Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3527 Opening up a new path

Money is not everything, but without money, nothing is possible.

The sons of the Han noble families like to go to extremes. On the surface, they are so noble that they look disgusted when talking about money. But in fact, they will do anything to gain power and benefits.

Sun Quan was not ashamed to talk about money, and he also felt that it was better for Huang Gai to talk about money. If he did not talk about money at all, it would be a bad thing.

"The New Year's Eve has just passed, the treasury is empty, and the southern counties are in chaos with bandits. I'm afraid that three or four out of ten will be lost this year." Sun Quan did not mention the war losses, because it sounded like Sun Quan was putting the blame on Huang Gai, which was not nice even if it was true.

Huang Gai nodded, but didn't say anything. He knew all this, so he understood and ate.

It's like some cows and horses like to understand capitalists, but when the cows and horses can't eat, the capitalists won't understand. Most capitalists will almost instinctively blame, "Isn't it because of laziness that they can't eat?"

It is not Huang Gai's turn to judge whether Sun Quan is lazy or not, but if Sun Quan makes everyone starve and still blames Huang Gai and others for being lazy, then there will be a big problem.

Sun Quan was obviously not stupid. He whispered: "The only strategy now is to open up new sources of income."

"Kaiyuan?" Huang Gai raised his eyebrows, "My lord, please tell me what you want to do."

Naturally, he prefers this word to "thrift".

Sun Quan nodded, "Have you heard of Liu Xuande of Jiaozhi?"

"But is it General Liu Xuande?" Huang Gai asked.

Sun Quan nodded.

"I heard that this General Zuo is under the command of the Cavalry?" Huang Gai asked again.

Sun Quan waved his hand, "No. He is just a guest general, just like what happened in Jingzhou before."

Huang Gai suddenly realized.

The Great Man’s First Red Flower Double Stick.

However, Huang Gai was still a little confused. Could it be that Sun Quan was going to conspire with Liu Bei to counterattack Sichuan?

This is not good.

Huang Gai had fought with the Sichuan navy before, and he knew how powerful they were. Besides, Zhou Yu had just passed away. Although there was a tactic called "pitying soldiers" in military strategy, not all situations could be considered "pitying soldiers"!

The so-called "soldier of sorrow" is not just about being sad, but about transforming the sadness into anger. Otherwise, if you just shed tears, how can you have any fighting power?

It's just like in the United States, when you are cheated by real estate capitalists, it is useless to just be sad. From the young lady at the sales office to the cleaner sweeping the floor, no one will show any sympathy for this heartbroken honest man. They will even stand by the real estate capitalists, saying that it is not easy for the capitalists either. It is not until the honest man's sadness turns into anger and comes with an axe that he realizes that something is wrong.

So it is not impossible for Sun Quan to use the "sad army" strategy, but the key to the problem is how to transform sadness into anger.

The war between Sichuan and Shu, whether it is just or not, is not worth mentioning. Anyway, this thing is like a fig leaf, put it on and take it off again and again, even the person himself forgets whether he put it on or took it off. After all, only those who truly stand on the side of the people can be said to be just, otherwise it is just a gimmick.

Moreover, if you play the role of "pitying the enemy" just for the sake of playing the role of "pitying the enemy", you may end up making things worse. To really use this tactic, you must have strong organizational and coordination skills, and you must also have clear combat goals and tasks and allocate resources reasonably. Otherwise, even if you can play the role of "pitying the enemy" for a while, after fighting a battle, you will eat, drink, sleep, and then calm down. What's the point of playing the role of "pitying the enemy"?

What the Jiangdong Army lacks most now is mutual trust and support among soldiers, and between soldiers and generals, so there is no cohesion at all. If Sun Quan really wants to do this, the soldiers who have lost confidence in Jiangdong may surrender in large numbers as soon as they go to the battlefield!

Unless there is a fatal mistake in the Sichuan Army or the Cavalry Army, such as Fei Qian suddenly losing his mind and withdrawing the generals in charge of the front line for no reason, or the twelve golden medals to transfer Zhuge Liang back to Chang'an, etc...

Huang Gai waited for Sun Quan to give the final answer and then prepared to refute.

Sun Quan looked at Huang Gai and said "oh", then he remained silent, with his heart in turmoil.

To be honest, whether you are an official or a monarch, the most important things are people and money!

But for Sun Quan, all three items were empty.

Sun Quan was more or less aware of Jiangdong's financial situation, but seeing Huang Gai like this, he still felt very unhappy.

Jiangdong was in trouble, and as a general of Jiangdong, shouldn't he help the people in the same boat? Why did he look like he was high above, waiting for Sun Quan, his "minister", to offer a strategy?

Sun Quan gritted his teeth secretly.

Jiangdong is in need of money everywhere now. The so-called advance payment is actually a cover-up. It is nothing more than a temporary default and will be paid back when there is money. If the previous debt is not paid, the next debt will arise, and eventually the economy will collapse and everyone will give up.

Spending money cannot be delayed, as the local spring plowing requires seeds, the military casualties require compensation, plus officials have to start work after the holiday, daily food expenses, and reconstruction work after the pacification of the Shanyue area, all of which cost money!

As for the Han Dynasty's economic system, its financial means were quite weak, otherwise Emperor Sun would not have repeatedly issued trillions of dollars in inflation and reaped the people's wealth in the later years.

So for Sun Quan, what he hoped most was that Huang Gai and others would support him in fighting with the natives of Jiangdong, and then divide the property of those guys for food and drink, but Sun Quan also understood that it was easy to think about it, but it was difficult to do it. Not to mention whether Huang Gai was willing or not, there were many natives of Jiangdong among the Jiangdong soldiers. If a fight really broke out, Sun Quan was not sure who would be the target of the swords and guns in the end.

Therefore, Sun Quan could only settle for the next best thing. "Gong Fu, the only way now is trade! The reason why the cavalry can support soldiers and horses in the barren land of Yongliang is because of trade! Liu Xuande is now in Jiaozhi, and there are countless camphor, horn and beads! If we can sell them back and forth, we will naturally make endless money!"

Huang Gai's eyes lit up when he heard this.

This method is not bad!

Huang Gai also knew what Sun Quan meant. If he wanted to keep the money in his hands, he would naturally have to exclude the original Jiangdong nobles, and he would need Huang Gai and others as protection...

Huang Gai thought for a moment, then he saluted and said, "My Lord, this is a great plan! Although I am not talented, I am willing to share your worries!"

Sun Quan had a smile on his face, but he felt uneasy in his heart.

You were so arrogant just now, but now that it seems profitable, you are willing to share the worry?

Originally, this trade was Sun Quan's exclusive business, but Sun Quan's own fleet had too few ships, and the time interval between trips was long, so he did not make much money. Now he is sharing the profits from this trade route, on the one hand, to win over veterans such as Huang Gai. After all, it is just a verbal promise. Even if Huang Gai and others agreed, Sun Quan would not believe it. Only the binding of interests is the most reliable way. On the other hand, Jiangdong's financial resources are too dependent on the land of the Jiangdong gentry. If he does not want to be strangled by the Jiangdong gentry, he must vigorously develop this trade route and must rely on the power of Huang Gai and others.

As for whether there would be any new problems in this process, Sun Quan could not care so much now, and could only take it one step at a time. Then he told Huang Gai about the "collusion" between himself and Liu Bei, and asked Huang Gai to go to the East China Sea to prepare to launch a large-scale trade route...

……

……

Liu Bei's life during this period was not too good, but not too bad either.

Last spring, Liu Bei sent a letter to Fei Qian, asking for some gunpowder, saying that it was for blasting mountains.

Fei Qian did not agree, not because of the so-called technical barriers, but because gunpowder was really inconvenient to transport over long distances, especially in the hills and mountains and rainforest swamps in the south. Even if it was transported to Jiaozhi, it would probably become waste.

Fei Qian specially wrote a reply letter, saying that it was not possible for the time being and that he would send gunpowder to Liu Bei after some technical problems were solved.

However, for Liu Bei, not getting gunpowder was within his expectations.

Liu Bei just wanted to test Fei Qian's attitude in this way, and also to use it to show that Jiaozhi "has nothing and is very poor in everything."

After all, the area of ​​Jiaozhi is a bit awkward. If you say it is big, it is indeed big, with more than a dozen well-known and unknown tribal kingdoms. But if you say it is small, it is indeed small, with mountains on one side and the sea on the other side, and a little bit of land between the mountains and the sea.

Even the air smells of fish.

Liu Bei managed to adapt himself to the situation.

Guan Yu didn't care, and even liked to lead the fleet out to sea. But Zhang Sanye really didn't like the sea. He liked land, dry environment, and...

Pig farming.

The small indigenous kingdoms in this place were too unchallenging. After Zhang Fei destroyed two so-called "countries", he was too embarrassed to record them...

The reason is that these so-called "countries" are too small. Two or three villages on a hill dare to call themselves "countries", and the guys in them paint some patterns on their faces to show that they are the reincarnation of some god, the descendants of some god, and they can brag more than the emperor of the Han Dynasty...

Ah, no, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. How can these guys compare with the Emperor of the Han Dynasty? And there is really no challenge at all!

Every time he went to attack, Zhang Fei seemed to be aroused and would pick up his spear...

Oh, take up the spear.

Just two stabs and it was over...

Not fun at all, right?!

So later on, Zhang Fei also lost interest in conquering these indigenous tribes. He was idle and had nothing to do, so he went back to his old ways and asked the captured kings and princes of the indigenous countries to raise pigs.

As a result, these people also disappointed Zhang Fei.

If you can’t even raise pigs, what else can you do?

"Haa ...

A bug seemed to think that Zhang Fei's bearded mouth was a suitable and warm nest, so it flew straight into Zhang Fei's mouth, causing Zhang Fei to spit out several times before he spit the bug out.

"Gugugugu... Bah! Damn little bug!"

Zhang Fei muttered, although his muttering was at the volume of a normal person's speech.

Perhaps it was because of the experience of slaughtering pigs in the early years and the screams of the pigs before dying at close range that affected some of Zhang Fei's hearing, so he always felt that he had to speak louder so that others could hear him.

Moreover, for Zhang Fei, the impact of his career as a pig butcher went far beyond his hearing.

Zhang Fei likes to eat pork, but the pigs from Jiaozhi are often not suitable for consumption.

If the pig houses are not cleaned regularly and some protective measures are not taken, pigs are very likely to get sick and develop parasites. But that's exactly the problem. The natives in Jiaozhi are incredibly lazy!

Although there was no scientific and standardized pig farming model in ancient times, as long as the cleaning work was done well, especially the management of the areas where pigs were active, the chances of pigs getting sick could be greatly reduced.

Uncle Zhang San felt that these things were not very difficult.

Although there were no modern building materials and facilities in ancient times, people tried to build pig houses in places with higher terrain and good drainage.

Is this fucking difficult?

Do not let pigs stay in damp and dark places for a long time. Clean up the accumulated water in the pig house in time and keep the pig house relatively dry.

Is this fucking difficult?

Especially the timely cleaning of pig feces and urine. As long as these excrement are cleaned out in time, the environment can be kept clean, and the pigs will not trample on them and get them everywhere!

As for the use of medicines, observing the condition of the pigs and so on, Uncle Zhang felt that these guys might not understand, and he did not emphasize to them to do it. However, they just couldn't do these most basic requirements!

These guys would rather sit or lie down, gather in groups of three or four to brag and chat for most of the day, but they are not willing to work...

But when it’s time to eat pork, these guys will come faster than dogs!

What's more, these lazy guys would even exaggerate and say that pork is even more delicious than dragon meat in the sky!

Simply put, these guys don't want to do anything, but they want to eat meat!

"Really a Murano man..."

Zhang Fei originally thought that beating and scolding these people would make them remember it to some extent, but in the end Zhang Fei discovered that these guys only remembered that Zhang Fei beat and scolded them, as for why he beat and scolded them, and how to avoid being beaten and scolded next time, it was not within the range of their memory!

As for these indigenous women, they are really hardworking and willing to do anything, even willing to help Zhang Fei warm the bed. But the problem is that Zhang Fei's aesthetic standards are not at all based on these buck teeth and flat noses, and their dirty appearance also makes Zhang Fei have no interest in them.

In some ways, the Han Chinese culture was overwhelming the surrounding minority tribes...

For example, in the Korean country that claims to be the best in the universe, there are records even in the Ming Dynasty that local indigenous women were topless and only wore skirts that looked like bed sheets.

It’s interesting to say, the Koreans wrap the bed sheets around their waists and the Japanese carry pillows on their backs. If they put them together, wouldn’t it be complete?

"Brother!!!" Zhang Fei rushed to Liu Bei in a hurry, "He's dead! He's dead!!!"

Liu Bei took two quick breaths to feel that he still had a heartbeat and breathing. "Third brother... who is dead?"

"Brother, pig!" Zhang Fei's eyes widened and he blew his beard.

Liu Bei: "......"

Can you speak well?

If Liu Bei hadn't been accustomed to Zhang Fei's way of speaking over the years, wouldn't he have fainted from anger?

Zhang Fei sat down and slapped his thigh, "Damn it, those guys are damned! They finally got the sow pregnant, but they didn't take good care of it and it fell into the ravine and died!"

Liu Bei also clapped his hands and said, "Punish them!"

"I punished them! I whipped each of them twenty times!"

Liu Bei nodded, "That's about it."

"But the pig is dead!" Zhang Fei was still angry, "This is a sow, it can give birth to piglets! But now the sow is dead, and the piglets are gone too!"

Liu Bei rolled his eyes and changed the subject, "There is something... I need to discuss with my third brother..."

After spending a long time with Zhang Fei, Liu Bei knew that Zhang Fei would sometimes get into a stubborn state. In such a situation, it was not easy to explain things clearly, so it was better to simply change the subject.

Zhang Fei was really attracted by what Liu Bei said, and stopped thinking about the pig. "Brother! What's the matter?!"

"Hmm..." Liu Bei thought about it.

In fact, Liu Bei is the only one in Jiaozhi now. No matter whether it is the border county of Rinan or the neighboring country of Poluman, they dare not get angry...

By the way, why don’t you guess why the small country on the southern edge of Japan is called "Poluman"?

So Liu Bei has gained a lot of weight now, and his waistline has become longer.

"Oh right... Koto!"

Liu Bei actually remembered something important.

"Jiangdong?" Zhang Fei was puzzled. "What happened to Jiangdong? Are they sending people again?"

Liu Bei said, "Not now... Do you remember, some time ago, someone from Jiangdong came and said that they wanted us to go fight Sichuan and Shu together?"

"Yeah, what's wrong? Is Sichuan so easy to defeat? My eldest brother couldn't defeat those idiots in Jiangdong, how could they defeat them?" Zhang Fei looked down on the calculations of those guys in Jiangdong.

"Well... ahem... let's not talk about Sichuan..." Liu Bei coughed twice, "The thing is... Jiangdong wanted to trade with us at that time. Although I agreed at that time, we had few ships at that time, so people from Jiangdong came to us to buy things... Third brother, you know, the price of the Jiangdong merchant caravan coming here is much different from that of our fleet..."

Zhang Fei nodded, "Indeed, what's wrong?"

It was not difficult for Zhang Fei to understand issues such as transportation costs, prices at the place of origin, etc.

Liu Bei smiled and said, "Your second brother has not been idle for a while. He has traveled to many places on the sea and fought many island pirates, so naturally he got a lot of ships..."

Unlike Zhang Fei who mainly fought on land, Guan Yu had now become almost the leader of the South China Sea pirates, beating the pirates and natives of Jiaozhi and even Yazhou.

Zhang Fei still couldn't understand what Liu Bei meant, "Yeah, that's right, second brother is awesome!"

Liu Bei patted his thighs and belly, "Look, I haven't moved for too long, I've gained weight... The three of us brothers have either gone to the south to fight, or Yunchang went to the sea to fight, we haven't been together for a long time... I thought, why not find an opportunity... The three of us brothers go to Jiangdong together and take a look around?"