Chapter 1034 New Situation
Most of the things in the world can be attributed to the word benefit.
Many people hope that the Han Dynasty will regain Guanzhong as soon as possible. In that case, everyone can sell woolen materials to the east more easily.
Some people don’t want Ghost King Feng to return, also because it is profitable.
"Speaking from my conscience, the prince has not treated everyone badly over the years, has he? There is no free benefit in this world. If you take these benefits, everyone must act according to the rules set by the prince."
“It’s just that in this world, there are too many greedy people, like the Li family in Shu. They want benefits but also want to act inconsistently.”
Zhang Xingyi seemed to be sighing, but his tone became more and more serious:
"Everyone must know what the fate of the Li family's big house is. It's only been a few years, but why do some people just not believe in evil and always want to test the bottom line of a big man?"
Her eyes swept across the entire scene and finally stopped in a certain direction.
Some people were sweating harder.
“Zhang Jiaerlang, do you think I am right?”
Zhang family?
Everyone was surprised, some even looked shocked.
How could it be the Zhang family?
Some people who want to think more can’t help but murmur in their hearts:
Could it be that someone wants to take action on the Zhang family?
Zhang Xingyi took a folder from Li Mu, opened it and read:
“Since the beginning of winter, there have been eighteen attacks by barbarians in the border counties. Most of these barbarians crossed the pass from the grasslands in the north and went south.”
“In these eighteen attacks, thirty-seven people were killed or injured, including a family of four who were slaughtered.”
Secretary Zhang read this and said word by word, "Zhang Erlang, do you have anything to say?"
Being called out by Secretary Zhang, Zhang Erlang had no choice but to stand up and responded:
“Secretary Zhang, I, the Zhang family of Dunhuang, have a little reputation in Liangzhou. Even if you are the secretary of the Governor’s Office, you cannot arbitrarily slander the Zhang family’s reputation..."
Zhang Xingyi sneered and sneered: "Can you represent the Zhang family? When Zhang Gong was here, he would rather lose his parents and children than rebel, let alone collude with the barbarians to bring disaster to Liangzhou."
Before Zhang Xingyi could finish speaking, Zhang Erlang almost jumped up.
I saw his thick red neck and retorted loudly:
“Nonsense, when did our Zhang family collude with the barbarians!”
In the past, if they colluded, they would collude, so what? Who in Liangzhou didn’t do this?
But it’s different now.
It is taboo to collude with the Hu people outside the Great Wall.
It is not only a taboo for the government, but also a taboo for the wealthy families in Liangzhou.
After all, this is something that could cut off everyone’s money.
Zhang Xingyi was not annoyed when someone interrupted her speech. She took another document from Li Mu's hand and threw it on the table:
"Don't talk about the Zhang family one at a time. I believe you can't represent the entire Zhang family. Zhang Taishou is here to ensure peace in Juyan County and prepare food and grass for the princes to go on expeditions."
“In order to promote the prestige of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Langjun (Zhang Jiu) went to the Western Regions and did not return for several years. This is the Zhang family that Duke Zhang wanted.”
"And you, for your own benefit, do not hesitate to trade privately with the Sewaihu people. Not only do you collect wool from them, you even sell them grain and wool."
Zhang Xingyi sneered:
“The king sent people out for two consecutive years to clean up the surrounding barbarians. Less than a year later, the barbarians dared to cross the border and attack and kill the people in the border counties.”
"To be honest, if someone didn't lend them the courage, I don't believe they would dare to do this."
It’s not that we are not allowed to trade with the barbarians. Otherwise, there have been so many caravans leaving the fortress over the years, and they are not going out for sightseeing.
But Governor Feng knew that wool was a strategic material.
Because of this thing, not only can the big man's resistance to the small glacier climate be greatly improved.
Moreover, it can also be used to control the Hu people and neutralize the impact of the Hu people going south on the Han people.
So as long as the caravan leaving Liangzhou carries woolen materials, how much you want to sell and where you want to sell them are all planned and purposeful.
It must not be your raw materials. You can sell them however you want.
And in many cases, there are some guys with special tasks in these caravans, who are more interested in the terrain of the destination, the situation of each tribe, etc.
In order to unify and coordinate the interests of various companies, Liangzhou even established the General Textile Chamber of Commerce, and President Li is the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Privately trading wool, wool and other materials with the barbarians outside the Great Wall would not only disrupt the government's plans, but also harm the interests of each family.
That's why Zhang Erlang was so anxious that he jumped to defend himself.
But since Secretary Zhang dared to say this in public, she naturally had a lot of evidence.
She didn't bother to argue with the other party. She just turned her head and signaled, and immediately there were guards escorting the two in.
The two people being held captive were a Han and a Hu.
No one knew the Hu people, but people who had contacts with the Zhang family discovered that the Han man was the manager of a caravan of the Zhang family.
As soon as Zhang Erlang saw these two people, his face turned pale.
“Zhang Erlang, how do you plan to explain?”
Looking at the two women sitting on the main seat, Zhang Erlang shouted:
“It’s none of my business, it’s his decision...”
Before he finished speaking, he shut up immediately.
But it was too late. Just by this faux pas, everyone knew that there was indeed something wrong with the Zhang family's caravan.
Zhang Xingyi was a little impatient:
"You are the person in charge of the caravan in the Zhang family, and you told me that you didn't know about this? You didn't know it once, you didn't know it twice, and you've traded nearly ten times a year, and you still don't know?"
“You are also a descendant of the Zhang family of Dunhuang, can you be a little more responsible?”
Zhang Gong's surrender to the Han Dynasty brought opportunities to the Zhang family in Dunhuang, but he died at the wrong time, and Zhang Gong, the heir to the family head, went to the Western Regions.
Zhang Gong's younger brother Zhang Hua, although he was the prefect of Juyan County, he was only a branch of the Zhang family and not from the clan. His own prestige was not enough to convince the Zhang family clan.
At the same time, he is just a warrior and does not have enough ability and means to coordinate the distribution of interests within the Zhang family.
Faced with the huge dividends specially allocated to the Zhang family, many people within the Zhang family have already become red-eyed.
Benefits are unevenly distributed. It is not surprising that some people use the name of the Zhang family to seek personal gain for themselves.
If it was just a struggle for power within the Zhang family, would she take care of it only after she was full?
But if the fight within your Zhang family involves the people on the frontier, don't blame her for taking action.
Moreover, what Zhang Erlang did was really too outrageous.
“Secretary Zhang also knows that I am from the Zhang family in Dunhuang, so he should also know that our Zhang family has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. Are you doing this with the intention of hiding everything?”
When Zhang Erlang heard Zhang Xingyi's words, he seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, waved his arms vigorously, and said with a slight threat.
Zhang Xingyi sighed:
“I said, you cannot represent the Zhang family.”
Possibly knowing that the Zhang family is his biggest talisman, Zhang Erlang did not care about being rude and kept emphasizing his identity:
“I am sitting here on behalf of the Zhang family. What qualifications do you have to dictate to our Zhang family?”
A person walked in at the door again.
When Zhang Erlang saw the person coming, his face turned pale again and he slumped on the ground.
Because Zhang Jiu, who had been traveling to the Western Regions for several years, suddenly appeared here.
Probably because the wind and sand in the Western Regions were too strong, Zhang Jiu's skin not only became a lot rougher, but also a lot darker.
The original son of a wealthy family, his beard length was almost the same as that of a barbarian from the west, and he looked more than ten years older than his actual age.
The clothes on his body have a strong style of the Western Regions barbarians, and he looks dusty. It seems that he has just arrived in Wuwei and has not even had time to change his clothes.
Zhang did not look at Zhang Erlang. He bowed deeply to Zhang Xingyi and said:
“The Zhang family is not strict in running the family, causing unscrupulous people in the family to violate the laws and cause trouble to the government. They are very ashamed.”
Facing Zhang Jiu, Secretary Zhang’s expression softened and he comforted:
"Zhang Xiaowei does not need to be like this. Shun still had an unworthy son Shangjun. Confucius had three thousand disciples, but there were only seventy-two sages."
“There are many people in the Zhang family, and it’s normal for someone to be unscrupulous from time to time. Why should we blame ourselves?”
Those who can sit here do not have a simple family background.
Because families with slightly weaker foundations are not qualified or able to participate in the workshop.
So they are members of their own family who know their own affairs and are well aware of the complexities within a large family.
Let alone a large family like the Zhang family that has gained huge profits in a short period of time but does not have a principal with sufficient prestige.
At this time, some people have begun to think about it:
Is the governor's office planning to blatantly support Zhang?
Or maybe Zhang wants to use the help of the governor's office to rectify the Zhang family and truly establish his position as the head of the family?
But no matter what, the impact of this matter is by no means just a matter of the Zhang family.
“Secretary Zhang, I was just confused for a moment and am willing to pay for my sins.”
Zhang Erlang finally couldn't bear it anymore and begged for mercy again and again.
"If I remember correctly, according to law, those who collaborate with thieves will be executed and their property confiscated, and their wives and children will be exiled to the frontier."
Secretary Zhang said expressionlessly:
“Of course, the specific case will be decided by the competent authority.”
Looking at the wolf-like guards rushing in.
Zhang Erlang finally howled unwillingly:
"I don't accept it! Lord Feng is on an expedition, and you are just a woman. How can you have the authority to act like this?"
“Women do politics!”
“Yi Ji Si Chen!”
…
Secretary Zhang was not moved by his words at all, and his expression did not even waver.
Looking at the guards dragging the limp Zhang Erlang out like a dead dog, everyone's expressions were quite complicated.
There is solemnity, indifference, and gloating, to name a few.
Capital is greedy.
Secretary Zhang has been with King Feng Gui for so long, so he naturally knows this truth very well.
Not to mention the long-standing privileges enjoyed by those aristocratic families will only amplify their greed.
In just a few years, there are already signs that someone wants to cross the red line.
This time the Liangzhou Army went out on a large scale, which inevitably caused an internal emptiness. In addition, the battle of Guanzhong would not be resolved for a long time.
The daily routine of the governor's office this year has been centered around the Battle of Guanzhong.
So some people took advantage of this opportunity and wanted to test the governor's bottom line.
Perhaps the Han Dynasty recaptured Liangzhou too easily without large-scale bloodshed (Feng Guiwang: Precision Cleansing).
Let some people fish in troubled waters and easily reap the development dividends of Liangzhou.
This led them to have some illusion that the imperial court's attitude towards them was different from that of the Shu family.
Just like some people in later generations who thought that they were the most special one in the eyes of Neptune.
Of course, Secretary Zhang is also a scumbag—in a political sense.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Secretary Zhang’s actions were supporting Zhang Jiu.
But in fact, after the news of the great victory in Guanzhong reached Liangzhou, Secretary Zhang immediately made up his mind to attack the wealthy people of Liangzhou.
As for Zhang Jiu's return, it was just a coincidence, or it was just a coincidence that she helped Zhang Jiu stabilize the Zhang family as soon as possible.
And Zhang Erlang is the chicken used to teach the monkey.
If there is no Zhang Erlang, sooner or later there will be Li Sanlang and Yan Silang...
Of course, Zhang Erlang's identity did have a deterrent effect, leaving many people in a state of uncertainty.
The next agenda was about the Liangzhou workshop and wool supply, which did not cause too much trouble.
What is surprising is that Secretary Zhang also brought everyone a message from the front line:
Junzhong has decided to increase its efforts to purchase leather next year.
This makes many people excited.
The development of animal husbandry has naturally led to the rise of leather processing in Liangzhou.
After all, no matter how rich the Han Dynasty is, there is no way to make every soldier wear iron armor - the most you can do is to increase the armor rate in the army as much as possible.
What's more, there are gold-eating monsters like armored cavalry in the Han army.
It is possible to make use of Liangzhou's animal husbandry to let soldiers in the army wear leather armor to improve their protective capabilities.
Moreover, the battle in Guanzhong was regarded as the largest battle between the Han Dynasty and Wei State, and it was also a comprehensive confrontation.
The Liangzhou Army fought against the bandits many times in various complex terrains.
According to the experience summarized by frontline staff officers, iron armor cannot adapt to all environments.
At some point, they can even become a burden.
So leather armor that is lightweight and has certain protective capabilities has become an option.
After everyone left, Zhang Xingyi was still sitting where he was, with a slightly tired look on his face.
As the Han Dynasty continued to regain its old territory, the game between the various forces became more and more intense.
"This is just the beginning. Even if I kill Zhang Erlang, I'm afraid it will only shock him for a while."
Zhang Xingyi rubbed his forehead and said, "When the storm passes, I wonder if someone will lose their head again."
Zhang Erlang can be regarded as a son of an aristocratic family, but in the face of greedy capital, his life is so worthless.
The situation is obviously very good, but Secretary Zhang’s political instinct makes her increasingly worried.
The Han Dynasty suppressed the old aristocratic families, but the power of the new rich was rapidly expanding. Who can guarantee that the new rich will not follow the powerful path of the later Han Dynasty in the future?
If the Prime Minister was here, I would naturally not have such worries, but the Prime Minister's body... Alas!
According to the current situation, Alang's entry into the center is probably a foregone conclusion. If these upstarts cannot be suppressed by then, I'm afraid there will be backlash in the future.
(End of this chapter)