This can be described as a happy trouble, even Zhu Han didn't expect that the effect of fighting local tyrants and dividing the land would be so good, attracting hundreds of thousands of homeless people to pour in in a short time.

"What, hundreds of thousands of displaced people?" When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was surprised and happy in his heart.

"That's right, there must be 200,000 people, the government wants to help the homeless, just drinking porridge is not enough, Li Shanchang's hair is almost white." Ma Xiuying said.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he immediately panicked.

He had just promised Liu Futong that he would support hundreds of thousands of stone of grain and cloth for the Northern Red Turban Army.

Who knows, when you come back on your hind feet, you will have hundreds of thousands of mouths to eat!

If the promised hundreds of thousands of grains, grass and cloth were given to Liu Futong, then the whole army would not have to go hungry.

"This is a big deal, girl, let's go discuss it first!" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said.

This kind of thing is a matter of life and death, and if Liu Futong breaks his word, it will ruin his prestige and reputation, and if there is no food and grass, the displaced people who have been recruited with great difficulty will also be greatly disappointed, and the army will also delay the drill.

"I'm fine, okay, you can go quickly." Ma Xiuying hurriedly said.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even have time to change his clothes, so he came to the front hall and sent someone to invite Tang He and Li Shanchang.

Soon, Tang He and Li Shanchang came together.

"Dashuai, what's wrong?" Tang Heyi asked as soon as he entered the door.

"My sister told us just now, I heard that there is a serious shortage of money and food, isn't it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked directly.

"Dashuai is right, there is indeed a big gap now." Li Shanchang hurriedly said.

"Mr. Li, then you tell us more carefully, what's going on." Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand and asked the two to sit down first.

Tang He and Li Shanchang sat on opposite sides in the hall before they began to come together one by one.

The reason for everything is that Zhu Han made this effect of beating local tyrants and dividing the land, which is really good.

Far more than expected homeless people poured into their own territory, even if they beat the local tyrants and obtained a lot of food, it was still not enough for these new homeless people to fill their stomachs.

"It's a good thing to have a lot of people, but it's also a trouble to have so many people come at once." Li Shanchang said.

"In that case, why don't you fight more bullies and local tyrants, and divide more food, isn't there just that?" Zhu Yuanzhang pondered and said.

Li Shanchang immediately shook his head, "Dashuai, this kind of thing can't be too much, many gentry families don't have many bad deeds, and they all support our righteous army, if you don't ask about the indiscriminate fight together, it will damage the prestige of the marshal, and it is not conducive to recruiting scholars to serve." ”

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe that there were few bad deeds in the gentry's house at all, but some people's homes were better and stricter.

Li Shanchang himself is a member of the gentry, so he naturally wants to say something good and post it on himself.

However, Li Shanchang's words are also reasonable.

If the gentry were to be beaten to death, they would have scared the scholars away.

In these days, without the scholars how to organize the households, how to teach and educate people, how to collect grain and grass, how to pay taxes, and count on those homeless people who farm the land, these things will definitely not be completed.

"In that case, I really can't touch them." Zhu Yuanzhang was also a little helpless.

He thought for a moment, and then said, "What if I buy food from them?" ”

Li Shanchang shook his head again, "Dashuai, we don't have so much money!" ”

It turned out that the Red Turban Army had already implemented a military salary system, and the money in the government treasury had to be kept for the sergeants.

The military salary system, which has just been implemented for a short time, will be a huge blow to the morale of the military if it is stopped.

"This is not good, don't we ask for money and food." Zhu Yuanzhang was a little depressed.

"Dashuai, I thought of an idea, I don't know if it will work." Tang He suddenly said next to him.

"Tell me, what's the solution?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Tang He straightened up and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Don't we have a large number of fields in our hands, if we can use the fields to exchange food for those gentry, can they still exchange them?" ”

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he immediately looked like a fool.

Li Shanchang next to him couldn't help it.

"Tang He, your idea is really a bad idea, snatch the land from a group of landlords and sell it to another batch of landlords, so what are we going to do?" Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless.

"Oh, yes, too." Tang He suddenly made a big red face.

"Dashuai, we have another way now, maybe we can try." Li Shanchang said.

"What's the solution, let's talk about it!" Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly said.

"Dashuai, we still have some grain in stock, if we wait until the autumn harvest, we can increase some taxes, and collect an extra 20% of the autumn tax, which should be able to cope with the past winter." Li Shanchang said.

This method can be said to be more operational.

As long as the most difficult winter is carried through, there will be fewer migrations of displaced people in the cold weather, and the grain and grass crisis will be alleviated.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not think so.

He thought about it, but shook his head.

"Sir, this method can only be a helpless move, not a long-term solution."

Li Shanchang was also a little helpless, because this was indeed the truth.

"It's just July in autumn, and it will take nearly two months to collect the autumn tax when the autumn harvest is completed.

"Moreover, our government and the Marshal's Mansion have already said that today we will pay a light tax, and if we raise taxes by two percent at the end of the day, we will also slap ourselves in the face."

"Also, if we wait until the spring of next year, when the green and yellow are not harvested, if a large number of displaced people come, it will definitely be not enough food, no matter how you look at it, it is not a long-term solution."

Zhu Yuanzhang's words and analysis were thorough, and Li Shanchang was convinced, and he couldn't say anything to refute.

For a while, the three people in the hall had no idea.

Seeing that the sky was completely dark, there was still no progress.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked people to arrange a light meal, and the three of them discussed while eating.

Who knows, after dinner, the three of them still didn't discuss a clue.

Tang He put the teacup on the table and suddenly laughed.

"Oh, we're really a lake!" Tang He said with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang were stunned and didn't know what they meant.

"Sir, sir, you think, we have food here, but there is no shortage of food in another place." Tang He said.

"Where?"

"Where else can there be, naturally it's Jiangnan! And they have no famine, and no war, and the grain is not gone to the sea! Tang He said with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang suddenly realized.

"Haha, yes, how did you forget about them."

"The last time I sent troops to parade around, I got back a million grains and grass, and if I went again, even if I couldn't get a million grains, I would be able to survive if I got four or five hundred thousand stones."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang were both relieved, feeling that they had found a breakthrough.

If you want to send troops to Jiangnan again to fight Grass Valley, you have to go to Zhu Han to discuss action.

Because the water army of the righteous army is now all in the six-in-one belt of the state, led by Zhu Han.

"Then tomorrow, let's go to the state and discuss the matter of sending troops with Qiwu!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

Early the next morning, Zhu Yuanzhang said goodbye to Ma Xiuying and others, and led hundreds of guards to rush to the state.

When the sky was setting, Zhu Yuanzhang had already led people into the city of Jiezhou.

As soon as he saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming, Zhu Han was also overjoyed.

"Brother, why are you in such a hurry?" Zhu Han hurriedly greeted him.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhu Han, he was also in a good mood.

While looking up and down at Zhu Han's taller head, he said with a smile.

"If you don't come, you can't do it, if you don't come again, we and my brothers will be hungry."

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang say this, Zhu Han had already guessed eight or nine points.

Except for the state and Dingyuan, the situation is similar, fighting local tyrants and dividing the land, but the reputation of the righteous army has been beaten.

In the beginning, it was thousands of displaced people who poured into the prefecture to obtain food and farm tools and cloth.

Subsequently, more displaced people poured into the prefecture, which made the wealthy prefecture government a little unbearable.

Dingyuan is far away in the north, and it is close to the Central Plains area of war and famine, and the situation of displaced people will only be more, not less.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang told the truth of the matter, and Zhu Han guessed about it.

"Moreover, not only the homeless people, we also promised Liu Futong to give them hundreds of thousands of grain, grass and cloth, and the words have already been spoken, but we can't go back." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Han nodded, obviously agreeing with his brother Zhu Yuanzhang's move.

"Liu Futong and their three-way northern expedition, after all, the crusade against the tyrannical yuan, if we don't send troops, we also have to get some food, if both of them don't have food, there must be a lot of people behind our backs to scold us for being cheap villains, and it will not be conducive to recruiting talents at that time." Zhu Han said.

Caring about the little bit of food, grass and money in front of you is obviously not a big pattern of behavior.

"So, we want to discuss with you, and then send troops south to get a wave of grain and grass!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Along the way, he had already thought about the plan.

It is nothing more than the righteous army sailing into the Yangtze River, putting on a posture of large-scale attack, forcing the officials of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Mongolia and Yuan to send money and food.

Who knows, as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang's words came out, Zhu Han shook his head and objected.

"Brother, no, we can't do this!" Zhu Han said.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly looked surprised, "Why can't you do this?" ”

Zhu Han smiled slightly, "Brother, you forgot, we just went to Jiqing Mansion not long ago, and we all went to scavenge Jiqing Mansion." ”

"Hmph, such a big Jiqing Mansion, such a big Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, there must be a lot of food, let's go grab another wave, what's the problem." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Haha, brother, this is different, we took the ransom last time, and we also guaranteed that we would not attack Jiqing Mansion again for a period of time, if we go back on our word, it will damage our reputation." Zhu Han said.

"A bunch of Tartars, what kind of credibility to tell them!" Zhu Yuanzhang disagreed.

"No, even if it is with the Tartars, it is necessary to have credibility, but this reputation is not only for the Tartars, but also for the gentry and people in Jiangnan." Zhu Han said.

"Then what should we do if we are short of food, we can't starve our own people to death for the sake of credibility." Zhu Yuanzhang was a little helpless.

Zhu Han already has his own thoughts on this issue.

"Brother, since there is grain in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, let's just buy it!"

"Going to buy?" When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was immediately anxious.

"yes, go buy food."

"Seventy-five, aren't you talking nonsense, how can we have so much money, and we have to keep the military salary, and besides, a gang of profiteers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, if we go to buy grain on a large scale, they will definitely sit on the ground and raise the price, even if there are mountains of gold and silver, it is not enough for them to raise prices!" Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily.

The two brothers, who had wandered for many years, were accustomed to seeing the faces of those profiteers.

The food for life is basically priceless when it comes to a critical moment.

The price of grain that costs five or six wen a pound on a normal day can easily rise to fifty or sixty wen, which is already the great compassion of the living bodhisattvas of the grain merchants.

Zhu Yuanzhang has seen the price of grain that has skyrocketed by hundreds of times.

The gang of profiteers and gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, if they didn't bring knives to rob and threaten, they were afraid that they would sell themselves and not be able to buy much grain back.

"Haha, brother, what you said is really right, there is really a good way to deal with these profiteers." Zhu Han said with a smile.

Seeing Zhu Han so determined, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately realized that he must have an idea.

Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately overjoyed, "Qiwu, do you have an idea?" ”

Zhu Han smiled slightly, and then said, "That's right, brother, I also came up with a solution yesterday." ”

"What's the solution, say it quickly." Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly urged.

I only heard Zhu Han say slowly.

"Brother, the grain in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is basically in the hands of the wealthy merchants and gentry, and in the hands of those Mengyuan officials in Bolu, there is not much grain in stock at all, even if we go to grab it, it will take a lot of effort, and those wealthy merchants and gentry have the ability to delay."

tomato

"So, the fastest and most convenient way, that is to buy it!"

"However, we have to go to Jiangnan to buy food, but we can't use gold and silver, and in the years of war and chaos, gold and silver are not so valuable."

"We need to take something of value, just like the grain, and if they choke us with the grain, we will choke them with it."

Zhu Han's words were confident, and Zhu Yuanzhang was itching in his heart.

"Seventy-five, don't worry about us, hurry up and say what is the method?" Zhu Yuanzhang urged.

Zhu Han smiled and said, "Salt! ”

"What, salt?"

This answer was greatly unexpected by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"That's right, it's salt!"

"However, in addition to the state here, there is also Dingyuan, and there is no salt production at all."

Salt is a good thing, in addition to eating and drinking, the most indispensable thing for people to live, it has to be salt.

Therefore, selling salt has become a profitable business.

In fact, there are not many famous salt producing areas in the whole world, and there are basically a few.

For example, the area of Taizhou and Yangzhou in Huaidong, the area from Shandong to Cangzhou in the north, the area of Fujian in the south, and the inland areas are Sichuan, Shanxi and Jing Salt Lake in the northwest.

Except for these places, the rest of the places are basically free of large-scale salt production.

Therefore, salt has become the most sought-after hard currency, harder than gold and silver!

Especially now that wars are raging, the price of salt in various places is skyrocketing!

In the peaceful years, a pound of salt was only one or twenty yuan, but now the salt in addition to the state has grown to thirty yuan, and the salt in Jiangnan has risen to nearly forty yuan.

Many poor people are increasingly unable to afford salt, and they can only buy a little bit for a long time.

"Brother, we don't produce salt here, but we are close to Yangzhou, which produces salt." Zhu Han said with a smile.

If you want to say that the most famous salt producing area in history, the name of Yangzhou salt merchants must be able to rank in the forefront.

Yangzhou salt merchants do not produce salt locally in Yangzhou, but produce salt in Yancheng, Taizhou, east of Yangzhou.

The grain yield of the large saline-alkali tidal flats in the local area is very low, and it is far less cost-effective than cultivating salt pans to cook salt.

"Yangzhou?" Zhu Yuanzhang immediately realized this problem.

"That's right, it's Yangzhou's salt. Now there is a big chaos, the local Zhang Shicheng and others raised troops, defeated the Mengyuan soldiers and horses, monopolized the output of salt, and there were no Mengyuan salt merchants to buy. Zhu Han said.

Nonsense, one of the biggest reasons why Zhang Shicheng and others raised troops was that they were dissatisfied with the collusion between the Mengyuan officials and the salt merchants to squeeze the local salt farmers.

Now that they have turned over and are in charge, the first thing is to cut off the heads of all the officials and salt merchants of Meng Yuan.

As a result, the amount of salt in Yangzhou is sufficient, but no salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang dare to buy it.

Moreover, they have no way to buy it, Zhu Han's navy has already blocked the water transportation of the Yangtze River, and the merchant ships in Jiangsu and Zhejiang do not know what to negotiate peace, and they are all afraid to die.

After all, life is much more important than money.

"In that case, is Zhang Shicheng really willing to sell salt to us? We've heard that this Zhang Shicheng doesn't buy the account of the Red Turban Army! Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Since Zhang Shicheng raised his troops, he has not used the name of the Red Turban Army or the White Lotus Sect, all of which are the names of his salt dealers and salt farmers.

"Hehe, this Zhang Shicheng is not a big deal, occupying a Yangzhou and Taizhou, it is already his luck, now he is in the point of attacking from the north to the south, and he can't sell salt, and he will soon be short of food and clothing, we are willing to buy his salt, it is too late for him to be happy." Zhu Han said with a smile.

"However, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are closer to Yangzhou, what if Zhang Shicheng knows our plan and goes to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to sell salt and gets rid of us?" Zhu Yuanzhang was still a little worried.

Zhu Han has already had a countermeasure to this problem.

"Brother, this matter is even simpler, as long as we send a navy to strictly investigate smuggling on the Yangtze River, and do not allow a piece of wood to go into the water without permission, even if Zhang Shicheng has great ability, without us, he will not want to sell a grain of salt in Jiangsu and Zhejiang!" Zhu Han said.

After defeating the Yuan army in two major battles in a row, Zhu Han's naval army was already in its infancy, although it could not be said that it was a comprehensive hegemony, but it was still very simple to deal with some smuggling of goods who dared to transport goods.

"Hahaha, that's great, Zhang Shicheng doesn't have us, but he has to starve to death!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed.

"Yes, when the time comes, let's pinch the salt of Yangzhou with our left hand and the grain from Jiangnan with our right hand, let them go east and see who dares to go west!" Zhu Han said with a smile.

"However, Zhang Shicheng doesn't have our friendship after all, so it's not very simple to send someone to talk about salt." Zhu Yuanzhang said again.

The so-called difficulty at the beginning of everything, especially dealing with anti-thieves like Zhang Shicheng, it is even more difficult.

Letting Zhu Han and them sell salt on behalf of them was originally a win-win situation for both parties, but if Zhang Shicheng felt that he had suffered a loss, or if he didn't want to cheapen Zhu Han, a second-class dealer, it would be troublesome.

Sometimes the face is thrown out, but it is not easy to recover.

"Brother, I have already chosen the person I sent." Zhu Han said.

"Who?" Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly asked.

"Me!" Zhu Han pointed to himself.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his face suddenly changed, and he objected very strongly.

"No, absolutely not! It's too dangerous, that Zhang Shicheng is not a member of our Red Turban Army, in case he wants to recruit Meng Yuan and tie you up again, how can you say it's good! Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said.

"Brother, in fact, I was worried about this, but if I think about it, I am not afraid." Zhu Han said.

Zhu Yuanzhang was unmoved, and still strongly opposed.

"No, if you say no, it's just not okay, we'd rather not make money for this salt, or the grain from Jiangnan, and we can't let you take risks!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's words warmed Zhu Han's heart again.

However, Zhu Han's decision to go in person was also very resolute.

"Brother, don't worry, the morale of the Red Turban Army is now high, and it has just said that it will be a three-way Northern Expedition, and Meng Yuan is already so scared that he pees his pants, not to mention Zhang Shicheng, if he dares to tie me up at this time, it will be to turn his face with the million Red Turban Army! When the time comes, I don't know how to die. Zhu Han said.

"That being said, it's still too dangerous." Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't agree.

"Brother, don't worry, I still have someone with me, he has some old friendships with some of Zhang Shicheng's subordinates, and he can help me." Zhu Han said.

"Oh, who?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Shi Nai'an!" Zhu Han said.

"Who is Shi Nai'an?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked confused, he had never heard of this person.

"Shi Nai'an is a Jinshi of Mengyuan, who once served as the chief official of the state capital, and has a lot of old acquaintances in Yangzhou, which is enough to ensure safety." Zhu Han said.

Subsequently, Zhu Han told Shi Nai'an's origin in detail again.

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly put his mind at ease.

"That's fine, no matter what, you have to keep yourself safe." Zhu Yuanzhang reminded.

"Brother, don't worry, in addition to these, I have some other means to save my life, and it's not so simple to deal with me."

Zhu Han thought to himself, there are a lot of good things that he has recently signed in to the system.

The pistol that he originally carried with him also obtained a large amount of bullets, which was enough to kill hundreds of armored warriors by himself.

Moreover, he also signed in and obtained a set of concealed stab-proof bulletproof suits, which can be prevented from half-powered bullets, not to mention ordinary swords, guns and arrows.

Relying on these life-saving artifacts, if anyone wants to deal with themselves, with full firepower, it is not a problem to break through safely.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded silently and agreed.

Early the next morning.

Zhu Han introduced Shi Nai'an to Zhu Yuanzhang, and after some conversation, Zhu Yuanzhang found that Shi Nai'an's talent was not much worse than Li Shanchang.

"Mr. is really a talent, with you helping Ah Han in the state, we can rest assured." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

"The handsome man is powerful in all directions, and the soldiers under his command use their lives, this is a great talent, Shi is just playing with pen and ink, don't dare!" Shi Nai'an also had a good impression of the young marshal in front of him.

Zhu Han watched the two talk happily on the side, and he was very happy in his heart.

He said secretly in his heart; Shi Nai'an in history, Xili Lake Tu went to Zhang Shicheng's little family, and repeatedly gave good advice and advice, but they were not adopted, and he had no skills, but he ended up retiring from the rivers and lakes, and now Shi Nai'an was recruited by me to the command of my brother, and in the future, the Ming Dynasty will open the country, maybe I can also mix a duke and earldom! It's just that in this way, will the ancient book "Water Margin" die abruptly?

Thinking of this, Zhu Han's heart began to ache faintly, if there were no heroic figures such as Lu Zhishen and Wu Song in Chinese literature, it would be a big loss.

Subsequently.

Zhu Yuanzhang introduced a strong man with a body like a tiger bear to Zhu Han.

"Ah Han, this is the hero we just recruited, the name often meets spring, and there are thousands of people who are not brave, this time I will go to the far gate, and I will be responsible for your safety!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Chang Yuchun's force is almost invincible in Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guards, and it is used to serve as Zhu Han's personal guard, so that he can rest assured.

"Chang Yu Chun!?"

When Zhu Han heard this, his eyes immediately widened.

Good boy!

This is the first general of the Ming Dynasty!

If you talk about military intrigue and operational command, Xu Da may be above Chang Yuchun.

However, when it comes to personal bravery and riding and archery level, Chang Yuchun is definitely the top spot in the ranking.

"The last general often meets spring, and he has seen the deputy marshal!" Chang Yu said angrily.

It has only been two days since he entered the Red Turban Army's pro-soldier team, and the various rumors about Deputy Marshal Zhu Han that Chang Yuchun's ears have heard are already several baskets.

It's really thunderous.

When I saw it today, I didn't think it was unusual, wasn't it just an ordinary teenager, at most he was taller.

"Okay, with Brother Chang's escort, then I can really sit back and relax!" Zhu Han praised sincerely.

When Chang Yuchun heard this, he couldn't help but feel proud in his heart.

At the very least, Deputy Marshal Zhu Han's vision of knowing people is still very accurate!

We often don't have a spring farewell, and it's not a piece of cake to protect the safety of everyone!

After two days of preparation, Zhu Han was ready to set off for Taizhou.

After Zhang Shicheng defeated the Mengyuan army, he was based on Taizhou, and the people of the nearby Yanhu were all gathered under his command.

However, before Zhu Han had time to set off, this travel plan was unexpectedly canceled.

Because, Zhang Shicheng, the head of the salt household, sent someone by himself.

"Zhang Shide is here?"

As soon as they heard the news, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han were very surprised.

The person who brought this news was Shi Nai'an.

"Yes, handsome, Zhang Shide came with an old acquaintance of mine, named Cui Changxing, and quietly found my house, and came to report it." Shi Nai'an said.

It turned out that this person named Cui Changxing was Shi Nai'an's subordinate when he was an official in Qiantang, and later he was promoted to Huaidong Gaoyou, Zhang Shicheng occupied Gaoyou, and Cui Changxing surrendered to Zhang Shicheng as his advisor.

"Zhang Shicheng sent someone to come to the door, what do you want to do?" Zhu Yuanzhang was quite surprised.

Zhu Han thought about it for a while and felt that it was nothing more than two things.

"I guess, in addition to contacting us to sell salt to Jiangnan, I'm afraid it's going to use the name of our Red Turban Army." Zhu Han said.

"No matter what it is, since this Zhang Shicheng sent his younger brother here, he always wants to meet, but it is much more reassuring for me than letting you go." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

Being able to let Zhu Han set foot in a dangerous place once has already made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy, and he has an inexplicable good impression of the Zhang Shicheng brothers who have not yet met.

"Okay, then let's meet Zhang Shide and hear what he has to say." Zhu Han also smiled.

After a while, Shi Nai'an led the two men to the state government.

One of the scribes dressed should be Shi Nai'an's old acquaintance Cui Changxing.

The other person is dressed as a businessman, but his dark face does not have a bit of pampering and wealth, but looks like an honest and honest farmer, this person is Zhang Shicheng's younger brother Zhang Shide.

After some introduction, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han invited Zhang Shide to sit down.

After a conversation between Shi Nai'an and Cui Changxing, the two sides finally got to the point.

"Zhu Dashuai, although our brother is in Huaidong, but for the battle of the marshal in Haozhou Kedingyuan's attack on the state, it is a last resort, I just hate to fight side by side with the marshal." Zhang Shide said with a look of adoration.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he understood that he really planned to use the name of the Red Turban Army.

It turned out that because of Zhu Han, the Red Turban Army had greatly improved its means of conquering Jiancheng, which was simply a disaster for Meng Yuan.

The Red Turban Army, which is not superior in equipment, has been able to repeatedly break through the protection of the city wall, attacking the city along the way, and building the momentum of the million Red Turban Army.

Zhang Shicheng, who is far away in Huaidong, is also envious of the prestige of the Red Turban Army.

In particular, the prime minister of the Yuan army in the northeast of Huai, because he was repeatedly defeated by the hands of the Red Turban Army, was eager to make up for his achievements, and even wanted to go south to Huaidong and pinch Zhang Shicheng's soft persimmon.

Zhang Shicheng, who was isolated and helpless, although he occupied most of the land in Huaidong.

But natural disasters and man-made disasters have come down, except for the mouths that want to eat, there are no tricks at all.

Once Tokhtar led the Yuan army south, Zhang Shicheng felt that he might be about to ram the shovel.

Therefore, in this case, the strategist Cui Changxing offered a strategy, and heard that his old boss Shi Nai'an joined the Red Turban Army in Jiezhou, so he wanted to use his relationship to take advantage of the Red Turban Army.

In this way, once the war is tight, you can also ask for help from the Red Turban Army in addition to the state.

After Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han found out this detail, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

That's a stroke of luck!

Just as I wanted to fall asleep, someone brought me a pillow, and it was a velvet pillow.

"Haha, we have heard a lot about Brother Zhang's prestige, and now everyone in the world is crusading against the tyrants, in this case, why not join us and carry the banner of the Red Turban Army, how about it?" Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly.

When Zhang Shide heard this, he immediately laughed happily.

He sneaked all the way, also with apprehension.

When the Red Turban Army was at its prime, he went to take refuge by himself, and I don't know if others would make it difficult for him.

Moreover, discerning people already know that Xuzhou's Tokhoff is preparing to attack Huaidong in the south, and he is obviously helpless at this time, which makes people feel a little unhappy.

However, Zhang Shide didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would be so bold, and he didn't embarrass himself, but took the initiative to invite himself.

"Dashuai, he is really a real hero, Zhang Shide admires! From then on, our Huaidong brothers are also Red Turban Army! Zhang Shide immediately climbed up the pole.

"Haha, okay, Brother Zhang, he is also a happy person, we like it!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

All of a sudden, Zhu Han, Shi Nai'an and Cui Changxing also laughed.

It's just a ball of harmony.

Zhu Han looked at the appearance of his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shide, and couldn't help but think in his heart: Damn, Zhang Shicheng, the famous dynasty and twilight in history, is really proper!

sent his younger brother Zhang Shide to take refuge, and his vision is really okay.

After a true and false righteous match, Zhang Shide threw out another purpose of his trip.

"Dashuai, Huaidong is also a famine for many years, and it is a thin land of salt and brine, and there is a shortage of food, I heard that Dashuai has enough food here, I don't know if I can support some, I don't need more, I only need 300,000 stones." Zhang Shide said a little embarrassedly.

300,000 stone is not a small amount.

With Zhang Shicheng's soldiers and horses, 300,000 stone of grain, enough for them to eat and chew for more than half a year.

The Zhang Shicheng brothers planned to hoard food in order to prepare for the siege of the escaped Yuan soldiers in the future.

"Three hundred thousand stones?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, and looked at Zhu Han with an embarrassed look.

In fact, his heart was ecstatic, and since he asked for it, it was much simpler.

Zhu Han was also happy in his heart, and pretended to think for a while and said, "General Zhang, 300,000 stones, it's not a small amount." ”

Zhang Shide has also heard of Zhu Han's name.

Knowing the words of this young deputy marshal, it has the weight of Zhu Yuanzhang's decision.

"Deputy marshal, we don't dare to eat these 300,000 stone grains for nothing, we can use salt to offset the price of salt produced in Huaidong!" Zhang Shide hurriedly said.

"Table salt?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han heard this, their hearts were already beautiful, and the fish itself was hooked.

"Salt is a good thing, but we can't eat that much salt." Zhu Yuanzhang looked like a profiteer, and did not immediately agree.

"Dashuai, salt is a good thing, even if you can't eat it, you can resell it, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huguang, Henan, that's all Huaidong salt!" Zhang Shide hurriedly said.

Subsequently, he talked in detail about the sales of Huaidong salt, but he was afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang would not agree.

"Alas, Brother Zhang, it's not easy to see that you are all the brothers of the Red Turban Army, how can I bear to embarrass you!"

Zhu Han saw that the heat was almost over, so he spoke.

When Zhang Shide heard this, his happy back molars suddenly showed up.

"Vice Marshal, did you agree?"

Zhu Han looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and then said slowly.

"Huaidong's brothers have a hard time making a living, even if we give these 300,000 stone of grain, it is not a long-term solution."

When Zhang Shide heard this, he nodded helplessly, "Yes, what the deputy marshal said is right, Huaidong killed too hard before, and ran away from many people, and this year it was a flood and drought again, alas! ”

"So, in order to help the brothers in Huaidong, I think we should start a win-win cooperation!" Zhu Han said.

"Win-win? What is it? ”

Zhang Shide was a little confused, he had never heard of this statement.

"Win-win, that is, you get food, we get salt, this is to take what you need, for both sides of the mutual benefit, win-win is also!" Zhu Han said.

Zhang Shide is Zhang Shicheng's right-hand man, not only brave in battle, but also quick-witted, and immediately guessed what Zhu Han meant.

They want to monopolize the salt in Huaidong!

"Deputy marshal, do you mean to treat the matter of exchanging salt for grain as a long-term deal?" Zhang Shide asked.

"Yes, if it is regarded as a long-term business, you Huaidong will not be short of food, you only need salt, then there will be food." Zhu Han said.

When Zhang Shide heard this, he fell into deep thought.

If the situation improves in the future, Zhang Shicheng's brothers still want to be big salt merchants and sell salt by themselves.

If it becomes a long-term relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang's brothers, it will not be good if you want to break the contract at that time.

In particular, the Zhu Yuanzhang brothers seem to be very capable of fighting, claiming that no Jiancheng can withstand their three-day attack.

Zhang Shide was a little scared, once he turned his face in the future, would his brothers be served by Lian Pot.

"This is a long-term solution, otherwise, our navy will cross the Yangtze River, and if we accidentally injure a friendly merchant ship during the inspection, it will not be good." Zhu Han said with a grin.

When Zhang Shide heard this, he immediately had a calculation in his heart.

"Damn, this Zhu Yuanzhang brother turned out to be a smiling tiger! Isn't that a naked threat! The surface of the Yangtze River is your strongest, and if we want to ship salt, we have to sink us? ”

It has to be said that the situation is stronger than people.

Any brotherhood is no match for coercion and temptation.

Zhang Shide quickly made a decision and agreed with Zhu Han's prescription.

There is no way to disagree, the person who burns his ass is himself, and the person who can't beat it is also himself.

If you don't agree, then you have to hold that pile of salt and go hungry to resist the Yuan army.

"Okay, then let's set the price of salt, no matter what price we sell, it will be a price for you, even if it is a loss, we will also set this price!" Zhu Han said loudly.

When Zhang Shide heard this, his nose almost crooked, and he secretly said in his heart: "Damn, I've never heard that there is a salt merchant who sells salt at a loss, and you are embarrassed to say it!" ”

Since he wants to set the price for business, Zhang Shide is also unceremoniously.

"Our Huaidong salt quality is the best, the first in the world, the price of a pound of salt on the ship, fifteen yuan!" Zhang Shide said.

"Fifteen?"

This time, it was Zhu Han's turn to be angry and his nose was crooked.

Zhang Shide also dared to ask for a price, and when the salt was low, the selling price was also

It's just fifteen cents, but now it's good, the price on board is fifteen cents.

If you add the cost of shipping and transportation, as well as the cost of distribution to various places, it will rise to more than 20 yuan a catty.

"No, it's too expensive, ten cents, I can accept it." Zhu Han gave a high price.

"No, deputy marshal, if it is a normal year, let alone ten yuan, even if it is five yuan, I can sell it, but now that the war is in chaos, there are fewer salt households who boil salt, and the artificial production of grass and fire and boiling brine is expensive, not fifteen yuan, it is not good at all." Zhang Shide shouted again and again.

His words made Zhu Yuanzhang nod his head.

In fact, salt is basically a seller's market, as long as there is salt in hand, how much it is sold for, someone will buy it.

It's a big deal, when salt is too expensive, ordinary people eat less, and salt merchants make less money.

However, Zhu Han was greatly surprised when he heard the information in these words.

"General Zhang, you just said boiling salt? Are you still boiling salt in Huaidong? Zhu Han wondered.

"That's right, boil salt!"

"The kind of boiling salt that mows the grass and burns the fire?" Zhu Han asked.

"That's right, what else?"

"The wind-powered brine and salt drying method, are you useless?" Zhu Han wondered.

Since ancient times, seashores have been boiling seawater with grass and trees to obtain salt, which not only greatly increases labor costs, but also a large amount of firewood and grass fuel, which has also become a bottleneck that limits salt production capacity.

"What windmill is brine and what salt drying method? Haven't heard of it. Zhang Shide shook his head and said.

He is an old salt farmer, he grew up by the sea since he was a child, cutting wood and grass every day, and then burning a fire to cook salt.

"No wonder! No wonder! ”

When Zhu Han heard this, he couldn't help laughing, as if he had discovered a big loophole.