After breakfast, Wang Yun came to invite Liu Xiu to discuss the matter. I don't know if I slept too late yesterday or didn't sleep well at night, Wang Yun looked a little haggard, although his waist was still straight, but the refreshed spirit was obviously a little lacking.

"You should first introduce the situation of the annexation with you today, and I will not participate." Liu Xiu said: "I'm going to go out, it may take one to two days, and I'll be back in two days, if you haven't negotiated a result, I'll participate again." ”

"Your Excellency wants to go out?"

Liu Xiu replied vaguely, did not answer Wang Yun's question, and asked, "You have no problems in the two-day meeting, right?" ”

Wang Yun's sword eyebrows raised, and he hesitated for a moment: "Yun does his best." ”

Wang Yun's answer to this sentence was completely confident, and the perfunctory question was full of questions, Liu Xiu heard it clearly, but he didn't break it, and arched his hand: "Then there is Lao Zishi, please apologize to the gentlemen on my behalf, if there is anything missing, after I return, I will confess to the gentlemen." ”

"Don't dare." Wang Yunhu glanced at Liu Xiu suspiciously, turned around and left. When he went out, he saw Hao Zhao preparing a horse, so he pretended to be very casual and asked, "Bodao, where are you going?" ”

"Go see an old man." As soon as Hao Zhao looked up, he saw that it was Wang Yun, so he hurriedly stopped talking, laughed innocently, and refused to say any more. When Wang Yun saw it, he was even more puzzled, old man? What kind of old people does Liu Xiu have in Taiyuan? He became more and more uneasy in his heart, Liu Xiu has always relied on him, and he will discuss any arrangements with him in advance, this time he did it mysteriously, and did not reveal his whereabouts to him, even Hao Zhao was also swallowed, which made him feel that there was a problem here.

He asked people to pay attention to the direction of Liu Xiu's travel, and soon, his subordinates reported that Lord Liu went south. Wang Yun is even more puzzled, the topography of Taiyuan County is relatively unique, there is Luliang Mountain in the west, Taihang Mountain in the east, the main counties are in the basin between the two mountains in the north-south direction, Wang Yunjia Qi * County is the south of Jinyang City, Liu Xiu is going to Qi * County?

Wang Yun knew what he had done, and he quickly thought of Wen Shu, Wen Shu had been the Taishou of Zhuo County, and it was normal for him to have contact with Liu Xiu, but he was not Liu Xiu's old man. Wen Shu didn't come this time, Liu Xiu left the attendees and rushed to Wen's house, and his intention was very obvious.

Wang Yun did not dare to slack off, while convening a meeting with everyone, according to Liu Xiu's request, to inform everyone of the current situation in Bingzhou, and on the other hand, he sent his cronies to Qi * County to see if Liu Xiu really went to the Wen family.

Of course, Liu Xiu went to the Wen family, and the reason why he did it so mysteriously was to attract Wang Yun's attention. If you want to snatch food from the mouth of the Haoqiang in Bingzhou, this must be a matter of offending people, usually there are benefits for you, Wang Yun is in charge, but now there are difficulties, you all push it to me, go back by yourself, and be a good person? That's not going to work, I'm going to have to put some pressure on you, make you nervous.

Qi * County is only about 100 miles away from Jinyang, Liu Xiu took Hao Zhao, Zhang Fei and other more than ten horses, all the way to the gallop, but more than an hour to rush to the Wen family. Wen Shu was very surprised when he heard that Liu Xiu was coming, and after hesitating for a moment, he opened the middle door and invited Liu Xiu in.

The guest and the host sat down in the hall, Liu Xiu said straight to the point, I came this time, one is to meet the former parents and officials, and the other is to ask Wen Jun for some things, you have been in politics for many years, experienced, and a native of Bingzhou, I have just entered the career, and I have just arrived in Bingzhou, there are many places that are not very clear, and I ask Wen Jun to advise.

Wen Shu originally had some opinions about Liu Xiu, because he supported Liu Yu's attitude towards the Xianbei people in Youzhou, but later Liu Xiu made trouble without authorization, causing the Battle of Macheng, and won the battle, and killed Tan Shihuai's son Huai Zong in battle, and made great contributions, Liu Xiu and Lu Min went to Luoyang to discuss merit, and Liu Yu and he were dismissed from office. To say that he has no opinion on Liu Xiu is a lie. This time Liu Xiu held a meeting in Jinyang, and Wang Yun also sent him a letter, but when he thought that he was originally Liu Xiu's parent official, and now Liu Xiu has become his parent official, this is quite a bit uncomfortable, plus he has some opinions with Wang Yun, so he recommended that he was not in good health and refused to go.

He didn't go, Liu Xiu came to the door in person, which made him very surprised, and he also felt very face-saving, and after listening to Liu Xiu's sincere words, he was a little embarrassed, and he didn't even dare to say it, but he didn't want to say more. He is very clear about the situation in Bingzhou, if Liu Xiu wants to show his skills in Bingzhou, it is inevitable to compete for wealth with the powerful in Bingzhou, and the Wen family is also the object of Liu Xiu's plunder, he can't easily loosen his mouth because of Liu Xiu's reason, that is a real benefit.

Liu Xiu was not in a hurry, he leisurely looked at the Wen family's old mansion that looked very historical, and said a digression: "I heard that Qi * County has a long history of the Wen family in addition to the Wang family, and there was no concept at first, but now when I see this old mansion full of ancient charm, I believe it a little." ”

Wen Shu was not happy in his heart, what does it mean that except for the Wang family, it is the Wen family, as if my Wen family is one level lower than the Wang family. He said lightly: "My lord has won the award, the Wen family is from the Gaoyang clan, and the ancestor Ping helped Xia Shao recover from the country, and he was able to seal it in Wen, and it has been two thousand years now." It's just that the descendants of later generations are incompetent and insult the prestige of their ancestors. ”

Liu Xiu hurriedly said: "Wen Jun is modest, the Wen family has been in Shizhou County for a long time, Wen Huqiang is self-motivated, and even his beard does not dare to be defiled by thieves, and his ambition is enough to be a model for future generations." Wen Jun is the Taishou of Zhuo County, and his achievements are obvious to all, how can he be called incompetent. Thanks to the kindness of my lord, the family has praised Wen Jun for his kindness many times, and the words are still in my ears. ”

Wen Shu actually didn't know Liu Xiu's father Liu Yuanqi at all, but he had only heard Li Ding say it a few times, and he didn't know about Liu Yuanqi's disappearance, but when he heard Liu Xiu say this, he still felt warm in his heart.

Since Liu Xiu wanted to come, of course he inquired about the deeds of the Wen family, and knew that from the beginning of this dynasty, Wen Xu conquered the world from the ancestors, and was captured by his subordinates when he went out to patrol Hexi to protect the Qiang captain, and refused to surrender and died in his post.

Liu Xiu praised the Wen family, and on the other hand, quietly provoked Wen Shu's dissatisfaction with Wang Yun. Wen Shu is as his name suggests, tepid, and does not show the slightest dissatisfaction with Wang Yun, even if he says it very vaguely, he can't understand it at all if he doesn't pay attention to taste.

The two went around in circles for a long time, and Liu Xiu saw that Wen Shu had been refusing to let go, so he decided to change his strategy and hit the key point.

"Wen Jun must know the purpose of this Jinyang discussion, right?"

Wen Shu smiled calmly: "I heard a little." ”

The corners of Liu Xiu's mouth were slightly raised, he poured some wine on the case, dipped his fingers in it, drew a circle on the case, and drew large and small circles in it. "Bingzhou is a piece of cake, but this piece of cake is not well made, some places are thick, some places are thin, not only does it look bad, but also not strong, a little force, some too thin places will crack, if you shake it a few times, this piece of cake will fall into several pieces, the center of each piece, is a thick piece of cake."

Wen Shu raised his eyebrows, indifferent, he knew Liu Xiu's metaphor, whether it was the Wen family or the Wang family, they were all thicker places.

"This cake is broken, and it doesn't seem to matter to the thick spots." Liu Xiu maintained a calm smile, and then continued: "But I want to ask Wen Jun, the original hustle and bustle seems to be a piece of cake that is not thin, why Wen Huqiang refuses to cling to it, but wants to die in his post?" ”

Wen Shu opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Liu Xiu. "Wen Jun will definitely say that it is Wen Huqiang's loyalty to the country, his sect in the Han family, and his refusal to compromise with the traitors. But if that's the case, I'm very puzzled, why didn't Wen Huqiang serve the First Emperor before? Why don't you be loyal to the country before Sejo ascends the throne? ”

Wen Shu sank his face: "My lord, the Wen family has been taught by the sages, although there are no great Confucian ministers, but the most basic loyalty is still understood. Adults are young, please don't speak unscrupulously and hurt the harmony. ”

The corners of Liu Xiu's mouth were crooked, and he said in his heart, I am not afraid of you, and you don't need to talk cruelly to me. He ignored Wen Shu's threatening words, and continued: "The Wen family is a gentleman's heirloom, and I, as Wen Jun said, am young and ignorant, so I might as well spend the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain and make the most vicious guess." ”

Wen Shu sneered again and again, and said sarcastically: "The lord is too humble, as a state assassin and a shepherd, but he claims to be a villain, what is the face of the Nai court?" This kind of thing, please don't say it again, even the grass people feel blush. ”

"Hahaha......" Liu Xiu laughed: "Wen Jun is too sensitive, is he a villain, it's not that he thinks that he doesn't think of himself as a villain." Just because I think I'm a villain doesn't mean I'm a villain, just as some people think they're gentlemen, but they're not necessarily gentlemen. Wen Jun, the master has a saying, the gentleman is poor, unrighteous and rich and expensive, to me like a floating cloud, then I dare to ask Wen Jun, against the imperial court decrees, occupy more arable land, hoard food, sit back and watch the people starve to death on the roadside, hide the population, and seize the country's wealth to enrich themselves, can such a person be regarded as a gentleman who is solid and poor, is such wealth righteous or unjust? ”

Wen Shu's face was red, and he was furious, but he was speechless. He felt very indignant and aggrieved, Liu Xiu's accusation was indeed above board, the problem is that there are a few big clans who don't do this, you didn't accuse others, but you came to accuse me, did you come to the door today, just want to get along with me? It's not enough for you to cause me to lose my position, and now you have to rush to the door to bully me?

Seeing that Wen Shu was angry, Liu Xiu smiled. I thought you were really a true gentleman with no desires and no desires, if you really want to be desireless, then I will come in vain today, and you will still be angry, and I am not afraid that you will not take the bait.

"Don't be in a hurry, in fact, I just want to say that the gentleman is righteous, and the villain is profitable, this sentence does not mean that the gentleman is not profitable. The Master only said, 'Unrighteous and rich and expensive are like clouds to me,' and did not say that a gentleman should be poor. You say yes, right? ”

Wen Shu was angry and funny, and it was not easy to refute, so he had to snort and listen to Liu Xiu continue.

"Bingzhou is a piece of cake, and when the cake is broken, it is not good for everyone. Small cakes divided into countless pieces are easier to swallow than a large piece of bread, and if you use too much force, I am afraid that in the end no one can guarantee that you are intact. Once those crumbs are cornered, gathering in the Wuthering Mountains and forests, I am afraid that no matter how thick the place is, it will not be able to withstand it. ”

"If there is such a capable minister as an adult, will the state fall apart?" Wen Shu glanced at Liu Xiu coldly.

"I don't dare to be a good minister, but trying not to let this piece of cake break is exactly what I'm doing with all my strength at the moment." Liu Xiu smiled slightly, took his hand back, crossed his ten fingers in front of his abdomen, and easily circled his two thumbs, "There are two ways to prevent this cake from breaking, one is to return the whole cake to the furnace and redo it, try to make it more even, cut off some parts that are too thick, and make up for the places that are too thin." The Master said that the world does not suffer from widowhood but unevenness, and absolute uniformity cannot be done, but it is still beneficial to be as uniform as possible. As for where to cut and where to make up, of course there are some ways to do this, Wen Jun is a person in the officialdom, so he probably doesn't need me to remind him. ”

Wen Shu narrowed his eyes, the threat in Liu Xiu's words was too strong, he looked at him coldly, hoping to see his true intention from Liu Xiu's eyes.

"Another way is to get more flour and make the cake thicker, so that you don't have to move the thick parts, just fill in the gaps, and then if there is any leftover, make the whole cake thicker and firmer." Liu Xiu didn't pay attention to Wen Shu's cold eyes at all, and said lightly: "These two methods may not be able to distinguish each other, they are just one after the other, whether they can make this cake well depends on the craftsmanship of the person." Wen Jun, would you like to just sit on the sidelines? ”

Wen Shu pondered for a moment and understood what Liu Xiu meant. No matter which method it is, if you want to be unlucky, it must be the onlookers who are unlucky first, and if you want to get benefits, it is naturally the people in power who will get the benefits first, if the Wen family insists on standing aside and watching the play, then the Wen family will suffer a loss.

"I'm afraid that adults will be disappointed, and my skills are not very good." Wen Shu softened his breath and forced a smile.

"Your Excellency is humble." Liu Xiu arched his hand, got up and left his seat: "I am a novice in making cakes, and this time I came to hope that Wen Jun can take the time to go to Longshan and discuss important matters with the sages of Bingzhou." Longshan is a beautiful and pleasant scenery, quite cool, and a good place to escape the summer, and I think I can definitely negotiate the best way to discuss with the gentlemen in such a place. ”

Wen Shu nodded, he heard Liu Xiu's reminder, most of the people have arrived this time, and the result is not what I mean alone, if you don't go, you will either consider yourself unlucky at that time, or you will have to go against all the heroes in Bingzhou. Either result is not what Wen Shu wants to see. Wang Yun invited him officially, but he didn't go, and now Liu Xiu came to the door in person and gave him enough face, if he didn't go, it would be impossible for anyone to invite him again.

"Although adults are new to their careers, they are quite capable of doing things. I believe that adults will be able to bring happiness to the people of the state. Wen Shu lowered his posture: "Although I am not talented, I dare not be a person for the benefit of Xiangzi, please go back first, and I will rush to Longshan to listen to the sages and adults' Anbang clever plan." ”

Liu Xiu bowed down and thanked him.

After getting Wenshu, Liu Xiu rushed to Jiexiu and met Guo Tai's son, the Guo family is a well-deserved big family in Jiexiu. In the first year of Jianning, Chen Fan and Dou Wu were killed by Cao Jie and others, and the second party rebellion, Guo Tai thought that the Han Dynasty would die, and the world would inevitably be in chaos, so he asked his children not to go out and farm at home with peace of mind. However, no matter how high you are, no matter whether you want to protect yourself or not, since you are still in the state, even if you don't want to share some benefits, at least you will not be willing to be sacrificed for nothing, not to mention that Liu Xiu personally came to ask for advice, and he had to give some face.

Guo Tai's son is far from Guo Tai's knowledge, let alone Liu Xiu, a robber-style lobbyist with a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other, who reluctantly agreed to attend the meeting.

Bidding farewell to the Guo family, Liu Xiu turned around and went north and rushed to Yangqu to visit Guo Quan, the head of the Guo family.

Guo Quan has been a big farmer and is well-informed, Liu Xiu knows that it is dangerous to play tricks in front of him, he said to Guo Quan bluntly, I have the trust of the Son of Heaven to take charge of the state, and now I need a lot of money to raise troops, and the arable land in the state is limited, and I can't make a fortune just by farming, so I want to open up industry and commerce in the state. Industry and commerce get rich quickly, but the capital and manpower and material resources needed are also a lot, I don't have such a big strength alone, it is impossible to do it all, so I invite adults to discuss together, see how to divide labor and cooperate, I want to make a fortune with you, if you don't come, don't blame me if your Guo family suffers when the time comes.

Liu Xiu gave Guo Quan his hole cards, and Guo Quan couldn't sit still. Although his son Guo Yi is not stupid, he has not yet come out, and his reputation in the state is limited, it is estimated that he can't fight for others in the process of competing for interests, and the interests involved in this matter are too great, Guo Yi himself may not be the master, and in the end he has to come back and report to him, which is a waste of time and may delay the opportunity. Since Lord Thorn Shi came to invite him personally, it would be better to go out in person.

Guo Quan agreed, and then rushed to Longshan to attend the meeting. Liu Xiu took out the list that Wang Yun gave him, Guo Quan immediately understood Wang Yun's selfishness, and quietly pointed out to Liu Xiu who else needed to meet.

Liu Xiu readily agreed.

Liu Xiu ran for two days, and when he returned to the Longshan camp, Wen Shu, Guo Quan and others had already arrived, Wang Yun saw these people, knew what Liu Xiu had been busy with in the past two days, and also knew that his careful thinking did not hide Liu Xiu in the end, and he was very uneasy, as soon as he heard that Liu Xiu was back, he hurriedly came to meet and asked Liu Xiu to preside over the meeting.

Liu Xiu said, I have almost run all over Taiyuan County in the past two days, I am too tired, I want to rest and rest, you should discuss it with them first, and if you have the result, bring it to me and show it, and then discuss if there is any problem. If you can't be busy alone, then discuss it with a big official like the chief bookkeeper, the chief secretary and Gong Cao, this heavy responsibility can't be pressed on you alone, and I can't bear it. If you think those people are ineffective, I'll replace them, what do you think of Wen Shu and Guo Yi? Wen Shu has been a Taishou for many years and has experience in governance, although Guo Yi has not yet become a leader, but his father Guo Quan has rich economic means and will definitely be able to help.

Wang Yun hesitated, Liu Xiu went out for a turn, and all the people he found back were his opponents, and more importantly, after Liu Xiu knew his selfishness, he also pushed him to the forefront, which forced him to face to face with those people. If he refuses and shirks again, then Liu Xiu is likely to abandon him and change to another person to preside over this meeting, and at that time, it is self-evident whether the Wang family of Qi * County can still get enough benefits in this meeting.

Wang Yun himself can not care about these interests, he believes that with his own ability, it is natural to make contributions in the future, but he can't sit back and watch the interests of the Wang family suffer, let alone do nothing on such a major occasion. He could feel that Liu Xiu's meeting was actually a state-level salt and iron meeting, a pioneering initiative, and once successful, it was likely to become a regular practice.

Such an important event, and obviously has a great opportunity to shine in front of him, how can he give up in vain and be a bystander willingly?

If there is only a relationship of interests, Wang Yun can give up, if it is just a false name, Wang Yun can not care, but when the two are intertwined, it is not so easy for Wang Yun to deal with it indifferently.

Seeing Wang Yun's hesitation, Liu Xiu vaguely guessed his ambivalence. Liu Xiu lacks experience in official management, but he does not lack the ability to figure out other people's minds, and it may even be said that he has extraordinary talent in this area, even exceeding his talent in martial arts and military science.

Liu Xiu beckoned, motioned for Wang Yun to sit down, and personally poured Wang Yun a cup of tea. Wang Yun thanked absentmindedly, took the tea in his hand, took a sip, and took a sip of the slightly bitter tea, just like his mood at the moment.

"Zishi, Guo Linzong said that you are Wang Zuozhicai. I know that the so-called Wang Zuozhicai should assist the Son of Heaven to stabilize the country, and governing a state is really condescending to you. However, because of this, I believe that you should be able to govern a state with ease, effortlessly, and several times better than me. To tell you the truth, if you can't negotiate, I have one last resort. ”

He raised his palms and made a murderous gesture, and his tone became a little gloomy: "I am now a salute before a soldier, and I don't want to turn against the wealthy families in Bingzhou, but if I really want to force it, I will not hesitate to use force." I can give you a thorough understanding first, Xianbei people, I have made up my mind, Your Majesty asked me to come to Bingzhou, just to defend Bingzhou and solve the threat of Xianbei people, if I can't complete this task, it will be to live up to the trust of the Son of Heaven and destroy my future. ”

Wang Yun was shocked when he heard this, he had fought with Liu Xiu, he knew Liu Xiu's temper, don't look at his usual smiling harmlessness to people and animals, but once he decided to make a move, it would definitely be yin and ruthless, and he would never leave behind. In order to raise the cost of using soldiers, he can sit down and negotiate with everyone, which has exceeded Wang Yun's expectations, and if he changes to another person, he may directly pick up a knife and kill people.

Liu Xiu has the trust of the Son of Heaven, it is definitely not a problem to find an excuse to kill a few wealthy families, this is not only simple, but also the fastest money, now he has nearly 20,000 troops in hand, and which Haoqiang in the state is his opponent?

Liu Xiu doesn't want to kill people now, it doesn't mean that he can't kill people, and forcing him to the step of killing people and robbing money is definitely not what a wise man should do. Wang Yun looked at Liu Xiu's sincere and almost pure eyes, but he felt a burst of coldness, and he felt more and more that he was obligated to shirk his responsibility. He believed that only he knew Liu Xiu's real surname best in Bingzhou, and the others only saw Liu Xiu's kindness, and they ignored Liu Xiu to varying degrees that Liu Xiu was a martial artist, and he was a young man and a wealthy man, and it was the age of fearlessness, and to some extent, he was even more terrible than Dong Zhuo.

Wang Yun bowed to the ground and said word by word: "My lord, I will do my best to fulfill the great trust of my lord." ”

"I'm sure you can do it." Liu Xiu leaned over and patted Wang Yun's shoulder: "There is Lao Zishi." ”

(To be continued)