Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1156 Sima takes the throne
Jiaozhou, Cangwu County, Guangxin County.

Pan Zhang was about to enter the government office to discuss military affairs with Sima Yi, but he ran into Sima Fu who was just walking out of the government office.

"General Wengui, Fu is polite."

Unlike his brother Sima Yi who was decisive and courageous, Sima Fu was more elegant and generous. When meeting people, he was always the first to bow respectfully and his speech was always gentle and elegant, so everyone had a very good impression of him.

Pan Zhang also clasped his fists in return.

"Thank you for your courtesy. Is your brother in the house?"

Sima Fu smiled and said, "My brother is entertaining several merchants from the north to discuss the purchase of war horses and iron ore. General Wengui, is there anything urgent?"

Pan Zhang frowned slightly: "Merchants? Are these lowly people worthy of a personal audience from the general?"

"Haha, originally I was not worthy. But..."

Sima Fu faced the northwest, looked into the distance and saluted: "Your Majesty and the Lord have entrusted such an important task of Jiaozhou to us. The key is to raise logistical materials for the Lord's Northern Expedition. There are few war horses and iron ore in Jiangdong. Now the soldiers have fought bravely and finally captured Cangwu and Nanhai. The general found many spices and gems here, and planned to exchange them with northern merchants. Such a military and national event should be personally concerned, and I will not care about whether it is a pariah or not."

Pan Zhang pursed his lips in anger, without making any comment.

Sima Zhongda, the general who conquered the south, was young but extremely shrewd and a master at using troops. He secretly joined forces with the Shanyue tribe to lure the main force under Shi Xie and defeated them in one battle. He then successfully advanced and captured two counties. In addition, he enforced strict military laws regardless of personal relationships, and now he has established absolute prestige among the army that marched south. Although Pan Zhang was still a little dissatisfied with him, he couldn't show it.

However, having said that, he still stood at the door and had no intention of leaving.

"If General Wengui has any urgent business, Fu will take you to see the general first. Anyway, business transactions cannot be settled in a few words, so there is no need to waste a moment."

Seeing Sima Fu took the initiative to invite him in, Pan Zhang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Forget it. My lord and General Gongjin are going to Hanzhong, and the pressure of raising food and supplies is not small. What Zhang reported is not urgent. It is better to let the general finish this important matter first."

Sima Fu heard this, still smiling: "In that case, I, on behalf of my brother, would like to apologize to General Wengui. General, you have made a wasted trip."

As the saying goes, you shouldn't hit a smiling person. Faced with his polite attitude, Pan Zhang couldn't put on airs anymore and quickly put on a smiling face to respond.

"No, no, it's just a small matter. I'll come again tomorrow."

After saying that, Pan Zhang turned and left.

After seeing him walk away, Sima Fu turned around and walked into the government office, went back through the corridors and pavilions, and came to a pavilion in the backyard.

Inside the pavilion, Sima Yi was discussing something with a middle-aged man in a gray robe. Sima Fu did not approach and stopped more than ten steps away.

"General, General Pan has left and will come back tomorrow."

Sima Yi turned sideways to face Sima Fu, and when he saw him talking, he did not turn around to look at him, but just nodded slightly.

"I know. Go ahead and do your own thing."

"Yes." Sima Fu left without asking any more questions.

The middle-aged man in the gray robe glanced at Sima Fu as he left and asked, "Mr. Zhongda, are you so wary of your own brother?"

Sima Yi glanced at him and said with a smile: "It's not a matter of being on guard or not, but now I have a heavy responsibility and I dare not disappoint your majesty and the lord. Therefore, in the palace and in the army, I only consider my position, not my brothers."

"I see. No wonder you have gained the trust of General Sun Bofu. You are truly a great man."

The middle-aged man in gray robe had a broad smile on his face, looking quite flattering.

Sima Yi showed no disdain for such a merchant, and replied: "Manager Han, you are too kind. Loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness are the most important principles of human beings, and I dare not violate them. But Manager Han, your caravan is all over the country, and you handle more than tens of millions of goods every day. You have more than ten thousand grooms and guards under your command. If we really compare them, I, the General of the Southern Expedition, may not be as good as you."

"Hahaha, General, you really flatter me too much. I am just a merchant, and I am just doing my duty as the head of the caravan for my boss."

"Let's get back to the point. According to the price I agreed with the general before, I am willing to give you 10% more goods, but these goods can only be delivered in the form of ironware and grain. The Northern Court has extremely strict control over war horses. Just for these 5,000 horses, we have to use many of our Chamber of Commerce's connections. If you ask for more, it will be difficult for me."

Sima Yi heard this and smiled coldly: "Wouldn't it bring trouble to your Chamber of Commerce if this happened? I still want to cooperate with your Chamber of Commerce for a long time. If your Chamber of Commerce is confiscated by the court because of this transaction, it is really not what I want."

"Haha, thank you for your concern, General." Shopkeeper Han still had that signature smile. "Since ancient times, money makes the world go round. Our Chamber of Commerce has grown to such a large scale because there must be someone backing it up. As long as the matter is not too big, our Chamber of Commerce will find a way to do it."

"That's the best."

Sima Yi was halfway through his words when he seemed to suddenly remember something.

"By the way, you mentioned before that porcelain is very popular in the northern states and counties, and can even make a huge profit?"

When Shopkeeper Han heard this topic, his eyes lit up immediately.

"That's right. Ever since the imperial workshops improved the ceramic technique several years ago and produced such exquisite porcelain, it has instantly become popular among the aristocratic circles. A porcelain vase can cost a few hundred coins or even thousands of coins, but its cost is only a few dozen coins. I have been in business for half a lifetime, but I have rarely seen such lucrative profits."

Looking at his excited expression, Sima Yi also seemed a little moved.

"I once met a few ceramic craftsmen by chance. They said that in the Han Dynasty, the clay in Yuzhang, near Poyang Lake, is the most suitable for making porcelain. I wonder if this is true?"

"Yes, that's true. The clay here is not easy to crack when used to make porcelain, and it has the most suitable hardness. It is also not easy to change color or fade after being glazed. It is much better than the clay in various places in the north. But..."

Shopkeeper Han, who had been very happy just now, suddenly looked gloomy.

"But this place is still under the rule of General Sun Bofu. General Sun's philosophy seems to be very different from that of the Northern Court. He obviously looks down on this kind of business. Even if our business association uses all means to gain this benefit, it will not be achieved overnight."

"Well, actually, this is a win-win situation for both of us. If our Chamber of Commerce can make a profit here, we will naturally have to pay a large amount of taxes to General Sun. As for whether the taxes should be paid in the form of currency or food and fodder, we can discuss it. Isn't it the best of both worlds? It's a pity that General Sun is fighting everywhere and I'm afraid he has no time to take care of this matter. Even if our Chamber of Commerce secretly asks the famous scholars and ministers of Jiangdong to make suggestions, there is no chance."

At this point, Shopkeeper Han shook his head repeatedly, his face full of regret, as if a mountain of gold was right in front of him, yet it was out of reach. Isn't that frustrating?

After hearing his description, Sima Yi fell into deep thought for a short while, but he quickly came back to his senses.

"Please allow me to think about this matter. If there is such a great benefit, I will find an opportunity to report it to your majesty and the lord in the future."

Manager Han was delighted: "In that case, I thank you in advance. If this matter can be accomplished, our Chamber of Commerce will be grateful to the general for his great kindness and will never forget it."

"Okay, okay. I am only serving my country, not pursuing my own personal gain."

"General, your words are noble and I admire you very much. So is today's deal finalized?"

Shopkeeper Han asked cautiously.

Sima Yi also readily agreed: "Then it is settled."

After seeing off Manager Han, Sima Fu slowly walked over.

"General, we have cooperated with this Chamber of Commerce many times. Although there has never been any mistakes, I still feel that something is wrong. Every time we trade, the things we ask for are war horses, food, ironware, salt and other supplies. These supplies are all under the control of the Luoyang court. Is this Chamber of Commerce really so powerful?"

Sima Yi looked at his brother who was full of doubts: "I have doubts too. But from ancient times to now, no court has ever attached so much importance to merchants. Therefore, I can't tell for the moment whether this Chamber of Commerce can really have such great power and influence in the northern court."

"But I just can't figure out what this trade is about. If Liu He is the one behind it, what exactly is he after? It is precisely because I can't figure this out, and because many of the transactions have never gone wrong, that we have made a lot of money."

"Besides, you also know that there are many people in the court who oppose our trade in Lingnan and Jiaozhou. If we cannot provide the lord with real materials for his expedition, then it will be inconvenient for him to come forward for you and me to suppress the opposition in the court. The only chambers of commerce that have the strength to take over our trade are a few large chambers of commerce in the north. Therefore, I can only rely on them temporarily. There is no other way."

Sima Fu sighed softly: "Alas, there are so many pedantic people in Jiangdong."

At this moment, a soldier ran in hurriedly, looking very anxious.

"Report to the general... The lord fell into the enemy's trap, and General Wei Yan was captured by Guan Ping in Langzhong. The lord and General Gongjin believed the false news and went out in full force to attack Nanzheng, but were ambushed by the enemy and returned in defeat. In the first battle, one of the generals under the command of the barbarian king Meng Huo was killed by Guan Ping. After learning that our army was defeated, he also led his troops to retreat. General Zhou Tai died in the battle, General Gongjin was seriously injured, and the old general Cheng Pu and the lord were also injured. They only led more than 10,000 remaining soldiers back to Shangyong..."

Sima Fu was horrified: "Oh no! This battle has caused so many casualties. It can be said that the national strength has been greatly damaged. Isn't this a precarious situation?"

Not only did this battle fail to capture Hanzhong and seize the initiative to attack Yizhou, but the losses were so heavy that even Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu, two of the most famous soldiers in the army, were seriously injured and fell into a coma. This was really bad news for Jiangdong.

Sima Yi's face was as gloomy as water. He said nothing and waved his hand to let the soldier retreat.

"The day when our Sima family rises in Jiangdong is today!"

(End of this chapter)