Chapter 85: The Foundation of Establishing Oneself in the World

The two of them were travel-worn, yet they could not hide the excitement on Du Biao's face.

"Brother Liu!"

As soon as Du Biao dismounted, he burst into laughter and rushed over, showing great affection.

Liu Zheng also exchanged warm greetings; having not seen each other for nearly half a month, there was a bit more affection in the way Zheng Yue Ru looked at Liu Zheng.

He had originally intended to arrange for Du Biao to rest and have a drink first, but Du Biao could not hold back, whispering, "Brother Liu, don't keep me in suspense! What Miss Zheng said... is it true?"

Du Biao's excitement was within Liu Zheng's expectations.

What was the Baiya Army? They were what others called a bandit army, and Liu Zheng never worried that they wouldn't be interested in Refined Salt... he only feared they wouldn't have enough!

Liu Zheng chuckled, "Brother Du, when have I, Liu Zheng, ever boasted? Since that's the case, let's go take a look at my Yintan City!"

"Yintan City?"

Du Biao smiled slightly, unimpressed, assuming it was just some toy a young man had tinkered with. Little did he know, the moment he arrived, he was stunned by the scene before him.

"My god..."

A vast expanse, all under construction. Looking at that stretch of Yintan, it was far more than just a city! At this time, the structural frames of most buildings had already been erected; the various workshops and the dormitories for the workers had all taken shape. Not only that, due to the unique nature of Yintan City, Liu Zheng had also equipped it with various sentry posts and defensive fortifications. Thus, as the three of them stood on a hill looking down at Yintan, it was clearly a sturdy and massive city under construction!

"My god..."

Du Biao was shocked, looking at Liu Zheng in disbelief: "Brother Liu, this, this, this is..."

"Brother Du, please, this way!"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily and, without wasting words, led Du Biao into his Yintan City. When the soldiers saw Du Biao, their faces were fierce, which gave Du Biao, a big shot who had walked the world of martial arts, a start. Only when they saw Liu Zheng did they put away their killing intent and offer a greeting.

Then, Liu Zheng took Du Biao to tour the collection workshop, the salt-drying fields, the washing workshop, and the processing workshop. Every place was guarded by strict soldiers, and the craftsmen working there had clear divisions of labor and strict discipline, each with their own responsibilities, without the slightest chaos.

This surprised Du Biao once more, and he re-evaluated this Brother Liu in his heart.

It was said that the Baiya Army had a developed economy, but only after arriving at Liu Zheng's territory did he realize what true commerce, true manufacturing, and true workshops were! He even felt a bit of resentment now that the Baiya Army's intelligence system had only described Liu Zheng as a talented man of a wealthy family.

Not enough!

Nowhere near enough!

The very idea of Liu Zheng's salt production alone was nowhere near enough!

Throughout the journey, Du Biao was so shocked he forgot to breathe. After seeing the salt-making workshops, the salt-making techniques, and the finished products that had already been produced, he still could not recover from the shock.

Consequently, he did not even know how he had ended up sitting in Liu Zheng's lounge.

Liu Zheng and Zheng Yue Ru exchanged a look and smiled at Du Biao: "Brother Du, how is the output?"

Du Biao stammered: "Enough, enough, absolutely enough!"

Currently, because there were few craftsmen, the output was indeed insufficient. But once it entered the right track, the production of Refined Salt in Yintan City would be absolutely unimaginable.

Of course, the craftsmen...

This was also a headache for Liu Zheng. The disadvantage of insufficient population was highlighted once again. Conservatively estimated, the workers needed for this Yintan City were at least thirty to fifty thousand! Where was Liu Zheng to find them? Furthermore, if he really had those thirty to fifty thousand able-bodied men, wouldn't it be better to conscript them? Thus, Liu Zheng was currently extremely conflicted.

Therefore.

When others were dismissive of the topic of "the foundation of establishing oneself in the world," Liu Zheng took it very seriously.

How to establish oneself in the world?

Commerce, or military strength?

If a conflict arose between the two, how should one choose?

The three sat together, looking at one another.

Du Biao didn't speak, Liu Zheng didn't speak, and as for Zheng Yue Ru, she rarely interjected in commercial matters when Liu Zheng was present.

Finally, Du Biao could no longer hold back and laughed heartily: "Brother Liu, no more nonsense! Whatever amount of Refined Salt your Yintan produces, my Baiya Army will take it all!"

Liu Zheng raised an eyebrow, but remained calm, chuckling.

Du Biao cursed this little fox in his heart, but his face remained enthusiastic as he laughed: "For one hundred sheng of Refined Salt, the Baiya Army can offer one tael of silver!"

Liu Zheng and Zheng Yue Ru exchanged a look, both of their eyes brightening.

One tael of silver? This price was already quite high! One must know that in ancient times, salt and iron were state-controlled commodities, and even strategic national materials! In the Longyan Dynasty, salt was supplied in limited quantities every month; for every person, the amount of salt consumed was less than five sheng for a man, less than three sheng for a woman, and less than two sheng for an infant per month.

The "sheng" here was, of course, not the 1000 milliliters of later generations. In ancient times, ten he made one sheng, and one sheng was about two hundred milliliters. Therefore, the one hundred sheng Du Biao mentioned was actually twenty-five jin. In the prosperous period of the Great Tang, the same amount of salt could be exchanged for one hundred times the amount of grain! One can imagine how precious salt was in ancient times. Some have roughly calculated that in ancient times, the price of one jin of salt was equivalent to thirty yuan in later generations!

And one tael of silver was six hundred yuan in later generations.

So, twenty-five jin should actually be seven hundred and fifty taels!

But...

This was the retail price!

And what Du Biao was offering now was the wholesale price! This one tael of silver was already a very high price, after all, Liu Zheng did not need to consider any subsequent costs.

Liu Zheng was just about to speak.

Who would have thought Du Biao would laugh heartily again: "Additionally, Brother Liu, my Baiya Army can also be responsible for transporting this Refined Salt back!"

"Ah?"

Now, Liu Zheng and Zheng Yue Ru were even more surprised; this was an additional transportation cost. Business is business; for Du Biao to consider this, he must have his own demands.

Liu Zheng looked over, puzzled.

Sure enough, Du Biao took a large gulp of wine before saying boldly: "Brother Liu, to tell you the truth, there have been many frictions between the Baiya Army and the Xiongnu recently... The Xiongnu cavalry is no weaker than our Liangzhou Cavalry... I heard from Miss Zheng that Brother Liu has a type of unit and weapon that can restrain cavalry, so... of course, my Baiya Army will not be stingy with our War Horses..."

Boom!

Du Biao's words made Liu Zheng stand up abruptly, his face full of excitement.

This startled both Du Biao and Zheng Yue Ru, who did not understand why.

Liu Zheng shouted: "Hahaha, I understand, I understand!"

He hurriedly told Zheng Yue Ru that everything was fine and to leave the discussion with Du Biao to her, as he needed to return to the city.

How to establish oneself in the world?

How to establish oneself in the world!

He finally figured it out!

The thing he had been racking his brains over, yet could not grasp, had been pointed out by Du Biao in an instant!

How was Yinzhou to establish itself?

This sounded like a massive problem, but in reality? It was very simple. How to stand firm in this coming chaotic era by relying on one's own advantages!

Therefore, this advantage was not some policy, nor was it some empty issue like governing the state or loving the people.

He needed something he could truly rely on to establish himself, something that, at the very least, would not be interfered with by others during a chaotic era!

If so, why not use the Baiya Army as a reference? The Baiya Army—everyone called them a bandit army! But how did the Baiya Army develop and grow strong? War Horses! The Baiya Army possessed the Longyan Dynasty's strongest production base for War Horses, the strongest horse ranch!

That was enough!

Who in the world wouldn't want to protect the Baiya Army, and who wouldn't want to do business with the Baiya Army? Who wouldn't want to buy fine War Horses from them?

This was equivalent to the United States during World War II!

How did they manage to make a fortune from war? First, they declared neutrality, and then they sold advanced Weaponry and Equipment, making a fortune. Who would go and provoke an arms dealer? There was no need, and it did not conform to maximizing profits.

The same logic applied.

The reason the Baiya Army was able to develop and grow in Liangzhou, and why no one wanted to see them destroyed, was very simple. They were very satisfied with the Baiya Army's supply of War Horses. Once the Baiya Army was destroyed, whoever the horse ranch fell into the hands of might not be able to guarantee the same quotas and prices they had previously received.

Then why not protect them together?

Therefore, the current Liangzhou was the same; to survive in a chaotic era, one needed a true advantage of one's own. After thinking it over, Liu Zheng could not think of any advantage Yinzhou had. Soap? Perfume? Don't be ridiculous; once war broke out, these would be nothing but trash. Refined Salt? What kind of advantage could such smuggled goods be considered?

Now he understood!

A rough outline had already formed in his heart.

He hurried to Fengming Tower, no longer going to his private room, but instead staring with burning eyes at the woman sitting on the couch in Fengming Pavilion, who was speaking eloquently and had just scolded several scholars until they were drenched in shame and fled in tears.

"Ah!"

Hu Xi'er was startled by Liu Zheng, who had suddenly rushed in front of her.

"Young Master, Young Master, please do not resort to violence!"

"We are all scholars!"

Hu Xi'er took a sip of wine to bolster her courage and said tremblingly.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "I am Liu Zheng."

Hu Xi'er looked confused. Did all the people of Yinzhou like to get straight to the point and introduce themselves directly? She also put on an act, stood up, and cupped her hands: "Greetings, Young Master Liu, this humble one is Hu Xi'er... wh-what, who did you say you were?"

The next moment, she stared at Liu Zheng in a daze.

The shopkeeper laughed heartily: "Miss Hu, this is my Young Master, Liu Zheng, son of the State Marquis, the Yinyang Prefecture Magistrate!"

Hu Xi'er looked at Liu Zheng curiously and tilted her head: "You are that Liu Zheng who said 'all writing is for the sake of rice and grain'?"

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile; was this meme never going to go away?

"It is indeed I!"

Hu Xi'er examined Liu Zheng carefully once more, then let out a cold snort, grabbed two bottles of wine from the table, and fled quickly.

"I'm not playing with you!"

"Hey!"

The shopkeeper was anxious.

Liu Zheng waved his hand with an indifferent smile, mounted his horse, and slowly followed behind Hu Xi'er.

No matter who was behind this young girl, he would not let her go this time!

"You, you, you, why are you following me!"

Hu Xi'er, on her date-red horse, was startled when she saw Liu Zheng.

"Seeing you home!"

Liu Zheng said.

"Ah!"

Hu Xi'er was so embarrassed she nearly fell off her horse.

How could this person be like this?

Was this the kind of thing to say in this situation?

There were so many people watching!