I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 375 Seeking refuge with Liu Miao?

Snow-capped mountains and flowing rivers reflect the city walls.

Even during the fluctuating temperatures of early spring, the dampness in Sichuan doesn't lessen at all. With each breath, you feel a moisture descending into your lungs, leaving a chill on your body.

"Xiaozhi, you've been in Shu for so long since you came from Guanzhong, why are you still not used to the climate here?"

Zhang Song picked up the teapot that had already boiled on the table and poured out the tea. The dark brown tea had a rich, exotic aroma, which made Fa Zheng, sitting opposite him, twitch his nose involuntarily.

"This is... pepper?"

"That's right, boiling tea leaves and pepper together has a warming effect."

Zhang Song pushed a cup of tea to Fa Zheng, but when it was his turn, he was somewhat lost in thought as he touched the teacup in his hand.

"Where would these things have been in Sichuan a few years ago?"

"These exquisite porcelain pieces were gradually introduced to Yizhou after Liu Miao established the Wenchangmen School in Xiangyang. Even this pepper spice, I heard, was transported from the Western Regions to Jingzhou, and then from Jingzhou to Shu."

"Li Hui can go elsewhere; Liu Miao is truly an unfathomable man."

In Zhang Song's view, Liu Miao should have kept all the good things to himself. Why would he continue to sell porcelain and spices to other places, allowing the people of Shu to enjoy them as well?

Don't understand, don't understand.

Fa Zheng, on the other hand, raised the tea with its strong aroma in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.

"I do have some guesses."

"Oh? What does Takanao think?"

Fa Zheng suddenly shuddered and then coughed violently, clearly because the pepper tea was too strong for him to get used to.

Zhang Song quickly poured Fa Zheng another glass of warm water. After drinking two glasses of water, Fa Zheng's complexion improved considerably, no longer ashen.

“Nowadays, Jingzhou produces a large quantity of porcelain and textiles, and we must find a way to sell these products.”

"Only by selling them and exchanging them for grain, gold, silver, and copper coins can Jingzhou become wealthy. Otherwise, what's the point of producing such things if we can't sell them?"

"Trade between Shu and Jingzhou has become increasingly frequent in recent years, and the amount of goods purchased from Jingzhou has also increased. The more they buy, the more they produce, so Liu Miao is eager to sell more goods to Shu."

Zhang Song frowned, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"What was Liu Miao after?"

"..."

Fa Zheng pointed at the teapot: "How much does this cost?"

"Only ten strings of cash."

"Ten strings of cash is actually quite a lot."

Fa Zheng shook his head.

"The cost of this stuff is estimated to be only three strings of cash. Merchants make four strings, and at least three strings will flow into Jingzhou."

“In the long run, even if Liu Miao doesn’t send a single soldier to Shu, he will slowly siphon off all the money and grain from Shu.”

Zhang Song shook his head: "It's not that exaggerated."

"Shu is also selling Shu brocade and other goods to Jingzhou, making money off Jingzhou! Otherwise, they would have stopped trading with Liu Miao long ago!"

"But hasn't Ziqiao noticed that Shu brocade is actually becoming increasingly difficult to sell these days?"

Fa Zheng picked up the cup of pepper tea again: "I heard that a kind of silk with an extremely soft texture has also appeared in Jiangdong. This silk is even more gorgeous than Shu brocade, so now many merchants who come to Shu no longer buy finished Shu brocade, but instead buy large quantities of silk and dyes and transport them to Jiangdong. After making them, they come back to Shu to sell them."

"As a result, the people of Shu could only sell raw materials such as silk, rice, and pig iron to the outside world at extremely low prices. But Jiangdong was able to trade valuable goods such as silk, porcelain, and ironware with Shu. In this back and forth, Liu Miao made a fortune from Shu. Isn't that the logic?"

Zhang Song's brows suddenly furrowed: "Such a thing is possible?"

Seeing Zhang Song's stern expression, Fa Zheng simply smiled.

"Have guests gone to pay their respects to the King of Shu these past few days?"

How did Xiaozhi know?

"During these years of war, although a large number of people from Guanzhong and the Central Plains have fled to Shu, the number of people from Hebei who have come to Shu is still a minority. Just a few days ago, I happened to hear some people with Hebei accents complaining about the damp and cold climate of Shu... I suppose these people are Yuan Shao's envoys?"

"Xiaozhi's ability to see the big picture from small details is beyond my reach!"

Zhang Song praised Fa Zheng's meticulous observation, while also acknowledging Fa Zheng's conjecture.

"It was indeed Yuan Shao who sent an envoy to Shu."

"As for the purpose... Takanao should be able to guess it! There's no need to elaborate."

Fa Zheng then slowly sipped his tea: "How did His Highness the Prince of Shu respond?"

"Still hesitating."

"Because of fear of Liu Miao?"

"Yes, but His Highness the King of Shu is ultimately surnamed Liu and still recognizes the Han Dynasty."

At this point, Zhang Song patted his head in frustration.

"But this big man doesn't recognize His Highness now!"

Fa Zheng smiled slightly again, but remained silent.

It wasn't that Liu Miao, a member of the Han imperial family, no longer recognized Liu Zhang as a relative of the Han imperial clan.

Simply because Liu Miao's giant man was a completely different thing from the giant man before him!
Liu Miao's Han Dynasty implemented the Three Chiefs system and the equal distribution of land.

This was utterly unacceptable to the powerful clans of Shu! Compared to the will of these powerful clans, Liu Zhang's personal feelings were utterly insignificant.

"Ziqiao, what do you think Your Highness will ultimately choose?"

Zhang Song himself came from a powerful family in Sichuan.

Even for his own benefit, Zhang Song would not choose Liu Miao.

Therefore, Zhang Song naturally gave the answer—

"If Yuan Shao can preserve Shu, then Your Highness will probably still prefer Northern Zhao."

Fa Zheng was not surprised by this.

"Xiaozhi, do you think Liu Miao will be angry?"

"Ziqiao's question is completely meaningless."

When an entire region of Shu suddenly rebelled, was it something that angered Liu Miao?
Zhang Song quickly slapped himself in the face: "Look what I asked! What kind of question is that?"

"What I mean is, would Liu Miao attack Shu at any cost because of this?"

Fa Zheng countered with a question to Zhang Song: "What does Zi Qiao think?"

"Probably not?"

Zhang Songdao.

"Although Liu Miao defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Kunyang, his overall situation was still precarious. How could he possibly choose to attack Shu despite the threat from the north?"

You must understand, the land of Shu is not something that can be made of dough!

Even when Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty attacked Gongsun Shu, who controlled the Shu region, it took a full four years to fight him!

Along the way, he even killed Cen Peng, one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, and forced Wu Han, the Grand Marshal of the Later Han Dynasty, to be defeated and fall into the water, only able to escape by grabbing the horse's tail... Therefore, Zhang Song had unparalleled confidence in the defense of Shu!
"Liu Miao was controlled by Yuan Shao in the north, so he would not dare to launch a large-scale attack on Shu, but only dare to harass it on a small scale."

"However, the Shu region is treacherous with its mountains and rivers, and cannot be breached by a small force! This way, we can keep Liu Miao out of Shu and trap some of his troops to the west, which will benefit Yuan Shao's southern campaign."

"If Yuan Shao were to gain control of the empire, then the Shu region would naturally be at peace!"

There was something Zhang Song didn't say.

Even if Yuan Shao had actually won the world, Liu Zhang might not have been able to become the King of Shu, but the powerful clans and aristocratic families of Shu would still have remained powerful clans and aristocratic families!
On the other hand, if Liu Miao were to gain control of the empire...

Liu Zhang, a member of the Han imperial family, might still be able to be enfeoffed as a king, but the powerful clans and aristocratic families in Shu would definitely be mostly wiped out by Liu Miao first!
Therefore, the officials in Shu absolutely could not allow Liu Zhang to surrender to Liu Miao unconditionally!
Fa Zheng finished his cup of tea and poured himself another cup.

"Does Ziqiao really think so?"

"Otherwise what? Does Xiaozhi really think that Liu Miao would disregard the threat from the north and turn to attack Shu?"

Zhang Song shook his head—

"I have met Liu Miao."

"Liu Miao is truly a hero!"

"Such a hero should be able to see the big picture and distinguish right from wrong! He cannot act on impulse or recklessness just because he is angry!"

"Therefore, in my opinion, Liu Miao will not launch a large-scale attack on Shu!"

Fa Zheng looked at Zhang Song curiously: "Zi Qiao's evaluation of Liu Miao is actually so high?"

"Ah~"

Zhang Song could only sigh.

"If Xiaozhi has also met Liu Miao... no, there's no need for him to meet Liu Miao. Just look at the prosperity of Jingzhou and Yangzhou today, which is no less than that of Luoyang in the past, and you'll probably know what kind of person Liu Miao is!"

"Moreover, when I met Liu Miao in Jinling that day, although Liu Miao was not very polite to me, he did not humiliate me because of my appearance. He was just a little dissatisfied with Your Highness's unauthorized claim to be king."

"It's a pity that if Liu Miao hadn't insisted on implementing his equal land distribution system, he would truly have been a wise ruler!"

After expressing his feelings, Zhang Song continued to stick to his point of view.

"Liu Miao is a sensible man! Even if Shu were to surrender to Yuan Shao at this time, he would never launch a large-scale attack on Shu!"

Fa Zheng listened quietly, then finally shook his head.

"It seems that Ziqiao didn't understand a thing I said at the beginning."

"The reason why the Han Dynasty under Liu Miao's rule was prosperous was because he was able to dump his goods into Shu and plunder the wealth of Shu. This is why he was able to support the prosperity of the region under his rule, which was no different from that of Luoyang in the past, in just a few years!"

"For Liu Miao, the Shu region, with its abundant wealth and numerous powerful families, was the key to the rise of Jing and Yang!"

"If Shu suddenly sided with Yuan Shao and trade was cut off, who would he sell the white porcelain and textiles from Jingzhou, and the silk and tea from Jiangdong to?"

Fa Zheng was unaware that Liu Miao maintained extensive smuggling operations in both Guanzhong and Liaodong.

Even knowing that Shu was an indispensable market, supporting more than a third of the output of Jing and Yang craftsmen.

If trade with Shu is cut off, it will be a fatal blow to the artisans and merchants of Jing and Yang!
It could even be said that Shu is now more important to Liu Miao than Hebei!
In this situation, if Shu suddenly closes itself off from the world, wouldn't Liu Miao attack Shu like a madman?
Therefore, Fazheng asserts—

"Today His Highness announced that Shu has been ceded to Northern Zhao, and tomorrow Liu Miao will personally lead a large army to attack Shu."

Zhang Song shrank his neck: "No way?"

Fa Zheng then downed the last of his tea in one gulp: "What are we betting on?"

"Let Xiaozhi speak."

"If Liu Miao attacks, let's both surrender to him, shall we?"

(End of this chapter)