Hanhou

Zhidu smiled kindly and had a kind attitude.

Knowing that Zhao Jia would not stay in Yanmen for a long time, and that he would leave with Wei Yue in the near future, he immediately called the old servant and ordered him to go to the study to fetch a box of classics and present it to Zhao Jia as a meeting gift.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhi."

The olive branch offered by the boss cannot be refused.

What's more, the gift is a book, and it would be too rude to push it back in person.Although his heart was a little hairy, Zhao Jia still bowed his hands, solemnly thanked Zhidu, and accepted this generous gift.

"Lieutenant Zhao County is polite." Zhidu had a good impression of Zhao Jia, and after talking about the military affairs, he turned to the method of torture.

Zhao Jia's expression was numb.

Even if you have a group of beasts running wildly in your heart, you must cheer up and exchange ideas with the boss on related topics.However, in order to avoid problems in the future, it is stated in advance that he only has theoretical knowledge and no practical experience.

For example, the punishment of "Ling Chi" was originally intended to intimidate the villains, but it was not actually carried out at all.If Zhidu, like a doctor, wants to study how to achieve "thousand cuts", he is really not a suitable subject for discussion.

Unexpectedly, this kind of seeking truth from facts fell into Zhidu's eyes, and he became humble, open-minded, talented but not arrogant, a real pillar.

During the conversation, Zhao Jia broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, racking his brains for fear of saying the wrong thing, almost exhausted.But Zhidu was happy when he saw it, and he was in high spirits.If it wasn't for the late hour and Zhao Jia's serious injury, he might have been left to talk at night by candlelight.

When the prefect Zhi was finally willing to let him go, Zhao Jia escaped from the inner room, raised his hand to wipe off the cold sweat on his forehead, and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

After all, the big boss is a big boss, and he is more famous when he meets him, and his aura is really amazing.

Such a kind attitude even made him break out in cold sweat, and the soles of his feet felt cold all the time. The nobles in Chang'an were shrouded in air pressure and gave him the title of "Goshawk".

Li Danghu bid farewell to the two men in front of the door, jumped on his horse, whipped and returned to the camp.The luggage has been prepared, and I have seen Zhidu today, and I can leave the camp early tomorrow morning.

Wei Yue and Zhao Jia will not stay longer, they will prepare the rations they need on the way, send the letter to Liu Rong, and then they will set off to return to Yunzhong.

The sky is getting dark, the cold wind is howling, and the snow is getting bigger and bigger.

The wheels ran through the snow, leaving two ruts, which were quickly covered again.

Zhao Jia leaned against the wall of the car, feeling uncomfortable no matter how he sat.Wanting to lie down, he accidentally pulled the wound, and couldn't help frowning.Seeing his discomfort, Wei Yue stretched out his arm, wrapped his arm around Zhao Jia's shoulder, and hugged him into his arms.

After two seconds of silence, Zhao Jia resolutely gave up struggling, moved a few times, and changed himself into a more comfortable position.Wrapped in warmth, with the shaking of the carriage, it didn't take long before he fell asleep in a daze.

Wei Yue leaned against the wall of the car, wrapping one hand around Zhao Jia's waist, to prevent him from changing his posture suddenly and pulling the wound again; with the other hand, he pulled up the cloak and wrapped Zhao Jia in it.

As night fell, the sky was covered by dark clouds, and there was no starlight.

The team trudged through the snow, and the wind hit the carriages, covering them with crushed snow and ice particles, crackling.The cavalry lit the torches, winding into two fire dragons.

In the wind came the howling of wild wolves, sharp and ear-piercing.

The steward who was driving the chariot shook the reins and began to speed up.The guarding cavalry held bows, arrows and knives, looked around with tiger eyes, illuminated by torches, and quickly locked on to several green lights patrolling a few meters away.

The dark green light spots kept dragging and flickering, and the wolves slowly approached.

Under normal circumstances, unless it was a large wolf pack led by an experienced wolf king and there were dozens of strong hunters in the pack, they would basically not challenge a horse team with more than four slaps.

Beasts also know how to avoid disadvantages, and their intuition for danger is better than that of humans.

There are two dozen cavalry around the carriage, all of them are cavalry from the clouds, not to mention that they have experienced many battles.Wearing the armor, he is persistent and sharp, with evil spirits lingering around his body, and the smell of blood seems to be wafting.

Had it not been for their extreme hunger, the pack of wolves would never have taken such a risk.

However, after the winter, food became more and more difficult to find. The wild wolves hadn't caught prey for several days, and if they didn't eat anything, they would starve to death soon.In order to survive, he had to take risks.

"Third Young Master, there is a pack of wolves ahead." Wei Wu's voice came to Wei Yue's ears through the car window.

Zhao Jia didn't sleep deeply, and quickly opened his eyes following the sound.Hearing the howling of wild wolves, he was startled and was about to sit up immediately.Not wanting to be held down by Wei Yue, a big hand covered his back, pressing him back into the warmth.

"It's okay, it's just a wolf, Hodor will continue to sleep."

As the carriage swayed slightly, Wei Yue tightened his arms again, with a relaxed attitude and a smile on his face, not paying attention to the pack of wolves outside the carriage.

Zhao Jia looked up at him for a while, but didn't say anything, and lay back down again, closing his eyes.

After returning to Yunzhong County, the intersection with each other will be reduced.

Indulge only this once.

There was silence in the carriage, and outside the carriage, the wolf king howled with a shrill voice.The hungry wolves began to run through the snow, rushing towards the horses pulling the cart.

hum!

The sound of string control sounded one after another, and the arrow pierced through the cold wind, carrying the momentum of thunder, and pierced into the wolf's body.

Warm blood splashed in the silvery white everywhere, like a blood-red flower, blooming gorgeously, and then solidified in an instant.

The dead wolves were dragged away and torn apart by their companions, and became food.The injured wailed, but instead of getting help, the wolf king bit off his throat.

In the first round of confrontation, the wolves suffered heavy casualties. They dared not attack the horse team anymore, so they could only stay where they were and watch the "prey" go away.

Although the hunt was unsuccessful, the wolves who survived did not have to continue to starve.The corpses of their companions are ready-made food, which will supplement them with the necessary energy to support the wolves to survive the cold night and look for the next wave of prey.

Back at the place where he stayed, Zhao Jia was awakened by Wei Yue, and walked out of the carriage with half-closed eyes.

The health servant built a brazier indoors and lit a poke lamp.

After the two took off their cloaks, they quickly served the beef bone soup that had been boiled all afternoon, paired with grilled lamb and sunflower, and the main food was steaming steamed cakes and thick millet porridge.

After sitting for a few minutes, Zhao Jia drank half a cup of hot soup, his whole body warmed up, and he couldn't help but relax his brows.Cut a piece of mutton and put it in your mouth. The fire is very delicate, but the sauce is still a bit bland.

After swallowing the broiled meat, Zhao Jia took a chopstick of sunflower, and couldn't help but miss the sauce in Yunzhong City.

No wonder the Jia people in the shop dared to set a high price, it is indeed extraordinary craftsmanship.In the counties and counties of the frontier fortress, this kind of spicy sauce may be the only one.

There is a small dish of salt on the table, the grains are uneven, and the color is yellowish.The entrance has a little astringency and bitterness, but it is much better than the folk ones.

Most of the salt eaten by frontier residents is only roughly processed, not to mention bitter, and even mixed with sand.

Zhao Jia intends to change, but finds out that politics does not come out of Shaling.After asking Wei Yue, he found out that salt and iron are not yet state-owned. The salt mines in Bianjun are mainly distributed in Yuyang, Liaoxi and Liaodong.

What surprised Zhao Jia was that, as a small and transparent acting king, he also had a salt mine under his command.Even if the land tax is not collected, the Dai Wang can live a very comfortable life relying on this salt mine alone.

Dai Wang is by no means an exception.

Many vassal kingdoms have minerals and are extremely rich.

Extending to the Seven Kingdoms that raised their troops in the year of Emperor Jing, and the Liang Kingdom with tens of millions of wealth, it shows how rich and powerful the princes and kings have reached.

Salt and iron are the lifeblood of the country, and they are bound to be nationalized.

Emperor Jing had the intention but failed to do so, but he inherited Emperor Wen's policy of governing the country and recuperated with the people, making the treasury rich and leaving Emperor Wu with a very superior foundation.After the death of King Liang, he favored the princes and divided Liang into five. No matter what the starting point was, it set an example and laid the foundation for Emperor Wu's dynasty to weaken the princes and kings and centralize power.

Zhao Jia thought more and more deeply, and his thoughts drifted away unconsciously.

He knew that King Liang died before Emperor Jing, but in what year?

Previously, Wei Yue talked with Li Danghu and mentioned that King Liang was seriously ill. Could it be this year?

Seeing that Zhao Jia was distracted suddenly, the chopsticks were resting on his mouth, and the roasted meat fell without realizing it, Wei Yue put down the meat-slicing dagger, took a cloth towel to wipe his hands, and asked, "Is there something difficult to solve for Ah Duo?"

"Ah?" Zhao Jia reacted, raised his head to look at Wei Yue, followed the latter's gaze, and looked at the roasted meat that fell on the table. After two seconds of embarrassment, he put down his chopsticks and took a sip from the lacquer cup.

What to say?

Zhao Jia's mind was a little confused. He instinctively thought that the salt mine was an opportunity, but he really had no idea how to operate it.

The nearest salt mine is in the hands of Dai Wang, but Dai Guoxiang is Guan Fu.No matter what his current situation is, his official position has not been deprived after all, and he still holds certain rights in his hands.To put it bluntly, once Zhao Jia sent someone to fight, he would dare to drive him out, even dare to kill him.

Switch to other salt mines?

The aristocratic families in the Western Han Dynasty were not as noble as those in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but they were not so easy to deal with.

As far as Zhao Jia knew, among the Chang'an aristocratic families, there were no less than five families that continued from the Spring and Autumn Period.Such a family background makes people tremble when it is said.

With Zhao Jia's small stature, even if he came to the door with gold, the other party probably wouldn't even glance at it.

At the level of Wei Taishou, he can be treated with courtesy.However, the prefect of Bianjun united with a noble family to do the salt mine business, no matter how politically novice, he also knew that this was his own shooting at the gunpoint.

Jinshan was in front of him, holding a shovel in his hand, but he could only watch with his eyes open, not daring to make a move anyway.

This feeling is so depressing that it is indescribable.

Depressed to be depressed, Zhao Jia didn't go into a dead end.Seeing that Wei Yue was curious, organize the language, pick up the main points and list a few.He also pointed out that if new salt can be made and transported to the grasslands or marketed to the far west, it may not be impossible to charge sky-high prices.

Things are rare.

Just like silk, the Han Dynasty market set a price, transported it to the grasslands for a price, sold it to the Western Regions for a price, and took it to Central Asia and sent it to Rome. Converted to gold, the price could even increase hundreds of times.

It sounds unbelievable, but it actually happened in history.

This is a pure seller's market. Compared with middlemen who dare to bid hundreds of times the price, the Han Dynasty can definitely be called a conscience.In the same way, if you make new salt, you can't make as much money as silk, but as long as you operate it properly, you can accumulate a lot of wealth.

From this point of view, there are definitely many ways to make money.

When the money is available, you can update your armaments and roll up your sleeves.

After beating the Huns, continue to march towards Central Asia and West Asia.Go abroad to mine minerals and enrich the treasury.When encountering land suitable for farming, immediately race to circle the site.

As long as you have money and territory, militarism is nothing at all.

Chasing the Xiongnu in the north, destroying the barbarians in the south, sweeping across the east and west, tearing up the injustice.The correct way to open up the Han Wu Dynasty is to speak with fists, to keep friends and neighbors with the blade, and to fight and get richer.

No matter how good the idea is, in Zhao Jia's view, under the current conditions, it is indeed impossible to realize it.

"Jia also knows that there is no plan to implement it." Zhao Jia sighed.

Following Zhao Jia's narration, Wei Yue fell into deep thought. After a long time, he said, "Isn't it possible? Not necessarily."

Zhao Jiagang picked up a piece of steamed cake, and when he heard this sentence, his chopsticks stopped immediately.

"Third son?"

"Hodor can really make salt without bitter taste?"

"You can try." Zhao Jia didn't finish his sentence.Even if you know the steps, you haven't tried it anyway, have you?

"Very good." Wei Yue nodded, with a smile on his face again, "After returning to Yunzhong, I will report this matter to Ah Weng and bring some salt from Yuyang."

"Yuyang?"

"Yuyang Salt Mine is in the hands of Wei's in-laws, and my brother's wife is from Yuyang Peng." Wei Yue cut off a few pieces of roasted meat and handed it to Zhao Jia.

Zhao Jia thought for a while, and then realized that what Wei Yue was referring to was Wei Jian, the second son of Wei Taishou, who became an official in Chang'an and is now Zhonglang.