Three Kingdoms

Cao Cao's rank is over there. Even if Xu County is in some financial distress, the banquet to welcome Guo Jia cannot be omitted and simple. After all, it represents the beginning of the "Six Victories".

The time is probably not yet Unity hour, but due to the short days of autumn and winter, it is getting a little dark. In the courtyard of the General's Mansion, lights have begun to be decorated, and the lights are shining in all directions, fighting tenaciously against the gradually suppressed darkness.

Soldiers were guarding the outside, and attendants were rushing inside. Everyone performed their duties and did not dare to slack off at all.

The General's Mansion, originally known as Sikong Mansion, was built at almost the same time as the Emperor Liu Xie's Palace. Although it is smaller than the palace in terms of scale, it is more majestic and larger than ordinary government offices. .

The wide space of the main courtyard, coupled with the majestic architecture, will naturally make people feel their own insignificance, and they will involuntarily feel the pressure of power in the space, which will affect their hearts and form a sense of fear.

Around the main courtyard of the General's Office, the corridors are brightly lit and there are many people, but the scene is not chaotic. Some are walking in a hurry, or standing in groups on one side. There are few people talking and noisy, and no one is running around randomly. .

Guo Jia is naturally one of the protagonists. There are already many people surrounding him, with various official positions, but they all have almost the same smile on their faces.

"Without the guidance of the sacrificial wine, we would be like quails in Nozawa, hesitant and helpless..."

"That's right!" The sacrificial wine is like a bright lamp, shining brightly in all directions! 』

"We look forward to the return of the sacrificial wine, just like we look forward to the dew after a long drought. Fortunately, the sky is merciful, and the sacrificial wine returns safely." 』

"Exactly!" As long as the sacrificial wine is in order, we will feel at ease..."

Regardless of whether they knew each other before, or whether they had any previous friendships, a large number of people gathered here anyway, chirping and greeting Guo Jia one after another, or saying a few sighs, and Guo Jia among the crowd He just smiled slightly, nodded in greeting, and then couldn't help but use his eyes to signal Xun Yu and others who were standing far away.

Man Chong looked up at the sky, seemingly not seeing anything at all.

Liu Ye nodded and smiled. He seemed to think it was a good thing that Guo Jia was so popular. He had no intention of stopping him or rescuing Guo Jia.

After all, Xun Yu couldn't bear it anymore, so he stepped forward, separated the crowd, and then pulled Guo Jia out. "It's really cold here. I've come a long way from Xiao, so you should pay attention to your health!" It's still early in the day, and the banquet still needs to be prepared. Please follow me as a mourner, and wait in the Nuan Pavilion for a while..."

As he spoke, Xun Yu took Guo Jia out. Even if the surrounding officials wanted to get close to Guo Jia, a popular guy, they did not dare to say anything due to Xun Yu's status. Can watch Guo Jia leave.

After entering the Nuan Pavilion, Xun Yu didn't say anything to Guo Jia, but just sat silently. Outside the Nuan Pavilion, tiny voices floated in, and then stuck to the two of them.

The Nuan Pavilion was originally used as a temporary resting place while waiting for formal meetings. It can accommodate six people, so when there were only two people, Xun Yu and Guo Jia, it was inevitably a bit empty. The warm pavilion can isolate the cold wind and rain, but it can block the wind and wind.

Guo Jia opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw Xun Yu raised his palm, he just waved it...

Guo Jia took a breath, then slowly exhaled, and fell silent.

Noisy outside, quiet inside.

Two or three palace lanterns swayed out circles of light, intertwined together. Dark shadows huddled under various objects, shaking with the size of the aperture, like lurking beasts, waiting for the moment when the light relaxed.

When Guo Jia was in Chang'an, except for some time running around here and there under the accompaniment of his guards, he spent most of his time eating and sleeping, without exposure to wind or sun. It didn’t take much hard work, and the doctors from Baiyi Medical Center gave me some treatment and treatment, so that now I look really fat and plump, and I look much richer.

On the contrary, during this period of time, Xun Yu had to calculate this and allocate that every day, and he also had to keep an eye on the surrounding areas of Xu County, inside and outside the palace. How could he live a comfortable life? Therefore, Xun Yu's face was inevitably a bit old and tired, and his complexion looked much worse than Guo Jia's.

His thoughts were torn between light and darkness. The light from the palace lantern fell on Guo Jia's face, but could not illuminate Xun Yu's eyebrows clearly. The two people sat on either side of the table, but the shadows behind them seemed to be far away from each other under the flickering flames of the palace lanterns...

Unknowingly, the preparations for the banquet outside were in full swing. People from inside and outside, actors, musicians, etc. had all gathered in the corner of the courtyard under the cloister hall. About seventy or eighty people were tinkling. Adjusting the pitch of the instrument piecemeal.

Many things are a silent understanding. There is no need to say it clearly. Everyone also understands that Cao Cao's grand ceremony for Guo Jia is certainly not just to welcome Guo Jia's return, but also has a deeper meaning...

At three o'clock in the morning, the banquet officially began. Cao Cao came out of the backyard, first accepted everyone's worship, and then greeted everyone to sit down. As an important guest, Guo Jia sat in the chief position under Cao Cao.

The other officials, big and small, sat down one after another according to their respective official positions.

Soon after, the bell rang, announcing the start of the banquet.

The waiters and maids filed in, and immediately placed several dishes and drinks that had been prepared in advance on everyone's table...

Of course, these things are just appetizers, and they are all cold. Perhaps in later generations, cold dishes were served first at banquets, and that is where it came from. Everyone present only had a brief taste. Only the clerks sitting in remote corners, relying on the fact that no one would pay attention to them anyway, just picked up the plates and poured them into the pockets they had prepared.

Cao Cao sat in the middle, holding a wine cup in his hand, smiling and inviting everyone to drink together, and then chatted with Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun and others from time to time. He seemed relaxed, happy and comfortable.

The surrounding musicians also began to play, all of which were specially selected happy songs. The ding-ding-dong-dong added a lot of joy and peace to the atmosphere. Unknowingly, more than a dozen performers wearing colorful clothes, like Colorful fish usually swim in from the gaps between the seats, and then dance in the open space in the courtyard, or dance with water sleeves, or sway their bodies, dancing in various poses, like flowers that dazzle the eyes, colorful and gorgeous, and attracting voices of admiration. .

Cao Cao shook his head, seemingly immersed in singing and dancing.

During the four years of Taixing, too many things happened, which made Cao Cao exhausted both physically and mentally. Therefore, this short-term relaxation seems so rare and valuable.

But joy is always short-lived. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Cao Cao stood up and wavered to show that he wanted to change his clothes. Before leaving, he turned his head slightly and glanced at Guo Jia...

Guo Jia understood and stood up after a while. After turning around the corridor, he saw Dian Wei standing aside to signal, and then followed Dian Wei around the courtyard wall and into the side hall of the backyard.

"Fengxiao, sit down..." Cao Cao greeted, and then ordered, "Bring some tea..."

Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "Ming Gong, please bring some wine..."

Cao Cao glanced at Guo Jia, smiled slightly, and nodded, "That's fine, I'll just follow my filial piety." 』

Not long after, a servant brought drinks and some food.

Cao Cao waved his servants to leave, then picked up the wine glass and said, "It's been a tough journey to serve Xiao, thank you for your hard work!" Come and reward me with this drink! 』

Guo Jia was not polite, drank a sip, and then put the glass down.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, "Before, Feng Xiaoyan had six victories, but he didn't know... Fengxiao watched it in Xijing, what is the merit of the hussar?" 』

Guo Jia got another cup for himself, drank it, and then said slowly: "Ming Gong... the words of six victories are true, they are all our strengths... However, we also have four worries... 』

"Four worries..." Cao Cao nodded, and there was no obvious change in his expression because of Guo Jia's words. "Follow one's filial piety and be honest!" 』

Guo Jia raised his thumb and said: "Let's talk about business first... Under Qiusi, the power of business and trade is known to the Ming Dynasty... In Chang'an, the world's wealth is gathered, and things from the four seas can be obtained by looking up, and the glue of the East China Sea is , The trees of the southern mountains, the skins of the northern desert, the gold of the western regions, every day in the market, there are tens of millions of money and goods... This is what we "businessmen" worry about..."

"The Zhen family in Hebei, the Chen family in Xuzhou, the Cai family in Jingzhou, and other merchants from all over the country gathered in Chang'an. The Han Chamber of Commerce established under Qiaoqi's command encompassed all sizes and formulated business regulations, just like a court outside the court, outside the law. This method is controlled by all merchants, big and small, and there are no disadvantages in this matter..." Guo Jia said slowly, "If it becomes more powerful, we can order merchants all over the world to... ban the sale of something... or... Not for resale here..."

Cao Cao nodded.

"Therefore, Ming Gong should also do this. He established a trading company, bestowed it with names, and managed business through business, so that he could compete..." Guo Jia said, "If we only use checkpoints and tax control... I'm afraid it won't work at first. As time goes by...this thing of money and silk is the most touching..."

Cao Cao pinched his beard and remained silent.

Most people think that setting up checkpoints on the road will solve the problem, but in fact, in addition to some initial effects, it will bring more disadvantages later.

When a card is set up on the official road to collect fees, there are always people who can find some bypass roads. Since the caravan can pass through these roads that bypass the checkpoint, it also means that the army can pass through at certain critical moments!

So does Cao Cao's pass checkpoint still have any significance?

In addition, you can also directly use money to buy sentry soldiers and generals. If these people collected money once to release the caravan, will they also collect money to release other groups in the future?

Therefore, Guo Jia made it clear that it is useless to simply set up checkpoints to hinder merchants. Even if Cao Cao ordered that no buying and selling be allowed except for horses and armor, it would not have much effect. After all, only the stronger party can make the rules. , and the weaker party can only passively accept it more often.

Just like the mutual trade between Han people and Hu people, it often depends on which side is stronger, and which side will eventually listen. Now Fei Qian is obviously stronger than Cao Cao in business, so Cao Cao can't help but do what he wants in many things. .

Guo Jia raised his second finger and said, "If you want to benefit business, you must first be stronger than industry." Therefore, Ming Gong should call on the skilled workers from all over the world to divide the labor, cooperate, and refine their skills, so that they can compete with the hussars' workshops... Now that the hussars' armor is strong, and the armor is the best in the world, it is the reason why they are strong workers, and I Waiting for the craftsmen..."

Cao Cao continued to nod. Cao Cao was too embarrassed to tell Guo Jia that he had already tried this, but the result was...

Nowadays, the number of craftsmen of the Han Dynasty, or the craftsmen of the Shandong generation, is no less than that of Fei Qian. The smart people among the craftsmen are not much worse than those of the Huang family craftsmen under Fei Qian, but the only difference is that That is, Feiqian is more concentrated and large-scale.

What Guo Jia meant was to suggest that Cao Cao learn from Fei Qian and gather craftsmen to develop it on a large scale. Because after being centralized, craftsmen can exchange knowledge and work with others to study a certain project, and then everyone will not study their own, and then waste some time and energy repeatedly.

"..." Guo Jia drank another glass of wine, "The man who leads the craftsmen needs to be selected by the Ming Dynasty to appoint talented people... When I was in Chang'an, I often heard that among the craftsmen, if there were any difficulties and puzzles, , then it can be written or described in Hussar, and Hussar can solve it by spinning..."

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and said, "Could it be that Fei Ziyuan got the true biography of Mozi as rumored?" 』

"Perhaps there must be..." Guo Jia shook his head, "I often wonder, are there people with such diverse knowledge in this world?" There is also a star observatory on Lishan Mountain in Chang'an, where Qiaoqi can observe the sky and correct the calendar... This astronomy and geography are actually all-encompassing..."

Cao Cao sighed and said, "Maybe it's like this... Fei Ziyuan studied under Cai Zhonglang and was taught by Pang Degong under Lushan. Later... I heard that the book of Dongguan originally in Luoyang earned more than half of it. ...』

Guo Jia sighed, "Is the blessing so rich? 』

The two of them couldn't help but sigh together.

After a while, Guo Jia continued: "If you want to be strong in industry, you need to be prosperous in agriculture." 』

"If agriculture is not prosperous, there will be no intention to work..." Guo Jia raised his third finger, "Farm is the foundation of a country. Only when the foundation is solid and deep can the branches and leaves flourish." Nowadays, the hussars are very effective in cultivating the fields, but our fields are unsatisfactory. There is no other reason for this..."

Guo Jia glanced at Cao Cao and hesitated for a moment, but then quickly continued, "The people who cultivate the fields will be theirs for as little as five years and as many as ten years... Therefore, the people who cultivate the fields will be theirs." We all spare no efforts, fearing that if we do less, we will lose the land and gain. However, we cultivate the fields and use the army to colonize more. The amount of production has nothing to do with it, but we can do it without sticks and scolds..."

Cao Cao took a deep breath, then glanced at Guo Jia, but didn't say anything.

Cao Cao's military garrison means that most of the farmland harvest belongs to Cao Cao, which also supports Cao Cao's large-scale explosion of troops. However, in the same process of garrisoning, these half-soldiers and half-farmers can neither be regarded as A good soldier cannot be considered a good farmer. Even if he takes care of both aspects, it is the same as not doing well in both aspects.

Speaking of soldiers, the combat effectiveness of these field soldiers is worrying, especially when compared with the soldiers of the hussars, they are simply terrible, otherwise Xun Yu would not have gone far to get rid of Zang Ba's Taishan soldiers to come to the rescue...

From a farmer's point of view, these military camps cannot focus on scouting crops like farmers. In more cases, these military camps are just like what Guo Jia said. Punishment is enough, but work efficiency and initiative will of course be greatly reduced.

Even with the guidance of some agricultural bachelors, Cao Cao and others always held a skeptical and scrupulous attitude. Many technologies had to wait for one or two years of testing before they were slowly expanded to the entire territory. On the other hand, many agricultural bachelors The field soldiers will not implement the suggestions put forward, because their superiors are not agricultural bachelors, but Diannong Xiaowei, and for Diannong Xiaowei, it is more about stability, and it is best to have clear instructions from above. They are only willing to do it after receiving the instructions, so they don't expect high output from the fields of these military camps.

If you go up and down, the output of an acre of land varies by two or three stones, so what is the overall difference? Guo Jia didn't calculate, he didn't want to, let alone didn't dare.

"Replacing military garrison with civilian garrison can solve this problem..." Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao, "But if we want to change it, we must first solve this last problem..."

Cao Cao frowned and stared at Guo Jia, and suddenly interrupted Guo Jia, "What Feng Xiao said finally fell on this "scholar"?" 』

Guo Jia poured another glass of wine, drank it, nodded, and said, "Yes." 』

In fact, the four worries seem to refer to four aspects, but in the end they fall into one word, which is "gentlemen", because in Shandong, the nobles control everything, and everything is connected with the nobles.

The shops were controlled by the nobles, the land was in the hands of the nobles, and the officials were also held by the nobles. Cao Cao himself was from a large noble family, and thousands of Xiahou Cao family relied on Cao Cao for their survival. Cao Cao simply had no way to delegate power like Fei Qian.

The reason is very simple. In Cao Cao, most of the gentry disciples always vowed when they took office, I believe, I can, I promise, but once something happens, they don't know, don't understand, I'm sorry, the big deal Make a statement and shake off the hat of a crying general, and you will not get any punishment, or you can deal with it in a big way, and continue to make money in another place...

Under such circumstances, who would really be willing to take responsibility? It's nothing more than who is worse than the other, or who can cover up better than the other.

Cao Cao had actually thought about what Guo Jia said for a long time, but if he really wanted to change it like Fei Qian did, Cao Cao would have no idea. Because of the brand new political ecological environment and operating model created by Fei Qian in Guanzhong, Cao Cao did not understand it at all, let alone be familiar with it.

Human beings naturally have fear when facing unfamiliar things, and Cao Cao was also unavoidable.

When Cao Cao came back from his long meditation and wanted to ask Guo Jia something more, he realized that Guo Jia had drank the entire bottle of wine at some point and drunkenly collapsed on the mat. I fell into a deep sleep and fell unconscious...