The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 277 Pirate Empire Seller's Market
The most difficult business in the world is the business without buyers. As long as there are buyers, the business will be easy. If there are more buyers, the business will be better. Ideally, there will be many buyers and the sellers will be me. One, that is called monopoly.There are two types of monopoly: technical monopoly and power monopoly, both of which can bring extremely rich profits.

Sun Shao is like this now. It is obviously a difficult task to dump out the expired equipment, but because the Liannu of the Yue Kingdom is still advanced equipment even if it is about to expire, Wu and Shu are not willing to let the opponent take the advantage. It became a very easy task to complete.

"What are you talking about? Science and technology are the primary productive forces, and this is a living example." Sun Shao put his arm around his son in an old-fashioned way, and knocked on the table with the other, proudly facing Guan Feng and Xiahou who were sitting on the other side Hui Hui said: "You always talk about culture and culture. We have a cultural advantage over Funan people, right? Liu Xi's article is well written, but in the face of Fan Man's small profits and coercion, this advantage disappears invisible. In the end We still have to rely on technological advantages to win. Now Wu and Shu are vying to buy our Liannu, the price varies every day, and the initiative is all in our hands, this kind of benefit is the most real."

"I don't think so. These technical advantages are also temporary. If it is not forced by the situation, they don't need to fight so much. Buy one or two and go back and study it, and they will be imitated soon." Xia Houhui said with a smile. : "My husband used their psychology to push them to this point. This is not a technical advantage, but a cultural advantage in the final analysis."

Sun Shao shook his head, disapprovingly: "What kind of cultural advantage, I am also a technology, called negotiation technology." He stretched out his hand and pulled his son off his shoulders, touched his sweaty forehead and said: "I don't object to the student saying Shiyun, but the premise You have to have strength, and if you have strength, Ziyue Shiyun can add to the cake, but if you don’t have strength, Ziyue Shiyun is just a joke. Son, do you understand?"

Sun Feng didn't even think about it, and nodded again and again: "I understand, I won't go to study tomorrow."

"Nonsense!" Guan Feng leaned forward and pulled Sun Feng over, raised his hand and slapped him on the buttocks, and said with a stern face: "If you dare to miss a day of class, see if grandma doesn't spank your ass." Turn around The face blamed Sun Shao again: "You can't say something good, Ah Yi just likes to read some books after all, and what you say is all in vain."

Sun Shao rolled his eyes in depression, rubbed his temples with one hand, pointed at Sun Feng with the other, and said, "Son, you misunderstood what A Weng meant. A Weng didn't say that you don't need to study, but that you can't just study, good man." If you want to be able to do both literary and martial arts, you must be strong in both hands. If you have literature but no martial arts, you are called a weak scholar. No one listens to your words, but you have martial arts but no literature. Play to death. Has your Aunt Yu told you the story of Dong Zhuo? Dong Zhuo is..."

"As I said before, Fatty Dong is so murderous, he went against the sky, violated the way of heaven, and was finally lit by the sky lantern." Sun Feng said hurriedly, rolling his eyes, and said with some doubts: "Ah, is he Going against the sky and being condemned by God has nothing to do with whether he reads or not? Could it be that if he reads, he won't be burned to death?"

Sun Shao was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that Sun Feng was still too young after all, and what Zhou Yu told him was nothing more than the same set of saintly rhetoric, and he slapped his forehead: "Fatty Dong has done many evil things, but King Wei Mr. Cao has done a lot of evil things, why hasn’t he been lit with sky lanterns?”

Sun Feng scratched his head, very dazed.Xia Houhui was a little embarrassed, but it was true after thinking about it. If we want to discuss the facts, Cao Cao may not have done less evil than Dong Zhuo, but the endings of the two are very different. Why?Isn't it because Dong Zhuo only knows how to kill people but not tricks?Although Cao Cao also had some setbacks and was on the verge of desperation several times, he was able to turn danger into a bargain and achieve a career in the end because he was more resourceful than Dong Zhuo. The mystery in it is more than one level higher than Dong Zhuo relying on force.

However, there are quite a few people who are deeply versed in tactics and even surpassed Cao Cao. Why didn't they achieve great things?Most of them ended up becoming courtiers of people like Cao Cao?For example, Jia Xu, such as Xun You, their power and strategy are far better than Cao Cao, but they have no strength, so they can only rely on others and become a weapon in Cao Cao's hands.

Seeing Xia Houhui groaning silently, Sun Shao knew that she probably understood what he meant.Counting from the 20th year of Jian'an, she has been by my side for four years. After her own continuous erosion, the current Xia Houhui's understanding of tactics has far surpassed that of contemporary people, and even surpassed himself, a future person, but he has not yet How many opportunities to practice nothing more.

"Ah Li, if you have time in the future, follow Aunt Hui to read some military books." Sun Shao said casually, "Don't you like fighting? You can't be a good general if you don't read military books. Of course, you must study military books to death , at best, you can only be a Zhao Kuo.”

"Okay——" Sun Feng clenched his fists and cheered: "I want to read military books, I want to read military books."

"Oh——" Guan Feng shook his head: "Look at you, how you have taught the child to be a militant."

"What happened to the militants?" Sun Shao disagreed: "Do you want to teach your son to be a scholar? I don't want to be Zhao She."

"Your husband is right. Confucian scholars can't rule a country." Xia Houhui felt the same, and persuaded with a smile: "When Emperor Xiaoyuan was the prince, Emperor Xiaoxuan said that the Han family has its own system, which is based on the way of overlord. Miscellaneous, you can't just teach morality. He sighed and said, whoever messes with my family must be the prince! Later, there was a plan to abolish the prince, but it was not implemented because the prince was born by Empress Xu. Now that I think about it, Emperor Xiaoxuan, who is as wise as Xiaoxuan, also wanted to The benevolence of a woman, if the crown prince had been changed at that time, there would not have been the chaos of the Wang family."

Guan Feng frowned, and glanced unnaturally at Xia Houhui, why did these words sound so harsh.

"Don't worry, I'm not Zhao She, nor Emperor Xiaoxuan. My son can't be an armchair strategist like Zhao Kuo, nor can he be a Confucian scholar like Emperor Han Yuan." Sun Shao didn't notice Guan Feng's unnaturalness, and raised his hands high Speaking of Sun Feng, the father and son laughed loudly: "Son, I want to be a good man with all talents in civil and military affairs, do you hear me?"

"I heard you, father!" Sun Feng yelled loudly, and the clear and clear childish voice echoed in the hall: "I want to be a good man with both civil and military skills—"

Zong Yu was circling around the room irritably, like a trapped animal.Sun Shao intentionally or unintentionally separated him from Sun Deng, preventing them from contacting each other. Now he and Sun Deng are competing for those Liannu, but Sun Deng is the prince, so how can he have the right to join the army alone? Lang will be able to compare.In the process of bidding, he inevitably fell into a disadvantage. Although he has the support of Queen Guan Feng, the situation is still not optimistic.More importantly, the decisions he made now are all the results of his personal guesses. He doesn't know if he can get the support of Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei in the end.

A Liannu cost 50 yuan, and there were either two hundred pieces, or none at all, and it cost two hundred to buy one. This completely cut off Zong Yu's idea of ​​buying one and going back to imitate it.One hundred million yuan is equivalent to the net income of the Shu Kingdom for one year. Such a large sum is beyond Zong Yu's ability to decide. I am afraid that even Zhuge Liang would not dare to make his own claim.What's even more frightening is that due to Wu Shu's bidding, the price has now risen to 70 yuan a plane.

Zong Yu was about to go crazy. He knew that this was a trick by Sun Shao, but he could do nothing. He could not buy it. In that case, Sun Deng would rush to Changsha with two hundred Liannu, and the battle situation would change unexpectedly.Although having Liannu may not be able to control the situation of the battle, but when the strength of Wu and Shu is not much different, the role that two hundred Liannu can play cannot be underestimated.

Zong Yu had to come up with a way to take away these crossbows and lower the price as much as possible.

At the same time, Sun Deng was also in a hurry. Due to the emergence of the Kingdom of Shu, the original 50 Liannu was raised to 70, which was a [-]% increase. He paid Nichinan's ten-year commercial tax in advance Only then can the two hundred Liannu be taken away, provided that the price cannot be raised any further.Now he is very annoyed at Xie Jing's mistakes at that time. If he had agreed to it at that time, why would there be so many things now?
"Prince." Zhuge Ke came in with a pot of tea, looked at Sun Deng, and said with a smile: "The prince's cultivation skills are getting better and better."

Sun Deng smiled.Although he was anxious in his heart, his face was still calm and calm. This was related to his experience over the years. Since he followed Sun Shao to the Liaodong that year, in just four years, he grew up at the fastest speed. . At the age of 16, he not only looks like an adult man physically, but also has a much more mature mind than his peers.

"Yuan Xun, you can't be a flattering courtier." Sun Deng made a joke, and took a sip of the tea Zhuge Ke handed over: "Is this Yizhou tea? It tastes very strong."

"Yes." Zhuge Ke nodded: "This year's autumn tea has just been shipped to Temu City." He raised his cup and admired the golden tea soup against the sun: "The king of Yue can do business, and a Yizhou tea can also do business." There are three grades, six grades, and high-quality tea is hard to find, and even the bitter rough tea is sold at a high price."

Sun Deng gave him a puzzled look, full of interest.Zhuge Ke has often wandered around the big city these two days, and it seems that he has inquired a lot of useful news.Zhuge Ke glanced at him with a smile, put down his cup, and said slowly: "After the new tea is picked, most of the remaining tea, like the old tea, cannot be sold at a good price. In the past, it could only be disposed of by the roadside. small tea stalls, or made into snacks such as tea eggs, but now these teas are sold to the north, but they can make a lot of money."

"Northern? Still making a lot of money?" Sun Deng became more interested and sat down.It's hard to imagine that worthless tea can be transported thousands of miles to the north and still make a lot of money.

Zhuge Ke seemed to have expected that Sun Deng would not be able to figure it out a long time ago. He smiled: "I was also very curious at first, and later I asked businessmen, but they refused to elaborate. I am also estimating now. If the specific situation is not like this, I dare not Definitely." Zhuge Ke took a sip of tea, looking like a dragon, and although Sun Deng was a little puzzled by his poise, he listened to his explanation with great interest.

"Merchants from Yue State sold salt and iron to the north in exchange for the war horses of the Hu people. They inevitably brought some tea to drink. Somehow, the Hu people tasted these teas. The Hu people's daily diet is mainly beef and mutton, and the mouth is greasy. Drinking tea is good. To get rid of the fishy smell and greasy taste, you can’t do without it once you try it, and you can buy it at a high price, so the merchants had an idea and began to sell the tea to the north. At first, it was just a trial. Unexpectedly, it became a big business in two or three years. Now merchants specialized in selling tea have appeared. They sell salt to the north, exchange it for war horses, and then transport it to Qingxu, Jianye and other places for sale. , In this way, the boat will not go empty, and every trip will be profitable." Zhuge Ke said with emotion: "This is nothing more than selling tea. I heard even more outrageous news that the merchants of Yue Kingdom are actually selling ice and snow .”

"Selling ice and snow?" Sun Deng was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood that Jiaozhou and Funan are hot and there are surprisingly many fruits. In the hot summer, if you can eat some iced fruits, it will be a fairy's life.There is no ice in Jiaozhou and Funan, but there is a lot of ice in Liaodong. It is covered with ice and snow for half a year, and the ice and snow can be stored as fresh water. It can solve the problem of drinking water in the sea. It really kills two birds with one stone.

"Yes." Zhuge Ke said with emotion: "The price of ice in Temu City is now comparable to the price of gold, and the merchants who transport ice and sell it have become very rich. In April and May, when the north wind is strongest, you can set sail from Liaodong to Zhuya within seven or eight days at the fastest, or ten days at the slowest.

"So fast?" Sun Deng was taken aback.

"I can't believe it either." Zhuge Ke shook his head again and again, "I found out later that they were taking a sea route instead of sailing along the coast, and they didn't stop at the shore at all on the way. The boats used are also large ships that can withstand strong winds and waves, and the profits are huge when they go down in one trip. For the huge profits, even though boats are destroyed and people die often, merchants still scramble for it.”

"It's profitable, merchants dare to do anything." Sun Deng laughed and said, "It's unheard of to go from Liaodong to Jiaozhou in seven or eight days without going to the shore. As the saying goes, Money touches people's hearts, as expected."

"Not only that." Zhuge Ke said again: "With the exciting profits, these businessmen not only dared to take risks, but also led to the manufacture of sea-going ships. Most of the commercial sea-going ships now are built by the Zhou and Sheng families. Their shipyards are working day and night to build big ships..."

"I'm afraid the quality of the ship will not be good once the construction period is rushed?" The corner of Sun Deng's mouth twitched, a little envious and a little gleeful.

"Yes." Zhuge Ke nodded: "At the beginning of the year, several ships sank one after another, and the Zhou family of the Sheng family had them all. Merchants who bought ships came to them. Of course, the Zhou family of the Sheng family didn't take it seriously. They were busy It was so overwhelming that I didn't even bother to pay attention to these merchants. After all, the ships that had problems were only a small part, so I just refunded some money. However, what happened later is a bit confusing." Zhuge Ke paused , took a sip of tea to moisten his throat: "The merchants refused to accept it, so they sued the government, and finally stabbed it all the way to the prime minister, Yu Zhongxiang. Yu Zhongxiang didn't take it seriously at first, saying that these merchants were causing trouble, and drove them out. Who would have thought, Yu Shi The doctor Gu Yu took over the matter, blocked the gate of the prime minister's mansion, and forced Yu Zhongxiang to deal with the matter again. Only then did Yu Zhongxiang realize the seriousness of the matter, and he was responsible for the compensation from the Sheng Zhou family. Prince, do you know how much they paid in the end? "

Sun Deng shook his head, how could he know, but seeing Zhuge Ke like this, he must have lost a lot.

"It's almost a hundred times the price of the ship." Zhuge Ke sneered, "Almost all the annual income of Sheng Zhou's family has been thrown into it."

"So many?" Sun Deng was taken aback and couldn't believe it.

"That's all." Zhuge Ke nodded affirmatively: "There is a standard for real compensation. If the ship is damaged due to quality problems within three years, the compensation will be double the price of the ship. The reason for paying so much is very simple. It was found that in order to reduce costs, shorten the construction period, and cut corners and materials, not only the ship price must be paid, but also the loss of the merchant, plus a fine, and ordered to suspend business for a month."

Sun Deng stared at Zhuge Ke, speechless for a moment.It is normal for merchants to cut corners and materials. As long as it can increase profits, they are willing to do it. Besides, one is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer. What is there to say?The power of the Sheng family and the Zhou family is so great that few small businessmen can compare. It seems that Yu Fan played a very important role in this.But it's not right, the Yu family is also a prominent family in Yue County, and has a very close relationship with the Zhou and Sheng families. How could he be so cruel to the Zhou and Sheng families?

Zhuge Ke answered Sun Deng's question: "If Yu Fan doesn't solve this matter, then his prime minister will have done it, and if this matter is stabbed in front of His Royal Highness King Yue, I am afraid that Zhou Sheng and his family are no longer compensation. If the problem is solved, they are likely to lose the right to build ships, which is why those businessmen dared to bring the matter to the prime minister's residence, they believed that the King of Yue would back them up and seek justice."

Sun Deng was stunned for a long while, and then said: "No wonder the eldest brother beats Funan, and never worries about the luggage."

"Yes, the Kingdom of Yue rejuvenates the country through business, and the interests of the merchants are the first thing that the King of Yue should consider." Zhuge Ke changed the subject: "So, the war between Wu and Shu is not what His Royal Highness the King of Yue wants to happen."

"What?" Sun Deng didn't realize it for a while. He was just talking about the merchants of the Yue Kingdom. Why did he suddenly get involved in the war between Wu and Shu?He froze for a moment: "It's okay to fight, can't he sell Liannu?"

"Liannu?" Zhuge Ke sneered: "Prince, although I don't know why the Yue Kingdom would sell such a sharp weapon, but I think that even if the King of Yue really wanted to sell the Liannu, he didn't want Wu and Shu to fight. If Wu and Shu go to war, how much financial and material resources do they have to buy goods from Yue?"

Sun Deng nodded with a sudden realization. With the war together, the people's livelihood is in decline. Even the rich families have to reduce their expenses. Most of the merchants of Yue State sell luxury goods, which will inevitably be greatly affected.He suddenly understood that from the very beginning, Sun Shao wanted to sell Liannu and prevent their strength from diverging. A family of [-] crossbows was about the same in the end. No one could take advantage of it. ——The Liannu, which cost up to [-] to [-] yuan, was sold at dozens of times the sky-high price.

Sun Deng looked at Zhuge Ke and smiled bitterly: "Then we have to buy it, right?"

Zhuge Ke nodded: "I still have to buy it, but I don't have to be led by him, and the price doesn't have to be so high. The problem is..." He shook his head: "Although we know this truth, the Kingdom of Shu may not You know, they want to buy Liannu to overwhelm us, we don’t buy it, they buy it, if the King of Yue really sells it to them, we will risk suffering.”

"Yeah, you know it's a pit, but you have to jump into it." Sun Deng shook his head helplessly: "Yuan Xun, although your level of digging a pit is high, it's still far behind my elder brother. "

Zhuge Ke touched his nose in embarrassment.He admired Sun Shao, but he was unwilling to admit defeat. While studying Sun Shao's methods, he was waiting for the day when he could compete with Sun Shao.Zhuge Ke thought about it for a while, then suddenly raised his head: "Prince, I want to see my third uncle."

Sun Deng hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.

……

Zhuge Jun was not in Temucheng. After Sun Shao took Funan, he spent two months planning an area at a place called Pheasant Stick (now Ho Chi Minh City) [-] miles southeast of Temucheng as a newly built area. College place.After surveying, it was found that there was a good harbor here, nearly [-] miles from the sea to the south, and the surrounding land was fertile. Sun Shao decided to build a larger college here and send troops to guard it to ensure the safety of the college.Zhuge Jun, as the first batch of personnel sent by Zhuya College, is now guiding the construction on the construction site.

When he saw Zhuge Ke, Zhuge Jun, who was dressed in a bunt, smiled: "Yuan Xun, why are you here? Do you want to come and see the martial arts hall? It's early, and I haven't seen the shadow yet."

"A lecture hall?" Zhuge Ke said in surprise, "Are you going to build a lecture hall here?"

Zhuge Jun glanced at him, pulled Zhuge Ke aside, and said softly, "What are you doing here?"

Zhuge Ke explained the purpose of coming, and finally said: "San Shu, this matter is not only a matter of Wu State, but also a matter of Shu State. You may not be clear, my Prime Minister Sun Shao of Wu State has passed away, and the position of prime minister is still pending. , Your Majesty is afraid of Jiangdong people, and my father is very likely to be the next prime minister candidate. If this matter is done properly, the crown prince's position will be as stable as Mount Tai, and my Zhuge Ke family's wealth in Wu will be just around the corner."

Zhuge Jun glanced at him and understood.He thought more. Zhuge Jun was no stranger to Zong Yu, and knowing that he and Zhuge Liang had a very close relationship, he thought for a while and said, "Okay, I'll pass on your opinion to Zong Yu, and both sides will take a step back. But , This matter must not be revealed, you'd better go back to Temu City immediately, don't be found out."

"Third Uncle, you don't want to go back to Shu? Do you really think you are from Yue?" Zhuge Ke said a little funny.

"Me?" Zhuge Jun was speechless for a moment. He had studied at Zhuya Academy for so long that he even forgot that he was from Shu. After all, few people in Zhuya Academy had his family background. For simple scholars or craftsmen, Sun Shao respects them and gives them generous treatment. They can study and do research at Zhuya Academy with peace of mind, regardless of any political disputes.

"By the way, what's going on in the martial arts hall?" Zhuge Ke asked again.

"It is the place where the Yue Kingdom trains officers." Zhuge Jun paused, and added: "Maybe in the future it will become a prison for famous generals and a production workshop for generals."

"This...isn't this a matter of entrusting others?" Zhuge Ke frowned, disapprovingly: "How can the important affairs of a soldier's country be taught publicly?"

"Think about the situation of Wu Shu first." Zhuge Jun sneered: "Can you imagine what it would be like to have an army that has received systematic lessons from the beginning of the team?"

(End of this chapter)