Dressed as the cannon fodder who died prematurely, I will marry the villain in anger

Chapter 618 This is a loophole

Chang'an, the Governor's Mansion

Xie Bai hurriedly returned to Chang'an. After returning, he came to report to Xie Zhan about the situation in Zhuozhou without even taking a breath.

Xie Zhan invited all his confidants and followers.

After listening to Xie Bai's statement, everyone expressed their opinions.

"Putting aside the rumors and looking at the essence through various phenomena, Pingzhou has indeed taken action against Zhuozhou."

"It's not surprising, Pingzhou must have dreamed of getting Zhuozhou."

"Grand Governor, how should we resolve Pingzhou's move?"

Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Fan Yang laughed and said, "Buying a deer to conquer Chu, is Pingzhou just trying to imitate a cat and imitate a tiger?"

Xie Nan asked, "Fan Canjun, do you think this plan in Pingzhou will not work? Can't you succeed in Zhuozhou?"

Xie Zhan recently offered Fan Yang the position of military staff officer, and Song Mo agreed.

Fan Yang explained, "Dali has a vast territory, and it is not a small country like the Chu State during the Warring States Period. The people of Chu State, in order to catch deer, did not engage in production throughout the country, and Qi State easily strangled the lifeline of food."

"Zhuozhou has the backing of our Dali dynasty, and the people of Zhuozhou just raised more donkeys and did not abandon agriculture. Therefore, Pingzhou's plan to buy deer to control Chu is not something to be afraid of." The comparison between Chu and Dali is like Small ponds and large ponds. Although Zhuozhou is also a small pond, it is connected to Dali, a large pond.

Xie Zhan said nothing.

What Fan Yang said about not being afraid is based on the premise that Dali can protect Zhuozhou. If Dali can stabilize food prices, he will indeed not be afraid of Pingzhou's move.

Fan Yang's words were actually correct, but his mistake was that he was too optimistic about Dali's national power.

Since today's accession to the throne, natural disasters have continued in Dali, and Dali's food reserves are insufficient.

In addition, this year, the salt tax will not increase. Then Dali lost millions of people, and the head tax and local taxes were not optimistic. As for the head tax and local tax, ordinary people generally paid it in grain.

In other words, part of the grain harvest this year will be reduced.

Under such a premise, Xie Zhan naturally hopes that there will be no accidents in Zhuozhou and that things will be safe and sound, but obviously, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind will not stop.

Xie Zhan expressed his concerns, "We still have to deal with Pingzhou's methods."

Someone suggested, "What if we expose Pingzhou's sinister intentions and the possible negative consequences to the people of Zhuozhou?"

Xie Nan sneered, "The common people won't care. They are short-sighted and only see that a donkey can be sold for fifteen taels of silver."

Someone else suggested, “Is there a ban on raising donkeys in Zhuozhou?”

Fan Yang said no, "That's not right. The price of donkeys in Zhuozhou has already gone up. Ruining people's wealth is like killing their parents. If we ban it violently and add instigation from thoughtful people, I don't know what will happen in Zhuozhou."

"If we can't ban it, how can we encourage mulberry farming? When the income from the fields increases, the people of Zhuozhou will not swarm to raise donkeys."

Xie Zhan was not optimistic about this, and he quickly made a calculation in his mind.

The harvest from one acre of land, if the weather is good, can only yield two to three hundred kilograms of grain. After drying, it will only be two hundred kilograms, and can be sold for two to three taels of silver at most. In other words, the money earned by working from dawn to dusk to serve four or five acres of land is the same as raising a donkey.

Then they discussed for a while and finally decided on a response plan: prohibiting the use of farmland to raise donkeys in Zhuozhou, and encouraging mulberry farming.

After that, they will look at Pingzhou's reaction and then respond.

If in the end, the situation in Zhuozhou is not optimistic when Pingzhou closes the net, then they will end up. Anyway, Zhuozhou has Dali on its back and cannot be allowed to be slaughtered by Pingzhou.

After the plan was finalized, Xie Zhan sighed and said, "Donkeys, the people of Zhuozhou can raise them if they like, as long as the fields are not abandoned." By doing this, Zhuozhou can at least be half stable.

Xie Nan smiled and said, "There is no need to worry, Governor. The common people are like cattle and horses. There is no need to worry that they will stop farming. They can raise donkeys, but they will never give up the fields." Even so, it will make them Exhausted.

But they never expected that the people of Zhuozhou would sacrifice the crops in their fields in order to raise donkeys that could be sold at high prices!

"Grand Governor, do you want to report this to the emperor?" Fan Yang asked.

Xie Zhan shook his head, "Taoist Master Kurong is about to arrive in Chang'an. The emperor needs to fast and bathe for seven days. No one is allowed to disturb him during these seven days." So Song Mo temporarily entrusted the government affairs of the court to him.

Everyone present heard this and understood. Since last year, the emperor has been sending people to search for Taoist Master Ku Rong, almost turning the entire world upside down. It was only recently that there was news.

The backyard of the inner residence of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion

When Zhao Yutan heard the rumors that Lu Songli doted on her husband, he was slightly stunned.

Speaking of which, it had been a long time since she had had that prophetic dream.

But in that prophetic dream, the young general Qin Sheng had always been upright. After the Qin family rebelled, he led the army to overcome obstacles and took the lead, without saying anything about hardship or tiredness.

He has always held up the sky for others and protected them.

In that precognitive dream, she enjoyed his protection as a matter of course, and never asked him if he was tired or if it was hard work. They said they were a couple, but she never seemed to have entered his heart. What he left to her after his death was the honorable position of princess, which still protects her.

Now, after he and Lu Songli got married, Lu Songli was so kind to him, which made her feel very uncomfortable. It seemed that in her dream, Qin Sheng was like a tool, and only after being with Lu Songli did he live like a human being.

"Madam, the old lady invites you." The personal maid came in to report.

"Tell the person who's coming that I'll be there right away." Zhao Yutan knew that her mother-in-law invited her over to discuss matters related to her husband's concubinage.

Xianbei Royal Court

Tuoba Jin attended the peace talks between Pingzhou and Dali on behalf of Xianbei, and the news he brought back did not satisfy Tuoba Khan.

Now, whether in Dali or Pingzhou, salt sells for 200 yuan per pound.

Fortunately, they had decisively eaten a batch of cheap salt from Pingzhou before, otherwise they would have had to spend more money to buy salt now.

Tuoba Khan asked, "Have you asked Pingzhou if you can supply salt to Xianbei on a long-term basis at a price of 120 wen per catty?"

Those merchants in Pingzhou were able to sell so much private salt at the price of one hundred and ten cents, which showed that everyone in Pingzhou could make money at this price. Tuoba Khan thought that the price he gave was not low.

Tuoba Jin smiled bitterly, "Father Khan, it's not like you don't know that Pingzhou has always been kind to us Xianbei." Pingzhou is not easy to talk to at all!

"So, Pingzhou refused?"

"Ah."

At this time, a general said, "Khan, my subordinates have received news that after the Juyang peace talks, Pingzhou issued a tax rebate policy for salt. Maybe we can make a fuss about it."

"how do I say this?"

After everyone present learned about Pingzhou's tax refund policy, they started thinking.

“Pingzhou’s tax rebate policy for local salt has reduced the price of salt for ordinary people in Pingzhou to 150 cents per catty, but the tax refund amount it stipulates does not exceed ten catties per person per year, and the excess cannot be refunded. "

"But a person can't eat ten pounds of salt a year, right?"

"I can't eat it." The amount of salt a person needs to eat in a year can be as little as three kilograms, or as much as five kilograms.

"Pingzhou gave me a quota of ten kilograms..."

"It's a loophole."

Everyone present looked at me and I looked at you, and they all laughed.

Tuobalian looked at these smart people and wondered in his mind, is it possible that this loophole was specially left by Pingzhou, just waiting for someone to get in?

"Do you think there are any profiteers in Pingzhou who use this extra quota to collect and make money?"

"There must be!" Anyway, in the end, it was the Pingzhou government that suffered the loss.

"Then we can buy Pingzhou official salt from profiteers in Pingzhou for 170 Wen. If we want a large quantity, maybe the price can be lower? For example, 160 Wen per catty?"

"Should it be possible?" It's profitable, so I don't believe no one is interested.

This price is dozens of dollars cheaper than two hundred dollars per pound. One catty is thirty or forty cents cheaper. What about ten catties? Hundreds of catties? Thousands of catties?

"Let our Han bastards try it."