Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3604: The Three-Colored Soup Is Boiling

For a young boy of Fei Zhen's age, it is indeed difficult to understand what the people are, what the masses are, what class is, and what exploitation is.

Because there are many things that are not necessarily very obvious, and people can't see the black and white at a glance.

It's just like opening a restaurant. Maybe in the beginning, it really allows the diners and cooks to meet their respective needs, but soon, people who build houses and rent land will come, and then they will take money from the mouths of the diners and cooks and leave with a smile.

The subsequent conflict is between those who eat and those who cook. As for those who build houses and those who rent land, they disappear.

Some people who didn't understand the situation slammed the table and scolded the cook. Even if some sparks flew to the people who built houses and rented land, some lackeys would immediately rush up to say that it was not easy for those who built houses and rented land, and they should be more considerate and understanding...

But what are the needs that give rise to these roots?
It's a choice.

is the direction.

But the most terrifying things are those guys who are serious but only tell half the truth.

For example, Jia Xu.

Fei Zhen's understanding can only be stuck at the level of generals and soldiers. After all, he is too old. Fei Qian requires Fei Zhen to understand what the power of the people is. Obviously, it will take some time and experience to accumulate. But Jia Xu, you with thick eyebrows and big eyes...

Oh, the guy with triangular eyes and goatee, are you trying this too?
Pang Tong moved to the front line, and Xun You was left behind in Guanzhong. However, there were too many things to do in Guanzhong, and Xun You could not handle it alone, so Fei Qian dragged Jia Xu to fill in.

But this turtle...

Fei Qian came to see Jia Xu, on the one hand to inquire about the situation in Longyou and the Western Regions in recent times, and on the other hand to ask Jia Xu for his opinions and solutions on how to deal with the increasing number of Shandong officials, nobles, and gentry who might surrender in the coming period.

It can be predicted that after the Cavalry entered Heluo, and even further into the Central Plains of Shandong, a large number of local officials, gentry, etc. would immediately change their flags to the Cavalry flags, and then say that they may have been loyal to the Cavalry since the first year of Taixing, or even earlier, but because of the persecution of the Cao family, the threats from Xiahou, and other reasons, they had no choice but to stay in Cao's camp, but they had always been looking forward to a bright future.

For these people, changing their affiliation is just a matter of changing clothes and flags, but Fei Qian is unwilling to do so. Simply accepting the surrender of these people without making corresponding changes would almost lose the significance of Fei Qian's promotion of reform in Guanzhong. If the system of Guanzhong is directly moved over, it will immediately fall into the trap of Shandong. Because too many people in Shandong have been indoctrinated and don't like to use their brains, and are too lazy to understand anything. There are many people who just follow the crowd.

Although Fei Qian had discussed with Pang Tong the general steps and plans in the process of implementing institutional changes, personnel were needed to carry out the work from conception to implementation. As for the grasp of human nature and human hearts, Fei Qian felt that among the Three Kingdoms, if Jia Xu was second, few would dare to claim to be first.

As dusk fell, the evening breeze blew the flags hanging around the Cavalry Mansion high in the air.

Jia Xu remained silent, stared at the flag for a moment, muttered something like "three colors", and then slowly walked in.

The guards in the hall called out the names loudly.

Fei Qian walked out quickly from the hall, took Jia Xu and walked into the hall, and asked the servants to bring tea.

If you want to talk about things, drinking tea is the best.

Talking about interests, life and death, is what drinking is all about.

This is a Chinese tradition. Otherwise, why would the story of "releasing military power over a cup of wine" be passed down?

Jia Xu bowed, thanked Fei Qian, and then sat in the hall, upright. From the outside, he looked like an honest man, but the occasional gleam in his eyes could reveal some clues about his inner thoughts.

"Wenhe." Fei Qian said slowly, "Have some tea first."

Jia Xu smiled bitterly, "My Lord, let's talk about the matter first..."

Fei Qian laughed and asked, "Why is that?"

Jia Xu bowed his head and said, "I heard that the Ministry of Education invited someone to drink tea..."

"Hahahaha..." Fei Qian laughed, "Wenhe is defaming himself, but why? Does Wenhe think that I am an intolerable person?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard, "My Lord, of course, there is no need to do this... But... How can the Shandong people obey if there is no handle?"

Fei Qian stopped laughing and pushed the tea bowl to Jia Xu, "Wenhe knows that I am worried, so this is the last resort?"

The Ministry of Information reported that during Jia Xu's time in Longyou, he collected some things from the Qiang leaders, such as cattle and sheep skins and furs, the amount was not much, but not too little. Then he opened a Jia-style pasture in Longyou and hired some people to raise the animals.

This matter is very subtle.

On the one hand, Jia Xu did not give the Qiang people any money, so he took their property for free. On the other hand, the Qiang people did not say anything. Even the majority of those who helped raise cattle and sheep in the pasture were Qiang people.

When Fei Qian saw this information, he almost immediately judged that it was Jia Xu's act of self-defilement.

Because this kind of thing is not big, but not small either, it's just right on the edge of the red line, and only a guy like Jia Xu can do it.

Further, it is corruption and bribery, but the amount of corruption and bribery is not large. Taking a step back, it is to take the goods first and then pay, but the time for the money is a little longer, but the Qiang people have no objection, so what can others say?
As for the occupation of grassland, it sounds serious, but it is actually not a big deal, because the population density of Longyou is much lower than that of later generations. Because of the Beigong incident, the number of Qiang people also decreased a lot during this period, and many grasslands were empty.

Although it is said that "it belongs to the king", most of the wasteland outside the cities and towns in the Han Dynasty was not specially marked. It was fine for ordinary people to occasionally go there to do something, collect wild fruits and hunt wild animals to improve their lives, but if they started to make a living or make money from some unowned wasteland, the officials would smell something...

So if it is said that Jia Xu occupied the land, then that is fine, but since it was an ownerless grassland, there was no point in negotiating the price.

"I am now old and dim-sighted..." Jia Xu seemed to want to get away with it.

"Wenhe..." Fei Qian interrupted Jia Xu before he could finish his words, with a slightly serious expression.

Green smoke rose from the bronze Boshan furnace in the hall.

Jia Xu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and after a moment he sighed, "That's all. I have heard that Fan Li sailed on the five lakes in the past, not because he was afraid of Gou Jian's sword, but because he knew that "when the birds are gone, the good bows are put away"..."

Jia Xu raised his hand to indicate that Fei Qian did not need to explain or interrupt. "I naturally know that my lord is a man of great talent and vision, and is open-minded. He is definitely not a person like Gou Jian who is short-sighted. But... do others believe it?"

"Hmm." Fei Qian frowned slightly.

Jia Xu looked at the spiraling smoke, the sound was like the rubbing of gravel in the Longyou Gobi Desert, "Wen Zhong saw Xi Shi entering Wu, and still believed in the "gentleman's agreement"... But in this world, there are many people as foolish as Gou Jian, and few are as wise as the lord! "

Fei Qian held the tea bowl in his hand and watched the tea soup in the bowl ripple slightly. "Wenhe's move is to... help the Shandong surrendered soldiers learn from their past?"

In the Battle of Luoyang City, ordinary people saw that the Cavalry Army had won again, merchants saw that there were new trade routes and commodities, officials saw that there were new opportunities to make money, and for people like Jia Xu, he saw Fei Qian's worries first and directly gave an answer that Fei Qian said was a "worst option".

In Luoyang City, in addition to the surrendered soldiers, there were also many children of Shandong gentry.

After the city was breached, these guys barely put up any resistance. In other words, the only injuries they suffered were caused by squeezing and shoving each other while vying to flatter Zhang Liao and the Hussars...

When Zhang Liao reported these things, Fei Qian felt a little headache, and he also had a premonition that as his troops entered the Central Plains, such troublesome incidents would become more and more frequent.

"My lord, in the past, Wu Zi killed his wife to become a general..." Jia Xu seemed to sense Fei Qian's headache, and said softly, "Nowadays, the people of Shandong may not have the ability of Wu Zi, but they have the desire of Wu Zi."

Fei Qian remained silent.

It is human nature to want to be promoted.

Wu Qi was not the only one who wanted to make progress.

There are so many cases in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. In later generations, if a family becomes a burden, extreme measures are rarely used, but divorce is more common. Officials of the US government dare not disclose their family relationships, which is also a consideration. Of course, there are also reasons why they dare not show off their family members, and relatives, aunts and uncles, are all in the same place...

In contrast, the gentry of the Shandong Central Plains in the Han Dynasty were more open-minded. At least they clearly stated that they would control the countryside in their hometown for thousands of years. The iron family is permanent, but the dynasty is changing. Jia Xu shook out a copper coin from his sleeve, and it fell on the table with a jingle. "My lord, look, this is what I found in Chang'an..."

The coin had obviously been used for some time and was covered with rust.

As for the style, it is Fei Qian’s earliest batch of Zhengxi coins.

However, Fei Qian soon discovered the abnormality of this coin. The pattern on it seemed to be cast and then polished, so it was abnormally blurry...

"Is this a Shandong forgery?" Fei Qian asked.

Jia Xu nodded. "People like this believe in 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows' and fear 'a fire at the city gate'..."

Fei Qian looked at the coins, thoughtfully.

When manufacturing Zhengxi coins in the early stage, Fei Qian had considered the possibility of being counterfeited. Then he deliberately increased the difficulty of manufacturing Zhengxi coins at that stage, and exceeded the value of the original Wuzhu coins, so that at that special stage, it became "good money drives out bad money", making it so that even if the Shandong gentry counterfeited Zhengxi coins, they would suffer a loss, and successfully allowed Zhengxi coins to enter the Shandong Central Plains area.

In later generations, there is a theory that "bad money drives out good money", but in the actual process, specific analysis is needed.

If you know some theories but don’t know how to adapt them, you will easily fall into a metaphysical trap.

Just like after the big bear fell, a large amount of Mi Yuan entered the big bear market and drove out the original big bear currency. It was also a similar reverse pattern. Mi Yuan became the main transaction entity, and the big bear currency became the bad currency.

Now, this Zhengxi coin shows that there are still Shandong nobles who would rather lose money than mint it...

It's like Wu Qi killing his wife.

Holding the flying money from Fei Qian's Chang'an Money House is obviously not as safe as holding a large amount of gold, silver and copper coins in your hands.

It is certainly more convenient to have cash in your hand. Otherwise, when you go to the Chang'an Money House to cash it, everything will be fine if everything goes smoothly. But if something goes wrong and the clerks and the shopkeeper keep asking you where the money came from and what evidence you have to prove that the money is clean, wouldn't that be a big trouble?
Fei Qian recalled that when the river was frozen, the riverside workers would always make a small hole in the ice to catch fish. Jia Xu's self-pollution was this hole. It seemed insignificant, but it allowed the fish underwater to drill out by themselves...

"In the past, Shang Jun moved a tree to establish his credibility. Now, my lord, why not use me as a tree?" Jia Xu said, his voice soft and gentle, and he seemed very sincere. The nobles of Shandong would rush to offer their grievances when they saw that the cavalry could tolerate my "stains". However, they are used to doing big business worth millions of gold, so how could they be satisfied with such a small fight as mine? "

Jia Xu smiled a little, "When Zhang Liang proposed the feudal policy to Emperor Gaozu, he also asked for Yong Chi to be the first one. I am not talented, but I am willing to be Yong Chi of the cavalry."

"This pasture of yours is a soothing soup for the sons of Shandong noble families..." Fei Qian nodded, "So Wenhe deliberately left a pasture in Longyou, just like Wu Qi's surrender to the Duke of Lu?"

Jia Xu nodded.

Even so, Fei Qian felt something was wrong.

After a moment of silence, Fei Qian suddenly noticed that the edge of the copper coin had been rubbed very smooth. Perhaps the coin had been circulated repeatedly for a long time, or it had been rubbed every day in Jia Xu's hands for a long time...

This is somewhat interesting.

Some doubts arose in Fei Qian's eyes.

Jia Xu's strategy is never so "simple"...

Although it seems now that Jia Xu's strategy seems to be true.

Jia Xu used allusions from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to explain two issues to Fei Qian. One was that he was confident that he could continue to serve under Fei Qian and offer advice and suggestions because he knew that Fei Qian was a man of great talent and could tolerate some faults and shortcomings of Jia Xu and others, and could make good use of people without worrying about being blamed or being abandoned. However, the local officials in the Central Plains area of ​​Shandong were not clear about this and had no confidence, so Jia Xu first set an example for these officials in the Central Plains area of ​​Shandong and defamed himself in order to give General Fei Qian a handle.

Doing so is in line with the habits of the officials in the Guandong and Central Plains regions. After all, giving the superior a handle as a token of their loyalty is in line with the unspoken rules of the officialdom of the Shandong gentry's children. On the other hand, it can also save Fei Qian trouble when he needs to turn against these Guandong and Central Plains officials. After all, these officials in Shandong and Central Plains cannot control the size of the handle as accurately as Jia Xu, and what these people usually do is far more serious than the handle given to Fei Qian. With a little deeper digging, they can follow the clues and find out a lot of things.

This method seemed to kill two birds with one stone, and it was indeed in line with Jia Xu's identity, but Fei Qian still felt vaguely that something was wrong.

What exactly is the problem?

Fei Qian stared at the copper coin in his hand, turning it over and over again.

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, stroked his beard, did not speak, and was not in a hurry. He seemed to be beginning to appreciate the scenery.

Fei Qian was playing with the copper coins when suddenly he had an idea: the old one was about conquering the west, and the new one was about cavalry.

Didn’t the Shandong gentry imitate new cavalry coins?

Obviously it is impossible.

If you do the first day, you will definitely do the fifteenth day.

Then why did Jia Xu only take the money for the Western Expedition?

New or old?
Fei Qian suddenly understood something.

"Wenhe's medicine is indeed good, but I feel that your medicine... is not in line with Wenhe's identity..." Fei Qian said, and took out the "Tiao Xie Fu" left by Fei Zhen from the table and handed it to Jia Xu, "Here, this is the article I wrote recently, Wenhe may wish to give more corrections."

Jia Xu was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted. He said he didn't dare, but still took the article written by Fei Zhen and started reading.

After a while, Jia Xu put down the article and was about to speak, but Fei Qian said, "Just talk about the shortcomings, and don't talk about the rest!"

"Alas..." Jia Xu sighed. Following Fei Qian was somewhat boring. But after a brief pause, he said, "It's a little bit above the surface."

In simple terms, it is empty.

Of course, at Fei Zhen's age, being able to write such an article, well, even if someone else helped to polish it, it was still pretty good. It was impossible to require someone to be as experienced as Jia Xu, so naturally Jia Xu could see the problem in it at a glance.

Although Fei Zhen also proposed solutions to the problem in the article, such as the Changping Warehouse and the Five-Equal Market, and officials encouraging farmers to be diligent, etc., these things are only superficial.

Was there no Changping Warehouse in the early years of the Han Dynasty?
So why are the people of the Han Dynasty still so miserable today?

Don't think that under Fei Qian's governance, the people of Guanzhong are very happy and have wine and meat for every meal. But in fact, only the children of the gentry can eat meat for every meal. Ordinary people can eat meat once in a while, and it is considered an improvement in their lives. Otherwise, Fei Zhen would not have written about the dietary gap between the poor people and the gentry in his article.

It can only be said that under Fei Qian, fewer people in Guanzhong died of starvation. After all, Guanzhong as a whole is still short of manpower. As long as you are not too lazy to do any work, it is not a problem to get a meal, but the food is worse. However, it is still a long way to go to say that all the people under Fei Qian's command have entered the happy and prosperous mode of the Han Dynasty.

The fundamental solution to the problem is not the Changping Warehouse System, nor is it to encourage farmers to be diligent, but what we actually do!
Who will do it? How will it be done? And to what extent? How can we ensure that it is done well? Only then can we say that our feet have landed a little bit, and finally, we have to wait until we step completely on the ground, and there is still a distance to go.

Therefore, Jia Xu's comment that Fei Zhen's article seems "empty" can be considered a relatively fair assessment.

Fei Qian stood up and pushed open the window sill. The night wind blew the little smoke in the house towards the starry sky.

"Wenhe..." Fei Qian said.

"I am here," Jia Xu replied.

"Do you want to try this strategy with me?" Fei Qian turned around and stared at Jia Xu.

Jia Xu bowed and said, "I dare not."

Fei Qian glanced at Jia Xu with disdain, then turned his head to look at the night sky, and sighed, "If that's the case, why is Wen He's proposal also "slightly above"? "