On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

(Thanks to 91212 for supporting 100 points.)
When Yan Jiuniang received the letter delivered by the golden eagle sent by Li Shiyue, she was both surprised and delighted.

What surprised her was that Li Shiyue had acted so quickly. She had only been in Jian'an for half a year, yet she had managed to create such a large-scale salt field in such a short time.
What pleased her was that this was indeed a huge path to wealth.

Yan Jiuniang was originally the money bag of the old Zhenbei King and the current Zhenbei King Liu Tan.

She was intelligent from a young age and had a knack for business.

For many years, she has controlled a huge caravan, traveling from Dongmou south to Lingnan, west to the Western Regions, and north to the capital and Youzhou;
It can be said that the caravans she managed had been to all the foreign lands of Dalong and even beyond.

Salt is something that everyone needs to eat.

Selling smuggled salt in secret is extremely risky, but the profits are astonishing!
At the same time, Li Shiyue told Yan Jiuniang at the end of the secret letter that she would tell Liu Tan about the salt-selling matter.

This means that the 50/50 profit split was actually between Li Shiyue and Liu Tan, except that Yan Jiuniang was the one selling the salt.

Now that Liu Tan knows about this, what wouldn't Yan Jiuniang dare to do?

After all, according to the latest news, the struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince in Kyoto has entered a heated stage—the Crown Prince's only son has died.

The official explanation was that the crown prince accidentally fell into the water, caught a cold, and died.

But how credible is this statement?
No one would believe that the Third Prince didn't secretly take action!
Anyone with a brain like Yan Jiuniang knows that there are only two possibilities: one is that the Crown Prince will take a desperate gamble, lead troops to force the emperor to abdicate, and seize the throne for himself.

Another possibility is that the third prince ascends the throne as the crown prince, waiting for the current emperor to either seek immortality and abdicate or die from consuming elixirs. In this scenario, the third prince can then become emperor and kill the crown prince's entire family.

Alternatively, the third prince could be ruthless enough to first kill the crown prince's entire family, then lead troops to force the emperor to abdicate, imprison him, and directly ascend the throne himself!
But it's clear that given the current state of natural and man-made disasters, it's unlikely that either of these two scenarios will occur; it's possible that another prince will ascend to the throne.

Or perhaps the Great Long Dynasty fell, and this land returned to a state of fragmentation among various kings, awaiting its next master to unify the world.

So, how could the Prince of Zhenbei not have the idea of ​​transforming from a prince into an emperor?
Therefore, Yan Jiuniang wrote back to Li Shiyue that same day, stating that she would do her best to promote the salt sale and immediately dispatch a capable caravan, carrying a large quantity of silk goods as cover, to Jian'an.

As Li Shiyue's golden eagle carried the letter into the sky, Yan Jiuniang, looking up at the sky, had a sudden flash of inspiration. She knew all too well the enormous profits and political significance of this smuggled salt trade.

Nowadays, the imperial court's control over various prefectures and counties has weakened, making it difficult to collect salt taxes and leading to rampant illegal salt trade.

If Liu Tan could control a high-quality salt source, it would be a great asset, whether for exchanging it for wealth or for building connections with various factions.

Yan Jiuniang really couldn't refuse Li Shiyue's offer.

Before the golden eagle could deliver Yan Jiuniang's reply to Li Shiyue, Sun Xiaoliu hurriedly entered the study from outside and handed Li Shiyue a secret report with a solemn expression.

"General, news from Jinzhou."

Under pressure, especially from the clear statements of many generals in the army and the restlessness of some former Chiang Kai-shek's subordinates, the prince had already tentatively agreed to the matter of establishing a crown prince.

However, the exact timing of the lockdown is still undetermined.

The prince seems to be stalling for time.

Listening to what Sun Xiaoliu said, Li Shiyue took the secret report, read it carefully, remained silent for a moment, and asked, "What is the reaction of Jiang Huijun and Liu Xiao?" "The Princess's faction is naturally overjoyed, believing that the situation is settled."

But General Liu Xiao didn't seem to press the prince further as expected; instead, he remained somewhat silent.

Sun Xiaoliu whispered, "In addition, our scouts reported that General Liu Xiao has been making a lot of small moves lately, secretly contacting the old Zhenbei King's former troops. I wonder what he's planning to do?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shiyue immediately thought of Li Chunli—her son Fuge'er, born to the late Crown Prince Liu Shu, was also of royal blood!

Could it be that Liu Xiao wants to join forces with the old Zhenbei King's former subordinates to support Fu Ge'er?

"understood."

Li Shiyue put away the secret report, his face revealing neither joy nor anger. "Send some more money to Jinzhou and have our spies gather more information."

The more chaotic Jinzhou becomes, the more time we'll have in Jian'an to prepare for the campaign against the bandits.

Just as things were beginning to look up in Jian'an, a storm was already brewing in Jinzhou.

Li Shiyue knew that she had to make the most of this limited and precious time to help her Xuanjia Army truly grow into a force capable of protecting a region in this chaotic world and even influencing the overall situation.

"Xiao Liu, go for me again."

Li Shiyue was not lying to Yan Jiuniang. She really did send Sun Xiaoliu again, with a cartload of sea salt and a secret letter she had written about selling salt, to Jinzhou in person.

Li Shiyue knew that Liu Tan wouldn't refuse her request to sell salt.

Liu Tan might even give her more troops again, so that she can protect the salt fields along the long coastline of Jian'an.

This time, it's Liu Tan who needs Li Shiyue!

The sea salt that Li Shiyue sent represented silver;

Only with money can we support an army;
At this moment, shouldn't the generals in the army who support Jiang Huijun and Liu Xiao be thinking about whether they should follow General Liu Tan or not?

Should I still follow Liu Tan and Jiang Huijun's son, a young man who hasn't even come of age yet?

Or they could directly follow Liu Xiao and support Fu Ge'er, the bloodline of Liu Shu, the former son of Liu Shu, who had lost his father and whose mother was just a concubine.
With the sea salt provided by Li Shiyue, Liu Tan has an endless source of income. Sea salt is something that can control the lifeline of people's livelihood and economy. Any smart person would know that they should choose Liu Tan!
But whatever you choose, you have to risk your life to do it.

If you make the wrong choice, you could lose your life!
Li Shiyue knew that the road ahead was still full of thorns. Whether it was the turmoil in Jinzhou, the Japanese pirates in Jian'an, or even the greater changes in the world in the future, all of them harbored unknown risks.

But she also knew that her own strength was the key to dealing with all storms.

Li Shiyue would only grip the hilt of the knife at her waist tightly. If anyone dared to block her path, she would simply swing her knife forward and kill them all!
She knew that true strength lay not only in the power to wield the sword, but also in the unwavering judgment before striking and the awareness to bear all the consequences afterward.

And now, she is firmly moving forward on this path. (End of Chapter)