Zigong said quite unwillingly: "Lord, can't you think of a way? Sea salt is very profitable! We wholesale to merchants for five dollars a bucket, but the actual cost is only two dollars, and the profit is as high as 150 percent! Without the market of Chu State, my Han Kingdom will lose at least four million dollars of net profit in income this year! ”

Yang Zilu smiled bitterly and spread her hands and said, "Don't you know?" But there is nothing the widow can do about it! In the final analysis, my Han Kingdom is still too weak, if it is changed to the Jin Kingdom, do you think he doesn't have the courage to do this? ”

When Zigong heard this, he sighed helplessly.

Kan Pingtian was on the side, frowned and said: "Actually, it's not impossible, if the sea salt of Chu State is not enough, then Zixi will definitely force Gou Jian to reduce tariffs, or even exempt tariffs!" ”

"But isn't there probably no sea salt in the Chu State?" Yang Zilu asked with a wry smile.

Yang Zilu's question immediately made Kan Pingtian and Zigong look unwilling, but they had to lower their heads and show a look of resignation. To the west, the state of Chu can get mineral salt from Bashu, and to the east, it can get sea salt from the state of Wu. Especially in the state of Wu, now the salt households and salt farms of the state of Wu are ravaged by the smuggled salt of the Han state, causing them to increase their sales abroad in order to make a living.

And if the state of Chu loses the share that originally belonged to the Han state, the salt dealers of the state of Wu will definitely go crazy to grab this share. At that time, maybe there will be a price war with the salt dealers in Bashu, how can there be no salt in Chu at that time?

Unless a war breaks out between Chu and Wu, or a war breaks out with Bashu, resulting in a shortage of salt in Chu, Zixi will come forward to put pressure on Gou Jian.

Thinking of this, Yang Zilu's heart immediately moved. After telling Zigong and Kan Pingtian about the Wu State Dynasty Meeting today, Yang Zilu said: "Do you think there is any way to turn the Wu State in a military chariot and charge towards the Chu State?" In this way, there will definitely be a shortage of salt in the Chu State! It can also solve the matter of Wu using troops against my Han State! It's really killing two birds with one stone! ”

When Kan Pingtian and Zigong heard this, they immediately said: "Great goodness! ”

The three of them immediately fell into deep thought, and when Yang Zilu and Kan Pingtian were still thinking about it, Zigong only thought about it for a while, his eyes lit up, he thought of a way, and said with a smile: "Lord, the minister has already thought of a way to deal with it!" ”

Yang Zilu immediately came back from his contemplation, looked at Zigong, and asked happily, "So?" ”

Zigong said to Yang Zilu: "The minister first went to the state of Chu like this, and then went to the state of Wu to teach Bo Yao like this, which will definitely make the husband hot-headed to start a war against the state of Chu!" ”

Yang Zilu was overjoyed when she heard this: "Wonderful! It's wonderful! Well, as Zigong said, you are responsible for all the arrangements! ”

When Kan Pingtian heard this, he couldn't help but admire Zigong's plan, nodded and sighed: "The lord has Zigong, and he is better than a hundred military vehicles!" ”

………… After a short day of preparation, that is, on the third day after the Fucha Dynasty meeting, Yang Zilu announced in public that Zigong would send an envoy to Chu. At this time, the monarch of Chu was King Chu Hui, although this King Chu Hui was called Hui, but during his tenure as monarch, King Chu Hui was not a king. During his reign, he destroyed the three kingdoms of Chen, Cai, and Qi, and devoted himself to restoring the national strength of Chu and allowing Chu to prosper in his hands.

Hearing that Zigong was sending an envoy to the Chu State, King Chu Hui couldn't help but want to win over Zigong as the doctor of the Chu State. Although what Zigong did at the beginning was relatively hidden, there was no impermeable wall in the world. Now the people of the world have long known that Zigong put Qi and Wu together in order to save the Lu State, and also mobilized the general trend of the world.

Although they didn't know how Zigong persuaded Tian Chang's and husband to be poor, they knew the result. Even now Zigong is out of the Han State, and it is believed that it is because Zigong hopes to use the Han State to contain the Wu State and prevent the Wu State from retaliating against the Lu State.

And King Chu Hui thinks that if he wants to contain Wu, then Chu is obviously better to contain Wu. And with Zigong's help, he is more sure of recovering the glory of his ancestors.

But King Chu Hui was a more cautious person, he found Ling Yin Zixi and asked: "Uncle (Zixi is the uncle of King Chu Hui, and he is also the person who supports him when he ascends the throne, so King Chu Hui has great respect for Zixi. The widow wants to recruit Zigong to my Chu country, I don't know what my uncle thinks? ”

Zixi is a thin old man, but no one dares to despise him, when the king of Wu invaded the capital of Chu, it was he who cleaned up the remnants of the army and resolutely resisted the further expansion of the Wu army. was able to wait for reinforcements from the Qin State, and finally drove the Wu army back to the Wu State.

Zixi thought for a while, and said: "I'm afraid that this matter will not succeed!" ”

King Chu Hui was a little unconvinced, but he still said respectfully in language: "Not necessarily, right? People in the world often say that Zigong served the Han State, but it was just to let the Han State contain the Wu State and prevent the Wu State from retaliating against the Lu State! And my Chu State can also contain Wu State, and I can also give him a higher official position! The widow didn't believe it, and Zigong was not moved by it. ”

Zixi was not annoyed when he heard this, just like a grandfather looking at a naughty grandson, with kindness in his eyes, and said, "Hehe! What the world says can be believed, so what else do you need to do? The Han State attacked the Wu State, and the Wu State no longer had the ability to retaliate against the Lu State! Besides, even if there is, why should Zigong stay in the Han Kingdom? It must be known that the national strength of the Han State is not much stronger than that of the Lu State, and even a few points weaker. If Zigong was in the state of Lu, wouldn't it be better to help the state of Lu resist the state of Wu? And there is also the country of Qi! Therefore, Zigong came out of the Han Kingdom, which is obviously not so simple. ”

King Chu Hui was still a little unconvinced, and said: "The widow looks down on nothing more than fame and fortune and beauties!" The widow heard that Zigongcai Lu was just a powerful minister. Although there is a lot of power, this power only relies on Ji Kangzi's trust in him. And Zigong was in the Han Kingdom, the official served as the chief doctor of Si Jin, and he controlled the money of a country, how is it the same? And when he arrived in the Chu State, the widow could give him greater importance, as long as he had real talent and real learning, it was not impossible to be the right Yin! ”

(Note: Right Yin, the official system of the Chu State, is one of Ling Yin's two deputies, and has great power.) Zixi still wanted to persuade, but thought that the young eagle could only become a real eagle if he was brave enough to try to fly, and he was too old to provide him with protection forever. It is not impossible to let him suffer setbacks himself, so Zixi nodded and said: "The king's words also have some truth, and the minister is waiting for the king's good news!" ”

"Uncle is polite!" King Chu Hui was like a child who had gotten a new toy, and said happily.

After King Chu Hui and the others left, he immediately arranged for people to come to receive Zigong according to the specifications of the reception of the secretary of state and the doctor, in order to show that he attached great importance to Zigong. Of course, King Chu Hui's own hints to Zigong are indispensable.

Before Zigong arrived in Zaiying, the capital of the Chu State, Zigong had already learned the news through the Han State's inter-office in the Chu State. After hearing this, Zigong smiled proudly and muttered, "Everything is not what I expected!" ”

Although the specifications of the reception were sufficient, King Chu Hui seemed to feel that this was not enough, so he sent Zuo Yin Ziqi out of the city for ten miles to meet Zigong. Ziqi was one of the three powerful ministers of the Chu State, and it was he, Zixi, Gongzi Qi and others who supported King Chu Hui at the beginning. It can be seen how much King Chu Hui values Zigong and sent Ziqi to meet him.

That night, King Chu Hui received Zigong with the specifications of Dr. Qing, and after three rounds of wine, the more King Chu Hui and Zigong talked, the more they felt that Zigong was a great talent, and King Chu Hui couldn't help but change his plan, and said to Zigong: "What does Zigong think of this banquet?" If there is something that does not suit the taste of Zigong, the widow is modified! ”

Zigong still looked so personable, arched his hand towards King Chu Hui, and said with a smile: "The king is polite!" The king's banquet, the wine is a fine wine that can only be enjoyed by the ministers of the kingdom, and the dishes are delicacies that Zigong has never tasted. Zigong is already satisfied, but grateful to the king for giving Zigong this treatment! ”

When King Chu Hui heard this, he immediately struck while the iron was hot, and said tentatively: "That Zigong might as well stay in my Chu country, and you can taste this delicacy and taste this ...... every day."

Speaking of this, King Chu Hui raised the bronze wine bottle in his hand and said, "Taste the wine that only this minister can enjoy!" ”

When it comes to the word 'Qing', King Chu Hui bites the word very much, and its meaning is simply like Sima Zhao's heart, and passers-by know it!

When Zigong heard this, he smiled bitterly and said, "Zigong is afraid that he will disappoint the king!" ”

King Chu Hui frowned, feeling that Zigong was a little ignorant. But in the end, King Chu Hui is the king of a country, so there is still a little city. The expression on King Chu Hui's face remained unchanged, and he asked, "Zigong, what does this mean?" ”

Zigong was silent for a while, and then said: "Zigong heard that mandarin ducks have always been one female and one male, and there will be no more female or one male. And Zigong is like a mandarin duck, hoping to be able to end up from the beginning. The only regret is that Zigong didn't meet the king first! ”

When King Chu Hui heard this, he smiled awkwardly, feeling that the atmosphere was a little awkward, and he didn't know how to say it next.

Zigong lowered his head and his expression changed, then he raised his head and sighed and said: "The king's kindness to Zigong, Zigong really has no way to repay it with his life. But Zigong put forward an opinion to the king here, as for whether the king listens to it or not, it depends on you, the king! ”

"Oh? I don't know what Zigong is going to say? When King Chu Hui heard this, he immediately asked curiously.

Zigong sold Guanzi at this time, took a sip of wine with a smile, and said with a smile: "There are many people here, it's not the time to talk, after a banquet, Zigong will talk to the king in detail!" ”

Although King Chu Hui was curious, Zigong said so, and if he continued to ask, he would not have the bearing of King Chu. King Chu Hui could only suppress the curiosity in his heart, but at the banquet, King Chu Hui was itchy because of Zigong's words, which caused King Chu Hui to be a little absent-minded at the banquet.

(To be continued)