Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 106: Giving Up a Fortune to Make Friends with a Hero

Perhaps because Zhang Yu's reputation had spread throughout Yan and Dai counties, Zhang Liao and Hao Zhao were able to recruit soldiers much more smoothly than last time. It only took them ten days, and they returned to Pingcheng in mid-March.

There were more than a thousand cavalrymen in the camp. It was not enough for Zhang Yu to have only a cavalry general to lead the cavalry. In order to reward his subordinates, Zhang Yu recommended Zhang Liao as a cavalry Sima for his merit in breaking the enemy's formation, commanding 400 cavalrymen and two cavalry generals as adjutants in the army.

Zhang Yu selected the vacant cavalry general position from the cavalry commanders, such as Hu Yanle, Zhang Feng, etc. Considering that Li Song was the governor of the left southern part, Zhang Yu ordered him to serve as the cavalry general.

As for the vacant cavalry commander position, brave warriors were selected from among the officers to serve as cavalry commanders. Among them, there was one person who surprised Zhang Yu. He was from the same hometown as Zhang Yu, Qin Yilu from Yunzhong County.

Because of the Xianbei's southward raids, Qin Yilu fled from Yunzhong to Yanmen. After arriving at Yanmen, he had no means of living, so he joined the army with several relatives and friends and was appointed as a cavalry officer by Zhang Liao. Although I have just arrived in the army, I have been promoted to cavalry commander because of my outstanding bravery.

Upon learning that Qin Yilu was already in the army, Zhang Yu was quite curious about what the rumored Du looked like and how she could have attracted the attention of both Cao Cao and Guan Yu.

Although he was curious, Zhang Yu was not a lustful and evil person. He soon put Du behind his mind and began to admire Qin Yilu's abilities. After all, he had followed Lu Bu through life and death for many years, so he had some talent. If he was trained well, he might be able to defeat thousands of people.

In addition to adjusting the military and officials, Zhang Yu also met Yan Rou who came with Hao Zhao.

The Baideng Camp was bustling with activity, and the sounds of cavalry training and the neighing of war horses could be heard everywhere.

After Zhang Yu inspected the enlistment of the new soldiers, he went into the quiet tent, where Yan Rou had been waiting for a long time.

Zhang Yu sat on a Hu chair with a kind expression, and said, "Recently, new soldiers have arrived in the camp, and there are many military affairs. It is difficult to take care of Lord Yan. I hope you can forgive me!"

"Don't dare!"

Yan Rou was a little uncomfortable with the fact that Zhang Yu, who was granted the title of Marquis, was so kind. She quickly said, "Your Excellency's business is the most important thing. I am afraid that I will disturb you!"

"I heard from Bo Dao that Lord Yan intends to monopolize the sale of lake salt to Youzhou. Is that true?" Zhang Yu asked.

Yan Rou hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest with you, my lord, I have had a lot of exchanges with the leaders of the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes. The Hu people are not good at farming, and they don't know how to make iron by drying salt, so they often have exchanges with Han merchants, and every year they have to pay money to buy rice and salt."

"The salt in Youzhou is sea salt, which needs to be transported from the coast to the north of Yanshan Mountain. The mountain roads are difficult to travel and rugged. Han merchants rely on the lack of salt in the mountainous areas, so they often sell it at a high price. The tribes are trapped by the salt and have to sell cattle and horses every year to exchange for it."

"Rou heard that you opened up the salt business at Chanhe Pond, and Yanbei is adjacent to Yanbei, so I came here this time to ask for salt to sell to the Hu people in Youzhou." Yan Rou said sincerely.

Zhang Yu had heard of Yan Rou's name, but he had no idea of his background. He only knew that Yan Rou had a close relationship with the Hu people.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively, "You claim to have a close relationship with the Hu people, but how can you guarantee that all the Hu people will eat my ginseng salt?"

Although salt is a necessity of life and there is no need to worry about selling salt after it is produced, it does not mean that Zhang Yu will easily promise the monopoly rights of Youzhou to Yan Rou, unless Yan Rou has a different background, or as he said, can ensure that all the Hu people in Youzhou eat ginseng salt.

Yan Rou hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: "I was captured by the Hu people when I was young, and was originally reduced to a slave, but fortunately I was appreciated by the noble and was adopted as a nephew. Since then, I have learned the Hu language and understood the Hu customs. Han merchants are often cunning and often use inferior salt as high-quality salt. In order to avoid being cheated, the tribe ordered me to sell with Han merchants."

"I dare not claim that all the Hu people in Youzhou have great faith in me, but I can say that I can sell all the salt produced by you, and I will never let you suffer from the accumulation of salt. Moreover, I can pay to buy the monopoly rights of Youzhou."

Yan Rou's status among the Wuhuan and Xianbei was naturally concealed. After becoming the nephew of a nobleman, Yan Rou became an indispensable person in the communication between the Wuhuan and Xianbei and the Han because of his intelligence and agility and his proficiency in Han and Hu languages.

For example, Yan Rou helped the Erhu sell their goods at normal prices and prevented the Hu people from being cheated by Han merchants. And because he knew both Han and Hu languages, Yan Rou was often responsible for translating between the two when the Hu leaders communicated with the various counties in Youzhou.

Over the years, because Yan Rou was fair and popular, the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes in Dai and Shanggu counties trusted Yan Rou very much. If Yan Rou could bring back salt at a lower price than the Han merchants, it would be easy to sell, and the two tribes would trust Yan Rou even more, which could be said to kill two birds with one stone!
"You want to pay money to buy the exclusive right to operate the Canhe salt in Youzhou. How much do you want to invest?" Zhang Yu thought for a moment and asked.

Yan Rou said, "Your Excellency gives me 300 dan of salt every year. In addition to the selling price, I am willing to pay another 400,000 coins to buy the monopoly of lake salt!"

"Four hundred thousand dollars?"

Zhang Yu grumbled and frowned slightly. He had many doubts about Yan Rou paying such a high price to buy the monopoly rights of lake salt.

After a long silence, Zhang Yu suddenly asked tentatively, "I have no intention of selling my monopoly rights. You can bring salt from Chanhe Pond, and I will sell it to you at the original price, and then you can sell it in Youzhou, how about that?"

Yan Rou frowned, but she didn't expect Zhang Yu to be unmoved. She said, "Rou is willing to pay more money to buy it!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu knew that Yan Rou had something fishy in buying his monopoly at a high price, and said with a smile: "I can produce 400 to 500 dan of salt a year. Lord Yan bought the monopoly of Youzhou for 400,000 coins. I'm afraid the price is too high and you won't make any profit!"

After a pause, Zhang Yu asked with a half-smile, "Could it be that there was another incident in Youzhou that caused the price of salt to soar, allowing Lord Yan to pay such a high price to buy the monopoly of lake salt?"

Yan Rou's expression changed drastically. He originally wanted to use money to move Zhang Yu's heart and buy the exclusive rights of lake salt in Youzhou. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu was so smart that he could deduce his intention behind buying the exclusive rights at a high price through speculation. It was terrible!

In fact, Yan Rou had already received intelligence that Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju were planning a rebellion and had already contacted the leaders of the Wuhuan tribes. Therefore, once the two Zhangs rebelled and the road from the Youzhou coast to the inner counties was cut off, he would be able to sell salt at a high price.

The price of salt in normal times was more than a thousand coins per stone, but when war broke out on the coast of Youzhou, the price of salt in the mountains of Youzhou could soar to thousands of coins per stone. Through this turmoil, he not only made a lot of money, but also received courtesy from everyone. Four hundred thousand coins was just the profit of one hundred stones of salt. As for why Zhang Yu thought that Yan Rou had a deep meaning, it was not only because he was a businessman in his previous life, but also because Zhang Yu vaguely remembered that there was a big rebellion in Youzhou that did not happen. Combining the two, it is not difficult to guess Yan Rou's deep meaning.

Seeing that Yan Rou had nothing to say, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The annual salt production in Chanhebi is not much. I am willing to give you 200 dan of salt, and I will sell the rest in Bingzhou. What do you think?"

"Still spending 400,000 yuan to buy the exclusive rights to Youzhou?" Yan Rou asked.

"No!"

Zhang Yu stood up from his chair and said with a smile, "Except for the price of salt, I won't charge a penny, and I will never sell salt to Youzhou!"

"Why?"

"No reason!"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said with a smile: "It is worth spending 400,000 yuan to make friends with Lord Yan!"

In Zhang Yu's opinion, Yan Rou is worth much more than 400,000 coins. Not to mention that Yan Rou left his name in history, the connections that Yan Rou had built up among the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes alone were enough to make Zhang Yu spend more money.

After all, whether Zhang Yu wants to rule Yanmen or Bingzhou, he will have to deal with the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes. Yan Rou's role may be limited to business at present, but in troubled times, Yan Rou's value will be able to play a role in military affairs. Therefore, it is better to make friends with Yan Rou than to earn 400,000 yuan.

Yan Rou was extremely surprised by Zhang Yu's words. He did not expect that Zhang Yu could vaguely see his purpose. Not only did he not take advantage of the situation, but he was also so generous as not to charge any fees. This kind of person was either a sucker or someone with other visions.

Seeing Zhang Yu's friendly attitude, Yan Rou hesitated for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "Since you have treated me with great righteousness, I dare not fail to understand the details of Youzhou."

"My Lord, do you know about the 3,000 Wuhuan cavalrymen who are heading west to Guanzhong?"

Zhang Yu frowned and thought, then said, "Are you referring to the Wuhuan cavalry led by Gongsun Zan?"

"Of course!"

Yan Rou nodded and said, "The Wuhuan cavalry led by Gongsun Zan rebelled and returned to their own country because of the arrears of military pay. Later, they were instigated by Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju to besiege Jizhong. Although they were driven back by Gongsun Zan, the two Zhangs fled to the border. Now they have joined forces with Wuhuan Qiuliju and will rebel and plunder the counties of Youzhou in the near future."

After saying this, Yan Rou saw that Zhang Yu's expression did not change, and couldn't help but feel surprised. He was able to remain calm when hearing about something big. This kind of self-cultivation was really rare for him!

Zhang Yu paced a step and asked, "When did they rebel?"

"I don't know the exact time!" Yan Rou said, "But judging from the Wuhuan tribes, it will be at the end of the month at the earliest and at the end of April at the latest."

Zhang Yu stopped and said with a smile: "Thank you, Lord Yan, for telling me the military situation!"

"I have reported the military situation to you late. I beg you to forgive me!"

Yan Rou looked respectful, cupped his hands and said: "My courtesy name is Zirun. If you don't mind, you can call me Rou!"

Whether Yan Rou told Zhang Yu about the intelligence of the two Zhangs uniting the Wuhuan tribes, it would not change the trend of the Wuhuan rebellion. After all, the time of rebellion was so close, and even if Zhang Yu wanted to serve his country, by the time the military report reached Luoyang, the Wuhuan might have already started a rebellion in Youzhou.

"Yu cannot interfere in Youzhou's military affairs!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I am now expanding my army and I am short of subordinates. I will also go out to the border with Budugen to fight Qianman. I need someone who is familiar with the customs of the Hu people and can help me communicate with them. I wonder if Zirun has any relatives to recommend someone?"

Yan Rou's heart beat rapidly. He didn't know why Zhang Yu treated him so well. In order to make friends with Zhang Yu, he raised his hands and asked, "I have a younger brother named Zhi, also known as Guangyuan. He was captured by the Hu tribe together with me. He knows a lot about the Hu people. If you don't mind, maybe you can bring him here to see what he does."

After a pause, Yan Rou said, "If you report the rebellion of the Wuhuan in Youzhou to the court, please conceal my name."

"good!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Although the Chanhebi Salt Pond belongs to me, I am afraid that the Wuhuan and Xianbei in the border area may spy on it and plunder it. Lao Zirun will inform the Hu people in Dai County, otherwise my troops will attack them!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu showed his goodwill to Yan Rou, not only to win him over, but also to use Yan Rou to get close to the Hu people so that Chanhebi would not be spied on by the Hu people. After all, Zhang Yu had frightened the Hu people in Yanbei, but he had no right to interfere with the Hu people in the nearby Dai County.

As for the upcoming rebellion in Youzhou, Zhang Yu had no right to send troops unless the court ordered it. Moreover, for Zhang Yu, it would be better to go to Youzhou to quell the rebellion while Budugen and Qianman were fighting, and go out to the border to wipe out the Hu tribe under Qianman, earn more military merits, and see if he could expand his army.

(End of this chapter)