The most arrogant in history

Chapter 343 tasted the sweetness.

Ye Kun chuckled: "Anytime is fine. It's easy for me to deal with Xiahou Chang now."

Yan Ju obviously didn't believe it, and said with a smile: "Then the King of Hanzhong should go and fight Xiahou Chang now. As long as Chang'an and Luoyang are taken, all of us in Jiangdong will surrender. I will never break my promise!"

"Mr. Yan, why do you always think you are so smart and treat me like a fool? You want to instigate me to attack Xiahou Chang so that you can fish in troubled waters, right?"

Ye Kun didn't give any face and said angrily:

"Xiahou Chang is cruel and merciless. He massacred the city and killed the surrendered. He deserves to die. I will definitely kill him. However, it is not Jiangdong's turn to tell me when to attack Xiahou Chang. I just hope that Jiangdong will behave itself when I attack Xiahou Chang. Otherwise, Xiao Dequan and Xiahou Chang will suffer the same fate!"

Yan Ju was humiliated and said angrily, "Since we are not on the same page, I will leave now."

Ye Kun waved his hand: "No need to see you off!"

After Yan Ju left, Zhuge Feng sighed.

Ye Kun asked: "Why is Mr. Zhuge sighing?"

Zhuge Feng smiled bitterly and said, "My lord, you shouldn't have scolded Yan Ju just now. After he goes back, he will definitely persuade Xiao Dequan to get close to Xiahou Chang, and then join forces to deal with us."

"They have been working together, and I have never been afraid of them. I received a report from the arsenal last night, and they have manufactured another 700 muskets and several hundred small cannons."

Ye Kun chuckled: "From the map, we actually control less area than Xiahou Chang, and our population is even smaller, so you think we are not as strong as Xiahou Chang. But if we really fight, our combat effectiveness can already suppress Xiahou Chang! Even if Xiahou Chang joins forces with Jiangdong, I can still win."

The current Yizhou army is one or two generations ahead of Xiahou Chang in terms of armor and horse equipment, swords, spears, bows and arrows, and communication and reconnaissance methods.

What's more, there are guns and gunpowder.

When it comes to fighting, Ye Kun is not afraid at all.

He just felt sympathy for the people and didn't want to cause large-scale casualties, so Ye Kun wanted to wait.

Guan Yafu frowned and said, "Can Yizhou's financial and civilian resources keep up with the production of such a large number of guns and cannons?"

In this era, the value of a fully armored cavalryman is equivalent to the entire value of a family of four.

The value of a musket is equivalent to that of two fully armored cavalrymen!

Ye Kun smiled and said, "With the expansion of iron ore mining, the cost of guns and artillery will also decrease. As for the people's manpower, you don't have to worry. The lives of ordinary people are already very different from before."

Guan Yafu nodded slightly and said:

"We have built a large number of ships, manufactured muskets and cannons, smelted iron and steel, opened mines and roads, and opened schools. The cost is too huge. I suggest that in the next three years, we should not fight any more wars. The most important thing is to stabilize Yizhou and the four counties in Hexi. It should also give the people some time to recuperate."

Ye Kun thought about it and nodded, "I will listen to you on this point. If there are no unexpected circumstances, we will not fight for the time being."

Whether to fight or not is determined by the situation, and Ye Kun may not be able to make the decision.

But Guan Yafu said that Ye Kun should also give him face.

After lunch, Lao He, Wu Qiong, and Qin Chou, along with the person in charge and the master chef of the sugar refinery, came to ask for a meeting.

He also brought 100 kilograms of brown sugar.

After several years of vigorous promotion of sugarcane, we finally had a bumper harvest this year. The sugar refinery also expanded its scale. Under the guidance of Ye Kun and the research of the master chef, we successfully produced brown sugar!

Ye Kun looked at the brown sugar and felt happy.

This is an important strategic material and also a powerful weapon for attracting foreign money!

Qin Chou reported: "This year, we have expanded the sugarcane planting to 700,000 mu, and basically achieved a good harvest. Now all counties and prefectures are stepping up the collection and purchasing. In Chongqing, Chengdu, Hanzhong, Lu and other places, we have built more than a dozen sugar refineries, and they have all started production. This is the first batch of brown sugar..."

The master chef of the sugar refinery reported: "According to experiments, each mu of land can produce 1500 kilograms of sugarcane, which can be refined into about kilograms of brown sugar."

Wu Qiong said: "I just don't know if this brown sugar is easy to sell."

"Hahaha……"

Ye Kun laughed and said to Wu Qiong, "Master Wu is very good at accounting, but he is not very proficient in business. I am not worried about not being able to sell this brown sugar, but I am worried that there will not be enough to sell!"

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "It's not on the market yet, Lord Ye, are you sure that this thing will sell well?"

"affim."

Ye Kun nodded and asked the sugar refinery: "How much brown sugar has been produced now?"

"About a thousand pounds."

"Very good, bring them all to me."

Ye Kun instructed Tan Bamao: "Notify all officials in Chengdu and the generals stationed outside the city to come to the palace for a meeting tomorrow morning. Notify the elders and village heads in and outside Chengdu to come to the palace for a meeting in the afternoon. Notify merchants from all over Chengdu to hold a meeting in the lobby of the post house in the evening."

Every time a new product is released, Ye Kun will make a big fanfare and do strong publicity.

The next morning, all the officials from Chengdu, big and small, came to the Hanzhong Palace for a meeting.

Ye Kun asked his men to bring out a glass bottle filled with brown sugar that looked like fine sand.

There was also a jar of lump sugar.

"My Lords, after several years of promoting sugarcane planting and research, we have finally produced cane sugar and brown sugar in Yizhou. This is the credit of Lord Qin Chou and the technical research department, and also the full support and cooperation of all of you Lords!"

Ye Kun smiled proudly and said, "The brown sugar from Yizhou will be as important as Shu brocade, porcelain, and iron pots in the future. It will bring us huge wealth!"

The officials were very curious and asked, "My Lord, what is the use of this red sugar?"

"The function is to be edible and delicious!"

Ye Kun laughed loudly and asked the maid to make some brown sugar water on the spot, giving each person a bowl to try!

The sweet taste spread from the tip of the tongue, refreshing every pore. More than a hundred officials and generals present praised it highly: "It's so sweet, sweeter than honey!"

"Master Ye is amazing, he can do everything!"

There was a lot of praise and flattery at the scene.

Ye Kun waved his hand and popularized some knowledge about brown sugar on the spot:

"Brown sugar is very good for pregnant women and the elderly. You can drink it with boiled water, make sugar-water eggs, and make sweet and sour dishes... But don't eat too much. Eating too much can cause diabetes, also known as thirst."

The officials laughed and said, "Red sugar is so precious, who can afford to eat so much?"

"One mu of sugarcane can produce 100 kilograms of brown sugar, which is not expensive. But when we sell it, it will definitely be more expensive, just compare it with refined rice. 20 kilograms of refined rice can be exchanged for one kilogram of brown sugar!"

Ye Kun was decisive in his actions and ordered his servants:

"Give each of the adults a small jar of brown sugar, which can hold one pound of sugar. Let them take it back and give it to their parents, wives, and children, so that they can all taste the brown sugar water."

The officials thanked in unison, their brows lit with joy.

Ye Kun waved his hands and said with a smile: "Don't thank me, I am just playing the long game. Take the brown sugar back with you. Once your wife and children have tasted its sweetness, they will come to buy brown sugar!"

Everyone laughed: "King of Hanzhong is telling the truth!"