When Cao Li arrived in the capital, he did not go directly to the palace to meet the saint. Under the protection of Lu Biao, they found an inconspicuous inn to stay. Cao Li was not familiar with the capital, or even very unfamiliar. This was his first visit to the capital in more than ten years as an official. In the evening, two figures came out of the inn and headed towards Fang Mansion and Liu Mansion respectively.
In fact, the Fang Mansion and the Liu Mansion are not too far apart. They both live in the north of the city. It can be said that all dignitaries live in this area. Each courtyard covers an extremely large area, and the inner mansions all have garden attics.
In the Fang Mansion, after dinner, Fang Shutong came to his garden. Different from the gardens of other aristocratic families, the garden of the Fang family was more like a martial arts training ground. There were swords, guns, swords, halberds, axes, axes, hooks and forks placed in the courtyard. Stone locks and stone hammers are closely related to the origin of the Fang family. The Fang family was born in martial arts, and all the men in the Fang family have to practice martial arts. Fang Shutong, who was in his fifties, walked to the weapon rack and raised one foot. A Guan Gong knife that was originally leaning on the weapon rack rose up in response. Fang Shutong reached out and grabbed the knife firmly in his hand, spinning it in the air. After drawing a knife, he stabbed the long knife on the ground suddenly, and the stone bricks originally laid on the ground cracked, which shows the great strength of the old minister.
"Okay, my father is still as powerful as before," a middle-aged man not far away said.
Fang Shutong didn't answer at all. He lightly kicked the handle of the knife that touched the ground with his toes. He held the long knife in his hand again, and then danced in the courtyard. The long knife slashed up and down, diagonally left and right, a half-man thick knife. Half of the wooden stake was chopped off by Fang Shu with the same knife. If he hadn't been old, I wouldn't have known how ferocious this old man was.
The servant informed by the porter handed the brocade box and letter to Fang Jin, who was standing aside. Fang Jin was Fang Shutong's eldest son, Fang Qingxue's father, and was currently serving in the Ministry of War.
"Who sent it?" Fang Jin asked the servant.
"The person who came here didn't say anything. He said he would know as soon as he saw it." The servant replied.
"You bastard, are you allowed to accept letters from anyone without even asking clearly who is sending the letter?" Fang Jin scolded with an angry look on his face.
The servant immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying that he knew he was wrong and he would not dare to do it again next time.
After finishing the sword dance, Fang Shutong gathered his body and collected his energy. When he saw Fang Jin scolding his servants, he immediately asked, "What's the matter?"
Fang Jin took two steps forward and said, "Father, someone just sent a letter and a brocade box." As he spoke, Fang Jin brought the brocade box and letter to Fang Shutong with one hand, and reached out to help the sick man with his other hand. Long knife.
Fang Shutong picked up the letter and looked at the brocade box again. Without too much hesitation, he reached out and opened the brocade box. Inside was a delicate white cloth bag with two thick black characters "Fine Salt" written on it.
Fang Shutong frowned, "Huh?"
Fang Jin lowered his head and saw what was in the box: "Father, is this?"
Fang Shutong did not answer, but opened the letter, browsed it quickly, and then ordered his servants:
"Is the person who sent the letter still there?"
"Master Hui is waiting outside the house."
"Tell him to come to the house to see me at this time tomorrow," Fang Shutong said calmly.
The servant responded and left.
Fang Shutong handed the letter to Fang Jin, then took the long knife and put it back on the weapon rack: "Go back to the study and talk."
In the study room of the Minister of War, in addition to the copywriting books used by Fang Shu and colleagues, there is also a pair of exquisite fine lin armor hanging.
In the study, Fang Jin was the first to speak: "Father, this letter says that they have a method of training salt with sea water. Could this matter be related to King Yan?"
"My father doesn't know. What he said in the letter is that he wants to talk to him face to face. If the other party has this method of combining sea water with salt, our family must get it."
"Then why didn't father just send someone to follow the messenger and capture him by following the clues?" Fang Jin wondered.
"Since the other party is interested in talking to you, why bother? If you can't get the person, it will be self-defeating."
"The kid didn't think well enough."
"If this matter is really related to King Yan, what do you think?" Fang Shutong asked
"If this is really a letter sent by King Yan, I guess that King Yan probably wants to get the protection of the Fang family."
"When Ding Hu was still alive, the emperor trusted him and the royal army was in Ding Hu's hands. That's why my father asked Qingxue to enter into a marriage contract with the third prince. With the support of the Ding family and the Fang family, this would be possible. The third prince had a high chance of winning the throne, but unexpectedly, Ding Hu was tricked by the old dog of the Zhang family and was killed by the Huns. Without Ding Hu's support, it would be almost impossible for the third prince to fight for the throne. Yes, that’s why as a father, he doesn’t hesitate to offend the emperor and dissolve Qingxue’s marriage, because he doesn’t want the Fang family to set up an opposition prematurely.”
"According to my child, although the Fang family has terminated the engagement, this matter is not a bad thing for King Yan. Without the support of the Ding family and the Fang family, the third prince will lose the chance to fight for the throne. In this way, the third prince will be safer. ." Fang Jin said.
"You are right. Although the emperor did not agree with the matter at the time, Concubine Ding did not object. On the contrary, she agreed to the matter. Otherwise, based on the behavior of the Zhang family and the Xue family, I am afraid that the three princes would not be able to deal with their orphans and widowed mothers. He will die accidentally before reaching adulthood.”
"Then what is father's plan next? Should we cooperate with King Yan?" Fang Jin asked.
"The overall strength of our Fang family is not as good as that of the Xue family and Zhang family. Every year, these two families earn a lot of profits from selling salt in our Shandong Province. If there is such a method for refining fine salt, my father will naturally not let it go, but Qingxue He still needs to think about becoming a father, after all, with his current strength, he is not qualified to marry Qingxue."
"But what if the other party wants to use the method of connecting salt in exchange?"
When Fang Shutong heard this, he didn't feel like he was deep in thought. After a while, he said leisurely: "Jin'er, you must always keep in mind that in front of individuals and families, everything must put the interests of the family first."
Fang Jin looked at his father deeply and said, "I understand, kid."
In the inn, two messengers brought back an invitation from the Fang and Liu families. Everything seemed to be expected. In the face of interests, no one would refuse.
In the afternoon of the next day, Cao Li, accompanied by his guards, arrived at the residence of Liu Wenda, Minister of Industry. The Minister of Industry was actually the department with the least say among the six ministries of the imperial court. Being caught between the Fang and Xue families, the Liu family had already suffered too many grievances. Liu Wenda originally thought that the other party would make very high demands, but what he didn't expect was that Prince Yan's Mansion did not make any excessive demands. He just hoped that in the future, in the court, if someone challenged Prince Yan, the Liu family could take the place of Prince Yan. After talking, King Yan promised to obtain 30% to 40% of the profits for the Liu family in front of the emperor. Liu Wenda naturally agreed happily, let alone 30% to 40%, as long as the Xue family could be completely driven out of the Liu family's territory, the Liu family would also happily agree. The Liu family was like a vampire. Every year, through the salt and iron business, from Jiangnan Earning a lot of money, although there will be goods flowing from the Liu family's territory to other families' spheres of influence, their competitiveness is not very great. Over time, the Liu family's strength becomes weaker and weaker.
In the evening, Cao Li came to the back door of Fang's house and entered Fang's house under the leadership of the guard.
"Cao Li, the governor of Yancheng, has met Mr. Fang." Cao Li bowed deeply to Fang Shutong.
"Oh! It turns out to be Mr. Cao, the governor of Yancheng. I really didn't expect it," Fang Shutong said in surprise.
"Master Fang, are you here to represent King Yan or yourself?"
"Although the official serves as the prefect of Yancheng, he is indeed an official of the Prince of Yan's Palace, so he naturally represents His Highness the Prince of Yan." Cao Li said unhurriedly.
"Hahaha, Master Cao, please sit down," Fang Shutong said with a smile.
Cao Li bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Shangshu."
"Is it okay for His Highness Prince Yan to come in?" Fang Shutong asked with concern.
"His Royal Highness, Prince Yan, everything is fine, but it will be hard to say in a few days."
"Oh? How do you say this?"
"Now that the weather is getting warmer, last year the Jie tribe did not come to plunder because of frictions with the Huns at the border. Presumably more people will enter Hebei Province this year and plunder wantonly. By then, I am afraid that His Highness King Yan's life will not be the same. It’s so wonderful.”
"I know this. I have already informed the emperor to strengthen the defense of Xiguan. The imperial court will also send troops to reinforce Xiguan. As for some small groups of infiltrated troops, there is nothing to be afraid of." Fang Shutong said with a smile.
"We are very lucky to have Lord Fang at the Ministry of War. Oh, by the way, King Yan previously obtained a thousand-year-old mountain ginseng that has the effect of prolonging life. This time King Yan specially ordered his subordinates to bring it to you as a gift."
"Prince Yan is really too polite." Fang Shutong glanced at the ginseng placed on the table and said.
After chatting for a while, Cao Li saw that the time was almost up and said: "
Master Fang must have known for a long time that my family, King Yan, has developed this method of making salt from sea water, and the fine salt produced is much purer than the salt of the Xue family and Zhang family, and it is also popular in the capital market. But this is something that others don't want to see. Some families have controlled the salt mines for many years and made a lot of wealth across the country, including Shandong Province. Every year, no one knows how much money flows into their pockets. As long as Mr. Fang can say a few more good words for my prince in the court in the future, my prince is willing to come up with the production method and cooperate with the court and the Fang and Liu families to jointly refine fine salt and fight against the Zhang family and the Xue family. I don’t know, sir. how about? "
Fang Shutong glanced at Cao Li, who was sitting at the bottom, and said with a smile: "Fight together? Your Highness, King Yan, doesn't think that you can fight against the Xue family and the Zhang family just by relying on fine salt, right?"
After hearing this, Cao Li didn't take it seriously and said: "Since we can't talk about joint confrontation, let me put it another way. I, Prince Yan, are willing to help the Fang and Liu families fight against the other two families. Do you think this is acceptable?"
Fang Shutong frowned, his face showing displeasure.
Cao Li went on to say: "Actually, you know in your heart that this matter is not of great benefit to our Prince Yan's Mansion. In the end, it is the court, the Fang family and the Liu family that will benefit. The fine salt refined by Prince Yan's Mansion can not only Other aristocratic families can drive out the Fang and Liu family's territory, and at the same time, they can seize their market share in other areas, and even sell fine salt to the Xue family's territory. But I, the Yan Palace, just want a commitment from the Fang family."
"The court may not agree to this, right?"
"As long as the Fang and Liu families agree, King Yan will naturally have a way to get the emperor to agree. If the Fang and Liu families don't agree, my prince will definitely not hand over the method of refining fine salt."
Fang Shutong looked at the Yancheng prefect in front of him quietly. After thinking for a moment, he laughed loudly and said: "Okay, indeed, a hero comes from a young age. The King of Yan is righteous. I have agreed to this matter. The superior of the court." Officials will protect King Yan."
In fact, Fang Shutong had already made up his mind before Cao Li came. No matter what conditions the other party proposed, he would agree. But what he didn't expect was that the conditions proposed by King Yan were so simple. This made him always have doubts and worries about this. There was some conspiracy inside, but after careful consideration, he never found anything suspicious, so he readily agreed.
The next day, Emperor Zhao Wuji summoned Cao Li at Concubine Ding's Qingxin Palace. At noon, the eunuch Liu Zhi sent Cao Li off from the side door of the palace and returned to the inn. Cao Li and others did not stay for a moment, packed their bags and left immediately Arrive at the capital and head towards Yancheng.
A month later, the Xue family, Zhang family, and Dai family received news that, in addition to Hebei Road, Heng Wang and Xu Ling went south along the coast and assisted the Fang and Liu families in building a large number of salt fields along the coast to dry salt. Two months later, a large amount of fine salt flowed from the coast to the inland, quickly occupying the market with its low price, and the salt shops of the Xue family, Zhang family, and Dai family were almost empty.
"Bastard, bastard" the angry Xue Qing roared, broken tea cups were scattered on the ground, and a maid covered in blood was lying on the ground, "Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust, cough cough cough" Xue Qing He gritted his teeth.
"Send a message to the Jie people and tell them they can take action."
