AD 225, July 28th.
Morning.
Chengdu Imperial Palace.
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Wen bowed to Liu Chan and said with a smile: "The foreign minister is here and wants to buy five hundred stones of refined salt from your Majesty. I wonder if your Majesty can agree."
Liu Chan smiled when he heard this and said: "What did Mr. Huishu say? You are a distinguished guest of my Han Dynasty, and Soochow is an ally of my Han Dynasty. Not to mention five hundred stones, even if you want five thousand stones, I will sell it to you."
To sir."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After Zhang Wen thanked him, he seemed troubled. Liu Chan smiled and asked, "Mr. Huishu, is he not just buying refined salt during this trip?"
As soon as Liu Chan finished speaking, Chen Zhen and other Han court officials were all shocked and asked, Your Majesty, are you crazy?
Zhang Wen was too embarrassed to speak, why did you give him a chance to speak?
The fact was just as Chen Zhen and the others thought. Liu Chan's words made Zhang Wen very happy, so he bowed to Liu Chan and said: "Your Majesty, to be honest, the foreign minister has an unkind invitation during this trip. I don't know if I should say it appropriately."
Speak."
Liu Chan didn't care and said with a smile: "Mr. Huishu, please say it clearly if you have anything to say."
Zhang Wen wanted to know how to make refined salt, and even if Liu Chan didn't give him a chance to ask, he would find a way to do it.
Instead of going back and forth like this, it's better to give him a chance to say what's in his heart.
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Wen said: "We, Soochow Wu, and the Han Dynasty are good-neighborly and friendly allies. The foreign minister is here on the order of the King of Wu and wants to buy the method of making refined salt from your Majesty. I don't know that your Majesty..."
"Of course!" Liu Chan agreed immediately before Zhang Wen finished speaking.
This shocked Chen Zhen and others.
"Your Majesty!"
However, as soon as Chen Zhen spoke, Liu Chan coughed and stopped him.
Zhang Wen asked: "I wonder how much it will cost to purchase your majesty's method of making refined salt?"
Hahaha——
This is what Liu Chan was waiting for.
"Mr. Huishu!" Liu Chan asked back: "Mr. Huishu, how much do you think my method of making refined salt should be worth?"
Zhang Wen was suddenly stunned.
This refined salt production method is currently the only one in the world. Can its value be measured in money?
"The foreign minister doesn't know!" Zhang Wen said politely: "Your Majesty, please tell me."
"Well," Liu Chan said with a smile, "How about we barter, sir, what do you think?"
Zhang Wen was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Liu Chan's ability to propose such a plan proves that he really intends to sell the method of making refined salt. The Shu Kingdom is sparsely populated, and Zhuge Liang wants to revive the Han Dynasty and return to the old capital.
Liu Chan must want food.
Zhang Wen secretly guessed that if thousands of stones of grain were exchanged for a method of making refined salt, King Wu would be very happy.
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Wen said: "I wonder what your Majesty wants to exchange?"
"How about Jingzhou?" Liu Chan said: "If Soochow is willing to return Jingzhou to the Han Dynasty, I will give the method of making refined salt to Soochow."
Liu Chan's words once again shocked the civil and military power of the entire court, as well as Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen originally thought that if Liu Chan wanted food, he could just give him a few thousand shi of food. After all, the method of making refined salt is more valuable.
However, when Liu Chan opened his mouth, it was Jingzhou.
"Your Majesty is joking!" Zhang Wen said with a smile after calming down.
"No!" Liu Chan waved and said, "I am not joking, I am serious. If Soochow is willing to return Jingzhou in exchange, I must personally hand over the method of making refined salt to Mr. Huishu.
”
"This——"
Zhang Wen suddenly felt cold sweat break out on his forehead, Liu Chan spoke calmly, and it really didn't sound like he was joking.
It is absolutely impossible to use Jingzhou as a condition of exchange. Not to mention that he, as a minister, does not have this right, I am afraid that Sun Quan, the king of Wu, will not agree.
At this time, Chen Zhen and others relaxed their nervousness. They did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would say such words.
Exchange with Jingzhou.
This is equivalent to directly rejecting Soochow, but the rejection is more tactful, unless Soochow is really stupid enough to agree to this exchange condition.
At this time, Liu Chan's image was once again elevated in the minds of the ministers.
Of course Liu Chan was very proud.
He doesn't know how to make refined salt, and he also wants to use it to exchange for more strategic materials.
If you keep the production method in your own hands, its value will be infinitely magnified.
Of course, Dahan and Soochow now belong to an alliance, and Liu Chan will not refuse directly. Direct refusal will easily damage the relationship between the two families.
It's better to put forward a condition that Soochow can't agree to. The method of making refined salt is still in your own hands, and it won't offend Soochow so directly.
Of course, if Soochow is really willing to trade Jingzhou, Liu Chan thinks it can be done. After all, the Han Dynasty's current territory is too small. If Jingzhou can be regained, it may be able to break the situation quickly.
The Shu Han in history has been struggling for decades. Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei went out to Qishan six times and made nine expeditions to the Central Plains, but they did not want to break the current pattern.
If Guan Yu had not lost Jingzhou, the Shu Han might still have something to play for.
Then there is the former lord Liu Bei. Why did he devote all his troops to conquer Soochow?
Is it really just to avenge Guan Zhang?
Maybe not.
Liu Bei was able to finally form a confrontation with Cao Cao and Sun Quan in the general environment of vying for power in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Could it be that he could not see the general trend of the world clearly?
I'm afraid avenging personal revenge is false, but retaking Jingzhou to break the situation is true.
Once the Shu Han has Yizhou and Jingzhou, although its strength is still not comparable to that of Cao Wei, it will be more likely to conquer the world than if it is trapped in Yizhou.
This is the reason why Liu Chan directly opened his mouth and used Jingzhou as a condition of exchange. He is now a time traveler, and he does not want to become Liu Adou who cannot be supported in history.
He needs to break the situation——
Of course, Soochow did not accept the exchange terms proposed by Liu Chan. After Zhang Wen stayed in Chengdu for a few days, he exchanged the grain, silk and other items he brought with him for two carts of refined salt and drove back to Wuchang City.
However, Liu Chan proposed using the nine counties of Jingzhou in exchange for his method of making refined salt.
Sun Quan was naturally very angry, but now that Soochow was at war with Cao Pi, he could not spare any effort to deal with the Shu Han. However, he also increased the defensive garrison on the border between Wu and Shu to enhance border security.
Liu Chan wants Jingzhou, which means that the little emperor of Shu Han has set his sights on Jingzhou in Soochow.
But Cao Pi, who was on the front line in Guangling, was very happy.
"Hahaha, Liu Adou is very talkative. His method of making refined salt makes him want to replace it with Jingzhou."
Cao Pi laughed loudly and said: "It's a pity that Liu Bei was also a great hero of his generation. The late emperor once called him a hero of the world, but he had such a stupid son."
"Hahaha!"
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true!"
There was a burst of laughter in the big tent. Now the world is divided into three parts. Although Sun Quan is in charge of Soochow, Cao Pi personally conquered this time, and all the armies won one after another.
Now that we have heard that the Emperor of Shu Han acted so childishly, it seems that it is only a matter of time before the Wei Dynasty unifies the world.
……
……
***The author has something to say***
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