Chapter 618 This is a loophole
Chang'an, Grand Commandery
Xie Bai rode back to Chang'an at full speed. After arriving, without even taking a breath, he came to report the situation in Zhuozhou to Xie Zhan.
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 all the phenomena, Pingzhou has indeed taken action against Zhuozhou."
"It's not surprising. Pingzhou dreams of taking Zhuozhou."
"Grand Commander, how can we resolve this move by Pingzhou?"
Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Fan Yang laughed, "Buying a deer to defeat Chu, is Pingzhou just copying?"
Xie Nan asked, "General Fan, do you think this plan for Pingzhou won't work? That we can't take Zhuozhou?"
Xie Zhan recently requested the position of military advisor for Fan Yang, and Song Mo agreed.
Fan Yang explained, "Da Li was a vast territory, unlike the small state of Chu during the Warring States Period. The people of Chu, driven to hunt deer, stopped all production, allowing Qi to easily strangle their food supply."
"Zhuozhou has the support of our Dali Dynasty. Furthermore, the people of Zhuozhou have merely raised more donkeys, not abandoned agriculture. Therefore, Pingzhou's plan to buy deer to control Chu is nothing to fear." The comparison between Chu and Dali is like a small pond compared to a larger one. Zhuozhou, though also a small water wall, connects to the larger Dali pond.
Xie Zhan didn't say anything.
What Fan Yang said about there being nothing to fear was based on the premise that Dali could provide a guarantee for Zhuozhou. If Dali could stabilize the price of grain, it would indeed not be afraid of Pingzhou's move.
Fan Yang's words were actually not wrong, but his mistake was that he was too optimistic about Dali's national strength.
Since the current emperor ascended the throne, Dali has been plagued by natural disasters and its food reserves are insufficient.
In addition, this year, the salt tax revenue has not been collected. Furthermore, Dali has lost millions of people, so the head tax and land tax are not optimistic. And the people usually pay the head tax and land tax with grain.
In other words, the amount of grain harvested this year will be less.
Under such circumstances, Xie Zhan naturally hoped that there would be no accidents in Zhuozhou and that everything would be safe and stable, but it was obvious that the wind would not stop even if the tree wanted to be still.
Xie Zhan expressed his concerns, "We still have to respond to the tactics used against Pingzhou."
Someone suggested, "What if we expose Pingzhou's sinister intentions and the dire consequences that may result to the people of Zhuozhou?"
Xie Nan scoffed, "Ordinary people won't care. They're so short-sighted that they only see that a donkey can be sold for fifteen taels of silver."
Someone else suggested, "Should we issue a ban on raising donkeys in Zhuozhou?"
Fan Yang denied it. "That's inappropriate. The price of donkeys in Zhuozhou has already skyrocketed. Cutting off someone's source of income is like killing their parents. If we use force to ban it, and with the instigation of those with ulterior motives, who knows what will happen in Zhuozhou."
"If we can't ban it, then can we encourage farming? When the income from the fields increases, the people of Zhuozhou won't flock to raising donkeys."
Xie Zhan was not optimistic about this, and he quickly did a calculation in his mind.
In a good harvest, one mu of land could yield only two to three hundred kilograms of grain. After drying, it was only about two hundred kilograms, which could be sold for two or three taels of silver at best. In other words, the money earned from tending four or five mu of land day and night was only equal to the money earned from raising a donkey.
Then they discussed for a while and finally decided on a response plan: to prohibit the use of farmland for raising donkeys in Zhuozhou, and to encourage agriculture and sericulture.
After that, it depends on Pingzhou’s reaction and they will respond accordingly.
If the situation in Zhuozhou is not optimistic when Pingzhou closes in, they will take action later. Anyway, Zhuozhou has the support of Dali and will not allow itself to be slaughtered by Pingzhou.
After the plan was finalized, Xie Zhan sighed and said, "As for donkeys, the people of Zhuozhou can raise them if they want, as long as the fields are not left idle." If this is achieved, Zhuozhou can be at least halfway stabilized.
Xie Nan smiled and said, "Grand Commander, there is no need to worry. 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 their fields." Even so, they would be exhausted to death.
But they never expected that the people of Zhuozhou would destroy the crops in their fields in order to raise donkeys that could be sold at high prices!
"Grand Commander, do we need to report this matter to the Emperor?" Fan Yang asked.
Xie Zhan shook his head and said, "Master Ku Rong will soon 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 court affairs to him.
Everyone present understood what he said. Since last year, the Emperor had been sending people to search for Taoist Master Ku Rong, nearly turning the whole world upside down. It was only recently that news came out.
The inner courtyard and backyard of the Grand Commandery
When Zhao Yutan heard the rumor that Lu Songli doted on her husband, she was slightly stunned.
Come to think of it, she hadn't had that predictive dream for a long time.
But in that prophetic dream, the young general Qin Sheng had always been upright and self-reliant. After the Qin family rebelled, he led the army through all obstacles, leading the troops from the front without complaining about the hardship or fatigue.
He has always been the one who holds up the sky for others and protects others.
In that prophetic dream, she took his protection for granted, never asking if he was tired or overworked. They were husband and wife, but she never seemed to have entered his heart. After his death, he left her the honorable position of princess, still protecting her.
Now, after he and Lu Songli got married, Lu Songli treated him so well, which made her feel very uncomfortable. It was as if in her dream, Qin Sheng was just a tool, and only after being with Lu Songli did he live like a human being.
"Madam, the old lady wants to see you." The personal maid came in to report.
"Tell the person that comes that I'll be there right away." Zhao Yutan knew that her mother-in-law asked her to come over to discuss matters related to her husband taking a concubine.
Xianbei Royal Court
Tuoba Jin represented the Xianbei in the peace talks between Pingzhou and Dali, but the news he brought back did not satisfy Tuoba Khan.
Whether in Dali or Pingzhou, salt now sells for two hundred coins per catty.
Fortunately, they had decisively purchased a batch of Pingzhou's affordable salt before, otherwise they would have to spend more money to buy salt.
Tuoba Khan asked, "Have you asked Pingzhou if they can provide the Xianbei with salt on a long-term basis at a price of 120 wen per catty?"
Previously, the merchants in Pingzhou were able to sell so much illegal salt at the price of 110 Wen, which means that Pingzhou can make money at this price. Tuoba Khan thought that the price he gave was not low.
Tuoba Jin smiled bitterly, "Father Khan, you know that Pingzhou has always been rude to us Xianbei." Pingzhou was not easy to talk to!
"So, Pingzhou refused?"
"Um."
At this time, a general said, "Khan, I have received news that after the peace talks in Juyang, Pingzhou has introduced a tax refund policy for salt. Perhaps we can make use of it."
"What do you mean?"
After the people present learned about Pingzhou's tax refund policy, they all started thinking about it.
"Pingzhou's tax rebate policy for local salt has reduced the price of salt for Pingzhou residents to 150 wen per catty. However, it stipulates that the rebate amount cannot exceed 10 catties per person per year. Any amount exceeding this amount cannot be refunded."
"But, a person can't eat ten kilograms of salt in a year, right?"
"I can't eat it." The amount of salt a person should eat in a year is at least three kilograms, and at most five kilograms.
"Pingzhou gave us a quota of ten kilograms..."
“It’s a loophole.”
Everyone present looked at each other and laughed.
Tuoba Lian looked at these clever people and wondered in his heart, is it possible that Pingzhou had left this loophole on purpose, waiting for people to fall into it?
"Do you think there are any profiteers in Pingzhou who are taking advantage of this extra credit to make money?"
"Of course there is!" In the end, it was the Pingzhou government that suffered.
"Then we can buy Pingzhou official salt from the profiteers in Pingzhou for 170 wen. If we want a large quantity, perhaps the price can be even lower? For example, 160 wen per catty?"
"Should it be possible?" If it's profitable, I don't believe no one would be interested.
This price is several dozen wen cheaper than 200 wen per catty. If one catty is 30 or 40 wen cheaper, what about 10 catties, 100 catties, 1,000 catties, or 10,000 catties?
"Let our Han lackeys try it."
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