The first month of the twentieth year of Jian'an. Zhuti County, Zhuti County (now Zhaotong City).
In the county house, Mi Fang held a banquet in honor of the powerful people in Nanzhong. Everyone drank and drank, sang and danced, and it was very lively.
Mi Fang held up the wine bottle and said with a smile: "Thank you for your persistence and coming from hundreds of miles away for today's banquet. Fang is grateful."
"Don't dare!"
Hao Qiang and Zong Shuai all raised their bottles in return, not daring to neglect Mi Fang.
"How dare we accept the words of the Commander-in-Chief? Since last year, the Commander-in-Chief has dredged Shu in the north and pacified the barbarians in the south. He has built bridges for us and helped us do business. We should be grateful to the Commander-in-Chief."
Meng Huo stood up from the table, with a respectful look on his face, and said, "My lord is busy with business today and it is difficult for him to leave for the banquet. I hope the governor will forgive me!"
"nothing!"
Mi Fang stroked her beard and said with a smile: "Yizhou has not had a county governor for many years. Fortunately, Yongjun is here to intimidate the barbarians. It is difficult to be separated now, so I understand. When Mengjun returns, I will say hello to Yongjun on my behalf."
"promise!"
Meng Huo was not a pure Nanman. His mother was a Nanman and his father was a member of the Zhu Timeng clan. Thanks to his mother's status as a barbarian, Meng Huo was proficient in the Yi language and was valued by Yong Kai.
After being re-employed by Yong Kai, Meng Huo helped the Yong family communicate with the barbarians in southern China. He was fair in dealing with matters and was trusted by the barbarians. Over the years, Meng Huo became Yong Kai's confidant and enjoyed prestige among the barbarians.
The Yong family is a common surname in Yizhou County. After Yongchi in the Western Han Dynasty, the ancestors were exiled to Yizhou County in Nanzhong due to crimes. After hundreds of years, the Yong family has taken root in Yizhou County for many years.
When it was passed to Yongkai, the Yong family had many subordinates and intermarried with various barbarians. It was already the overlord of Yizhou County and it was difficult for the government to contain it.
There are many characters like Yong Kai in Nanzhong. For example, Gaoding, the king of Yuexi Yi, Zhu Bao from Xianyi County, and Lu Kai from Yongchang County were all local leaders in each county.
For Mi Fang, he came with a mission to appease him. The first thing he did was to pay homage to the dock and send envoys to the three counties of Yuexun, Yizhou and Zangda to say hello to Gaoding, Zhu Bao, Yongkai and other local snakes respectively. , expressing that they want to do good business with them.
As for why they didn't send people to Yongchang County, it was probably because Yongchang County was too far away.
For the unusual Han governors, the powerful and Yi kings were mostly confused, but everyone who didn't want to cause trouble also responded with perfunctory letters. To their surprise, Mi Fang really wanted to do business.
After a few months, Mi Fang found out the basic situation of the three counties, bought a batch of commodities from the Bashu area, such as Shu brocade, salt, lacquerware, etc., and then shipped them to the three counties.
See the beautiful Sichuan brocade, exquisite lacquerware, and cheap Ba salt. Hao Qiang and Zong Shuai wanted to plunder it, but considering Mi Fang's background, they gave up the idea of plundering it and invested money to buy it.
Then, they also received a letter from Mi Fang, saying that the Bashu and Wuyue areas were short of war horses, cattle, leather, and slaves. He could help them sell these things to these areas for free, and the money earned could be used as a meeting gift.
Everyone is doubtful, some don't believe it, some believe it. But Mi Fang really did that. Anyone who asked Mi Fang to sell items received a lot of money in the next month.
Seeing that the profits were so huge and Mi Fang not cheating at all, Hao Qiang and Yi Wang all asked if they could sell them on behalf of others. Mi Fang said that he was not responsible for the sales, but he was willing to form a caravan with others to collect specialties from Nanzhong and sell them to Bashu and Wuchu.
After several months of running around and drawing cakes, Mi Fang jointly formed a caravan with Hao Qiang and Yi Wang from the three counties of Yizhou, Zangqi and Yuexun, and sold Nanzhong's specialties to the six states, and also sold the six states' luxury goods, Ironware and other items were sold to Nanzhong.
In order to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes, local snakes often take the initiative to send people to escort caravans, or send troops to exterminate mountain barbarians.
For more than a year, Mi Fang relied on the Southern Han Dynasty to appease the rebellious Nanzhong powerful and barbarians through commercial interests. Although he made a fortune from it, he also sent thousands of slaves, as well as a large number of cattle and war horses to Bashu and Wuchu.
As for how much Mi Fang profited from it, it is unknown. It is only known that in the city of Wuhan, in terms of the number of slaves, the Mi family was the most prosperous, with as many as two to three thousand people, and the number was still increasing.
After drinking half the wine, Zhu Bao was slightly drunk and said: "Captain, there are many lacquerware, Shu brocade, and salt in the caravan. I wonder if I can add something to the caravan this year so that I can sell it to the barbarians."
"hehe!"
Mi Fang stroked her beard and said with a smile: "Anything that is beneficial to business, Zhu Jun can just say it."
"Tea!"
Zhu Bao put down the wine bottle and said: "The barbarians like to drink tea. They say that the food of fishy meat cannot be eliminated without tea, and tea can cure diseases. Since last year, the price of tea has gradually increased, but the quantity has not increased. I wonder if the governor can get more. Some tea to sell to the barbarians."
"right!"
Meng Huo seemed to have remembered this incident and said: "Bashu produces tea. However, since the Great Rebellion, merchants have gradually disappeared and tea has become increasingly scarce. Not only the southern barbarians love it, but the Pu people also love it."
Tea had already appeared as early as the period of King Wu of Zhou Dynasty, and was presented to King Wu of Zhou Dynasty by the Ba people. Since the Qin Dynasty, Bashu has become the main tea-producing area. During the later Han Dynasty, the custom of drinking tea also emerged in Wu and Chu. As Nanzhong in the southern part of Bashu, it is naturally also affected by tea drinking habits.
The cultivation of tea in Nanzhong can be traced back to Ge Gong's Southern Expedition and the suppression of the barbarians in Nanzhong, who taught tea planting techniques to the people of Nanzhong. At present, Ge Gong is not on the southern expedition, and there are no tea farms in the south, so it is natural to introduce tea from Bashu and Wuchu.
Mi Fang pondered for a while and said: "The war in Bashu has caused the people to be displaced and the tea fields have been affected. Tea was naturally in short supply last year. However, after last year's rest and recuperation, there will be more tea this year. I should pay more attention to the tea matter."
After saying that, Mi Fang smiled and said: "A slave is worth three oxen, and is loved by wealthy families and famous people. You should pay more attention to it, as this is a huge profit."
Zhu Bao toasted Mi Fang and said with a smile: "Bao must obey the orders of the governor from now on!"
"Ha ha!"
Under Mi Fang's management, the guests' interest became even higher.
People may be sentenced to death for killing cattle, but the value of the materialized person is more valuable than the cattle.
Slaves were equivalent to investment goods and luxury goods in agricultural societies. The pursuit of slaves by powerful and wealthy people will never stop, because talent is the basis for creating wealth.
When the powerful and powerful families occupied the land, it was impossible for them to cultivate it themselves. In addition to letting the common people do the farming for them, slaves were needed to do the farming for the powerful and powerful people.
Land + slaves = endless wealth. Rich families with wealth can have more time to seize the right to speak in society, eventually forming a cycle.
In this way, a huge military group was born under Liu Bei's rule. Those officers and soldiers were awarded a large number of acres by Liu Bei and were in urgent need of slaves to farm on their behalf.
Therefore, the price of slaves in Nanzhong is very high. The price of an adult male is relative to five cattle; the price of a female slave who can give birth is relative to three cattle.
Whether it was China's agricultural society or the Great Navigation Period, the sale of slaves was always an item pursued by nobles and wealthy families.
During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Han people often held Confucian classics in one hand and a Han sword in the other, constantly opening up places for survival and incorporating them into the Chinese territory.
When the banquet was about to end, Mi Fang coughed a few times, attracting everyone's attention.
Looking at the faces of everyone, Mi Fang said: "With your help, Nanzhong will be stable. However, now that the king wants to rule the world, he will send prefects to various counties in the near future. I hope that for the sake of my face, you will help the prefects in governing the country." ."
"Assigned governor?"
Everyone was whispering, and seemed to be rejecting the governor who would take office soon. After all, the prefect holds military and political power and belongs to the central law enforcement agency. If he wants to go deeper, he will inevitably conflict with local powerful people and noble families.
Seeing that many people were reluctant, Mi Fang smiled and said: "It's all due to the limitations of the Three Mutual Laws. If there are no Three Mutual Laws, Fang should recommend all the sages to be the prefects."
After a pause, Mi Fang comforted and said: "Please rest assured, even though the prefect has taken office, it will not affect the caravan, nor will it affect the current situation of you. If there is a prefect who bullies you, you can write to someone, and I will punish you fairly."
"That's fine!"
Zhu Bao thought about the wealth of the merchants and promised: "The governor Mi has been kind to us, so how dare my servants disobey his orders. Bao is now the county magistrate. He should obey the orders of the governor and assist the prefect."
"good!"
Mi Fang smiled, looked at Meng Huo, and asked, "How about Yong Jun?"
"Since it's the king's appointment, how dare we disobey it!"
Meng Huo hesitated for a while and then said: "Huo Huo and Yong Jun are responsible for recruiting Han barbarians for the king. We dare not disobey the order."
"good!"
With the consent of the local snake, Mi Fang was relieved.
Business is business, but he is also the governor of Nanzhong. You can't just do business and forget about official matters. Otherwise, when I report back to the Central Committee this year, I will be criticized by the king again.
The banquet ended and everyone gradually dispersed.
Mi Fang looked at the empty banquet and ordered: "Tell Ma Di, Zheng Ang and others that I have already sent greetings to the local powerful people and the king of Yi, and let them take office."
"Wait!"
Mi Fang warned Ma Youchang, "Although the situation in Yuexun County is complicated and there are many barbarians and Qiang people, I am here in Zhuti. Gaoding will not hurt his life. Just let him take office. Don't worry too much."
"promise!"
As Liu Bei expanded his power to Bashu, Ma Su was promoted from the Zigui Order to the post of prefect. In order to train Ma Su, Liu Bei sent Ma Su to Yuexun County, where the situation was complicated, as the prefect, hoping that Ma Su could solve the problems in Yuexun County.
What are the problems in Yuexun County?
It doesn't matter. The previous governors were slaughtered by local barbarians, and the county seat has been abandoned and barbarians have taken over. The person with the largest number of troops among the barbarians was Gaoding, the king of the barbarians.
Obviously, Liu Bei asked Ma Di to serve as the governor of Yuexun just to see how good he was!
(End of chapter)
