When Zhao attacked Yan and Qi, Wei was not idle.

The Wei army entered Bashu and destroyed Ba and Shu, so that Wei's strength also skyrocketed.

In this way, among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, only three countries remained: Wei, Zhao and Chu.

Among them, Zhao was the strongest because of Zhang Beichen's vigorous development of agriculture, followed by Chu, and finally Wei.

Between these three heroes, no one has the ability to annex anyone for the time being, so the three parties began to tacitly develop in their own territory and wait for the opportunity.

……

Zhang Beichen returned to normal life and began to think about the follow-up hegemony.

If normal development continues, relying on the developed agriculture of Zhao at this time, the national strength will inevitably surpass that of Wei and Chu.

But the problem is that Wei and Chu also occupy a lot of territory, the development is rapid, and the Zhao State is bigger, if the two countries join forces, Zhang Beichen is really not sure that he can deal with two countries at the same time.

Because Wei Yao is too familiar with him and knows his routines and moves. And the king of Chu is too angry, he doesn't sit in charge himself, and the other generals can't stop the king of Chu at all.

"War is certainly feasible, but it is faster and better to use strategy to fight and strategize." Zhang Beichen began to ponder how to use the resources in his hands to wipe out the two powerful countries!

"What is Zhao Guo's biggest advantage at this time? It's the population, it's the economy, and in the end, it's the food! ”

"In this agrarian society, food is everything! After so many years of agricultural development, Zhao's grain output has been able to supply the whole world! ”

"With food, you can also surrender without a fight." Zhang Beichen thought of the grain war, in this era, although the monarchs of various countries attached importance to agriculture, few people thought that they could use grain to fight wars.

As a result, Zhang Beichen began to further promote and reform agriculture, popularizing advanced agricultural planting methods to the original Qin and Yan lands, and the grain output of Zhao State was further improved.

As a result, the population of Zhao is also increasing rapidly.

[The strength of Zhao grew rapidly, and the kings of Wei and Chu saw this and formed an alliance to resist Zhao together. 】

Zhang Beichen's prediction still happened, when the world is divided, it will inevitably be the weak and the weak uniting to resist the strong together.

……

In the palace of King Zhao, Zhao Yun convened his ministers to discuss how to deal with the alliance of Wei and Chu.

Himi proposed, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the two countries can be divided. Within the Wei State, the office was strong. The members of the public office led by Gongzi are greedy and profitable, and we can send them gifts to destroy the alliance between Wei and Chu. In addition, the old nobles of Bashu and Shu are also dissatisfied with the king of Wei, and we can secretly support their restoration and create turmoil for Wei. ”

"As for the Chu State, we can also use money and jewelry to buy the nobles of the Chu State and support the forces that oppose the King of Chu. In this way, Wei and Chu will inevitably have internal chaos and will not be able to devote all their energy to dealing with us! ”

"That's a good thing!" Zhao Yun agreed.

Himi continued: "When the Wei State and the Chu State are in turmoil, we will be able to lead the army to attack!" Defeat both countries in one fell swoop! ”

"Zhang Qing, what do you think?" Zhao Yun asked Zhang Beichen's opinion.

Zhang Beichen said: "I agree with what Fei Jian said, I agree with the first half, and I don't agree with the second half. ”

"Please give me advice." Himi looked at him.

Zhang Beichen said: "It is necessary to drive a wedge between countries. In addition, we can use the grain of the Zhao State to make the Wei State and the Chu State collapse directly! ”

"Oh, can food still have this effect?" Zhao Yun was surprised, "Zhang Qing, please elaborate!" ”

Zhang Beichen explained: "Now the grain of Zhao is enough to feed the people of the world!" Our grain is piled up in the barn and rotten, so there are many merchants who will go in and out of various countries and sell the grain of Zhao to various countries in exchange for cloth, livestock, weapons and other things. ”

"We can lower the price of grain and sell it in Wei and Chu in exchange for a large number of other supplies. For example, the elk and weapons of the Chu State; Cloth, copper and iron ore of the Wei Kingdom, and so on. ”

Fei Jian was puzzled: "Prime Minister, since we have so much grain, why don't we control the price increase of grain, but let it be sold at a low price?" Isn't this sending food to the two countries for nothing? ”

"That's right! It's to bring them food! Zhang Beichen affirmed.

"Huh?" The crowd was even more puzzled.

Zhang Beichen continued to explain: "We sell a large amount of grain to Wei and Chu at a cheap price, so that the grain of Wei and Chu is worthless. At the same time, we buy other items from both countries at a high price. ”

"Do you think, if you are from Wei or Chu, are you willing to grow grain, or are you willing to raise elk, silkworms and weavers?"

Shinnan said: "Of course, whichever is more profitable will do it!" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Beichen affirmed, "As long as a large number of peasants and aristocrats in these two countries give up farming, they will inevitably begin to rely on our country's grain!" ”

"As long as this dependence reaches a certain level, the lifeblood of these two countries will be in our hands. Won't we be left to the table then? ”

After Zhang Beichen explained, everyone's eyes lit up.

Fat saw a deep breath and said with emotion: "You don't see blood when you kill people, you don't need soldiers to destroy the country, the prime minister's plan is really shocking!" ”

"The prime minister is really talented!" The ministers slapped their ass.

This is a trick that no one has ever used on this plane. Because there has never been such an abundance of food in any country!

Even in those powerful countries, the annual food supply is only enough for the people to eat!

Zhang Beichen has achieved this situation because of improved planting technology and improved crop varieties, and has increased grain output several times with hybrid technology.

……

After listening to Zhang Beichen's story, Zhao Yun was also very excited. She never thought that she could destroy other countries in such a way!

She immediately began to implement it.

Zhao Yun first asked Fei Jian to buy the nobles of Wei and Chu to do things within the two countries and hinder the alliance between Chu and Wei.

Secondly, let Shinnan start training the army to prepare for the future expedition.

In the end, he gave Zhang Beichen all the domestic agriculture and economic encyclopedia and let him operate it.

……

Zhang Beichen did not directly start selling grain at a low price, so as not to be noticed by the smart people of the two countries.

He first created a character for himself!

[You began to sing songs with the kings of Zhao and Qin night and night, lived a corrupt life, had a luxurious style, and embezzled money from the treasury many times without authorization to buy luxury items such as fields, mansions, and horses for yourself. You showed yourself to the spies of Wei and Chu, and everyone in the world thought that you were addicted to pleasure, luxury and corruption. 】

After Zhang Beichen created a depraved character for himself, he began the official operation.

[You asked the king of Zhao for the power to manage the granaries of the country, and in order to meet your extravagant needs, you began to "secretly" sell the grain of the Zhao country at a cheap price. 】

……

Wei State, in the grain store of Daliang.

It was the autumn harvest season of another year, and the landlords of Wei came to sell grain.

"What? The price of grain this year is only half of last year's? You're a black shop! The landlord was furious and shouted and cursed.

The owner of the grain store said helplessly: "Guest officer, you misunderstood, not only my store, but all the grain stores this year are buying grain at this price!" ”

"Ridiculous!" The landlord didn't believe it, "If it were at this price, not only would I not sell my grain, but I would have to buy a few carts to bring it back!" ”

The owner of the grain store hurriedly said: "If you buy grain, no matter how much you buy, I have it!" ”

"It's all at this price?"

"It's all at this price!" The owner of the grain store asked him to look at the warehouse, and sure enough, the warehouse was full of grain

The landlord wondered: "Isn't there no bumper harvest this year?" How can there be so much food, and why is the price of food so cheap? ”

The owner of the grain store explained: "These are all grains from Zhao Guolai. Not only is it large in quantity and cheaper, but it is also better than our Wei State. Look at these grains, the grains are full and in excellent condition! Now everyone is starting to buy the grain of Zhao Kingdom, it's too cost-effective! ”

The landlord was not convinced, and went to visit several grain stores and found that this was indeed the case.

He asked his friend, who said, "Who still grows food now?" You don't know, Zhao Guojun and Prime Minister like a kind of clothes called cheongsam, which is made of silk, which attracts the aristocrats to imitate each other. Now the price of silk is extremely high, and we don't grow grain in our family, but instead plant mulberry trees, raise silkworms and sell silk! ”

"So that's the case, the grain is so cheap, what else to grow? This year, I'm going to plant mulberry trees too! ”

……

Similar situations are happening everywhere.

The Wei and Chu states cultivated mulberry trees and raised silkworms, and there were those who specialized in smelting weapons, armor, firing pottery, raising elk, and cutting trees...... All kinds of livelihoods began to grow.

And the merchants of Zhao Guolai will buy these things at a high price.

Of course, Zhao didn't have so much money, and if it wasn't enough, he would use food to make up for it. For the people of Wei and Chu, instead of growing grain, they can get more, so why not.

In just three years, the grain planting area of Wei and Chu has been reduced by half!

……

In the Wei State, in the court, Gongsun Yan came out of the ranks, and said to Wei Yao worriedly: "Your Majesty, the ministers visited the people and found that there was a large amount of barren land in the Wei State, and the peasants did not cultivate it, but went to raise silkworms, go to strike iron, and make all kinds of livelihoods. ”

"Now the people of Wei rely on buying grain from Zhao, if one day Zhao doesn't sell us grain, there will be a great famine in Wei! At that time, the Wei State will be in danger of destroying the country! ”

Wei Yao immediately became vigilant, thinking, could this be Zhang Beichen's trick, right? "Really," she asked, "Really?" ”

"That's true!" Gongsun Yan said solemnly, "The minister suggested that the king should order the peasants to return to the fields and grow grain. ”

"Ridiculous!" Childe refuted loudly, "You are alarmist!" I have a lot of land and resources, have you ever heard of a famine in China in the past few years? ”

"We have a lot of food stockpiled to cope with famine. Those fields, which only need a year to produce grain, what is there to be afraid of? ”

"Don't you see that the Wei State is strong and thriving?"

Speaking of which, Gongzi blame, as the "key target" of Zhao State, made a lot of benefits in Zhao State's trade, so he naturally disagreed with Gongsun Yan's proposition.

Although Wei Yao was vigilant, her vigilance was not enough, she said: "Gongsun Yan, this king will order you to investigate this matter, organize people, and let some barren land be recultivated and reserve grain." ”

"Yes." Gongsun Yan knew that his actions would definitely be difficult.

Because the entire Wei court, the nobles of Wei, are his resistance. The prime minister's son, the general's name, including Wei Yao's office, are all part of this chain of interests!

Unknowingly, they have been "bought" by Zhang Beichen!

……

In the state of Chu, there are also people who are aware of this problem.

Fan Luo found the king of Chu and explained his concerns to her: "King, now in Chu, the farmland is deserted, and everyone goes to breed elk, smelt iron, and these things continue to flow into the Zhao country. In the long run, the state of Chu will be annexed by the state of Zhao! ”

Xiong Zhitong is not only not very interested in politics, but also knows very little about the economy.

She frowned and said, "Isn't our country very strong at the moment?" The treasury is full! ”

Because Zhao Guo took the initiative to make profits, Chu Guo naturally had money.

Fan Luo said: "Money is just some gold, silver, copper and iron, if it can't be exchanged for food, even if it is piled up in the treasury, it is worthless!" ”

"The teacher has a point." Xiong Zhitong agreed, "Then this matter will be handled by the teacher." ”

"Great King......" Fan Luo wanted to persuade again, but Xiong Zhitong had already left, and she still had to practice martial arts.

"Hey! How can the old man deal with it? Fan sighed, he was powerless.

This involves the interests of too many nobles, is he an old man, can he still fight against all the nobles? The king of Chu must make up his mind and order the nobles and common people to return to agricultural production.

But the king of Chu didn't care about this problem at all.

"Chu State, I'm afraid it's not far from the country of death!" Fan Luo only felt physically and mentally exhausted. Rather than be destroyed like this, he would rather fight his opponents on the battlefield, so that he can still display his military talents.

……

Zhao State, Zhao Palace.

Zhang Beichen was lying on Zhao Yun's bed, and Zhao Yun was lying in her arms.

Zhao Yun sniffed the smell of Zhang Beichen's body and said, "You still have her body fragrance on you!" ”

"Don't you like it?"

"I like it!"

The two laughed for a moment, and Zhang Beichen said: "Your Majesty, now that we have been implementing the plan of the grain war for several years, the grain of Zhao State has monopolized the market of Wei State and Chu State. Half of the fields in Wei and Chu are already barren, and once we stop selling grain, these two countries will inevitably fall into famine and civil turmoil! ”

"Now both countries are aware of the problem and are starting to deal with it. The minister thought that it was time to close the net and catch them off guard! ”

"Hmm." Zhao Yun whispered in Zhang Beichen's ear: "Lonely listen to you." ”

……

Zhang Beichen began the plan to close the net, but instead of directly cutting off the grain trade, he started with seeds.

Wei and Chu are now not only looking for Zhao to buy grain, but also Zhao to buy grain seeds! Because the grain varieties of Zhao are much better than those of their two countries, the yield is higher, and they are more resistant to pests. Therefore, the farmers of the two countries are now planting grain varieties from Zhao State.

Gongsun Yan and Fan Luo only saw the problem of grain trading, but they did not yet perceive the problem of grain seeds.

And Zhang Beichen has already laid the groundwork on this!

He summoned the big grain merchants of the Zhao State, and these were his people.

"Remember, all the grain sold to Wei and Chu this year is inferior. When the grain seeds are sold, you will collectively stop the grain trade and raise the price of grain! ”

"Yes!"

The inferior grains that Zhang Beichen prepared were those with natural defects, such as being susceptible to disease or having very low yields. These seeds should have been eliminated, but Zhang Beichen kept them and specially cultivated a batch of them, just to sell them to Wei and Chu at this time!

[The states of Wei and Chu purchased inferior seeds from the state of Zhao and began this year's spring ploughing. 】

Zhang Beichen estimated the time, and when the spring plowing was about to end, he started the operation again.

……

Zhao Guo, court.

Fei saw that he was out of the queue and reported to Zhao Yun: "Your Majesty, the minister has something important to do!" ”

"What's the matter with Aiqing?" Zhao Yun asked.

Fat saw hesitation, he looked at Zhang Beichen, and then at Zhao Yun, and then said stubbornly: "Your Majesty, the minister wants to report a person!" ”

"Who to report?" Zhao Yun's expression became serious.

"Report me Prime Minister Zhao Guocheng, Zhang Beichen!" Himi said loudly.

After he finished speaking, the ministers were shocked!

Zhao Yun even asked: "Fat See, the prime minister is the pillar of my Zhao country, you better make it clear, you can't wronged a good person!" ”

Fat saw a loud voice: "The minister will never wronged a good person!" According to the minister's investigation, in the past few years, Zhang Beichen has lived a luxurious life and spent extravagantly. For his own desires, he sold the grain in the granary of my Zhao State to Wei and Chu at a cheap price without authorization! ”

"Now, the granary of my Zhao country is nine out of ten! Your Majesty, Zhang Beichen's crime is extremely evil! ”

After saying that, Himi presented the contents of his investigation.

After reading it, Zhao Yun's face instantly became gloomy, and she said angrily: "There is also this kind of thing, Zhang Beichen, Lone trusts you so much, and you repay Lone like this?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is all framed by villains, and the minister has never done such a thing!" Zhang Beichen hurriedly said.

"Shut up!" Zhao Yun, who has always been obedient to Zhang Beichen's words, actually scolded him at this time and said: "From today onwards, Zhang Beichen will be suspended, Feijian, you will investigate this matter!" ”

"Yes!"

The ministers were silent and did not dare to speak.

……

When he came to the palace, Zhao Yun said to Zhang Beichen with a proud face: "How is it, today's lone performance is not bad, right?" ”

"Yes, it scared me!" Zhang Beichen said with a smile.

"You are so bold, even the monarch dares to do it, how can it scare you?" Zhao Yun gave him a roll of his eyes.

Let's try it soon, everyone. 】

Zhang Beichen continued: "After we finished this play, the king could just order that because Zhao was short of food, he would stop selling grain to Wei and Chu, so that their suspicions could be reduced to the greatest extent. ”

"At this time, the king will punish his ministers to the border passes, and the ministers will take the opportunity to train the army, and when the time comes, they will be able to defeat the two countries in one fell swoop!"

Hearing his words, Zhao Yun sighed with emotion: "No wonder Gu always failed to win the world before, Zhang Qing, this time with you, how can Gu lose?" ”

……

[Prime Minister Zhao stole and sold official grain and was assigned to the border. King Zhao issued an order prohibiting the grain merchants of Zhao from selling grain to the outside world. 】

The news of Zhao State soon reached Wei and Chu, and the two countries panicked at once.

Because they found that unconsciously, they had formed a dependence on Zhao Guo's grain!

At least half of the country's grain came from Zhao, and Zhao suddenly ran out of food, so that the two countries ran out of food all of a sudden, and there was a food crisis.

82 Chinese Net