This is Lu Chuan's refined salt business.

Lu Chuan was well-versed in the minds of these merchants, so he did not waste words and immediately announced how the refined salt distribution rights would be divided.

The Zhen family secured the largest distribution rights in the north. This had been agreed upon long ago and would not change.

Although everyone present was envious, considering the immense scale of the Zhen family and the sight of Zhen Jiang throwing out a staggering one hundred and fifty million coins without a blink, they felt this arrangement was entirely justified.

Aside from the northern distribution rights, Lu Chuan assigned the distribution rights for Xuzhou's refined salt to the Mi family.

The Mi family was already based in Xuzhou, and Mi Zhu even served as an official under Tao Qian. Entrusting them with the sale of refined salt in Xuzhou would certainly encounter no resistance.

As for the fact that Xuzhou also fell within the northern region, it did not matter.

Lu Chuan had already discussed this with Zhen Jiang in advance. All northern territories except for Xuzhou belonged to the Zhen family.

Zhen Jiang also knew that one should not push things too far. If her Zhen family insisted on going to Xuzhou to snatch business from the Mi family, Tao Qian would likely take action before Mi Zhu even stood up to object.

Therefore, where concessions were necessary, one must make them.

As for the other states in the south and west, they were divided by commanderies, with each commandery serving as a sales territory. Within each sales territory, there could only be one distributor approved by Lu Chuan.

Consequently, the focus of everyone's attention next was how these territories would be divided and what they needed to do to secure the distribution territory they desired.

Regarding this, Lu Chuan was also well-prepared and introduced the first policy: the division of distribution territories would primarily adhere to the principle of proximity.

What was the principle of proximity?

It meant prioritizing one's hometown or the region where one's established sales channels were located.

Take the Mi family, for example. They wielded immense influence in Xuzhou, so the Xuzhou region naturally had to be given to them.

However, the principle of proximity could not override Lu Chuan's original plan. For instance, since the northern region had already been assigned to the Zhen family, the principle of proximity had to yield.

Of course, if a certain merchant possessed the powerful background of the Mi family, Lu Chuan would also take the initiative to make concessions.

Unfortunately, apart from the Mi family, no one present possessed such formidable clout that would compel Lu Chuan to make spontaneous concessions.

Following the principle of proximity, the second principle was: those with greater contributions shall have priority in selection.

For merchants whose hometowns or sales channels were in the north, they could not select northern territories and had to choose from the south or the west. What should happen if multiple people simultaneously set their sights on the exact same territory?

They would look at who had made a greater contribution to Lu County; whoever contributed more would have priority in selection.

How was the magnitude of a contribution judged?

By the amount of tax paid.

The introduction of these two principles minimized disputes over distribution territories to the greatest possible extent.

Although a portion of the people would fail to select the exact territories they desired, as long as they possessed a regional distribution right and used the refined salt to open up the market, it would not take long for them to establish robust distribution channels within their territories and earn ample profits.

To put it bluntly, the emergence of refined salt would inevitably exert a-dimensional strike against the crude salt market. Without requiring much operation, it would capture the vast majority of the market in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, even the merchants who failed to obtain their ideal distribution territories were beaming with radiant faces, feeling deeply grateful to Lu Chuan.

However, Lu Chuan's words were not yet finished.

He once again signaled for silence and began to state his requirements.

With something as lucrative as refined salt distribution rights, how could Lu Chuan simply hand them out to everyone without a single demand?

The first point was the acquisition of crude salt.

Lu Chuan required that all distributors were strictly prohibited from storing or selling crude salt. They had to deliver all acquired crude salt back to Lu Chuan, handing it over to him for the purification of refined salt.

Purifying refined salt required massive amounts of crude salt. As long as these merchants held no crude salt in their possession, they would be unable to refine it themselves, thereby failing to shake Lu Chuan's authority and status.

The second point was that all customers making purchases exceeding ten dan must be registered by name.

This requirement was identical to the one Lu Chuan had previously imposed on Zhen Jiang. Not only did Lu Chuan intend to master the detailed sales status of the refined salt, but he also aimed to control the sales channels of these merchants!

Although Lu Chuan had no immediate plans to tamper with their sales channels, with the ongoing development of Lu County, he would eventually establish his own distribution network. When that time came, the contents of the registry would play a monumental role.

The third point was that everyone must sign a contract guaranteeing that they would only sell refined salt within their designated distribution territories and must not encroach upon the territories of others. This was the only way to safeguard everyone's interests, preventing powerful clans from gradually annexing the distribution territories of others as time progressed.

Take the Zhen family as an example; if they were allowed to control the nationwide distribution channels, Lu Chuan would have a severe headache on his hands.

The fourth point was that the selling price of all refined salt must be uniformly established by Lu Chuan, and no one was permitted to alter it privately.

Lu Chuan did this to ensure that refined salt could be sold to all corners of the country in the shortest possible time, rather than falling into a situation where, due to the shortsightedness of certain merchants, refined salt only appeared on the dining tables of the wealthy while the impoverished still could not afford it.

The market for refined salt was vast and represented a steady, long-term business. Anyone who dared to arbitrarily raise prices and disrupt the market would be the first person Lu Chuan refused to spare!

Of course, regarding the pricing of refined salt, Lu Chuan would also factor in transportation costs. Thus, the farther the destination from Lu County, the higher the price would be set, though Lu Chuan would cap the price to prevent it from becoming exorbitantly high.

For locations truly distant, Lu Chuan could offer discounts on the procurement price.

The fifth and final point was that no one was permitted to commit acts detrimental to the interests of Lu County; otherwise, Lu Chuan reserved the right to revoke their distribution rights.

This required little elaboration: whoever went against Lu Chuan would be made to pay the price.

Take Cao Cao as an example.

After these five requirements were announced, the crowd entered a new round of discussion. They realized that apart from pricing having a certain impact on their profit margins, the rest posed absolutely no problem whatsoever, so no one raised any objections.

No matter how many demands Lu Chuan made, as long as they could secure the refined salt distribution rights, they stood to reap astronomical profits—a fact that could never be altered.

According to the rules announced by Lu Chuan, although there were over seventy merchants present, the process of dividing the territories proceeded smoothly.

Once all the territories were demarcated, contracts were signed. Next, they had to deliver the crude salt first, and after waiting a few days, they would receive the refined salt from Lu Chuan.

Yet, a few merchants among the crowd still spotted a new issue.

"Lord Lu, your map here does not allocate territories for places like the Xiongnu or Nanyue. If we wish to go to those places to peddle refined salt, would that be considered a breach of contract?"

Lu Chuan smiled. "Of course not! As long as you have the capability to transport the refined salt there, you are free to sell to them. However, there is one thing I must make clear in advance: the price of refined salt sold to foreign tribes shall be ten times the maximum price I have established!"

"Ten times?"

"That's right! Exactly ten times!"

Lu Chuan's tone was resolute. "Everyone present has signed a contract with me, and the contract explicitly states that I hold the ultimate right of interpretation regarding any breaches. Therefore, you had all best harbor no crooked thoughts.

Foreign barbarians are not of our race, and year after year they invade our borders, burning, killing, and plundering. I yearn for nothing more than to wipe them out swiftly!

If anyone dares to sell refined salt to foreign tribes at a low price, do not blame me for turning hostile and forgetting past relations!!"