The Three Kingdoms: The filial son of the Cao family, please ask the father to ascend the throne

Chapter 95 Essential Knowledge Points for Travelers
After pondering for a moment, Cao Ziyou called Mi Zhu and Mi Fang.

Among the noble families in Xuzhou, the Mi family has the closest relationship with Cao Ziyou.

With Cao Ziyou in front, the Mi brothers naturally looked down on Liu Xuande.

Now Liu Bei is still taking his two brothers with him, and is living miserably under Gongsun Zan's hands!

After the Mi brothers were summoned, the first thing they said when they saw Cao Ziyou was.

"Lord Zhou Mu, how can you refuse the gift from the gentry? Why don't we deal with it and ease the conflict?"

Gentlemen, also known as family status, clothing, family, powerful family, aristocratic family, rich family, powerful family, etc.

Refers to the famous families who have been officials for generations, and has been influencing from the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

It was not until the prevalence of the imperial examination system and the war that the gentry system disappeared from the historical stage.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was the budding stage of the gentry, and their power had not yet been fully released.

So in this regard, traveling to the Three Kingdoms period is still better than going to the Jin and Tang dynasties.

The gentry are powerful now, but they are not powerful enough to influence the situation in the whole world.

So it doesn't matter whether Chen Deng or the Mi brothers.

They choose Mingzhu more to support him, rather than choose a puppet to control him.

After hearing that Cao Ziyou refused to accept the gift from the gentry, the first reaction of the Mi brothers was to persuade Cao Ziyou.

In the view of the Mi brothers, the gentry and the state herdsmen were supposed to support each other.

It's a pity that Cao Ziyou doesn't need it.

"Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, I called you this time to give you a deal. Who is in charge of Xuzhou's salt industry?"

"In terms of the salt industry, the Chen family and the Zang family are the main ones."

The Chen family refers to the Chen family where Chen Deng lives.

The Zang family is the Zang family where Zang Ba resides.

If Chen Deng is a member of the wealthy family, then Zang Ba is the largest of the wealthy family.

Originally, Zang Ba was subordinate to Tao Qian and was his cavalry captain.

But Tao Qianchun is an honest person, and it is the limit to barely balance Xuzhou's power, and he can't restrain his subordinates at all.

So Zang Ba and some Taishan bandits gathered an army and stationed in the Kaiyang area, becoming their own overlord.

When Cao Ziyou attacked Xuzhou, Zang Ba sent troops to wait and see. Seeing that there was no advantage to take advantage of, he could only lead his troops back.

Although Xuzhou has the smallest territory among the thirteen prefectures, it has a large population density.

With a developed economy and rich products, it is a famous salt and iron producing area.

The Chen family is responsible for the internal salt industry in Xuzhou, and Zang Ba's shadow is in the export part.

The three stones of salt that Chen Deng brought to Cao Ziyou earlier hinted to Cao Ziyou that the scarce material such as salt was in the hands of the gentry.

If they cooperate, there will be countless three-stone salts in the future.

If you don't cooperate, Cao Ziyou can only buy salt from the market at a high price!

You must know that salt can not only serve as a condiment in ancient times, but also be used to gargle.

More importantly, it can meet the body's demand for sodium, maintain the osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid and participate in the regulation of acid-base balance in the body.

In other words, the human body cannot lack salt. Once there is no salt, the human body will have no strength.

In addition, the output of salt is very low, so the salt monopoly system has been implemented all the time.

Obviously, Tao Qian's cowardice made Xuzhou's salt market fall into the hands of the gentry.

They refined private salt, ran on official salt, seized the market, and plundered wealth.

Cao Ziyou was going to hang this group of people up when the street lamp was built in the future.

Now the gentry wants to blackmail Cao Ziyou with salt, hoping that Cao Ziyou can support the development of the gentry.

It's a pity that Cao Ziyou, who has studied mathematics, physics and chemistry, despises them in terms of IQ.

Isn't it just making salt? Which traveler can't?
Wouldn't it be okay to do this first and then that?
So after finding the Mi brothers, Cao Ziyou said:
"I plan to let you operate the official salt, and the profit will be nine to your Mi family, how about it?"

Mi Fang embarrassingly refused:

"Lord Zhou Mu, the price of our salt is higher than that of the Chen family, so we can't sell it at all. As for the sale to other places, if we don't give Zang Ba some benefits, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave Xuzhou."

"You don't need to worry about it. You sort out the resources and channels of the Mi family, and come to get the salt in ten days."

After dismissing the Mi brothers, the dedicated Master Mu of Xuzhou devoted himself to the salt industry.

Xuzhou is close to the sea, and limestone can be seen everywhere on the mountain.

He mobilized his most trusted cavalry battalion, built a pool near the barracks, and surrounded it with a wall.

First put the seawater in a pond and let it dry until it crystallizes.

Then heat the limestone to quicklime and add water to milk of lime.

The crystals are dissolved in water, and then poured into milk of lime.

Impurities are filtered out, and finally distilled to obtain refined salt without bitter taste.

(Take notes on the speed, you can use it later!)
Compared with the salt sold in Dahan, this kind of refined salt is not only of high quality, but also of low cost.

Seawater and limestone are free, and the main cost is manpower and heating materials.

The cavalry battalion was carrying out activities around the barracks with great fanfare, and the gentry had already received the news.

Suffering from the tight defenses around and the tall walls blocking it, no one knew what was going on inside.

However, this did not prevent the gentry from laughing at Cao Ziyou.

Ever since they learned about Cao Ziyou's attitude from Chen Deng, the gentry gradually became hostile to the new state shepherd.

Originally, everyone was supporting each other, but in the end you wanted us to be dogs, impossible!

The combat effectiveness of Cao Ziyou's cavalry battalion is obvious to all, and the gentry do not want to confront the enemy head-on.

Once the several big families are combined, it is better to start with Cao Ziyou's weakness!
In the extravagant room, the speakers of the major families sat on their seats.

An old man sat at the head and asked Chen Deng:

"Yuanlong, I heard that the Mi family recently took over Xuzhou's official salt trade?"

"Yes, the Mi family has helped the State Shepherd sell official salt these days, but the price is high, and the common people rarely buy it."

Chen Gui sneered and said:
"Our state herdsman is a child after all. After winning a few battles, he feels that he can do everything. These days, we will lower the price of our salt a little bit, and completely occupy Xuzhou's salt industry trade! Wait for our state herdsman When you find that the official salt cannot be sold at all, you have to bow your head to us!
I want Master Zhou to know that if he wants to govern Xuzhou well, he must rely on my strength, otherwise he can only run back to Yanzhou in despair to find his father! "

Everyone is happy.

They have dominated Xuzhou for many years, but the foundation collapsed overnight.

Only by letting Cao Ziyou bow his head, will the gentry continue to develop!
Chen Deng frowned, he always felt that Cao Ziyou was not simple.

The movement near the barracks is likely to be Cao Ziyou's counterattack.

But now the momentum of the gentry is at its peak, and they can't listen to persuasion at all.

Chen Deng could only sigh, hoping that there could be a peaceful settlement between the state shepherd and the gentry.

A few days later, when the Mi brothers went to the government to collect salt, they found that the salt had changed!

Cao Ziyou pointed to his many days of achievements, and said proudly:
"I plan to create a brand and sell these refined salts to the thirteen states! I have already thought of the name of the brand. I will take a word for water and call it water refined salt!"

(End of this chapter)