Everyone was happy to see Qian Qin, who had always been a scheming man, smiling on his face.
This person's expression may indicate that he has some calculations.
But Lu Yi couldn't help but asked quickly:
"What's going on? Come quickly."
"Does Zhongshu remember that the envoy who went to Shu to ask for horses a few days ago sent a messenger back and only said that the people of Shu had agreed to exchange horses?"
"Of course I remember, but what does this have to do with us?"
Lu Yi frowned a little.
The power of the school affairs office is indeed very great. It supervises hundreds of officials, monitors prefectures and counties, and all officials, big and small, change their color when they hear the name of school affairs.
But if it is small, it is indeed small.
It means that the scope of power is very small, limited to supervision.
Without His Majesty's order, the school affairs office would not even have the power to arrest or execute anyone.
Not to mention matters such as diplomacy with the Shu people, that is simply not within the power of the school affairs office.
"It is true that our friendship with the Shu people has nothing to do with us, but does it have nothing to do with us to trade with the Shu people?"
Qian Qin smiled confidently and reminded Lu Yi.
Because of the good relationship between Wu and Shu, the Shu people would sell a lot of in-demand materials to Wu every year.
Some of these in-demand supplies, such as woolen mead and the like, fall into the hands of powerful and well-connected families.
Most of the remaining areas were previously under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Shaofu.
In recent years, it has been transferred to the hands of the school affairs office.
The reason is also very simple. The young government cannot suppress the powerful, but the school affairs office can.
After all, His Majesty is also short of money!
"The Art of War says: Avoid the truth and attack the fictitious. Li Heng and other thieves use clever words to arouse doubts in His Majesty's heart. If we respond to them face to face, if one of us is not good, it will only make His Majesty even more disgusted."
"It's better to avoid its edge and find another way to prove it yourself."
At this point, Qian Qin smiled slightly again:
"Your Majesty is short of money, so we will find money for him. Your Majesty wants to suppress those noble families, so we will make those noble families dare not act arrogantly. In this case, how can your majesty abandon us?"
Lu Yi still didn't understand:
"The plan is a good plan, but how to execute it?"
Not only him, but also everyone was confused by Qian Qin's words.
Only one person suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted: "Wonderful!"
This shout caused everyone to follow the sound and look.
Who is Qin Bo if not Lu Yiyin as one of his right-hand men?
"I also heard Mr. Qian's clever words, so I made some guesses."
Qin Bo bowed his hand to Qian Qin. After receiving Qian Qin's response, he continued:
"Among the supplies that the people of Shu sent to my country, most of the raw materials, honey, and wine are under our exclusive jurisdiction, but there is one thing that is an exception."
"brown sugar?"
Someone finally reacted.
"Yes, it's brown sugar."
Brown sugar implements a quota return system.
In other words, if you want to get a share of brown sugar, you must first sell coarse sugar to Shu people.
And if you want to get jaggery, you have to plant sugar cane.
Otherwise, you can only buy brown sugar from Shu people at a high price, and it may not be available.
Of course, because of the good relationship between Shu and Wu, the Shu people would sell His Majesty a batch of brown sugar at the same price every year, half free and half free.
But this batch of brown sugar is really nothing compared to the total amount of brown sugar that flows into Wudi every year.
"I don't know how many powerful families are involved in this matter. The implications are very serious. More importantly, the brown sugar is in the hands of the Shu people. Your Majesty does not dare to touch it easily. What can we do?"
Lu Yi understood what Qian Qin said, but he was still not optimistic about the matter.
It’s not like they haven’t had any thoughts about brown sugar.
Such huge profits are hard to come by. For Your Majesty who is extremely short of money, it is really a torturous thing.
Because His Majesty has revealed on more than one occasion that he wants to monopolize brown sugar.
As a close confidant of His Majesty, Lu Yi even knew that His Majesty had sighed about this when eating rice dumplings dipped in brown sugar in May.
"It is precisely because the benefits of brown sugar are controlled by the Shu people that we have a chance!"
Qian Qin emphasized his tone and said, "If it is controlled by the world, we will have no chance."
Although the school office has great power, it is limited to the court.
In terms of making a living, compared to those families that have been around for more than a hundred or even hundreds of years, their methods are not at the same level.
Not to mention that the network of relationships between families is layered upon layers, like the roots of a century-old tree hidden underground.
Back then, King Huan of Changsha (namely Sun Ce) killed many of these Jiangdong aristocratic families, but in the end he still couldn't do anything to them, let alone the school affairs office?
"But the brown sugar is probably controlled by the Zhang family."
Someone reminded me.
"The Zhang family is not comparable to the Lu family and the Zhu family, and it is at a low point at this time. How can it dare to compete with the school affairs office? The only thing to worry about is that the Zhang family has a close relationship with Feng Wenhe."
"How to influence Feng Wenhe to give more of this brown sugar quota to me and others, this is the key."
After hearing Qian Qin's words, Lu Yi was thoughtful and murmured to himself:
"This family is blessed with good fortune."
There are four surnames in Wu County, each with its own family tradition: Zhang Jiawen, Zhu Jiawu, Lu Jiazhong, and Gu Jiahou.
Zhu Huan of the Zhu family had the right to take holidays, and Zhu Ju was Sun Quan's son-in-law.
Not to mention the Lu family. Lu Xun became the general, the first among the Wu family.
Gu Yong of the Gu family was the prime minister of Wu State and was a generous man.
Therefore, the most important people under Sun Quan are the Zhu family and the Lu family.
On weekdays, Gu Yong was appointed to handle government affairs.
Only the Zhang family, although known for their talents, still said the same thing:
In troubled times, what the master needs is either a strategy for governing the world or the ability to command an army.
Talent matters, on the contrary, are ranked last.
Therefore, Sun Quan wanted to suppress the Jiangdong family. As a prominent family in Jiangdong, but at the same time not valued, the Zhang family was naturally the chicken used to teach the monkeys.
But it is also because of the "literary" of the Zhang family, because after Zhang Wen returned from Shu, he vigorously promoted Feng Wenhe's articles and made him famous.
This move established a good relationship with Feng Wenhe and brought unexpected great benefits to the Zhang family.
Therefore, Lu Yicai's Zhang family is in good fortune.
Someone sighed: "Shu people put loyalty first, I'm just afraid that we may not be able to touch Feng Wenhe!"
The affairs of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei have already been written down in Shu, so those who write must tell them.
Even the people of Shu can talk about "the three brothers in Taoyuan" and so on.
There is nothing weirder or more bizarre in the world than this.
When did Liu Bei and his wife become sworn brothers in Taoyuan?
It just so happens that those gray-headed Guizhou heads like this!
It's better now. Shu people still form associations, and loyalty must come first.
Look at Zhang Bai of the Zhang family. He keeps saying, "Feng Junyi takes the lead, and the Zhang family has benefited greatly from him"...
Regardless of whether Feng Wenhe was as loyal as Zhang Bai said, but if he wanted to persuade him to transfer the brown sugar profits to the school affairs office, the Zhang family would definitely not be able to get around it.
"Lu Zhongshu, if we can persuade Feng Wenhe to give up the Zhang family, that would be the best strategy, but this is almost impossible!"
Qian Qin knocked on the table heavily, reminding everyone not to think too beautifully.
"So the best way is to get the Zhang family to agree to cooperate with us. If the Zhang family can understand, I believe that Your Majesty will not pursue the past."
"Given the current situation of the Zhang family, this may not be a bad thing."
"As long as we can control the brown sugar channel, we will not only have a steady stream of financial resources, but we can also suppress those noble families. I think His Majesty will definitely be happy."
Because His Majesty is short of money, very short of money.
The source of brown sugar is obviously much more stable than that of raw honey wine.
Because of the woolen materials and honey wine, Shu people can sell as much as they want. Even if they don't sell, they are not qualified to do anything.
But brown sugar is different. How much raw sugar is given, then how much brown sugar must be returned in proportion.
Unless Xinghan would dare to smash his own sign for so many years.
"What's more, as long as the school affairs office is involved in this matter, even if the Shu people want to break the contract, it depends on whether they dare to ignore the alliance between the two countries."
"After all, we represent His Majesty! Isn't it much more reliable than relying solely on the friendship between the Zhang family and Feng Wenhe?"
When Lu Yi and others heard this, they immediately thought it was wonderful.
Yu Gong, this move not only opened up a source of money for His Majesty, but also provided an additional means to suppress the family.
For selfish reasons, the huge profits from brown sugar... tsk tsk!
"The current plan is to test His Majesty's heart and see if the Zhang family can be used. The second one is to see who can be sent to Liangzhou to convince Feng Wenhe."
"Don't worry about the Zhang family!" Lu Yi got the solution and immediately became angry, "Your Majesty, if you don't want to use the Zhang family, why would you send Zhang Bai to Liangzhou as a deputy envoy?"
Of course you have to use it, but His Majesty will have your own discretion as to how to use it.
No, can the school government really squeeze the Zhang family out of the brown sugar channel in the future and enjoy the benefits exclusively?
"Is this the only second place?" Lu Yi glanced at everyone, "I really need to think about it seriously."
I definitely can't leave His Majesty's side, otherwise, if Li Heng comes again, no one will be able to control the overall situation, and everyone will not know how to die.
The remaining candidates...
Lu Yi's eyes glanced back and forth between Qin Bo and Qian Qin.
Qin Bo knew what he meant and immediately raised his hands and said:
"A certain person is willing to go to Liangzhou, but..."
He hesitated for a moment, "Feng Wenhe has always been known as a clever talker, but a certain person is clumsy with his tongue. I'm afraid he won't be the best..."
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent again.
Yes, I heard that Zhang He and Cao Zhen were given the name of climbing mountains and wading in rivers by him, and then they were pissed to death.
Although I don’t know whether it’s true or not, there are rumors that this man’s tongue is more powerful than his sword. It’s better to take it seriously than to take it lightly.
Lu Yi suddenly gritted his teeth:
"No matter how sharp your words are, can you make more money than money? People in Shu sell all kinds of things, just for the sake of profit?"
"If we can give Feng Wenhe enough benefits, how can we be afraid that he won't agree?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.
Qin Bo swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He felt a little regretful: I shouldn't have agreed to go to Liangzhou...
But Lu Yi glanced at everyone with his cold eyes:
"Your Majesty already has doubts about the school affairs office. Will the people behind Li Heng just stop here?"
"How many people have we offended by what we have done over the years? Is there any way out? If we don't try our best now, we may not be alive anymore!"
Qian Qin was also a little trembling:
"Lu Zhongshu, if you give too many benefits to the people of Shu, and your Majesty finds out about it in the future, I'm afraid that we will also be left without a whole body!"
Lu Yi sneered and said sadly:
"Have you all forgotten what you started from? As long as this can be accomplished, Your Majesty will definitely value the school affairs office more than before."
"Even if it is discovered again in the future, are we still afraid that no one will bear the consequences for us?"
Seeing that everyone still looked frightened, Lu Yi was a little impatient:
"What are you afraid of? Going to Liangzhou to negotiate with the Shu people, isn't it up to His Majesty to make the final decision? As long as His Majesty approves, what are you afraid of?"
Lu Yi used threats and intimidation to finally win over everyone.
Although everyone in the school affairs office is short-sighted and like villains, they also know that if the school affairs office cannot survive this time, then they will not be able to get a favor.
On the contrary, if Feng Wenhe can really agree to this matter, then the School Affairs Office will be further in His Majesty's mind.
Just the added benefits of brown sugar are enough for them to take the plunge.
After the discussion was over, Lu Yi quickly looked for an opportunity and went to see Sun Quan. He only said that over the years, Wu and Shu had more and more material exchanges, and there were countless merchant affairs.
I heard that the Shu people set up Yishi in Yong'an two years ago to manage transactions with Dawu, but Dawu did not have a corresponding department.
Why not take advantage of this opportunity to trade horses with the Shu people and discuss with the Shu people to jointly establish easy market channels to facilitate management.
When Sun Quan heard this, he immediately understood what Lu Yi meant.
He couldn't help but be overjoyed: Others only thought that Lu Yi was a villain, but they didn't know how much profit the school office had received for me over the years.
Thinking of this, most of his worries about Lu Yi these days were instantly eliminated.
Lu Yi had been by Sun Quan's side for a long time, so how could he not understand what Sun Quan was thinking?
So he struck while the iron was hot and quickly came up with the plan discussed in the secret room.
Of course, how to obey Feng Wenhe was not mentioned at all.
He just said that if this matter can be accomplished, it will not only open up a source of money and food, but also take the opportunity to suppress the aristocratic family.
This sentence simply went to the deepest part of Sun Quan's heart!
Back then I asked you to open up wasteland and cultivate fields, but you didn't know that you kept doing it, but in the end you traded it with the Shu people for brown sugar.
Over the years, you have received so many bonuses every year, how comfortable are you?
Have you forgotten that there is an emperor like yourself above you?
I lead my troops to fight in the front every year.
What food and clothing do the soldiers need?
open!
Must be opened!
Open up this easy market and collect taxes uniformly!
But this matter requires the cooperation of the Shu people, so we still have to send someone to talk to the Shu people.
Sun Quan himself also knew that none of the families who had the ability to trade these supplies with the Shu people were small families.
If implemented publicly, I am afraid it will encounter a lot of resistance.
In addition, Lu Yi raised the matter, so he still left the matter to the school affairs office.
Lu Yi almost laughed out loud after getting Sun Quan's permission.
So the envoy who went to Liangzhou for the second time suddenly found that there were more people from the school affairs office in the envoy without receiving any notice.
In July of the thirteenth year of Jianxing, the second batch of envoys from the State of Wu entered Shu.
