, you can do many wrong things in your life, but as long as you do one good thing that shocks the world, you can leave a shining mark in the history books. As for the previous wrong things, they are not qualified. It will be recorded along with the thing you did right.

"What should I do?" Hou Sheng asked humbly.

"In today's world, the price of refined salt is higher than gold, and the output is extremely low. Most of it is well salt, and refined salt only appears in noble houses!" Yan Yan stated a fact.

"So?" Hou Sheng continued to ask.

"Find some salt miners, improve the salt mining method, expand the scale, turn Yeyi into the world's salt field, produce dozens or even millions of stones every year, bring down the price of refined salt, and make refined salt accessible to ordinary people. Ordinary things you can afford.”

"Based on this alone, does Xiangbang think your name will be in the history books as the late winner or the salt saint?" Yan Yan smiled and dipped his finger in tea and wrote the word "salt saint" on the note.

Looking at the glowing words "Salt Saint" on the black strip, Hou Sheng couldn't look away for a long time.

"If I really do this, I might die!" Hou Sheng thought for a while and said.

If Yeyi really has such a production, all the countries in the world will try their best to kill him!

After all, salt tax is also an important source of revenue for the governments of various countries. Once he raises the price of salt to such a price, it will be the governments of various countries that will be affected. It will be strange if the princes do not kill him.

"No, salt is always managed by the government. The prime minister only needs to trade the salt produced to the kings. Then there will be no other changes in the salt tax and it will not affect the tax revenue of various countries!" Yan Yan said with a smile. .

"Furthermore, in this way, Xiangbang may become the next Song Xianggong!"

"Song Xianggong?" Hou Sheng understood. The first to become the overlord of the Central Plains through commercial war was to rely on a national policy to let the surrounding countries grow mulberry and raise silkworms. In the end, they were short of food and had to respect them as the overlord.

If he could really control the price of salt in the world, then those kings would have to sit on an equal footing in front of him, and he would be qualified to drink with them.

Yan Yan smiled. There was one thing he didn't say. If Qi was really allowed to control the price of salt, then Qi might become the first country among the princes to perish!

And it is impossible for Hou Sheng to have the ability to make the princes pinch their noses and admit it!

What Yan Yan has to do is to use Hou Sheng's help to bring down the price of salt. Some things are just fine if they don't appear, but once they appear, they can't disappear again!

Even if the Qi State is destroyed in the future, the salt field in Yeyi will always exist and will even be heavily protected by the occupiers.

Once the price of salt comes down, people all over the world will not agree if they want to go back to the era when the price was as good as gold!

Therefore, Yan Yan did not deceive Hou Sheng. Once Hou Sheng built the Laizhou Salt Farm in later generations, he would also be called the "Salt Saint" based on this contribution alone!

However, it is well known that all saints and ancestors are canonized posthumously!

It is possible that Hou Sheng will become the "Salt Saint", but it is not certain whether he has the destiny to enjoy the glory brought by the "Salt Saint".

Rare things are valuable. Does Qi really don't know how to dry salt? Do you really not know that they have a unique location advantage and can produce large amounts of sea salt?

That's impossible, but everyone is accustomed to the price of salt, so no one will break this rule.

Now, what Yan Yan wants is for Hou Sheng to break this rule. Hou Sheng, who is a historian, may be greedy, but his enthusiasm for leaving his name in history is unmatched by others.

Therefore, Hou Sheng will definitely do it. Even if it is not as large as the Laizhou Salt Farm in later generations, it will change the entire salt price market in the world.

What Yan did not say is that the Laizhou Salt Field is not the largest salt field.

The Changlu Salt Field in Yan State is the real number one salt field in China. Therefore, when Hou Sheng wants to control the price of salt, Yan Yan will not mind looking for Yan Chunjun to develop the now unmanned Changlu Salt Field!

　On the first day of 2970 days, I can give you a monthly pass or something to encourage you! Also, more than have been ordered so far, and only a few of them have premium badges, so don’t be afraid to ask for a full order! (^～^)

　　

　

(End of this chapter)