My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 551 Trade Disputes
Gongsun Gong's heart pounded, and he could hardly believe his ears. The terms Liu Feng offered were so generous that he could hardly believe it.

The importance of sugar, sesame oil, and snow salt is self-evident, and tea is no less important than the other three, and may even be a more important strategic resource.

The northern Xinjiang region is bitterly cold and lacks abundant fruits and vegetables. People rely entirely on tea to supplement vitamins and cleanse their intestines, making it difficult to live without tea.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, tea was far from being as widespread as it would later become. There were three main tea-growing areas. One was the Jiangdong region south of the Yangtze River, where tea production had already reached a considerable scale and was an emerging tea-producing area. Although the tea output was not as high as the other two regions, the quality of the high-quality tea was in no way inferior to the other two major producing areas.

The second tea-producing region is the Jingchu region in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This area has a humid climate and fertile soil, ideal for tea cultivation. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, tea cultivation in the Jingchu region had already reached a considerable scale, and tea began to occupy a significant place in the local economy and culture.

The third production area is Yizhou, the origin of Chinese tea.

The Yizhou mentioned here is not just the Sichuan of later times, but encompasses the entire southwest, including Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and parts of Myanmar, which was the Yizhou of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, tea cultivation techniques in Yizhou were relatively advanced, tea production was relatively high, and the quality was excellent. The best tea was selected as tribute by the Eastern Han court.

Apart from these three major tea-producing areas, there was almost no tea cultivation in other regions. Until the Tang Dynasty, the scope of tea cultivation did not extend beyond the Yellow River.

Of the three major tea-producing regions in the land, more than two have fallen into Liu Feng's hands, leaving only Yizhou, which is now an incomplete production area. The Yizhou region, controlled by Liu Zhang, can only produce and sell its own tea.

This doesn't mean that tea consumption in Sichuan is really that high, consuming all the tea from the largest and most mature production area; rather, it means that the tea simply can't be sold.

Despite its remoteness, Yizhou has many ways out. Strictly speaking, it actually has three major strategic commercial routes: land, inland waterways, and sea routes. The problem is that all three routes are currently blocked.

Let's not even mention Hanzhong to the north. Zhang Lu's mother died at the hands of Liu Zhang. In recent years, Liu Zhang has launched a large-scale military campaign against Hanzhong every two or three years, and the trade routes have long been cut off.

Jingzhou in the east has been occupied by Liu Feng, and Liu Feng's approval is required to ship goods via the Yangtze River.

The southwest to the south was originally a way out, but then Jiaozhou surrendered without a fight and also came under Liu Feng's control.

Now even the sea route is blocked.

Unless Liu Zhang was willing to sell the tea to Liu Feng at a low price, he could only watch the tea rot in the tea garden.

Therefore, Liu Feng had effectively monopolized the tea trade, and if Liu Feng disagreed, the tea supply to Liaodong would immediately be cut off.

Unfortunately, tea is a consumable product with a short shelf life. With the technology and storage conditions of the Eastern Han Dynasty, most teas only had a shelf life of a few months to a year, and at most two years.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Gongsun family of Liaodong was able to buy scarce commodities such as frosting sugar, snow salt, sesame oil, tea, and iron pots entirely thanks to their maritime trade with the Liu family.

These things were to Liu Feng what warhorses were to the Gongsun family. How much they gave, at what price, and for how long—it was all up to the Liu family.

Now that Liu Feng is willing to increase shipments by 30% and lower prices by 10%, this seems like the best thing ever.

As for whether Liaodong has the capacity to absorb so many supplies, that's really simple. If they can't use them themselves, can't they at least act as middlemen?

Putting aside other factors, if these supplies were sold intact to minority tribes such as the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu, the number of warhorses they could obtain would be at least two or three tenths of what they would have earned by exporting them to the Liu family.

Gongsun Gong carefully analyzed the gains and losses. The main reason was that the Liu family's demand for warhorses was too strong. The specific amount was increasing every year, and last year's purchases had increased to more than 1,300 horses.

It should be noted that the Liaodong Horse Ranch only produced a little over 800 horses last year, which wouldn't be enough even if all of them were sold to the Liu family.

The Gongsun family had to relinquish some of their benefits, purchasing over four hundred horses from the Xianbei and Wuhuan people. The remaining one hundred or so horses were drawn from the active-duty cavalry.

Today, the Liu family of the southeast has a great reputation in the north. Not to mention the Han people, even the Xianbei, Wuhuan, Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples of all sizes have heard of the good things the Liu family has.

In previous years, the Gongsun family could use grain and cloth to purchase warhorses from the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu people.

But that's no longer the case, because these nomadic tribes of the grasslands have also started to hoard their goods.

These barbarians approached the Liu family directly, trying to bypass the middlemen who profited from the price difference. At the same time, they raised prices on the spot, demanding scarce commodities such as sugar, sesame oil, and tea in exchange for the warhorses.

As for grain and cloth, which used to be hard currencies, they can now only be exchanged for cattle, sheep, and packhorses. If you want warhorses?

Yes, you can exchange it for frosting sugar, sesame oil, or tea leaves.

This is one of the main reasons why the Gongsun family had to send people south to discuss matters with Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng.

If exports can be increased by 30%, the Gongsun family can obtain more than 500 warhorses from the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu people based on this increase alone. If the price is reduced by 10%, it would be equivalent to 600 warhorses.

If this calculation shows that the trade volume remains the same as last year, the Gongsun family will have an extra profit of nearly two hundred warhorses, which is definitely not a small amount of money.

By this point, Gongsun Gong was quite tempted, but he still had some worries, fearing that he wouldn't be able to explain himself when he returned.

But then Liu Feng raised a third finger: "Third, if the Grand Marshal launches a northern expedition to Youzhou, I will definitely send troops to his aid."

"Is this true?"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Gong immediately perked up and earnestly inquired, "How will your forces be deployed? Will you be sailing to Liaodong?"

Upon hearing the words "floating at sea," Liu Feng's eyes drooped.

Just as Sun Quan had tricked Cao Pi, Gongsun Yuan used the same method on Sun Quan. This Prince of Yan of Wu completely outmaneuvered the Prince of Wu of Wei, causing him to lose face utterly.

"can."

Liu Feng inwardly grumbled, but outwardly agreed without hesitation. The reason was very simple: in the original timeline, Yuan Shao had completely ignored the Gongsun family and focused all his energy on advancing south.

Although the current situation has changed, history has undergone profound changes.

However, Yuan Shao's fundamental interests have not changed. His ultimate goal remains to seize the emperor. As long as the Gongsun family does not provoke Yuan Shao, the latter is unlikely to attack Youzhou first.

Gongsun Zan had held him back for nine long years, and now that he had finally dealt with Gongsun Zan, becoming the ultimate winner in Hebei, it would be crazy for Yuan Shao to go to Liaodong, the ancestral homeland of the Gongsun family, to start a war with them now.

What's even more troublesome is that most of the rivers in Hebei run east-west, with almost none running north-south. This means that unless they take the sea route, the immense pressure on the logistics line will be enough to make Yuan Shao pay a heavy price, not to mention that the further north you go, the longer and more unbearable the winter becomes.

Liu Feng agreed so readily precisely because he had no intention of keeping his promise.

Even if Yuan Shao lost his mind and actually launched an attack on the Gongsun family in Liaodong, he would only take the opportunity to launch a northern expedition in the south, and would not mobilize a large army to rescue Liaodong. He is not Sun Shiwan.

Gongsun Gong had no idea what Liu Feng was thinking, otherwise he would have definitely cursed him out.

In Gongsun Gong's mind, Liu Feng's reputation was now extremely good, even to the point that it was unlike that of a normal warlord, regional governor, or feudal lord in the end times.

Although Liu Feng also suppressed the powerful clans, his actions were quite different from those of other warlords and regional governors.

While in Xuzhou, Liu Feng used the strategy of forming alliances and conspiring to recover Langya and Guangling, thus unifying the territory of Xuzhou. He also won the strong support of the powerful clans and gentry of Xuzhou. At the same time, by taking in refugees and developing military farms, he not only won the praise of the people but also successfully cultivated his own loyal forces to balance the influence of the powerful clans and gentry of Xuzhou.

While in Wu Commandery, he used the pretext of colluding with the Sun family to restrain the local powerful clans, but he also left room for maneuver, giving the surrendered gentry and powerful families time to consider and adjust.

While in Kuaiji, he used the pretext of suppressing a rebellion to carry out a large-scale purge, but at the same time left room for maneuver. Although he severely cracked down on the rebellion, he did not punish women and children, and even specially allocated a sum of money and grain to settle down each family. His reputation did not suffer any damage, but the blame was all placed on the Sun family. Otherwise, the Sun family would not have come from Jiangdong, but would now be ostracized by the entire Yangzhou gentry and have become a lone official.

Liu Biao's actions were also evident to all. From the moment Liu Biao launched his campaign against Lujiang, Liu Feng endured it again and again. Finally, when he did launch his campaign, he had the imperial edict in hand, which can be described as obeying the emperor's will to punish the rebels and eliminating traitors for the emperor.

Throughout Liu Feng's rise to power, he consistently upheld righteousness and rarely betrayed his principles. Moreover, Liu Feng's army never killed surrendered soldiers or massacred entire cities, earning him an exceptionally good reputation among the people.

This point also greatly benefited Liu Feng in the Battle of Jingzhou. Many counties and towns were pacified almost immediately after Xiangyang was captured, without any concern that Liu Feng's soldiers would take the opportunity to plunder the area.

Furthermore, the maritime trade over the past decade has not only established a relationship of mutual trust between the Gongsun and Liu families, but the Liu family, driven by their desire for warhorses, has also adopted a yielding attitude on minor issues. Their stance has consistently been that as long as the quantity and quality of warhorses are not compromised, everything else is negotiable.

Therefore, Gongsun Gong truly believed Liu Feng's guarantee.

However, although Gongsun Gong believed it, he did not have that much power, because according to the corresponding requirements, the Gongsun family had to supply the other party with at least 1,500 warhorses this year, of which no less than 400 were first-class horses.

Fifteen hundred warhorses is manageable; even if there's a shortfall, it won't be too significant. At most, we can draw some more horses from the active force to fill the gap.

But acquiring these four hundred first-class warhorses will be a huge challenge. If they were to be obtained from tribes such as the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu, they would need to use sugar, sesame oil, and high-quality tea. Even snow salt would be insufficient.

With this in mind, Gongsun Gong instinctively wanted to gain some advantages for his side.

"I am deeply grateful for General Zuo's kindness, but the number of warhorses is too large and their quality is too high, which puts too much pressure on my family."

Liu Feng, being the kind of person he was, naturally understood the implied meaning from the song and immediately asked with a smile: "This number must not be changed. The Grand Marshal has a stronghold in Hebei and has also gained the benefits of Youyan. How can he have tens of thousands of cavalry under his command? In addition, he has 500,000 troops supported by the four provinces. If there were no cavalry, let alone rescue Liaodong, he would not even be able to protect himself."

"but……"

Just as Gongsun Gong was about to defend himself, Liu Feng suddenly changed the subject: "I also know that He's clan has done its best. If there are still difficulties, there are things that my family can help with. Please tell me, He."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Gong's mood took a dramatic turn for the better. He quickly followed Liu Feng's lead and pleaded, "General Zuo, you are wise. Such a quantity and quality of warhorses is beyond the capacity of my Gongsun family. We will have to procure and allocate them from the various tribes in the north of Youzhou. These days, the northern barbarians are quite cunning. If it's cattle, sheep, or packhorses, they're fine with anything. But when it comes to warhorses, they won't trade them for anything but sugar, sesame oil, and the finest tea."

Gongsun Gong's words were the absolute truth, without any exaggeration, and even Liu Feng, far away in the southeast, had heard of them.

Liu Feng understood what the other party meant—he needed to pay more.

Sure enough, Gongsun Gong immediately made an outrageous demand: "The supply of frosting sugar, sesame oil, and top-grade tea must be doubled, while the price will be reduced by 30%."

Hearing Gongsun Gong's exorbitant price, Liu Feng was not angry. Instead, he calmly countered on the spot, saying, "Doubling the price is impossible. These three items are extremely precious and rare. They also need to be offered as tribute to the court and the emperor. How can I give them all to your family?"

After saying that, Liu Feng deliberately hesitated for a moment, and before Gongsun Gong could speak, he continued, "Alright, I'll add another 10% of the goods to your supply, and lower the price by another 10%."

Gongsun Gong felt somewhat helpless upon hearing these words.

He actually knew that Liu Feng was talking nonsense. The production of frost sugar was already quite high, so high that it even drove up the prices of brown sugar and other sugars.

Because Liu Feng's main ingredients for making frosting sugar are brown sugar and miscellaneous sugars, the higher the production of frosting sugar, the less brown sugar and miscellaneous sugar will be available on the market.

Scarcity drives up prices, so the prices of brown sugar and other sugars have naturally risen considerably.

If Liu Feng hadn't already conquered Jiaozhi, the large-scale planting and sugarcane pressing in Jiaozhi over the past two years, as a new source of raw materials, would likely have caused the prices of brown sugar and other sugars to skyrocket.

Although Liu Feng exported a considerable amount of sugar to Liaodong, it was still far from enough compared to the total amount exported, much of which was directly distributed to the troops.

For example, when Lu Xun, Lü Meng, and others invaded southern Yizhou, they made a long-distance raid deep into the barren lands. The sugar they carried was not only the best hard currency, but it could also be used as military rations and medicine when necessary, making it a versatile item.

This was not because Liu Feng was extravagant or ungrateful; the reason for this outcome was that scarcity increases value.

If the supply is truly opened up, the price of frosting sugar may not fall to the level of brown sugar or mixed sugar, but it would be wishful thinking to expect to make huge profits.

(End of this chapter)