Tiger Owl

Chapter 87 The storm is coming
Jia Xu then took a boat across the river to Jiangdong as an envoy. When the news reached Jiangdong, Sun Quan dared not neglect him and sent someone to bring Jia Xu to Wu County.

Jia Xu formally proposed the plan to exchange Lujiang Commandery for Danyang Commandery in Wu County, which immediately caused a great uproar within Jiangdong. Jiangdong was clearly divided into two factions. The military, led by Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, opposed giving up Lujiang Commandery. They believed that they could send troops to retake Danyang Commandery, and that if they gave up Lujiang Commandery, they would completely lose Jiangbei.

However, the civil officials led by Zhang Zhao believed that Cao Ren's 50,000 troops were stationed in Guangling, pointing their swords at Jiangdong. If they rashly sent troops to Danyang County, they might be attacked from both sides. Moreover, Danyang County was far more valuable than Lujiang County. It was obvious that Sun Ben would suffer a loss, so this was a good opportunity to take back Danyang County.

In particular, Zhang Zhao pointed out incisively that Sun Quan had just taken power and his position was not yet stable. At this time, he should not provoke Cao Cao, a powerful enemy. These words struck a chord with Sun Quan.

Given that the powerful families of Jiangdong generally support Zhang Zhao, including the Xu family, they should take back Danyang County through negotiations and avoid provoking Cao Cao, a formidable enemy.

Sun Quan eventually agreed to Jia Xu's plan, exchanging Lujiang Commandery for Danyang Commandery, and sending Sun An back to Jiujiang Commandery.

Both sides began to withdraw their troops. The Jiangdong army in Lujiang Commandery withdrew to Danyang Commandery, while Sun Ben's army in Danyang Commandery withdrew to Jiujiang Commandery.

Under Cao Cao's forceful coordinating, a new situation quickly emerged in the Jianghuai region where the two Suns ruled Jiangdong. Sun Ben occupied Guangling Commandery, Jiujiang Commandery, and Lujiang Commandery, while Sun Quan of Jiangdong controlled Wu Commandery, Danyang Commandery, and Kuaiji Commandery.

Cao Cao also approved the plan to relocate over 100,000 disaster victims from Runan County to Lujiang County.

On the official road leading to Lujiang County, a massive army of over 100,000 refugees, young and old, stretched as far as the eye could see. Xu Huang led 20,000 troops to monitor the southward migration of the disaster victims.

In the middle of the southward-migrating army, there was a small group of more than 300 people, including men, women, and children. The leader was Pei Yuanshao, who was originally a general of the Yellow Turban Army. Later, he became an outlaw in Liuxian County. A month ago, a man from the north came to his mountain stronghold with more than 30 people to borrow grain. Pei Yuanshao was no match for the man, so he admitted defeat and became his subordinate. The man from the north became the leader, and he brought more than a dozen men and their families to join the stronghold.

In the past two years, Xuzhou has suffered from drought and war, making life really difficult. Just then, the imperial court decided to relocate the disaster victims to Lujiang County, which is said to have abundant water, fertile land, and is mostly unclaimed land. So they decided to go to Lujiang County with the refugees to develop their lives.

"Brother Pei, are we going to Lujiang County? Do we still need to go up the mountain?" one of his men asked with a smile.

"That's for the eldest brother, Mr. Wada, to decide. Why are you asking me?"

"What does the boss mean?"

"The boss said it depends on the situation. If the government is too harsh, we'll go up the mountain. I heard that the scenery there is beautiful, and we might be able to find a good spot. I have to ask the boss."

Pei Yuanshao spurred his horse toward a young general riding a white horse.

"Brother Zilong, wait for me!"

At Tonglushan in Xiazhi County, Wuchang Prefecture, Gan Ning stood on a high point, watching from afar as thousands of people busied themselves in the mining area. The miners used pulleys to haul baskets of copper ore up from the shafts and pits, then packed them into burlap sacks, which were then carried by mules to the ore warehouse.

Two thousand mules transporting ore formed a procession that stretched for two miles, a truly magnificent sight.

Gan Ning is not short of weapons now. In the past year, he has captured more than 100,000 sets of armor and weapons, enough to equip his 100,000-strong army.

He is short of money now, which of course refers to the lack of money in Yuzhang County. Yuzhang County is rich in resources, but the copper coins issued by the imperial court rarely flow into Yuzhang County, which has led to many counties in Yuzhang County using cloth as currency, and the countryside has always been bartering.

It was an open secret that the feudal lords were minting their own coins. Inferior Wuzhu coins flooded the north, and even large coins worth ten or one hundred coins were readily available.
Currently, half of the money in Yuzhang County comes from Jingzhou and the other half from Jiangdong. In fact, it is not minted by the imperial court, but by Liu Biao and Sun Ce. Of course, Gan Ning should mint his own money. He is the lord of Yuzhang County. How can he let others control the right to mint coins?

Gan Ning's desire to mint coins was certainly not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Yuzhang Commandery had a foundation for minting coins. Two years ago, Liu Yao had planned to mint coins in Nanchang. After only three batches of coins were minted, Liu Yao unfortunately died of illness, and the minting plan was interrupted.

Jiang Wan spent a month recalling the furnace and craftsmen, and now they are just waiting for the rice to be cooked.

The copper ore would be sent to Xiazhi County for rough refining, then transported to Nanchang for further refining, and then the minting of coins would begin.

The coins being minted now are of course Wuzhu coins. "Zhu" is a unit of weight, with one zhu equivalent to 0.65 grams. Five zhu coins mean copper coins weighing five zhu, which is equivalent to 3.25 grams. "How much copper can be produced in a month?" Gan Ning asked.

The foreman bowed and said, "Reporting to my lord, we produce about 10,000 catties of copper per month, but in addition to copper, we also produce several hundred taels of silver and thirty or forty taels of gold, which are byproducts."

Gan Ning silently calculated that he could earn 3,000 strings of cash per month, which would amount to 36,000 strings of cash per year.

"What about the miners' wages? How much are they paid each month?"

"It's free!"

The supervisor shook his head and quickly explained, "The miners are paid in grain, three catties of wheat per person per day, which is their net profit. Then the mine provides food and lodging for the miners."

How much copper did Huang Zu produce each month in the past?

"At its peak, the yield reached 30,000 jin, and it has been relatively stable at around 20,000 jin per month, which is twice our yield."

Is it because there are many miners?

"That's why we used to have two or three thousand people, but now we only have one or two thousand. It's mainly because many people have gone to participate in the city's construction, and there's a shortage of labor. Once the city is built, miners will return, and then production will increase."

At this moment, a soldier rushed over to report, "Reporting to our lord, Military Advisor Xu is in Chaisang, saying he has important matters to report!"

Gan Ning nodded. He had finished his inspection and temporarily ended it. He went to the nearby dock to board a ship, which then sailed towards the Yangtze River.

The following morning, Gan Ning returned to Chaisang and met Xu Shu at the government office.

"Yuanzhi, what happened?" Gan Ning asked with a smile.

"Reporting to my lord, a major event has occurred in Jiangdong. Cao Ren led an army of 50,000 to recapture Guangling County, but handed it over to Sun Ben. Then, Sun Ben exchanged Danyang County for Lujiang County with Sun Quan. Now, Sun Ben occupies three counties north of the Yangtze River, while Sun Quan occupies three counties south of the Yangtze River. The two Suns have divided their territories."

This outcome was within Gan Ning's expectations. Sun Ben had spent a great deal of effort and endured countless infamy to kill Sun Ce, only to have Sun Quan reap the benefits. How could he possibly let it go? Dividing the family was still the best outcome. If it weren't for Cao Cao's intervention, a civil war would probably have broken out very soon.

Gan Ning laughed and said, "It's not a bad thing for us to have a powerful opponent split in two. Is there any other news?"

"Furthermore, I heard that Cao Cao relocated a large number of refugees from Xuzhou to Lujiang County, numbering as many as 100,000."

Gan Ning's eyes lit up. This was good news. He chuckled and said, "Now Lujiang County has value!"

Population is the greatest value.

Xu Shu pondered for a moment and then said, "I believe that once Sun Ben takes Lujiang County, he will probably make his move on Xunyang County first. He will not recognize the agreement we signed with Jiangdong. We must prepare for war."

Gan Ning had already thought of this, otherwise he wouldn't have stationed 15,000 troops in Xunyang and arranged for a fierce general like Taishi Ci to be in charge.

"The strategist is right. Cao Cao will definitely urge Sun Ben and Huang Zu to join forces against us, but Xunyang County, which stands between them, will inevitably be the first obstacle that Sun Ben will have to remove."

(End of this chapter)