Chapter 0963 A gentleman talks about justice, a villain talks about profit (5,000 words long chapter)
Xiang Lang knew that Governor Feng had always been on good terms with the Li family - of course, not the Li family clan in Shu.
It is the six-bedroom Li family in the former Shu region, the current Li family in Pingxiang, and the Li family in Longxi.
The relationship between the two Li families and Feng Jishi is well known.
Governor Feng mentioned two people with the surname Li, and most likely they came from these two families.
In Xiang Lang's view, over the years, the Li family in Pingxiang and the Li family in Longxi have made a lot of contributions to the Han Dynasty.
Now, let alone two quotas, even ten or eight extra quotas would be taken care of, and he would pretend not to see anything.
It was as if he was pretending not to see Ma Su, who was being somewhat secretive, trying to sneak into the examination room without attracting the attention of Governor Feng and himself.
It wasn't until Ma Su's figure disappeared behind the screen wall that Xiang Lang said:
"After the exam, you should be able to regain your original name, right? I finally don't have to be ashamed of Ji Chang who is in hell..."
Feng Jishi smiled softly and looked at Xiang Lang teasingly:
"I'm afraid Xiang Gong is thinking too much. Ma Youchang is afraid that he won't be able to regain his original name so soon."
Xiang Lang was stunned, obviously he didn't expect that Governor Feng would say this:
"Junhou...what does this mean?"
Governor Feng did not answer, but turned his head and glanced elsewhere.
Xiang Lang followed his gaze and happened to see the Wu delegation standing in the distance watching the ceremony.
He understood something in his heart, but also couldn't believe it, so he asked in a low voice:
"Is it possible that kings and princes have plans for Wu?"
Governor Feng said "tsk":
"Isn't Mr. Xiang joking? The Han Dynasty and the Wu Kingdom are brothers. They respect each other's throne. How can there be any plan?"
When Xiang Lang heard this, he was startled and looked at Governor Feng with doubtful eyes: Although what you said is true, I always feel that something is wrong.
"The big man promised to give Wu war horses, so Wu was willing to exchange war ships; but now that he has a cavalry army, he still needs cavalry generals."
"So I want to exchange the method of commanding the cavalry army for the Wu people's skill of handling ships. Is it fair?"
Governor Feng said leisurely, "I'll have to send some students over to study, right?"
When it comes to talent selection through examinations, Governor Feng can accept people who are not from a school to participate - as long as you have talent.
In the two Han Dynasties for hundreds of years, wasn't this how people were recruited?
But when it came to being sent to Wu to learn shipbuilding or sailing, Governor Feng only believed in his own students.
"It's just that most of those students are young and have little understanding of world affairs. Therefore, I want to send an old man who is old and prudent and good at changing things to lead them to the Kingdom of Wu."
Apart from anything else, just because Ma Su comes from the "Jingzhou Ma family", he is also one of the most suitable candidates.
When Xiang Lang learned about Feng Yong's plan, he was overjoyed. If he hadn't been in front of a large audience, he would have almost thanked Governor Feng.
"Young people of a certain generation often thanked their rulers."
Governor Feng looked at Xiang Lang and said meaningfully:
"Mr. Xiang, you know that I have invested countless amounts of money and food for more than ten consecutive years to build Nanxiang College today."
"The students who come out of the academy are all my treasures. If anyone dares to mess up this matter, don't blame me for being ruthless."
To Feng Yong, every student who graduates from Nanxiang College is a precious talent.
At the same time, they are also the bargaining chips for Feng Yong to start planning for the unification of the world, to compete with the world's aristocratic families, and to rebuild the official system.
As long as these students are there, Dahan will have some initiative in selecting talents.
It would not be possible to unify the world, but in the end let those aristocratic families steal the fruits of victory in disguise.
Without these students, even if the world is unified, the officials who govern the world will still have to come from aristocratic families that monopolize intellectual resources.
In that case, what's the difference between having the fruits of victory stolen by a noble family?
How can the majestic ghost king work in vain?
The current Governor Feng can be regarded as a very important minister of the Han Dynasty and a powerful general on the frontier.
He was even the first person under the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty to hold a heavy army.
It makes him say that he is "cruel and ruthless", the meaning of which is self-evident.
Although Xiang Lang is older,... the thing about high position and power is not about who is older.
Isn't it true that the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty is more than ten years younger than Xiang Lang?
Thinking of the battle at Jieting and seeing Feng Jishishi's expression, Xiang Lang felt a chill in his heart and said quickly:
"Don't worry, Lord, I will definitely make it clear to Youchang when the time comes."
Governor Feng nodded and then smiled:
"It would be best if you come forward to the public."
Governor Feng felt that he and Ma Youchang could certainly be regarded as gentlemen's friends!
The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. Since the other party is unwilling to reveal his real name, he has also been unwilling to take the initiative to come to see him in the past few years.
Then don't be ignorant and run away to find trouble.
Xiang Lang secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Feng Jishi's words, and couldn't help but have a somewhat complicated look in his eyes.
Before Liangzhou was recaptured, the person who led the governor of Liangzhou from afar was Wei Yan.
It stands to reason that after regaining Liangzhou, the possibility of Wei Yan being appointed governor of Liangzhou is much greater than that of Feng Yong.
Letting Feng Yong take over as the governor of Longyou and Wei Yan as the governor of Liangzhou seemed to be the most appropriate arrangement at the time.
Therefore, the Prime Minister's final decision really surprised many people.
Although many people have no objections on the surface, they may not be murmuring in their hearts.
After all, just because he is too young, Feng Yong cannot convince the public.
Who would have expected that in just a few years, Liangzhou would develop water conservancy projects, reclaim wasteland, build pastures, and open workshops, all livestock would be prosperous, and both Qiang and Hu would serve as slaves.
Even the examination in Liangzhou was not resisted by the aristocratic families, and even the children of the aristocratic families participated.
If Wei Yan had been appointed governor of Liangzhou back then, it would have been difficult for Liangzhou to be as prosperous as it is today.
Thinking of this, Xiang Lang felt even more emotional.
Thinking again of the way Feng Jishi looked at the Wu envoy just now, Xiang Lang couldn't help but say:
"The Lord has been busy taking exams these days. This envoy from the State of Wu has visited me several times and wants to know about the Lord..."
Governor Feng showed his teeth and smiled slightly:
"There's no rush. It's not us who are in a hurry anyway."
Xiang Lang said hesitantly:
"For fear of damaging the goodwill between the two countries, it will be difficult for His Majesty and the Prime Minister to explain."
Feng Yongyong answered, his eyes flickered, and he asked:
"Who among the Wu people who disturbed Mr. Xiang should be blamed?"
"It's Lu Hao who is the reason."
"No one else?"
"Yes, there is also a man named Qin Bo who came to my door and gave me two gifts, which were quite substantial."
Hearing this, Governor Feng smiled even more:
"Forget it, Mr. Lu. I don't want to deal with him. It's too tiring. But after the exam, Mr. Xiang can inform Qin Bo and say that I can see him."
After hearing this, Xiang Lang had a puzzled look on his face:
"Lu Zizhang is the person in charge of the Wu mission. The prince did not talk to him, but instead talked to Qin Bo? Why is this?"
"Mr. Lu is a gentleman, and he is also very knowledgeable. I am not knowledgeable enough, so why dare I say anything in front of Gong Lu? How is this different from using an ax in the class, Ying's sect?"
Governor Feng coughed and said, "Besides, isn't there Mr. Xiang now? Mr. Xiang is knowledgeable and knowledgeable, so he can have a good chat with Mr. Lu for me."
The confusion in Xiang Lang's eyes became more intense: If you are knowledgeable, you are knowledgeable. Why do you have to add a gentleman in front?
However, doubts were doubts, but Xiang Lang was relieved to hear that Feng Jishi was finally willing to have formal talks.
In this matter, although the big man is not the one who is anxious, there is no way to keep delaying it like this.
Governor Feng was busy with affairs and could avoid seeing him.
But Xiang Lang was sent to Liangzhou by the imperial court. On the surface, he represented the Han Dynasty. He was not working in Liangzhou and was just an idler. He couldn't just say he didn't see him and just see him.
It was quite satisfying for the Wu people to ask for help from the big Han people, but it was really annoying to have Wu people come to their door every day and nag about how good Han and Wu were.
Governor Feng and Xiang Lang stood on top and whispered to each other, and no one else could hear what they were saying.
But when Lu Hao felt the eyes of the two guys drifting here intentionally or unintentionally, he always felt that something was not quite right.
But he quickly put this feeling aside, because what really frightened him was the scholars filing in.
When the last scholar disappeared from the school gate, then the school door creaked and finally closed with a "bang".
Lu Hao, who had always looked gloomy, actually trembled slightly and his face turned a little pale.
Even when Xiang Lang came over and said something to him, he didn't hear it at all.
Until Qin Boy pointedly said something in his ear:
"Lu Shangshu, Xiang Gong just came here specifically to say that Feng Junhou promised to provide good horses. Why does Shangshu look unhappy?"
Only then did Lu Hao suddenly wake up, but when he saw him, he forced a smile:
"I'm just worried."
"Why should the minister worry?"
Lu Hao's eyes fell on the high platform of the school again, but he saw that Feng Yong had already disappeared.
His eyes were a little dull, as if he was answering, but also as if he was muttering to himself: "Compared with hundreds of talents, thousands of horses, what are they?"
"What is the minister talking about?"
"It's nothing. I'm a little tired, so I'll go back first. You can take care of the matter of the war horse later."
Lu Hao shook his head and suddenly turned around and left. His figure seemed a little lost.
Qin Bo didn't know why Lu Hao behaved, but when he heard that the matter was left to him and others, he was overjoyed and put all his doubts aside on the spot.
These days, Liangzhou has given priority to examinations. Even if Lu Hao wanted to see Feng Mingwen, he could not get it. Qin Bo did not dare to act rashly, lest he leaked the affairs of the school affairs office.
At this time, I finally heard that the other party agreed to provide a good horse. Isn't this a great opportunity to meet Feng Mingwen?
"Qin Bo wants to see me?"
Before the ranking of candidates for the exam came out, Governor Feng had an additional invitation in his hand.
"Since he came to Liangzhou, I haven't seen him do anything. I thought he could keep his composure. It seems that he is more anxious than I expected."
It's a good thing for the other party to be anxious. In negotiations, whoever is anxious first will be at a disadvantage.
"Let him in."
Qin Bo, who was waiting anxiously outside, heard that Feng Jishi had agreed to see him. His face showed great joy, he quickly adjusted his clothes, and then followed his servants into the hall.
Seeing the tall figure at the top, Qin Bo saluted quickly without taking a closer look:
"Bo has met Junhou."
"Get up, there is no need to be so polite in school Qin's affairs, please sit down."
Qin Bo's heart skipped a beat when he heard Governor Feng reveal his identity:
Although the other party has never seen him alone, he made his identity clear as soon as they met, and he may have already investigated a lot of things secretly.
For Qin Bo, how to use the Han Dynasty, to be precise, how to use the Prosperous Han Conference to maintain the status of the school affairs office in His Majesty's heart is far more important than getting war horses from Liangzhou.
It's not that the war horse is unimportant, but that the war horse is only part of the purpose of his trip.
So when Governor Feng revealed his true identity, Qin Bo couldn't help but feel a little worried.
With this in mind, he quickly thanked her and sat down carefully.
After the servants served Qin Bo tea, Governor Feng waved his hand and motioned for everyone to go down, and then asked:
"I don't know if Principal Qin is here, but what's the important matter?"
"It must be related to the war horse trade..."
Feng Yong stretched out his arm and put three fingers on the lid of the teacup. Hearing this, he smiled:
"Isn't there a special person in charge of the war horse matter in the governor's office? Why do you bother Principal Qin to come and talk to me personally?"
Thousands of war horses are indeed a big event for Liangzhou.
However, the details of this transaction were not important enough for Governor Feng to come forward to discuss it in person.
If we say that a horse farm was opened in Longyou back then, and the horses bred from Hequ horses were used as both riding and pack animals, they solved the problem of spare horses and training horses for the cavalry.
So the beginning of mass breeding of mules was a sign that the mobility and logistics problems of the infantry were solved.
As for now, the Liangzhou horse is used as the mother breed to begin to solve the problem of war horses for heavy cavalry and elite cavalry.
To put it bluntly, the Han Dynasty who controlled Liangzhou could not only cultivate horse breeds systematically, but the quality and quantity of the war horses they produced were much more stable than those of Wei.
After all, although the Wei State had Bingzhou and Youzhou, they often had to recruit qualified war horses from the Hu people.
What is knowledge reserve and technology accumulation?
That’s it!
Governor Feng has been keeping the Wu mission in the air these days, but it's not like he has done nothing.
Rather, he was deliberately testing Wu people's views on war horses.
After testing, the think tank of Liangzhou Governor’s Office came to a conclusion:
Does Wu, the man operating the ship, know a hammer-like war horse?
Governor Feng himself did not have enough of the fine war horses produced from Liangzhou horses, so it was certainly impossible to sell them to Wu.
But the first generation of war horses bred by the Han Dynasty, that is, the horses bred from the Hequ horse as the female stock, were picky and instigated by the Wu people, so there was no problem at all.
Anyway, that's what Governor Feng planned to do.
After understanding the details of the Wu people, Governor Feng's anger when he first heard about the Wu people's request for horses has turned into a calm state of mind.
The Hequ horse is awesome. It can be used as both a war horse and a pack horse. Its hooves are as big as bowls and its strength is not small. It’s very good!
It’s just that the horseshoe is a bit thin and easy to wear...
Governor Feng had no intention of telling Wu Guo about the little secret of the horseshoe.
A two-piece suit is almost enough.
When it comes to arms exports, it's basic to reduce allocations.
Horseshoes consume too much iron, so Wu State should not waste precious iron materials on such useless gadgets.
Besides, there is nothing else here in Liangzhou but Ma Duo!
When the horses in Jiangdong are not enough, you can buy them again at any time.
Everything was designed inside and out, and Qin Bo even came to tell Governor Feng about this matter. No wonder Governor Feng showed such a lack of interest.
Although Qin Bo's official position in Wu State was low, he was also a figure feared by many powerful officials in Wu State.
But in front of Governor Feng, he couldn't express his temper at all.
But seeing him accompanying him, he smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, although I don't understand military matters, I have inquired a lot about war horses these days. These war horses cannot be immediately put into battle when they arrive in Wu."
"These days, I haven't seen much of the cavalry under your command. I found that the equipment of the cavalry is very different from that of the infantry. Raising horses is a big expense, not to mention that the cavalry has to be built separately.
ordnance."
"I, Da Wu, have been fighting with the Wei thieves for many years. The kings and princes are also people who know the military. I know that when the soldiers and horses move, money and food will be thrown out like water."
"So I, Da Wu, haven't had enough money and food in the treasury these past few years!"
Governor Feng picked up the teacup and took a sip:
"Qin School's affairs. The money and food in the Wu government's treasury are not yours. It's your Wu country's business. Tell me, I can't help you!"
"Besides, in the past few years, Liangzhou has been transporting grain from other places to provide relief every year. No matter how poor you are, can you be as poor as Liangzhou?"
"And this time, the war horses I gave to the Wu Kingdom were squeezed out by tightening the belt, but I lost all my money!"
It is impossible to bargain on price. When did I, Feng Gui Wang, ever do business at a loss?
If you make less money, it is already considered a loss. This is because the two countries are allies.
"Your Majesty is so humble! Who doesn't know that your Majesty is very good at amassing money? I have heard that in the past two years, your Majesty has sent troops outside the Great Wall and made a lot of money..."
Um?
Governor Feng's eyes turned cold and he glanced over, "Are you trying to ridicule me?"
Unexpectedly, he saw the admiration and envy on the other person's face:
"Zhuge Yuanxun is considered a young leader of our Wu Kingdom. He also pacified Shanyue last year. However, Xizai was unable to compare with the king's skill and magnanimity. He recruited more than 100,000 mountain people, but in the end, not even half of the money came into the treasury.
,well!"
When Governor Feng heard that "there are more than 100,000 mountain people", he couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and asked subconsciously:
"How much does this cost? Why is there no money in the treasury?"
It took many years for Hanzhong to get more than 100,000 barbarians to fill the estates, and it was not easy for Hanzhong to prosper again.
In those years, Old Yao Zhuge was able to make a living just by collecting tolls, selling his membership in the militia, and selling dry food.
Not to mention the wave of sales after the Nanman were pacified.
But Qin Bo slapped his thigh:
"Otherwise, Zhuge Yuanxun is no match for the princes! He organized 40,000 young men into the army, but the remaining 60,000 to 70,000 people were secretly separated from the generals in the army.
Ku Na didn’t even get half of the money.”
Holy shit!
You generals in the Wu army are really happy.
If this kind of thing happened to the Han Dynasty, it would be a trivial matter if the generals in the army were fucked by the old demon Zhuge. Whether they could save their heads would be a big deal.
Hearing Qin Bo tell him such things, even belittling Zhuge Ke, Governor Feng's heart moved:
"So the reason why Principal Qin came here is not just for the horse transaction?"
Qin Bo moved his body and turned towards Governor Feng as much as possible to show respect:
"Your Majesty, it is your honor that I have come here just to discuss money matters with you."