Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 497 Helping Others
After the core policy ministers of Chu State reached a consensus on the "Zhen Qi Train" and "Zhen Qi Ship", Qin Mi became a lot more "fragrant".

After all, behind Qin Mi is the fat sheep of the Shuhou Mansion!

Without wealth, any plan is just a fool's errand...

Therefore, after staying in Jinling for more than a month, the envoy from the Marquis of Shu finally met the King of Chu after visiting all over the mountains!

What makes Qin Mi slightly uneasy is that all the Chu ministers he visited before either ignored him very much at the beginning, or recently... they all hinted to him that they were the best way to impress the King of Chu. --money!

Qin Mi also had doubts in his heart. After more than a month in Jinling, he had already felt the wealth of Chu State.

Is the Chu State, which is so rich, still short of money?
Sure enough... human greed is infinite, especially in a place like Chu that tampered with sacred learning!
Thinking of this, Qin Mi gained some confidence out of thin air. When Bai Tu saw him, he was a little surprised - this "fish" seemed to be quite strong even after it had been left to dry for a month?
"Foreign minister Qin Mi, pay homage to the King of Chu." After Qin Mi saw the King of Chu, he bowed politely.

"Didn't the Marquis of Shu want to 'pacify Hanzhong first, then destroy Jingyang, capture the King of Chu alive, and kill all the Chu soldiers'? Why did I send you here again?" Bai Tu said with some anger in his righteous words.

It’s as if these words were really said by Liu Zhang...

"Yizhou and Chu are separated by mountains and rivers, so misunderstandings are inevitable. Mi can guarantee with his head that Shuhou and his colleagues in Shuhou's mansion have no ill intentions towards Chu." Qin Mi did not dare to point out who was responsible for this. misunderstanding, after all, the main thing is to complete the task... and he has other ideas!

"Oh? Then why did the Marquis of Shu cut off all contact with Chu, Chunhua?" Bai Tu called Zhang Chunhua, and then Zhang Chunhua clearly pointed out the impact of the Marquis of Shu's move by citing data to Qin Mi.

Seeing that Bai Tu not only appointed a female official, but also asked her to answer questions to him, Qin Mi was dissatisfied. At the same time, he suppressed the excuse of dissatisfaction and said: "This matter was instigated by traitors. The Marquis of Shu had already abandoned the ban on Chu." I mean, it was just delayed by the Chu army’s divine soldiers descending from the sky.”

When Bai Tu heard this, he raised his eyebrows slightly - it was unusual to describe enemy troops in this way.

"Haha, there is no basis for what you say. If the Shu Kingdom is really sincere, we, Da Chu, can also transfer bulk goods to Yizhou Prefecture specifically so as not to disrupt the people's livelihood in Yizhou." Zhang Chunhua said in pursuit.

However, Qin Mi surprisingly said to Bai Tu directly at this time: "Your Majesty, the foreign minister has a plan that can fundamentally solve the problem of insufficient money and goods in Chu State without such waste of effort."

Bai Tu's intention just now was obviously to ask him to answer Zhang Chunhua. At this time, Qin Mi directly bypassed Zhang Chunhua to admonish the King of Chu, which seemed a bit presumptuous. However... Qin Mi's words did attract Bai Tu's attention.

although……

Bai Tu thinks there shouldn't be such a way - do you know how big holes there are in Chu State's several big projects?
I don't even believe that Qin Mi can defeat the people in the Chu Dynasty. Not to mention the gap in ability, Qin Mi has never been exposed to industrialization at all, right?
Zhang Chunhua also looked at Qin Mi with a strange look. He always felt that... it was a bit strange for Qin Mi to call him "King".

But since Qin Mi dared to speak so loudly, Bai Tu also became interested: "What's the plan?"

"When the people of Chu were rich and powerful, how could they be short of money and goods in a time when they were at their peak? What they lacked was a strategy to stabilize people's hearts! We only need to trace back to its origins, restore the learning of the sages, abandon the theory of evil spirits and monsters, and teach the people to be moderate and self-sufficient. It will bring prosperity to the world!" Qin Mi said in a loud voice.

The sound that resonates in the nasal cavity, chest cavity, and abdominal cavity reflects his confidence.

Unfortunately, except for his own three tunes, it did not resonate with Bai Tu or Zhang Chunhua. They even looked at him with strange eyes, which made Qin Mi's expression gradually change from confident to a little annoyed.

If it was just a matter of being on a mission, he would try his best to be patient and put official business first...

however……

Qin Mi was actually very confident in his "good strategy" before. He also thought that if the King of Chu was really willing to accept his "good strategy" and abolished Wang Su's heresy, then he would not have to resign after returning. Officials write books.

Even if the King of Chu pays enough attention to him, he may consider resigning and joining Chu as prime minister, personally creating a prosperous age for Chu...

Well, it's not that Qin Mi is unfaithful, it's just that Da Chu is too charming!
The journey after entering Chu and more than a month of coming to Jinling made Qin Mi feel the power of Chu firsthand.

Not to mention compared with Yizhou, the current Chu State is clearly within reach of its prosperity!
It's a pity that this is within reach, but no one "touches" it. At this time, as long as we preach the holy knowledge and teach the people to enjoy farming and reading, isn't it just a matter of minutes of peace and prosperity?

Is there no capable person in Chu State?

wrong!It must be because I stand out so much that they seem short-sighted...

Qin Mi felt that Chu State was more suitable for him than Yizhou!

Unfortunately, after Qin Mi confidently offered advice, what he received was Bai Tu's silent humiliation.

Of course, humiliating others' suggestions, even those of foreign ministers, is not in line with Bai Tu's "personality". Bai Tu just couldn't hold it back for a moment and couldn't control his eyes!

Soon Bai Tu narrowed his eyes, lowered the corner of his mouth, and said in a serious tone: "Ahem, what Mr. Qin said makes sense... Okay, let's continue talking about trade."

Qin Mi:! ! !
Qin Mi felt that he had been betrayed. In his life expectations, he had already assisted the King of Chu and created a prosperous age for the Chu Kingdom for hundreds of years. He was the Prime Minister of Chu, comparable to Zhang Liang and Xiao He.

Yet Bai Tu actually discussed trade with him?
Could it be that the prosperous age of our great Chu country is going to be destroyed in one fell swoop?Qin Mi felt aggrieved...

Frustrated, he simply looked at and chatted with Zhang Chunhua's trade requirements, and gave a few half-hearted rebuttals, saying that he could agree in principle, and would later convey Chu's intention to the Marquis of Shu, and negotiate with them. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs will discuss the detailed rules.

Anyway, in Qin Mi's view, as long as the Chu State requested a ceasefire, Liu Zhang would definitely agree.

Not only did they agree to reopen trade, but... they also further required that Yizhou Prefecture must purchase a certain amount of Chu goods every year.

During further negotiations with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs, Qin Mi did not give up and used his connections to visit many Chu officials again - Qin Mi was a great scholar in Shu after all, so he still had some kindness.

During this period, he also publicized his views with several important ministers of Chu State...

Qin Mi hasn't given up yet - maybe it's just because of his identity that King Chu can't accept it?If you can convince the important ministers of Chu State to accept your idea, and then persuade the King of Chu, maybe it will be done?

If you really can't be the Prime Minister of Chu, it's not impossible to be an important aide to the Prime Minister of Chu in the future. After all, official position and reputation don't matter. I, Qin Mi, just want to run a prosperous age!
It's a pity that although the important ministers of the Chu State were very capable and did not look down upon them, most of them just dealt with it with a smile on the surface. Behind the scenes... rumors began to appear in Jinling that the envoys of the Marquis of Shu were mentally ill.

In fact, it's not that Qin Mi is so old-fashioned and ignorant. If the situation of Yizhou and Chu is reversed, and a certain Chu official is suddenly allowed to see the current scene of Chu in an environment similar to the current Yizhou, a large part of it will ...It is also impossible to synchronize quickly!

Originally separated by mountains and rivers, especially the ban on Chu by the Marquis of Shu, Yizhou missed the two or three years of Chu's fastest development, resulting in a huge imbalance in information. Unlike Wei and the Central Plains, at least It's gradually getting used to.

After Qin Mi negotiated with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs, the final result was that while resuming private trade, the Yizhou government needed to purchase at least [-] million Chu coins in salt and brocade products every year!
Qin Mi was indeed shocked by this number at first, but then Bu Zhi analyzed it for him...

The people of Yizhou Prefecture have a population of nearly 500 million, that is, one million households. On average, each person is 40 Chu coins, which is equivalent to one more stone of rice per household!

And it’s not just asking Yizhou Prefecture for free, but asking Yizhou Prefecture to buy salt and brocade. It’s hard to say that Yizhou Prefecture will still make money by then.

Qin Mi thought about it and realized that it did make sense, so he agreed first - of course, he would still have to report to the Marquis of Shu whether the details would be finalized.

The negotiation process went smoothly, but Bu Zhi always felt that Qin Mi looked at him strangely, as if he agreed with what he said and was scolding him at the same time?
Later, Bu Zhao heard from the guard at the Ministry of Household Affairs that when Qin Mi left, he spat at him at the door, saying, "It's so sad that Chu will miss out on its prosperity if there are too many ministers who are good at calculating and greedy for profit." ...In short, the pace is a question mark.

At the same time, I became more and more convinced in my heart - the rumor that the Lord of Shu came to make him mentally ill was indeed true!

Of course, Qin Mi did not completely forget his responsibilities. Although he was heartbroken, he also helped the Marquis of Shu win some favorable conditions.

For example, the price of salt and brocade purchased by the Marquis of Shu, such as the authorization to purchase armaments, such as "Chu Badong County"...

Of course Liu Zhang wanted Chu State to give back Badong County, but he also knew that Chu State would not agree, so there was a compromise in the end—Badong County still belonged to Chu State, but he had to immediately withdraw the strength of a division. , and within three years, withdraw another division, leaving only locally recruited defenders.

This was the result of the Chu State's initiative. After all, the best Shennong people had already entered Badong County. Chu people and Yizhou people were all compatriots in Guangdong, and there was no cultural barrier. The Chu State was not worried about the people's support in Badong County at all.

If everything goes well, Yizhou... Chu State may not need to exert too much effort!

The premise is that the Marquis of Shu really dares to accept the purchase of salt and brocade...

For this reason, the Ministry of Revenue received Bai Tu's instructions and even gave Shuhou a "quite conscientious" price.

Firstly, the Marquis of Shu had purchased enough goods, and the profit was from goods outside Chu State. The price was so low that Qin Mi had nothing to say. Secondly... once the Marquis of Shu agreed, he would need to sell Yizhou every year. Other resources, replace them with salt and brocade - salt, harmony, brocade!

The most distinctive and competitive materials in Yizhou are nothing more than well salt, Shu brocade, and Yizhou horses. By then, the Marquis of Shu had bought so much Chu salt and Chu brocade, and they were all given to him at close to cost price...

What will be the reaction of those wealthy families in Yizhou whose lifeblood is the two?
Bai Tu felt that after giving Liu Biao the recipe, he had done another good deed to help others...

(End of this chapter)