Getting Simulated By The Empress Is Not My Intention

  Chapter 108 Food War (5000)

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

  The Wei army entered Bashu and destroyed Ba and Shu, which made the strength of Wei also skyrocket.

  In this way, among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, only three countries remained: Wei, Zhao and Chu.

   Among them, Zhao State is the most powerful because of Zhang Beichen's vigorous development of agriculture, followed by Chu State, and finally Wei State.

   Among the three heroes, no one has the ability to annex the other for the time being, so the three parties began to develop in their own territory tacitly, waiting for the opportunity.

  …

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

  Continuing to develop normally, relying on the developed agriculture of Zhao State at this time, the national strength will inevitably surpass that of Wei State and Chu State.

   But the problem is that Wei State and Chu State also occupy a lot of territory, developing rapidly, and Zhao State becomes bigger. If the two countries join forces, Zhang Beichen is really not sure that they 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 fierce, if he doesn't sit in charge himself, 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." Zhang Beichen began to think about how to use the resources in his hands to wipe out the two powerful countries!

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

   "In this agricultural society, food is everything! After so many years of agricultural development in Zhao State, the grain output has been able to supply the entire world!"

   "Using food can also defeat others without fighting." Zhang Beichen thought of the food war. In this era, although the monarchs of all countries attach great importance to agriculture, few people think that they can use food to fight.

  Therefore, Zhang Beichen began to further promote and reform agriculture, and extended the advanced agricultural planting methods to the original Qin and Yan lands, and Zhao's grain production further increased.

   Therefore, the population of Zhao State is also increasing rapidly.

  【The strength of the State of Zhao has grown rapidly. Seeing this, the Kings of Wei and Kings of Chu formed an alliance to jointly resist the State of Zhao. 】

  The situation Zhang Beichen expected still happened. When the world is divided into three parts, it is inevitable that the weak will unite with the weak to resist the strong together.

  …

  In the Zhao Palace, Zhao Yun summoned a group of ministers to discuss how to deal with the alliance between Wei and Chu.

Fei Jian suggested: "Your Majesty, I thought we could divide the two countries. Within Wei, the government is strong. The members of the government headed by Gongzi Jiu are greedy and interested in profit. We can give them gifts and let them destroy Wei and Chu. In addition, the old nobles in Bashu and Sichuan are also dissatisfied with the king of Wei, we can secretly support them to restore the country and create turmoil for Wei."

   "As for the state of Chu, we can also use money and jewels to buy the nobles of the state of Chu to support the forces that oppose the king of Chu. In this way, there will inevitably be internal chaos in the two countries of Wei and Chu, and we cannot use all our energy to deal with us!"

   "That's a very good statement!" Zhao Yun agreed very much.

  Fei Jian continued: "When Wei and Chu are in chaos, we can lead the army to attack! Defeat the two countries in one fell swoop!"

   "Zhang Qing, what do you think?" Zhao Yun asked Zhang Beichen for his opinion.

  Zhang Beichen said: "I agree with the first half of what Fei Jian said, but I disagree with the second half."

   "Please enlighten me, Prime Minister." Fei Jian looked at him.

  Zhang Beichen said: "It is necessary to separate countries. In addition, we can use Zhao's food to make Wei and Chu collapse directly!"

   "Oh, food can still have this effect?" Zhao Yun asked in surprise, "Zhang Qing, please elaborate!"

Zhang Beichen explained: "Now Zhao's grain is enough to feed the people of the world! Our grain is piled up in barns and rots, so many merchants will go to and from various countries and sell Zhao's grain to other countries in exchange for cloth and livestock. , weapons and so on."

   "We can lower the price of grain and sell it in Wei and Chu in exchange for a large amount of other materials. For example, Chu's elk and weapons; Wei's cloth, copper and iron ore, etc."

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

   "Yes! It is to deliver food to them!" Zhang Beichen affirmed.

   "Huh?" Everyone was even more puzzled.

Zhang Beichen continued to explain: "We sell a large amount of grain to Wei and Chu at a low price. In this way, the grain of Wei and Chu is worthless. At the same time, we buy other goods from these two countries at a high price. "

   "What do you think, if you were from the state of Wei or the state of Chu, would you rather grow food, or raise elk, raise silkworms and weave cloth?"

  Xinnan said: "Of course we can do whichever is more profitable!"

   "Yes!" Zhang Beichen affirmed, "As long as a large number of farmers and nobles in these two countries give up farming, they will inevitably start to rely on our country's food!"

   "As long as this dependence reaches a certain level, the lifeblood of the two countries will be in our hands. Shouldn't it be up to us then?"

  After Zhang Beichen finished explaining, everyone's eyes lit up.

  Fei Jian took a deep breath, and said with emotion: "Killing without blood, destroying a country without using soldiers, the prime minister's plan really changes people's faces!"

   "The prime minister is really a genius!" All the ministers flattered him.

  This strategy has never been used in this time and space. Because there has never been such an abundance of food in any country!

  Even for those powerful countries, the annual grain is only enough for the people to eat!

   Zhang Beichen reached this situation because of improved planting techniques and improved crop varieties, and the use of hybridization technology to double the grain output several times.

  …

  Zhao Yun was also very excited after listening to Zhang Beichen's narration. She never thought that such a method could be used to destroy other countries!

  She immediately started implementing it.

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

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

  In the end, Zhang Beichen was given all the agricultural and economic data in the country, and let him operate freely.

  …

  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 personality for himself!

  【You started to sing and sing with King Zhao and King Qin every night, lived a corrupt life, lived a luxurious life, and embezzled money from the treasury many times without authorization to buy land, mansions, horses and other luxury items for yourself. When you show yourself to the secret agents of Wei and Chu, everyone in the world will think that you are addicted to enjoyment, extravagant and corrupt. 】

  After Zhang Beichen created a depraved character design for himself, he started the formal operation.

  【You asked King Zhao for the right to manage the granaries of the whole country. In order to meet your extravagant needs, you began to "secretly" sell Zhao's grain at a low price. 】

  …

  Wei State, in the grain store in Daliang.

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

   "What? The price of grain this year is only half of what it was last year? You are a black shop!" The landlord was furious and cursed loudly.

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

   "It's ridiculous!" The landlord didn't believe it. "If it's at this price, not only will I not sell the grain, but I will buy a few carts to take it back!"

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

   "Is this all the 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 a bumper harvest this year? How come there is so much grain and why is the price of grain so cheap?"

The owner of the grain store explained: "These are the grains from the State of Zhao. Not only are they abundant and cheap, but they are also better than those from the State of Wei. Take a look, these grains are full and of excellent quality! Now everyone is starting to buy them." Zhao Guo’s grain is so worth it!”

  The landlord didn't quite believe it, so he visited several grain stores and found that this was indeed the case.

He asked his friend, and the friend said: "Who still grows food now? You don't know, the king of Zhao and the prime minister like a kind of clothes called cheongsam, which is made of silk, which attracts nobles to imitate. Now the price of silk is extremely high." , we don’t grow food in our land, instead we plant mulberry trees, raise silkworms and sell silk!”

   "So that's how it is. Food is so cheap, so what else can I plant? This year I will also plant mulberry trees!"

  …

  Similar situations are still happening everywhere.

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

  The businessmen from Zhao Guolai will buy these things at high prices.

  Of course, Zhao Guo didn’t have that much money, so he used food to make up for it. For the people of Wei and Chu, there is no need to grow food, but they can get more, so why not do it.

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

  …

In the state of Wei, Gongsun Yan came out at the court, and said to Wei Yao worriedly: "Your Majesty, I visited the people and found that a large amount of land in Wei State was barren. Instead of farming, the farmers went to raise silkworms, forge iron, and do various livelihoods. .”

   "Now the people of the state of Wei rely on buying grain from the state of Zhao. If one day the state of Zhao does not sell us grain, there will be a great famine in the state of Wei! At that time, the state of Wei is in danger of destroying the country!"

  Wei Yao immediately became vigilant, thinking, this could not be Zhang Beichen's trick, right? "Really?" she asked.

   "It's true!" Gongsun Yan said seriously, "I suggest that the king should order the farmers to return to the fields and grow food."

   "Absurd!" Young Master Jiu retorted loudly, "You are scaremongering! Our country of Wei has a vast land and rich resources. Have you ever heard of a famine in our country in the past few years?"

   "We have already stored a large amount of food, even if there is a famine, we can deal with it. It only takes one year for those fields to produce food. What is there to be afraid of?"

   "Didn't you see that the state of Wei is strong and prosperous?"

  Speaking of which, Gong Zijiu is Zhao Guo's "key target" and he has made a lot of benefits from Zhao Guo's trade, so he naturally disagrees with Gongsun Yan's proposition.

  Although Wei Yao was vigilant, she was not vigilant enough. She said: "Gongsun Yan, this king ordered you to investigate this matter, organize manpower, let some barren land be cultivated again, and store food."

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

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

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

  …

  In Chu State, some people also realized this problem.

Fan Lue found the King of Chu and explained his concerns to her: "Your Majesty, the farmland in Chu is now deserted, and everyone is going to raise elk and smelt iron for manufacturing. These things flow into Zhao State continuously. If things go on like this, Chu State will It will be annexed by Zhao Guo!"

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

  She frowned and said, "Isn't our country very strong now? The national treasury is full!"

  Because Zhao Guo took the initiative to give up profits, Chu State is naturally rich.

  Fan Lue said: "Money is nothing but some gold, silver, copper and iron. If it cannot be exchanged for food, even if it fills the treasury, it is worthless!"

   "The teacher is right." Xiong Zhitong agreed, "Then let the teacher handle this matter."

   "My lord..." Fan Lue wanted to persuade him again, but Xiong Zhitong had already left, and she still wanted to practice martial arts.

   "Hey! How can I deal with this old man?" Fan Lue let out a long sigh, he was powerless.

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

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

   "Chu, I'm afraid the country is not far from subjugation!" Fan Lue only felt physically and mentally exhausted. Rather than being destroyed like this, he would rather fight his opponents on the battlefield, so that he can display his military talents.

  …

   Zhao Kingdom, Zhao Palace.

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

  Zhao Yun sniffed Zhang Beichen's scent and said, "You still have her scent on you!"

   "Don't you like it?"

"like!"

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

   "Now both countries are aware of this problem and have started to deal with it. I think it's time to close the net and catch them off guard!"

   "Yes." Zhao Yun whispered in Zhang Beichen's ear, "Gudu listens to you."

  …

  Zhang Beichen started the network collection plan, but instead of cutting off the grain business directly, he started from seeds.

   Wei and Chu are now not only looking to Zhao for grain, but also looking for Zhao to buy grain! Because Zhao's grains are much better than those of the two countries, with higher yields and resistance to pests. Therefore, the farmers of the two countries are now planting grains from Zhao.

  Gongsun Yan and Fan Lue only saw the problem of grain trading, but they haven't noticed the problem of grain seeds.

   And Zhang Beichen has already planted the foreshadowing on this!

  He summoned the big grain merchants in Zhao State, and these are all his people.

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

"yes!"

  The inferior grain seeds prepared by Zhang Beichen are those with natural defects, such as seeds that are prone to disease, or have extremely low yields. These seeds should have been eliminated, but Zhang Beichen kept them and specially bred a batch, just to sell them to Wei and Chu at this time!

  【Wei and Chu bought inferior seeds from Zhao and started this year's spring plowing. 】

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

  …

   Zhao Guo, on the court.

  Fei Jian came out and reported to Zhao Yunhui: "Your Majesty, I have something important to announce!"

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

  Fat looked hesitant when he saw him, he looked at Zhang Beichen, then at Zhao Yun, and then he said bravely, "Your Majesty, I want to report someone!"

   "Report who?" Zhao Yun's expression became serious.

   "Report my Prime Minister Zhao Guo, Zhang Beichen!" Fat Jian said loudly.

   After he finished speaking, all the officials were shocked!

  Zhao Yun even asked: "Fat see, the prime minister is the pillar of my Zhao country, you'd better make it clear, you can't wrong good people!"

Fat Jian said loudly: "I will never wrong a good person! According to my investigation, in the past few years, Zhang Beichen lived extravagantly and extravagantly. For his own desire, he sold the grain in our Zhao State's granary to Wei State and Chu State at a low price without authorization. country!"

   "Right now, nine out of ten granaries in my country of Zhao are empty! Your Majesty, Zhang Beichen has committed a heinous crime!"

   After finishing speaking, Hijian presented the content of his investigation.

  Zhao Yun's face darkened instantly after reading it, and she said angrily: "There is such a thing, Zhang Beichen, Gu trusts you so much, is this how you repay Gu?"

   "Your Majesty, this is all framed by villains. I have never done such a thing!" Zhang Beichen said quickly.

   "Shut up!" Zhao Yun, who had always been obedient to Zhang Beichen's words, actually scolded him at this moment, saying, "From today onwards, Zhang Beichen will be suspended from his job. Fat see, come and investigate this matter!"

   "Obey!"

  The officials were silent and dared not speak.

  …

   Came to the palace, Zhao Yun said to Zhang Beichen proudly, "How is it, today's solo performance is not bad, right?"

   "Okay, it scared me!" Zhang Beichen laughed.

   "You are so courageous that even the king dares to strike, how could you be frightened?" Zhao Yun rolled his eyes at him.

  Zhang Beichen continued: "After we finish this play, the king can just give an order to stop selling grain to Wei and Chu countries because Zhao country is short of food. In this way, their suspicion can be minimized."

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

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

  …

  【Prime Minister Zhao Guo stole and sold official food, and was dispatched to guard the border. The king of Zhao ordered that Zhao Guo's grain merchants be prohibited from selling grain to the outside world. 】

  The news of Zhao Guo quickly spread to Wei and Chu, and the two countries panicked.

  Because they discovered that, without knowing it, they had become dependent on Zhao Guo's food!

  At least half of the country’s grain comes from Zhao State, and Zhao State suddenly ran out of food, so that the two countries ran out of food at once, and a food crisis emerged.

  (end of this chapter)