The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 659 The Army Cannot Engage in Business

Merchants are driven by profit. No matter if it's heaven or hell, a mountain of knives or a sea of ​​fire, wherever there is profit, there will be merchants.

Therefore, the Jiangdong merchants who received the task did not hesitate and immediately sent people to Xuzhou to contact their clients, arrange the time and place for the handover of goods, and prepare to smuggle them to Cao Wei by sea.

The Wei army checkpoints on the border only stopped goods, not people. If you were just going to visit relatives alone, the Wei army would not stop you, but they would search you to prevent you from bringing letters that you shouldn't have. So it was still possible to send someone over to deliver a message verbally and arrange a time and place.

Zhang Xiu currently mainly deals in cloth and tea, and his biggest customer is the Chen family of Xiapi, which is the family of Chen Deng, the most prestigious family in Xuzhou.

Xuzhou was once one of the most prosperous provinces in the land, but it was repeatedly ravaged by Liu Bei and Lü Bu, and then slaughtered several times by Cao Cao. The power of the gentry was greatly diminished. However, the Chen family was an exception. Chen Deng and his son betrayed Liu Bei and then Lü Bu. In the chaos of that year, they not only did not suffer losses, but rose against the tide. Now they have far surpassed other families in Xuzhou and have become the undisputed number one gentry family in Xuzhou.

Zhang Xiu's ancestral home was Pengcheng, and his ancestors were related to the Chen family, which naturally made it easier for him to discuss business.

Nevertheless, Zhang Xiu still dared not neglect this biggest benefactor. He sent someone to contact the Chen family, arranged a time and place with them, and then immediately found Zhou Xun to ask him to personally lead the fleet to escort him.

Anyone else would not dare to trouble Zhou Xun, the naval commander, but Zhang Xiu was in the cloth business, and all his goods were purchased from Sun Luban's textile factory, with the final payment still outstanding. Would Zhou Xun dare not provide escort?

That noon, Zhang Xiu sailed his cargo-laden warship to the naval base, where he met with Zhou Xun and immediately led his troops north.

During the journey, Zhang Xiu handed the merchant ship over to the steward, while he climbed onto Zhou Xun's flagship. Standing beside Zhou Xun, he flipped through "The Legend of the White Snake" and said, "This book is indeed very interesting, but why would Marquis Shence send this thing to Cao Wei? I don't understand."

He received two large boxes of books from Wang Fu. In addition to delivering the goods, he also had to send the books to Cao Wei, but he couldn't quite figure out why.

Zhou Xun laughed and said, "Let me ask you, how did Xu Shilin, the son of the White Snake Lady in the book, rescue his mother from Leifeng Pagoda?"

Zhang Xiu instinctively replied, "To become the top scholar in the imperial examination!"

Zhou Xun spread his hands and said, "That settles it. Did the Han Dynasty have the imperial examination system? Did the Cao Wei Dynasty have the imperial examination system?"

Seeing Zhang Xiu shake his head, Zhou Xun continued, "It was precisely because of the imperial examination that Xu Shilin had the hope of leaping over the dragon gate and soaring to the top. If there were no imperial examination and officials were selected through the filial piety and incorruptibility system like the Han Dynasty is now, do you think Xu Shilin, with his background as a medicine merchant, would have had the opportunity to enter the court and meet the emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu slapped his forehead and said as if suddenly enlightened, "I understand now. Xu Shilin's father, Xu Xian, was a merchant who prescribed medicine, and his uncle, who raised him, was just a minor official in the county government. According to the current official selection system of the Han Dynasty, he had no hope of being recommended as a filial and incorruptible official in his lifetime. Even if he were lucky enough to be recommended, he would at most become a county magistrate. He would have no chance of going to the capital to meet the emperor, and naturally, he would not have the power to order Fahai to release him. But the imperial examination is different. The imperial examination gave Xu Shilin a chance to rise to the top, instantly flying from a poor family in the countryside to the city to meet the emperor."

"Marquis Shence is smuggling in his own agenda, but why would he do that? Is he planning to promote the imperial examination system in the Han Dynasty?"

Zhou Xun shook his head and said, "Not for now. At present, we just want to use the imperial examination to impact the Cao Wei officialdom and intensify the conflict between the gentry and the commoners. Don't forget that not long ago, Cao Pi passed Chen Qun's Nine-Rank System, which allowed the gentry to completely control the officialdom. The Nine-Rank System already aroused the dissatisfaction of the commoners. Now that the imperial examination system has suddenly appeared, do you think the commoners will do something?"

Zhang Xiu replied, "They would definitely suggest to Cao Wei to establish the imperial examination system, but the aristocratic families would certainly not agree. The commoners don't have the strength to challenge the aristocratic families, so they can only maintain the status quo. However, the fact that the commoners don't have the strength to challenge the aristocratic families doesn't mean that they don't have resentment. Over time, the commoners will become disloyal to Cao Wei. This is a divisive tactic. It's not about sowing discord between one person, but between the entire aristocratic family and the commoners."

Zhou Xun shook his head and said, "More than that. In the short term, it is indeed to sow discord between Cao Wei and Cao Cao. In the long term, it is to pave the way for the imperial examination system. When His Majesty succeeds in the Northern Expedition, the imperial examination system will probably have taken hold in the Central Plains. At that time, His Majesty can take advantage of the support of commoners and smoothly implement the imperial examination system. Marquis Shence has played a grand game."

Guan Xing's vision was far-sighted, something Zhou Xun could not match.

Zhang Xiu finally understood Guan Xing's intention. While genuinely admiring him, he said with some concern, "If the imperial examination system is truly implemented, wouldn't our aristocratic families be reduced to nothing?"

Zhou Xun smiled without saying a word, his face completely indifferent. His Zhou family was now a family of generals, and whether or not he took the imperial examinations had no impact on him, so he didn't care what anyone did.

Nevertheless, he patted Zhang Xiu on the shoulder and comforted him, saying, "It's alright. Even if the imperial examination system is implemented, the aristocratic families will still have a much greater advantage than the poor families. The aristocratic families are wealthy and can allow their children to give up labor and focus on studying for the exams. The poor families do not have this option. So instead of worrying about whether the imperial examination system should be implemented, we should plan ahead and improve the education of our family's children. What do you think?"

Zhang Xiu shook his head and said, "Never mind, I can't make the decision on this. Let my father and brother handle it. But Governor Zhou, your navy has so many ships, and they must be carrying much more cargo than mine. Why don't you lend me your warships instead of making me rent a ship?"

Initially, he wanted to ask Zhou Xun to use the navy fleet to help him transport goods, which would save him the cost of renting a ship. Unfortunately, Zhou Xun did not agree, which forced him to rent another ship, and he was somewhat resentful about it.

Zhou Xun explained, "The General has already ordered that no army should engage in business. Anyone found doing so will be dismissed and severely punished. My escorting you is already a violation, and you still want me to help you transport goods?"

"Brother Zhang, don't you think about it? If the navy can transport goods, what's the point of having you merchants? With so many warships, how much cargo can the navy carry at once? I can handle the entire sea transport myself, so what's the point of having you? If we're really competing for business based on strength, do you think you can beat me?"

"So refusing to help you transport goods is for your own good, otherwise you'll lose all your business if we open that door."

Yes, who can compete with the military for business? Their transportation capacity is far greater than that of ordinary merchants. If the military really gets involved, all the merchants will lose their jobs.

Thinking of the terrible consequences, Zhang Xiu broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stepped back and bowed, saying, "Thank you for reminding me, Brother Zhou. I was being presumptuous. I apologize to you."

Zhou Xun helped him up and said with a smile, "It's mainly because of the General's wisdom. Otherwise, if the army were really allowed to get involved in business activities, the world would be in chaos, and it wouldn't just be you merchants who would suffer."

If the army controls the guns and then lets them control the purse strings, what's the difference between this and Emperor Ling's deposition of the historian and establishment of the governor? If this continues, the world will surely descend into chaos.

Neither of them spoke afterward, and they kept their eyes fixed ahead as they sailed at full speed for five or six hours. Around 9 PM, they finally arrived at the agreed-upon location with the Chen family.

Upon arriving at the destination, Zhang Xiu immediately raised a torch and circled the bow of the boat a few times. Almost as soon as the torch was raised, he saw a torch responding from several miles away. Zhang Xiu was overjoyed and said, "We've arrived at the Chen family's place."

Zhou Xun nodded and said, "I'm not in a position to get involved in what happens next. You can take the boat there yourself."