Speaking of Nanzhong and Huawan, Feng Yong suddenly remembered something.
Immediately he called Wei Rong over:
"A new school is going to be built at Nan Middle School. Students who graduate next year will have their internship at Nan Middle School. When they come back, they will have priority to pass the Liangzhou exam."
Wei Rong was slightly startled after hearing this:
"But I don't know who the disciple is going to contact about this matter?"
"Flower lady, you know, right?"
As soon as these words came out, before Wei Rong could speak, Li Yi on the side showed a meaningful expression.
"Wenxuan, I'm afraid this matter will also trouble you. You have roots in Nanzhong, so I ask you to write a letter to Nanzhong to ask the big families there to cooperate."
The Li family and the Cuan family in Nanzhong were both wealthy families and related by marriage.
Cuan Xi, the current governor of Xinggu County, is Li Hui's uncle.
With their cooperation, this matter would be much easier.
"Save it, little brother."
In February of the 11th year of Jianxing, the Han Dynasty’s Shangshutai submitted a decree to the Prime Minister’s Office:
In view of the increasingly frequent exchanges of materials between the Han Dynasty and the State of Wu, it is recommended to establish an easy market in Yong'an to specifically manage the mutual trade with the State of Wu.
The Prime Minister's Office quickly replied with one word: accurate.
After spring begins, the main task of the government is spring plowing.
After spring plowing, it is time to prepare for harvesting wool.
The so-called plan for a year lies in spring.
Whether it’s farming or working in a workshop, the most important time of the year is spring.
Compared with these two tasks, the establishment of Yongan Yishi appears to be relatively low-key.
But this is also a matter of course.
After all, it is impossible for the Han Dynasty to spread the word all over the world that Yong'an Yishi is to destroy Jingzhou's grain output.
Moreover, the main targets of Yongan Yishi are bulk materials and huge profit materials.
None of this has much to do with ordinary people.
Even for grain prices, which are most closely related to ordinary people, the imperial court has always had a protective price over the years.
You don't have to worry about the food prices being manipulated by aristocratic families, selling low and buying high, like in previous years.
Coupled with the Quyuan plow and the oxen lent by the government, as long as the small landowners and farmers are content with what they have, their lives will be relatively comfortable.
Compared with Yong'an Yi City, which was calm in the Han Dynasty, it attracted some people's attention in Wu State.
The Zhang family, one of the four surnames in Wu County, sent Zhang Wen's younger brother Zhang Bai to Jingzhou.
It’s not okay if I don’t come.
Because there are rumors that the price of jaggery may increase again this year.
The Zhang family is now the largest brown sugar agent in Soochow.
Of course, this is a rather euphemistic way of saying it.
To put it less euphemistically, it is the comprador family of Wu State.
This cannot be blamed on the Zhang family.
In addition to the fact that Shu gave too much money, another more important reason is:
Who told Sun Quan to be so cruel to the Zhang family during the Jian Yan incident?
I also want to be loyal, but Emperor Sun won’t allow it!
People from the Zhang family cannot become officials in the state of Wu.
So I had to sell some brown sugar and become a rich man or something.
As soon as Zhang Bai arrived in Jingzhou, someone came to his door.
"Zhang Langjun, are the prices really going up?"
These days, those who are qualified to grow sugar cane in Jingzhou and get the share of brown sugar are either the military generals stationed in Jingzhou or the big families in Jingzhou.
Less powerful families are not qualified.
The most typical representatives are naturally the Zhuge family, the Kuai family, and the Cai family.
Zhuge Jin is now a general, a protector of the left, the pastor of Yuzhou, and a Marquis of Wanling. He is one of the top dignitaries in the Wu Kingdom.
The Kuai family and the Cai family are the most typical representatives of Jingzhou aristocratic families.
Cao Cao went to the south of the Yangtze River and conquered Jingzhou. Representatives of the Kuai family, Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang, and Cai Mao of the Cai family, and others defected to the Cao family.
Who knows that the battle in Chibi will change.
Liu Bei took over the four southern counties of Jingzhou and borrowed the southern county from Wu.
Representatives of the Kuai and Cai families followed Cao Cao to the north to serve as officials.
Both families are prominent families in Nanjun, so most of the clan members still stay in Nanjun.
However, because of Zhuge Liang's relationship, the Kuai family in Nanjun was not attacked for defecting to Cao Cao.
Then the Wu State attacked Jingzhou secretly, and because of Zhuge Jin's relationship, the Kuai family in Jingzhou was still prosperous.
This is why families like to split their bets.
No matter which company wins in this world, it will not lose.
The person who came to ask Zhang Bai was Zhuge Jin's in-law family, the Kuai family.
"That's why I came here this time."
As the largest brown sugar agent in Wu State, the Zhang family was naturally the first to know about the increase in the price of jaggery.
When Kuai's visitor heard this, he immediately became happy.
The price of jaggery has increased. If you sell jaggery, you can still get a share of brown sugar.
Every time you go out and come in, there are bonuses, which is really great.
"This Shu people are willing to spend money. The price of jaggery has been rising in the past two years."
"We won Liangzhou, that's understandable." Zhang Bai looked indifferent, as if he already knew the reason, "After all, Liangzhou leads directly to the Western Regions."
Who doesn’t know that traveling from Liangzhou to the Western Regions is a golden road?
Otherwise, why would the two dynasties of the Early Han Dynasty and the Later Han Dynasty try their best to control the Western Regions even though they were separated by large expanses of quicksand?
If something like brown sugar could really be sold to the Western Regions, I don’t know how many people would go crazy.
When the visitor from the Kuai family thought of this, he couldn't help but become a little jealous.
Zhang Bai just glanced at the other person and already understood what the other person was thinking.
He had seen this look too many times over the years.
Brown sugar and woolen cloth, two bulk commodities, are really too profitable.
Zhang Bai even knew that the Wei people in the north wanted to buy these two things from Jingzhou at a high price last year.
After all, although Xiangyang and Nanjun belong to Wei and Wu respectively, the Kuai family and the Cai family who serve in the two countries broke off their relationship without saying anything.
I saw him continue:
"Kuai Jun, I came here this time to ask everyone if they want to expand sugarcane planting. After all, the opportunity is rare!"
"A rare opportunity?" Kuai's visitor was a little confused for a moment and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Zhang Bai said "tsk":
"Kuai Jun, the Shu people are not fools. I heard that they have built many plantations in Nanzhong. I can't tell what the price of jaggery will be in the future."
The Shu people captured Liangzhou and took control of the road to the Western Regions. The demand for brown sugar suddenly increased, so the price of coarse sugar also increased. This is easy to understand.
But it is no secret that the Shu people have been opening plantations in Nanzhong.
It's just because the Shu people have been fighting against the Wei people for many years, and they don't have enough money and food. In addition, they have the source of raw sugar from the Wu State.
Therefore, the sugar cane plantation in Nanzhong is not very urgent for the Shu people.
But things are different now.
After the Shu people took control of Liangzhou, the demand for brown sugar increased greatly, so the price of coarse sugar increased accordingly.
But who knew that the Shu people would also increase their development of Nanzhong in the future?
You can't just go and tell the Shu people that you don't want to plant sugar cane and just let us plant it, right?
Sugar cane is a good thing.
With it, there is one more way to appease the barbarians.
More importantly, brown sugar is in the hands of the Shu people.
After Zhang Bai's reminder, Kuai's visitor finally came to his senses.
I saw Zhang Bai saying with some worry:
"In the past, the two countries of Shu and Wei used troops every year, so they could not concentrate on colonizing Nanzhong."
"Only last year, for a whole year, there was no movement between the two countries. If Shu really wants to be stable for two years, then Nanzhong..."
Starting from the Battle of Longyou between Shu and Wei, the Shu people successively attacked Longxi, Jincheng, Anding, Liangzhou...
The battles, big and small, never stopped.
I heard that the Wei thieves deployed hundreds of thousands of elite troops in Guanzhong.
If the Shu Kingdom really wants to fight again, it will be considered a war that will overwhelm the country. Without several years of preparation, I am afraid it will not be fought.
If Shu has no plans to use troops in the next few years, it will definitely speed up the development of Nanzhong.
After the Battle of Yiling, didn't Zhuge Liang just stay in seclusion and colonize for a few years?
So Zhang Bai's worries are not unreasonable.
After thinking about this, Kuai's visitor's face became a little ugly.
People in this era definitely don’t understand market share.
But I still have a certain vague understanding of this concept.
He looked at Zhang Bai and lowered his voice:
"What Zhang Langjun means..."
Zhang Bai doesn't show off either:
"Kuai Jun, now the price of jaggery has increased, and the sugar cane in Nanzhong of the Shu people is not as good as that of our Da Wu. If we don't plant more sugar cane now, when will we wait?"
"According to the information I got, the Shu people want to completely pacify Liangzhou and Nanzhong in the past few years. I'm afraid they will plant sugar cane in Nanzhong."
"Actually, coarse sugar is still a small matter. I'm afraid that the share of brown sugar will be suppressed by the Shu people. That will be a big deal."
After hearing these words, Kuai's visitor was immediately shocked:
"Is this true?"
Zhang Bai looked at the other party thoughtfully and said nothing.
The visitor from the Kuai family immediately remembered that Zhang Wen, the brother of Zhang Langjun, had contact with Feng Yong of the Shu Kingdom. I heard that the relationship was not bad!
By saying these words at this time, maybe he got some news?
Thinking of this, Kuai's visitor repeatedly said:
"That's right! The share of brown sugar is the most important thing!"
According to the agreed rules, as much crude sugar as the Wu State gave to the Shu people, the Shu people had to return as much brown sugar as a certain proportion.
But if the Shu people have enough jaggery in the future, why will they return such a high proportion of brown sugar like now?
"So... now is probably the best time for us to grow sugarcane. While the price and rebate share remain high, we need to grow more. We may not have such a good opportunity in the future."
Zhang Bai did not hide his purpose and said frankly, "This is also one of the most important reasons why I came to Jingzhou. I hope I can discuss a way with everyone to maintain this way of making money."
"Zhang Langjun is really thoughtful!"
The visitor sighed, then cupped his hands and said, "I will go back to the clan and explain the situation clearly. Zhang Langjun will just wait for my news."
As one of the largest aristocratic families in Jingzhou, and being related by marriage to Zhuge Jin who guarded Jingzhou, the Kuai family was also responsible for supplying grain and grass to the Wu army.
"Everyone knows that brown sugar makes money, but the amount of food and grass supplied to the army every year is also fixed. The food supply for the army in Jingzhou has been in short supply over the years."
"If we plant too much sugar cane this year and cannot produce food later, the general will blame us. Who can bear the blame?"
Money and food are good things that everyone wants.
But no matter how powerful the family is, they must follow the rules.
If you want to enjoy the privileges, you have to pay a certain amount.
No matter which side, Wei, Shu or Wu, takes control of Jingzhou, if the aristocratic families want to gain a foothold under the new forces, they must show sincerity.
The degree of sincerity represents the degree of optimism towards the power.
What is the most sincerity?
Of course it’s money and food.
"Yes, food is a problem. The general asked the generals to open more fields in order to solve the problem of food supply for the Jingzhou army."
"If you plant too much sugar cane and there is insufficient food, you will not be able to pass the level of general, not to mention general."
After a moment of silence, someone said:
"What about buying grain? What if we buy grain from other places to make up for the shortfall?"
Someone retorted on the spot: "Where in the world is there no shortage of food? Who will sell it?"
There was another moment of silence.
After a long time, the person who made the suggestion muttered in a low voice:
"I can't say for sure. I heard that the price of food in Shu has been low in recent years. I just don't know if they are willing to sell it..."
"I remember it was only two hundred dollars last year?"
"It has fallen back a long time ago. The man who transported jaggery came back from Shu and said that the price of food there has returned to 120 yuan."
February and March are the time when the young crops are growing in ordinary people's homes and the old grain is used up.
If it was only 120 yuan in January, then the maximum price now is 150 yuan, which is basically the highest price in a year.
Between the two countries of Shu and Wu, there were constant exchanges between government envoys and private business travelers. The Nanxiang Exchange was the reference standard for bulk material prices in Shu.
If you want to know the prices of goods in Shu, just go to the exchange and you will know. It is very convenient and you don’t have to bother asking at all.
In the past, only very few well-informed people knew about this business intelligence. A lot of money could be made by just making an information gap.
But now this method no longer works in Shu.
This is one of the main reasons why large caravans send important stewards to Nanxiang.
Because the exchange not only provides a trading platform, but also helps the caravan collect material prices from various places.
"In other words, after the harvest of grain in Shu this year, the price of grain will drop to 100 yuan?"
"If it is true as the Zhang family said, the Shu people do not plan to use troops in the next few years, I am afraid it will be even lower than this price..."
Compared with the hungry and well-fed people of Jingzhou, the price of food in Shu is really low enough.
It's just that in this era, food, like iron, is the most important strategic material. The price of food for the Shu people is low, but what does it have to do with the Wu people?
Under the rule of Zhuge Liang, the Shu Kingdom had strict laws and regulations. Without the permission of the government, who would dare to sell grain privately to the enemy?
Even if it costs money rather than life, there is no way to sell it.
After all, given the geographical environment of Shu, if you want to transport large quantities of grain, can you hide it from the government?
"Wu and Shu are allies. We have agreed to help each other and fight against thieves together. Besides, the general and Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, are brothers..."
"That's right. If the general comes forward, there is no chance."
"I remember that Pan Chengming is Jiang Gongyan's cousin. Jiang Wan is now the chief minister of the Prime Minister's Office of Shu. He is in charge of everything in Jincheng. Why not ask him for help?"
The so-called Pan Chengming is Pan Jun.
The year before last, he was awarded Fu Jie by Sun Quan, and together with Lu Dai, he put down the rebellion of Wuxi Man.
Now he has been promoted to Taichang and is appeasing the barbarians in Changsha.
"This is a great thing to say!"
If the general and Pan Taichang can really be persuaded to come forward to persuade the Prime Minister of Shu and Prime Minister Chang Shi, the possibility of negotiating this matter is not low.
Zhang Bai, who came to participate in the discussion, quickly expressed his position:
"I will also talk to my brother when I go back and ask him to write to Feng Mingwen and urge him to facilitate this matter."
When everyone heard this, they were immediately overjoyed:
"If this is really the case, then there is a chance that this matter can be accomplished at least seventy-eight percent!"
Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, plus Feng Mingwen, which one is not the person with real power in Shu?
Not to mention the coarse sugar issue, which has a lot to do with Feng Mingwen. Others may not want to, but why would Feng Mingwen not want to?
This person is known as a "clever talker", so if he is asked to go and persuade Zhuge Liang, he will be more confident!
