My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 658 Three Strategies for Menstrual Correction
"Does the general truly intend to implement these three strategies?"

As a member of a prominent family in Yizhou, Li Hui was of the highest birth and status among the guests, and thus he was the first to speak.

Liu Feng nodded solemnly and said with deep emotion, "The economy of Sichuan is in ruins. Copper coins are almost gone, and gold and silver are all gone. If these three policies are not implemented, I fear that the people's livelihood will be reduced to the barter system of ancient times. I really cannot bear to see the people of Sichuan trapped in this predicament!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hui straightened his clothes, rose, and prostrated himself in worship, saying loudly, "General, for the sake of the common people, you are not afraid of the machinations of powerful figures or the slander of rumors. Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow in your footsteps and help you accomplish this great cause of bringing peace to the people!"

Upon seeing this, Lü Chang, He Zhi, and Ma Zhong exchanged glances and nodded. They straightened their clothes, knelt down, and said, "Although we are not very talented or learned, our loyalty is unquestionable. We are willing to serve you like dogs and horses to help you achieve your great cause!"

"Good, good, good!"

Liu Feng was overjoyed. He immediately rose and descended the steps, helping Li Hui and the others to their feet. They looked at each other and smiled, saying, "Although this matter is fraught with difficulties and dangers, with your help, we will surely succeed!"

"Since you gentlemen wish to help me accomplish this great task..."

Liu Feng continued, "Now let's discuss these three proposals and see if there are any areas for improvement."

Li Hui and the others readily agreed and began to discuss the matter.

Ma Zhong, having gained some insight, pondered for a while before bowing and offering his advice: "General, you are wise. The common people already face difficulties in paying taxes, and their daily lives are often fraught with hardship and scarcity of resources. If we were to impose mandatory material taxes, I fear that unscrupulous officials would take advantage of this to engage in corrupt practices and coerce the people for profit. I have a suggestion: since it is permissible to use grain in lieu of taxes, why not broaden the channels for tax collection? All goods, silk, Shu brocade, lacquerware, and the like can be used to offset taxes. The government can assess the prices of these goods and determine the appropriate percentages, which can be agreed upon annually. If this is implemented for three to five years, the economy of Sichuan can be expected to recover."

Ma Zhong's words are very insightful. In fact, using grain as a substitute for taxes is indeed a double-edged sword. For some self-cultivating farmers with little land, after paying taxes in grain, the remaining food rations are simply not enough for a year's needs.

These people would then have no choice but to buy expensive grain in the market with money and silk. In this way, powerful and petty officials would undoubtedly be able to manipulate the situation, making things difficult for and exploiting the people, which would really go against Liu Feng's original intention.

Therefore, Ma Zhong suggested either completely abolishing the practice of paying taxes on behalf of others, allowing people to freely choose what goods or grains to use to pay taxes.

Those with abundant grain can pay taxes in grain, and those with abundant money can still pay taxes in money. Those without grain or money can pay taxes in silk, cloth, lacquerware, or woodenware.

In this way, Chiang Kai-shek would eliminate the possibility of powerful and petty officials exploiting the people, thus effectively reducing the burden on ordinary citizens.

That is indeed a pretty good suggestion.

Liu Feng gladly accepted and praised Ma Zhong highly.

Subsequently, Li Hui and others also put forward their own opinions and suggestions. These opinions included suggestions on the different outputs of goods in different regions and different price ranges, all of which were adopted by Liu Feng.

Finally, Liu Feng was very pleased and made a decision immediately.

"The memorial recommends Li Hui to be appointed as the Salt Commissioner, with a rank of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), the same as that of the Prefect of a Commandery. He is directly under the Left General's Office and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the prefecture or commandery. He has two Assistant Commissioners under him."

Appoint Lü Chang and He Zhi as Commandant of the Imperial Household Department, with a rank of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain), equivalent to a county magistrate. They are directly under the command of the Left General's Office and are subject to the supervision of the Salt Commissioner.

Ma Zhong was appointed Salt Garrison Commandant, responsible for incorporating private salt dealers from Sichuan into the Salt Garrison Army. He was initially given a force of one thousand men, established as a separate unit under the command of Salt Garrison Commandant Ma Zhong, directly subordinate to the Left General's Office and under the command of the Salt Commissioner.

"correct."

Liu Feng suddenly remembered something.

China is a land rich in natural resources, with each region having its own specialties, and even salt comes in many varieties.

There is sea salt by the sea, pond salt in Hedong, and well salt in Yizhou. It can be said that there are many varieties, each with its own characteristics.

In terms of quality, sea salt from that era was far inferior to high-grade pond salt and well salt.

However, thanks to Liu Feng, sea salt technology advanced by leaps and bounds, not only surpassing pond salt and well salt technology, but also leaving them far behind.

Therefore, Liu Feng remembered that during Zhuge Liang's time, salt production technology in Shu had been greatly improved, and the method was very simple.

Zhuge Liang's technological reforms mainly involved improving the salt-boiling technology using fire wells and inventing the gas-transporting technology using bamboo tubes.

Zhuge Liang's improved technology transformed the natural gas wellheads in the southwest region into "basin-lid" designs, which dramatically increased the daily output of a single well from two or three dou (a unit of dry measure) of salt produced by traditional household cooking to a full four shi (approximately 240 jin in later times). Moreover, the salt produced was as white as frost and could rival the snow salt, the flagship product of the Liu family today.

By the late Shu Han period, the number of salt wells in Shu had increased from more than 30 during Liu Zhang's time to more than 70, forming an industrial pattern where "salt wells existed in several counties of a prefecture," and even generating an impressive annual income of thousands of gold coins.

Now, Liu Feng can not only share these technologies, but also promote the sea salt drying technology to the southwest region.

The world is currently divided into seven parts, and Liu Feng and his son already control three of them. It seems they are about to overtake Yuan Shao and Cao Cao and join forces.

The secrecy of these technologies is no longer as important as it used to be; instead, increasing production capacity and profits have become increasingly crucial. Under these circumstances, Liu Feng began to change his mindset and actively promote the technology.

Li Hui and others were overjoyed at the time, and immediately copied these documents into their files and carefully preserved them.

Finally, as usual, Liu Feng hosted a banquet for the four people in the prefectural government, and also allocated an additional 500 armored soldiers to be temporarily commanded by Li Hui and Ma Zhong to protect their safety.

Originally, Liu Feng was in a very good mood after dealing with this matter, especially after Zhang Song reported that Huang Quan had softened his stance and would soon be able to persuade him to turn back, which made Liu Feng overjoyed.

However, this good mood lasted only three days before it vanished completely with the documents sent from Xiangyang and Jiangzhou.

The documents sent from Xiangyang and Jiangzhou contained news of unusual activity in Nanyang.

The defeat at Xinye had already occurred, but because Xiangyang was thousands of miles away, even with fast messenger ships to deliver the news, there was still a considerable time delay.

Therefore, what Xiangyang delivered this time was actually just Jia Kui's first warning report.

In his report, Jia Kui detailed the unusual activity in Nanyang Commandery, including increased river transport, troop movements, the conscription of laborers, and messages from powerful clans and gentry in the north who had been won over by the Left Guard Army. However, Jia Kui was still unaware that Cao Cao was about to enter Nanyang; he only sensed something amiss and suspected that the enemy might know of their impending attack.

Therefore, a warning was sent to Liu Feng, while requesting instructions on whether to proceed with the original plan to attack Nanyang from the north.

In fact, according to the orders that Liu Feng had given in advance, starting in early June, the Cao family's territory would be invaded from Xiangyang, where Jia Kui and Dong Xi were located, to western Runan, where Taishi Ci was located, and then to central Runan, where Zhao Yun was located.

Jia Kui noticed something amiss and suspected that Cao Cao's army had set a trap in Nanyang. Therefore, he wanted to postpone his expedition until he had investigated the situation. However, he worried that doing so would disobey Liu Feng's orders, so he used the pretext of issuing a warning to actually request instructions.

As for the documents from Zhuge Liang's side in Jiangzhou, they were misinterpreted as documents from Xiangyang.

Zhuge Liang agreed with Jia Kui's decision, believing that the situation in Nanyang was unclear and it was not advisable to maintain the original plan to send troops north.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang also mentioned that Nanyang and Guanzhong are connected by the Wuguan Road. Although this road is not as famous as the Yaohan Ancient Road, it is a genuinely important military route, sufficient to support the movement and combat of a large army. Moreover, Nanyang is also connected to Shangyong. Although the road is very difficult to travel, it can indeed reach Xicheng County directly, threatening the rear of Gao Shun's forces.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang also persuaded Liu Feng in his letter, hoping to obtain Liu Feng's consent and support.

Neither Zhuge Liang nor Jia Kui knew that Liu Feng, upon seeing the two documents, had a sudden realization. He immediately understood that Cao Cao was likely using a feint, making a grand show of marching south from Hanzhong to rescue Cao Ang, while in reality heading towards Nanyang via the Wuguan Pass from Chang'an. He even suspected that Cao Cao might have discovered part of their plan and intended to ambush them in Nanyang.

Liu Feng dared not delay and quickly replied with two letters, which he sent to Jiangzhou and Xiangyang respectively along with the official documents.

In the official document, Liu Feng affirmed the actions of Jia Kui and Dong Xi, instructing them to prioritize stability and strengthen communication with Gao Shun and Du Xi in Shangyong. He also stated that if necessary, Gao Shun's troops could be directly mobilized to reinforce Xiangyang.

While Shangyong is important, it pales in comparison to Xiangyang. Moreover, even if Gao Shun's troops were to leave, given the dire situation in Hanzhong, they would be powerless to launch an eastward offensive.

Even if Zhang Luzhen went mad, Du Xi would still be there to guard Shangyong.

Du Xi has been in Shangyong for over a year now. He has not only established the Shangyong County Army, but also pacified the people, counterbalanced powerful clans, and stabilized the Shangyong region. When necessary, Shangyong can also conscript tens of thousands of soldiers.

In addition, Liu Feng praised Zhuge Liang and Jia Kui in his letter, and in his letter to Zhuge Liang, he instructed him to pay close attention to the situation in Jingzhou and gave him the authority to make decisions when necessary. In his letter to Jia Kui, he also pointed out in detail that Cao Cao might be using a feint attack to open a new battlefield in Nanyang, employing the old strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao," and urged him to be extremely cautious and ensure the safety of Xiangyang.

Liu Feng did not grant Jia Kui's request to mobilize Kuai Yue's troops from Jiaozhou to go north. Instead, he ordered 6,000 troops from the four commanderies of Jingnan to be transferred north and stationed in Jiangling.

After replying, Liu Feng fell into deep thought, considering whether to transfer some troops back to Jingzhou.

The forces that can be mobilized now number in the tens of thousands, including Xu Chu's troops in Guanghan, Zhuge Liang's troops in Jiangzhou, Jiang Qin's naval forces, and so on, totaling more than 10,000 men, all of whom are elite soldiers and strong generals.

At that time, Xiangyang had more than 30,000 troops, Gao Shun had more than 20,000 followers, Kuai Yue had more than 10,000 followers, plus reinforcements from Shu, totaling 70,000 to 80,000 men. Even in a head-on battle, they might not be at a disadvantage.

However, Liu Feng's current speculation that Cao Cao's main attack direction is in Xiangyang has not been confirmed. Rashly deploying troops would not only increase unnecessary expenses and burdens, but also affect the overall deployment.

Kuai Yue, who is currently stationed in Jiaozhou to pacify the region, has already had a significant number of his troops transferred to other posts.

If even Kuai Yue and his more than 10,000 regular troops were to be transferred north, it would inevitably affect Kuai Yue's northward march should a rebellion break out in Jiaozhou.

Even if nothing happens in Jiaozhou, if Kuai Yue arrives in Xiangyang and finds it was just a false alarm, the impact on Kuai Yue himself and the Jiaozhou army will be significant. The journey from Yulin to Xiangyang is thousands of miles long, and the number of laborers conscripted along the way would be in the thousands or even tens of thousands.

Therefore, Liu Feng cannot mobilize Kuai Yue for the time being. Even if he had to mobilize him, he would first mobilize Gao Shun's troops. Even drawing reinforcements from Shu would be more convenient than mobilizing Kuai Yue's troops.

Whether or not Kuai Yue will ultimately be mobilized depends on how the situation develops. If the previous two waves of reinforcements are insufficient, then Kuai Yue will have no choice but to be conscripted and sent north.

The matter was resolved, and Liu Feng had given his own solution, but this matter still weighed heavily on his mind, making it difficult for him to control himself.

The incident in Nanyang made Liu Feng even more eager to resolve the war in Shu as soon as possible. Once he successfully dealt with the remaining forces of Cao Ang and Liu Zhang, even if the Baishui Pass was the only dividing line, Liu Feng could instantly free up an army of 100,000.

Although Cao Ang and Liu Zhang's 70,000 to 80,000 troops have withdrawn from Chengdu, they can only linger in the northern part of Shu Commandery and the western part of Guanghan.

However, under Cao Cao's feint attack, this remnant army showed signs of resurgence, as if a thorn in their flesh was about to ulcerate, causing Liu Feng and the Left Guard Army great discomfort and pain.

The following day, Liu Feng summoned Gu Shao and others to inquire about the progress of the supplies' transfer.

Chengdu was, after all, a formidable city. While a third of the warehouses in the Lesser City were indeed destroyed by fire, and another third suffered varying degrees of damage, Chengdu was still able to openly receive grain, military supplies, silk, and other materials from Guangdu, Wuyang, and Bidao.

In the past two weeks, Gan Ning's naval forces, along with the laborers and laborers of Chengdu, have transported more than 500,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of various supplies.

Among them, Liu Feng's work-for-relief program mobilized the remaining young and strong people in Chengdu to work on transporting supplies, and paid them with grain as wages, which instantly stabilized the morale and public order in Chengdu.

At this rate, the shipment should be completed in another two weeks.

At that time, the defense of Wuyang, Guangdu and other places can be handed over to the newly established Shu Commandery troops, and the Left Army in Chengdu can be regrouped and head north.

Since entering Shu, the Left Army has been engaged in a series of fierce battles, especially Lu Xun's Southern Army, which has been fighting for more than a year.

After another month of rest and recuperation, and replenishment of the losses in various units, the Left Army has returned to its peak condition, which is also very beneficial to the upcoming battles.

Upon learning this, Liu Feng's mood improved slightly. As long as Xiangyang could be held, once he captured Cao Ang alive, Cao Cao would have no choice but to concede.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Cao Cao abandoned Cao Ang in the Battle of Wancheng and fled for his own life. That was on the battlefield, and there was no time to weigh the options.

Normally, as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, Cao Ang would naturally have supporters in Cao Cao's camp, and even Cao Cao himself could not subdue everyone.

(End of this chapter)