Chapter 1246

Of course, it could not be said to be occupied.

Because it was ordered by the imperial court.

The imperial court ordered that Duan Yu be allowed to mine salt in the salt lake.

And who in the world today does not know that the expensive snow salt comes from Duan Yu's hands.

Duan Yu used the salt mined from the salt lake, then processed it into snow salt, and sold it to various commanderies to earn huge profits.

Two years ago, when Dong Zhuo served as the Governor of Hedong Commandery, this matter had already begun.

Without a doubt, the behavior of Dong Zhuo and Duan Yu harmed the interests of the local great families.

The noble families and powerful clans of the entire Hedong Commandery, whether they were pure-stream, noble families, or powerful clans, all profited from this salt lake to a greater or lesser extent.

As the saying goes, rely on the mountain to eat from the mountain, rely on the water to eat from the water.

Especially noble families like the Wei clan, almost no one held official positions in the imperial court, and the sources of money and grain were fewer than those of other noble families and powerful clans.

Noble families held official positions and could accumulate money and grain.

And powerful clans occupied farmland.

The Wei clan, as a pure-stream family, naturally disdained and would not do such things that damaged their reputation.

So the salt produced by the salt lake accounted for a large part of the Wei clan's income.

It was precisely because of this that when Dong Zhuo was privately mining salt, it touched the interests of the noble families and powerful clans of Hedong Commandery.

Of course, this included not only Hedong Commandery but also Hongnong Commandery, which was adjacent to Hedong Commandery.

And the Wei clan, as the top pure-stream family in Anyi County, naturally had to take the lead in this matter after many voices of dissatisfaction emerged.

So there was the matter of making things difficult for Dong Zhuo.

Originally, the noble families of Hedong Commandery and the Wei clan thought that Dong Zhuo would yield.

But they did not expect that Dong Zhuo would not take the noble families of Hedong Commandery seriously at all.

And he used strong-arm tactics, sending troops to station directly at the salt lake.

This caused the noble families of Hedong Commandery who were privately mining salt to have their roots cut off.

Later, Dong Zhuo was transferred to Luoyang, became the Sili Colonel, and was also involved in the Jade Pill case.

Wei Ban, in order to avenge Dong Zhuo's behavior in Hedong Commandery, led to Duan Yu killing Wei Ban.

Wei Ban was Wei Xun's uncle and also one of the few people from the Wei clan who held office in Luoyang.

At the beginning of the year, after Duan Yu took over the salt fields, he directly cut off all private mining activities.

Except for Duan Yu, no one was allowed to touch the salt lake.

But compared to Dong Zhuo, this time everyone dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Not to mention Wei Ban's previous warning, Duan Yu's own methods were there.

And this place was extremely close to Liangzhou; as long as Duan Yu was willing, he could arrive in an instant.

Private mining and private trafficking were not allowed by the imperial court's laws, but such things were tacitly understood. However, if Duan Yu really used this matter to speak, everyone would find it difficult to escape punishment.

After all, that person was named Duan Yu.

The most powerful warrior in the Great Han.

The carriage Wei Xun was riding in turned out of the alley where the Wei Mansion was located and arrived at the main street of Anyi County.

Subsequently, it traveled along the main street and arrived in front of a three-story wine shop near the center of the city, where the carriage stopped.

The waiter in front of the wine shop saw the carriage and immediately greeted it with a smile, then took a small stool and placed it at the position where the carriage was to be alighted.

After Wei Xun got off the carriage, he followed the waiter's guidance all the way to the second floor of the wine shop.

At this moment, there were not many people on the second floor of the wine shop.

There were only four or five tables.

After seeing Wei Xun arrive, they all bowed and saluted Wei Xun one after another.

"Good morning, Young Master Wei."

"Young Master Wei."

"Brother Zhongdao is here!"

Wei Xun greeted them one by one.

A young man stood up at a position near the window on the second floor and waved at Wei Xun.

"Brother Zhongdao, here." Fan Xian waved at Wei Xun.

Wei Xun nodded slightly and then greeted him.

After sitting down, wine and dishes were served on the dining table one by one.

The Wei clan of Anyi, Hedong, and the Fan clan were equally famous.

It was just that the Fan clan was a noble family of officials, while the Wei clan was a pure-stream family.

"Brother Zhongdao, congratulations."

After Wei Xun sat down, Fan Xian smiled and bowed to Wei Xun: "I have heard about your engagement to the daughter of Cai Gong."

"Cai Gong is a great Confucian of the present age, and his flying white calligraphy is absolutely wonderful and admired by the world. Brother Zhongdao's calligraphy is also transcendent and vulgar. With Cai Gong's guidance, you will surely achieve great things in the future."

"And I also heard that Cai Gong's two daughters are both beautiful and talented. Brother Zhongdao truly has good fortune."

"When Brother Zhongdao gets married, I will definitely come to the door to ask for a cup of wedding wine and share in Brother Zhongdao's good fortune."

Wei Xun just smiled modestly.

Just as the two were talking, a series of hurried horse hoofbeats suddenly sounded on the long street in the distance.

It also happened that the two were sitting by the window, so they heard it most clearly.

Following the direction of the hoofbeats, both of them looked over.

They saw a cavalry team of dozens of people galloping rapidly on the long street.

The people on horseback were wearing armor, and the warhorses beneath them were tall and strong; one could tell at a glance that they were top-quality Liangzhou warhorses.

In this Anyi County, there was no need to say where so many cavalrymen and top-quality warhorses came from.

When the two saw the people on horseback clearly, their expressions were different.

Wei Xun was a little better, just frowning slightly.

But Fan Xian, sitting opposite, showed an angry and disdainful expression on his face.

"I was wondering who it was, so it's this group of brutes."

Fan Xian said with a disdainful tone: "Galloping in the city in broad daylight, only this group of brutes would do such a thing."

"I heard that both of them were just farmers in the village before, and now they are so arrogant."

Wei Xun frowned slightly as he looked at the numerous Liangzhou elite cavalry galloping past below and said softly: "I fear it must be some urgent matter."

Fan Xian, sitting opposite Wei Xun, felt his eyebrows jump suddenly upon hearing this.

"Urgent matter?"

Fan Xian rubbed his chin, then nodded slightly, and then called the attendant standing not far behind him.

"You follow them and see, see what this group of brutes is doing."

After receiving Fan Xian's order, the attendant immediately responded and walked toward the downstairs of the wine shop.

Wei Xun, sitting opposite Fan Xian, wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth slightly, he still didn't make a sound.

Outside Anyi city, hundreds of cavalrymen galloped rapidly toward the direction of Caoyang Pavilion.

After the beginning of the year, Duan Yu dispatched Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu to sit in Anyi, totaling two thousand troops.

Among them were one thousand cavalrymen and one thousand infantrymen.

Besides that, there were a large number of civilian laborers.

The salt mined from the salt lake had to be transported to Jinyang, then processed in Jinyang, and then transported from the direction of Bingzhou to Jizhou and Youzhou.

And a portion went through the Sili Colonel's Department, sent to Luoyang, Hanzhong, Yizhou, and Jingzhou.

Of these two thousand troops, the vast majority were stationed near the salt lake.

To guard against private mining by noble families and powerful clans in Hedong and Hongnong.

So the troops that Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu could mobilize were limited, only five or six hundred cavalrymen.

Approaching dusk, the setting sun slanted down, and the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the waves of the Yellow River, making the already turbid water surface flash with a touch of golden light.

And Caoyang Pavilion was located on the north bank of the Yellow River, situated on the only way from Guanzhong to Luoyang, and was an important place connecting Chang'an and the Central Plains.

Although Caoyang Pavilion was named a pavilion, there was a pass at its location.

It was just that the pass here had been abandoned for many years. ===== CHAPTER 1248 =====