The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 299 Solving a Dilemma
Just as Mi Wei was racking his brains to solve Zhuge Liang's food problem.

Liao Li and Li Ping, among others, were also busy.

Taking advantage of Wei Yan's recent defeat, they began to loudly proclaim that Zhuge Liang was no match for Wei general Sima Yi.

Suddenly, various voices questioning the deployment of troops resurfaced.

To be fair, it was just two people who had lost power causing trouble.

Not to mention Mi Wei's disdain, even Liu Shan was too lazy to bother with him.

But what makes Liao Li and his gang so cunning is that...

They accurately assessed the prevailing sentiment of war aversion and the reality that Zhuge Liang was temporarily unable to achieve a swift victory in Hedong.

So he used the little reputation he still had in Shilin to run around and make empty threats.

They twisted the inability to win quickly into an impending defeat.

They then completely rejected the necessity of the decision to send troops to Hedong.

This undoubtedly severely hampered Miwei's logistical requisition work.

This negative impact reached its peak when yet another piece of bad news came from the east side of the river.

Meanwhile, Guan Ping blocked the Wei army from crossing the Yellow River and heading north. Despite his best efforts, more than 10,000 Wei soldiers carrying Zhang He's banners successfully reached Dayang City on the north bank.

As is well known, there is a road north of Dayang that can pass through the pass of Zhongtiao Mountain and reach Zhian County of Hedong Prefecture.

In fact, among the various alternative plans for the Han army to launch the Hedong campaign, there were several options.

One of the options is that after a certain Han army unit captures Anyi, it can send troops south to Shanjin, cross the river, and join forces with the Han army in Henan at Shanxian.

Then they marched straight to Luoyang via the Xiaohan Pass.

This was in conjunction with Guan Yu's army that marched north from Guangcheng Pass.

The scenario where the Han army launched a multi-pronged attack on Chang'an could be replicated in Luoyang.

Unfortunately, before Zhang Fei's troops could capture Anyi, the Wei army, having caught its breath, turned around and headed north to reinforce Anyi.

This undoubtedly makes the future of the war even more uncertain.

One bad news after another reached Chang'an, and various voices criticizing Zhuge Liang for sending troops became rampant.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Liu Shan deliberately left General Mi Wei behind after the court assembly on the first day of July.

Liu Shan: "Before the Prime Minister set out on his campaign, he instructed me that if I were ever unsure about anything, I should consult the General. I wonder if the General has any solutions for this situation?"

Mi Wei: "Does Your Majesty want to save the situation, or save the predicament?"

Liu Shan was taken aback:
"What about saving the situation? What about saving the overall situation?"

Miwei explained in a deep voice:
"The solution is to severely punish a few troublemakers and then generously bribe a few powerful families to quell the gossip in Chang'an."

Liu Shan frowned and said:
"I have no objection to severely punishing those individuals. But how else can we lavishly bribe powerful families?"

"I have already re-established the Tiger Guard and selected members of their families. If there are further rewards, they should be directly granted official titles and ranks."

Mi Wei: "That's exactly what I meant."

"How can that be?" Liu Shan took a slight breath.

"If I set this precedent, and then requisition military rations again in the future, and the aristocratic families use this to force the court to relinquish official titles, wouldn't that be repeating the mistake of Emperor Xiaoling selling official positions in the Western Garden?"

"The late emperor deeply abhorred the policies of Emperors Huan and Ling, and the prime minister also offered many warnings, which I dare not adopt!"

At this moment, Dong Yun couldn't help but step forward and offer a few words of advice:
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words!"

"The sale of official positions in the Western Garden was an act of extravagance and debauchery by Emperor Xiaoling, and cannot be compared with the current court's requisition of military provisions for the greater good!"

"If Your Majesty insists on using an analogy, then you should use the policy of 'offering grain for titles' implemented by Emperor Wen of the Former Han Dynasty to resolve border troubles."

Liu Shan scratched his head awkwardly.

It's also possible that he wore the heavy crown during court sessions, causing his scalp to itch.

"This... the strategy of granting titles and ranks based on grain can certainly save the day."

"However, the court already has a system for selecting officials, which conflicts with this policy. I fear it will not be conducive to long-term stability."

Mi Wei remained noncommittal, and said in a flat voice:

"Since Your Majesty is considering long-term stability, then I will discuss further strategies to salvage the situation."

"The key to the current situation lies in the outcome of the military struggle in Hedong." "If we win, all the problems in Chang'an will be easily resolved."

"If we fail, we will be like Liao Li and his ilk, who can make a gourd float up when pressed down, and the punishment will be endless."

Liu Shan nodded and said:
"I understand what the general means."

"If we want to salvage the situation, we must find ways to ensure victory for Hedong, and not be swayed by the current troubles."

"However, if the current difficulties are not resolved, it will be difficult to collect grain, supplies, and labor."

"If we forcibly conscript soldiers, we risk losing the hearts and minds of the people. What should we do?"

Mi Weidao:
"I do have a plan that can resolve this dilemma!"

Liu Shan's eyes lit up immediately.

Even Dong Yun showed an expectant look.

Mi Wei handed over a strategy document and slowly explained:
"My strategy is called the 'Opening the Middle Way' method."

"After the late emperor took control of Yizhou, in order to replenish military funds, he took control of the profits from salt and iron and set up salt officials such as the Salt Commissioner and the Salt Commissioner to manage salt wells in exchange for the surplus grain in the hands of the people."

"While this method is beneficial for replenishing the imperial treasury, transporting the collected grain to the front lines will require the levying of laborers, and the food and fodder for the people and horses along the way will inevitably result in some losses."

"Therefore, I propose that the salt and iron trade within the imperial palace be temporarily suspended, allowing private merchants to transport military provisions to the front lines in exchange for salt permits, which they can then exchange for official salt to sell for profit."

"In this way, the collection and transportation of grain can be entrusted to merchants, without the need for the court to forcibly levy taxes. Merchants will profit from salt, the people will be exempt from corvée labor, and the court will save manpower and resources... Wouldn't this resolve the dilemma itself?"

It took Liu Shan a while to realize what was happening.

He clapped his hands and praised:
"General, your method is brilliant!"

"By using a 'salt permit,' the universally despised matter of conscription was cleverly transformed into a highly sought-after source of profit. With sufficient troops and no public resentment, this can be considered a wise move!"

"How did you come up with such a brilliant plan?"

Mi Wei had already prepared a plan:

“My father engaged in commerce and property management in the East China Sea in his early years. He had much thought about the profits from sea salt. I was inspired by my father’s ideas, and that is how I came up with this plan!”

Liu Shan couldn't help but sigh:

"Your father and son are both great sages of our time, even surpassing Lü Buwei of Qin!"

At this moment, Dong Yunfang realized the significance of the "opening-the-middle method," which actually came from later experience.

I have no interest in caring about Lü Buwei.

His first reaction was, of course, surprise and admiration.

However, he came from a family with a strong scholarly tradition; his father, Dong He, was a minister in Liu Bei's Left General's office who was second only to Zhuge Liang in his early years.

Unlike Liu Shan, who had no experience in governing.

It was quickly discovered that Mi Wei's "opening the middle method" had a critical flaw:
“The Guanzhong Plain is short of salt, and in previous years it has relied heavily on well salt from Longyou and Yizhou for supply.”

"With the current shortage of supplies, the official salt reserves in Taicang and other government offices are not sufficient, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to gain the trust of merchants in the private sector."

"But if we ask merchants to go to Longxi and Shu to collect salt themselves, the journey is too long, and it would probably be more trouble than it's worth, so it's difficult to implement!"

Upon hearing this, Miwei smiled approvingly:

"Only today do I realize that Xiu Zhao not only possesses the ability to guide and correct, but also the talent to govern! He is worthy of being appointed as a minister in the imperial court in the future!"

Dong Yun hurriedly said he didn't deserve such praise.

But the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Mi Wei turned back to Liu Shan and said:
"Your Majesty, what Xiuzhao is worried about is the second point I wanted to make."

"After the merchants transport grain to Hedong, they do not need to return to Chang'an to get salt, nor do they need to travel far to Longshu. They only need to deliver the military supplies to the front-line army, and they can get salt nearby!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shan looked completely bewildered.

But Dong Yun subconsciously closed his eyes to recall the map of Hedong he had seen.

It finally dawned on me.

The area east of the river has always had salt.

It contains a lot of salt!
(End of this chapter)