"Hey, Brother Yang Ming, tell my brother, which little beauty is this white jade bracelet you bought?" On the street, Ye Zhanfei raised a wicked smile and asked Yang Ming.

Yang Ming put the bracelet into his arms, and then pretended to be mysterious, and said, "Naturally, she is a beauty." ”

Seeing that Yang Ming was reluctant to reveal the name of the beauty, Ye Zhanfei didn't ask any more, in fact, he also guessed eight points in his heart, it should be the county lord of Xin'er, Ye Zhanfei thought so in his heart.

After walking for a while, Yang Ming suddenly asked, "Ye Zhanfei, why was the shopkeeper so afraid of you just now?"

Hearing this, Ye Zhanfei smiled proudly, "Hehe, Yang Ming, you don't know anything about this." ”

As he spoke, Ye Zhanfei raised his right hand and pointed to the street they had walked through, his fingers swept over the stalls of the major shops in turn along his line of sight, and then said, "Yang Ming, our Ye family is not only an official in the court, but we also run a business of buying and selling. In this market, from restaurants and money houses to vegetable stalls and rice shops, half of the shops are under the name of our Ye family, and the other half of the shops also have our Ye family's money in them. It is no exaggeration to tell you that in the entire national capital, almost all the buying and selling businesses are our Ye family. ”

Speaking of this, Ye Zhanfei secretly approached Yang Ming's ear and whispered: "To say another disrespectful word, the wealth of our Ye family can be said to be rich and rival the country, and even the treasury in the palace may not be as much as the silver in our family." ”

Hearing this, Yang Ming's face was shocked, "Huh, it turns out that your family is the richest man in Jiang Country." ”

Ye Zhanfei smiled proudly, not modest, and said: "That's right, that's right, that's right, and I, Ye Zhanfei, is the son of the richest man, Yang Ming, you are lucky, recognize me as your brother, in the future, you will be in this street market, what you like, what you want to buy, just report my Ye Zhanfei's name, take it casually, who dares to ask you for a penny, you tell me, I will let him close tomorrow." ”

Hearing such generous conditions, Yang Ming smiled indifferently and said, "I can't afford this kind of treatment." I, Yang Ming, will not do that kind of 'forcible taking' thing. ”

"Whatever you want. In short, Brother Fei just said, in the future, we are brothers, as long as it is about money, you can find me, but forget about fighting. Ye Zhanfei said very self-awarely.

"Okay, borrow money, I'll look for you, fight, you look for me. Yang Ming smiled slightly and said briskly.

Glancing at the bustling and lively street market, Yang Ming said again: "Your Ye family is both an official and a businessman, but you really have both power and wealth." ”

Hearing this, Ye Zhanfei suddenly said with a somewhat lost face: "Yes, but my father's ambition is more than that." My father had three sons, and I was the youngest of them, my eldest brother was always by my father's side, learning from him how to manage the country's money and land, and my second brother was sent by my father to manage all the family business. According to my father's intention, my eldest brother wanted to take over the position of 'Dasi Nong' in the future and inherit the official position of the family, while the second brother would engage in business and inherit the family property. As for me, my father arranged for me to enter the Martial Arts Academy to cultivate, and he wanted me to enter the army and become a general in the future. Father's ambition is to let the Ye family tightly grasp the power of Jiang Guo's politics, business, and military, so that our Ye family will become the largest family in Jiang State. ”

Hearing Ye Zhanfei's words, Yang Ming thought thoughtfully, and admired Ye Zhanfei's father's overall vision very much, for a country, the most important thing is nothing more than these three things, being an official is power, doing business is money, and joining the army is military power. Holding these three things, then, the Ye family is also holding the lifeblood of Jiang Guo.

"Jiang Guo is a country founded by force, and in the power of the state, the weight of the army is the heaviest. So, my father had high expectations for me, and he wanted me to join the army so that I could become a general. When he said this, Ye Zhanfei's eyes showed loss and guilt for the first time, he lowered his head and said in a very low tone, "However, I know my strength very well, and I am not the material to be a general at all." ”

"Yang Ming, sometimes, I really envy you, people like you are the most talented generals. As for me, I'm just a playboy, a merry boy. Eating, drinking, and having fun, looking for flowers and asking willows, I am the best at these, but I really can't do it if I am allowed to cultivate my physique, read military books, become a general, and go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Isn't that forcing a pig to go up a tree?"

Originally, he felt sympathy for Ye Zhanfei, this was the first time Yang Ming heard Ye Zhanfei talk about his heart, but when he heard Ye Zhanfei say that he was "forcing pigs to go up the tree", the young man couldn't help laughing, and the previous sympathy instantly laughed away.

"Ye Zhanfei, you are too arrogant. How can anyone say that you are a pig, your father named you 'Zhanfei', so that you can be an eagle with wings spread and fly high, don't be too discouraged, as long as you make up your mind to cultivate now, it's not too late, and besides, I will also help you. Yang Ming said encouragingly.

Hearing this, Ye Zhanfei waved his hand and said directly: "Yang Ming, I'm not arrogant, I know my own catties." A pig is a pig, and it can't fly into the sky and become an eagle, unless my father stuffs me into my mother's belly and gives birth again. He asked me to practice and forced me to be a general, which is to force a pig to go up a tree. Besides, what's wrong with saying I'm a pig? I admit that I really can't, I'm facing myself. ”

"Besides, what's wrong with pigs, although pigs can't go to the sky, but pigs also have the use of pigs. As he spoke, Ye Zhanfei's complexion changed, no longer that frivolous appearance, his face was very serious and resolute, as if he had made some kind of determination.

"Since I came back from the Mountain of No Return, I thought about it for a long time, and I decided that I wanted to leave the Martial Arts Academy, I didn't want to be a general, I wanted to do something else. Ye Zhanfei said seriously.

Hearing this, Yang Ming's face was shocked and asked, "If you don't become a general, then what are you going to do?"

At this time, the two happened to walk to a noodle restaurant, looking at the noodles that the ramen master picked up from the soup, Ye Zhanfei licked his tongue, looked at it again, it was just noon, and then said to Yang Ming, "It's time for lunch, let's go, I'll invite you to eat noodles." ”

With that, he took Yang Ming into the noodle restaurant, and the two of them each ordered a beef noodle.

While waiting for the noodles to come up, Ye Zhanfei suddenly asked Yang Ming, "Yang Ming, do you know what is the most important thing in fighting a war?"

Asked by this, Yang Ming's little face gradually became serious, he thought for a moment, and said: "It is an army, and a strong army is inseparable from war." ”

"Not true. ”

"That's the general. Command the whole army, and the victory or defeat on the battlefield is all on the general alone. ”

"Not really. ”

Yang Ming's answers were all denied by Ye Zhanfei shaking his head, and the young man was displeased, so he asked, "Then what do you say?"

Ye Zhanfei had a serious face and replied, "It's grain and grass." ”

"Without food and grass, how can you bring in an army, let alone build a strong army. The general commands the whole army, which is a great responsibility, but there is no food in the army, the soldiers are hungry, and no matter how capable the general is, it will not help. I have read the book of soldiers, although I don't remember a few words, but there is a sentence that I remember, it is 'the soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first'. It is precisely this reason, therefore, if Jiang Guo wants to fight, he must first stock up on grain. Ye Zhanfei analyzed.

"So, I want to be in the food business. Continuing the topic, Ye Zhanfei said his thoughts and said, "Over the years in the academy, I have often run out, lingering in the street market, and the land of fireworks. It turned out that Jiang Guo's tea and silk and other items have always been very popular with neighboring countries, so many foreign businessmen are willing to do tea and silk business with Jiang Guo, and their prices are much higher than grain, and one or two good tea can even be exchanged for more than 100 catties of rice. Tea and silk, although it is a good thing, in peacetime, they are more valuable than food, but, once the war starts, food is the most valuable, at that time, food is scarce, people can not eat enough, that is a pound of rice for a hundred pounds of tea, and there may not be anyone willing to exchange it with you. ”

"In war, food is life, as long as our Jiang country has enough food, we can expand the army, and once we start a war with other countries in the future, we can fight with them for five years, or even ten years, as long as we have food, we can afford to consume it. If the other party doesn't have food and can't afford to consume it, then they will naturally lose, and our Jiang country will win. ”

"If Jiang Guo wants to win the war in the future, he must first hoard grain, and I do grain business, which is to use Jiang Guo's current tea and silk to buy a large amount of grain from neighboring countries, and then hoard it and put the grain of other countries into the granary of our Jiang country. ”

After listening to Ye Zhanfei's thoughts, Yang Ming suddenly realized, it turned out that Ye Zhanfei was thinking so far, "The soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first." Ye Zhanfei, you are very right, I used to think that you were a gentleman, you don't know how to learn, but I was wrong, you are a strategist, I support you. ”

Yang Ming patted Ye Zhanfei on the shoulder and encouraged him.

Ye Zhanfei's face was serious, he also raised his hand, patted Yang Ming's shoulder, and then said solemnly: "Yang Ming, you will definitely be a general in the future, galloping on the battlefield and fighting for Jiang Guo." I, Ye Zhanfei, although I can't be a general, I am willing to be your grain and grass officer to ensure that your army has enough food and grass and no worries. ”