Chapter 955 The villain is interested in profit (2)
As soon as Governor Feng heard the word "money", his spirits perked up.
This time around, you won’t make much money from the war horse trade. What’s important is long-term investment.
Furthermore, before gaining an overwhelming advantage over the Wei State, it was destined not to be too obvious to the Wu State, so Feng Jishi was not interested in talking about this matter for the time being.
But if you want to talk about money or something, then I won’t be sleepy!
In the past, I always scolded the old monster Zhuge for scratching his head, and I wanted to scrape oil off the rocks.
Now it is my turn to realize that the difference between governing a county and governing a state is not the same, let alone governing a country.
There is no other way, the word "money and food" is the top priority!
“A matter of money? Where is the matter of money? Could it be that the Qin school official wants to do some big business with the Han Dynasty?”
Seeing that the somewhat lazy Feng Jishi suddenly became energetic, Qin Bo, who was a little worried at first, saw Feng Jishi's expression and became excited on the spot.
As a school official, Your Majesty is most important, and it is instinct to observe people's words and emotions.
Campus Minister Qin looked at Feng Jishi’s expression and didn’t understand why:
I thought that this Feng Wenhe was unparalleled in literary talent. Even if he could not compare with Lu Xun, who led the army as a scholar, he should be regarded as a person with the character of a Confucian scholar.
Unexpectedly, I also like the smell of copper so much?
As soon as he thought of this, Qin Xiaoshi's mind was as bright as seeing the bright moon after dark clouds were parted.
But I remembered that Mr. Feng started his business by selling Dingkou, and later sold woolen materials, brown sugar, and mead. I heard that he even sold workshop quotas. What else can this be called greedy for money?
It’s great to be greedy for money!
After all, I traveled thousands of miles from Jiangdong to Liangzhou, wasn’t it just for money?
Qin Bo looked at Feng Jishi sitting on top and suddenly felt a little warm.
"You are really joking. When it comes to doing business, is there anyone who knows more than you?"
Feng Jishi looked at the smile on Qin Bo's face and couldn't tell whether he was praising or telling the truth.
"The wool, brown sugar, and honey wine sold to me, Dawu, are all top-notch goods. Ordinary people can't even buy them if they want to!"
Is that possible?
Most of the wool traded with Soochow flowed into the army and became military supplies.
Brown sugar and honey wine were divided between the noble family and Sun Quan.
The old wealth in Shudi can only dip brown sugar to solve it during the New Year. Ordinary people in Wu Guo want to eat brown sugar? I want to eat shit!
Productivity was insufficient, and the sugar extraction technology was too primitive. The large amount of sugar in the sugar cane could not be fully utilized, and the output could not be increased. Feng Jishi had no choice.
Not to mention sugar cane, the raw material for making brown sugar, is also a big constraint.
These days, food is the top priority for people’s livelihood.
No matter how high the price of brown sugar is, it cannot crowd out food cultivation.
Before he became an official, Governor Feng wanted to cultivate some tea seedlings in his own fields, but he was fined by the government.
In addition, there are many factors such as the source of labor for sugar cane plantations, climate effects, the need to contain Shu families, the domestication of the Yi tribes in the south, and so on.
Hence, the scope of sugarcane cultivation in Han Dynasty can only be limited to Nanzhong.
Thinking of this, Governor Feng couldn't help but feel sad:
"This wool material is not bad. Now that the Han Dynasty has Liangzhou, it will only take two years at most. There should be a lot more wool materials for Wu."
"It's just brown sugar," Feng Jishi said, shaking his head, "It's difficult! Jingzhou has been unwilling to grow more sugar cane, so I don't have any good solution."
Qin Bo has been secretly observing Liangzhou these days. How could he not know that many new workshops have been built in Liangzhou?
If he were not afraid of causing Feng Wenhe's misunderstanding at this critical moment, he would even want to visit the legendary Feng Li.
Now that he heard Feng Jishi take the initiative to mention this matter, Qin Bo felt ecstatic and quickly expressed his long-planned idea:
“The land of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River has been frozen frequently over the years, and the officials and generals in the army have suffered from the cold winter.”
“If it is true as the prince said, if we can get more wool from the Han Dynasty to keep out the cold, it will be a great good thing for Wu!”
After hearing Qin Bo’s words, Governor Feng seemed to feel something was wrong:
It is said that the school affairs office is deeply hated by everyone, regardless of whether it is in the Wu court or the local government. Who knew that this Qin Bo seemed to be a loyal and patriotic person?
While he was thinking, he saw Qin Bo move his buttocks again, leaning his body more towards Feng Jishi, and it seemed that he was even more flattering:
"I don't dare to hide it from the lord. I came here this time, firstly, for the matter of the war horse. Secondly, in fact, I have other things."
Feng Jishi's eyes flashed, he said "Oh" and leaned back slightly on the chair:
“I wonder what else is going on with School Qin?”
“Your Majesty, as I have said just now, my treasury in Da Wu has not been very wealthy in recent years.”
Speaking of this, Qin Bo was a little embarrassed, "So the villain came here this time to actually ask the prince to see if he can find some ways..."
“Connection?” Governor Feng didn’t react for a moment.
Sun Quan is short of money. Does he want me to gain access?
He doesn’t give me a salary...
"Yes, the villain knows that Junhou has good relations with the Zhang family, so he allows the Zhang family to get the right to sell brown sugar. To be honest with Junhou, the school office is located in Jiangdong, so it is actually quite reasonable."
"Even sometimes, the school office can help solve problems that are inconvenient for the Zhang family. Junhou, over the past few years, Xinghan Society has sold more things to me, Dawu, every year."
“If the monarch can cooperate with the school affairs office, I believe that the caravan of the Xinghan Society will be able to travel much more smoothly in Jiangdong..."
Qin Bo, who was sitting below, was trying hard to convince Feng Jishi, but he had no idea that Feng Jishi, who was sitting above him, was getting more and more frightened as he listened.
If it weren't for the experience over the years that Feng Jishi has become quite mature, I'm afraid he would have been unable to help but stand up.
Feng Jishi forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, took a deep breath slowly, and tried not to let Qin Bo see anything unusual about him:
"School affairs office? Cooperation? Is this what Lord Wu meant?"
Qin Bo had a slight hesitation on his face: "Ahem, yes and no."
That’s not the case!
Feng Jishi became more and more determined. If this matter was Sun Quan's intention, then Qin Bo must inform Hanzhong in advance.
As for Hanzhong, they will definitely inform themselves in advance.
So when Qin Bo was in Hanzhong, there was no news at all about this matter.
He simply wanted to talk to himself in private.
Thinking of this, Feng Yong narrowed his eyes: "In other words, this is what your school office means?"
“Your Majesty, you know that the school office is established by my lord. Therefore, if you are worried, we must find a way to relieve your worries.”
Qin Bo said somewhat vaguely, "This villain is here just to hear what the prince wants."
“If we tell my lord first, if it doesn’t work out, my lord will inevitably be disappointed; if it can happen, that would be the best, and it would be a surprise for my lord.”
I would rather give Sun Quan a scare!
The corner of Feng Jishi's mouth curled up slightly. It seemed that the school affairs office was indeed extremely powerful in Wu State and had the courage to do such a thing.
Of course he didn't know that the school affairs office did such a thing behind Sun Quan's back, and it was really a desperate act to survive.
However, for Governor Feng, it is enough as long as he can confirm that the matter was indeed done privately by the school affairs office, and the real reason will not affect his subsequent decision-making.
“The school affairs office took care of the master’s worries, and I will always be deeply moved by his hard work.” Governor Feng said excitedly, “How can he not be beautiful as a human being?”
It is impossible to monopolize all the brown sugar. Based on the relationship between the Zhang family and Feng Jishi, Feng Jishi did not give all the brown sugar to the Zhang family for monopoly, but let them occupy at most half of the share.
The remaining part was used to buy off the aristocratic families in Jingzhou, and a fixed share was transferred to Sun Quan.
Monopoly will greatly encourage greed and give some people some undue inflation.
When Qin Bo heard these words, he was much more excited than Feng Jishi. He stood up on the spot:
“Do you really mean what you said?”
"How can the matter of the relationship between the two countries be a trivial matter?" Governor Feng showed a kind and bright smile on his face, "It's just a matter of raw material, we have to wait for two years."
"I have a method here that can also alleviate the problem of lack of money in Lord Wu's treasury."
Qin Bo was overjoyed when he heard this and said respectfully:
“Please give me some advice from your Majesty.”
“Didn’t Chancellor Qin just say that these woolen materials and brown sugar honey wine are all of the best quality. In addition to woolen materials, is there also brown sugar honey wine?”
Qin Bo was even more happy when he heard this:
“Is the king willing to share a portion of the brown sugar?”
Governor Feng picked up the teacup and took a sip, trying his best to hide his expression:
"You know about school affairs in Qin. I have a close relationship with the Zhang family. How could I do anything to disgrace the Zhang family?"
Qin Bo's face suddenly showed a look of disappointment.
Governor Feng glanced down under the cover of the tea cup, and then said quietly:
“But, as for the brown sugar share, it still depends on sugar cane. If the school office can find other sources of sugar cane, I will naturally be willing to give the school office a share of brown sugar..."
Qin Bo only felt that talking to the guy above him made his mood fluctuate like a boat sailing on a river.
If it had been an official from Wu State, he would have used his special skills to give this guy a taste of what it means to be unable to stop.
“Other sources of sugar cane?” Qin Bo frowned, this was not easy to handle.
The places where sugar cane is produced are one in Jiaozhou and the other in southern Jingzhou.
Where else can we find the rest?
“Actually, it’s not that we don’t want to sell more brown sugar. As early as two years ago, I mentioned it to the Zhang family and suggested that we try to grow some sugar cane north of the Xiang River.”
As he said that, Governor Feng shook his head and said with some regret, "Nai He took into account the views of the land general, so there has been little progress in this matter."
Qin Bo was startled: "General?"
“That’s right, a few years ago, as a general, didn’t he propose to Lord Wu that the generals in the army should clear up wasteland in Jingzhou to prepare for the army?”
“Many of the fields in the north of Jingzhou are owned by the generals in the army, so if sugar cane is planted, wouldn’t it go against the general’s original intention?”
Qin Bo was thoughtful. After a long time, he finally sighed unwillingly:
“Indeed, compared to the benefits of brown sugar, food in the army is the most important thing.”
"Actually," Governor Feng said slowly, "there is nothing we can do about food."
Hearing this, Qin Bo’s eyes suddenly lit up:
“Please give me some advice from your Majesty.”
Feng Jishi glanced at him and said hesitantly:
“To be fair to the Qin school, the grain harvest in Shuzhong has been good in recent years, and the price is also low. The so-called cheap grain hurts farmers, and the Han Dynasty also has this concern.”
"It's just that the food supply for the Jingzhou army is of great importance. Firstly, I am afraid of attracting the dissatisfaction of the generals on land, and secondly, there are not many connections in Shu, alas!"
As Governor Feng spoke, his face was full of regret, as if he was very sorry that the large grain growers in Shu were forced to sell grain at a low price.
The School Affairs Office was hated by people and ghosts in Wu State. Who among the self-proclaimed scholars would be willing to stoop to work in the School Affairs Office?
Lü Yi, Qin Bo and others did not succeed enough but failed more than they did. They were not very knowledgeable and did not even know the most basic skills of governing the country, let alone the higher-level ways of running a country.
But we can’t blame them. After all, even in the information age where knowledge is exploding in later generations, how many countries have been harvested over and over again by Amelia using the dollar tidal cycle?
The elites of those countries that have been harvested may not necessarily know what their country will eventually face.
But in the face of huge interests, it is impossible to say which side their butts will sit on.
And Qin Bo is not even considered an elite in this era, so how can he see clearly the sinister intentions hidden behind the huge temptation thrown by Feng Guiwang?
Hearing the sound of heavy breathing coming from below, the corners of Feng Guiwang's mouth curled up slightly again.
"Jun...junhou," Qin Bo swallowed his saliva, "If so, if the villain has a way to solve this problem, are you willing to provide food to Jingzhou?"
“It is a great political achievement to be able to solve the problem of low grain prices and harm to farmers in Shu. Why am I not willing?”
Feng Jishi asked rhetorically.
Qin Bo quickly calculated in his mind:
Coming here this time, trading war horses is considered a credit, but at most I only get the benefit of the doubt.
However, any one of these three things, the woolen material monopoly, the brown sugar quota, and solving the problem of food shortage in Jingzhou, will be a great achievement!
Moreover, if you buy grain from Shu at a low price and resell it, you can't do it in vain, right? The oil and water here...
He couldn't concentrate anymore and couldn't stop the pounding heartbeat in his chest.
At that moment he couldn’t help shouting:
"Junhou, Junhou! Bo lived in Wu, and occasionally had dealings with the Xinghan Hui. I often heard people from the Xinghan Hui praising you for your righteousness and Bo Yuntian, and that you are the first among the great men of the Han Dynasty."
“Today I have to meet the king, I am very trustworthy, I am very trustworthy!”
Governor Feng laughed:
"Qin's school affairs are over-praised, over-praised! It's just a favor from the brothers in the club."
"If the Qin school official is really interested in promoting this matter, I can recommend three people: one is Li Yi and Li Wenxuan from the Prime Minister's Palace, the other is Li Feng and Li Haoxuan who are in charge of grain and grass in Hanzhong, and the third is Deng Liang and Deng Weizhe from Jincheng (son of Deng Zhi) ."
"If we can get the help of these three people, the harvesting of grain in Shu will definitely go smoothly."
Qin Bo was overjoyed and bowed deeply:
“Thank you, sir!”
"you are welcome!"
Feng Jishi laughed again, extremely generous.
The big grain growers in Sichuan have been suppressed for so long, they should be given some sweetness...
Governor Feng smiled even more happily and said with a smile:
“Actually, the most important thing about this matter is the attitude of the general on land. School Minister Qin should think about how to persuade the general on land.”
“Thank you, Lord, for reminding me.”
Qin Bo also laughed.
If it were anyone else, it might be hard to say, but as for the general, the school administration has actually considered reducing his power.
The reason is also very simple.
Lu Xun was based in Wuchang and was in charge of nearly half of Wu. He was even able to raise his own money and food from Jingzhou.
How is this different from the princes and kings?
It seems that after returning home, Lu Zhongshu will be asked to remind His Majesty that this is not the way for a monarch and his ministers to get along with each other!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jingzhou's money and food supplies could be returned to the imperial court, so that the general would not lose his trust and your majesty would feel at ease?
(End of this chapter)