Tiger Owl

Chapter 85 Prepare for a rainy day
After Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao last year, Zhao Yun left Youzhou and headed south. This year, he will appear in southern Hebei or the Central Plains.

Historically, Zhao Yun should have served Liu Bei in Ye City around this time, which was when Liu Bei was attacked by Cao Cao, his wife and brothers were separated, Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao, and Guan Yu surrendered to the Han Dynasty but not to Cao Cao.

However, Li Shu's escape to the north changed the course of history. Liu Bei was persuaded by Li Shu to go south to develop his career. He arrived in Xinye a year earlier than planned, thus missing out on meeting Zhao Yun.

It's unknown where Zhao Yun is, whether he will join Cao Cao, or go to Xinye to find Liu Bei again.

Gan Ning hoped to intercept Zhao Yun before Liu Bei could.

Wang Xiaoman shook her head again, "I have inquired everywhere in Xuchang and found that many people know that Zhao Yun is a fierce general under Gongsun Zan, but no one has ever seen this general."

Gan Ning also knew that in the vast sea of ​​people, it would be difficult to find someone, and they could only meet by chance.

"Go and get some rest! I'll assign you a task in a few days. Don't tell anyone about Sun Yi, not even your brother!"

"Your subordinate understands, please rest assured, my lord!"

Wang Xiaoman bowed and then took her leave.

..........
After Wang Xiaoman left, Gan Ning pondered Zhao Yun's whereabouts for a while, but couldn't find a clue, so he temporarily abandoned the idea and returned his thoughts to Jiangdong.

Gan Ning paced back and forth in his office with his hands behind his back. Things were temporarily calm in Jiangdong. Sun Quan was trying his best to consolidate his position and would not consider Yuzhang Commandery for several years.

But the one who truly deserves attention is Sun Ben. Sun Yi is dead, and it's impossible for Sun Ben to remain completely silent. Sometimes, silence itself is a form of activity, indicating that he is fully engaged in something.

Gan Ning had a strong intuition that Sun Ben was also actively preparing for war and stirring up trouble. It might not be this year, but next year was more likely. And it might not be aimed at him, but rather at Jiangdong.

Over the past two months, Gan Ning has gradually come to understand Sun Ben's plans during Li Shu's rebellion. Sun Ben clearly intends to use Li Shu to seize Jiujiang and Guangling counties, then send troops to quell Li Shu's rebellion and seize Jiujiang and Guangling counties at the same time, gaining both fame and profit. Finally, he will swallow up Lujiang County, thus putting the three counties north of the Yangtze River and Danyang County in his hands.

After failing to seize power directly, Sun Ben resorted to another tactic to take control of Jiangdong. Once he succeeded, he occupied four of the six commanderies of Jiangdong, leaving Sun Quan with only Wu and Kuaiji commanderies.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Sun Ben didn't expect Huang Zu to interfere and seize Lujiang County first, nor did he anticipate Sun Quan's swift reaction. Sun Quan decisively sent troops to Guangling County, quickly defeated Li Shu, and occupied Guangling County, thwarting Sun Ben's plan to occupy the three counties north of the Yangtze River. In the end, Sun Ben only managed to capture Jiujiang County.

Gan Ning believed that Sun Ben would never give up and would definitely continue to implement his plan to gradually encroach on Jiangdong. He just didn't know where his next attack would be. Guangling County or Lujiang County?
Gan Ning hoped that Sun Ben's plan would succeed, and that Sun Ben and Sun Quan would completely turn against each other. In that case, he could seize Lujiang County from Sun Ben, and Sun Quan would have nothing to say.

As August arrives, the lingering heat of late summer is coming to an end. After the White Dew solar term, the weather begins to cool down, and the autumn atmosphere deepens.

Huang Zu and Gan Ning eventually reached an agreement, with Huang Zu fully accepting the three conditions proposed by Gan Ning: recognizing Wuchang Commandery, promising never to attack Wuchang Commandery and Xunyang County, and promising not to obstruct normal exchanges and trade between the people.

Gan Ning also released Huang She and Huang Zu's family back to Jiangxia County, temporarily ending the conflict with Huang Zu. In addition, Liu Biao paid 30,000 strings of cash to redeem Liu Hu. He had no dealings with Gan Ning, so he directly used money to redeem him.

That morning, Jiang Wan and Lu Su were reporting on the political situation to Gan Ning. As the war subsided, Gan Ning's attention gradually shifted to domestic affairs.

Domestic affairs mainly consisted of the economy, including salt and iron, grain, taxes, and minting coins. Of course, Gan Ning was also very concerned about the production of tung oil and pine resin.

Jiang Wan calmly reported, "Our salt mainly comes from two sources: 20% from well salt in Sichuan and Chongqing, and 70% from sea salt, primarily from Guangling County. Additionally, our Luling County also produces mineral salt, which currently accounts for 10% of our market. However, that was when Tongzhi controlled Luling. Now, the government is increasing mineral salt production, striving to achieve salt self-sufficiency within three years and avoid being held hostage by outsiders." Gan Ning nodded and said, "Currently, sea salt from the Jianghuai region is mainly controlled by the Chen family of Xiapi. We have a good relationship with the Chen family through Chen Mu, and they can supply us with sufficient quantities at low prices. However, the profits from salt are enormous, and Cao Cao will never sit idly by while Guangling County is taken by Jiangdong. I estimate that Cao Cao will support Sun Ben to control Guangling County."

"We are too far away to intervene. Once Sun Ben controls Guangling County, he will inevitably seize the salt industry. With Cao Cao's support, the Chen family's salt industry will be in danger. At that time, we will be in trouble. Sun Ben will definitely stop supplying us with salt. Therefore, we must accelerate our own mineral salt production and get rid of our dependence on Jianghuai sea salt."

Lu Su, standing nearby, added, “My lord’s analysis is quite correct. Once Sun Ben controls the salt in the Jianghuai region, he will not only impose an embargo on us, but also on Huang Zu and Liu Biao. At that time, Liu Biao will inevitably increase the amount of salt he buys from Shu, thereby squeezing out our share. This is a domino effect, so increasing salt production is urgent. I suggest establishing salt households and setting up a salt bureau to be specifically responsible for mining salt.”

Gan Ning nodded. "I agree to establish a salt administration office and salt households. In addition, the mines in Xiazhi County should be restored as soon as possible. Huang Zu will only be obedient for two or three years at most. If Liu Biao supports him, he will recover his strength in less than two or three years. He will not be willing to give up the mines in Xiazhi and will still compete with us for them."

Wuchang County, Xiazhi County, is today's Daye. Since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, it has been rich in gold, silver, copper and iron, especially copper, which has a long-standing reputation.

Gan Ning only realized the importance of Xiazhi County later, as it was directly related to the rise and fall of Huang Zu. How could he possibly give it up?

Jiang Wan quickly replied, "Mining has resumed, and miners from various places are gradually returning."

Gan Ning readily agreed, "I'd like to visit the mining area when I have time!"

Inside the Wu Marquis's residence in Wu Commandery, Sun Quan stared at the official seal on the table with a gloomy look in his eyes, his face turning extremely ugly.

This is the official seal of Taishi Ci, sent by the magistrate of Taimo County, along with his resignation letter.

Zhou Yu, who was standing nearby, was also quite regretful. He had originally planned to plead for Taishi Ci again after some time and have him transferred back, but unexpectedly, Taishi Ci was poached away by Gan Ning himself in Taimo County in despair.

Zhou Yu was truly heartbroken. Others might not know, but he knew Taishi Ci's value. However, he had been unable to plead for Taishi Ci before. Taishi Ci had angered the Jiangdong group during the Northern Expedition and was framed by Sun Ben, bearing the crime of condoning Li Shu's rebellion.

To appease the Jiangdong group and Sun Ben, Wu Hou demoted Taishi Ci to the position of magistrate of Taimo County. Hearing that his son had also died in Taimo County, Taishi Ci was in such despair.

Zhou Yu could only sigh deeply, thinking to himself, "It's fate!"
Sun Quan slammed his fist on the table. "Gan Ning actually went to Taimo County! We missed this opportunity to arrest him! The magistrate of Taimo County deserves to die! Issue my order: dismiss Li Changkuo, the magistrate of Taimo County, on the spot and escort him back to Wu County for investigation!"

Zhou Yu was taken aback. It turned out that what angered the Marquis of Wu was not Taishi Ci's resignation, but that Gan Ning had not been caught when he came to Kuaiji Commandery, thus missing an opportunity.

Zhou Yu shook his head inwardly. Everyone says that Lord Wu has a good eye for people, but that's not entirely true. At least in the case of Taishi Ci, Lord Wu lost his chance.

Sun Quan was the lord, and he was not considering the gains or losses of a general, but rather the interests of all parties. Compared to Taishi Ci's martial arts and military command abilities, the support of the Jiangdong aristocratic group was obviously more important.

Sun Quan was well aware that Sun Ben was framing Taishi Ci, but he still demoted Taishi Ci to Taimo County without hesitation. From that moment on, he could no longer give Taishi Ci an important position.

Historically, Sun Quan kept Taishi Ci hidden away in Haihun County for a long time, burying a pearl in obscurity. Only after Taishi Ci died did he pretend to adopt his son.

Taishi Ci was Sun Ce's favorite general and an active advocate of the Northern Expeditions. How could Sun Quan possibly use him?

Sun Quan waved his hand, "Let Taishi Ci leave if he wants! Don't worry about him. Commander, please continue with the matter of Sun Ben."

(End of this chapter)