three kings

Chapter 376
Zhuge Liang's words made everyone in the hall feel their eyes brightened. They all focused on Cao Cao, who had unusual motives, but did not pay attention to the movements in Liangzhou.

Maybe the reason why Cao Cao made these unusual actions is that he came to Liangzhou?

This is not impossible.

There is a saying that people who know themselves best are often their enemies, and only enemies are worth studying with all their strength.Ma Teng is Cao Cao's enemy, not Sun Canjun's.Therefore, Sun Canjun's understanding of Ma Tengjun is definitely not as good as Cao Cao's. It is not impossible for Cao Cao to discover some clues that he did not discover.

Sun Can said in a deep voice: "Kong Ming is right. Maybe the problem lies in Xiliang itself. It seems that our strengthening of intelligence collection defense is not only to collect the intelligence of our own powerful enemies, but also the intelligence of their opponents. Yes. Otherwise, it is very likely to miss the opportunity. Even if you can’t find the opportunity, you can understand what the opponent is doing, and it’s good to create some trouble for them at the right time.”

"Yes, my subordinate understands! Then arrange for the business alliance to strengthen its penetration of Liangzhou." Xun Yu agreed to accept the order.

"What's going on with Liu Bei?" At this moment, Sun Can's strength has greatly increased, and the only enemies in his eyes are Cao Cao and Liu Bei who deserve attention.

If Xun Yu's intelligence focused on Cao Cao, then Liu Hua's intelligence was mainly aimed at Liu Bei. Only he knew Liu Bei's real danger. Liu Bei's talent was not as good as Cao Cao's, but he was like an invincible cockroach, and his harm was not at all inferior to Cao Cao's.This is the case in history. It was not surprising that Liu Bei won the two states of Jing and Yi in just a few years, and even repelled Cao Cao's army in the first battle of Hanzhong. The rapid development can make people stunned.

Therefore, one must not be careless towards this kind of people, as the saying goes, "a dike of a thousand miles collapses in an ant's nest".

In Liu Hua's mind, Liu Bei's danger was greater than Cao Cao's.

Because Cao Cao is a great talent, he can be successful, he can be strong is a matter of course, everything is expected, but Liu Bei is different, his growth depends on the opportunity, and when the opportunity comes, he will suddenly emerge, which is hard to guard against.

Hearing Sun Can's question, Liu Hua walked out without hesitation and said: "Liu Bei's army is moving normally, and there is nothing unusual. At this moment, they are attacking Gongsundu in Liaodong and trapping Gongsundu in Xiangping. Cut off food and water to defend Dai Gong, in less than a year, Liaodong will also fall into Liu Bei's hands. Liu Bei has matured day by day, and it seems that their next step is to seize the Northland. Yuan Shao is now different from the past. There is no cohesion at all. Moreover, Ju Shou, Liu Bei's counselor, was Yuan Shao's counselor. He knew Yuan Shao's character and weaknesses well. With Yuan Shao's current situation, there is no chance of winning. Therefore, I think it is necessary to be careful. At the right time, seize the Northland first, so as to effectively limit Liu Bei's development."

Sun Can lowered his head and pondered, the Northland is different from Guanzhong, the north relies on the Yellow River moat, as long as he is well prepared, he can let Zhou Yu lead the water army to attack the Northland anytime and anywhere, but Cao Cao has a tiger prison in the northwest It is difficult for the natural forces such as Hanguguan, Hanguguan, and Tongguan to pose much threat to him, so it seems that the only way to start is from the north.

Thinking of this, Sun Can asked: "Wen Ruo, how much food does our army collect, can it be enough for 20 troops for three years?"

Xun Yu smiled wryly and said, "My lord, you overestimate your subordinates too much. Your subordinates have never been negligent in government affairs, and they have carefully calculated everything. After many years, the surplus food is only used by one hundred thousand troops a year. How can they support 20 thousand troops?" For three years?"

Sun Can was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Wen Ruo is not to misunderstand, that's not what Chan meant. But in recent years, there has been no famine in our military territory, and the harvest has been abundant year after year. Food and grass have always been sufficient, and funds are also abundant. How can there be a shortage? "

Xun Yu said aggrievedly: "My lord, in the second year of Chuping, the lord fought Yuan Shu for the first time to the present Jian'an for 11 years. The interval is only ten years. In these ten years, the lord has fought Liu Bei, destroyed Liu Biao, defeated Yuan Shao, and pacified Jiangdong. The land of the county has been developed to this day, and it has experienced countless battles. During these countless battles, more than tens of millions of military resources and food were consumed? Our army does have many advantages, but after all, it is limited. After ten years, our army has a shortage of supplies, and it is really impossible. I am supporting the war. The subordinates believe that the country is rich and the army is strong. Now that our army is overwhelmed, we should give priority to recuperation. Otherwise, if an emergency occurs, our army is likely to suffer heavy losses because of momentary inattention."

Zhuge Liang also said aloud at this time: "My lord, what Mr. Xun Yu said is justified, because marching and fighting are heavy responsibilities, and the lives of so many soldiers should not be trifled with, and stability should be the main priority. There is an old saying: 'Soldiers and horses have not moved, Food and grass go first' Now our army is short of food, it is indeed not suitable to send troops, the only way is to farm and grow grain, and retreat to the people, is the best policy."

Sun Can shook his head helplessly, and said with a smile: "If there is not enough food, we will stop fighting. I still understand this truth, but just watching them develop like this is not an option. I just thought about how to speed up our army's food production. way..."

"Government affairs" is just talking about Zhuge Liang's strengths. He smiled lightly and replied: "My lord, it is not difficult to increase the grain. You only need to do three words in one sentence, and it will take a few years. Liang dares to guarantee the grain depot in the army." All full."

Sun Can was worried about not giving Zhuge Liang a chance to display his talents. Seeing that he was so confident, he nodded and said, "What sentence, what three words, Mr. Zhuge, please explain in detail."

Zhuge Liang said calmly: "Officials are not allowed to be raped, people are self-reliant, the way does not pick up what is lost, the strong does not invade the weak, and the weather is awe-inspiring."

Sun Can said with a smile: "That's right, as long as you are an upright official and work hard for the people, if these two points form a common atmosphere, you can indeed increase the harvest of grain and grass, not only that, but also benefit the overall development of our army."

"What are those three characters?" Sun Can couldn't wait.

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan lightly, with a graceful demeanor, and said with a calm smile: "Salt, irrigation, and technology. As long as we start from these three points, not only will our army not be troubled by the food problem in the future, but even the economy can be effectively developed."

Sun Can didn't quite understand the meaning of these three characters, so he asked, "What's the meaning of these three characters?"

"Salt is table salt, which is a necessity in life. Therefore, the amount of consumption is extremely large. In the early Han Dynasty, the ban on Liangshanze was opened, allowing private salt industry, and the court collected taxes. The princes and kingdoms also have to operate the salt industry to enrich themselves, and the income does not belong to the court. In the middle of the former Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi of the Great Han Dynasty began to include the salt industry in the imperial court's chief minister of agriculture in the Yuanshou period, and put it into the imperial court's finances, implementing official management. In the production areas and The main transit area is set up with a salt official under the Dasinong, who is in charge of the production, distribution and large-scale transshipment of salt. In the first year of Yuanfeng, Sang Hongyang led the Dasinong, so he invited dozens of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute it to each Counties, average deployment, adjust salt prices, and use the law of fairness. The disadvantages start to be less, and the national use is to support. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, virtuous literature once vigorously attacked the official operation of salt and iron, and there was a discussion about salt and iron. But the matter is related Fiscal revenue remains the same as the official operation. During the current Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, abolished the law of salt monopoly, banned private cooking, listened to the people to make salt, and freely trafficked it. Salt officials were set up in areas with more salt production to collect salt tax. During the first year of Emperor Yuanhe of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, due to financial difficulties, the official management method of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was restored. It was abolished in the first year of Emperor Yongyuan of Hanhe Emperor. After that, the salt official was still in charge of taxation, and the salt industry was privately run. This is the history of the Han Dynasty. According to my subordinates, these policies have both advantages and disadvantages, and they are not the law of both ends. If the people are allowed to make salt and trade it freely, it is difficult to guarantee the purity of the salt, and the smuggling and tax evasion of criminals. If it is controlled by the government Not to mention the inconvenience, it may also cause a shortage of salt in the market, and black merchants buy in large quantities and sell it at a high price. Some remote villages that the government does not take into account are even more in danger of running out of salt. The most important official salt has to be sent to various villages and towns. It’s also a lot of money. No matter which one it is, it will directly harm the economy of our army.” Zhuge Liang said like a few treasures, changing the history of the Han Dynasty’s salt law and its disadvantages.

Sun Can didn't know much about salt, he just felt that what Zhuge Liang said was reasonable, but not the truth, so he turned his head to look at Xun Yu.Xun Yu nodded secretly, affirming Zhuge Liang's statement.

Sun Can said: "Then what can you do to change this disadvantage?"

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "It's very simple, just change a process, mix officials and merchants, and implement the official system of merchants, which can greatly increase the army's tax revenue and control over salt."

Seeing that Sun Can's brows were tightening, Zhuge Liang understood that Sun Can didn't understand his true meaning, and patiently explained: "Official merchants sell salt by the government, which is sold by merchants, and then sold by merchants everywhere. This method has three advantages. , The salt price can be controlled, and there will be no sharp drop or sharp rise in the salt price. Even if there are unscrupulous traders breaking the law, we can quickly find out the root cause according to the bill, and deal with it with iron measures, so that others will not dare to commit crimes. [-]. In this way, we can not only avoid the cost of transporting salt to various places, but also increase a salt tax. [-]. Add a clause after the salt law that non-local merchants are not allowed to sell salt. In this way, merchants from other places will definitely be happy when they hear this news I regret that my home is not in our army's territory, and I will try my best to move to our army's territory to enjoy this preferential treatment. With more merchants, the territory will naturally become more prosperous."

Sun Can thought for a moment, then said worriedly: "I'm not very clear about this, but I have two points to ask. First, the price of salt will inevitably rise in this way, whether the people can bear it, if the people can't bear it, then this method is absolutely impossible. Nothing will work. Second, merchants value profits. Our army sells salt because they have already received the income they deserve, but because they are selling salt to merchants, merchants need to pay taxes. This means that our army has gained an extra share for nothing, so It can indeed increase the income of our army quickly, but I don’t know whether the merchants are willing or not.”

"Haha! My lord doesn't know the market, so I have such worries." Xun Yu laughed loudly at the side: "Mr. Zhuge's method has completely solved the disadvantages of salt and saved tens of thousands of economic losses for our army. It is really brilliant. For the specific implementation, Mr. Zhuge, please explain to the lord."

Zhuge Liang nodded and smiled at Xun Yu, then turned to Sun Can and said, "My lord's love for the people is indeed rare in the world. But my lord can rest assured, we can set a price for salt, and when we sell the salt to merchants, we promise that it must not exceed a certain amount." price, and lower than a certain price, so that people will not be unable to afford it. As for the second worry of the Lord, it is unnecessary. The profit of the salt tax is far beyond the Lord's imagination. If it is well controlled , the salt tax can be more than half of all taxes. Therefore, all dynasties have attached great importance to the salt tax. Therefore, as long as we do not increase the price excessively, the tax increase will be a considerable income no matter what, and so on Business only makes money but not losses, and I don’t think any businessman would be so stupid as to have money and not make money.”

Sun Can was moved by what Zhuge Liang said, and asked, "What do you think?"

Xun Yu was the first to agree, Guo Jia and Jia Xu were not proficient in government affairs, but Zhuge Liang said in such detail, how could they fail to understand the mystery with their intelligence, and he agreed without hesitation.

Only Liu Hua was indifferent and speechless.

Gathering the wisdom of everyone is Sun Can's secret to dealing with things he is not familiar with. Therefore, he wanted to hear Liu Hua's opinion and asked, "Yafu...what do you think..."

Like a wooden man, Liu Hua nodded silly and said: "Okay...ok...okah..." In fact, he was stunned. The system proposed by Zhuge Liang is similar to the Tang Dynasty's system of salt law. It is one of the most outstanding salt-making systems in all dynasties.

No wonder in history Zhuge Liang used one state to fight against the great Wei and nine states, and fought for years, and his political virtue was still recognized for thousands of years. This is the reason.

I remember that Zhuge Liang in history also attached great importance to table salt. Because of the lack of salt in Sichuan, he invented the method of boiling salt in a fire well, and the effect he achieved was comparable to that of sun-dried salt.It is a pity that the fire well boiled salt was lost to later generations, and historians have always regretted it.

By the way, sun salt.

Liu Hua had an idea, and roared excitedly in his heart. He had forgotten many things in later generations because he didn't need them. Zhuge Liang reminded him to find some lost memories about salt.

However, he didn't plan to say it out. Today was Zhuge Liang's performance, and it was an important moment for him to gain the respect and approval of these veterans. He couldn't steal Zhuge Liang's limelight.

From the bottom of his heart, he also wanted to see Zhuge Liang's real talent and learning. Yizhou is remote and has many mountains. Only Chengdu Plain and Hanzhong, which are irrigated by Dujiangyan, can be regarded as treasure lands. Other places are not called "Tianfu". It's really watery.Therefore, it is really difficult for a small Yizhou to give full play to Zhuge Liang's talent for governing the world.

But it is different now. The Central Plains is a veritable economic and cultural center. Jing, Xu, and Huainan are also recognized as rich places. Jiangdong is also well-deserved as the "Land of Fish and Rice".

I believe that with so many advantages, Zhuge Liang can definitely give full play to his ability to govern the world without restriction. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)