Han officials

Chapter 126: Hard and soft at the same time
"...Hua Yuanhua?"

Wei Zhe never expected to hear this name from his own mother's mouth.

If we were to ask who is the talent Wei Zhe most wants to invite at the moment, it would undoubtedly be this man.

After all, no matter whether you are a king, a general or a minister, you are all equal in the face of birth, old age, sickness and death.

Especially during this period of high incidence of epidemics, it feels so safe to have a famous doctor by your side.

Not to mention that Hua Tuo was a rare general practitioner.

Perhaps because he had been practicing medicine among the people for a long time, although he was famous in later generations for his expertise in surgery, Hua Tuo was also proficient in internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, and acupuncture.

It is a pity that in his later years he was suspected by Cao Cao, imprisoned and tortured to death, and the medical books he wrote were lost.

It can be said that Hua Tuo and Cao Cao were fellow villagers, both from Qiao County, Pei State.

However, he was traveling all year round, so Cao Cao had to rely on others to recommend him to this fellow villager.

Wei Zhe had never expected that his mother and Hua Tuo had such a connection.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe immediately asked with anticipation, "Mother, is it possible to contact this Hua Yuanhua?"

Seeing that he attached so much importance to it, Wei's mother was a little surprised, but she still tried to think about it.

After a moment, Wei's mother finally said helplessly, "This man's behavior is quite similar to Mr. Cai's. He is not interested in a career in politics. He is a true hermit. He is either collecting herbs in the deep mountains and valleys, or practicing medicine in the village pavilions and communities. How can we find him?"

Wei Zhe did not doubt his mother's words after hearing this.

After all, after Hua Tuo cured Chen Deng's parasitic disease, he was recommended as a filial and incorrupt official by Chen Gui, the prime minister of Pei State, who was also Chen Deng's father. However, Hua Tuo declined the offer and continued to practice medicine everywhere.

From this perspective, practicing medicine and saving lives should be his ambition or obsession.

But the more this happened, the more Wei Zhe wanted to invite this person to Liaodong for a gathering.

So after thinking hard for a while, Wei Zhe finally came up with an idea.

Although Wei's mother could not contact Hua Tuo, she provided one piece of information, that is, Cai Gong often went to Buqi Mountain to collect herbs during his lifetime. He said that the medicinal materials here are the best in the world and it is actually a medicine storehouse of immortals.

Even though similar medicinal herbs can be found in other places, Mr. Cai is accustomed to using local herbs to treat diseases and save lives.

In his words, this place has the most spiritual energy and the best medicinal effects, and is the best product for saving lives!
The locals may not notice it as they live together every day, but in the eyes of doctors it is completely different.

The so-called Buqi Mountain is actually the Laoshan Mountain in Shandong in later generations.

Even after more than two thousand years of consumption, later doctors still discovered more than 700 kinds of medicinal materials when they visited this place, including animals, plants and minerals, with large quantity, high quality and complete variety, which can be called a "natural medicine warehouse".

As a disciple of Mr. Cai, Hua Tuo inherited these precious materials while inheriting his teacher's medical skills.

In this way, it is not a bad idea to "sit back and wait for the rabbit".

It just so happened that Buqi County was one of Wei Zhe's fiefs, so it would be very easy for Wei Zhe to ambush someone here.

Of course, Wei Zhe had no other choice.

After all, it is extremely difficult to find someone in the current Han Dynasty, unless the court orders a nationwide wanted order.

However, if Wei Zhe could do this, he would not have to stay in Liaodong to farm now.

Therefore, Wei Zhe did not have high expectations. After handing the matter over to Guo Yuan, Wei Zhe had a secret conversation with the eunuch who announced the imperial edict that day.

……

In the afternoon, in the study.

"Congratulations, Lord Wei!" The eunuch said with a smile, "Now you and His Majesty are not only ruler and subject, but also uncle and nephew!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe immediately feigned emotion and said, "Your Majesty, I will remember this grace of yours!"

Seeing this, the eunuch nodded in satisfaction.

But then he frowned slightly and said, "But Lord Wei still needs to pay attention to the serious matters!"

The "real business" that Xiao Huangmen was talking about was naturally to destroy Goguryeo.

Wei Zhe really didn't know what to say about this. The emperor was too impatient.

It hasn't even been a year since he took office as the governor of Liaodong. What do you think he can achieve?
But after all, he was the Son of Heaven. Wei Zhe could only patiently explain, "Your Excellency, rest assured. I have already laid a tight net against Goguryeo. As long as we have enough food and fodder, we will surely destroy it in one fell swoop!"

After saying this, Wei Zhe did not wait for the eunuch to speak again, and took the initiative to come up with a plan to capture the living soldiers in five directions to fool them.

It’s true, the eunuch actually liked this. After Wei Zhe’s explanation, he nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Wei Zhe immediately took the opportunity to put forward new demands.

"Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated. A small force is essential to quickly destroy Goguryeo." Wei Zhe argued confidently, "However, if we can drive out the barbarians and attack the Dongyi, we'll have the best of both worlds!"

Hearing this, the eunuch couldn't help but nodded subconsciously.

Seeing him like this, Wei Zhe finally revealed his true intentions.

"Please open Hu City?"

When the eunuch heard what Wei Zhe said, his face suddenly became hesitant.

After all, "customs market" is not a trivial matter, and official trade is not something that can be opened casually.

At least now, the general prefects of border counties are not qualified to intervene, and all matters are directly handled by the court. Of course, smuggling in secret is another matter.

However, seeing this, Wei Zhe smiled and handed over another small wooden box.

When he felt the heavy weight, the eunuch's frown immediately relaxed.

"Don't worry, Lord Wei. I will discuss this matter with the Emperor when I return to the palace. I will not let you down!"

Wei Zhe still believed in the reputation of eunuchs taking money to do things.

So the two of them smiled at each other, and both the host and the guest were very happy!

Not to mention how the eunuch left with satisfaction.

Wei Zhe quickly summoned everyone from the Marquis' Mansion to discuss matters at home.

The focus of the discussion was how to manage this "Liaodong Customs Market".

……

The so-called "Guan City" is actually the "Hu City", which means that the Hu people trade their local products with the Central Plains.

For example, during the reigns of Emperor An and Emperor Shun, the various tribes on the grasslands often exchanged livestock such as cattle and horses for silk, wine, and other items from the Central Plains.

You must know that the demand for Han products on the grassland is objectively existing and is growing.

Once they cannot obtain what they want through trade, or if their needs cannot be met through trade, they will resort to violence to plunder. This is one of the underlying logics of the Hu Lu invasion.

Wei Zhe does not want to eliminate this demand, and even welcomes it.

After all, if he didn't open the Hu Market, the cattle and horses on the grassland would be taken away by other states and counties.

Besides, he has basically fought against all the barbarians around Liaodong.

I believe that now these barbarians can sit down and do business in peace.

Sword in the left hand, trade in the right hand.

Only by combining hardness and softness and taking a two-pronged approach can the effect be better!

After listening to Wei Zhe's words, Guo Yuan and others did not doubt whether he could make this happen.

In fact, Guo Yuan was considering another issue.

"Xiangping is the county seat, and it's located in the heart of Liaodong. We shouldn't allow the Hu people to penetrate deep into it!"

Wow, this guy has already started choosing a location.

After hearing what he said, everyone in the hall started to discuss the matter one after another.

After some discussion, everyone agreed that Wangping County, the northernmost part of Liaodong County, was the best place for trade.

Because this place is located on the edge of Liaodong County and right on the banks of the Daliao River, water transportation is very convenient.

Moreover, the location of Wangping County is neither too far nor too close for both the Wuhuan and Xianbei people, just right.

But soon Sun Shao frowned and asked, "What about the Fuyu people?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe gave a trading range without hesitation.

"Except for Goguryeo, all other tribes and peoples can come here to trade!"

Hearing him say this, Sun Shao couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.

After all, the Jingguan outside Gaoxian City is still new, and it is a question whether the Buyeo people dare to come!

However, Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "If the Buyeo people had won this time, they might not have come here to trade, but since our army has won a great victory in this battle, they will surely come in droves!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yi could not help but nod in agreement, "The barbarians are beasts, they have always feared power but not virtue!"

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe suddenly had an idea.

"Zi Yu, how about leaving this city to you?"

After all, Shi Yi's integrity has been proven by history, and even the suspicious Sun Shiwan has no doubt about it.

To be honest, Wei Zhe was really worried if the Hu City was handed over to the county officials in the prefectural government.

Faced with this sudden appointment, although Shi Yi was a little surprised, he accepted it with great enthusiasm.

He bowed solemnly to Wei Zhe and said, "I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Of course, Wei Zhe had no intention of letting him take on the job alone.

In order to make Shi Yi sufficiently "persuasive", Wei Zhe transferred two more battalions of troops to the area.

In this way, Wangping County had 4,000 garrisoned troops ready for Shi Yi's command at any time.

Such a deployment of troops is almost enough for Hu City.

While Wei Zhe was preparing for the Liaodong Hu City, Goguryeo fell into chaos...

(End of this chapter)