Jia Xu said compliments to Chen Cheng with a smile, her expression was sincere, her tone was appropriate, and the smile on her face was just right, making people fall in love with him at first sight.
"Oh? I don't understand what Wen He said. Where does happiness come from?"
"The envoy killed Song Jian and shocked Xiliang. From then on, no one in Liangzhou can challenge the authority of the envoy."
"Isn't this a matter of course?" Chen Cheng waved his hand and said, "It's not worth mentioning, and it's not something to be happy about. It's almost the Chinese New Year, and the weather is very cold. Wen He is not warming up in the embassy, but he comes to me
Is there anything important you come here for?"
Jia Xu smiled and said: "Shi Jun has a sharp eye. I really need help from Shi Jun."
"Is it because the embassy is short of funds? I will ask someone to send some more rice, noodles, meat, vegetables and other daily necessities."
"It's not these things. I have great love from the envoy, and the embassy has always been fully funded." Jia Xu said, "It is my Lord Bingzhou Mu who has something to ask for from the envoy."
"Dong Bingzhou? The mountains and rivers inside and outside Bingzhou, and the mountains and rivers are the foundation of the emperor. What can Dong Bingzhou ask of me?"
"............"
How could a poor place like Bingzhou be the foundation of the emperor? Guanzhong and Hebei were the places with the spirit of the emperor! However, Jia Xu also knew a little bit about Chen Cheng's usual style of behavior, so he just regarded this occasional convulsive behavior as
He didn't see it. He sighed, looking worried, and said: "The situation in Bingzhou is critical now, and it has reached a critical stage of survival!"
Chen Cheng listened to the music and said: "Now Dong Bingzhou has become an official and soldier of the imperial court, and Ding Yuan has been beaten into an enemy of the imperial court. It is the time for great peace and prosperity, and it is by no means the critical autumn of life and death that Wen He said."
Jia Xu said seriously: "Your Majesty only knows one thing, but not the other."
"Well, I'm skeptical of your statement," Chen Cheng said, "but I still want to hear what the second one is."
Jia Xu said: "In the past two years, Bingzhou has suffered from repeated wars. In the land east of the river, there are only ten registered residents. In order to fight against Ding Yuan and Zhang Yang, Dong Bingzhou had to recruit a large number of troops in the state. The envoy knows that,
How much food does it cost to maintain an army of 100,000 people, and the requisitioning of the people has further reduced the output of the people, and now Bingzhou has begun to suffer from famine!"
"Well, you're saying that Bingzhou is short of food now? That shouldn't be the case. Didn't you sell potato and sweet potato grain seeds to Bingzhou? Even if there is no rice or flour, you can still have miscellaneous grains, right?"
“It’s because of the availability of grains that Bingzhou is experiencing famine instead of large-scale starvation.”
"How long can the army's food reserves last?"
"Just enough to eat until spring."
"So few?" Chen Cheng said in surprise: "I don't study much, could Wen He be lying to me?"
The army is the most powerful institution of violence. When there is a shortage of food, they are by no means the first group to starve to death. If there is really no food, wouldn't they go to the countryside with bows and arrows to collect food? I really think that the army is a soldier of the people.
Already?
"To be honest, I can still enjoy it until the summer harvest."
"Wenhe is still beautiful, tell the truth."
"It can probably last until the autumn harvest," Jia Xu sighed and said, "It's just that there are constant rebellions in the state, and Dong Bingzhou... I'm afraid that next year's summer and autumn harvests will be worse than this year."
Chen Cheng asked with great interest: "What's wrong with Bingzhou Mu? Wen He, don't talk only half the words!"
"This..." Jia Xu pondered for a while and felt that the matter could not be hidden. He had also heard of the reputation of Wang Yue, the governor of Liangzhou, so he said: "Dong Bingzhou moved the Huns to Taiyuan.
County, and used the Huns to suppress the rebellion in the state. The killings were heavy and many villages and towns were burned to the ground."
Chen Cheng shook his head and said: "Don't Mr. Dong know that this will make the Huns bigger? Now that he has strong soldiers and horses, he can still suppress the Huns. Once he suffers another major setback, I am afraid that those Huns
It will come back to bite the master."
Mr. Dong? Well, Mr. Dong, just Mr. Dong. Jia Xu said: "The Huns only know how to herd and plunder, they are not good at it."
Chen Cheng didn't want to argue with Jia Xu, he just smiled and asked: "How much food does Mr. Dong want? And what do you want to exchange for it?"
"At least two hundred thousand dan are needed!" Jia Xu said, "Bingzhou can pay the bill with gold and silver."
Chen Cheng shook his head again and said: "I changed the name of Lian County to Yinchuan because there is a silver mine in Helan Mountain. What is the use of so much gold and silver? Can it be used to eat or can it be used?
Come and drink?”
This was the first time that Jia Xu met someone who didn't like gold and silver. After sighing in his heart, he asked: "What do you want, then? Bingzhou's people's livelihood is in decline now, and there is not much output. I'm afraid there will be nothing to use."
It’s up to you.”
"If you don't have anything, then use someone to replace it."
Jia Xu was stunned at first, and then said clearly: "Dong Bingzhou has many family members and children of traitors. If you want it, you can also discuss it."
Well? Chen Cheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Approximately how many people are there?"
"There are about five thousand people in total, evenly divided between men and women."
"Then each person will be exchanged for ten shi of grain. Five thousand people will be sent to Zhendong General Xu Rong, and I will give Mr. Dong 50,000 shi of grain."
Although fifty thousand shi is not a lot, we have harvested a lot of grain from various places in Liangzhou this year, so we can easily scrape it together.
"How come a person is only worth ten dan of food? You must not be joking." Jia Xu said, "Fifty thousand dan is too little food. It is not enough to feed an army of 100,000 people for a month."
"If Mr. Dong is willing to give up his love, I can give him another hundred thousand stones!"
A look of surprise appeared on Jia Xu's face, "Why do you want to give up love?"
Chen Cheng pointed at Jia Xu with his finger and smiled without saying a word. Jia Xu pondered for a while and asked: "Your Majesty, do you think I, Jia Wenhe, am worth one hundred thousand shi of food?"
"No, I don't think Wenhe is worth 100,000 stones."
Jia Xu was stunned for a moment, and then heard Chen Cheng say leisurely: "Wen He's talent is not inferior to that of Bo Dao. I am willing to trade half of Liangzhou for Bo Dao, and the same is true for Wen He. It's only a hundred thousand stones, why?"
Is he worthy of a great talent like Wen He?"
Jia Xu cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "I have given you such praise."
"My ability to fight with soldiers can only be considered average, and my wits and strategies are only average. However, I am still somewhat sure about killing people and identifying people. Bo Dao has never been willing to praise others easily, but he has repeatedly praised others.
I highly praise Wen He's talents. If Mr. Dong is willing to part with me, I will appoint you as Shizhongling, responsible for reviewing imperial edicts, signing memorials, and being able to share secrets with Zhongshu Sheng and discuss state affairs."
Jia Xu smiled and said: "If your ability in fighting is only average, then Huangfu Song cannot be called a famous general. As for Ding Yuan, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and others, they can only fall to the average level."
.”
Chen Cheng smiled and said, "It's not that I don't want to pay more, but because if I really do that, it will bring disaster for Wen He!"
Jia Xu smiled and said: "Then I would like to thank you for your kindness, but I heard that Zhao Yun, the minister in charge, is your confidant general. If you replace him, I'm afraid it will damage the friendship between you and General Zhao."
.”
Chen Cheng shook his head and said: "Zilong only wants to lead troops to fight, and does not like to work among documents. In the past, there was no one, so he was temporarily in charge of the province. Wenhe, you also know,
In Liangzhou, we can find a lot of elite soldiers and generals, but when it comes to handling government affairs, we can hardly find a few."
Jia Xu said: "Yang Fu from Hanyang and the Jiang brothers are all outstanding scholars in Liangzhou. Why don't you recruit them to join the shogunate?"
Chen Cheng said: "They are indeed the best among the younger generation in Liangzhou, but don't Wen He think they are too young? It would not be good to directly promote them. Instead of encouraging them, it is better to give them some local experience first.
time."
He asked Jia Xu: "Wen He has been following Dong Zhuo for many years. In your opinion, will Mr. Dong agree to my proposal?"
Jia Xu sighed and said: "Now that Dong Bingzhou is almost at the end of its rope, I'm afraid he will agree."
Chen Cheng laughed twice and said happily: "Then why should Wen He sigh? If Dong Zhongying is not at this point, how can I get a great talent like Wen He? If Bo Dao knows, maybe he will be so happy.
Look."
Will Yan Zhong be very happy? Jia Xu doesn't think so. In his opinion, Yan Bodao seems to be a little too unrestrained and unscrupulous. If he were under other monarchs, with Yan Zhong's character, he would definitely not end well.
He thought for a while and asked: "Even if Dong Bingzhou disagrees, the envoy will still give these 100,000 shi of grain to Bingzhou, right?"
"Why do Wenhe think so?"
"Now there are two armies in Guanzhong, Huangfu Song and Ding Yuan. Ding Yuan rebelled against the imperial court, but Huangfu Song would not join in the rebellion. If He Jin gave the order in the name of the emperor, Huangfu Song would definitely send troops to attack Ding Yuan's tribe. Beijing
Zhaoyin Gaixun and Huangfu Song have been friends for many years, and he will not stand on Ding Yuan's side. In this way, Ding Yuan's defeat has been determined, and Huangfu Song will monopolize the entire Guanzhong. General Zuo's reputation is known to the world, and he has been in Guanzhong for a long time.
If we occupy Sanfu, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Shijun to advance eastward in the future. That's why Shijun will find ways to strengthen Dong Bingzhou's strength so that he can contain more soldiers and horses in Guanzhong."
Chen Cheng praised: "Wen Hezhen is a man of outstanding intelligence. Things that I thought about for a long time can be figured out in a moment."
He did think for a long time, about an hour or two, and then discussed with Yan Zhong for more than half an hour before he made the decision to support Dong Zhuo. This decision was not made because he had a good impression of Dong Zhuo, but because he had a good impression of Dong Zhuo.
Dong Zhuo is relatively weak now. He will support whoever is weak anyway, and it has nothing to do with preference.
Jia Xu shook his head and said: "You are too humble. You can win by facing the enemy with a majestic formation. Naturally, you don't think much about other directions."
Chen Cheng fell in love with Jia Xu more and more. Not only did Jia Wenhe look good, but his speech was also very nice. No wonder he could prosper no matter where he was. This man could get better and better in the troubled times of the late Han Dynasty.
Well, the tide has lifted all boats along the way, and finally died a good death at the age of seventy or eighty years old. He must have extraordinary strengths.
In contrast, although Wu Hou had a more prominent reputation in later generations, Zhuge Liang worked hard for the rest of his life and his life was far less comfortable than Jia Wenhe's.
