Chapter 49 The troubler

The situation at the dock is imminent.

Sun Deng didn't expect that he was a prince of the State of Wu and Sun Shao, the younger brother of the king of Yue. He just wanted to go to his aunt's military camp to have a look. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by a small captain. What annoyed him more, the other party actually targeted him with a weapon and wanted to tie him up.

This Vietnamese soldier is too arrogant, isn't he?

Sun Deng was furious, but in the face of the cold shining weapons, he did not dare to say anything, so he had to signal Zhuge Ke to come forward to the theory. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Ke had just stepped forward and before he could speak, the fierce captain with thick eyebrows and big eyes flew up and kicked him in the stomach. Zhuge Ke did not expect that he would be rough and caught off guard. He was hit firmly, fell on his back, and fell to pieces of meat and vegetables. When he came to his senses, a cold sword had been placed on his neck, and a pair of shaking broom eyebrows in front of him: "Don't move around, or my hands will shake."

"You...you..." Zhuge Ke was tongue-tied.

"Take it!" The captain stood up, and the two soldiers rushed over, pressed Zhuge Ke and was about to be tied up. Zhuge Ke struggled desperately, but he couldn't move at all. At this moment, several horses passed by, and immediately a general glanced at it. He happened to see Zhuge Ke's twisted face. He was immediately surprised, waved his hand and shouted, "Li Nong, what's going on?"

Li Nong, the fierce captain just now, immediately changed into a flattering look and ran to the horse: "Return to the fifth general, these people pretend to be the prince of the State of Wu and go to the Flying Tiger Camp. The subordinates surrounded them, but they actually bribed me and wanted to resist, so the subordinates took them down.

Sun Shangxiang glanced at Zhuge Ke, who was pressed on the ground, and Sun Deng, who had just been dragged out of the car. He threw the whip and knocked on Li Nong's helmet lightly: "Zi Zi, I know you are honest and honest, but you don't have to show off like this, do you? Well, I will ask General Yue for your credit. Give me these people. They are not impersonating. They are really princes of the State of Wu, or I am my son.

"Oh, is it true?" Li Nong touched the helmet, but he didn't look nervous at all. He waved his hand and motioned to let go of Zhuge Ke and others. Then he smiled and said, "General, you have to teach this prince not to run around in the future. Fortunately, the general happens to pass by here. Otherwise, who knows what he will suffer."

"Thank you, Captain Li, for reminding me, do you want me to buy you a drink?" Sun Shangxiang's eyes rolled.

Li Nong shrank his neck and muttered in a low voice, "If you want to reward me, I can't ask for it." But his voice was so low that Sun Shangxiang couldn't hear him clearly and didn't pay attention to him. At this time, her two female soldiers had run to help Sun Deng up. Sun Deng's hair crown was knocked off. His scalp was a little messy and his expression was a little embarrassed. He looked at Li Nong's eyes were very fierce.

"Well, don't watch it. He won't be afraid of you." Sun Luban, who just rushed from behind, shouted, "Why did you come to the barracks when you have nothing to do?"

"I want to see you." Sun Deng got on the car angrily and said to Sun Luban as he walked, "I heard that you are training in your aunt's camp. I don't know how you are practicing. When can you go on an expedition?"

"Zigao, don't inquire about our army." Sun Shangxiang shouted in time: "If you want to inquire, go to the king directly. Why do you want to talk to the big tiger?"

Only then did Sun Luban react. He stared at Sun Deng angrily, shook the reins, and the horse ran to the front with a brisk pace. Sun Deng was very embarrassed, so he had to close his mouth tightly. Sun Shangxiang took a look at the more than 20 soldiers behind him who looked like chickens with their necks cut off, and frowned and said, "Is this your personal guard?"

"Well, yes." Sun Deng answered, looked up, and saw the disdainful expression on Sun Shangxiang's face. Thinking of the situation just now, he couldn't help but feel a little short of breath: "You... Your soldiers in Yue are not very reasonable. If you don't agree, you can do it."

"One sentence doesn't match?" Sun Shangxiang sneered: "You should be satisfied. It's polite that they didn't shoot you with a short crossbow. In the military camp, even if the king comes, he has to follow the rules. You inexplicably ran to the barracks and bribed him with money. If he doesn't think you have a ghost, it's his dereliction of duty.

Zhuge Ke rubbed his shoulder and snorted: "If the king of Yue wants to learn from Emperor Xiaowen, he is not afraid that these soldiers will be as unruly as Zhou Yafu in the future?"

"Military man?" Sun Shangxiang's eyes suddenly became cold, and Zhuge Ke was shocked: "If you don't respect the soldiers, how can the soldiers sell your lives? Look at your men, I'm not polite to tell you that if it were the soldiers of my Yue Kingdom, not to mention that the other party was fifty people, even if there were 500 people, they would not be tied up like this and let the prince be trapped.

Zhuge Ke curled his lips silently and disdained.

... Yecheng, Xuanwu Pool, Cao was wearing a wide thin shirt and sat by the edge of the pool with his arms open. He was holding a fishing rod in his hand. He was concentrating on looking at the silk thread shaking in the water. His eyes were wide open and he closed his mouth tightly, as if he was afraid to scare away the fish that was about to be hooked with a breath. Two big hands full of old people's spots. Hold the fishing rod firmly and be eager to try.

"I'm coming!" Cao's hand suddenly shook, the fish rod bent like a bow, and then rebounded again. A small silver fish the size of a palm broke out of the water, shook its tail in the air, and threw two drops of water on Cao's face. Cao Fian laughed. As soon as he stretched out his hand, he held the silk thread in the air. With his hand, the fish fell into a bucket next to him.

In the bucket, seven or eight fish are swimming leisurely, and they don't know that they have become prey.

"What did you just say?" Cao Li put on the bait again and threw the hook into the water. Then he turned around and said to Cao Pi, who was standing aside. Before Cao Pi answered, he said to Cao Zhi, who was also fishing next to him, "Zijian, your skill is not good. You haven't even caught half a fish for half a day?"

Cao Zhi smiled faintly: "With my father here, how dare my son and minister fight?"

"Bullshit!" Cao Bah took a sip and rolled his eyes: "You are better than me, so I'm happy. Look at the children of the Sun family. They are more and more promising. At the beginning, they thought that Sun Quan was promising enough. Unexpectedly, Sun Ce's son was still promising. In a few years, he became the king of Yue and the general of Fuyi. You guys all thought that you were amazing. Compared with him, you all became a dog. Bah, why did I scold myself?"

Cao Zhi curled his lips helplessly and didn't dare to say anything. Cao Pi, who was standing behind Cao Yu, was also a little embarrassed. He held the urgent report he had just received, saying no, no, no. Cao Qian waited for a moment, turned his head and stared at him: "What did you just say? Why do you hold a sword to do business?"

"Oh, it was Sun Shao who issued a letter to the people, saying that the task of the army is to protect the lives and property of the people, and for the State of Vietnam, the most important thing is to protect the safety of merchants." Cao Pi said fluently, "In fact, from the perspective of my son, what he said about doing business with a sword is nothing more than to find an excuse for the expedition against Funan. He wants money and goods for the expedition, and to let those big families pay for it. Of course, he has to say something nice."

"Does it sound good?" Cao Shen smiled silently: "Zihuan, you also say something nice. Let the Cui family, the Sima family and the Yang family pay some military expenses for you. The military expenses of the Western Expedition have not been settled yet. As long as you can get the military expenses, I will let you go on an expedition, and the tiger and leopard ride will also be given to you, okay?"

Cao Pi opened his mouth and closed his mouth knowingly. Xia Houshang came back from Qian Tang and said that Sun Shao did not have enough confidence in their expedition to Xiliang. He suggested that they join hands with the State of Shu and ask the emperor to issue an edict to coordinate. This suggestion is not feasible at all, or it is simply Sun Shao perfunctory. Sun Shao's intention seemed to be more inclined to unite with Cao Zhang's northern expedition, which made Cao Pi very dissatisfied. He felt that Xia Houshang went to Qian Tang and made enough money, but he did not complete his task. Instead, he pushed Sun Shao to Cao Zhang's side. But now that he saw that Sun Shao was going to prepare for the southern expedition, the matter of the Northern Expedition would be ruined. He was relieved, but he didn't expect to be seen by Cao Wei and stabbed him back.

If he could get military money from the family, how could he stand in this place to read documents for Cao Shen? He would have gone to Xiliang early to make contributions.

"This vertical is a shit stick." Cao Jian threw down the fishing rod, straightened up, and waved, "Zihuan, Zijian, walk with me."

"Alas." Cao Pi and Cao Zhi quickly followed. Cao Pi dressed very seriously. There were three layers inside and three layers outside, meticulously, but it was very hot here. The beads of sweat flowed down one after another, which looked a little embarrassed. It was far less comfortable than Cao Zhi's single clothes. Of course, it was even more impossible to compare with Cao Xiu, who was open-open and rolled up his trousers, like an old fisherman.

"What do you think of Sun Shao's letter to the people?" Cao Qian walked forward slowly with his hands behind his back. The cold light in his eyes was very incomparable with his short and fat body, and his whole body was as unshakable as a mountain.

Cao Pi licked his lips. He wanted to speak first, but he was stabbed by Cao just now, which made him a little unconfident. He looked at Cao Zhi and smiled, "Zi Jian, what do you think?"

Cao Zhi tilted his mouth and looked at Cao Pi, who looked a little nervous. He raised his hand and pinched his nose: "I don't have any high opinion. I haven't seen this King Yue so far. I don't know what this King Yue looks like. However, the father knows countless people, and it should be a talent that can be praised by the father. I'm a little curious, a little appreciative, and a little grateful to him.

"You are grateful to him." Cao said rudely without looking back, "He made you suffer."

"No." Cao Zhi smiled and said, "If it hadn't been for his pursuit of the wind, his father's wind disease would not have been cured. If it hadn't been for the fish oil he had offered, my father's spirit would not have been so good. With these two points alone, I would be grateful to him. If I meet him on the battlefield in the future, I would have to give him more or less, and then fight with him."

"Well, that's reasonable." A smile appeared on Cao's face: "The kindness and resentment are clear. This is what a man should do. However, Zijian, it's not that the father doesn't look down on you. Sun Shao has many tricks. Even if you don't let him, you may not be his opponent. If you have a little bit of pity in your heart, I'm afraid it's even worse. According to the father's plan, it's better to take him first and then thank him. Thinking of his pride, Cao Shen looked up and laughed: "I really want to see if this vertical can still laugh if it is captured."

Cao Zhi smiled and didn't say anything, but Cao Pi looked a little embarrassed. He competed with Sun Shao and was fooled by Sun Shao. Cao Zhang also competed with Sun Shao. It was even more miserable. He was directly tied up and hung his clothes outside and blowing the north wind for an hour. Cao's brothers have never taken advantage in front of Sun Shao. Cao's heart is a little knotted. Now he puts hope on Cao Zhi. Will he So let Cao Zhi go on an expedition?

"Zi Jian, do you also think his letter to the people is a deceptive trick?"

"I don't think so." Cao Zhi shook his head, put away his smile, and said seriously, "I thought that he was expressing his feelings to several parties through this letter to the people."

"How many aspects?" Cao Xiu stopped and turned around to look at Cao Zhi. Cao Pi, who had been paying attention to his expression, clearly saw a touch of admiring eyes flashing through his eyes, and he couldn't help tightening. Tell me, which aspects are it?"

"First, it is to show his policy to the people of Vietnam, ask his farmers to farm well, ask his craftsmen to work hard, be his soldiers to fight hard, protect his merchants, and then naturally collect high commercial taxes, and then use commercial taxes to please his farmers, please his craftsmen, and please his army. People. In this way, everyone should be grateful to him, and if the farmers do not farm well, the craftsmen do not work well, and the soldiers cannot protect the people, they will become the enemy of the whole country. Among them, what is more important is the businessman. Businessman is the focus of Vietnam. Almost all the people in the country are working hard for them. If the businessmen evade taxes, they will naturally be unforgivable. It is logical to punish illegal merchants. Not only will others not object, but even the businessmen themselves will feel that it should be so.

"You mean that he won't encounter any resistance to corruption this time?" Cao Qian sat down on a stone bench next to him, squinting at the rippling lake in the distance, thinking.

"It should go well." Cao Zhi lowered his voice: "I guess that after the autumn harvest, it will be the time when he goes to Funan."

Cao Yan didn't say anything. He thought about Cao Zhi's words and sighed secretly. It has been more than 40 years since he entered the official career at the age of 20. During this period, countless anti-corruption has caused a rebound every time. People seem to have that kind of greedy desire. Whether it is a family or a military general, whether they are powerful ministers or insignificant officials, they will seek benefits by any means as long as there is a chance. Corruption is a stubborn disease, and it will involve too many people and too many forces. A little carelessness will cause chaos. When he heard this letter to the people, his first reaction was that Sun Shao was too young. Such a big action to eliminate corruption was likely to destroy all the previous achievements, but listening to Cao Zhi's analysis, it seemed that Sun Shao had been prepared for a long time. He thought about it carefully and found that, as Cao Zhi said, Sun Shao had put those illegal businessmen on the opposite side of the whole country in advance. He didn't need to say anything more. I'm afraid that those people would take the initiative to demand the punishment of corruption. He praised himself secretly and was a little proud. What you, Sun Shao, can think of, and my son can also think of.

"What about the second aspect?"

"The second aspect is the State of Wu." Cao Zhi smiled faintly: "Sun Quan has been rectifying the governance of officials, but it has little effect, and it seems to be somewhat counterproductive. Sooner or later, he will be opposed to the clan in Jiangdong. Why is he in a hurry to rectify the officials? It is because the clan in Jiangdong and Sun Shao have an inextricable relationship. But now it seems that if he rectified it, he will force these people to Sun Shao's side and dig his own grave. What Sun Shao wants to show him is that he wants to march south. He has no intention of competing for territory with Wu. In this way, Sun Quan has no excuse to divert the attention of the people, because everyone knows that the enemy of the King of Yue is Funan, not the State of Wu. If he wants to attack the State of Yue again, he will risk the world.

"Hey hey hey, he is very proficient in these eager tricks." Cao Qian stroked his beard and smiled with folds on his face: "If Sun Quan wants to use soldiers against Qian Tang, he doesn't know how many counties he has to pay."

"Father Gaojian." Cao Zhi also smiled and raised his third finger: "The third aspect refers to the emperor and my Wei Shu. Whether he suggested that Wei Shu should join forces with the Western Expedition or proposed to join the Northern Expedition with our State of Wei, he has been showing the people of the world that he should use the swords to the outside world, rather than focusing on the crimity of the same clan in the territory of the Han Dynasty. It is the same reason that he has always endured Wu Yin and refused to meet the swords and soldiers. Erchen estimated that the emperor would definitely respond positively to his proposal and give him a great reward, hoping that I, Wei, Shu and Wu, would focus on the foreign expedition and avoid competing with each other.

"Well, they have been singing and harmony, and they have always cooperated very well." Cao Yan nodded, thought for a moment, and suddenly turned to look at Cao Pi: "Zihuan, so he suggested that Liu Bei and I should join the Western Expedition, which is not completely perfunctory."

Cao Pi was thinking about it. Suddenly, he was asked by Cao Yan. He was stunned for a moment and hesitated for a moment before saying, "It seems... so."

"Well, you get ready, write to the emperor, and ask to unite with the State of Shu to go to Xiliang."

"Is this... appropriate?" Cao Pi was shocked and blurted out.

"Sun Shao is so public, we can't say nothing, can we? You can't let him out alone. Cao Wei smiled and said, "Didn't he say that if we unite in the west, he will support our weapons and supplies? Well, I'd like to see if the big-eared thief is willing to do it, see if the emperor is interested, and see how much money he has.

Cao Pi suddenly realized that this is just a statement. Sun Shao put forward an initiative. The State of Wei first expressed his support. If the matter is done, the State of Wei is the first contribution in this matter. If it does not, public criticism will also point to Liu Bei. More importantly, the possibility of this matter will be very small, not to mention Liu Bei's refusal, even if they I agree. Does Sun Shao really have so much financial resources? If Sun Shao can't bring out so many supplies, what has he become? Then he is a joke, an empty talker, and a famous rat.

It's a good time to push the boat. Cao Pi was amazed and quickly nodded and agreed.

Cao Jian looked at Cao Zhi with a calm face and suddenly smiled: "Zi Jian, do you think this can work?"

Cao Zhi blinked his eyes and said with a smile, "How can it be unreasonable to have two heroic proposals such as Father and Sun Shao? Although the big-eared thief is timid, his father, don't forget that Guan Yu, the general in charge of the military power of the State of Shu, is Sun Shao's father-in-law, and Zhuge Liang, the prime minister in charge of civil affairs, is also Sun Shao's close pal. They will definitely support Sun Shao. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just about the joint expedition to the west. I'm afraid that Liu Bei will ask for Hanzhong again." Cao Zhi frowned slightly and said worriedly, "The State of Shu has been trying to retake Hanzhong. We have taken the initiative to join the Western Expedition. Will they take the opportunity to ask for Hanzhong again?"

"Hanzhong?" Cao Wei curled his lips and said, "Why did he come to ask for it? Don't worry, he just talks about it at most, and he won't really take this as a reason. If he refuses to send troops to the west for this, we will be happy to see it. He paused and said, "Yes, can the farming technology of Yueguo in Han Middle School be effective? If the Western Expedition can be promoted this time, Hanzhong and Guanzhong are grain bases. If we can take this opportunity to sell it at a high price, we will definitely make a lot of profit.

"There are some achievements, but the effect is limited." Cao Zhi smiled bitterly: "What other place can attract those skilled craftsmen more than Zhu Ya? Even the farmers in Litian ran to Zhuya. The merchants of Yue are all over the world. As long as these farmers really have the ability, it is said that they can take a free boat to relocate their families and travel thousands of miles without a meal. Father, you can't tolerate the merchants of Yue everywhere like this..."

"Are you going to let me go to war with Sun Shao?" Cao Shen interrupted Cao Zhi's words: "Do you think his words of holding a sword to do business are only aimed at Funan?"

Cao Zhi was stunned, and then shook his head with a wry smile.

"What's more, businessmen from Vietnam are not allowed to come and go. Do you think we can make a profit?" Cao Shen lowered his face and showed a sad face: "I also considered controlling these interests in my own hands, but I later found that I had just revealed that I was going to ban Vietnamese businessmen, and some people wanted to monopolize the management rights of Yue. They didn't even want to engage in actual goods. As long as they could get the vouchers of entry and exit, they could make money. Make the most profit. Can the people in Yecheng leave the goods of Yue? Do you know who Sun Shao sold the rare things he brought from the South China Sea and Yizhou to? Humph! Control and ban, these goods will still come in, but the price will skyrocket. In the end, Sun Shao made a lot of money. We spent a lot, but we fattened a batch of pigs and turned against Sun Shao. It's okay not to do such a thing."

"Is it so serious?"

"You're not in Yecheng, and you don't know much about these things." Cao Wei sighed, "That vertical can not only talk big, but also have a moral advantage. He is also seductive, so that you can only drink it when you know that it is poison. Far away, can you do it by establishing the country with business, supporting the people with business tax, and attracting farmers to cross the country to cultivate? Sun Quan was suddenly taken away by him, but what can he do? Did he catch Sun Shao's handle? No, those people all took the initiative to run over. If you want to take it back, either start fighting, or you come up with better conditions. Can Sun Quan beat him? I can't beat it. Can Sun Quan have better conditions? Neither. In this way, in order to prevent the further loss of population, Sun Quan is bound to reduce taxes. Once taxes are reduced, his strength will be damaged, let alone Sun Shao's opponent. Win without a fight, boy, remember, this is called winning without a fight.

"Father, that's not only the crisis of the State of Wu, but also the crisis of my Wei and Shu." Cao Zhi immediately realized the advantages of it.

"How can I say that he is a troublemaker." Cao Wei shook his head helplessly: "He also said that others are the black sheep. In my opinion, he is the biggest black sheep. If he does this, we will have to lower the tax, or you will go to chase and intercept the farmers who want to have a good day.

(to be continued)