398 A monarch and minister (for book friends 23/10)
"Wu and Chu have fought for hegemony. Since King Wei ascended the throne, there have been a total of twenty-nine major battles and thirty-one small battles. All the barbarians belonging to Chu State have been conquered by Wu State, so that we can have today's territory..."
In Kuaiji, the capital of the Yue Kingdom that had lost its traditional power structure, all the original nobles, big and small, were moved to Gusu. Only the toughest veterans remained here to guard the unwilling Yue gentry.
Although it lost its political status, the free trade that followed turned the entire city into a trade center in southern Zhejiang. Even the Ouyue and Shanyue tribes boldly entered the heart of the once powerful enemy and used
in exchange for their specialties.
Ivory, rhino horn, python skin, pheasant tail...
Kuaiji City is lively as never before.
The Chamber of Commerce organized a local restaurant similar to the "Jiangyin Guild Hall" on its own initiative. In addition to gathering fellow villagers, the restaurant also served as a tourist attraction and a restaurant.
At this moment, there was an old man with a different Yue accent, holding a purple clay pot, drinking tea and enjoying the coolness.
"Handan Guild Hall", just from the name, is similar to "Jiangyin Guild Hall", but it can also be seen that this is probably the place where people from the Jin Dynasty settled.
"Master...are you going to Gusu to mourn?"
“Where can’t we mourn?”
The old man asked with a smile on his face, and then rubbed the purple clay pot in his hand, "When I greedily won the gold medal of Li Jie, I never thought that he would not bear grudges. This guy is so sincere."
"Master...where do we start talking about this?"
The father-in-law was speechless, "Master, I don't know something. Although this man acts recklessly, he is actually very calculating. The word "sincerity" is absolutely unacceptable."
"Oh? I'm asking you."
The old man brushed his beard and asked, "What Li Jie wants is only a woman with money and silk, is that true or not?"
"this……"
I would like to say that everyone is similar, but when I think about it carefully, Li Jie seems to be particularly paranoid and has no ability to resist beauty, like a hungry ghost in lust.
As for wealth, it should be put second.
But when we think about Jiangyin City's own production of money and silk, it's hard to put it all together. There is no shortage of money and silk, so naturally we can't talk about whether we are thirsty or not, because there is no such demand created.
To put it another way, Li Jie is short of labor and land. At this moment, the large area of Wu Kingdom's land in Jiangbei is actually in the hands of this barbarian.
It's just that the land in Jiangbei is not very fertile, or simply barren, so there is no competition among the powerful people in Suzhou.
For the old family of Wu State, fifty acres of land in the north of the Yangtze River is not as good as one acres of land in the Wangji area.
This is because an acre of land in Wangji area can steadily yield a few stones, while those in Jiangbei's newly opened land may have harvested nothing after sowing the seeds that year, resulting in a pure loss of blood.
But no matter what, Li Jie is accumulating land and then transforming the land. So far, the effect is pretty good.
At least some beans and wheat can be produced, with an output of eighty jin per mu. In the vast area of Jiangbei, an output of more than 200,000 shi can be achieved.
So a woman with money and silk, replaced by a woman with food, is indeed what Li Jie wants.
The son hesitated for a while and nodded: "What Master said is true."
"If you have desires in your heart and actions with your body, how can you not be sincere?"
The old man smiled playfully and said, "The same was true when the king was young. He only wanted the throne, so he used all means and went all out. To achieve his goal, he did not hesitate to do anything. This is sincerity!"
After saying that, the old man's expression became serious, as if he was recalling the past: "I want to cheer myself up, so I work hard and train my troops, so that I can fight a hundred battles with Wu Jia. After fighting together for 60 times, I can subdue the Chu State and dominate it."
southeast."
"The most sincere thing is not the most perfect thing."
He gently placed the purple clay teapot on the table and pointed with his finger, "This tea and teapot are both delicate objects. To Li Jie, they are nothing more than a means to make money. The princes loved it so much that Li Jie made it."
Diligence.”
"Master, do you want me to seek refuge with Li Jie?"
"ha……"
The old man smiled and shook his head, "You are now living under someone else's roof. If it weren't for Li Jie, you would have died long ago."
"..."
Being complained about like this by his father, the son actually had nothing to say.
It was actually what his father said that made him remember that when it came to "taking refuge", in fact, they had already joined the whole family since the turmoil in Gusu.
If it weren't for Li Jie's blessing, there would be countless people in the entire Wu Kingdom who wanted them to die and their entire family.
The intimidating power of Li Jie, the leader of the barbarians, became more and more brilliant as his achievements became more and more brilliant, making the old people more and more fearful and even awe-inspiring.
Powerful to the Yangtze, powerful to the Central Plains, powerful to the Huaihe River... This is not at all like an achievement that a normal savage leader should be able to accomplish.
But Li Jie just did it.
"Kuiji Mountain... follow me to climb the mountain and take a look."
"Hi."
A carriage came and parked outside the "Handan Guild Hall". After the old man got on, the carriage slowly headed towards Kuaiji Mountain.
When they arrived at the mountain, the old father and son arrived at the place where King Wu died. The old man stood where Gouchen had been, overlooking the rolling waves of the Zhejiang estuary.
The waves are like a white line, like thousands of troops, roaring against the coastline.
After a long time, the old man said: "If it hadn't been for Li Jie, I might have gone to Kuaiji on that day to make suggestions for Zong Sang."
"Ah?! Master! This..."
"Are you thinking about the situation between the king and his ministers? The former king treated me well, why do you think so?"
"Exactly!"
"I am a counselor and not from Wu. The king and his ministers have helped the late king in his hegemony. We do not owe each other..."
The old man who stood with his hands behind his hands said this calmly, and then told a secret that shocked his son, "If I hadn't left that day, I was afraid that I would be killed by Li Jie. If the person traveling with me was an old colleague, he would definitely be able to do it."
Let me live. Only Li Jie can kill someone with just one thought."
"Then why did Master entrust his clansmen to Li Jie's hands again?"
"My life in the rivers and lakes is equivalent to suicide for the former king. Why should Li Jie care about the dead? Furthermore, the State of Yue gave me a pair of jade stones. I didn't even take a look at them, so I gave them to Li Jie.
For the sake of beauty, I should also do it for convenience."
"..."
When my son almost rolled down Kuaiji Mountain, he was thinking that this damn person had just escaped from the gate of hell in the first place?
If you, dad, touch two little girls from the Yue Kingdom, or if Li Jie, a wild dog, suddenly goes crazy and wants to show off to the King of Wu, wouldn’t that kill the whole family?
However, the son did not dare to ask or say this, so he had to keep it silently in his heart.
"Oh...it's just a joke, why should you take it seriously?"
"..."
When the son heard this, he became ten times more depressed.
On the top of Kuaiji Mountain, the old man looked at the white waves in the distance forming one line after another. The waves behind seemed to be chasing the waves in front, layer by layer, one after another, until they collided with the coastline and disappeared completely.
, the back wave turned into the front wave again.
"If there is a change in the state of Wu and you feel that you can't do anything about it, then leave the state of Wu and go to the state of Jin."
"Hi!"
"With Li Jie here, the dangerous situation of the late king's death no longer exists."
"Hi!"
"A counselor without roots can only survive in chaos."
The old man sighed and said, "If Li Jie takes advantage of the situation, just be a Wu man!"
"Hi!"
While climbing the mountain to look at the sea, I heard the sound of horse hooves rutting, and not long after, I saw a chariot approaching.
In the car was none other than veteran Gong Hu.
Gonghu, who was dressed in military uniform, wore a strong sword and carried a Wu hook on his waist. When he arrived at Kuaiji Mountain, when he saw the old man, he knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and saluted: "Gonghu has seen Dazai!"
"We are ministers of the same dynasty, why should we be so generous? General Gong, hurry up and invite me."
"Please also ask Dazai to return to Gusu and assist the young master!"
"I am not from Wu. My great revenge has been avenged and I have no regrets."
As soon as these words came out, Gong Hu's eyes immediately showed disappointment, and he could only nod his head and said, "When the former king destroyed Yue, he also talked about Dazai."
"When the king and his ministers are together, I also miss the late king."
With a smile on his face and no sign of sadness or joy, the long-lost Wu Guoyuan Dazai Ziqi said at this moment: "There is a saying: fallen leaves return to their roots. I should return to the Jin Kingdom in order to find a place to hide and teach my descendants. I hope the general will not be surprised."
"How dare you? Tiger only hopes that Dazai will get what he wants."