Although the specific rules for attracting merchants to reclaim the border passes with salt have not yet been finalized, the news that Qi Hou has the intention to implement Yantun in Hebei has not long been spread among the merchants in Longkou City. For a while, in the tea house, merchants and merchants could be seen everywhere in the wine shop, gathering in groups to talk about the matter.

"Erke heard that the Marquis of Qi has ordered the promotion of Yantun to Hebei?"

"Is that serious?"

"How can it be fake! Yesterday, I listened to the judgment of the Marquis of Qi in front of the city gate. ”

"Then you must have heard the truth. I got a letter from Yamen, and the Marquis of Qi only planned to implement Yantun in the border areas of Youzhou. ”

"Even if it is only in the border areas, it is a good thing. Alack! I think this year's salt should skyrocket! ”

"It's hard to say. The Qi army has gained a lot of coastal land in this northern expedition, so why is it difficult to open a few more salt farms with the talent of the Marquis of Qi. ”

"If this is the case, wouldn't we be able to get salt without going out of Hebei in the future! Wonderful! Wonderful! ”

Just when a businessman was chatting energetically for his own money, he suddenly heard someone behind him ask, "Are you talking about salt?" ”

The people who were interrupted looked back and realized that the questioner was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old. It is said that although this young man is young, his clothes and bearing have a sense of luxury that ordinary businessmen do not have. The businessmen present were all people who traveled from south to north, and naturally they could see at a glance that the other party was both rich and expensive. I saw that the businessman who had mentioned the conversation earlier had already smiled and said to the young man, "This Lang Jun is so good-looking, isn't he a giant businessman from the south?" ”

"Giant businessmen don't dare to be. My brother had two ships in Jiaozhi, and when he heard that Longkou was the largest port in the world, he sent Yu here to handle goods. However, Yu Yu is young and has little knowledge, and he has not found a way to go ashore for several days. I don't know if the ranking scholar can point out to the little nephew. The young man generously circled the crowd.

The Han Dynasty's Jiaozhi was located in the Hanoi area of later Vietnam, and in the eyes of the northerners of this era, it was simply like the end of the earth. At this moment, the businessmen heard that the young man was from Jiaozhi, and there were two sea boats at home, and immediately the eyes of each of them appeared with the light of an old cat seeing a fish belly.

"I don't dare to give advice. If there is something unclear about the idle nephew, the old man must know everything. There is no end to the words. "yes. Lang Jun has something to say, just ask. Longkou City is the most familiar to us. "Lang Jun, please take a seat." "Little Er, let's have a pot of soju!"

In the face of the businessman's diligent pulling, the young man was not polite, only arched his hand slightly and sat around with the same cadre. But after seeing that he had toasted to everyone, he put the ear cup on the dining table and asked with great interest. "Since the little nephew came ashore, I have seen that everyone is talking about salt introduction, but I don't know what this salt introduction is? How do you attract so much attention? ”

Everyone saw that the young man didn't even know about Yanyin, and they immediately became even more convinced that the other party was a native from a wild land. Several businessmen hurriedly "enthusiastically" introduced the system and benefits of salt introduction and salt tun to the teenager. The boy listened very attentively. When I encountered something I didn't understand, I also seriously asked the businessmen for advice. In order to do business, the businessmen also patiently explained to the young man one by one.

After solving the operation and principle of salt introduction in this way, the young man finally couldn't help but shout, "Wonderful strategy! It is really a wonderful strategy to rejuvenate the country and secure the country! ”

"Yes, Qi Hou has never met a genius for a thousand years!" "Yes, he is the best businessman in the world." Several businessmen nodded repeatedly.

Seeing all the businessmen slapping Cai Ji's ass with a word, the corners of the young man's mouth curved into an imperceptible arc. And then once again bowed to everyone and said, "Salt is a good way to lead Yantun, but the little nephew still has something unclear, please ask the uncle to solve the doubts for the little nephew." ”

Although the businessmen present began to feel that the young man in front of him had too many questions, he still responded patiently, "What's the matter? ”

"Qi Hou really has so much salt to lead to Tuntian?" The boy asked solemnly.

The businessmen were stunned for a moment when the young man asked him this, and then burst into laughter. One of the five short businessmen even pretended to mysteriously stepped forward and asked the young man, "Don't Lang Jun know that Qi Hou can gather sand into salt?" ”

But who knew that the young man's eyes were shining, and he grabbed the merchant and asked. "Have you ever seen sand gather into salt?"

The merchant Jia was woken up a few times by the young man's drinking, and hurriedly waved his hand to deny, "No, no, no, I just heard about it." ”

"If that's the case, how can you be sure that Qi Hou can give the salt?" The boy let go of his hand with a little disappointment.

At this time, the merchant who was the leader explained to the young man, "Lang Jun doesn't know that Qi Hou has been exchanging salt for grain in Longkou since four years ago. Never short of pounds. Only sea salt is often mixed with a little sand. Therefore, among the salt merchants, it is jokingly said that Qi Hou can gather sand into salt. ”

"Really?" The boy frowned, his face full of suspicion. And his expression also caused dissatisfaction among the businessmen present. After all, everyone has spent a lot of time here with this young man. But the young man not only never talked about doing business, but also entangled himself in the issue of salt and salt tun.

I saw one of the tall businessmen slap the food table with a bang, and scolded the young man, "This vertical of yours is the salt leading to the salt tun when it is upside down!" What do you do? ”

Unexpectedly, the young man raised his head and asked with an innocent expression, "According to your uncles, salt and grain are the largest business in Longkou. Why can't I ask about salt leading to salt tun? ”

"Nonsense! Why do you need salt for the people of Ernai Jiaozhi! The merchant glanced at his companions as he made his words clear. So a group of businessmen surrounded the young man in the middle.

The young man glanced at the businessmen who turned their faces faster than turning the books, and instead of panicking, he put his hand in his sleeve and raised the bar calmly, "Why don't Jiaozhi people need salt introductions?" ”

It was only at this time that the merchants realized that the young man in front of him only wanted to find out the information about Yanyin and Yantun from them from the beginning, and had no intention of doing business with them at all. However, just as the angry businessmen wanted to teach the young man in front of him a lesson, two burly men with long swords suddenly walked into the wine shop. But after seeing one of the scholars, who was about thirty years old, glanced at the young man, he immediately took his companion and quickly stepped forward to bow to the latter and said, "It turns out that the son is here." But let us find it so hard. ”

Seeing this situation, the businessmen present dared to trouble the young man again, and one by one they shrank their heads and hid their faces and escaped from the wine shop. And the young man didn't mean to pursue it, and after letting a businessman Jia disperse, he turned to the sword scholar and said, "Zijing, you see that as soon as you came, you scared my drinking friends away. ”

At this time, the sword scholar completely lost his previous respect, but saw him beckoning his companions behind him to sit down. Said disapprovingly. "It's just some fox friends and dog friends, and when they disperse, they disperse."

"How do you know those are fox friends? I was just asking the gang for salt. The young man raised his sword eyebrows and invited the merit.

When the saber scholar heard the young man say this, his expression immediately turned pale, and he turned to apologize to the young man, "It turns out that Childe was inquiring about the news before, and he misunderstood Childe." ”

The young man saw that the saber scholar apologized to himself so severely. couldn't help but laugh out loud and said, "Zijing, what are you doing, if you don't arrive in time, Quan Ke will almost be able to get out." ”

That's right. The young man in front of him who was looking around for the news of Yantun was Sun Quan, the second brother of Wuhou Sun Ce. The sword scholar was Lu Su, the chief bookkeeper of Wu County. This time, the main task of their visit to Donglai was to inspect the imperial examination system in Qingzhou and prepare for the opening of the imperial examination system in Dongwu in the future. But who would have thought that as soon as Sun Quan came ashore, he saw people everywhere talking about the introduction of salt to Yantun. Since the salt industry was also a pillar industry in Soochow, Sun Quan naturally took a keen interest in these salt-related policies. So he randomly picked a wine shop and asked the merchant who came to inquire about the salt introduction of Yantun.

Lu Su has long been surprised by Sun Quan's playful temperament. On martial arts, Sun Quan can't catch up with the heroic Jieji, Sun Ce, who is fierce and crowned, and even his younger brother Sun Yi is not as good. But Sun Quan was more resourceful and resourceful than the other Sun disciples. And this is exactly the trait that Sun's Wenzhi Jiangdong needs. So when Sun Quan took the initiative to invite Lu Su to come to Donglai to investigate, Lu Su readily agreed. At this time, he was also quite interested in Yanyinyantun, and he hurriedly asked Sun Quan, "What did that son find?" ”

Seeing that Lu Su asked tightly. Sun Quan said with a little pride the news he had just found out like a bean, and said with a sigh at the end, "It's a pity! It was not possible to ask how the people of Donglai made salt. ”

"Don't regret it. According to Su, many good methods of Qi Hou rely on the benefits of the sea salt monopoly. Donglai's salt boiling technique must be outstanding. Therefore, Su thought that those merchants should not know the method of making salt in Donglai. Lu Su analyzed in a deep voice.

Sun Quan nodded and said, "Quan also knows that Donglai will not leak such secrets lightly. It's just that seeing that Cai Anzhen can attract merchants to Tuntian with salt, Quan is really envious. ”

In fact, Dongwu knew early on that the output of Donglai salt was the best in the world and exported to Kyushu, and a large amount of grain was exchanged for Cai Ji. As a large salt-producing county, Wu County naturally also had the heart to draw a scoop on the gourd, and learned from Cai Ji to exchange salt for food, weapons and other goods to expand armaments. Therefore, under the auspices of Zhang Zhao and others, Soochow not only set a monopoly policy for salt and iron. Several salt factories were also opened along the coast of Kure County. However, the salt production of these salt farms has never been satisfactory. In addition, boiling salt requires a lot of manpower, so there have been several celebrities in Soochow who have reprimanded the salt works for their labor and money. At this moment, seeing that Donglai can easily produce salt, and can also support Cai Ji to play tricks such as Yantun, how can Sun Quan and others not be envious or jealous.

However, in addition to envy and jealousy, the scene of Longkou merchants gathering also aroused Sun Quan's determination to learn from Cai Ji. But seeing that he put away his envious expression, he turned to announce softly in a firm tone, "Zijing, the Han has been weak so far, and the world is in chaos. The people have no means of making a living. But the Cai family can be in five or six years. Sweep away the ills and restore the livelihood of the people in Qing and Xuzhou. If you can learn Qi this time, return to Wu. The right is not to do it in vain. ”

"Childe has a point. The three prefectures of Qing, Xu and Yang are all adjacent to the sea, and they have the benefit of salt and grain. The Qi law can not only make Qing and Xu recover, but it can also be applied in Wudi. Once Jiangdong enjoys the benefits of sea salt, why not be afraid of Cao Cao's threat. Lu Su agreed.

Lu Su, who was born in the Jianghuai Shi clan, like many scholars in the south, always had a plot of "Dingzhi Theory" in his heart, that is, to unite the forces of Yang, Jing, and Yi to fight against the entire Central Plains. The main reason for in-depth research is that these regions belonged to the Chu State during the Warring States Period, and there was a certain cultural estrangement from the Central Plains States. Therefore, there was "although Chu has three households, the death of Qin will be said to be Chu". Now that the Han dynasty is in decline, and the centralized county system can no longer be maintained, it is no wonder that the scholars in the south will advocate the Dingzhi theory based on the feudal system.

Among the many mutated versions of Dingzhi's theory, the most suitable for Lu Su's spleen and stomach is Zhou Yu's dichotomy of the world. In Lu Su's eyes, Cao Cao was like Xiang Yu who held the king of Chu hostage. The Han family cannot be revived, and Cao Cao cannot be eliminated. The weak Sun clan should take the unification of the north of the Yangtze River as the primary goal, and wait and see the changes in the Central Plains while staying in the east of the Yangtze River and cutting down Jing in the west. And the premise of this qiē is that the Sun clan must be able to pass through the foundation of Jiangdong. Therefore, Lu Su admired Sun Quan's style of daring to face up to his opponent's strengths and being willing to study with an open mind.

However, compared to Sun Quan and Lu Su, who were talking eloquently in the wine shop, Wu General Ling Cao, who was in charge of their safety on the side, always remained vigilant. This person is a heroic man of Wu County, who raised troops when Sun Cefeng started Huainan, and often ascended to the first crown in the army, performing the vanguard business, so he was deeply respected by Sun Ce. In history, Ling Cao should have been shot by the Jinfan thief Gan Ning in the battle of Sun Quanzheng and Huangzu. However, due to Cai Ji's indiscriminate incursion, Sun Ce did not die in the assassination, and Huang Zu was destroyed in advance. Ling Cao not only became a colleague with Gan Ning alive, but was also sent to protect Sun Quan Zhou Quan this time. Of course, no matter how good Ling Cao is, he doesn't want to cause trouble on other people's territory. After all, Cai Ji is Cao Cao's prospective daughter-in-law, and the two sides are allies. So when he heard Lu Su say, "Why not be afraid of Cao Cao's threat", Ling Cao hurriedly reminded Lu Su in a low voice, "Mr. Zijing, there are many people here, be careful to expose your identity!" ”

Lu Su raised his glass disapprovingly and smiled, "What if there are too many people? What about revealing your identity? ”

Sun Quan heard that Lu Su seemed to have something to say, so he leaned over and asked, "What does Zijing mean?" ”

"Childe wants to learn Qi Fa, and if he doesn't enter the tiger's den, he will get the tiger?" Lu Su took a leisurely sip of wine.

"Zijing wants the right to visit Cai Anzhen?" After thinking about it with a little hesitation, Sun Quan shook his head again and again and said, "I'm afraid that even if Quan meets Cai Anzhen herself, the other party may not tell the truth." ”

Lu Su listened to what Sun Quan said, put down his ear cup and said with a smile, "If the prince has the heart to explore the Qi Law, there is a shortcut in front of him, so why do you need to meet the Marquis of Qi." ”

"Oh, what a shortcut?" Sun Quan asked anxiously.

Lu Su dipped in water and wine and wrote six words on the case, "Lecture on martial arts, respect for the scripture pavilion." ”

――――――

Small Theatre Hours:

Quan Zai: Zijing, why doesn't Qi Hou teach the Lun family?

Lu Su: Childe can take shortcuts.

Quan Zai: I hate ~~~ The Lun family is not a vegetarian and casually drops silver~~~

Lu Su: ―_―|||(To be continued)