Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

The bedroom was filled with steam.

A large, round wooden tub filled with hot water was placed in the living room, just outside the bedroom door.

Charcoal fires were burning in the copper basins around them for warmth.

The night was slightly cool.

But the room was warm and cozy.

The water, fragrant with the scent of paintings and steaming hot, flowed from the water float in the maid's hand, washing over Duan Yu's strong back.

Since his injury, Duan Yu has not taken a bath for a long time.

I can only wipe my body down briefly each day.

But this morning, after activating the [Automatic Healing] skill, Duan Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that all the wounds on his body had scabbed over and healed.

Therefore, when he arrived at Zhen Jiang's room, he couldn't wait to tell the maid to prepare hot water for a bath.

Two maids slowly poured hot water onto Duan Yu's muscular shoulders.

With light makeup, Zhen Jiang wore a semi-transparent white veil draped over her shoulders, and her undergarment covered her fair body. When pressed against the edge of the wooden tub, the deep cleavage was alluring.

With gentle movements, Zhen Jiang rubbed Duan Yu's back.

"My lord, today I went to the weaving bureau outside the city to take a look at the cloth that has been woven recently," Zhen Jiang said softly.

Duan Yu, with a white silk cloth covering his face, leaned against the edge of the wooden tub and hummed softly.

"What are your thoughts on the sale of these fabrics?" Duan Yu asked.

"I have some immature suggestions, but I don't know if I should say them."

Duan Yu reached out and removed the silk cloth covering his face, looked up at Zhen Jiang's beautiful face, and smiled slightly.

“When it comes to business, you are the real expert, Madam. Please tell me.”

Duan Yu's praise made Zhen Jiang blush with shyness.

“My lord, the silk we have harvested from the Qiang people is the best silk I have seen in recent years.”

"I heard that these silkworm eggs were bred by my husband, which may be related to this. I have also seen the silkworm eggs, and they are indeed different from the ones I have seen before."

"And the silk fabric woven from these silkworms is much better than that available on the market."

"Even ordinary silk can reach the level of fine silk from Sichuan."

Duan Yu nodded; that was indeed true.

Ordinary silk on the market costs roughly between one thousand and one thousand two hundred coins.

A slightly better material than silk was white silk, which cost about 1,500 coins.

As for fine silk, it is much more expensive, usually twice the price of ordinary silk.

Of course, there's also the cheapest option: linen, used by ordinary people to make clothes.

The price of linen is around 500 coins.

Most ordinary people would never own a single garment made of white silk in their entire lives.

Only middle-class families might have one or two of these items.

These clothes, made of white silk or even fine silk, were only worn by aristocratic families and powerful clans in the area.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei occupied the Bashu region, and most of his military expenditures came from the sale of cloth and silk.

In this day and age, cloth can be used directly as money. In places like Liangzhou, cloth and silk are even more readily accepted than money.

Especially when bartering with the Qiang and other non-Han tribes, cloth was even considered superior to currency.

“My lord, if the cloth currently stockpiled by the weaving bureau were to enter the market all at once, it would definitely affect all silk-producing areas, such as Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Sichuan, which produce large quantities of silk every year.”

"Based on my past experience, they will definitely lower their prices to compete with the silk from Liangzhou."

"The Mi family of Xuzhou and the Gan family of Bashu were both silk merchants."

"It is no less than the Zhen family of Zhongshan, and even surpasses the Mi family of Xuzhou."

The Mi family of Xuzhou.

One of Liu Bei's biggest financial backers when he started out.

The Mi family's business and total assets are definitely more than those of the Zhen family of Zhongshan.

However, merchants have never held a high status in the Han Dynasty.

Mi tried several times to go to Luoyang to buy an official title, but failed each time.

Liu Hong's fondness for talent, yet his disregard for the Mi family, demonstrates just how low the social status of merchants truly was.

It was only after Tao Qian took over Xuzhou that the Mi family was given an official position, allowing them to have a certain political standing in Xuzhou.

The reason why the Mi family spared no effort in helping Liu Bei was because they valued Liu Bei's status as a member of the Han imperial family.

They wanted to make an investment in Liu Bei.

"What I mean is that if my husband wants to sell the silk quickly, it would be better to sell it in the Western Regions rather than in the Central Plains."

"When the Hexi Corridor was still open, the amount of silk sold to the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty every year was enormous, and the countries of the Western Regions were very fond of the silk from the Han Dynasty."

"If we can reopen the Hexi Corridor, the profits from selling to the Western Regions will be far greater than those from selling to the Central Plains."

Duan Yu listened attentively, nodding earnestly.

He hadn't considered this question before.

Yizhou was originally the prefecture with the most mulberry cultivation and silkworm breeding in the Han Dynasty, and Shu brocade was already famous throughout the world.

Although the silk produced in Liangzhou is of good quality, it is unrealistic to expect it to replace the status of Shu brocade in a short period of time.

Besides the silk itself, there were also issues related to the business environment of merchants in various regions over the years.

The Zhen family of Zhongshan mainly dealt in grain, horses, livestock, and minerals.

Silk was the main product and traded item near the south.

This is different from snow salt and white paper.

The snow salt and white paper were his patents; no one else had them.

It comes with a monopolistic nature wherever it appears.

It seems that opening up the Hexi Corridor is imperative, and it needs to be done quickly.

Although silk can also be used as money.

However, no one would hoard large quantities of silk as a form of money to be used.

Not to mention that all his silkworm silk was collected from the Western Qiang.

We can't possibly collect silk, weave it into fine silk, and then give it to the Western Qiang.

What the various tribes of the Western Qiang needed were money, food, and salt—essential necessities for daily life.

Silk was of no use to them; they mostly wore sheepskins that they made themselves.

In order to fulfill the promises made to the Western Qiang tribes, a portion of the money and grain has already been paid to them.

Before winter, all remaining money and grain had to be paid to the Western Qiang to help them get through the winter.

If payments cannot be made on time, trouble may arise in the Western Qiang region.

Liangzhou has a considerable surplus of grain this year, but it cannot all be paid to the Western Qiang.

He had originally planned to sell some of the silk and then use the proceeds to pay the various tribes of the Western Qiang.

Now it seems that it won't work.

At least in the short term, it is impossible to sell all of these silks.

Unless they are sold to countries in the Western Regions.

It was really thanks to Zhen Jiang's reminder that things would have been in real trouble.

"Madam's words are truly a wake-up call."

Duan Yu looked at Zhen Jiang and said with a smile, "If it weren't for Madam's reminder, we would have almost delayed this important matter."

"If I cannot sell these silks and exchange them for money and grain this year, then I will break my promise to the Western Qiang tribes."

"It might not be so easy to promote mulberry planting and silkworm rearing next year."

Zhen Jiang blushed slightly at Duan Yu's praise, a sweet feeling welling up inside her.

"Your Majesty, I only hope to help you as much as possible."

"As long as I can help my husband, I will be content."

wow~

The sound of water filled the air, and Duan Yu stood up from the wooden tub.

The two maids standing nearby immediately lowered their heads, blushed, and took a step back.

Duan Yu stepped out of the wooden barrel and then scooped Zhen Jiang into his arms.

With a soft moan, Zhen Jiang pressed herself against Duan Yu's chest, which was covered in water droplets.

"Here you are! Let's see how your husband will reward you!"

...........

Several days later, in Luoyang, at the Jiade Hall of the Southern Palace.

Since learning of Duan Yu's death, Liu Hong had not slept well for several days after sending out the eunuch Zuo Feng.

For Liu Hong, Duan Yu was an enormous money tree.

It is also one of the few trump cards that Liu Hong can rely on now.

Therefore, when the news of Duan Yu's death spread, Liu Hong was extremely anxious and could not eat or sleep.

However, just half an hour ago...

The weary eunuch Zuo Feng returned from Liangzhou.

They also brought back two pieces of excellent news for Liu Hong.

Duan Yu did not die, but was seriously injured.

In addition, Liangzhou had a bumper harvest this year, and Duan Yu sent 70,000 shi of grain and nearly 200 million coins from Liangzhou.

This doesn't even include the silk and treasures.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Hong beamed with joy.

He immediately rewarded the eunuch Zuo Feng with the promotion to the rank of Zhong Changshi.

Furthermore, Duan Yu was given a special order.

Liu Hong specially ordered Duan Yu to thoroughly investigate the mastermind behind Duan Yu's murder.

If what Duan Yu said is true, then kill without mercy!