Chapter 463: The Beginning of Civil and Commercial Rise
The time goes back to early September.
Just when Zhao Hongrun had just pacified the Jiejiao tribe but was too lazy to send a formal victory report to his father in Daliang, he wrote several letters in his own hand and sent them to the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and the Smelting Bureau.
After reading Zhao Hongrun's letters carefully and repeatedly, Li Liang, the Minister of Household Affairs, sighed: "This move by King Su will benefit the country and the people, but it will offend many people."
On the same day, Li Liang reported the matter to Chui Gong Hall.
At this time, Emperor Wei had even received the official victory report from his son Zhao Hongrun. He only knew from the occasional battle reports from Qiu Yu, the imperial censor's supplementary officer, that his son was sure to win the Battle of Sanchuan, so he no longer worried about the war in Sanchuan.
In contrast, Emperor Wei was more concerned about Zhao Hongrun's letter sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs, because it involved a quite serious issue.
"It seems that my son is already preparing to deal with those people... He is more courageous than me." Emperor Wei sighed melancholy.
Seeing this, Li Liang asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, this matter..."
Emperor Wei pondered for a moment, waved his hand and said, "Just follow the bad boy's wishes and inform all counties in the name of the Ministry of Husbandry."
"Is this good?" Li Liang asked hesitantly.
Emperor Wei smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "My bad son, although he has the talent to manage the world, is arrogant. If he obstructs his plan, I believe he will take revenge. There are not many fish in my pond anymore.
I don’t want to be ruined by him anymore, and I believe Hubu also doesn’t want to be seen as an obstacle by that scoundrel, right?”
Li Liang had a strange look on his face when he heard this, nodded and said, "I don't dare to be the enemy of King Su anymore."
"Then let's do what he wants. Besides..." As he said that, Emperor Wei showed a thoughtful look and murmured: "I also hope to use this to beat those people..."
It seems that Your Majesty still has no intention of keeping the few golden scales in the pool...
Li Liang muttered to himself, and then respectfully withdrew.
Within a few days, the notice from the Ministry of Household Affairs was sent to all counties and counties in Wei State. After receiving the notice from the imperial household department, the local officials did not dare to neglect and immediately sent people to post it on the gates of the city.
Notices are placed on the wall so that people coming and going can see them.
In Shangshui County, Yingshui County, Wei State, such notices were posted all over the city gates.
Among them, a Wei man named Wen Shaobo saw this notice and had a look of disbelief on his face.
After reading the advertisement several times, Wen Shaobo immediately came to a residential house in the west of Shangshui City and knocked on his best friend's house with his hand.
"Meson! Meson!"
With a creak, the door of the house was opened, and a gentle young man appeared on the inside of the door, looking at Uncle Wen suspiciously.
This person's name is Jie Ziyu (chi), with Jiezi as his surname. He was originally from Chu. His ancestors were once regarded as scholar-bureaucrats in Chu State, but later their family fell into decline and became a commoner. Later, after Zhao Hongrun defeated Xiong Tuo, the king of Chu Yangcheng, he became
One of the more than 400,000 Chu people who returned to Wei and lived in Shangshui County.
"Young uncle, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Seeing that his friend was out of breath, Jie Zizi asked in confusion.
Uncle Wen ran straight into the house, took a few sips of herbal tea from the teapot, and then said with joy: "Meson, let me tell you, our brother's chance to become a successful man has come."
Jie Ziyu poured a cup of herbal tea for his friend with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "How do you say this?"
Wen Shaobo lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "I am King Su of the Wei Dynasty, do you know?"
Jie Zigui nodded. As a Chu man who defected to the Wei State, how could he not know the name of King Su Ji Run? After all, it was precisely because of this King Su that he was so impoverished in the Chu State that he defected to the Wei State. , he was given a private house and more than ten acres of farmland. Although it was not enough to make him rich, it was enough to support him who was alone.
"Let me tell you, a while ago, King Su led his army to conquer Sanchuan. Guess what? King Su won."
"..."
Looking at the enthusiastic Uncle Wen, Jie Ziyu was quite speechless.
You must know that Jie Ziyu was a Chu man who defected to Wei after Xiong Tuo, the king of Chu Yangcheng, was defeated by Zhao Hongrun. Naturally, he knew the military accomplishments of King Su of Wei. In his opinion, King Su defeated Sanchuan. Barbarians, this is not something worth guessing at all.
"Well, King Su's victory over Sanchuan is indeed something to be happy about, but why did you come here in such a hurry just to talk about this?" Jie Ziyu asked doubtfully.
"Of course not." Mr. Wen waved his hand, and then lowered his voice and said, "I just saw the notice when I entered the city. It said that the imperial court is in urgent need of a batch of sheepskins and wool. If someone goes to Sanchuan to purchase it on behalf of the imperial court, the imperial court will I am willing to buy it at several times the purchase price... Here is an opportunity for us brothers to make a fortune!"
Jie Ziwei frowned when he heard this and asked: "Seriously? Why didn't the imperial court go to Sanchuan to buy it by itself? King Su has already conquered Sanchuan, hasn't he?"
"This..." Wen Shaobo was speechless for a moment and could only repeat: "I don't know what the situation is in the court. Anyway, this matter is true. If you don't believe it, let's go to the city gate and have a look."
So, he took the meson owl to the city gate, and sure enough he saw such a notice posted on the wall at the city gate.
"How?" Wen Shaobo asked Jie Zi.
Jie Ziyu stared at the notice for a long time, nodded after a while and said: "I understand!... King Su knew that it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish. He did not hesitate to support private businessmen at the expense of the household... Huh?" "At this point, he touched his chin and murmured thoughtfully: "Could it be that..."
Next to him, Uncle Wen heard his friend muttering and said anxiously: "What fish is not a fish? Meson, you are smarter than me, do you think this can be done?"
"Yes!" Jie Ziyu nodded, and then lowered his voice and said: "In my opinion, King Su is probably trying to use this matter to support private merchants. If you can ride on this breeze, you may have a fortune of tens of millions in the future. "
Uncle Wen's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he shouted in surprise: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go quickly."
"We?" Jie Ziyu was stunned when he heard this.
"Yes, didn't we agree to become brothers with different surnames and share blessings and hardships?" Mr. Wen said matter-of-factly.
"But the crops in my field still need to be harvested in the autumn..."
"What do you want him to do with your poor land?...Okay, I'll buy it. Can I buy your poor land? The money will be used as the principal, and the profits earned after each return will be treated as brothers. Half." As he said that, he saw that Jie Zizi was still hesitating, so he put his arms around his shoulders and said, "You saved my life. If you hadn't carried me down the mountain with my broken leg, I wouldn't have died of starvation in the mountain. I have been eaten by jackals in the mountains a long time ago. If you don't accept it, how about I give you my life back?"
Seeing what Uncle Wen had said, Jie Ziyu could no longer refuse and could only nod in agreement.
"This is my good brother!"
Uncle Wen laughed happily, causing others to turn around and watch.
Seeing this, he said angrily: "What are you looking at? I haven't seen people from Wei and people from Chu sworn brothers?"
Upon hearing that Shaobo Wen was from Wei, the nearby Chu people who had defected to the Wei State had even weirder expressions. After all, in Shangshui County today, it is rare to see Wei people, let alone the Wei people who were sworn brothers with their Chu people.
people.
These Chu people would never have imagined that Wen Shaobo was a descendant of the Wen family in Anling. He could be regarded as a middle-class noble in the Wei State, and his family was quite wealthy.
"What should we transport to Sanchuan to sell?"
After returning to Jie Ziu's residence, Wen Shaobo couldn't wait to discuss with his friends the matter of going to Sanchuan for business.
After thinking about it, Jie Ziu said: "The best product is naturally salt, but salt is controlled by the government..."
"Where's the rice?" Wen Shaobo suggested, "How about we buy some rice and sell it to Sanchuan?"
Jie Zigui shook his head and said: "Prince Su attacked Sanchuan a while ago, and the army consumed countless amounts of food. The imperial court urgently transferred grain from various places to Chenggao Pass, which caused the price of rice in various places to rise a little... What's more, according to what I heard, there are foreign tribes in Sanchuan.
If you like meat, rice... I'm afraid it's not appropriate."
"Then...how about the cotton wool?"
"..." Jie Ziyu glanced at Uncle Wen and reminded: "Sanchuan is rich in sheep, and sheepskin and wool can keep out the cold. They don't need cotton wool."
"Then...then I have no choice." Wen Shaobo said frustratedly.
Jie Ziyu shook his head and said helplessly: "Tea cakes and wine, these two goods are definitely needed by the Sanchuan tribe. In addition, if there is a way to purchase pearls, lacquerware, and bronzeware from our Chu country, you might as well bring them with you."
Some...that is, the principal will be much higher."
"What are you afraid of? Wait until I come back."
After saying that, Mr. Wen hurried out of the house.
When he visited Jie Zizi again the next day, the latter was shocked to see that Mr. Wen was driving a carriage loaded with goods. The carriage was all the goods that Jie Ziu had picked up from Wen Shaobo yesterday.
"Let's go to Sanchuan."
Mr. Wen, who was driving the carriage, patted the seat next to him and greeted him.
Jie Ziyu was stunned for a moment, then in the helpless look of Wen Shaobo rolling his eyes, he turned back and locked the door, and then sat next to Wen Shaobo.
"With your shabby house and the shabby belongings inside, are you still worried about someone stealing it?"
As he slowly drove the carriage out of the city, Mr. Wen said angrily: "I've been here so many times, but I haven't seen anything valuable in the house."
Jie Ziwei smiled faintly and took out a book from his arms.
Seeing this, Uncle Wen nodded suddenly and said sadly: "Yes, yes, that broken wooden box in the corner contains your precious book collection...or in other words, your lifeblood."
Listening to his friend's teasing, Jie Ziu didn't mind, and started reading the scroll while shaking his head.
Seeing this, Wen Shaobo asked curiously: "Meson, are you still planning to take the official career test?... Although the court has clearly announced that people from Chu who defected to the Wei Dynasty can also take the official career test, but let me tell you, it is really difficult.
Difficult. For example, you must first pass the county examination in Shangshui County, and then pass the county examination in Yingshui County. Only then can you be eligible to go to Daliang to take the joint examination. Anyway, I didn't even pass the township examination last year."
"You are not interested in studying." Jie Ziyu said with a smile.
"So I decided to become a businessman, and my old man has been convinced by me... How about, we brothers join forces and become millionaires together."
"This...I still hope to regain the honor of my ancestors..."
"Yes, that's good. I know your ancestors were scholar-bureaucrats from Chu State..."
Talking and laughing, this pair of brothers from Wei and Chu with different surnames drove a carriage filled with goods and embarked on the long road to Sanchuan.