Chapter 77: The salt-making method was introduced, and Tao Qian took the blame for Cao Song’s death!

Cao Song is Cao Cao's father. Now his family is hiding in Langya County to avoid disaster. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have been trying every means to attack him secretly, but they have never found an opportunity.

Of course, if one wants to kill him by force, Yuan can naturally do it with his power.

But the problem is!

They needed to put the blame on Liu Bei and stir up a dispute between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, rather than attract Cao Cao's hatred towards themselves.

So how to kill Cao Song without implicating himself? Even without leaving any clues? This is the most difficult killing move! And it also requires provoking a dispute between Liu Bei and Cao Cao!

The brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu kept waiting, until April, when they finally got an unexpected opportunity.

Cao Song and his family are going to join his son Cao Cao!

……

When Yuan Shao received this news, it was April, the time when sweet potatoes and potatoes were harvested, and corn still had one or two months left in its growth period.

But the per-acre yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes has already driven everyone in Yuanying crazy!
They stole a small amount of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn from Yanzhou and Qingzhou, just enough to plant one or two acres of land.

This just proves whether sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are as magical as rumored in the capital!

turn out--

"General, the yield of sweet potatoes per mu is more than 3,700 catties, and the yield of potatoes per mu is more than 3,300 catties, both of which are planted in the fertile fields of Jizhou.

"Considering the unfamiliarity of the first planting, the imperfect application of fertilizers, and the recent drought in Jizhou, the yield per mu may fluctuate slightly.

"Therefore, the 5,000-jin yield per mu of sweet potatoes and potatoes that is said in the capital is possible!"

After receiving the reply from his agricultural officer, everyone in Yuan's camp was silent for a long time.

real! ! !

It's true! ! !
Even though they had heard the rumors and even sent spies to obtain seeds of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, they were still a little bit unbelievable in their hearts!
But now, seeing is believing, hearing is false!

Facts speak louder than words!

Even though the yield per mu was not as much as rumored in the capital, this was their first time planting and they had no experience, and the dry weather affected the yield per mu.

If soil fertility, fertilizers, water conservancy and other conditions are perfectly combined, the yield per mu will definitely be improved.

Even if it is just this, it is enough to prove that sweet potatoes and potatoes are absolutely high-yield and good varieties!
"hiss--"

There were bursts of gasps from people throughout Yuan’s camp.

After Yuan Shao woke up, he was overjoyed and immediately said: "Don't waste any sweet potatoes and potatoes. Cultivate and plant them all."

"promise!!!"

After the Minister of Agriculture left, Yuan Shao immediately gave the order:
"Immediately send spies to find out the planting methods. Qingzhou and Yanzhou cannot be completely secretive. No matter what the news is, as long as it is related to sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn, report it back to me without missing a word!"

"promise!!!"

Immediately, one of his officials went down to take care of it.

It was not until this time that everyone woke up and congratulated Yuan Shao.

"Congratulations, my lord! As long as sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are cultivated and promoted, we will no longer have to worry about food in ten to eight years at most, or three to five years at least!"

"This is a blessing from heaven! It is a blessing for all the people in the world! It is a blessing for everyone!!!"

"Maybe this is God's will! Auspicious signs from heaven will bring us heroes, just like Han lost its power and fought for supremacy in the Central Plains!!!"

"..."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao was full of energy and pride!

It was a sign of good fortune from heaven, but Yuan Shao could also steal it!
At this moment, a messenger came to report:
"General, there is news from spies in Langya County that Cao Song has relocated his family to Yanzhou to join Cao Cao!"

"Go down and receive the reward."

"Thank you, General!!!"

After the messenger withdrew, Yuan Shao stopped smiling, looked around, and asked the civil and military officials:
"What do you think?"

...

"Lord, God help me!"

Feng Ji bowed and said:

"If Cao Song stays in Langya County, which is adjacent to Qingzhou and Xuzhou, we can't take action by force to avoid leaving any clues!

But if he leaves Langya County, we will have ample opportunities to take action along the way, and even put the blame on Liu Bei!"

...

Hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded and asked, "It's easy to take action against Cao Song, but the problem is, how can we put the blame on Liu Bei?"

...

"This is simple!"

Feng Ji offered a suggestion:
"When Liu Bei suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, he captured more than 100,000 soldiers and a population of more than 500,000.

"These soldiers were trained by Liu Bei and organized into the 'Qingzhou Army', but they were certainly a mixed bag of good and bad.

"We only need to bribe the bad guys in the Qingzhou army and make them attack Cao Song. We can definitely pin the blame on Liu Bei and make him suffer in silence. Cao Cao will also be angry with Liu Bei and provoke a fight between the two!"

...

"Yuan Tu's plan is brilliant!"

Yuan Shao clapped his hands and said, "Let's follow your plan!"

...

"promise!!!"

……

Qingzhou.

Liu Bei was delighted and summoned Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Guo Jia, Taishi Ci and other trusted generals to meet him.

Beside Liu Bei, there was a eunuch from the East Factory standing beside him. From the eunuch's service and the envoy's appearance, it could be seen that this was an angel.

An envoy representing the emperor!
"There is great news!"

Everyone suddenly became excited!

Could it be that the news of their bumper sweet potato and potato harvest reached the capital and aroused the praise of His Majesty? !

That’s not right either!

Sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are also being planted crazily in the capital. Given the fertile land and good weather in the capital, the yield per mu should definitely be higher!

Could it be news that they have decided to send troops to Jizhou? !
This immediately made Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other generals very excited!
To be conferred the title of Marquis and appointed as a general, this is the only long-cherished wish of a man in his life!
"Cough cough..."

Liu Bei looked at these trusted generals, thought for a moment, and then looked at the angel and said, "Angel, please speak for yourself."

"You are too kind, Envoy Liu. Just call me Little Prince."

The angel replied politely, and then said:

"Your Majesty, I have come across a method for making salt. After testing, it is possible to further extract crude salt and turn it into snow-white refined salt. Since Qingzhou is close to the sea, I have specially ordered you to build a government-run salt field!"

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci and others did not quite understand the advantages of refined salt. But Guo Jia, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and others were a little surprised when they heard it!

Coarse salt, further extracted to become snow-white refined salt? !
This will be a dimensionality reduction attack!!!
Coarse salt is bitter and contains toxins, and eating too much is bad for your health. Therefore, wealthy families use salt water.

After the crude salt is steamed, it is refined.

Because the process is complicated, time-consuming and labor-intensive, ordinary people naturally don't want to waste it.

But even so, it only makes the coarse salt slightly better, and it is still difficult to achieve... snow-white color!

And now, your Majesty's "salt-making method" can produce snow-white refined salt? !

This will be an improvement in craftsmanship!
Even if it’s expensive, you can still sell it in high society and make a profit!
...

The angel named Wang seemed to see that they were confused, and took out the carefully protected refined salt from his arms, spreading it out to show everyone!

Soon, everyone was finally moved!
"Is this salt?! It's too white! It's like white snow!"

"Captain Zhang, please try some." The angel said with a smile.

Zhang Fei actually dipped some salt in it and tasted it. He was immediately disgusted by the saltiness and his face wrinkled into a knot:

"It really is salt! But it doesn't taste as bitter as coarse salt. The method of making refined salt must be very complicated. It must be priceless, right?"

"No no no."

The angel looked at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei quickly understood what he meant and said with a smile, "Angel, we are all family members here, you can trust us! I guarantee it with my own life!"

This moved both civil and military officials!

Even Guo Jia was infected by Liu Bei's personal charm during their daily interactions!

The angel then took out the "Salt-Making Method", spread it out and handed it to everyone to read.

“Add water to dissolve, filter, and boil…”

Zhang Fei smacked his lips and said, "It's that simple?!"

"This is just a rough purification. There is more to come." The angel turned it over for them to read.

"What the hell is this?!" Zhang Fei suddenly felt dizzy.

Guo Jia stepped forward and was also stunned:
"Barium chloride reacts with sulfate ions to form barium sulfate? Since barium sulfate is insoluble in water, can the sulfate ions be removed by removing precipitation or other methods?
"Then sodium hydroxide is added to react with magnesium ions to form magnesium hydroxide precipitate; then sodium carbonate is added to react with calcium ions to form calcium carbonate precipitate.

"Finally, all impurities are removed by filtering, and then pure salt is obtained by boiling or sun drying."

Guo Jia considered himself to be a learned man, but at this moment, he felt that he was unlearned!

Because he knows all these words, but when they are put together, he doesn't understand a single sentence!
"Gongyou, Xianhe, do you... understand?" Guo Jia asked embarrassedly.

Fortunately, the two of them also shook their heads, looking confused!
The angel was very proud. In fact, when they first saw it, they were also confused. He explained:

“It’s actually just lime and soda ash!”

"Oh!!!"

Once you say this, they will understand.

Your Majesty is really something, using all this professional terminology to make them seem unlearned and illiterate!
"Can we get refined salt by doing this?!" Guo Jia asked in surprise, because it was too simple.

"Indeed!"

The angel restrained his smile, his expression became a little solemn:
“I believe you have all noticed that the method of making refined salt requires ingenious ideas to invent.

“But once it’s created, it’s extremely easy to copy.

"So you need to keep it highly confidential. You can't leak it, or else it will be easily stolen by traitors!"

There was no patent law in ancient times.

But His Majesty gave Liu Bei such a simple method of salt-making without reservation!

Everyone was moved!!!

"This is His Majesty's trust in us!!!"

Liu Bei was deeply moved and burst into tears.

Military generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and civil officials such as Guo Jia and Sun Qian were also moved!

Guo Jia looked at Liu Bei and others and said solemnly: "The salt field needs to be heavily guarded, and trustworthy workers are needed to do the job!"

"That's how it should be!"

Liu Bei wiped away his tears and said, “Your Majesty said that the price of refined salt can be set similar to that of coarse salt, or even slightly lower.

If refined salt comes out, it will definitely cause a market shock. We can even start an economic war against Jizhou!"

"Food and salt are indispensable daily necessities!" Guo Jia also nodded, "This move can hit Yuan Shao's economy and logistics!"

After hearing this, everyone expressed their great anticipation!

This method of making salt really kills two birds with one stone!
It can not only obtain tax revenue and alleviate the impact of the lack of salt in the capital, but also strike at traitors such as Yuan Shao.

Let's have a "Salt War"!
Imagine that the price of white refined salt and coarse salt with bitter impurities is the same or even slightly lower. Which one will people choose? !

Doing so is equivalent to turning salt into a state-owned enterprise and a monopoly!
It should be noted that after Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu restored the Han Dynasty, he abolished the state-run salt and iron industries.

In order to ease the financial difficulties of the court, Emperor Zhang of the Later Han Dynasty restarted the state-run salt and iron industries, but encountered great resistance.

During the reign of Emperor He of Han, the state-run salt and iron industries were officially abolished.

In other words, today’s salt and iron are privately owned!
Liu Bian's actions were equivalent to "state-run salt and iron", but he did not directly propose it because the resistance was too great! However, Liu Bian gave the "Salt Making Method", which was equivalent to indirectly guiding the people to choose "state-run refined salt" instead of "private coarse salt". This was an alternative "monopoly"!
This was another measure taken by Liu Bian to boost the court's finances besides the food crisis!

There are Youzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou along the coast. But the only one Liu Bian can really trust and control is Liu Bei of Qingzhou!

In addition to sea salt, Liu Bian also developed rock salt, lake salt, etc.

I believe that soon, refined salt will take the world by storm!

Sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn can eliminate starvation in the world!

Refined salt can allow the people to eat healthy salt and can also save the court's finances from crisis!

Next, Liu Bei and others discussed issues such as salt making methods, refined salt, and salt fields for more than an hour.

The angel was immediately welcomed with a banquet.

This angel named Wang, a eunuch from the Eastern Depot, will also stay in Qingzhou to supervise the salt fields.

When it comes to the Han Dynasty’s “salt tax”, we must be extremely cautious!

...

Just when Liu Bei was preparing to vigorously develop the state-run salt field, a white-haired old man came over, escorting a soldier in military uniform.

Liu Bei came out to meet them after hearing the news, and thought that his soldiers were disturbing the people, so he immediately stepped forward to confess his crime. He bowed and saluted meticulously, with his head almost hitting the ground.

"No, no, no, Envoy Liu, you misunderstood."

The old man let go of the soldier with fear and trepidation, and immediately returned the greeting to Liu Bei:

"Envoy Liu, since you took office in Qingzhou, you have suppressed the rebellion, governed with leniency, and loved the people. We have always seen it.

"We Qingzhou people are tough and valiant. I will never submit to anyone else in my life except you, Lord Liu. Your kindness and righteousness cannot be faked.

"You've been sincere to us, and we've been sincere to you."

...

This touched Liu Bei a little, but he immediately felt confused: "What's this, old man?"

He glanced at the soldier and saw that he seemed to be a sergeant of the "Qingzhou Army" under his command, and a small leader of ten soldiers. He was looking in other directions with an indignant look on his face.

But after breaking free, he did not run away.

"This unfilial son has been doing evil since he was young. When he grew up, he joined the Yellow Turban Rebellion and has always caused trouble for his family..."

The old man started talking in a rambling way.

Only then did Liu Bei realize that this man was the old man's son.

Did the father and son have a quarrel? Or was the army's salary not enough for the family?

Liu Bei asked many times and showed great concern, but the old man said no every time!
Liu Bei became even more curious: "Old man, what is it that you are struggling to express? Tell me, and I will personally do justice for you!"

Liu Bei's courtesy made the old man feel even more embarrassed, and even the sergeant looked ashamed.

"Neither of them is Envoy Liu!"

The old man burst into tears and said:

"This kid has recently received a huge sum of money. No one knows his son better than his father. I asked him about his sleep last night and finally found out the reason. It turns out that someone bribed him to harm Envoy Liu!"

As he said this, the old man knelt down and cried loudly, "We are so ashamed of ourselves, Lord Liu! We are not human beings! Please punish us, Lord Liu!!!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei's face suddenly changed!

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others who were watching the excitement behind them also immediately changed their expressions and looked at the squad leader with lightning eyes!
I saw that the man's eyes were evasive and it was obvious that he had something to hide!
Liu Bei did not interrogate him immediately. Instead, he immediately stepped forward to help the old man up. He even bent down, brushed the dust off the old man's knees, and comforted him:
"You don't have to do this, old man. It's a great honor to admit your mistakes and improve. And in my opinion, the old father can't be blamed for the child's mistakes. The fault should not be on the parents, don't you think?"

The old man burst into tears, moved by Liu Bei's sincerity. Even the squad leader looked ashamed.

"Why don't you just tell me the truth?! If you keep insisting on your wrongdoing, I will smash my head against the wall and die in front of you!!!"

"father!!!"

The old man roared at the squad leader, who was a filial son. He knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and blurted out everything.

This sergeant had no idea that Yuan Shao was behind this, or even that he was related to the Yuan family. He only knew that someone had bribed him to secretly attack a caravan coming from Langya County.

It is said that the caravan had hundreds of baggage carriages and countless gold, silver and treasures. As long as they succeeded in plundering them, they would enjoy endless wealth and glory.

This incomprehensible statement made Liu Bei and others feel a little confused and uncertain.

Even Sun Qian and Jian Yong didn't quite understand these words!
But Liu Bei had a top strategist under his command!
"My Lord, I have a guess, but before that, we must clean up the mess as soon as possible and eliminate the rebels in the army!"

Guo Jia's face was serious and he said in a deep voice.

Liu Bei also nodded solemnly.

Immediately, they launched a large-scale cleanup and uncovered many rebels who were bribe-takers.

After gathering the intelligence from these people, they got a piece of information:

Langya County, Cao Song's family, went to Dong County to seek refuge with Cao Cao...

Guo Jia linked the information together and combined it with his own guess. He said: "Sir, this must be a trick of the Yuan family. They want to provoke a dispute between you and Cao Cao and reap the benefits!"

"Fengxiao, how can we break the impasse?" Liu Bei asked with a frown.

"I don't know if the Yuan family has used anyone else besides us. But no matter what, it's always right to send troops to protect Cao Song's family!" Guo Jia said.

Liu Bei nodded and directly sent Taishi Ci to lead his personal soldiers to protect Cao Song.

but!

It’s still a step too late!
"kill--"

When Cao Song and his family left Langya County, Tao Qian of Xuzhou sent his general Zhang Kai to escort them.

Who knew that Zhang Kai would be tempted by the money and suddenly massacre Cao Song's family in a temple between Langya County and Taishan County of Yanzhou.

Cao Song also had guards under his command, and they immediately engaged Zhang Kai and other rebels, but they were clearly no match for them.

Cao Song was on the run, and seeing the enemy army chasing him, he guessed that they were targeting him, and immediately said to his youngest son Cao De:

"De'er, you must go north to Qingzhou immediately and let your father lead them away for you."

"Father, why don't you go west to ask for help from our eldest brother?!" Cao De was frightened and panicked. The eldest brother he was referring to was naturally Cao Cao of Dongjun.

Cao Song said anxiously: "I will explain it to you later!"

"Father……"

Cao De was taken away by Cao's loyal slave.

Cao Song ordered his servant to disguise himself as Cao De, and they pretended to flee westward toward Dongjun.

The reason why Cao De, the youngest son, was not allowed to go directly to Dongjun was that although Cao Cao was the governor of Dongjun, not all the people in the eight counties of Yanzhou were loyal to the emperor and patriotic. They could not distinguish between good and bad people!
Moreover, to go west to Dongjun, they need to cross the Yimeng Mountains and the Taiyi Mountains. They are spoiled and are being hunted by others, so it is impossible for them to travel long distances.

But Liu Bei of Qingzhou is a true loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Now Cao Cao stands on the side of imperial power and even depends on the eunuchs. They are absolute allies!

"kill!!!"

"Aman will avenge me!!!"

Cao Song did not run far before he was caught up by Zhang Kai's troops and then surrounded and killed.

"Leader, Cao Song's son Cao De has fled north!"

"Chase! Don't let anyone go!" Zhang Kai said urgently after hearing this.

"Yes!!!"

They ignored Cao Song's gold, silver and treasures, which amounted to more than a hundred carts of baggage, and went straight to chase Cao De.

However, Taishan Commandery in Yanzhou and Langya Commandery in Xuzhou bordered the State of Qi in Qingzhou. Liu Bei sent Taishi Ci to come to the rescue and protect Cao Song's family.

Just when Zhang Kai led his troops to catch up with Cao De, Taishi Ci had already led his troops to attack.

"Kill, kill, kill—"

"Qiang Qiang Qiang——"

Fighting soon broke out between the two sides.

Zhang Kai saw that the situation was not good, so he gave up decisively and led his troops south to Nanyang.

"General, save my father..."

Although Cao De was young, he knew that Taishi Ci could save him and must be a good person.

Taishi Ci said to his personal soldiers: "Report to the lord immediately!"

"promise!"

After his personal soldiers left, Taishi Ci did not linger but led Cao De back to attack.

however.

The scene of the incident was already in ruins.

Most of the gold, silver and treasures that Cao Song brought with him were looted. It seemed that Zhang Kai was tempted by the wealth, so he killed people and stole the treasures and then fled.

Taishi Ci's target was Cao Song, so he immediately began a search, and finally found Cao Song's... body!
"father!!!"

When Cao De saw Cao Song's body, he burst into tears and finally fainted from excessive grief.

Taishi Ci sighed and said, "Report this to the lord immediately!"

"promise!!!"

"General, do we need to follow the trail southward?" a soldier asked.

But Taishi Ci shook his head and said, "That is Xuzhou's territory. The court does not allow troops to cross the border. We cannot exercise power across the border!"

"My subordinate understands!"

Taishi Ci immediately led his troops to clean up the battlefield.

But looking at Cao Song's body, he sighed inwardly, realizing that he was still one step too late and the enemy's evil plan succeeded!

Once Cao Song dies, Cao Cao will definitely go crazy!
Although Liu Bei was not implicated in this matter, based on Taishi Ci's torture of prisoners of war, these soldiers seemed to be subordinates of Tao Qian in Xuzhou.

Cao Cao will definitely vent his anger on Tao Qian!
And Tao Qian was also a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty!

If this matter is not handled properly, it will cause internal divisions among the loyal officials of the Han Dynasty!
……

Because of Cao Song's death, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and even Yuzhou will be in turmoil again.

The instigator and culprit, Zhang Kai, had already led his troops south and headed straight for Nanyang.

They had been hiding their tracks and finally went straight to Yuan Shu's camp and informed him of these things.

"You guys did a great job!"

Yuan Shu was overjoyed and rewarded Zhang Kai with a large sum of money, and also promised him a high position and generous salary in the future, which made Zhang Kai very excited.

Zhang Kai was a Yellow Turban bandit who had been secretly supported by the Yuan family.

Later, when Tao Qian was stationed in Xuzhou, Zhang Kai reluctantly submitted to Tao Qian. In fact, he was also a chess piece placed by Yuan Shikai next to Tao Qian.

After Yuan Ji's death, Yuan Shu took over the Yuan family's power and used the Cao Song incident to activate this chess piece!

Yuan Shao took action and tried to instigate a fight between Liu Bei and Cao Cao!

In fact, Yuan Shu was also making moves in secret, using the hidden lines around Tao Qian just in case.

And in Yuan Shu's view, Langya County belongs to Xuzhou, so Tao Qian of Xuzhou deserves to be blamed!
At first, the princes tried to purge the emperor's entourage, but after the truth came to light, their efforts to save the king turned into a treasonous counterattack against the capital, and a civil war immediately broke out.

The Suanzao coalition besieged Yuan Shao, while the Luyang coalition also attacked Yuan Shu.

At that time, Yuzhou Governor Kong Rong, Chen Wang Liu Chong, Xuzhou Tao Qian, Jingzhou Liu Biao and others joined forces to besiege and kill Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu remembered it clearly!
and.

In fact, in addition to going north to Yanzhou, Yuan Shu also had another strategy -

That is to seize Huainan!
Seize the Huai-Si area and even cross the Yangtze River to the south!
As the Central Plains was in turmoil, the aristocratic families moved south, Jiangdong was developed, and its economy also took off!

Moreover, there are two natural barriers, the Huai River and the Yangtze River, which can stop your Majesty's troops and divide the world into two by the Huai River!
This strategy was proposed by Yuan Shu's advisers!

Based on this strategy, Yuan Shu also needed to make preparations for both situations. If he failed to go north to Yanzhou, he would immediately rush to Huainan!
At this time, Tao Qian of Xuzhou was undoubtedly a thorn in his side!
By taking advantage of the Cao Song incident and provoking Cao Cao to take action against Tao Qian, he can reap the benefits!
"Now, I have a more important task for you!"

"My lord, please give me your orders. I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

"Try to assassinate... Prince Chen Liu Chong!"

……

(End of this chapter)