Sun Quan asked Zhuge Liang for help, and Zhuge Liang's situation was not much better. Luoyang returned in vain, and he was pressed by Li Yan step by step in the court, and he also suffered heavy losses economically. Wei Ba's debt collection was really unexpected. But now he can't even get the pension of the fallen soldiers, and where can he have the money to pay back to Wei Ba.

Speaking of which, it's not because you haven't reached the pre-combat jihua? If Luoyang had been conquered, great achievements had been made, and a large amount of loot had been captured, where would there be the current dilemma.

One step is in vain, and every step is embarrassed, this is Zhuge Liang's current situation. Where can he rest and recuperate? He ate less and less, slept less and less, and his physical condition was not getting worse day by day. Jiang Wei was attacking Huguan, and he didn't even have anyone to share his worries, he just wanted to rest, and he couldn't find a trustworthy helper.

In the face of his brother's concern and blame, Zhuge Liang was very helpless, and even had a feeling of discouragement. Regarding Sun Quan's plan to buy a war horse, he welcomed it, but he had some worries.

"Who bought these horses?"

"Two types of people." Zhuge Jin sighed lightly: "One is the generals of the clan, and the other is the generals from Jiangdong. The Jianghuai people have limited strength and cannot be compared with them. ”

"If this continues, there will be no more places for Jianghuai people to stand in the Wu army?"

"There's no way around it." Zhuge Jin was silent for a moment: "Brother Yuanxun is also in the army, which of them do you think can become a great weapon?" ”

"Brother wants to buy war horses for them?"

Zhuge Jin nodded.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment: "My own brother, don't say polite words." Yuan Xun is talented. But he is careless by nature, and he has the trust of King Wu, and he can achieve great things, but he can also make big mistakes. As for the uncle, he was born rich and noble, long and arrogant, not as good as Yuan Xun. ”

Zhuge Jin pondered for a moment: "Then it's better to be Yuanxun?" ”

Zhuge Liang nodded and didn't say anything more. The words have come to this point, Zhuge Jin still doesn't give up, what else can he say. Besides. This is probably also a helpless move. Sun Quan couldn't watch the Jianghuai system collapse from then on, and let the Jiangdong system dominate.

"I will mobilize the war horses as soon as possible, but you should be careful, if Wei Ba hears the wind. I'm afraid he'll come back to collect his debts. Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly: "I owe him a lot of money." ”

Zhuge Jin also smiled bitterly: "It's not just you who owe him money. We owe him a lot of money as well. ”

……

Xiangguan. Wei Ba ushered in a distinguished guest from Chengdu: Li Feng.

Once again as an envoy to meet with Wei Ba, Li Feng did not have the restraint of the last time. He calmly accepted Wei Ba's hospitality, and after he was full of wine and food. Wei Ba invited him to the study.

At this time, Li Fengcai restrained some of his arrogance, put on the humility of a corporal of Lixian, and arched his hand to Wei Ba: "General, I came here on the orders of my father this time, I want to ask the general about a few things. ”

"Major General, please speak." Wei Ba said with a smile: "Don't worry about the ears on the wall, what words come from your mouth and enter my ears, God knows, you know and I know." ”

"That's very good." Li Feng was very satisfied with Wei Ba's attitude. "First things first: did you indeed sell fire bombs to the Wei State, how many in total?"

"Yes." Wei Ba said without thinking: "A total of one million." ”

"So much?" Li Feng feigned surprise and said: "The general doesn't know, the last time the court discussed the prime minister's Luoyang war, some people said that the reason why the prime minister was not victorious was because the Wei army had a large number of fire bombs, which was to suffer a major setback. The general was the culprit of this defeat, and the general was suspected of collaborating with the enemy, and asked the general to give an order to arrest the general and return to Beijing to ask for the guilt. ”

Wei Ba pursed his lips and dismissed: "Such gossip is nothing more than an excuse for the prime minister, don't listen to it." ”

"But the general also said just now that you did sell fire bombs to the Wei people, and there were quite a few of them."

"Yes, but that was before the war. The prime minister sent troops to Luoyang, and so far, there has been no official notice. I always thought that the Wei people bought these to deal with the Wu people, who knew that the prime minister would send troops. Wei Ba sighed: "Although I have a clear conscience, I also know that it is difficult to be a general, and this situation will be remembered in my heart, and I will repay it in the future." ”

Li Feng smiled. Of course, he didn't come to arrest Wei Ba, he said so much, he just wanted to sell his favor to Wei Ba, so as to pave the way for the next negotiations. Wei Ba knows each other so well, then things are much easier.

"Please rest assured, my father believes in you, otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here. Haha......" Li Feng pretended to smile heartily: "The second thing, did the general sell the warship to the Wei people?" ”

"Who is it that is bad for me and makes rumors about me?" Wei Ba was annoyed, "I sold ships to the Wei people, but those are cargo ships, not war ships. The Cao clan usurped the Han, the Han and the thieves are not separated, and the warship is the weapon of the country, how can I sell it to him. The ship is not a fire bomb, it is gone when it is used up. ”

"Can the general build a warship?" Li Feng asked with a smile.

"Absolutely." Wei Bahu looked at Li Feng suspiciously: "What does the young general mean ......"

"If the general can come up with a real warship and compare it with the merchant ships bought by the Wei people, then the facts will be clear at a glance. If the general could lead these warships to attack Wei, the rumors would naturally be self-defeating. Who would believe that a general would use a sharp weapon with people to create trouble for himself. ”

Wei Ba laughed and shook his head repeatedly. "Major General, you think too highly of me. I fought with the Xiangyang Marine, and now I can build ships, but I don't know anything about water warfare. If the general is out of the division, I can provide the warship, the leader of the army, there are many people, or the general chooses himself, I won't sacrifice ugliness. ”

Li Feng blinked: "According to the general's opinion, among the generals who can command the water division, is Feng Jin more suitable, or Fu Xing?" ”

Wei Ba smiled: "Major General, you should ask Meng Da about this, he is more familiar with them than me." Besides, who said that the person who commands the water division can only be selected from the Xiangyang water division, Chengdu also has a water division, and the general has been in Yong'an and Jiangzhou for many years, so there won't be a few people under his command who are proficient in water warfare, right? ”

Li Feng smiled, his eyes narrowed so that only a slit remained. Wei Ba is simply too good, he was originally worried that Wei Ba would compete for merit, but now it seems that Wei Ba knows each other very well, and he has no intention of competing with Li Yan at all.

"That's one question left for Zuihou." Li Feng leaned closer to Wei Ba and became more intimate: "If you want to equip a 10,000-person sailor division, how long will it take for the general to provide all the warships?" ”

Wei Ba pondered for a moment: "I'm not an expert in this, so I'd better ask the major general to provide a specific list of warships, so that I can give you an answer." In terms of the current size of the Hepu shipyard, I estimate that it will take at least five years. Of course, if all kinds of supplies are supplied in time, the time may be shortened. ”

"Cut down to a few years?"

"There is no shortage of timber in Jiaozhou, there are mountains and forests everywhere, but Jiaozhou lacks iron." Wei Ba said in embarrassment: "At present, part of the iron we use is transported from Wancheng, and the other part is transported from Nanzhong. I originally expected the prime minister to take Hedong and take the Hedong Railway to pay for my goods, but now it is difficult to say whether he can take Hedong. If there is not enough iron supply, it should be possible to shorten the construction period to three years without delay. ”

"Three years." Li Feng frowned slightly: "Three years, it's still a little too long." ”

"What, the general wants to use soldiers?" Wei Ba asked in surprise.

Li Feng smiled and nodded proudly: "General, this is actually a problem for Zuihou." My father wanted to send troops to attack Wu and wanted to hear the general's opinion. ”

Wei Ba frowned and thought for a long time. "Major General, may I ask a question first?"

"General, please."

"The prime minister's eastern crusade failed, and I am afraid that he will not have the strength to go out in a short time. It is said that above the court, no one can threaten the position of the general now. Under such circumstances, is it necessary for the general to break his promise and send troops to attack Wu? The prime minister went out of the army, in order to grasp the military power and compete with the general. When the general goes out of the army, who will he compete with? The general is already a great minister, and if he makes meritorious service, he will not be rewarded, is it ......?"

"Could it be what?" Li Feng glanced at his eyes, and said with something in his words: "Could it be that if an official is a general, he should enjoy wealth and prosperity, eat all day long, and have nothing to do?" ”

Wei Ba was stunned for a moment, and looked at Li Feng with straight eyes.

Li Feng crooked his mouth and looked at Wei Ba quietly: "General, my father has the heart to serve the country and seek peace for the people of the world, but he still needs the help of a talent like a general." Would the general be willing? ”

Wei Ba shuddered, and a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He avoided Li Feng's eyes and looked at the hand on the case. The two thumbs circled each other, and after a long time, he said in a dumb voice: "Young General, can you allow me to think about it?" ”

"Of course." Li Fengpi nodded with a smile: "Such a big matter, of course, let the general think about it clearly." To tell you the truth, my father and Ma Youchang often have high hopes for you, the general. ”

Wei Ba laughed dryly twice and retreated.

Looking at Wei Ba's hurried back, Li Feng laughed silently. The bait has been released, and it depends on whether the fish will take the bait. He wasn't worried that Wei Ba would denounce him, from his words, Wei Ba couldn't find conclusive evidence, this was something that could be understood and unspeakable, Wei Ba would not be stupid to such a point. If Wei Ba refuses, it is obvious that he will not be able to be a loyal subordinate, and he must be vigilant when cooperating with him in the future. If Wei Ba agreed, then he could be used boldly, and the people who could rebel with him, what else could not be trusted?

Of course, after the success of the war against Wu, whether it really goes further depends on the specific situation. This initiative is firmly in the hands of the Li family. If he was sure enough, his father would not have shirked any further - only when he reached that position could power be truly passed on within the family. If you don't grasp it enough, then you can accept it when you see it, why not be a great general?

Han Feizi said that the magic potential, this is the potential, and those who are in a high position can grasp the initiative at any time.

Li Feng enjoyed this feeling very much

(To be continued......)