Golden Branch

"Brother, has the price of salt in the provincial capital increased again?"

Wang Heng sat on the wooden floor, holding her belly, with several large pillows behind her.

"Hmm! Today is two cents more than yesterday."

Lou Yu knelt in front of Wang Heng and kneaded her legs vigorously.

The closer it got to her due date, the more often Wang Heng's legs cramped.

Drinking milk and eating soy products every day cannot provide better relief.

Lou Yu would make time as much as possible to give Wang Heng a massage.

Her legs, which were still slender, had begun to swell.

The skin is as white as cream, and a light touch will leave a mark.

Lou Yu was heartbroken and vowed countless times in his heart: This is the only time! I will only have this one child.

No matter whether it is a man or a woman, he will never let Aheng suffer again.

"These people are really crazy and vicious."

Wang Heng did not regret the pain she suffered during pregnancy.

She is pregnant and only one month away from the due date. The child who has been with her for several months will soon meet her. She is now more excited and happy about opening the blind box, and does not have too many negative emotions.

Wang Heng's good attitude is also related to the fact that she has not suffered more pain.

There are enough capable slaves around him, and they serve him in three shifts for twelve hours a day.

She had everything she wanted, and all she had to endure was physical discomfort, without suffering any psychological grievances.

And there is Lou Yu, his "self-abuse", his hands-on approach, and the heartache and guilt hidden in his eyes, all of which can soothe Wang Heng's heart.

Wang Heng felt Lou Yu's complete, sincere and deep love.

This made Wang Heng, who was already sensitive and thoughtful during her pregnancy, easily moved.

She did suffer because of her pregnancy, but her brother was not having an easy time either. He wished he could die in his place.

Wang Heng saw and remembered all these details.

They were already "brother and sister" who had been together for many years and had a deep relationship. Now there was an additional layer of love between a man and a woman. Wang Heng was worried about the gains and losses and did not dare to take that step easily.

However, during the past few months of pregnancy, Lou Yu's dedication made Wang Heng finally certain: Brother, he is the man she can be with for the rest of her life.

She peacefully enjoyed Lou Yu's service and secretly remembered his kindness.

“It’s crazy indeed!”

Lou Yu had no idea what Wang Heng was hiding in her heart. While massaging her, he casually discussed official business with her.

After the New Year's Day, but before the end of the first lunar month, turmoil began in Nanzhou.

Those powerful families knew the principle of hitting the snake at its most vulnerable part.

If they want to cause trouble, they will target the root causes that can shake the national economy and people's livelihood.

Logically speaking, food and salt are both very important and are the key factors that can cause civil unrest.

However, Nanzhou has a unique climate and rich resources.

Rice can be harvested twice a year, and the mountains and fields are full of wild vegetables and fruits.

Ordinary people cannot say that they eat very well, but they will not go hungry easily.

Salt is the most important thing.

There is no sea salt or lake salt in Nanzhou, only rock salt and well salt.

The most important thing is well salt.

"...Wang Mian is right again. The southwest, including Nanzhou, is basically all well salt."

Lou Yu whispered, "The method of mining well salt is also to use wide-mouthed salt wells."

"Salt wells are several to more than ten meters deep. After a few years of mining, the salt wells will dry up and eventually be abandoned!"

"The former governor gifted us these salt wells that are about to be abandoned."

"There are also dozens of abandoned salt wells of various sizes within Nanzhou..."

When Lou Yu said this, a gleam of light flashed in his deep eyes.

If it weren't for Wang Mian, a helper with a great background, these abandoned salt wells would probably have been completely abandoned.

Unfortunately, they have Wangmian, and Wangmian happens to know how to "recycle waste" -

Zhuotongjing!

This seemingly simple equipment can squeeze out all the last value of these salt wells.

"Thanks to Amian, she is really amazing and knows everything!"

When Wang Heng mentioned her eldest daughter-in-law, her face was full of pride.

She looked towards the capital and whispered, "She not only knows about the salt well in the southwest, but also knows about the Zhuotong Well."

The treasure bag that Wang Mian gave to Wang Heng contained specific information about Zhuotong Well.

From the name, to the principle, to the specific operation.

There are also very detailed drawings.

Wang Mian drew several drawings of the Zhuotong Well, including a full map, an exploded map, and a diagram with key explanations of key parts.

Not to mention people like Wang Heng and Lou Yu who are already smart, any experienced and skilled craftsman can easily replicate it after seeing it.

After the couple arrived in Nanzhou, Lou Yu was not only busy investigating Nanbang and dealing with hidden households and fields, he also secretly ordered people to build the Zhuotong Well.

More than half a year has passed, and huge Zhutong wells are now standing next to the abandoned salt wells.

The people arranged by Lou Yu not only built the Zhuotong Well, but also used the Zhuotong Well to extract brine from the abandoned salt well, and then boiled out the best well salt.

However, Lou Yu never made it public, and these salt wells did not enter the market.

After accumulating for several months, a certain amount of salt has been piled up in the warehouse arranged by Lou Yu.

He was waiting for now——

Several powerful families and some officials joined forces to control the salt market, trying to use salt to incite civil unrest!

"Since the Lantern Festival, in less than two weeks, the price of salt in the state capital and surrounding counties has skyrocketed."

"At first, the price went up by only one cent every three or five days. Now it's going up by two cents every day..."

Lou Yu spoke slowly, without much ups and downs in his tone.

Wang Heng, who knew Lou Yu's character well, heard the hidden coldness in Lou Yu's tone: These people deserve to die!

"Plus, they cut off their business with the mountain!"

Lou Yu restrained his emotions and did not show any murderous intent.

But Wang Heng still felt it.

This can’t be blamed on my brother, those people are just too presumptuous!

He used salt to cause panic among the common people and tried to incite the Yi people in the mountains.

"...They think the number of incited tribes isn't large enough, and they're trying to drag more Yi people into this!"

Wang Heng had never been to the mountains, but she learned about the conditions of those mountain strongholds through Lou Yu, Li Mingtang and others.

Among the Yi tribe’s strongholds, some were in collusion with Ashlin, while others were relatively well-behaved like Ani and her people.

They do possess a certain amount of military power, but they will not rebel easily.

As long as they are not oppressed too harshly and as long as they can still make a living, they will not go down the mountain without permission.

For their own selfish interests, the powerful families in Nanzhou wanted to force these "good citizens" to join the rebellion.

The reason is simple and direct - salt!

There is no salt in the mountains, and the salt used in the village is traded with people living down the mountain.

Over the years, although these transactions have occasionally had some friction, they have still been able to ensure basic living needs.

Several powerful families now refuse to even provide this basic guarantee and have directly cut off transactions with the mountain people.

People can eat less food, or even not eat for a short period of time, but they cannot do without salt.

The fact that it’s tasteless is secondary. The worst thing is that you’ll get sick.

Besides, Nanzhou is not short of food, what it lacks is salt.

Once the salt is cut off, the people will really...

"Brother, is there already chaos outside?"

Wang Heng was a little worried.

Although she believed in her brother's ability and knew her family's trump card, when it came to civil unrest, she couldn't be too careful.

"Well! Rumors are spreading everywhere, and people are panicking!"

Lou Yu did not hide anything because all of this was within his expectations.

Lou Yu even predicted that those powerful families would direct their attacks towards him.

Less than a year after Lou Yu came to Nanzhou, he started to stir up trouble in a big way, which severely affected the interests of local powerful families, gentry, landlords, etc.

With Nanbang's wolfish ambitions and Ashilin's jumping around, he, the governor of Lou Yulou, has long been a thorn in the eyes of many forces.

Even though they did not dare to do anything to Lou Yu due to his status as a top official and Wang Heng's title as Princess Langya, they would still incite civil unrest and accuse Lou Yu of "forcing innocent people to rebel."

If you can’t kill him, then make him stink!

It would be best to drive Lou Yu, this fierce dragon that has crossed the river, out of Nanzhou as soon as possible!

Lou Yu: ...Haha, that’s a good idea. Don’t dream about it next time.

"Brother, is the time right?"

Wang Heng felt so comfortable with Lou Yu's massage that she even felt a little drowsy.

She tried her best to keep her eyelids open and wanted to continue talking to Lou Yu.

But she couldn't hold on any longer. Her eyelids felt heavy and her body was shaking.

"Yes! In these few days!"

Lou Yu was absolutely multitasking: massaging, chatting about work, and keeping an eye on Wang Heng's every move.

Noticing her sleepiness, he quickly let go of her hand, took two steps on his knees, and put his arm around Wang Heng's shoulders.

He carefully took Wang Heng into his arms and said softly, "Are you sleepy? Then take a nap! Brother will accompany you!"

"……it is good!"

Wang Heng leaned in the familiar, warm embrace, feeling completely relaxed.

The heavy eyelids gave up struggling and slowly closed.

Half asleep, she still remembered the dreamlike instructions, "Brother, just do it. I will guard the gate!"

"Yeah! I know! My Ah Heng is the most capable!"

After secretly planning for several months, with artifacts such as the Zhuotong Well and the small porcelain bottle, as well as a meticulous plan, Lou Yu was quite confident.

Lou Yu had already made arrangements for the timing.

Aheng's due date is still a month and a half away. He must catch those people in one fell swoop before Aheng gives birth.

Lou Yu would never allow anyone to hinder or disrupt Aheng's production.

I will never let Aheng and the baby in her belly fall into danger!

"The 19th day of the first lunar month is a good day!"

Holding Wang Heng and letting her head rest on his chest, Lou Yu gently stroked her face, shoulders, and arms, and finally decided on the time to take action!

……

"The price of salt has gone up again today!"

"Oh my god, this isn't salt, it's gold!"

“…There is no salt left at home, and I was thinking that maybe the price would go down in the next few days, but I didn’t expect that—” it is still rising!

"Is this leaving no way for us ordinary people to survive?"

"I heard that this incident is all the fault of the new governor! He's corrupt, he's occupied the salt wells, and he's deliberately driving up the price of salt!"

"What? It's the new governor? Isn't he a good man? He still wants to build roads."

"Bah! What a good person! How can an official be good?"

"Yes, that's right. The new governor wants to build a road, but it's not for us. I heard that he wants to build a road for his princess!"

"...I don't care about the new governor or the princess, I just want to buy salt!"

"Buy it! It's in the shop. As long as you have money, you can buy it."

The streets and alleys of the state capital were filled with all kinds of rumors.

During this period, there were many people who misled public opinion and incited the people.

But, they always come true.

The day before yesterday, some people said, "You can buy it if you have money." Today, shops of all sizes posted notices: No salt today!

what's the situation?

Can’t buy it even if you have money?

The people, who were already resentful and panic-stricken, became even more resentful and panic-stricken.

However, the people in the city are more obedient after all, and they will not be easily instigated.

Making trouble?

Attack the governor's mansion?

That's rebellion!

You will be beheaded and your whole family will die!

It’s just salt. You will get sick if you don’t eat it for a long time. You can still endure it for a month or two.

The people in the city can tolerate it, but the barbarians in the mountains cannot!

They were already short of salt, and now their supply has been cut off, making their situation even more difficult.

This is a new vengeance!

They also have old grudges with the people down the mountain—

The people living at the foot of the mountain are the most cunning. When doing business, they either drive up prices or commit fraud by selling inferior goods as good ones.

They were always bullied, but they could barely survive. That's why the Yi people in the mountains endured it.

The accumulation of old grudges, coupled with new hatred, has reached a point where it is no longer bearable.

Since I can't bear it anymore, I'll explode——

"The Yi people in the mountains are also the people of my Nanzhou!"

Calculating the timing perfectly, one of Lou Yu's students, the provincial governor, personally arrived at the foot of the mountain with cartloads of goods.

Wearing official attire and accompanied by servants, he stopped the young and strong Yi people who were rushing down the mountain.

"Who are you? What's in the carriage?"

"I, in the name of Governor Lou, have brought some fine well salt to trade with you!"

"Really? Isn't Lou a corrupt official who oppresses the people?"

"Governor Lou is a messenger of God. His reputation has spread throughout Yongzhou. How could he be some insignificant official?"

"You people down the mountain are the best at deceiving others—"

"People can lie, but things can't! If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself!"

The chief official, who looked to be in his twenties, said this with a smile and ordered the tarpaulin covering the carriage to be removed.

"Salt! It's salt! What this mountain dweller said is true!"

After hearing this, all the Yi people were a little stunned.

what is happening?

Is being a governor a good thing?

Not only did he not oppress these Yi people, he also sent people to deliver salt to their "doorstep"?

So, do they still want to continue to the provincial capital?

Go to the Governor's Mansion to ask for an explanation?!

Of course, not all Yi people hesitated and retreated. Among them were those who colluded with Ashlin and several major clans.

They hid in the crowd and began shouting, "Don't trust them! The people down there are the best at deceiving you!"

"Yes! This must be a conspiracy! They want to trick us!"

A cold glint flashed in the chief secretary's eyes, and he threatened everyone around him: "Go! Lock down those shouting people! Capture them!"

As for these barbarian tribes, we must divide and rule them.

Those who are content, continue to appease;

Kill those who are restless!

At the same time, several carriages loaded with goods arrived on the main street in front of the Governor's Mansion...