The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 100 100 Salt Merchants Revolt
"Mr. Zibu's guess is correct. If you are not willing to become an official and work for me, I will have no choice but to make a fool of myself. Even if I will be abused by the world, I will not hesitate!" Zhang Yan's attitude was firm and resolute. Said.

"Hahaha...what a shame!" Zhang Hong suddenly laughed, "It's beyond my imagination that adults can be so despicable. However, this just shows us how adults can be. Let us see clearly, and get to know you a bit..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Hong glanced at Zhang Zhao, cupped his hands and asked, "Xiang Zibu, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhang Zhao said with a smile: "I don't like being imprisoned like a prisoner. I still want to walk around with my feet."

"Since that's the case, then let's stop tossing about and pay our respects to the lord. It's important to save the family!" Zhang Hong said.

Zhang Zhao nodded, and together with Zhang Hong, bowed to Zhang Yan: "My lord, please accept my worship!"

Zhang Yan froze there, just now he and Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were at war with each other, why did Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong begin to pay homage to him after a while.

His head was a little dazed, and he didn't think about what was going on for the time being, so he just stayed there.

Chen Qun immediately beamed with joy, and only then did he realize that Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were deliberately testing Zhang Yan just now.Seeing that Zhang Yan was motionless, he immediately pushed Zhang Yan and said, "My lord, the two gentlemen have agreed to serve as officials!"

After Zhang Yan heard Chen Qun's words, he suddenly realized and was very happy.But after a while, he became a little depressed again, looked at Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, and asked, "Have you really agreed to become an official?"

Zhang Hong said: "A gentleman's words are hard to follow. Since we have decided to become an official, we will never go back on our word. My lord can show such a frank behavior in front of us, which shows that my lord is sincere to us and has not concealed it. Although part of the reason is that we were forced to do nothing, but it is better to serve under the account of the real villain, the lord, than to follow those hypocrites."

"Not only that, but my lord's determination to never give up until he reaches his goal, and his use of all means impresses us deeply." Zhang Zhao said.

Zhang Yan was sure that Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong had sincerely served him, and when he was happy, he immediately appointed Zhang Zhao to be the leader and Zhang Hong to be the leader of the government.

Afterwards, Zhang Yan set up a banquet, accompanied by Chen Qun and Chen Gui, and treated Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong well.

At the banquet, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong knew that Zhang Yan was thirsty for talents, so they recommended three talents to Zhang Yan, namely Yan Yan from Pengcheng, Bu Zhi from Huaiyin, and Zhuge Jin from Yangdu.

Yan Yan, Bu Zhi, and Zhuge Jin are all in Jiangdu and have visited Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong. Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong each wrote three letters.

So Zhang Yan sent people to take the six letters and rushed to Jiangdu, recruited Yan Yan, Bu Zhi, and Zhuge Jin, and ordered Chen Deng to send people to escort Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong's family members to live in Pengcheng.

In the hall, everyone was happy and harmonious, and Zhang Yan was very happy because of Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong's refuge.

Suddenly, Xu Sheng walked in from outside the hall with a heavy expression, walked straight to Zhang Yan's side, lowered his body, pressed it against Zhang Yan's ear, and whispered a word.

After Zhang Yan heard this, his joyful face suddenly became gloomy, and the wine cup in his hand fell to the ground because of shock.

When Chen Qun, Chen Gui, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong and others saw it, they all asked in unison: "My lord, what happened?"

Zhang Yan stood up slowly, and said sadly: "Tao Shijun drove west of Hexi last night..."

Hearing this news, everyone felt a burst of sadness.

Zhang Yan cupped his hands towards the crowd and said, "If Tao Shijun didn't exist, I wouldn't be where I am today. Tao Shijun died of illness, how could I not go? I'm going to Tancheng right now, where the hospitality is not good, I will also invite Mr. Zibu , Mr. Zigang, please forgive me..."

Chen Qun clasped his fists and said, "My lord, dealing with Tao Shijun's funeral matters is very important, so my lord should go quickly. I will entertain the two Mr. Zhangs instead of my lord."

Zhang Yan nodded, bid farewell to everyone, and then left.

He went out of the hall, and someone brought his dark cloud snow horse, jumped on the horse, and headed for Tancheng in the starry night.

At this time, Tancheng was covered with dark clouds, and the news of Tao Qian's death had already spread in Tancheng, and the whole Tancheng was dressed in mourning for Tao Qian.

Zhang Yan didn't stop, didn't sleep, and arrived at Tancheng in Yu Zishi, but before entering the city, he felt a wave of sadness.

When the soldiers guarding the city learned of Zhang Yan's arrival, they hurriedly opened the city gate and told Zhang Yan where Tao Qian's mourning hall was.

Tao Qian's mourning hall was set up in Tao Qian's mansion, and all the famous people in Tancheng were present, even the grandson Qian of Langya appeared here, full of sadness.

Zhang Yan strode into the mourning hall, his appearance immediately attracted the attention of everyone, and countless pairs of eyes stared at him.

"My lord, my father... he..." The two brothers Tao Shang and Tao Ying walked over together, and said with tears in their eyes.

Zhang Yan comforted Tao Shang and Tao Ying, walked straight to Tao Qian's coffin, took one last look at Tao Qian, sighed heavily, then took two steps back, knelt down on the ground, and looked at Tao Qian. Qian's coffin knocked his head a few times.

"Tao Shijun! Please go all the way! I will inherit your legacy and manage Xuzhou well!" Zhang Yan said with tears in his eyes.

The onlookers all watched carefully, seeing Zhang Yan's love and righteousness towards Tao Qian, they admired Zhang Yan even more.

It stands to reason that Tao Qian has already resigned, and Zhang Yan, as the new state shepherd, may or may not come after his death.

However, not only did Zhang Yan come, but he also came so fast to see Tao Qian off in front of everyone. This kind of friendship will definitely be appreciated by others.

"My lord, let's be sad!" Mi Zhu, the prefect of the East China Sea, walked to Zhang Yan's side and said slowly.

"When is the funeral?" Zhang Yan asked unhurriedly.

Mi Zhu said: "The weather is hot now, after encoffining, it is not advisable to leave it for too long to avoid damage to the remains. I have discussed with Tao Shijun's family, and we have unanimously decided that the funeral will be held tomorrow!"

Zhang Yan didn't speak any more, and kept kneeling before Tao Qian's spirit, never intending to get up.Mi Zhu wanted to help, but Zhang Yan said that he wanted to guard the spirit for one night, and was persuaded by Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and others, and then he got up, and the potter and Tao Ying guarded the spirit, while he was taken to Mi's mansion to rest.

Early the next morning, Tao Qian started the funeral. Zhang Yan, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and others came one after another, buried Tao Qian on a high hill five miles east of Tancheng, and sent people to guard the tomb.

After handling Tao Qian's funeral, Zhang Yan returned to Mi Mansion with Mi Zhu and Sun Qian.

"How is the matter of making official salt that I entrusted to you?" Zhang Yan wanted to avoid Tao Qian's topic, so he asked Mi Zhu casually.

"We are actively preparing for it. However, the official salt has been abandoned for a long time, and illegal salt is rampant in the territory. Most of the people along the eastern coast rely on selling illegal salt for a living, and have never paid any taxes. Now not only the official salt, but also the To collect salt tax, I am worried that those salt merchants will encourage the people to make trouble." Mi Zhu said.

Zhang Yandao: "There is no rule without rules. When Tao Shijun was in charge of Xuzhou, it was because he was too laissez-faire, which made the people of Xuzhou deviate, the officialdom was chaotic, and the prefect and county magistrate could even openly fight against the state government. This kind of thing is absolutely impossible. It is not allowed to appear under my rule. Those private salt dealers often use fake salt to harm the people on weekdays. They are cunning and deceitful, manipulating the salt market, and the price of salt has risen even higher. What's more, I didn't ban private salt, but only required them to pay taxes. If anyone doesn't pay taxes, they don't even think about being a salt merchant in Xuzhou! Cao Cao and Yuan Shu are recuperating during this time, and I, Xuzhou, should also It's time for a big reorganization. It used to be the official administration, but now it's the turn of Yantie!"

Seeing Zhang Yan's resolute attitude, Mi Zhu said, "My lord, don't worry, I will definitely do my best to complete the task entrusted by my lord!"

"Gongyou, how are you doing in Langya?" Zhang Yan changed the subject and glanced at Sun Qian.

Sun Qiandao: "Langya relied on Zang Ba's garrison before, and the law and order has always been good. The counties under his rule are also in peace, everything is peaceful."

"That's good. I'm relieved that you will be the prime minister in Langya. However, you must always pay more attention to Qingzhou, and help Mi Zhu handle the affairs of the Yantie official camp. If this matter is done well, it will be A great achievement!"

"Here!" Sun Gan said.

The next day, Zhang Yan woke up early, had breakfast, and was about to return to Pengcheng, but Mi Zhu ran over in a panic, out of breath, and said, "My lord, it's not good, the salt merchant in Qu County They colluded with pirates and rebelled together, not only killed the magistrate of Qu County, but also captured Qu County. In addition, they spread news everywhere to confuse salt merchants and salt farmers to gather crowds to make trouble..."

After Zhang Yan heard this, he was really afraid of something. Yesterday Mi Zhu reminded him that he was afraid of trouble caused by the salt merchants, but this has actually come true.However, he wasn't too worried. What big waves could some salt merchants cause?
He sneered and asked, "How dare some mere salt merchants have such courage? How many soldiers and horses are there in the city?"

"Less than three thousand." Mi Zhu said.

"There are five hundred horses?" Zhang Yan asked again.

"Only three hundred horses!"

"Three hundred is enough. You stay in the city. I will take three hundred cavalry to Qu County. I want to see if any salt merchants dare to make trouble openly, I will kill them!"

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yan immediately stepped on the dark cloud and stepped on the snow horse, gathered three hundred cavalry, and left Tancheng, heading towards Qu County.

Mi Zhu saw that Zhang Yan's injury was not healed, and was worried about Zhang Yan's safety, so he asked Mi Qiang to follow with another 1000 people.

Qu County is the easternmost county of Donghai County, close to the sea, and it is also the hometown of Mi Zhu.The reason why the Mi family can become the richest man in Xuzhou is that they started their business by selling private salt.However, unlike others who sell private salt, Mi's has always been sincere, and the price of salt has not changed for decades.

Today, there is still a large salt field in Qu County.

Later, after Mi Zhu became an official, he stopped doing business, and the world was not good, so the salt field was sold to others, but the price of private salt was manipulated by others, and the tide went up.

Zhang Yan led [-] cavalrymen and drove all the way, and soon arrived in Qu County in the evening, and headed directly for the county seat of Qu County...

(End of this chapter)