Chapter 77 I won’t feel sleepy if we talk about money [Edit]

Xun You and Wang Ling both agreed with Wang Jing's decision: "The rebels often do not engage in production. Wherever they go, they rely on looting for supplies. Therefore, as long as our army blocks the roads and isolates them from the outside, making it impossible for them to obtain the materials they need to survive, we can trap the rebels to death in a desperate situation."

Wang Jing then took Wang Ling to arrange the development strategy for Hedong County.

Although Wang Ling was talented, he was still young and had little experience in managing the country. His vision and knowledge were far inferior to Wang Jing's. Therefore, Wang Jing gave him some advice: "Hedong County has three development focuses. The first is animal husbandry, especially the breeding of horses and sheep. The former provides good horses, and the latter provides meat for our army. In addition, there are military farming and salt industry."

The main executors of the military farming were Han Hao and Ren Jun, which were divided into military farming and civilian farming. The captured rebels and the old and weak who were laid off were all sent to the military farming, while the refugees could be recruited into the civilian farming. Wang Ling only needed to control the general direction, and Han Hao and Ren Jun would do the specific work.

So for Wang Ling, the key is the development of the salt industry.

"Yanyun, the salt industry is related to our military finances, so we must be cautious."

"Don't worry, second brother. I have already figured it out. With the snow salt refining technology you provided, the salt pond in Hedong will surely bring huge profits to our army."

Wang Ling was full of confidence because salt was a necessity for human survival, and its production and sale had always been a hugely profitable business throughout the dynasties.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial dynasty had strong control, especially after Emperor Wu of Han established Confucianism as the only religious school of thought. With the national treasure "Map of Mountains and Rivers" in hand, the royal family had overwhelming military advantage and controlled the most powerful force in the world. The aristocratic families and powerful clans were suppressed and could not raise their heads, so the court was able to successfully implement the system of official sale of salt and iron.

Ironware and salt, the former is necessary for production, and the latter is necessary for survival. Therefore, by controlling the production and sale of salt and iron, the court can obtain unimaginable huge profits, making the finances extremely abundant.

It was precisely because of the huge profits provided by salt and iron that the Yanhan Dynasty was able to sweep away all the enemies, drive the Huns to the north, and defeat a powerful nomadic regime, thus solving the external threats to the empire.

But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, after the Wang Mang Rebellion, although Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu revived the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty's control over the world was far less than that of the Western Han Dynasty.

It is said that war is the continuation of politics, and politics is the continuation of economy. The decline of imperial power in the Eastern Han Dynasty was eventually reflected in the economic level. The representative example was the salt and iron industries that were originally monopolized by the court. They changed from being state-run to being privately owned, and the government could only collect taxes from them.

This is also the reason why Wang Jing used his salt refining technology to do favors. After all, he didn't have any salt ponds or salt fields at that time, so the technology was useless. It would be better to exchange it for favors and get some benefits.

Moreover, the sale of salt is an industry full of local protectionism. There are as many as forty-nine salt-producing areas, including well salt in Shuzhong, rock salt in Yuzhou, pond salt in Sili, sea salt in Qingzhou and Wuyue, etc., and most of them are monopolized by private individuals, and the salt is sold in different areas.

Salt is a necessity, so once a monopoly is achieved in a certain area, huge profits can be made immediately.

In order to maintain such long-term huge profits, the vested interests will eventually resort to violence and will not hesitate to use force to prevent other peers from entering their territory to grab food.

Therefore, the sale of salt, under the social structure of the Eastern Han Dynasty, formed local protectionist characteristics similar to the tobacco and alcohol industries of later generations. Do you want to sell across borders and grab other people's market share?
Sure, as long as we can defeat the other party, that will be enough.

Otherwise, no matter how good the quality of your salt is or how low the price is, don't even think about selling it to other people's territory. After all, this is tantamount to blocking the other party's path to wealth, and you will definitely be met with a full-scale counterattack from the other party.

There are always some self-righteous fools who think they can monopolize wealth and make huge profits by holding good things in their hands, but they don’t understand what is the use of having technology alone?

Are Saudi princes so rich and powerful because they have mastered the most advanced oil refining technology?

Wrong, it’s because they have oil fields.

The same goes for Wang Jing. He did not occupy any salt producing area at the time, which meant he did not have the resources. So what was the use of having the refining technology?
If you don't exchange it for some benefits, will holding the formula in your hands help you lay eggs or increase interest?
What's more, this technology is just given away. After all, salt trafficking is a highly profitable industry. If you don't have the strength, you can't keep it. And when you have the strength, what can others do even if they have the same technology? Can they come to steal your salt mine or your market?

Is it possible that you will earn even less money due to technology outflow?

Wang Jing has always despised such idiots. There is nothing wrong with always wanting to eat alone, but if they hold on to it even though they can't have it, then there is something wrong with their brains.

Because the salt industry in Hedong is related to the core income of the Northern Army in the future, Wang Jing, Wang Ling and others also went to the salt field in Anyi County to inspect it in person.

As a local, Xu Huang introduced the two salt ponds to Wang Jing and Wang Ling: "The salt ponds in Hedong are generally called two ponds, namely the East Pond and the West Pond. They are mainly distributed in Anyi and Jiexian, with five ponds. Among them, Anyi Pond is a large salt pond, also known as the East Pond, and Jie Salt Pond is a female salt pond and some small ponds, collectively known as the West Pond."

Anyi is close to the Yellow River. The alluvial plain is like the lacustrine plain, and the surrounding area is mostly saline-alkali land. After the river was diverted, some places are located in areas with shallow groundwater. Through groundwater evaporation, salt is enriched in the strata, thus forming salt ponds.

Xu Huang was quite familiar with the terrain of this place. Standing on a high slope, facing the salty and humid air, he said to Wang Jing: "My lord, please take a look. The terrain of Anyi's salt pond is basically low in the south and high in the north. Most of the salt beaches are close to the south, where the terrain is low and the salt will gather there. Once it rains, all the salt mines around will dissolve and flow to the lowest place."

Following the visit, Wang Jing gained a general understanding of the salt production operations here.

Hedong has been producing and selling salt since the ancient period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, so the salt workers here are very experienced.

The beach at the south end is used by workers to store high-concentration brine during the winter saltpeter production season, and to store fresh water to dissolve ore during the summer salt and brine production season.

The advantage of doing this is that it is low cost. Because the temperature is high in the summer, the brine in the salt bed evaporates, and the dissolved sodium chloride crystals out, while sodium sulfate has a high solubility and continues to remain in the salt bed. After the aqueous solution containing a large amount of sodium sulfate is removed, what remains is salt.

When the temperature drops in winter, the naturally formed brine "drops" the sodium sulfate down, and a layer of wind blows and a layer of sand is added, just like sandwiching a cake, layer by layer, after years and months, decahydrated Glauber's salt is formed, which is of high purity.

It was the middle of winter and the temperature was extremely low.

Wang Jing walked into the salt field and saw the saltpeter plates precipitated from the brine crystals. Based on the color and texture, Wang Jing guessed that its main component should be sodium sulfate, followed by white sodium magnesium sulfate.

Xu Huang continued to introduce enthusiastically: "My lord, if the remaining brine continues to be dried from spring to summer, its concentration will become higher and higher, and eventually it will crystallize and become salt."

Wang Jing nodded: "The industrial structure is very complete. If we control this salt pond, our army will not have to worry about military expenses as long as it occupies Bingzhou and Jingji in the future."

Just like the military expenditure of a certain Eastern power in later generations was contributed by smokers, Wang Jing now also wants to tie military expenditure with the salt industry. In this way, the larger the territory occupied, the better the production and sales of salt will be, forming a virtuous circle.

"By the way, who originally owned the salt industry here?"

"The main ones are the four famous families: Fenyin Zhou, Fenyin Xue, Wenxi Pei, and Jiexian Liu. Among them, Fenyin Zhou has been destroyed by the lord, and 40% of the salt industry controlled by the Zhou family has also been confiscated by the lord. The remaining 60% of the salt ponds are still in the hands of the three major families."

Wang Jing couldn't help but frown at Xu Huang's answer. None of the three families, Xue, Pei and Liu, were easy to deal with.

Xue Rengui, who conquered Tianshan with three arrows during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, was from the Fenyin Xue family. The Pei family was even more extraordinary. It was not only a prominent family in Shanxi, but also flourished since the Qin and Han Dynasties, through the Six Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. During this period, it produced 59 prime ministers, 59 generals, and countless other officials at all levels.

The cultural achievements of the Liu family of Xie County were even more outstanding than those of the Xue and Pei families. Liu Zongyuan, one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, was from the Liu family of Xie County.

But what about historical figures?

Now that these three families were blocking his way, Wang Jing would not be polite to them. He immediately ordered Wang Ling: "Yanyun, you should take over the salt ponds of these three families under the pretext of inspecting the salt tax. I don't believe that these three families can really pay taxes to the court honestly if they are in charge of this fat piece of salt industry."

Wang Ling was also a decisive person. Seeing that Wang Jing had spoken, he accepted the order and said, "I understand. When the time comes, we must make them obediently hand over the salt pond industry with both hands."

Xu Huang took a deep breath when he heard this. His master was really ruthless. The salt from Hedong was sold in the three states of Bing, Ji, and Yu, and also supplied the daily needs of more than one million people in the capital. How much profit was involved? How many big shots' financial resources would be affected behind the scenes?
If it were a peaceful and prosperous time, Wang Jing would not dare to do this. After all, Hedong County was only separated from Luoyang by a river. Not only did the three major families of Xue, Pei, and Liu have people serving as officials in the court, but part of the profits from the salt industry must have been used to pay protection fees to certain important civil and military officials.

Touching their salt industry is equivalent to touching the purses of these bigwigs. Once retaliation comes, it will be no joke.

But now that chaos is approaching, the power game at the center of the court has become a joke.

The general, the general of cavalry, the general of chariots and cavalry, the grand empress dowager, the queen mother, all important figures with prominent positions, didn't they die just like that?
Wang Jing now controls a large army and does whatever he wants. If you have the ability, go and sue me and see if the court will punish you.

As expected, the next day after Wang Ling took people to check taxes, the heads of the Xue, Pei and Liu families were dumbfounded, especially Liu Hui, who had dealt with Zhang Liao and Wang Jing before. He felt even more aggrieved: "The General of the North is really too much. He asked us to provide grain before, and after we provided the grain, now he has confiscated our salt pond. Where in the world can there be such a tyrannical and overbearing person?" Several family heads gathered together and complained bitterly.

"That's right. The Northern Army General is too rude. He wants to suck our bones and marrow out of us."

"No, I just don't believe there is no place for reason in this world."

Liu Hui heard this with a bitter mouth: "Reason? Are you going to reason with Dong Zhuo, who deposed the emperor, or ask the nobles in the court to do us justice? The nobles in Luoyang City can't even protect themselves, how can they care about us?"

"This……"

After hearing this, the heads of the Xue and Pei families couldn't help but sigh.

"Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"Yes, today we have suffered this loss and kept silent. I am afraid that the North Central Army General will become more and more greedy in the future. "

Just when they were all frowning, Xu Huang came to visit them and said, "The three family heads are all here. This saves me from making two extra trips. My master wants to see you."

As soon as the word "please come in", Liu Hui shuddered. The other two family heads also had grim expressions, and they were shocked and afraid in their hearts.

Last time we invited everyone, but just a few days after the banquet, such a big Fenyin Zhou family was gone!

They invite us again this time. Can the Hongmen Banquet be held twice?

Wang Jing, you are not a good person!

Although they were reluctant, the local noble families and wealthy families in Hedong did not dare to refuse Wang Jing's invitation. After all, the lesson of the Zhou family of Fenyin was still before their eyes, and there was no need to anger this ruthless devil for such a small matter.

The Anyi County Prefectural Governor's Mansion, originally the official residence of Wang Yi, now had a new owner.

The newly appointed Wang Ling entertained the guests as the governor of Hedong, while Wang Jing sat in the second seat, obviously supporting Wang Ling and telling everyone that even if he was no longer in Hedong in the future, Wang Ling could still fully represent him.

Anyone who dares not to give face to Wang Ling is ignoring face to Wang Jing.

Wang Ling was deeply moved, so he worked even harder. After three rounds of drinks, he started chatting with everyone present about business: "I invited all the family heads here today for only one thing."

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately caused an uproar.

During the banquet, one of the heads of a household even cried out in grievance: "Didn't we collect grain a few days ago? Why are you still coming?"

"Yes, yes. It's not that we don't want to share the country's worries, but we can't just scrape the land like this, right?"

Some time ago, each of the five major families in Hedong County contributed 30,000 shi of grain, and the other small families also needed to contribute money or manpower. In any case, they were severely exploited by Wang Jing.

It's not that his bones were broken, but he was definitely skinned. Therefore, all the family heads present here are still feeling the pain.

Seeing that the voices of opposition were growing louder and louder, Wang Jing slammed the table suddenly, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

"What are you arguing about? The governor hasn't even finished his words yet, when will it be your turn to speak?"

Wang Jinghu looked around, and no one present dared to look at him. They all lowered their heads, fearing that they would offend this killer.

Since Wang Jing had played the villain and shocked the crowd, Wang Ling had to step out and play the hero in order to carry out regional construction work in the future. He smiled and spoke softly, "Everyone, please be patient. This time, I asked everyone to come here not for donations, but because I have something good to tell you."

No one present took Wang Ling's good news seriously.

Especially the three great families of Xue, Pei and Liu, whose salt fields were confiscated, were filled with resentment in their hearts, thinking that Wang Jing's move was even more ruthless than that of Dong Zhuo.

Although Dong Zhuo also exploited the land, he mainly targeted the ordinary people in Hedong County and did not fleece the aristocratic families.

But Wang Jing was different. He started by confiscating the property and exterminating the entire family, and collecting grain and taxes.

Now you say you want to help us get rich?

Do you think we are fools?
In addition to the Xue, Pei and Liu families, the Anyi Wei family and the Xiangling Jia family, two of the five major families in Hedong County, expressed dissatisfaction.

This is especially true of the Anyi Wei family. Their ancestor was the great general Wei Qing, who had fought alongside Marquis Huo Qubing to drive the Huns north. The head of the family, Wei Ji, was already in his thirties and was sitting still.

Jia Xi, the head of the Xiangling Jia family, is already old, but he brought his grandson Jia Kui with him to see the world. His eyes are always on Wang Jing, and his eyes are filled with yearning and desire for power.

Unlike other noisy aristocratic families, although the Xiangling Jia family was a famous family, it had already declined due to the influence of the Party and Factions Persecution when Jia Xi took over the family, and they could not get much money from them. The last time, the 30,000 shi of grain was donated together with some small and medium-sized aristocratic families.

That's why Jia Xi could be so calm and sit aside as if it had nothing to do with him.

Wang Ling also saw the doubt and disbelief of the crowd, but he did not get angry. Instead, he clapped his hands and ordered his attendants: "Present everything."

Then the servants in the prefect's mansion carried wooden trays and distributed them.

There was nothing else on the wooden tray except a piece of gray wool lying quietly on it.

Jia Xi and Wei Ji picked up the wool material, pulled it hard and found that it was very strong. Although it was a bit prickly, its thick texture made it look very warm.

Jia Xi is the oldest and once served as the Governor of Yuzhou. Therefore, although the Jia family has declined, Jia Xi's status in the world is the highest among all the family heads.

So he was the first to speak: "Sir, I wonder what this is?"

Wang Ling smiled and explained to him: "This thing is called wool material, woven with wool, and can be used to make clothes and bedding to keep warm."

Wei Ji was shocked when he heard this: "Is this really made of wool?"

It's no wonder that he was so surprised. There are many people raising sheep in Hedong, but wool is basically garbage that no one wants.

Because in terms of technology, the textile industry in the Central Plains was mainly based on silk fabrics, and the wool textile industry was not involved. Although the Huns had a certain wool textile industry and were able to twist wool into yarn and make various woolen clothes, due to the poor quality, people disliked it and it was not taken seriously at all.

As a result, in the bitterly cold north, most clothing for keeping warm is made of various animal furs, the kind that are stripped of their skins and furs together. A separate wool textile industry has been slow to be established.

But the wool material that Wang Jing took out now was obviously a technically mature wool textile product with excellent quality and warmth. This was definitely a rigid demand in the area north of the Yellow River!

As long as it involves goods with urgent needs, there is no way that people will not make money, so some people's eyes begin to become serious, with an attitude of "If you want to talk about money, then I won't be sleepy anymore."

(End of this chapter)