I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 181 I heard your family is very rich?
After settling Liu Ye in, Liu Miao turned to Zhou Tai and asked, "Which room is Mi Shi in?"

"The one in the southeast corner!"

Having found the right direction, Liu Miao walked straight there.

Since it was a woman's place, many flowers were planted along the path. Although the colors were not bright, they looked different from other places at night.

When the maidservant in front of Mi's door saw Liu Miao arrive, she immediately went to knock on Mi's door and asked Liu Miao to wait. She then went into the room, lit an oil lamp, and had Liu Miao watch his shadow on the window as he busied himself.

It took a full quarter of an hour before Liu Miao was finally able to get in.

"Since you're going to take it off anyway, what's the point of going through all that trouble to put it on?"

Not only did Lady Mi tie a five-colored palace sash around her waist and hang a mutton-fat double fish pendant, but she also took the time to apply light makeup. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, and the corners of her eyes were adorned with gold foil-crushed stars, which amazed Liu Miao with her speed.

Hearing Liu Miao's words, Mi Shi was shy and even felt that Liu Miao's words were rude, but she still swayed her body slightly, her skirt swirling open like a summer lotus in bloom, and her snow-white shoulders and collarbones could be vaguely seen under the white gauze.

"How can I be impolite when I first meet my husband?"

Mi was not plump, perhaps because she was still young; in any case, she looked extremely thin.

However, being from a distinguished family, her demeanor and etiquette were impeccable. It was just a pity that compared to women like Madam Lu and Madam Wu, one could always see a trace of fear in her heart, which caused her skirt to sway.

Liu Miao still harbored some resistance towards the Mi family.

Unlike the support he received from the Lu family of Wu County and Lu Yi, the Lu family brought him different opportunities.

The Lü family brought Lü Meng with them.

The Yuan family brought added benefits to the Yuan family of Runan.

Wang angered Liu Xun and drove him away.

Yan gained the approval of the mountain Yue chieftains such as Yan Baihu and Yan Yu, which made the mountain Yue people not resent his rule.

The Sun family also obtained the Imperial Seal of the State and all of Sun Jian's former subordinates...

Even the Xiahou clan had formed a marriage alliance with Cao Cao, temporarily maintaining their alliance.

But Liu Miao had no idea what Lady Mi was there for!
But when Liu Miao saw the gold dust at the corner of Mi's eye, he suddenly understood!
He patted his thigh and gestured for Mrs. Mi to sit on it.

"Is your family rich?"

"Ok?"

Mi had actually heard many rumors about Liu Miao.

Most of them were negative, which made Mi Shi very uneasy.

When Liu Miao asked her to sit on his lap, Lady Mi was even more terrified, thinking that Liu Miao was about to say something extraordinary.

Unexpectedly, Liu Miao asked her if her family was wealthy.

Lady Mi paused for a moment before nodding slightly: "My family does indeed have quite a bit of surplus wealth."

"Quite a surplus of funds~~~"

Liu Miao's voice suddenly became meaningful: "What kind of business does your family do in Xuzhou?"

"It's just some small-scale trading business."

"Does your family own a fleet of ships?"

"It seems there was one, used to transport goods from Qingzhou."

Lady Mi was unaware of why Liu Miao wouldn't sleep with her, and instead asked about these things.

However, since she was asked, Lady Mi answered honestly and told Liu Miao everything she knew.

It was only at this moment that Liu Miao realized just how wealthy the Mi family was!

Generations of farmers have been engaged in land reclamation, employing nearly 10,000 servants and guests, with assets exceeding 100 million!
No wonder even Tao Qian, the former governor of Xuzhou, recruited Mi Zhu, a wealthy merchant who had neither been recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination nor was he a descendant of a great Confucian scholar, to serve as the governor of Xuzhou!
If there were such a super-rich tycoon in Jiangdong, Liu Miao wouldn't care about saving face and would directly appoint him as a subordinate official!

Liu Miao stroked Mi Shi's waist: "So, your family must have quite a few retainers who travel all over the country?"

Although Lady Mi came from a prominent family, how could she withstand such caresses?

Now, returning to the question of Liu Miao, Lady Mi leaned on Liu Miao's shoulder: "There should be some... but because Marquis Wen seized Xiapi before, most of these people have probably disappeared."

Liu Miao kept thinking.

The reason Liu Ye was ordered to build pointed-bottom ships was not entirely to deal with Jingzhou.

Sharp-bottomed sails are for conquering the sea!
In particular, the Jiangdong region is short of warhorses, which is already a disadvantage in fighting against the northern forces. If they can't come up with some tricks, they're afraid they'll be riddled with bullets!

The Mi family probably has many retainers with experience in maritime trade. If we could bring them over, wouldn't that be twice as effective?
Liu Miao glanced at Mi Shi, who was now completely lying in his arms, and finally laid her down. Mi Shi immediately lay down on the bed like a puddle of water.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid Madam will have to write to your two elder brothers again."

At this point, no matter what Liu Miao said, Lady Mi would absolutely obey him!

"Tomorrow, I will write a letter to my brother..."

------

Xiao Pei.

After receiving the letter, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang were puzzled as to why Liu Miao wanted these retainers who had no skills other than trading, but they did not dare to inquire about it for the time being.

"It's alright. Anyway, the eastern part of Xuzhou has been completely occupied by Lü Bu, so these people with special skills are useless. It's better to send them to Liu Biaoji as a way of repaying a favor."

However, Mi Fang was somewhat worried about Mi Shi.

"Although my younger sister is a woman, her writing is always sharp and incisive, no less than that of ordinary men! Why is the handwriting in this letter so blurry today? As if she is lacking strength? Could it be that she is ill?"

Both brothers were worried, and after explaining the situation to Liu Bei, Mi Fang even made a trip to Jiangdong himself.

But when he saw Mi, he found her radiant and showed no signs of illness whatsoever.
After learning why Mi Fang had come, Madam Mi hesitated for a moment, but eventually found an excuse to brush it off.

"My husband ordered artisans to open many paper shops in Jinling, saying that he wanted to discard wooden slips, bamboo slips and silk books, and that officials and common people should use paper as much as possible to write in the future." "I used to practice calligraphy on paper, but because the paper was thin, I couldn't control my strength, which made my brushstrokes weak."

Mi Fang suddenly realized: "So that's how it is!"

"Using paper instead of wooden slips and bamboo slips...that's a good idea."

Mi Fang took the paper from Mi Shi's hand and saw that it was indeed Zuo Bo paper, which was easy to write on. However, because the raw materials were probably different, the color of this Zuo Bo paper was slightly white, unlike the brownish Zuo Bo paper from Qingzhou.

"Liu Biaoqi actually has the leisure to do these things..."

Mi Fang's words seemed to criticize Liu Miao's extravagance, but they were full of envy.

Promote the use of paper?

Nowadays, most people can't even afford to eat, so who would use your tattered paper?

Under heaven, perhaps only Jiangdong and Shu can be so at ease to indulge in these "luxury goods"!

"Little sister, what does General Liu want those former merchants for?"

Mi Fang tried to probe indirectly, but Mi Shi just shook her head and tinkled the bright moon earrings by her ear.

"My husband has never mentioned it."

Seeing that she could not get any information from the Mi family, Mi Fang could only ask Liu Miao after she met him.

Liu Miao did not hide anything from his brother-in-law.

"Now that Jiangdong is isolated, it will be difficult to connect with other places."

"If someone could travel by boat from Jinling to Youyan in the north and Jiaozhou in the south, Jinling would probably gather all the wealth in the world and become even more prosperous."

Mi Fang is sour~~~
Although she had expected it, Mi Fang still felt a pang of sadness when she heard that Liu Miao actually wanted to open up trade routes.

Currently, they are under Liu Bei's command and are still worried about how to obtain more grain, more people, and more soldiers... But Liu Miao has undoubtedly completely gotten rid of these problems and turned to develop towards higher pursuits.

"Zifang, do you still have contact with anyone in the coastal area of ​​Qingxu?"

Opening up trade routes, building networks, and establishing relationships are not simple tasks.

Since the Mi family has practically offered it to him, how could Liu Miao not take a bite?
The relationships, connections, and business routes that the Mi family had cultivated for generations were exactly what Liu Miao needed now, so there was no question of him being embarrassed; he accepted them all without hesitation!

Mi Fang also realized that Liu Miao wanted to ask for these resources.

Suddenly, Mi Fang was also in a bit of a predicament.

These were the greatest assets accumulated by the Mi family over generations.

However, with the dramatic changes in Xuzhou, this wealth was actually less useful than some gold and silver.

However, Mi Fang was still reluctant to hand it over to Liu Miao.

Liu Miao's demand for a dowry was so large that Mi Fang actually hesitated in front of him...

Liu Miao did not urge him, but waited for Mi Fang to give the answer he wanted.

"If General Liu needs it, it can be handed over to him."

Mi Fang's heart was bleeding when she said these words.

However, being from a wealthy family, Mi Fang quickly made demands of Liu Miao.

“But my brother has already squandered all his wealth on the matter of Liu Yuzhou, so this matter will probably be delayed for a while.”

Liu Miao grinned.

Isn't this just asking yourself for money?

So when Liu Miao offered to help with three thousand gold pieces, Mi Fang immediately had no more questions.

"Once we get back, we'll count them immediately and send them to General Liu as soon as possible!"

"It's alright, no rush!"

The ability to navigate the seas with a pointed bottom and a figure-eight shape is still far from being realized, and Liu Miao would not reveal it to the world before it achieves remarkable results.

Mi Fang was also very interested in another matter concerning Liu Miao.

"I heard from my younger sister that Liu Yangzhou is now running a paper shop in Jinling?"

"It's true."

In the past, Jiangdong was as poor as a pauper. The most important thing for everyone was how to get enough to eat. Who had the time to make paper or weave clothes?

At present, while it's hard to say that Jiangdong is wealthy, Jinling alone is comparable to some of the major cities in the Central Plains, so it's not unreasonable to do some fancy things.

Mi Fang quickly nodded: "Now that Jinling is prosperous in food and goods, it is only natural for General Liu to want to open up trade routes. However, the sea is always rough and dangerous, and it is hard to guarantee safety. In that case, why doesn't General Liu open a trade route in Xuzhou?"

Xuzhou?

Liu Miao looked surprised.

It wasn't that he looked down on Liu Bei, but he simply couldn't imagine what ability Liu Bei, who was now penniless, had to trade with Jiangdong.

Food supplies? Armor? Liu Bei himself didn't even have enough of these, so where would he get the money to sell to Jiangdong?
Does Mi Fang intend to provide Liu Bei with assistance for free?
Seeing that Liu Miao's eyes were not right, Mi Fang immediately said, "It is not about trading with Liu Yuzhou."

"Who is that?"

"Hebei, Yuan Shao!"

Liu Miao suddenly realized something, and at the same time looked at Mi Fang with some surprise.

No wonder he comes from a business background.

So, his brother-in-law... wanted to earn commercial taxes to subsidize Liu Bei, who was located at the crossroads of the north and south?
(End of this chapter)