I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 363 Trade War in Sichuan
"Zhongda, how is it?"

"Hmm...this is a bit tricky."

While Zhuge Liang devoted himself to revising the "Zhangwu Law", Sima Yi also spent some time studying the winter clothing necessary for the Northern Expedition.

Sima Yi himself was from Hanoi, and he also had a deep understanding of the cold in the north.

If winter clothing is not prepared, no matter how elite the soldiers are, they will completely lose their fighting ability once winter arrives.

However, the large men from the south have an inherent disadvantage.

Because the south is warm, there is no need to prepare special winter clothes, so the materials are quite scarce.

The most effective clothing for keeping warm is undoubtedly made of sheepskin and other animal furs.

However, its price is so high that even ordinary officers may not be able to afford it, let alone distribute it to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Secondly, there is woolen khaki, which is a thick, coarse fabric woven from wool.

The poem "July" from the Book of Odes of Bin contains the line, "Without clothes or coarse garments, how will we survive the year?"

And indeed, woolen cloth was a common item used by people in the north to keep warm.

Unfortunately, since livestock like sheep are raised in the north and not in the south, the Han Dynasty, which only had half of its territory left, could not provide its soldiers with woolen coats.

Finally, what remained were the outer garments and the inner robes.

The method of making this type of winter clothing involves stuffing the layers of the garment with materials such as silk floss, cocoons, or even hemp fibers to keep warm.

Because of his poverty, Zengzi couldn't even touch his hat, because if he adjusted it, the hatband would break; if he slightly lifted his sleeves, his elbows would be exposed; and if he put on his shoes, his worn-out shoes would expose his heels... This led to the famous anecdote of being strapped for cash.

Although Zengzi's own deeds praise his spirit of finding joy in poverty while often dragging his worn-out shoes and loudly reciting the "Shang Song".

However, Liu Miao, Zhuge Liang, and Sima Yi couldn't possibly tell their soldiers this story and instruct them to learn from the great sage Zengzi! They wouldn't then refuse to provide them with winter clothing and send them into battle…

Otherwise, if we don't know whether the soldiers are willing to live in poverty, we've already lost half the battle!
"Your Majesty is right. We cannot learn everything about Confucianism."

When difficulties arise, the first thing to think about is how to solve them, rather than enduring them.

After some thought, Sima Yi offered Zhuge Liang five suggestions regarding the collection of winter clothing.

[Firstly, they purchased furs and woolen goods from Liaodong, Hebei, Guanzhong, and even Jiaozhi.]

Although these necessities, which they themselves barely had enough of, were not easy to export, Sima Yi believed that as long as Liu Miao was willing to spend the money, it wouldn't be a problem!
Secondly, he ordered the people to grow crops such as hemp.

Thirdly, encourage people to raise more ducks and use duck down instead of wool.

Since sheep cannot be raised in the south, we have to find another way.

Although hemp is not very effective at keeping warm, it is better than nothing.

The production of duck down is obviously less than that of wool, but as the saying goes, something is better than nothing. And once the quantity increases, it might even replace wool!

Fourthly, when preparing winter clothing, there is a type of asbestos produced in Sichuan that is most effective. We can purchase large quantities of this asbestos from Sichuan, even at the cost of lowering grain prices!

Fifthly...

In fact, given Sima Yi's cautious nature, he shouldn't have told Zhuge Liang this fifth piece of advice.

Fifthly, since we can find Champa rice in the south, perhaps we can find another crop that is even better than hemp or kapok!

It's a bit far-fetched... but what if it is?
Before the Iranians brought back Champa rice, who could have imagined that there really was such a drought-resistant and flood-resistant crop in the south that could thrive in any location?

Maybe they exist in the south?
Sima Yi himself did not notice.

What Yi brought from the south was not just Champa rice, but also everyone's curiosity about this land!
What lies deep in the sea?
This is probably the first time that traditional scholar-officials changed their aspirations from the central government to the entire world.

After all, people yearn for the central government because it has money and power.

But now, Iran's actions undoubtedly prove that there is money to be made abroad too!

As for authority...

Liu Miao had hinted more than once that he might be granted a fiefdom in the future.

Moreover, Liu Miao already had offspring, but he did not enfeoff a single vassal king within the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Yi did not believe it, arguing that it was merely because Liu Miao's sons were still young.

These explicit and implicit suggestions even sparked the idea of ​​exploring the outside world in a pragmatic person like Sima Yi.

That's why Sima Yi wrote down his last suggestion, telling Zhuge Liang to try searching in the south!
When Zhuge Liang saw these suggestions, he exclaimed, "As expected of Zhongda, your ideas are exactly what I've been thinking."

Zhuge Liang did not rush to discuss the fifth suggestion, but instead asked Sima Yi about the fourth suggestion.

"Does Zhongda really think that trading with the Shu region is feasible?"

"feasible!"

"But I heard from some merchants in Sichuan that the kapok tree is extremely tall and the kapok production is very low."

"That's why I say we must lower grain prices, even to the point where they are lower than those in Jingzhou and Yangzhou!"

Sima Yi's eyes gleamed.

“We’ll drive down grain prices and then buy kapok at high prices. This will inevitably force the people of Shu to stop growing grain and switch to growing kapok.” “Over time, kapok production will increase. Then we can simply raise grain prices to force the people of Shu to sell their kapok to us at low prices! And because Champa rice is about to be widely promoted, grain prices will inevitably plummet! So, the price we pay at the beginning is actually nothing…”

As a disciple of Guan Zhong, Zhuge Liang saw through Sima Yi's scheme at a glance.

"Is Zhongda referring to fine silks from Qi and Lu?"

In order to make Qi a hegemon, Guan Zhong advised Duke Huan of Qi to order that all Qi people must wear silk cloth produced in Lu, but at the same time prohibit Qi from producing this cloth domestically and could only purchase it from Lu. Seeing that its silk cloth was selling well in the Qi market, Lu began to raise prices on a large scale and even abandoned grain cultivation to devote all its efforts to silk cloth production.

When the State of Lu became completely reliant on the sale of fine silk, Guan Zhong instructed Duke Huan of Qi to forbid the people of Qi from buying Lu's silk, causing Lu to be unable to pay for its grain. Lu was plunged into crisis and had no choice but to submit to Qi.

However, the situation is different now. The Han Dynasty is not switching to winter clothes to destroy Shu, but because they really need winter clothes.

Its purpose was not to destroy Liu Zhang's country and kill him, but simply to obtain more kapok trees at the lowest possible cost.

Even so, Zhuge Liang still frowned.

"Such actions may harm the people of Sichuan."

"..."

If it were an ordinary person, Sima Yi would have already stormed off!

However, Sima Yi was well aware of Zhuge Liang's character. Zhuge Liang was indeed a gentleman, and he was genuinely worried that the people of Shu would face a perilous situation due to food shortages in the future.

However, despite his understanding, Sima Yi still believed that he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal!

"Kongming, don't worry unnecessarily."

"Although I just said that the people of Shu will rush to plant kapok in the future, do you really think that they are the people of Shu who are qualified to do so?"

Because of its isolation, the powerful clans in Sichuan were even more prominent than those in Jiangdong!

However, it is because the natural conditions in Sichuan are so good that it appears peaceful and stable.

Even so, Sima Yi did not believe that ordinary people, who were not even able to fill their stomachs, would have to find a way to grow kapok to generate income.

In the end, it was definitely the many powerful clans of Sichuan who did this work!

If that's the case, then why worry about the people of Shu?
Could it be that if Sima Yi didn't use this plan, the powerful clans of Shu would treat the people of Shu well?

Moreover, Sima Yi said earnestly, "There are some things Your Majesty has to say that Kongming should really listen to."

"Your Majesty's words may be crude, but upon closer examination, much of them are quite reasonable."

"His Majesty said last time that everything in the world has a primary and a secondary aspect."

"Only by grasping the essentials and discarding the secondary ones can one achieve success!"

"Only by quickly preparing winter clothes can Your Majesty quell the rebellion in the north. And only by eliminating the threat from the north can we launch a military campaign against Shu."

"When the time comes, won't Your Majesty implement land redistribution in Shu, making the people of Shu richer and happier than they are now as tenant farmers?"

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang did not refute it, but nodded in agreement.

“I am not a person who looks back and forth, but I feel that when the world prospers, the people suffer; when the world perishes, the people also suffer.”

Sima Yi simply shrugged.

Clearly, due to his background, Sima Yi did not share Zhuge Liang's understanding, but because of Zhuge Liang's character, he respected him even though he did not agree with him.

The two men presented these five strategies to Liu Miao to solve the problem of winter clothing.

Seeing that both of them had resorted to a trade war, what else could Liu Miao do?
Even Liu Miao couldn't have come up with such a comprehensive solution, so he naturally agreed!
Only then did Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi formally discuss the fifth point with Liu Miao.

The reason Zhuge Liang didn't discuss this matter with Sima Yi before was because he knew that only Liu Miao could make the decision!
They were about to embark on a difficult and uncertain path!

To embark on this path, one must have the full support of an empire, and also a person with immense courage like Zhang Qian!

All of this requires Liu Miao to support it at all costs and at all costs!
But the two were also a little apprehensive.

Emperor Wu of Han supported Zhang Qian because the Xiongnu were a real threat to the Han Dynasty and an opponent that could potentially put the Han Dynasty to its death!

It was under this immense pressure that Zhang Qian was able to open up the Western Regions!

But now, the Han Dynasty has no interests in the south. All it has is some vegetation that Sima Yi suspects may exist, but whose effects are unknown.

Given such a disproportionate investment, Sima Yi was unsure whether Liu Miao would actually go to such lengths to accomplish this task.

But Liu Miao's reaction was clearly unexpected by the two of them.

"You only thought of going south so late... It's a shame that you two have the surnames Zhuge and Sima respectively."

Liu Miao's words made the two of them mutter to themselves, clearly wondering how their surname had offended Liu Miao.

"And not only are they slow, they're also clumsy!"

笨？
Although Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were humble, this was the first time in their lives that someone had called them stupid!
Liu Miao looked at the two of them with disdain: "What? You're not convinced?"

"Change your clothes! I'll take you outside and show you what a smart person does!"

(End of this chapter)