The Jagged Emperor of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 42 The Salt Crisis
Today, Liu Chan was eating breakfast, but felt that the taste of the food was a little weak.In fact, this situation has been going on for several days. Liu Chan thought it was because the kitchen did not put the amount of salt properly, but now it seems that this is not the case.

Liu Chan asked Aunt Lai Lan to inquire and found out that there is a shortage of salt in the market now, so the chef at home tries to put as little salt in the dishes as possible. I am afraid that ordinary people have no salt to eat at home.

Liu Chan couldn't help but feel extremely strange, salt is a necessity for people's livelihood, how can it be in short supply?Once there is no salt to eat in daily life, the human body will become weak, so how can the army fight?

Liu Chan asked Zhao Feng to go to Zhuge's army division to inquire about the situation. After inquiring, he found out that Cao Jun and Soochow were fighting again, and the production of the salt farms in the Lianghuai area was greatly affected.Moreover, the Huai salt that was supposed to be transported to Jingzhou was reportedly intercepted by Cao Jun.

Liu Chan secretly sighed, even though Jingzhou is fertile and wild for thousands of miles, in fact, there is no salt production at all, and everything depends on Soochow's supply.Once there is a problem, there will be a problem with the supply of salt immediately, and it will not be solved for a while.

But what annoyed Liu Chan was that such an issue related to people's livelihood did not seem to have attracted enough attention from the Jingzhou side. So far, no one has mentioned this matter, and it seems that they have long been accustomed to it.In fact, Liu Chan's previous life, Yang Hansheng, was a student of economics and paid more attention to this aspect of information. He checked relevant information and learned that salt has a great relationship with the life and death of a country in history.

For example, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin destroyed Bashu.Su Dai, a political strategist at the time, said, "Chu gets oranges and the country perishes", which means that the place "oranges" is the hub of Badong Salt Spring, and it is a place that Qin must contend for.Qin and Chu fought each other, and if Chu was defeated, there was a fear of national subjugation.The State of Chu immediately moved westward to seize the eastern territory of the State of Ba to the "Chrysanthemum", occupying all the important salt springs in the Badong area.

After that, Chu State strictly controlled the flow of salt into Qin State for eight years.The three counties of Ba, Shu and Hanzhong in Qin State have been in a state of salt shortage for a long time, the people's life is difficult, and the society has become extremely unstable.It was not until the Qin State mobilized a [-] expeditionary force to attack Chu, captured Anning Salt Spring and Yushan Salt Spring, and established Qianzhong County, that the salt shortage problem in the southwest of Qin State could be considered resolved.It can be seen that in ancient times, salt was once a strategic material in wars between countries.

At this time, Liu Chan thought of a person—his uncle Mi Zhu and Mi Zizhong.Mi Zizhong was originally from Donghai Qu, but was later appointed by Mu Taoqian of Xuzhou to work as a Biejia, and finally used his family wealth to support Liu Bei's army, and now he is the Zhonglang in Jingzhou.

According to historical records, he was a wealthy businessman in Xuzhou. His ancestors managed farming for generations, raised nearly [-] servants and diners, and had assets of hundreds of millions.But a little comparison with Sun Tong, the Jingzhou clan who was wiped out by Liu Chan, we can know that the management of Mi Zhu's family is definitely not so simple.Sun Tong's family has thousands of fertile fields, but only one thousand followers. If Mi Zhu wants to feed ten thousand people, how much land will he need?

In fact, the East China Sea is the most important salt producing area in the north, and table salt was one of the most profitable industries in ancient times, standing side by side with the iron industry.Liu Chan had heard people say that Mi Zhu used to be a salt merchant, so he may have a way to help Jingzhou solve the salt crisis this time.

Liu Chan asked Zhao Feng to prepare the carriage, and he was going to Mi Zhu's house.Zhao Feng felt a little unbelievable, because Liu Chan had never been to his uncle's house since he was sensible, why did he want to go today?

In fact, it wasn't that Liu Chan himself didn't want to see Mi Zhu, but that Mi Zhu had always had an opinion on Liu Chan, blaming Liu Chan for dragging his sister, Mrs. Mi, and causing Mrs. Mi to throw herself into a well and die in the end.So when Liu Chan returned to Jingzhou from Zhangjiaji, almost everyone came to see Liu Chan, only the two brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang did not show up.This made Liu Chan very sad all the time.

Before Zhao Feng went out, he took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Liu Chan, which was from the military master Zhuge.Liu Chan unfolded it and saw that it was a letter from Lord Pound.Liu Chan had not heard from Mr. Pang De for more than a year, and he was overjoyed.But after reading it, he was a little moved at first, and then a little discouraged.

Mr. Pound praised Liu Chan in his letter for everything he had done in Jingzhou, and he also learned of the news of Mr. Zhang Xing's death.It seems that although he hides in the mountains, he has been paying attention to everything about Liu Chan, which is the reason why Liu Chan is moved.

However, the following content is the reason for Liu Chan's frustration: Pang Degong took the trouble to find a new teacher for Liu Chan.He also emphasized in the letter, "This person is pure and pure, and he should be a teacher, and he should not be neglected." Liu Chan saw that the new gentleman's style was more similar to that of Zhang Xingxian.But he absolutely didn't want to memorize the "Book of Songs".

Just as Liu Chan was sighing, Zhao Feng came in and told Liu Chan that the carriage was ready.Only then did Liu Chan teach Zhao Feng the letter, let him put it away first, and then walked towards the door.

When Liu Chan stood in front of Mi Zhu's house, he was slightly shocked in his heart.Why is the door of Mi Zhu's house so tall!Counting the steps in front of the door, there are ten steps, which are higher than his height!
Liu Chan had heard a long time ago that Mi Zhu had the most luxurious mansion in Jiangling City. Now that he looked at it like this from the outside, he would no longer doubt it anyway.Can't help but sigh secretly, even though his uncle lives in Jingzhou, he is still so rich!Let Zhao Feng go over and report.

Zhao Feng immediately stepped forward and knocked on the door.After a while, an old servant who looked to be about 60 years old came out in a hurry from the inside and told Liu Chan that his master wanted to invite him.

Liu Chan's heart darkened, it seemed that Mi Fang really couldn't forgive him.Otherwise, as a minister, how could he not come out to greet the young master when he saw the young master coming to visit him?Liu Chan didn't take it too seriously, and told Zhao Feng's men to wait outside, so he just took Zhao Feng and followed the old servant inside.

After the two entered the house and walked for a while, they came to a huge yard, which was filled with various flowers and plants, and the planting levels were very clear, which showed that it had been carefully designed.

And what surprised Liu Chan was that there were three rows of weapon racks neatly placed in the yard, with various weapons inserted or hung on them.

Liu Chan knew that although Mi Fang could ride and shoot, he had never heard of how powerful his martial arts were.Driven by curiosity, Liu Chan called the old servant to stop, and then quickly stepped forward to look at the weapons.

Of course Zhao Feng knew that his son had always been very uninterested in martial arts.If you want him to practice martial arts, it is more difficult than driving ducks to the shelves. He seems to prefer to lie on the bed with nothing to do all day, staring at the roof in a daze, or chatting with the gentlemen of the National Academy of Medicine.But why did such a young master suddenly become interested in Mi Fang's family's weapons today?This is really outrageous.

Zhao Feng walked lightly behind Liu Chan, and introduced those weapons to Liu Chan one by one.And Liu Chan didn't express any opinion on Zhao Feng's hospitality, just nodded while listening.

After a while, Liu Chan turned his head and asked the old servant, "Does my uncle practice martial arts here every day?"

The old servant smiled slightly and said, "Master Hui, that's not the case. My master doesn't practice martial arts. These weapons are just collected by the master and put here for display."

Liu Chan nodded, looked at Zhao Feng and just smiled, Zhao Feng immediately realized that he was obviously too attentive just now, and wanted to retreat.

At this time, they heard a mess of footsteps coming from behind the front door. The person who came was Liu Chan's second uncle, Mi Fang, and he still had a hesitant look on his face.His eyes swept over everyone, and finally settled on Liu Chan.

It seemed that Mi Fang wanted to go out to meet Liu Chan, but when he actually saw Liu Chan, he felt embarrassed.So, he suddenly snorted coldly, and after flicking his sleeves, he turned around and approached the door again.

Mi Fang's performance made everyone puzzled.When Liu Chan was about to chase after him, the old servant who was leading the way stopped him and said, "Master, please follow this old servant."

Liu Chan had no choice but to follow the old servant to the living room of Mi Fang's house.As soon as Liu Chan entered, he saw that Mi Fang had come back, was slowly putting down the tea in his hand, and stood up from his seat.

Mi Fang has already changed into a blue dress, with a certain high hat on her head, the expression on her face is a little stiff, combined with his indifferent eyes, it gives people a feeling of being unapproachable.Mi Fang just nodded to Liu Chan, and said flatly, "You're here."

Liu Chan stepped forward to greet Mi Fang and said, "Nephew Liu Chan, I have seen my uncle."

Mi Fang hummed, and her mood seemed to have calmed down a bit, she motioned for Liu Chan to sit down first, and then asked Liu Chan's reason for coming.Liu Chan told Mi Fang in detail about the recent shortage of salt in Jingzhou.

No, after Mi Fang listened, the corners of her mouth raised, and she sneered softly: "Since Emperor Xiaowu implemented the monopoly of salt and iron, since when has salt been abundant? Such trivial matters are nothing to worry about. What's more, it's about government affairs, not a child like you I can understand."

Seeing that Mi Fang despised him so much, Liu Chan was very unconvinced, and said, "Uncle, forgive my nephew for being rude. People's livelihood is the foundation of the world. I, Jingzhou officials, can't even guarantee the people's livelihood of a state. How will we govern the world in the future?",
In fact, what Liu Chan said here was a bit exaggerated, and it was too targeted, which was hard to believe, but it still surprised Mi Fang secretly.

He thought to himself that this kid, Adou, really has a lot of ambitions, and his impression of Liu Chan changed immediately, and he said, "Even so, you should know that there is no salt field in Jingzhou. Now we can only rely on Soochow for supply." , so it will often happen in the future.”

Liu Chan immediately offered to buy from Shuzhong.Mi Fang denied it.Because although Shuzhong produces well salt, the output has not been much, and the supply to the people of Shuzhong is particularly insufficient. How can it be sold to Jingzhou?However, now that Liu Shijun is in Sichuan, maybe he can give it a try.Then, if you use salt boats to go down the Yangtze River, not only the volume of transportation will be large, but also a lot of time can be shortened.

Liu Chan was overjoyed, he didn't expect that he would just say that, Mi Fang thought of so many things at once, she was really proficient in salt affairs.But Liu Chan also thought that Jingzhou was still very far away from central Sichuan, and even if it was transported by boat, it would still take a lot of time.I had no choice but to ask Mi Fang again, is there any way to temporarily alleviate the current salt shortage?
Mi Fang originally thought that Liu Chan was just joking, and she could just say a few perfunctory words, but she didn't expect him to be so in-depth.Mi Fang is a person who is good at smuggling. After thinking for a while, she told Liu Chan jokingly that Soochow has always practiced salt monopoly, and there are many thieves who are engaged in salt smuggling. Maybe I can buy some from them.

When Liu Chan heard this, he thought to himself that this Mi Fang was really a bit of an idler, no wonder he would be seduced by Fu Shiren in the future and surrendered to Soochow together!After all, the government and the smuggling bandits are colluding, and the rumors spread are really unpleasant, but it is indeed a temporary solution.

In fact, at this time, Liu Chan had already thought further: Since smuggling existed in Soochow, why didn't Jingzhou encourage them to transport the smuggled salt to Jingzhou for sale?As long as Jingzhou itself stops the inspection of private salt, allows the existence of private salt, and then significantly reduces customs clearance tariffs, wouldn't private salt be legalized?After doing this, the reputation of the Jingzhou government will not be tarnished.

After thinking this through, Liu Chan excitedly jumped up from his seat and was about to rush out.But Mi Fang called Liu Chan to stop, and asked him why he left in such a hurry?Only then did Liu Chan realize that he was still at Mi Fang's house!He apologized to Mi Fang and said: "Uncle, don't take offense, my nephew is rushing to see the military advisor now."

"Just because of the salt?"

Liu Chan shook his head and said, "This is not just about salt work, it's about people's livelihood, the people's livelihood of the world." In fact, he really wanted to say, "This is a strategic material related to the situation of the world!" He simply didn't say anything, just rushed outside.

Mi Fang looked at Liu Chan's hurrying back, and was speechless for a while.Suddenly realized that he seemed to underestimate this nephew a little too much.

(End of this chapter)