I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 376 Open the door! free trade!

Zhang Song was slightly flustered: "What are you saying, Xiaozhi?"

"How could I possibly pledge allegiance to Liu Miao? No way! This won't do!"

Zhang Song himself came from a powerful family in Shu, and he and Liu Miao were incompatible according to their birth charts, so how could he possibly pledge allegiance to Liu Miao?
"Ziqiao, you really don't gamble?"

"Moreover, you should know that if Liu Miao really dares to disregard the threat from the north and launch a full-scale attack on Shu, Shu probably won't be able to hold out for long."

"At that time, seeking refuge with Liu Miao might be the only way to survive."

Zhang Song was cornered by Fa Zheng.

"Okay! I promise you!"

"If Liu Miao really leads his troops to attack, I will join Liu Miao with Xiaozhi!"

------

"Damn Liu Zhang!"

"Send troops! Send troops!"

An urgent official document was placed on Liu Miao's desk.

Liu Zhang accepted the golden seal of the King of Shu from Yuan Shao, expelled merchants from the Han Dynasty, confiscated their wealth, and severed ties with the Han Dynasty.

"Liu Zhang, you son of a bitch!"

The courtiers below remained silent, waiting for Liu Miao to vent his anger.

"Don't all stand there! Call a meeting! Prepare to attack Shu!"

Upon seeing the official document, Liu Miao immediately made the decision to wage war!

Trade with Shu is of paramount importance to the Han Dynasty at this time!

If this connection is severed, something terrible will happen to the Han Dynasty!

However, the court officials, led by Zhang Zhao, still advised: "Your Majesty, please reconsider."

"Now that Yuan Shao is eyeing us covetously in the north, if we rashly start a war with Liu Zhang, the consequences could be disastrous."

"Then what should we do? Just endure it?"

Liu Miao raised his voice considerably.

But when they saw that Zhang Zhao was not fighting alone, but was bringing officials along to offer their advice, they returned to calm.

"Does Lord Zhang think that I am acting rashly, which is why I am considering attacking Shu at this time?"

"I don't dare."

"They may say they wouldn't dare, but that's definitely what they're thinking!"

Liu Miao frowned, pondering how to persuade Zhang Zhao, and the officials behind Zhang Zhao who were still immersed in past experiences.

But Liu Miao also knew that with Zhang Zhao's stubborn temperament, he couldn't win an argument with him.

Zhang Zhao, you must see it with your own eyes.

Since that was the case, Liu Miao could only take him to see some things.

"Lord Zhang, are there any official business matters to attend to tomorrow?"

"Have."

"Remove it!"

Liu Miao's tone left no room for refusal.

"In addition, the news that Liu Zhang had cut off trade with Shu was released."

Liu Miao said to Zhang Zhao, "Tomorrow, I will go to the market with you."

Although Zhang Zhao did not know Liu Miao's intentions, he still agreed to the matter.

The next day.

Liu Miao and Zhang Zhao changed into their everyday clothes early on and arrived at the West Market.

There are many shops here.

Paper, silk, porcelain, ironware... it had everything.

Liu Miao even specially asked Zhou Tai to buy two steamed buns with meat filling, one for himself and one for Zhang Zhao.

The two squatted in the corner, blowing on the steamed buns in their hands. To any onlooker, there would be no way they would guess that one was the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and the other the Grand Secretary.

Zhang Zhao blew on the steamed cake to cool it down, then took a bite. The soft cake was easily cut open by his no-longer-sharp teeth, and the meat juice inside immediately flowed into Zhang Zhao's mouth, making him involuntarily swallow his tongue.

"good to eat."

“It’s delicious!”

Compared to Zhang Zhao, Liu Miao, with his healthy teeth, was less refined in his eating manners. He quickly finished a whole steamed meat bun and then asked Zhou Tai to buy him another one.

Zhang Zhao was eating in small bites, but he still accidentally dropped a piece on the ground. He picked it up, blew on it with a pained expression, and was about to put it in his mouth…

"Master Zhang!"

Liu Miao intervened just in time, snatching the steamed bun from Zhang Zhao's hand.

You're going to eat all of this?

"Can't waste it."

"Nonsense! If you get sick from eating it and die, causing turmoil in the Han Dynasty, then the waste will be far more than just this one steamed bun!"

Liu Miao tossed the steamed bun in his hand to the big yellow dog in the corner, who was already drooling over it. The dog immediately wagged its tail happily and left.

Zhang Zhao looked at the plump, strong yellow dog with some regret: "Your Majesty's words are still as unpleasant as ever."

"Zhang Gong is still as stubborn as ever when it comes to doing things!"

Seeing Liu Miao's reaction, Zhang Zhao could only shake his head with a helpless smile.

"Your Majesty, you have set aside your official duties for me today. Surely you did more than just treat me to a steamed bun?"

"Of course not, Master Zhang, please wait a little longer!"

Liu Miao and Zhang Zhao squatted in the corner again, chatting idly. Several times, the city magistrate noticed their suspicious behavior and tried to intervene to maintain order, but Zhou Tai politely asked them to move elsewhere.

As the morning light shone down from the horizon, the West Market finally began to bustle with activity.

Goods transported from other workshops outside the city were gradually placed on the shelves.

Meat, paper, silk, tea...

In Jinling, a city with a population of one million, the daily consumption of goods had reached an extremely considerable level. Even though Liu Miao did not deliberately choose a day, he could still see these shops constantly restocking.

And what Liu Miao wanted to see inevitably happened before his eyes.

"Silk is much cheaper today!"

"My boss said that trade with Sichuan has been cut off, which has caused many large orders from there to be put on hold, leaving them with no choice but to lower prices!"

"Great! Hahaha!"

"..."

These people's words naturally reached Zhang Zhao's ears as well.

"These are the things Your Majesty wants me to see."

"Does Master Zhang think this is a good thing?"

"Sichuan cannot sell its silk, so more silk remains in Jiangdong. This lowers the price of silk, isn't that a good thing?"

"of course not!"

Liu Miao asked Zhang Zhao, "Who will buy these silks?"

"Naturally, it's the common people."

"What will ordinary people use to buy it?"

"Of course, it's money."

Where does the people's money come from?

"Naturally..."

But at this point, Zhang Zhao's two eyebrows, which were half black and half white, became tangled together.

"It seems that Master Zhang has figured it out."

"The people's money comes from the workshops."

“If the silk doesn’t sell, or sells too cheaply, those owners won’t be able to pay their clients.” “If they can’t pay their clients, they naturally won’t be able to buy goods.”

"The end result was the closure of the workshops, and Jiangdong could no longer produce silk that could be sold to Shu."

"Not just silk, but also paper, tea, and porcelain."

"Since ancient times, it has not been enough to simply produce goods and leave them there; one must find ways to sell them and make money."

"Now that Shu has severed trade with the Han Dynasty, it means that most of the goods will not be able to be sold!"

"And if they can't be sold, the goods will pile up."

"Goods piled up...in the end, the owner went bankrupt, the workshop closed down, and the artisans were laid off."

"Nowadays, countless people in Yangzhou and Jingzhou rely on trade to make a living. If such a setback were to suddenly occur, Zhang Gong, what do you think would happen to the Han Dynasty?"

turmoil!

Massive unrest!

Only then did Zhang Zhao realize the impact that losing Shu would have on the Han Dynasty!
Such losses are not only political, but also have a real impact on people's livelihoods and the economy!

"This……"

Zhang Zhao's face clearly showed his helplessness towards Liu Miao.

Wasn't this burly man created by Liu Miao himself?
If we had simply closed ourselves off from the world and become self-sufficient, wouldn't there have been far fewer problems?

Liu Miao naturally understood Zhang Zhao's expression.

"Does Lord Zhang think, 'Why did I turn the Han Dynasty into this state?'"

This time, Zhang Zhao did not object.

"If we were self-sufficient, where would our warhorses come from? And how did we achieve such prosperity today?"

"Lord Zhang, self-sufficiency doesn't just mean that the people should tighten their belts and be content with the status quo. It also means that I, too, should be content with the status quo, leaving the Han Dynasty in a state of perpetual horselessness and perpetually confined to a corner of the world!"

"Does Lord Zhang think I can tolerate such a thing?"

Liu Miao shook his head.

"I had discussed this with Zijing before."

"In this world, there are always doctors who dream of living like feudal lords, and feudal lords who dream of living like emperors."

"The people want a better life, and that cannot be stopped no matter what."

"That's why there are some things we have to do."

For ordinary people to have a better life, society as a whole needs to produce more.

For society to produce more, it needs a larger market to incentivize increased production.

The expansion of production will in turn drive technological iteration and upgrading.

The need for technological iteration will drive money to the exploration of knowledge...

All of this is part of a chain.

The market in Shu was extremely important to the Han Dynasty, which was in the process of accumulating wealth!

For the Han Dynasty, which now only has Jing and Yang, it is absolutely not possible to lose the Shu region!
Liu Miao stared at Zhang Zhao: "Lord Zhang, is there anything else you don't understand?"

Liu Miao was confident that Zhang Zhao would understand what he wanted to show him.

But when will Zhang Zhao understand that the small amount of steamed bun he just dropped isn't enough to fill someone's stomach, and he doesn't know how much longer it will take?

Zhang Zhao slowly rose to his feet and sighed, "Your Majesty, please allow me to consider this for a moment longer."

"it is good!"

Liu Miao agreed to give Zhang Zhao and these court officials some time to settle the score.

Liu Miao believed that they would eventually settle the score. After all, for civil officials, accounting was a profession!

Unless they were burying their heads in the sand, Liu Miao didn't believe they couldn't figure out the math.

But Liu Miao also reminded Zhang Zhao: "I can wait, but the people of the Han Dynasty cannot wait."

"Trade was disrupted, goods piled up, workshops closed, and artisans lost their jobs..."

"These things will take time, but it certainly won't be long!"

……

As it turned out, Liu Miao's judgment was correct.

That very night.

The usually gentle Madam Lu gently knocked on Liu Miao's door.

However, Lu's behavior tonight had a comical feel to it, like an honest man going all out.

The specially chosen soft silk clung perfectly to her body, and a ribbon around her waist was tied very tightly, causing her to tremble slightly with every step. The wide neckline and the lack of a loose-fitting robe underneath made Lu Shi notice something amiss first; before she could even unleash her alluring charm, she blushed.

However, it was precisely Lu's shyness that aroused Liu Miao's interest. He didn't know if Lu was really incapable or if she was playing hard to get.

Where did you learn all this?

"In the Queen's book."

Although Lu was a woman, her skin still had the radiance of a young girl.

The fine lines at the corners of her eyes did not detract from Lu's charm; on the contrary, they added to her fatal allure as a beautiful woman.

Liu Miao carried Lu Shi onto the table, where her plump thighs were squeezed and spread out on the surface. Liu Miao, without any hesitation, reached out and touched them.

"What happened today? What has driven you to this state?"

"I am unharmed..."

Snapped!
A slap landed on his thigh, and a visible ripple spread out like water, making the table seem to shimmer with a moist sheen.

"You should be the most honest one! Aren't you going to tell the truth? If you lie again, next time it won't be your thigh that gets hit."

Madam Lu gently gave a nudge, then removed her hairpin, gathered the dark hair at her temples, and tied it up in one place.

Then, she put her arm around Liu Miao's neck and breathed into Liu Miao's ear with a flushed face.

"I wish to inquire about matters concerning Shu."

The Lu family of Wu Commandery was Liu Miao's earliest investor, but Liu Miao did not grant them a large amount of land. Instead, he provided them with many conveniences in trade.

In Jiangdong and Jingzhou, the paper industry was basically dominated by the Lu family of Wujun. If it weren't for the Zhen family of Wuji seizing some market share through nepotism, they would almost have achieved a monopoly.

Lu Jun was also in charge of trade with Hebei in the past and with Guanzhong now.

In addition, the Lu family of Wu County also had involvement in other industries.

Now that something has happened in Shu, the Lu family of Wu County is naturally anxious.

However, Liu Miao originally thought that it was Lu Kang, the old master, who should have been the first to make a move, but unexpectedly, it was the Lu family who chose to "sacrifice themselves" first.

Although Liu Miao had long planned to launch a war against Shu, he began to feign madness at this time.

"what's up?"

"Your Majesty is unaware?"

"How much I have to spit out, isn't it all thanks to my wife's efforts?"

"My concubine understands."

The first day was the Lu family's.

The next day was Zhen Mi's turn.

And then……

After more than ten days of eating different dishes without a break, Liu Miao finally couldn't take it anymore and sent someone to find Zhang Zhao.

"Has Zhang Gong figured it out yet? If he still hasn't, something terrible is about to happen!"

After witnessing firsthand the closure of over a dozen workshops around Jinling, Zhang Zhao and other central officials finally made up their minds:

"Attack Shu!"