Mythical Three Kingdoms

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~ Speaking of which, I do post extra updates on such traditional holidays...

Armed with this powerful tool, Chen Xi was already prepared to lure away the famed ministers of Yingchuan who were ready to return to their hometown from Mount Tai after abandoning Yuan Shao. His goal was to catch them all in one fell swoop!

Lub Su and Chen Xi talked all night long, and the following day Lub Su went to the Political Office with dark circles under his eyes. Liu Bei, with a look of joy on his face, handed the seal ribbon of the Governor of Mount Tai Commandery to Chen Xi. Afterwards, he passed the seal ribbon of the Prefect of Mount Tai that Chen Xi had relinquished to Lub Su. The handover of official duties was completely done, and it seemed Chen Xi could rise no higher.

As Zang Ba persuaded the leader of the Mount Tai bandits one by one to surrender, the remaining stubborn fools who were oblivious to their fate were thoroughly swept through by Lord Guan and Zhang Fei leading the New Army. Mount Tai became secure, and now Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each led their captives back to Fenggao with their subordinates.

”Zijing, these are this year’s cultivated land figures, the tax rates are with Zilong, as well as the grain supplies for the Central Government. Calculate it well and give me a proper number,” Chen Xi planned out the tasks for the autumn and winter seasons and began to handle current affairs. Similar to before, Chen Xi only arranged for personnel and set general targets, and there would always be someone who would come up with the regulations.

For instance, Lub Su was now genuinely busy with work, while Chen Xi basically just gave orders. He was well aware of his strengths—having vision and experience—but not hands-on work. Professional matters should be left to professionals, after all. Moreover, haven’t you noticed how pleased Lub Su is to be entrusted with important duties and eager to showcase himself? Hence, Chen Xi tossed some more work his way. It was only right for the Four Heroic Generals of Eastern Wu to shoulder heavier burdens.

”How can I give you just a rough number? One must be one, two must be two. Political strategy should not be unclear, isn’t this giving subordinates a chance to accept bribes?” Lub Su sternly refused Chen Xi’s kind offer.

”Ah, I mean that you only need to report the whole numbers, and we’ll use the remainder as subsidies during the holiday season for elders, widows, and the like in the various counties and townships. Life is not easy for them, and they should be entitled to support,” Chen Xi casually came up with an excuse.

”After distribution, the remaining part will be used as subsidies for outstanding students next year. You see, once these youngsters start their studies, their families lose a laborer. Though the common people would grit their teeth and support a scholar, I think we should be more humane,” Chen Xi said while yawning, and then he came up with a series of good ideas to boost reputation.

”This is an excellent plan. However, why doesn’t Zichuan write a regulation?” Lub Su nodded and saw the benefits of these two measures, then curiously raised his head and asked.

”It’s too simple. It’s not worth wasting paper on something that can be explained with a word,” Chen Xi pulled out another logical reason.

Chen Xi was right about one thing; ever since paper began to be used in the Political Office, Mi Zhu had taken notice of it. After receiving Chen Xi’s promise that he could sell it, and that he would have an exclusive right to sell it in the south eventually, Mi Zhu finally became quite content. However, he would still occasionally come to the Political Office to mooch off them.

Fortunately, a few days ago, Chen Xi could no longer tolerate the inexplicable disappearance of the paper he had prepared, so he gave Mi Zhu the rights to sell Refined Salt in Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou. He allowed him to take his documents to Su Shuang to procure salt, counting on the preparations of the last three or so months, where Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping had produced enough sea salt to potentially crush the other major salt merchants.

Naturally, Chen Xi was unaware that Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, in their pursuit of speed, had only conducted initial purification and completely disregarded the detailed instructions for a second refinement provided by Chen Xi. After the initial purification, the salt they obtained already seemed much better than the black and yellow lumpy well salt from the Shu Region, and without any odd taste, so they directly discarded the final step.

Had these events occurred in the present day, they certainly would have been called out for cutting corners, but at that time, even if Chen Xi were to see Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping doing that, he would have nothing to say. After all, the populace was still using certain salty-tasting stones, so the methods of Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping truly were a boon to society. Moreover, since they sold the salt so cheaply, by the moral standards of the time, this could be likened to the Benevolent Merchant Fann Li of the Spring and Autumn Period...

Since Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping themselves used the salt they sold, what more could you say? The salt makers trusted their own product, so what could salt consumers possibly complain about?

So Chen Xi truly had no idea how much salt Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping had amassed. With the business now open, even if it was sold across the entire Great Han provinces and counties, he estimated there would be enough to last until March of the following year. Without the final step of sun-drying, it was indeed much faster. Even Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping were now troubled about how to transport it all.

”Report, Assistant Official Mi Zizhong has urgent matters to discuss.” Just as Chen Xi continued assigning tasks to Lub Su, a messenger ran over.

”Please, let Zizhong come in,” Chen Xi said, looking up with a slight frown.

”I wonder what brings Zizhong back this time,” Lub Su said with a smile. ”Zichuan is probably feeling quite melancholy about Zizhong’s return, isn’t he?”

”That’s not it. I’m just worried there might be problems in Qingzhou. It’s the foundation of my plans for next year,” Chen Xi said, shaking his head.

”Eh, we have plans in Qingzhou?” Lub Su asked in surprise, staring at Chen Xi. He was unaware of such an important matter.

”Yes, it’s part of my business strategy. I’ve shown you before,” said Chen Xi, pointing to the stack of documents that Lub Su had previously glanced through.

”The salt industry?” After pondering briefly, Lub Su recalled the content of the documents written by Chen Xi about engaging in the salt trade in Qingzhou. It was so simple, yet who could truly understand it?

”Right, I suspect Zizhong is back for this very reason. I don’t know whether the situation is good or bad, as I’ve been out of touch with Su Shuang and the others for the past few months,” Chen Xi admitted his lack of information.

”I’ve seen the Prefectural Governor, the Magistrate,” Mi Zhu entered, hustling and covered in dust. One could tell the matter was serious; even the gentlemanly Mi Zhu hadn’t stopped to clean up before rushing to find Chen Xi and Lub Su.

”No need for such formality, Zizhong. With your haste, has a major issue arisen in Qingzhou?” Chen Xi’s expression fell. It was he who had chosen Qingzhou, and if something had gone wrong now, it would be a difficult situation to manage.

Quickly, Mi Zhu explained the full story, and Chen Xi’s worries significantly eased. As for Lub Su, he was utterly stunned. There was so much salt it couldn’t all be transported; they hoped to enlist the Jiangdong Lul Clan, an illustrious shipbuilding family, to assist in the salt shipments. It was all money, foundational to Liu Bei’s rise the following year. This was indeed a grand plan!

After Mi Zhu took Chen Xi’s instructions to Qingzhou, the already concerned Su Shuang were overjoyed. They couldn’t ship out their salt; would Mi Zhu, head of one of the Five Great Merchants, also be unable to do so? Therefore, Su Shuang assured Mi Zhu, who came for the salt, slapping his chest, saying that salt was not an issue.

When Mi Zhu saw the 100,000 dan of refined salt allocated to him by Su Shuang, he was completely stunned. Moreover, Su Shuang offered to let him take the salt before payment, since everyone was now relying on Lord Xuande for their livelihood. The group saw each other often, and since they were all wealthy, no deposit was needed. They would settle accounts after making money, and Su Shuang indicated that making just a salary would suffice.

Although Mi Zhu was a merchant, he greatly maintained a gentlemanly demeanor. Seeing how distressed Su Shuang were about transporting the salt, Mi Zhu offered to take on the shipping responsibilities. Yet, when he saw the entire stock of Su Shuang’s salt, he was dumbfounded. It seemed impossible to move such a vast amount of salt by conventional means without attracting attention.

After much thought, Mi Zhu felt that maritime shipping was the only option to avoid drawing the scrutiny of others, and the only families with such experience were the Jiangdong Lul Clan and the Gongsun Family of Youzhou. Mi Zhu had interacted with the Jiangdong Lul Clan, but now the question was whether Chen Xi would allow the Jiangdong Lul Clan to join!