Chapter 869: Strengthen Yuan Shao

Zhen Sheng lived a good life. He was in charge of business. No matter how big the family was or how big the person was, he was the one who wanted to do business here.

And the business under General Wang's rule, after years of development and enrichment, made the people have stronger purchasing power than before. After various research and production of new products, it has regained new vitality in the troubled times and started a new reform. Whether it is the north-south trade or opening a store here, it is quite profitable.

Although the taxation is heavy, there are many rules and strict supervision, it can't stop the wealthy families who are the mortal enemies of Wang Yan from investing in industries here. The capitalists will risk their lives for 300% profit, not to mention the wealthy families who are more powerful than the capitalists. They are all greedy and don't care about their lives.

This highlights the importance of Zhen Sheng, the official in charge of business, and also highlights the foresight of the Zhen family in joining Wang Yan.

The current Zhen family is no longer the Wuji Zhen family, but the Tuhe Zhen family. Since they knew that the world was in chaos, and they did not bet on multiple aspects of investment, they would certainly not leave the family in someone else's territory. They had already moved to Tuhe and completely depended on Wang Yan.

Their family members were in every corner under Wang Yan's rule. The army, civil officials, business, breeding, medicine, and Wenchang Pavilion all had Zhen people. Compared with the original, the family's power has expanded by an unknown amount, and it is another behemoth.

It can almost be said that it is only under General Wang.

This is of course a way to die. Zhen Sheng felt that he knew best who Wang Yan was. He did have a broad mind and a big picture, but he was also quite ruthless and decisive. The Zhen family is now prosperous because it is the time to use people and because the Zhen family abides by the rules, but there will always be a day when they don't abide by the rules.

Although Zhen Sheng has become a core senior executive of the General's Mansion and holds great power, he still has no say in the Zhen family. His status has indeed improved, but the clan law is there, and the side is the side, and what he says does not count after all.

So while he was enjoying the glory, he was always worried...

After receiving the order from the general, he went out to find someone to go to the inn to summon Han Sui's envoy, and brought him to the study, while he sat quietly aside.

"Cheng Gongying pays homage to the general."

This man was quite old and dressed elegantly. He and Han Sui were close friends from the same hometown, and he helped Han Sui a lot in his career. Han Sui's achievements today were due to his considerable contribution. After Han Sui's death, he surrendered to Cao Cao.

There is no doubt that such people should be killed by Wang Yan.

Looking at Cheng Gongying's respectful look, Wang Yan waved his hand and casually pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, general, for letting me sit."

Cheng Gongying sat upright opposite Wang Yan, and when he sat down, he glanced at the letter on the table.

He arched his hands and said, "General, since you have read my master's letter, I don't know how to decide?"

Before coming, he had of course learned about Wang Yan in detail, and knew that Wang Yan was straightforward and didn't like too much nonsense, so he got straight to the point and made it clear.

Wang Yan did not comment: "Let's talk about what Han Sui thinks."

"In the second year of Zhongping, the general wrote to my lord and asked him to go to Gumo to plant cotton. My lord sent people to Gumo with cotton seeds that year. In the first season of the fourth year of Zhongping, the seeds were transported back to Xiliang and made into cotton clothes, cotton shoes, and cotton quilts according to the method taught by the general. He also spun cotton and linen cloth. My lord was overjoyed and respected the general's righteousness. Five years have passed, and the cotton harvested has piled up like a mountain.

The general wrote in his previous letter that my lord could stockpile first, and the general would trade with salt and iron. Now the general's troops have entered Yanmen, and my lord is stationed in Jincheng. There are no obstacles in the two thousand miles of land, and the trade route is open. My lord wants to trade cotton with the general. In exchange for grain, snowflake salt, and refined iron, and my lord transports cotton to Yanmen, the general only needs to transfer the materials to Yanmen. "

"This year there is a severe drought, and although my administration has built a lot of water conservancy projects, the harvest is still poor. Besides, if my reserves are sufficient, why should I trade with you? Just attack with a large army. In addition to grain, refined iron is also not allowed, but iron ingots can be used. Snowflake salt is difficult to produce and takes a long time, and there is not much in stock, so most of it can be traded. The rest can be offset with herbs, furs, white glass, etc.

You don't need to say more, if it is okay, then trade. If it is not okay, then return to Liangzhou quickly."

Wang Yan said it just as directly. He was such a big rebel leader, how could he have the time to whine with him. The reason why he recruited people here was just to see who the envoy was and whether he had any value in inciting rebellion.

He had his reasons for being strong, and this transaction was not fair. What's the use of a pile of cotton? Especially Han Sui went from Xiliang to Gumo, a trip of 5,000 miles, and a round trip of 10,000 miles. Indeed, the Western Regions countries dare not mess around, but even so, the cost of food and horses for the journey of thousands of miles is not a small amount.

Even if Han Sui has a strong relationship with Qiang and Hu, and pays them to go to Gumo to grow cotton, it will cost money. Even if Han Sui has a brain and knows to plant some cotton in his own territory, it will occupy arable land. In today's era, planting cash crops on a large scale is to seek death. Because no matter how important it is, you must first ensure survival. Liangzhou is poor and the grain production is not high. If you simply don't grow grain, it will be self-destruction.

In fact, Wang Yan is planning Liangzhou. Of course, the Western Regions must be planned, but the Western Regions are too far away, and his tentacles cannot be extended in a short time. What he thought at the beginning was to conquer Liangzhou, use Liangzhou as a front, continue to deepen the Silk Road, and carry out economic infiltration.

Cotton can also be grown in the Hexi Corridor, and the yield is sufficient, which is definitely more than his current harvest. And it is not a waste of land, and there is enough food. Because although he now fully occupies the Northeast Plain, it has not been fully developed. Despite the Ice Age, there is still room for improvement in food production.

Besides, man can conquer nature. As long as there is no big war and no big expansion, his food will be enough. Even if there is not enough food, he now has the ability to build warships and directly send a large army south to control the Indochina Peninsula. If it is still not enough, then control Indonesia. The grain output of these two places is quite considerable. Standardize planting, improve planting technology, and cultivate excellent seeds. In a few years, a large amount of food will be shipped back.

The way of heaven is to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiency. It is no big problem to use the flesh and blood of the people in these two places to feed the people under his rule. The natives of these two places will also be grateful for the gift brought by General Wang.

Looting with swords and guns is just the beginning. It teaches them to be respectful. After that, they will feel what the light of civilization is and what the Celestial Empire is.

This must be done. After all, there are many places in China that are not suitable for farming, but there are also hardworking people there who are trying to survive. This is of course unfair. They need more vast land...

After listening to Wang Yan's words, Cheng Gongying was silent for a while, and finally nodded: "I will follow the general's opinion."

"Meng Guang."

Zhen Sheng, who had just sat down for a while, stood up: "Mr. Cheng Gong, the details will be discussed between you and me, please."

"Ying goodbye." Cheng Gongying stood up and saluted respectfully. He didn't care about Wang Yan's casual attitude, and he was not qualified to care.

He can say for sure that if he showed a little dissatisfaction, then whether he could survive today would depend on the general's mood.

In fact, it would be the same for him. If Wang Yan went on a diplomatic mission and went to Han Sui's territory, he didn't give Han Sui the corresponding respect, and even talked nonsense. Han Sui would most likely cut him directly, and he would also support it depending on the situation.

It's not easy to be an envoy these days. Ni Heng sprayed a circle and finally died in Huang Zu's hands. It was rare.

Besides, Wang Yan was a rebel from the Qian people, and he occupied the north. In the eyes of the princes, he was no different from the barbarians. Killing an envoy when he was unhappy was a basic operation.

Watching Cheng Gongying leave with Zhen Sheng, Wang Yan continued to work.

Han Sui would definitely not sell all the cotton he had grown for five or six years to him. In fact, cotton had no worries about sales. In addition to arming his own soldiers, Han Sui must have sold it to the wealthy families. Because the warmth of cotton has been proven in Liaodong, but the production in Liaodong is not enough, only the quilts with very high prices are sold.

If Han Sui had a little heart, he should know how to ship it.

It’s just that the situation this year is different, because there is a severe drought in the world this year, there is a huge gap in food, and Han Sui also has to support the army, which has caused the value of his hoarded cotton to drop significantly, and it has become meat on the chopping board. So he sent an envoy directly to deliver the letter, and it was still a very trusted confidant.

Now it is recognized that the richest person is Wang the rebel, because only the harvest in Liaodong has not been significantly affected, ensuring normal food output. In Jiaozhi in the south, Shi Xie's place was also not bad. Although Shi Xie's territory had many mountains, it had a well-developed water system and a better climate, so it was not greatly affected.

Obviously, Youzhou was closer than Jiaozhi. More obviously, Han Sui did not expect to trade grain with Wang Yan. At this time, only some wealthy families would release some grain, and use this time to annex land, and they would definitely sell some.

After all, the land of the wealthy families was all high-quality farmland, and there was also water conservancy. No matter how dry or barren it was, it was not a harvest. As long as their grain was enough for their family to eat for two years, and enough to leave some grain to deal with tenants and slaves to prevent them from rebelling, the rest would be all huge profits. Every famine was an opportunity for their family to move up a level.

Han Sui wanted to trade with Wang Yan, or he wanted to try his luck, just in case he sold grain. Besides, Wang Yan's resources are the most abundant. Even today, although they are still very reluctant to believe it, they have to admit that this great rebel from the Qianshou has the ability to govern the world. The military and civilians under his rule are governed too well, and inventions and creations are constantly emerging. Moreover, the resources in Liaodong are unexpectedly abundant. Many people are regretting that it is a waste to let Wang Yan occupy such a place.

There are many things they need here...

The distance is too far, and the business cycle is too long. When Cheng Gongying returns to Jincheng and sends a caravan over, 80% of them will be thawed. Wang Yan is of course assured that Zhen Sheng will do things, and he will not suffer losses. He did not ask about it, and still did things at the original pace.

During this year, the princes were also developing desperately.

Neighbor Yuan Shao, who was developing water conservancy and internal affairs, had a greatly reduced harvest this year, but he could barely make ends meet. At the same time, he was actively contacting other princes, uniting together, and fighting Yuan Shu.

In terms of military operations, he was not idle either. He admitted that he couldn't beat Wang Yan. After all, Wang Yan was a ruthless man who dared to stop Gongsun Zan's 20,000 troops alone. His soldiers were well-equipped and well-trained. He was not sure and dared not act rashly.

But not daring to attack Wang Yan and plot against Youliao did not mean that he would not take action. He wanted to accumulate more powerful forces to kill Wang Yan. So he actively wiped out the banditry in Jizhou internally, and attacked the Black Mountain Army in Taihang Mountain externally, and plotted against Qingzhou in the east. There was no lack of anxiety in the action, which was a sense of urgency. He did not stop even in winter.

Cao Cao still followed the original path of success. He received a great gift package from heaven. He was supported by the nobles of Yanzhou, defeated the invading Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, and even fought in the direction of Qingzhou. He joined forces with Yuan Shao and got 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Originally, Cao Cao fought by himself and got 300,000 Qingzhou soldiers and millions of civilians, which laid a solid foundation for his rise. This number is definitely exaggerated, and now he is fighting with Yuan Shao again, and he has given Yuan Shao a lot of it. The number of 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers and hundreds of thousands is also bragging. It is estimated that there are 40,000 to 50,000, including all the families, less than 200,000.

Even so, it is a force that cannot be underestimated. Counting the soldiers and civilians of Yanzhou, it can be considered a tie with Yuan Shao.

Originally, Yuan Shao had no time to care about the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou at this time. He was busy fighting Gongsun Zan. And generally speaking, it also occupied a considerable advantage, so Cao Cao came out, but it was not as strong as Yuan Shao.

Now, because of Wang Yan, Yuan Shao dared not provoke, and he had to reserve enough troops to resist. He could only develop horizontally, plotting Qingzhou, and then plotting Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Yuzhou.

But he did not develop, so Cao Cao seemed a bit annoying. There was originally a grudge between the two of them, and now it was a time to compete for the world. He and Yuan Shu were brothers, and they were also fighting each other, not to mention Cao Cao.

But overall, Yuan Shao actually had the upper hand, because Zhang Yang was on his side, and there was Liu Biao of Jingzhou further away.

Cao Cao was not stupid, he himself was very suspicious, not to mention how could he allow others to snore beside his bed? So Cao Cao secretly won over Kong Rong, who was the 20th-generation grandson of Confucius and the prime minister of Beihai at that time. On the surface, Cao Cao showed weakness, but in fact he had dirty thoughts.

As for Liu Bei, he was still under Tao Qian, but his strength was indeed growing day by day, and now he had more troops under his command. His position was to follow Tao Qian, who was old and useless. Faced with Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and even Cao Cao's solicitation, he didn't know how to choose for a while and decided to sit back and watch. These three families are stronger than one another, and Xuzhou is declining, and no one can do it.

But this is also a problem, because being weak is a sin in itself, and if you don't have a position in the current chaotic world, it will be even more annoying.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao is far away, Cao Cao is full and developing, Yuan Shu is fighting Liu Biao, and Xuzhou is in that corner, which is considered stable. Only Liu Bei is anxious and pays close attention to training. He knows very well that this peace will not last long.

Now the situation seems to be somewhat clear, and only Wang Yan, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao are expected to rule the world. But he knows that he should bend and stretch, wait for the right time, and the situation is unpredictable, and no one knows how it will develop next. But he really has nowhere to run, unless he goes to work for Wang Yan, otherwise he thinks it doesn't matter who he works for now. So all he can do is train his troops, hoping that he can have a chance when something unexpected happens.

Yes, Liu Bei, who had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and almost eliminated the military power of Xuzhou, was still waiting for an opportunity...

In Chang'an, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, plus Ma Teng stationed in Mei County, Han Sui guarding Jincheng County, and the court officials, a group of people played tricks every day. From time to time, they also had to pay attention to the situation elsewhere, issue an edict, reward favors, etc., to satisfy their addiction to power over the world.

The current imperial edict is still useful because it represents orthodoxy.

Among the separatists in the world today, even Wang Yan is still the Marquis of Liao. It was with this identity that he passed the novice period. Of course, he never cared. Even if the situation at that time was really going to fight, it was not impossible to fight, but more people would die, so he chose to spend money to avoid disaster.

In addition, Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army also defected to the Han Dynasty in the early years. He was appointed as the General of the Central Army of Pingnan, and was in charge of the administrative and public security affairs of the mountainous areas north of the Yellow River. He could recommend filial and honest people to the court every year, and send accountants to Luoyang to report. He was entrenched in Taihang Mountain. At that time, he could not be simply destroyed, so he could only be recruited.

Compared with Wang Yan, the others could be said to be Han ministers who had been fed by Han for generations, so they still gave the imperial power some respect, because that was exactly what they longed for.

However, Li Jue and others seemed to be obsessed with this feeling. They learned bad habits from Dong Zhuo, thinking that if they controlled Luoyang/Chang'an, they could control the world. Without a strong pioneering spirit, they lived in Chang'an. Moreover, they did not decide on a boss who kept his word, and everything was discussed. Today this one was unhappy, tomorrow that one was uncomfortable, and there were many things to do.

Jia Xu was very anxious. These few garlic heads would definitely not last long. He wanted to run, but he couldn't run for a while...

All these news were collected by the caravan. There are caravans sent out by themselves, and caravans from other noble families. When they chat in the inn, it is guaranteed that someone will remember clearly, and they will count them and send them to Wang Yan's desk on the same day.

At this point, many prophets are no longer effective, because the situation has already changed greatly.

For example, Lu Bu, for example, Liu Bei, will Lao Cao accept his biological father this time? After accepting, will Tao Qian still flatter him? Does he need Liu Bei to send him off to flatter him? Or will he still be killed by Zhang Kai, and then Lao Cao will attack Xuzhou. So this time there is no Lu Bu's sneak attack, how will it unfold?

This is still far away, and the closer ones are Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu, how these parties plan, etc., are all variables.

But it has little to do with Wang Yan. After all, he relies on hard power to conquer the world, not on prophecy.

Now, the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when many heroes were fighting for hegemony, was still too quiet. No matter how good the mind was, no matter how slick the strategy was, it would eventually return to fighting. Fighting for hegemony was not a dinner party, but a real battlefield.

Or, General Wang could not fight, so how could they sit idle?

Another year of spring plowing was over. It had been more than two years since the conquest of Youzhou. The land had been planted twice, harvested once, and 2,500 naval soldiers were sent out to explore the sea and find the grain seeds granted by heaven.

On the hillside, General Wang put his hands behind his back, his long gown fluttered in the wind, and his beard was even more dishonest. He looked to the south, a dozen miles away, where Yuan Shao was stationed.

"Fengxian, now half a year has passed, how do you feel?"

Wang Yan did not turn his head back, but just looked to the south.

Because of him, Yuan Shao was a little cautious, not active at all, and did not have the domineering attitude of the leader of the Eastern Alliance at all. Wang Yan decided to give Yuan Shao some strength...

Thanks to (netizen surnamed Wang) for his continued support with a reward of 666 coins.

Thanks to the good brothers who voted for the monthly ticket,

Thanks to the brothers who voted for the recommendation,

Thanks to the brothers who read the book silently.