Three Kingdoms

When I was young, I liked to ask adults why, why this, why that, and I wanted to find a final answer to everything. However, sometimes I would encounter the answer "no why", so I was puzzled as to why there was "no". Why" thing?

For questions like this, you have to wait until you actually encounter the no-why, then you will understand the whys contained under the "no-why".

Because these "no reasons" are not really without any reasons, but these reasons cannot be said.

The Eastern Han Dynasty focused on red, so formal occasions were rarely as resplendent as in later generations. Instead, they were mainly red and black, mixed with a little simple gold patterns, whether it was screens, tables, or pillars. In this way, it looks very solemn and grand.

But one bad thing is that once the atmosphere becomes solemn during the period, it will interact with the red and black surroundings, creating a strong sense of oppression, which will make everyone present feel very depressed. uncomfortable……

It's like the present moment.

Liu Xie leaned forward and glared at Xun Yu, as if he was about to start a fight at the next moment, "Xun! Love! Qing! I am receiving the foreign envoys! Do I need Sikong's approval?!" Liu Xie's voice sounded in the main hall. It echoed, excited, and the voice was full of anger.

This question is difficult to answer. Regardless of whether the answer is yes or no, it is actually wrong, so all the ministers, including Xun Yu, remained silent.

No wonder Liu Xie was angry.

Yang Xiu and his envoy had been in Xu County for several days, but they had been living in a temporary post house and had not been received by Liu Xie. It's not that Liu Xie didn't want to see him, it was that Liu Xie wanted to see him but was stopped.

Liu Xie was a little patient at first, but then he became more and more impatient...

There was no other reason. Cao Cao first defeated Yuan Shao's partial army in Heluo, and then sent troops to attack Yuan Shao's grain roads. He saw that Yuan Shao seemed to be turning from prosperity to decline, and his defeat became more prominent.

For Liu Xie, this is strictly a good thing, but the benefits are limited. If Liu Xie falls into the hands of Yuan Shao, the imperial general who had planned to establish a new king from the beginning may actually implement it. Even if Yuan Shao didn't do this, Liu Xie might not be much better off than he was with Cao Cao.

Therefore, from this perspective, Cao Cao's victory is a good thing.

But similarly, everyone wants to live a better life, better than in the past, better than now, and getting better and better. This is human nature. When Liu Xie realized that if Cao Cao came back with a victorious attitude, then he would When the space is likely to be further compressed, Liu Xie naturally wants to find new vents.

When the door is closed, a window must be opened...

Ever since, these so-called foreign envoys sent by the Cavalry General Fei Qian were a window Liu Xie found. Although it was not very big, it could at least make him breathe easier.

However, Liu Xie did not expect that such an action of opening a small window would be blocked.

Why?

At the beginning, Liu Xie heard that envoys from foreign countries were coming and should not be taken lightly. There were many things that needed to be prepared, and he still tolerated it for various reasons, but as time went by, this set of rhetoric also became more and more difficult. Gradually he became pale.

What takes so long to prepare?

What can be substituted for what is not available?

Liu Xie urged repeatedly, but was met with repeated delays. Even the clay figurine was very angry. What's more, Liu Xie originally wanted to take this opportunity to build up his reputation, so how could he be willing to wait calmly like this?

Xun Yu was silent for a long time, then he said: "Your Majesty does not know something... The envoys from the foreign countries brought very generous gifts... There were one jade rock, two jade horses, four coral trees, thirty-six big pearls, forty-nine small pearls, and miscellaneous Nine plates of colored gemstones, six jade bowls, eight gold plates, twelve silver plates, twelve pairs of gold-encrusted elephant chopsticks, twenty-four gold-painted copper basins, and twelve boxes of gold, jade, beads and jade ornaments, mink skins, bears skins, and tiger skins. Twelve each, eight mink hats, twelve leather robes, twenty-four pairs of leather boots... In addition, there are also twelve steeds presented by the hussar general to Your Majesty, twenty-four pieces of silver-lined clothes, and thirty-six pieces of silk. There are eighty gold-painted fans and a number of gold, silver and copper coins..."

Xun Yu's voice was calm and slow, but every time he said something, the others, including Liu Xie, who were not very clear about the specific situation, could not help but breathe coldly, and even became a little numb later on.

Xun Yu kowtowed to the ground and continued, "There are many things, and the total price may be counted in hundreds of millions of dollars... Moreover, many envoys from foreign countries have said before others that the Han Dynasty is a country of etiquette, and we should know that courtesy should be reciprocated... But now, the national treasury, the national treasury... …”

Liu Xie was stunned. After a moment, he couldn't help but feel sadness rising in his heart.

"I also know that Your Majesty is eager..." Xun Yu's voice was still calm, but there was some helplessness, "But now the country is in dire straits and the warehouses are empty, how can we return the favor? I have ordered to find the goods, and for a while, I also It’s difficult to raise everything... Your Majesty, please relax, I will not let the Han family lose its majesty..."

Liu Xie took a deep breath and said, "Can't it be reduced a little?"

There may have been such possessions and items when Liu Xie was a child and during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, but over the years, they were simply destitute. Even the clothes Liu Xie wore, not to mention the shiny outer robes, the middle coat and small clothes were all mended. Passed...

In order to maintain the huge expenses and not let himself follow the old path of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, Cao Cao could only find another way.

Cao Cao's original foundation was not as good as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. In addition, Cao Cao's basic base was Yanzhou, which was also not as good as Jizhou and Yuzhou. By the time Cao Cao captured most of Yuzhou from Yuan Shu, Yuzhou was almost completely destroyed by Yuan Shu. He had to support the expenses of the army and pay salaries to the officials of the imperial court. Especially Cao Cao had no choice but to do business with Nan Mian and Bei Mian like Fei Qian to open up a way of making money, so he could only set his sights on the tomb. …

You must know that filial piety was the most important thing in the Han Dynasty, so there were the most burial objects, so digging a grave can naturally yield a lot of money. Although Cao Cao was so sneaky that people could do it, there is no airtight wall in the world, but the gentry children in Yanzhou, Yuzhou, could only cover their eyes and pretend not to see. It is better to spend the money of a dead person than the money of a living person. As long as the grave dug does not belong to their family, it is okay to ignore it.

Even so, the huge military expenditures were enough to make Xun Yu breathless, not to mention that he suddenly did this. It was indeed Alexander...

Xun Yu showed a wry smile, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, it is related to the national system..." It is not that Xun Yu has never thought about cutting corners or shoddy so-called "methods", but if he does this, he will benefit. Liu Xie, then he will be the one to take the blame. When something happens, he will even confiscate his house and exterminate his family!

Of course, it is not completely impossible, and it is not that the entire Cao Cao political group is in embarrassment to the point of being unsustainable. The Yingchuan family's family background is not that weak, but this is different from military needs...

What the soldiers needed were coarse grains and commoners, just enough to have food and clothing, and they didn't need the treasures collected by these families, so Xun Yu lobbied and offered some benefits in exchange, and he was able to deal with it more or less year after year.

However, this time, if we really want to take out the corresponding golden and jade weapons, we have to turn over the coffins of these families...

Even if you can take it out, you may not be willing to take it out.

Of course, if you forcibly order to search for the old man's coffins and take some of the old men's coffins, it will be enough. But the problem is that these old men are not willing to give up their careful collection for Liu Xie's face. It's not worth severing the relationship completely just for the sake of Liu Xie's so-called face, so it's stuck here for a while.

Of course, there is another very important reason...

Liu Xie stared, speechless for a while.

Rich people often have many worries, which are all new and unheard of. But the worries of poor people generally consist of one word, poverty.

Liu Xie was very poor, and his poverty reached a new level. In fact, his father, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, was not rich either, so he worked hard to amass money when he became emperor. However, Liu Xie did not have his father's shamelessness, nor did he have his father's capital, so now he has nothing but the wind in his sleeves and the royal family. Not even a mouse can stay in the private treasury...

Some people say that if you are so poor that you have only your backbone, you cannot lose your backbone. But others say that if you are so poor that you have only your backbone, what is the use of having more backbone?

So, when a person is extremely poor, does he still need to have backbone?

Do you want dough?

Liu Xie could not answer. He couldn't lose his skin, and he couldn't let go of his remaining strength, so the meeting ended with such fruitless questions and answers.

...This is the dividing line between poor people...

Liu Xie's problem is actually not worth mentioning to people who don't value face very much.

Such as Guo Jia.

When Guo Jia heard about this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then said: "Haha, haha, what's so difficult about this? Let the ministers in the court each copy the Six Classics, and your majesty can just write some words and deal with it. …Gold and jade are all commonplace, but articles are for eternity…”

Xun Yu couldn't help but rolled his eyelids.

Of course, it has always been difficult to make a standard measurement and conversion of spiritual value and material value. Guo Jia's approach is actually a way of coping, but the problem is that Liu Xie cannot do it.

"General Hussars is like this..." Xun Yu seemed to be asking himself, but also seemed to be asking Guo Jia, "What is the purpose?"

Although some of the so-called gifts brought by foreign envoys are indeed completely different from the patterns and carvings of the Central Plains, it is impossible to say that all these things were transported by the Qin Shendu envoys after thousands of miles...

After all, these treasures will move people's hearts no matter where they are placed. How could it be possible without a loyal and powerful guard? It was obvious that neither the envoy of Great Qin nor the person who claimed to have a poisonous background had such a guard, so the answer was ready to come out.

So what does the Cavalry General want to express by suddenly giving him so much wealth?

"Ha... don't say you can't figure it out..." Guo Jia glanced at Xun Yu.

"I just thought of two..." Xun Yu said.

Guo Jia said: "Then tell us, let's see if we think the same thing or not..."

Xun Yu sighed and said: "First, if there is no gain, why should the clam and the crane fight?"

Guo Jia nodded, "Exactly..."

This is a very simple question, and the answer is easy to get after thinking about it. Just like the three thousand troops given by Fei Qian, they were also a bait to destroy the already precarious relationship between Liu Xie and Cao Cao.

Everyone thought that the hussars general sent out three thousand elite cavalry, but in fact it was not the case. There were only about five hundred cavalry veterans among them, and the rest had only been trained for a short period of time and had barely transferred from infantry to cavalry. Newbie. Of course, as for war horses, they are all-choice war horses, so it cannot be said that these are not cavalry, but they cannot be regarded as the elite of the hussars.

Of course, as Cao Cao, both internally and externally, he said that these are elite hussars and soldiers who can fight in a hundred battles...

So are these goods.

If foreigners offer gifts, are these goods considered His Majesty's or the treasury's? Should he be included in the Shaofu, or be under the command of Da Si Nong?

If Liu Xie doesn’t answer this question, who can?

"Secondly, what Hussar did was a demonstration..." Guo Jia raised his head and said, then sighed.

Xun Yu was silent.

When the Shandong gentry looked at the area around Yongliang in Guanzhong, they always felt that it was desolate, a backwater, and a place where people drank blood. It was like a chain of regional contempt in later generations. In fact, it existed from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The bottom of the chain of regional contempt during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods was the Song Dynasty. The pre-Qin scholars had hundreds of academic and political opinions, but they all shared a tacit understanding of ridiculing the Song people. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the people of the Song Dynasty were the targets of map cannons. In the story, they were described as stupid and stupid, and they were considered to have dedicated their lives to educating future generations.

The state-owned field husband, who often wears fur clothes, refers to people from the Song Dynasty. Those who were famous for their contributions to the Yue Dynasty were also from the Song Dynasty. Those who are suspicious of their neighbors when their walls are damaged due to rainy weather are also people from the Song Dynasty...

Of course, Zheng State, which is next door to Song State, is similar to Song State and is at the bottom of the contempt chain. The stories about Zheng people buying shoes, buying caskets and returning pearls, and predicting wives for trousers are all from Zheng people...

In the early Western Han Dynasty, it was the people in Guanzhong who despised the people outside the Guanzhong. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was two hundred years in Guanzhong and two hundred years outside the Guanzhong. The situation turned and it was the people of Shandong who despised the people in Guanzhong.

But now Fei Qian is showing off his military power on the one hand, and showing off his financial resources on the other. Hearing that he is going to make a big talk about Qinglong Temple, he simply has the upper hand in all aspects. Needless to say, a competition of force, a competition of financial resources, look at these things, they are given away as soon as they are said to be given away. Even the top level of culture that Shandong people were originally proud of is now coming to stir things up...

Xun Yu pondered for a long time, and suddenly said softly: "If it's just these two aspects, that's fine... I'm just worried that Hussar has other intentions..."

Guo Jia was stunned for a moment, then sat up straighter, "You mean..."

Xun Yu glanced at Guo Jia and said, "Didn't you forget the bet I made with you in Yingchuan when Hussar was still a young man?"

Guo Jia was excited. In Guo Jia's thinking, he did avoid this question subconsciously. After Xun Yu reminded him, his expression changed, his eyes rolled a few times, he pointed in surprise, and said hesitantly: "You Do you mean that the third aspect of General Hussars’ intention lies here?”

Xun Yu took a long breath and said, "I hope someone has thought about it more... If this is the case, what will happen?"

Guo Jia was stunned for a moment, shook his head and sighed, not knowing how to answer...