Chapter 44: There is no other person like him in the world
In addition to his upright character, Tian Feng also has another characteristic: he is extremely stubborn.
Even if Liu Bei lectured him, he still wouldn't let him go.
In the end, Liu Bei himself became annoyed and said to Tian Feng: "Yuan Hao, do you really think this plan can work?"
"Ming Gong!"
Tian Feng said with assurance: "It's absolutely feasible."
"What about the opinions of the public?"
Liu Bei looked at the crowd very wisely, and the minority obeyed the majority. If everyone opposed it, Tian Feng would have nothing to say.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one stood up and spoke first.
In fact, Liu Bei had more than four advisers under his command: Chen Muju, Tian Feng and Xunyu. These four were just the most outstanding.
Others include Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Jian Yong, Sun Shao, Shi Yi, Sun Qian, Zuo Ji, Liu Qian and other civil servants who were the first to follow him. If you include the scholars of Zheng Xuan from Taishan Academy, there would be even more.
It's just that some of these people are good at internal affairs, some are good at people's livelihood, and some are good at education. They all perform their own duties and have different divisions of labor. It doesn't mean that Liu Bei has fewer advisers around him.
Cao Cao now has four great counselors, and so does Liu Bei. However, Jushu and Xun Yu are in the center and are not on the front lines. So now only Chen Mu and Tian Feng have relatively high abilities, while the others are average.
Therefore, in this situation, everyone could not clearly see the situation and naturally did not dare to be the first to speak casually. After all, not everyone is Guo Jia and can predict the outcome of this plan at a glance.
The only thing that is certain is that once this strategy is implemented, it may have little impact on Yuan Shao's military in a short period of time, but it will cause immeasurable damage to the people's livelihood in Jizhou.
But for Liu Bei, maybe he cherishes his reputation in the hearts of the people in Jizhou and is unwilling to do things that harm the people.
But for many civil servants and generals under his command, what does it matter to them whether the people die or not?
Therefore, they remained silent not because they cared about the people like Liu Bei, but because they were not sure whether this strategy could cause a huge blow to Yuan Shao as Tian Feng said.
In addition, there are also some interest disputes. Qingzhou Haiyan is produced, and many big families and powerful businessmen are involved, just like countless sharks biting a big cake.
Chen Mu knows very well that it is unrealistic to let Big Brother monopolize the profits. Salt is one of the most profitable businesses. If Liu Bei wants to occupy the entire market, from mining to selling, there will be countless obstacles in the entire channel, even in Qingzhou. We can barely make it, but beyond Qingzhou, it will be difficult to move in Haiyan.
Therefore, many civil and military ministers, including Liu Bei's subordinates, all have interests in this aspect. The big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimp. Layer by layer, Qingzhou salt is sold to other places, which is only slightly more expensive than salt from other places. Cheaper, but not much different overall.
If the Jizhou channel is blocked, Qingzhou Haiyan will lose a huge market. After all, with the great turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty, the population of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty should now only be more than 30 million, and Jizhou accounts for one-fifth. One of the largest markets.
As a result, ministers who are involved with those interest groups will naturally not be able to speak out in this regard. If they stand up to oppose, with Tian Feng's upright character, he will make a few remarks about this aspect, but it will become very embarrassing. .
No one spoke, so in the end, Chen Mu naturally had to take the lead. He smiled bitterly, stood up and said, "Brother, I am opposed to this plan."
"Chen Zigui!"
Tian Feng glared angrily. He had told Chen Mu before and thought he could support him, but the result was still the same attitude.
However, Chen Mu still conscientiously comforted him and said, "Brother Yuan Hao, please be patient and listen to me."
"Okay, I want to see what you say!"
Tian Feng rolled his sleeves and sat down.
He had high hopes for this strategy, so how could he give up so easily?
Chen Mu looked around at everyone and said slowly: "Masters, Brother Yuan Hao's plan is indeed a very powerful one, but it has three shortcomings."
"First, illegal salt is rampant. Brother Yuan Hao's plan to cut off salt is to block the flow of salt from Qingzhou to Jizhou. The idea is very good. The only offshore Bohai County in Jizhou is now in the hands of his eldest brother and brother Bogui. Yuan Shao cannot make salt by himself, so he can only
You can buy salt from other places.”
"However, Guanzhong salt, Yizhou salt, and Huainan salt are all too far away, so he can only pretend not to see the Qingzhou salt flowing into Jizhou and choose to ignore it. Maybe he secretly buys it at low prices and hoards it for military use."
"If we follow Brother Yuan Hao's plan and cut off Qingzhou salt at this time, the people on the border, merchants from all over the country, aristocratic families, and powerful people will definitely smuggle and sell it secretly if they see the opportunity to profit from it."
"If these private salts cannot be banned, then this plan will not lead to civil strife in Yuan Shao's army. Instead, it will give huge profits to the private salts and cause great harm."
"Second, the time is too long. Yuan Shao is not stupid. There is a large amount of grain, oil and salt in the warehouses of the various princes. Once the plan is implemented, the inflow of salt will begin to decrease. It will not have a great impact on Yuan Shao's army. It will only cause chaos in the people's livelihood in Jizhou.
That’s all.”
"If Yuan Shao had been smarter and sent troops to garrison Shangdang and go south to Hedong, whether it was to go to Guanzhong to buy salt at a high price or to seize the Guanzhong Salt Pond by force, his army would not collapse in at least one or two years."
"In the past two years, Qingzhou's salt ban strategy will only cause harm to the lives of the people in Jizhou, but it will have minimal impact on Yuan Shao's army."
"Third, it harms others but does not benefit oneself. Qingzhou produces salt and sells it all over the world. Finally, gold, silver and copper from all over the world gather in Qingzhou. It is of great help to stabilize prices in Qingzhou and maintain Qingzhou's finances. Jizhou is our main source of income. If it is cut off, Qingzhou will
Revenue plummeted."
At the end of the sentence, he became serious and serious. He raised his hands to Liu Bei and said: "Therefore, this plan can only be regarded as a long-term benefit strategy. In the short term, we and the people of Jizhou will be harmed, so I oppose it."
Among the three points raised by Chen Mu, it goes without saying that illegal salt is needed. Once there is a shortage of salt in a certain place, illegal salt dealers will be like sharks that smell blood. Even if they risk being beheaded, they will have to transport salt all the way.
.
The second point is also very clear. All the princes will hoard military supplies such as grain, grass, oil and salt. Looking at the history of the late Han Dynasty, the only princes who have ever experienced running out of ammunition and food are Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu.
Among them, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had their homes stolen by Lu Bu, and all their supplies were taken away by Lu Bu.
Yuan Shu, on the other hand, was simply seeking his own death, insisting on proclaiming himself emperor and causing everyone to rebel and alienate him.
Other princes, no matter how miserable the people under their rule were, at least there was no problem in ensuring the supply of the army.
What's more, Yuan Shao, a top prince in the late Han Dynasty, must have countless warehouses for storage.
After all, the amount of salt people consume every day is still far behind compared to food. As long as the salt reserves are sufficient, the army cannot be in chaos regardless of whether the people live or die.
So as Chen Mu said, even if the private salt issue is solved, it will still be difficult to touch Yuan Shao's basic base in a short period of time.
Not to mention the third point.
I am a salt seller, although I am close to a monopoly. If I don't sell salt to you, it seems like you are losing money, but in fact I am only half as good and no one is taking advantage.
Therefore, based on the above, Tian Feng's strategy may be good and a long-term plan, but it is not in Qingzhou's interests.
Whether it is in terms of public sentiment, economy, governance, military, etc., there are certain flaws.
Just like a stock, you are optimistic about a certain stock in the long run because it has broad development prospects. However, in the near future, this stock has experienced internal chaos, frequent bad news, and a large downward trend. No matter how good the future prospects are, retail investors and institutions will not
Those who are eager to enter the market at this time will be trapped.
Therefore, the strategy is a good strategy, but it is the same as Tian Feng in history who advised Yuan Shao not to rush into a decisive battle with Cao Cao, but to harass the exhausted enemy. It requires time, government, army, generals and a lot of local support.
To put it simply, to implement this plan, not only a top micro-manipulation master is needed to operate the plan, but also generals who are not Chun Yuqiong and who know how to adapt to changes.
It is still difficult for Liu Bei to reach this level now.
Hearing Chen Mu's words, Tian Feng couldn't help but want to refute. However, unlike Liu Bei who only talked about people-oriented principles, Chen Mu analyzed all the pros and cons of this matter thoroughly. For a moment, Tian Feng actually
I can't find any reason to refute him.
After a while, he took a long breath and said slowly: "In that case, does Zigui have a better way than this strategy to force Yuan Shao into a decisive battle?"
Chen Mu thought for a while and shook his head: "No."
Tian Feng turned to look at Liu Bei and said: "Ming Gong, now we are at a stalemate with Yuan Shao. Even if we include Gongsun Bogui, we can only take a defensive stance. Unless we take the initiative to attack, our total strength will only be 80,000, plus the Luoyang soldiers."
With only 140,000 horses, there is no way he can defeat Yuan Shao, so this is the best way."
If we only count the total strength of Qingzhou and Luoyang, it is indeed difficult to take the initiative to attack Yuan Shao.
Don't think that the Battle of Kunyang, the Battle of Guandu, and the Battle of Feishui can be won, and that it's okay to have fewer people and attack more people.
Those were all accidental phenomena. If Yuan Shao didn't have Xu You, his second and fifth son, to help Cao Cao figure out the location of Yuan Shao's granary, do you think what would have happened to Cao Cao?
Therefore, if we give up our current geographical advantage and attack Jizhou with the entire army, there is a high probability that there will be another Geting defeat.
There's just one problem here, that is, Tian Feng didn't mention Gongsun Zan at all.
This is something worth pondering.
"Where's Bogui?"
Liu Bei frowned. If Gongsun Zan was added, the total military strength would not be much different from Yuan Shao's.
However, Tian Feng said: "Ming Gong, Gongsun Zan cannot be trusted!"
Liu Bei said angrily: "Tian Yuanhao, you are trying to sow discord between me and Bo Gui!"
"Ming Gong!"
Tian Feng said earnestly: "Ming Gong, think carefully about how Gongsun Bogui will deal with himself after defeating Yuan Shao. Then he will definitely meet with Ming Gong at war."
Liu Bei shook his robe and said: "Okay, I forgive you for not understanding my friendship with Bogui and not knowing your guilt. If you dare to talk nonsense next time, you will be punished by military law. Let's end today's meeting. I'm tired."
"
"Ming Gong!"
Tian Feng also wanted to say something.
However, Liu Bei didn't give him a chance. After saying that, he turned around and left.
Tian Feng hurriedly chased after him, but guards had already blocked him. No matter how much he shouted, Liu Bei never looked back.
"Alas, the big thing is over!"
Tian Feng went to chase Liu Bei to no avail. He returned to the hall, pounding his chest and stamping his feet, extremely angry.
After he patted the table for a while, he raised his head again and suddenly saw that there were still a few people on the opposite side who had not left.
It is Chen Mu, Yan Zhong and Xu Rong.
The three of them were looking at him with smiles, which made Tian Feng feel ashamed and angry for a moment.
"Brother Yuan Hao, you must be angry with me now."
Chen Mu stood up, came over with a wine bottle, and helped Tian Feng pour a glass of wine.
Tian Feng raised his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and laughed at himself: "If you don't accept my words, you will be in trouble sooner or later!"
"Yuan Hao, you have misunderstood my brother."
Chen Mu hesitated for a moment, but decided to comfort him: "There are some things he can't say about Gongsun Zan, do you understand?"
"Can't Ming Gong still see it? Gongsun Zan also has the intention to go south to attack Jizhou."
Tian Feng pointed to the north and said: "If he was really loyal to the imperial court, how could he hold on to the Bohai Sea and carve up Jizhou with Ming Gong? I think the day Yuan Shao was destroyed was when Gongsun Zan turned against him in battle!"
"Brother Yuan Hao!"
Chen Mu looked around and winked at Xu Rong. Xu Rong understood, walked out, closed the hall door, and stood guard at the door, not allowing anyone to come in.
"Does Zigui think what I said is wrong?"
Tian Feng asked rhetorically.
Chen Mu sat down at the same table as Tian Feng and said softly: "Brother Yuan Hao's words are of course right. As the eldest brother's subordinates, we naturally have to consider the issue in the interests of the eldest brother. Although we are still talking about Yuan Shao's overthrow.
Good morning, but Gongsun Zan is indeed a big trouble."
Hearing Chen Mu's words of support for him, Tian Feng wondered: "If this is the case, why does Duke Ming still believe in Gongsun Zan so much?"
"Because big brother can't betray morality."
Chen Mu sighed.
Historically, even though Lu Bu was acting like that, Liu Bei still accepted him. As a result, Lu Bu rebelled and lost Xuzhou.
Later, he led the people across the river. Anyone who has read some history books knows that Liu Bei was taking the people of Xiangyang across the Han River. Because there were so many people, he made many trips by boat to transport the people across the river.
So actually crossing the river was a success and not a failure.
However, it took too much time to cross the river, so Cao Cao caught up with him after crossing the river. Then there was the story of Zhao Yun's defeat at Dangyang, and the story of Zhao Yun going in and out of Changbanpo seven times.
Therefore, in fact, if Liu Bei really wanted to run away, he could leave the people alone and cross the river by boat, which would be much more convenient than taking more than 100,000 people with him.
Also when passing through Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang asked him to attack Liu Cong and capture Jingzhou, but he did not agree.
After Guan Yu's death, the whole country wanted to take revenge.
Before he died, he handed over the power of the entire country to Zhuge Liang.
Perhaps morally, the only person Liu Bei owed was probably Liu Zhang.
Hearing Chen Mu's words, Tian Feng couldn't believe it and said in astonishment: "Does personal morality have to override the national justice?"
Chen Mu thought of the second brother's murder in history and how the eldest brother was desperate, and still could only smile bitterly: "He... is just such a person."