Fang Degang thought for a long time and said: "I roughly understand what you mean. But since merchants play such a great role, why did the saints define merchants as the worst of the four peoples?"

Liu Pei chuckled and said: "This is simply a matter of position. Farmers produce a lot of food and are illiterate, so it doesn't hurt to improve their status. At the same time, the world needs craftsmen to make clothes and various utensils. They

They are busy with production and have no time to take care of other things. And the businessmen have a lot of money and are well-informed, and they are also familiar with all the conditions of the world. Naturally, they have to be suppressed, so as not to threaten the status of the scholars. Moreover, suppressing the businessmen is just to facilitate the businessmen's bones and marrow! Besides,

Well, Brother Gui Ren is familiar with the books of sages. Which book says that the merchants appointed by the saints are the last of the four peoples? And let’s not talk about others, let’s talk about Brother Siyue. With Brother Siyue’s ability, can he be a county magistrate?

?”

Fang Degang nodded and said: "It's true! With my brother's talents, he is more than enough to be a county magistrate."

At this time, Huashufeng had stopped crying. He listened blankly to the discussion between the two for a long time. Then he interrupted and said: "So, aren't the words of the saints all lies? I have read the books over the years, and

Isn’t it all in vain?”

Liu Pei shook his head and said: "You can't say that. There are some things that the sage doesn't know. Just like the four words scholar, farmer, industry and commerce, the sage may have meant that all four peoples are equal, or he may have said it casually, but it was deliberately misinterpreted by later generations.

Besides, it is also true that there are many principles in the words of saints that lead people to be good. We should let these things continue to be passed down. After all, the words of saints have long been integrated into the daily life of our nation.

What cannot be discarded, we can only work hard to carry forward its good aspects and get rid of its dross."

Fang Degang clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "This is a great thing to say!"

Immediately, they began to discuss the words of saints with Huashufeng and Liu Pei. Huashufeng was okay, at least he had read books. But where had Liu Pei read the Four Books and Five Classics? He couldn't get in the conversation at all.

However, Fang Degang would ask Liu Pei what his opinion was from time to time. This made Liu Pei unable to do anything.

Finally, Liu Pei had to forcefully change the topic and said: "Two brothers, are we off topic now?"

When the two heard this, they stopped talking, recalling the purpose of the discussion in the first place. However, neither of them spoke. Want to see what Liu Pei had to say? Liu Pei was not polite and said directly: "It's over.

At this point, two brothers, please listen to me."

So Liu Pei told the two of them in detail about his policy of using the sea to control the land and using commerce to support the army, his current strength and preliminary plans for the future. Hua Shufeng's face turned pale after hearing this!

It was already known that Liu Pei was determined to rebel. Even if he did not rebel, he would definitely become a powerful official! But Fang Degang listened.

I was very happy and felt that I had a place to put all my talents to use.

Liu Pei said: "If I want to do big things, I can't do it alone. Originally, I wanted to slowly introduce Brother Siyue into my team, but I didn't expect that it was revealed in advance today. I also joined Brother Gui. So the two of them

Brother, can you give me an answer at this time?"

Huashufeng looked desperate! He really didn’t want to get involved in this kind of thing. After all, this matter would cost him his head! And Fang Degang squinted his eyes and said, "I wonder how my dear brother will arrange for me and others in the future?"

Fang Degang was smart. He didn't even ask what the consequences would be. Because he knew very well that the only consequence of not agreeing was death. So it was better to simply agree. If things came true in the future, he would still be a founding minister. Even if he failed,

, it is much better to live for a few more years than to be chopped down immediately!

Liu Pei said: "Brother Siyue is good at business. In the future, business matters will fall to Brother Siyue, Prime Minister. As for Brother Gui, who is good at governance, please share the civil affairs for me!"

Fang Degang was very excited after hearing this! This is the position of prime minister in the future! How can he not be excited! And Liu Pei is not like those miscellaneous fish from Wenxiang Church. He has a long-term plan and strategy, and the possibility of success is very high! So!

Fang Degang said excitedly to a row of tables: "Done!"

As for Huashufeng, he could only nod aggrievedly in agreement. He also knew that he couldn't leave today, so he had no other choice but to agree.

When Liu Pei saw that both of them agreed, he said, "Since both brothers have agreed, they should know what to do next, right?"

Huashufeng still remained silent, while Fang Degang walked to the table next to him without any care, picked up a pen and paper, and wrote two letters of allegiance, signing one with his name and handing the other to Huashufeng.

Have him sign it.

Liu Pei took the letter, read it and put it away, then picked up the wine glass and said, "Here, let's drink to my two brothers. In the future, you and I will accomplish great things!"

During the dinner, Fang Degang was in high spirits, while Huashufenghua looked sad.

The three of them were very drunk that night. They didn't wake up until three o'clock in the morning the next day. With the hope of showing his ambition, Fang Degang worked extremely hard. He took Liu Pei and went to see the various situations below. Naturally, Huashufeng also

Followed.

After arriving below, the two of them were truly surprised by Liu Pei's abilities. Yesterday, they heard Liu Pei describe the strength in detail in detail. However, there was nothing shocking to see directly! Especially since the warehouse was filled with blunderbuss, artillery and armor.

It made people very happy to see it. Even Huahuashu Feng quietly said to Fang Degang: "It seems that I may not lose my head in the future. Maybe I can even get a knighthood."

There were a series of meetings in the following days. During the meeting, Fang Degang learned about the specific situation in detail from each host, and initially established his authority. Taking this opportunity, Liu Pei completely separated the military and government affairs.

became independent.

Liu Pei, who got rid of government affairs, felt relaxed and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the great cause of training the army and transporting supplies. Among them, he was most concerned about the shipyard. After the Jiaozhou was launched, the master craftsmen assigned shipbuilding tasks of the same level to

Children and grandchildren, several master craftsmen led a group of apprentices who knew nothing to specialize in upper-level battleships. Although the progress of using apprentices was slow, it also gave the master craftsmen time to think about the technology. And when the ship is completed, this batch of

Apprentices can also be used as craftsmen. As long as they are led by a few qualified shipwrights, they can build new ships.

And just as Liu Pei guessed, these master craftsmen were very humble. In his eyes, they were just the children and grandchildren of qualified shipwrights who could build ships independently. They started building three Jiaozhou-class battleships and one ship at the same time.

An armed merchant ship. According to estimates by master craftsmen, three fifth-level cruisers and an armed merchant ship will be launched every six to eight months. A Chinese-style sailing ship will be launched every four months.

This made Liu Pei very satisfied, but Liu Pei's wallet expressed very dissatisfaction! A large amount of money flowed out of Liu Pei's wallet and turned into wood and materials in the drying room. This made Liu Pei's cash always under tension.

However, fortunately, there was Huashufeng. After he donated two sums of money to Liu Pei, the urgent need was solved.

However, Liu Pei felt that this was not a long-term solution. Liu Pei had to send ships to directly intervene in sea trade activities. But Liu Pei did not have anyone who knew sea trade. He did not even know where to load the goods. But Liu Pei

Directly letting people collect goods in Shandong. At this point, Liu Pei was officially involved in the trade with Japan. However, Liu Pei was very careful to only allow the newly built Chinese sailing ship and the original three ships to participate in maritime trade. The Jiaozhou

Always stay engaged in training and not exposed to the sea.

Just when Liu Pei was worrying about collecting goods, a man came forward and found him. This person was Liu Dahai. Liu Dahai was a dentist when he first lived in Macau. Although he had never done business in Japan, he was really

He is the person under Liu Pei who really understands maritime trade.

Moreover, people like Jack can speak Chinese very well now, and Liu Dahai no longer needs to translate, so Liu Dahai is free. So he recommended himself to Liu Pei, and Liu Pei immediately agreed. He also gave him a batch of money and a

Liu Pei gave him a batch of perfume and soap as initial start-up capital. Moreover, Liu Pei also gave him the use of two newly launched Chinese sailing ships. He also gave him face-to-face instructions and asked Tai to purchase only three items: copper, sulfur and gold when he returned from Japan.
Chapter completed!