Guanzhong.

The spring breeze finally blew through the Great Qinling Mountains, blew the land of Guanzhong, and opened the ice and snow on Liupan Mountain, turning into a trickle, passing through the mountains and dripping valleys, flowing into Weishui, and rushing eastward.

Zhuge Liang bent over, got out of the big tent, and looked at the soldiers and farmers who were busy in the distance, and a tired smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Everything went well, after more than a year of hard work, Guanzhong and Longyou have already started, and now he can finally operate Guanzhong with peace of mind and prepare for the next Northern Expedition.

Since the first Northern Expedition, it has been four years since Guanzhong started, and there have been three years in the official Tuntian, and the accumulation of three years was exhausted in the big war last year, so he could only stop and wait patiently.

Manpower is sometimes poor, and no matter how smart he is, he can't conjure up a lot of food at once. Without food, no action can be carried out, and even if there are millions of soldiers waiting for them, they can only wait patiently.

Looking at the spring ploughing scene in front of him, Zhuge Liang wrapped his winter coat tightly. The weather has warmed up, and many people have taken off their winter clothes and put on light spring clothes, but he is still wrapped in an old winter coat, otherwise he will be prone to cold.

This body is really getting worse day by day. Zhuge Liang felt that his throat and eyes were a little itchy, so he clenched his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly twice. The cough tugged at his lungs, causing his entire chest to vibrate and tingle.

"Prime Minister, why did you come out?" Jiang Wei walked over quickly, and when he saw Zhuge Liang's face flushed with cough, he hurriedly stepped forward to help him and persuaded: "Prime Minister, it's windy outside, let's go in." ”

"Out of the way." Zhuge Liang waved his hand and gasped: "I've been in it for a long time." I came out to breathe. ”

Jiang Wei glanced back at the big tent and frowned. As long as Zhuge Liang opens his eyes, he spends most of his time immersed in office, the lights in the house are almost never extinguished, and the smell of lamp oil is so heavy that it can smoke people to death, normal people can't stand it, not to mention that Zhuge Liang is a patient.

"Prime Minister, you can't work so hard anymore, your body matters."

"It's okay, it would be warmer." Zhuge Liang smiled tiredly. Glancing at Jiang Wei: "Wei Yan has news coming?" ”

"Hmm." Jiang Wei lowered his head. Looking at the military newspaper in his hand, he licked his lips: "General Zhenxi has recovered Dunhuang, and the entire Liangzhou has already started." He is now resting at Yumen Pass, asking about his next move. ”

Zhuge Liang listened calmly. After a while. He asked, "Boyo." What would you do if you were asked to make the decision? ”

Jiang Wei pondered for a long time, and Zuihou said with some reluctance: "Xiliang is easy to mess up. You have to have a general like General Zhenxi to guard it. Moreover, those Hu people on the grassland are not subject to indoctrination, and they also need General Zhenxi to deter them. ”

Zhuge Liang nodded slowly and smiled with satisfaction. "Let Wei Yan stay in Liangzhou, in addition to deterring the Western Liang people and the Hu people on the grassland, there is another important reason......" He paused: "I am ready to reopen the Western Regions." ”

"Reopen the Western Regions?" Jiang Wei was stunned for a moment, and then realized.

"The reopening of the Western Regions is not to trap Wei Yan in the Western Regions, but if we want to restore our strength and accumulate wealth as soon as possible, we must find a way from the Western Regions." Zhuge Liang said lightly: "In the past, we only had Yizhou, after all, the output of Shu brocade was limited, and the supply exceeded demand, so we could raise the price and earn high profits." No matter how much we produce, Wei and Wu can consume it. But now the situation is different, our land has increased, and the looms have been improved, and the production of brocade must usher in a rapid growth, but the strength of the Wei State has greatly decreased, and their purchasing power is constantly decreasing. And the war is imminent, Cao Rui will definitely restrict the sales of Shu brocade, so as not to have a large outflow of money, if you don't find a way to sell it in time, Shu brocade will soon depreciate in value......"

Listening to Zhuge Liang's rambling about doing business, Jiang Wei couldn't react for a while. Could this be the prime minister's recent consideration? He gets up early and brings late every day, not thinking about the great cause of the Northern Expedition, but just settling accounts? No wonder Yang Yi's father and son often go in and out of the prime minister's tent.

Jiang Wei wanted to speak and stopped. He felt that Zhuge Liang should not treat these things as a big matter, just leave them to Yang Yi and his son, why should he work so hard. However, he looked at Zhuge Liang, who was gushing, swallowed the words that came to his lips again, and listened patiently.

Zhuge Liang said it, and finally found that Jiang Wei was a little absent-minded, sighed secretly, and closed his mouth. He looked into the distance, looked out of his mind for a while, and suddenly said: "Boyo, I have heard a saying that the economy is the foundation of politics, and the military is an extension of politics, what do you think?" ”

Jiang Wei was stunned for a moment, lowered his head, looked at his toes, and his face was a little ashamed. He didn't have to guess, he could know that this kind of strange thing must have been said by Wei Ba, and others couldn't say such strange words. The reason why Zhuge Liang didn't mention Wei Ba's name was just to take care of his face. Obviously, Zhuge Liang was not very satisfied with his perfunctory attitude just now.

"Prime Minister, I know it's wrong."

"Berjo, a true soldier is not just a marching soldier. "The Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu" has never been a simple way to use troops, but a way to govern the country. ”

Jiang Wei's face was flushed, and he was embarrassed. At this moment, Yang Yi's father and son walked over, Yang Yi looked angry, and before he walked in front of Zhuge Liang, he stretched out the official document in his hand, and said angrily: "Prime Minister, Li Yan and Wei Ba are becoming more and more presumptuous, they actually asked for a reduction or exemption of taxes on Guanjin, and what did they say to benefit the people, I think they just want to fill their pockets." Gongyan and Jun Hei are really, they don't know how to refuse this kind of chaotic life, and they are actually sent to Guanzhong. Prime Minister, you better hurry back to Chengdu, and go on like this......"

Zhuge Liang frowned, took the official document, and looked at it to himself. When Yang Yi saw it, she was a little embarrassed, but her anger did not decrease, she turned her head, and sulked to herself.

After reading the official document, Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time, and muttered: "What is Wei Ba doing, I really don't understand." Wei Gong, you can deduce it and see if this is really conducive to economic recovery. ”

"Prime Minister, does this still need to be deduced? This is the strategy for the death of the country. Yang Yi couldn't help but shouted: "According to his method, if the prime minister wants to go on the Northern Expedition, he must be a cool official Zhang Tang who implements the Confession." Grace is given by him, and grievances are accumulated by the prime minister, is this still worth it? ”

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly, and his face sank like water.

……

XU Wen.

Wei Ba walked barefoot and with his hands behind his back, slowly walking on the white sand. Liao Li was wearing a broad-sleeved shirt and followed closely behind. The tide soaked his shoes, socks and the hem of his clothes, but he didn't realize it, he still spit and explained to Wei Ba.

"General, if you can't do this, the people will be happy if they gain something, and they will be resentful if they lose, and it will be easy to let go and difficult to collect. Today, the general lowered the tax on Guanjin, of course, they praised the general to the sky, but when the general reached out to them to ask for money again, they couldn't remember the benefits that the general gave them today......"

"I'm not going down to the bottom, I'm just going down a little, is it that serious?" Wei Ba turned his head and looked at the excited Liao Li with a smile: "Do you think that if you collect this tax less, you can destroy our economy?" ”

"It's not enough to destroy, but how can you reduce the amount of money when you use it properly? When the world is peaceful, and the general wants to be gracious and rest with the people, then I will never stop the general. ”

"Otherwise, I want to reduce the endowment now, precisely because I hope to accumulate more wealth as soon as possible to calm the great war in the world." Wei Ba stopped and faced the sea: "You should know that our time is limited, and we have to race not only against our opponents, but also against ourselves. I lowered the tariff in order to attract merchants from Nankai Province and Nanzhong Province and let them go to sea from us. To be honest, I'm worried that Issei won't be attractive enough. ”

Liao Li twisted his beard. He heard the implication from Wei Ba's words, Wei Ba not only wanted to rob Wu Guo's wealth, but also robbed the prime minister's business. Li Hui, Ma Zhong and others, who are currently in charge of Nanzhong, are all close associates of the prime minister, and most of the income of Nanzhong Province is at the disposal of the prime minister's office.

"General, this ...... Okay? ”

Wei Ba shrugged his shoulders with a smile: "What's wrong, I'm not a big robbery, I'm playing fair." If they are not convinced, they can also descend. ”

Liao Li smacked his lips and didn't say anything more. After Wei Ba came back from Nanyang, his style of acting changed greatly, and he no longer cared about what Prime Minister Zhuge Liang would think. For Liao Li, this can be seen as Wei Ba's gradual maturity and no need to follow the prime minister's footsteps, but also as Wei Ba's ambition is inflated and reckless.

As a person trusted by Wei Ba, of course he had to remind Wei Ba, but if Wei Ba insisted, then he had no choice but to implement Wei Ba's decision, after all, Wei Ba still had the final say here. What's more, Wei Ba has not made any major mistakes so far, and although this decision is a bit reckless, it is not unreasonable. From a distance, the most important way to restore the people's livelihood economy is to benefit the people, and from a closer look, if you want to accumulate more wealth as soon as possible, it is inevitable to take advantage of it. Wei Ba did not take advantage of the people under his rule, but wanted to fight a business war with Wu and Chengdu, which is already commendable.

Liao Li thought for a moment and proposed his own plan. "General, it's better to do this, we don't officially implement this plan, we only say it's a trial trial. Try it out for half a year first, and if the effect is good and the court has no clear objections, we will continue to implement it. If the effect is not satisfactory, or if the reaction of the imperial court is strong, how about we cancel this plan at that time? ”

Wei Ba thought about it, nodded, and looked at Liao Li with appreciation. "Mr. Gongyuan, you are still old-fashioned, this trial plan is good, then listen to you, for half a year, and then see the effect before deciding."

Liao Li was relieved, and a smile appeared on his face.

Wei Ba also smiled. Although Liao Li is talented and has a big temper, his awe of Zhuge Liang comes from the bottom of his heart, no matter what, as long as he has to fight against Zhuge Liang, Liao Li is a little empty in his heart. I don't know when I'll get back into this habit. If it can't be changed, then it is necessary to select a backup candidate as soon as possible...... (To be continued......)