Chapter 27: All's Well That Ends Well

  Gongsun Zan's territory was adjacent to the sea, but unlike Zhang Xu's salt fields, which produced salt at a lower cost, Gongsun Zan's territory produced sea salt, but in this era, sea salt was still made by boiling method, so although sea salt was also cheap, its cost was still quite high, and sea salt was not good, with too many impurities.

  In addition, many civil officials under Gongsun Zan have defected recently, so the salt production in Haixi has also been gradually abandoned. The demand for salt is still very large, and what Sun Lin showed him was this snow-white refined salt, which is even more urgently needed by Gongsun Zan, because during military battles, the need for salt is extremely great, without salt to eat, there will be no strength. Therefore, after seeing such salt, Gongsun Zan's gaze changed instantly!

  "Mr. Sun doesn't know how many such salt types there are, this thing is also of great importance to our side!"

  Gongsun Zan is not a qualified businessman or master, but he is a qualified general, so it directly expresses the demand for this thing!

  "What price is the general willing to pay for the exchange?"

  Sun Lin smiled and said that he was in charge of the commercial team's affairs, so if there were things beneficial to business, he could also make decisions directly.

  "Salt is a fundamental need for humans, and if my troops are to maintain their combat effectiveness, salt is essential. In the past, impure salt has caused great harm to humans, but looking at this salt of yours, isn't it the famous refined salt that's often circulated in Jizhou?"

  Gongsun Zan, being in wealthy Hebei, also had his scouts and thus knew that this was refined salt, which was priced differently from ordinary salt. After a moment of silence, he said: "I don't know if it's possible to exchange two stones of refined salt for one war horse? Please don't refuse hastily, sir. I can guarantee that this war horse is an excellent breed from outside the passes, not like ordinary war horses. If it weren't for this war horse's coat color being disliked by my family, we wouldn't have exchanged it out!"

  Gongsun Zan's title of White Horse General was not in vain, for he loved white horses the most. His territory had many warhorses, so his elite cavalrymen all rode white horses, which is why they were known as the awe-inspiring White Horse Vanguard. As for other cavalrymen, they mostly rode horses of mixed colors. During his numerous wars against external enemies, he annihilated countless tribes and naturally obtained excellent warhorses from the grasslands, which he kept without exchanging them. This time, seeing this fine salt, Gongsun Zan's mental balance was tilted in favor of his son!

  Although he didn't have much grain, his warhorse was his capital. The value of refined salt was extremely high, and this he understood very clearly. After all, ordinary rough salt was worth ten times as much as grain, and this type of salt could be worth ten or even dozens of times more than other types of salt. Therefore, exchanging one stone of refined salt for a warhorse wasn't excessive at all. Now he wanted to exchange two stones of refined salt for a warhorse, which would naturally require him to put out his capital - that is, the excellent warhorses of the grasslands!

  "Zhonglang General has been fighting against the alien tribe alone, and my master is also extremely impressed. This matter is of great importance, but if Gong Sun General can get a good deal in exchange, I can make the decision to trade, and I'm sure my master won't blame me!"

  Sun Lin did not rush to exchange, although refined salt was only an additional procedure for his own immortal master, and the cost was extremely cheap. However, after doing business for many years, he naturally had to prioritize the interests of a businessman!

  "How much can be exchanged?"

  Gongsun Zan hastily said.

  "No more than five hundred horses!"

  Sun Lin opened his fingers and said, "Five hundred war horses are equivalent to one thousand stones of experience. Calculated according to today's standards, that is more than 60,000 catties. The quantity is also extremely astonishing. According to the standards of people in this era, it is enough for one million people to use for a year!"

  However, the army was not enough, at most it could only accommodate 10,000 people. Gong Sunzhan was overjoyed at first, surprised and delighted that Sun Lin had taken out so much refined salt. But then his face changed slightly, saying: "The great army of our family is in dire need of this refined salt, please report to your master, if you are willing to exchange more, I will be eternally grateful!"

  "General Zhonglang's intention is clear, I will definitely report it!"

  Sun Lin smiled and said.

  And when the intelligence was sent back, it was already ten days later. The first batch of transactions with Gongsun Zan, 10,000 war horses and 4.5 million stones of grain, were also transported by sea, mobilizing nearly 2,000 people from fishing villages. It can be said that the scale of this transportation is simply enormous.

  If it weren't for this sea route having been thoroughly explored, Zhang Xu wouldn't have dared to agree to transport such a large amount of supplies. After all, in this era, although he ordered craftsmen to study shipbuilding technology with all their might, it was still extremely difficult and without a guaranteed safe sea route, they absolutely wouldn't dare attempt transportation on such a scale.

  However, the result of the transportation was extremely satisfactory, with safe arrival, and out of 10,000 war horses, except for hundreds of deaths, the rest were very healthy except for some fatigue, which made Zhang Xu very satisfied!

  When he learned that refined salt could be exchanged for fine war horses, after considering it in his heart, he also decided to exchange for three thousand war horses. If there were more, on the one hand, there was no such large land to settle, and on the other hand, he couldn't let Gongsun Zan become too powerful!

  The role of refined salt is self-evident. Without salt, people have no energy, and such refined salt is a treasure for the army.

  If Gongsun Zan had sufficient food and fine salt for his troops, it would be hard to say whether Yuan Shao could have defeated him. After all, what he lacked were these basic guarantees, but his ability to lead the army in battle was extremely strong, often using weakness to overcome strength. If not for the Battle of Jie Bridge, when the civil officials under him rebelled and cut off his grain supply, and the army had no salt to eat, Baima Yi would not have suffered a great defeat!

  After all, Gongsun Zan was a man who could defeat hundreds of Wuhuan cavalrymen with just dozens of his own riders!

  So in order to be on the safe side, let Gongsun Zan thoroughly do his part, Zhang Xu had made up his mind to support him, in exchange for excellent war horses, but also could not let him become too powerful!

  Besides, with 30,000 war horses added to the previous ones, the remaining land in Chang County can only support 50,000 war horses. He also wants to raise cattle, sheep and pigs to prepare for taking down the entire Donglai Commandery, so the number of war horses cannot be too many!

  Gongsun Zan, upon learning of the news, although somewhat regretful, was able to obtain six thousand stones of precious fine salt, plus over thirteen million stones of grain, which was enough for him to support his five thousand cavalrymen and also recruit a large number of infantrymen. With his army well-fed and strong, he would then be ready to launch another attack on Yuan Shao!

  Gongsun Zan, overjoyed in his heart, was full of energy and enthusiasm, shaking off the depression of his previous consecutive defeats. He naturally agreed to Sun Lin's request for trade in his territory with a wave of his hand. As a result, large quantities of goods from Zhang Xu's territory could be sold to Youzhou, exchanging for a lot of money!