Chapter 403 Lu Gao Qi Wan
Dou Shi hurried back all the way and finally arrived in Luoyang in the early autumn. After entering the city, he immediately went to the Xingtai to meet his cousin, the King of Qi.

When Li Yuanhui heard that Dou Shi had returned, he got up and went to the gate of the government office to greet him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Jiulang"

Dou Shi was the ninth child in the family, so everyone close to him called him Jiulang.

"Thank you for welcoming me, Your Majesty. I am truly overwhelmed."

"Hahahaha, you are so polite, kid. Come in with me and tell me about Jiangdong."

"promise."

After entering the inner hall, the two men sat down to talk. Li Yuanhui also ordered people to serve wine and food, and they talked while eating.

Dou Shi told Li Yuanhui in detail all he saw and heard during his trip to the south.

"Cao Yan is older than you, Your Majesty. Although he was born in a humble family and followed his father in the army when he was young, he looks rough, but he is very opinionated and ambitious. He is not an easy person to deal with."

"Because of the rebellion against Yan and the light taxes and levies after taking office, the Caos are quite popular in Jiangdong. So I believe that if we attack Eastern Wei at this time, the people under their rule will definitely support the new emperor with all their strength. So please be cautious in your decision to use troops."

"In addition, in the Eastern Wei Kingdom, the court is currently full of old ministers. King Cao Cheng of Chu and General Miao Xianyun of the Cavalry jointly hold military power with King Cao Chi of Zhao, and are the commanders of all military forces at home and abroad. However, Cao Cheng and Miao Xianyun control more troops and horses. However, Cao Yan is already preparing to establish a new army, probably to bypass the constraints of the old ministers."

"Cao Yan also praised your great reputation and said that he wished he could drink and chat with you."

"The Jiangnan families, such as the Wujun clans Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang, were not enthusiastic about the Northern Expedition, but there were a few generals among them who hoped to achieve great things, such as the Left General Lu Gongren, who had some strategic strategies and was valued by Cao's father and son."

"Also. There is one more thing."

Dou Shi was a little hesitant and hesitant when he said this, which made Li Yuanhui feel something was wrong, and then he said: "What are your concerns, Jiulang? Just speak frankly. Don't worry too much."

Dou Shi said: "It's not a big deal. I just saw that many silk brocades in Luoyang and Chang'an were produced in Jiangnan, but I don't know how they were transported to Luoyang and Chang'an. After all, these are precious things. Will it affect the overall situation?"

Li Yuanhui smiled and nodded when he heard this. He finally understood why his cousin Dou Shi was so cautious.

After all, this matter was of great importance. It was likely to involve Li Yuanhui's most important generals from the Jianghuai faction, as well as the local nobles.

Most of these people are Li Yuanhui's die-hard supporters.

For example, the Zhang family of Guangling had two daughters married into the Qi Wang Mansion. Zhang Jian and Zhang Zhen'e were both generals under Li Yuanhui. Zhang Gonglie was appointed as the governor of Guangling, which also played a very important role in stabilizing the basic situation in the rear.

So Dou Shi was actually very worried. He felt that this matter was probably related to the Zhang family.

However, what Li Yuanhui said next was beyond his expectations.

"Jiulang, there's no need to panic. I actually know about this."

Dou Shi frowned when he heard this, "Your Majesty, do you know?"

Li Yuanhui nodded again, and then said, "Of course I know. Jiulang, you don't think I would be deceived to this extent, right?" Dou Shi was stunned for a moment, nodded, but felt something was wrong, and quickly shook his head, "Then why?"

Li Yuanhui patiently explained: "First, although the two countries are hostile, they do not have to stop communicating forever. Sooner or later, the world will be unified. There will be exchanges and trade. Such things cannot be prohibited. The textiles and tea produced in Jiangnan are the favorites of the nobles in Chang'an and Luoyang. The Central Plains is also vast and rich in resources, and there are always things that are scarce in Jiangnan."

"I know what you are worried about, Jiulang. I might as well tell you directly that the trade with Dongwei is mainly done by the Zhang family of Guangling. Naturally, I have approved of this. Not only that, the profits from it also belong to me."

"Moreover, the Zhang family used grain and salt, and even horses that were taken from the army, to exchange for silk from Jiangnan."

After hearing this, Dou Shi was stunned. The words in his mouth were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.

"Hahaha, Jiulang, are you trying to say that this is aiding the enemy?"

Dou Shi nodded, but Li Yuanhui had a smile on his face, without any expression of anger.

Then he explained: "It's not just me, your uncle also knows about this. Every year, we trade brocade with the Turks, and merchants from the Western Regions buy it at a high price. Do you think that Shu brocade alone is enough?"

"If you are a commoner, you may not be able to eat enough by growing rice, but you can sell mulberry trees for a good price. The price of rice is not high in the market. If you use the money you earn from selling rice, it will be enough for your family to have enough food. So, will you grow rice or mulberry trees?"

After hearing this question, Dou Shi immediately said, "Of course it's mulberry trees. But how can the price of rice always be low? If everyone grows mulberry trees, the price of rice will naturally go up."

At this point, Dou Shi suddenly exclaimed, "I know. Is this Lu Gao and Qi Wan's plan?"

He suddenly realized that his cousin was imitating the strategy of Guan Zhong of Qi to deal with the State of Lu.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhuang of Lu had always been dissatisfied with Duke Huan of Qi, and friction often occurred between the two countries. Duke Huan discussed with Guan Zhong how to deal with the State of Lu, and Guan Zhong came up with a clever plan. He asked Duke Huan to take the lead in wearing clothes made of white, and ordered his ministers to wear clothes made of white as well. Then the people of Qi followed suit. For a time, white clothes were worn throughout Qi.

Guan Zhong ordered the people of Qi not to weave silk. As a result, the price of silk soared. The people of Lu saw that weaving silk was profitable, so they gave up farming and started weaving silk. Every household had spinning machines ringing, and every household was busy weaving silk. Guan Zhong also sent people to post a notice: Lu merchants who sold 1,000 pieces of silk to Qi would get 300 gold coins; those who sold 10,000 pieces would get 3,000 gold coins.

This further fueled the craze for weaving silk in Lu. The Duke of Lu was delighted, thinking that weaving silk could make him rich, so he ordered the whole country to weave silk. The people of Lu were so busy weaving silk that their fields became barren.

A year passed in the blink of an eye. Guan Zhong suddenly ordered to close the borders and not allow Lu silk to enter Qi. At the same time, he ordered Duke Huan and his ministers to change to wearing clothes made of Qi silk. As a result, silk clothes became popular in Qi and no one wore silk clothes anymore. This made Lu suffer. If people make mistakes for a moment, the land will make people lose for a year.

The harvest of two seasons was lost, and the mountains of silk could not be sold. The people suddenly fell into hunger. Duke Zhuang of Lu found out that he had fallen into Guan Zhong's trap and hurriedly ordered to stop weaving silk, but it was too late. He had to send people to Qi to buy grain.

Guan Zhong raised the grain price again and again, which put Duke Zhuang of Lu in a difficult situation. As a last resort, Duke Zhuang of Lu sent an envoy to Qi to ask for help and to borrow grain. He also expressed his willingness to obey the orders of Duke Huan of Qi and never to cause trouble for Qi again.
Now Li Yuanhui does not prohibit Jiangnan's textile products from entering the markets of Chang'an and Luoyang, and at the same time allows the use of grain transactions. This will keep the grain price in Jiangnan stable, or even reduce it, while the price of textile products will rise due to demand in the north.

This will make the people feel that it is profitable, and they will stop growing grain and instead "switch rice to mulberry."

Once this happens, grain production in the south of the Yangtze River will drop sharply, and the area will become dependent on grain supplies from the north.

At present, agricultural production has been resumed in the Central Plains, and food supply has gradually returned to normal, so there is no shortage of food.

If trade could lead to a large-scale reduction in grain production in the south of the Yangtze River, the survival of the Eastern Wei would be in Li Yuanhui's hands.

(End of this chapter)