At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Almost scared him to faint.

"Are those Anxi merchants succumbing?"

Guo Peng continued to ask.

"Yes, Sima Duhu told them that if they don't pay the money, they will be expelled from the state of Wei, driven out of the land of Wei, and let them return to Anxi, which is in the midst of war, and let them flee to the end of the world. Everyone in Anxi is afraid. They handed over money for peace."

Li Feng replied softly.

Guo Chengzhi looked at Guo Peng in surprise—is this Sima Yi an official or a bandit?

Can you still do that?

Isn't this doing something bad?

Guo Peng's face was calm, but he didn't have much reaction.

"I think Sima Zhongda's reputation among the people should be very good after this incident."

Guo Peng shook his head and sighed: "But...it's hard to say, even if this group of people can go back, how many can they go back? How can they pass it on? Silk, tea, lacquer and porcelain, they can't make it themselves , still want to buy."

Silk, tea, this is equivalent to hard currency, the hard demand of the other party's powerful, even if the other party knows that there is a Wei official who blackmailed them, so what?

They can still make money by shipping things back and selling them, as long as the prices are high enough.

The seller's market is so strong, and there is enough foundation for Sima Yi to suffer misfortune, so Guo Peng doesn't care about the joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys of these resting businessmen.

It is not impossible to use their money to solve the economic crisis.

It is true that such pies that fall from the sky are often not free, and no one knows what kind of negative impact this will bring in ten or twenty years later.

Maybe, or maybe it doesn't matter at all, business is still going on, with so many cheaters, isn't business still business?

Without some special means, it can't even be called a business, and it's meaningless without intrigue.

It's just that Sima Yi's method made Guo Peng feel a little uncomfortable.

He is not a businessman, he is an official.

His main business is not to intrigue to make some money, not to use businessman thinking to maximize benefits, but to govern the local area and stabilize the people. Administration is different from business. Businessmen pursue profits, and the fundamental pursuit of administration is political harmony, not profit.

Using long-term political connections and people and level losses in exchange for temporary stability and reputation as well as short-term benefits, this kind of tactics and psychology are not what a senior official at the central level should possess.

Sima Yi is a super bureaucrat and a brilliant politician, but he is not a politician. His vision is not far-sighted enough, his thinking is not deep enough, or—he doesn't want to.

He can see farther than ordinary bureaucrats and politicians, but he cannot reach the height of a politician, and the loss to the political party will not be great, but if he is allowed to govern the state affairs, the seeds of overthrow will inevitably be planted.

He will bring this way of doing things to the central government, and he is more clever than ordinary mediocre officials, so clever that people can't see the harm of his doing so for a while.

When the time came and the danger came, he might have let go of it, or died, and no one could hold him accountable.

But the seeds of the crisis were planted by him, but he didn't have to bear any responsibility.

The central government of the Wei Empire is very powerful and can dominate the local areas. Everything the central officials do can affect the entire empire, so we must be cautious and not ignore the long-term cost for the immediate benefit.

This is extremely irresponsible behavior.

Sima Yi has no respect for his own responsibilities, he is not a responsible person, and he has no sense of awe for power and position.

As the emperor, Guo Peng acted tremblingly, as if walking on thin ice, for fear that the policies he formulated would cause the people to live in dire straits, and wars would spread everywhere.

He likes power, loves power, but also fears power.

But Sima Yi didn't have this kind of awareness.

So Guo Peng came to a conclusion - Sima Yi can only be an official in the local area, not in the central government.

Or to be more specific, it is not impossible to go to the central government, but he can only be allowed to do things under the instructions of the central government, but he must never be allowed to hold the power of the world and formulate policies for the world.

He cannot touch the dozens of most important policy-making official positions in the central government. He can only be a knife in the hand, not a knife holder.

Definitely.

"Taishanghuang, do you think Sima Duhu did something wrong?"

Li Feng asked Guo Peng cautiously.

He was very worried that Guo Peng was going to do something to Sima Yi. In this case, those who cooperated with Sima Yi in threatening An'an merchants would also be held accountable, and it was hard to say what punishment they would receive.

"It's not a mistake, what Sima Yi did is not a mistake."

Guo Peng shook his head: "It's just that what he did didn't come without a price, but the price is not paid by him, but by all of you, and even you don't necessarily know that you are paying the price."

Li Feng looked confused, unable to understand what Guo Peng was saying.

But he heard it.

The Supreme Emperor didn't seem to be very satisfied with what Sima Yi had done.

But what did that matter to him?

He is just a small county magistrate, and he doesn't know if he will have the chance to live the addiction of a two thousand stone county magistrate in this life.

As long as the Supreme Emperor doesn't hold him accountable, he doesn't have to worry about anything. Low status also has its benefits.

As long as Sima Yi is not used as a scapegoat, everything will be fine.

Chapter 1565. One thousand four hundred and eighty five is there more than one Sima Yi?

On the way from Xicheng County to Ningmi City, Guo Peng asked Guo Chengzhi.

"Chengzhi, what do you think of what Sima Yi has done?"

"What does Grandfather mean?"

"Are you satisfied? Do you like it?"

Guo Chengzhi frowned.

"I can't say I like it. I always feel that what he does is a bit like a bandit. This threatens the rest of the merchants and asks them to pay to solve the problem... It's not that it can't be done. From his standpoint, there seems to be no better solution. , but it always feels a little weird."

"How would you rate this approach?"

Guo Peng looked at Guo Chengzhi.

"It can be said that it is at the level of unscrupulous."

Guo Chengzhi is sure.

"Being unscrupulous is not a shortcoming. For politicians, being unscrupulous is a necessary means. In the early years, I did many unscrupulous things in order to calm down the troubled times. Chengzhi, do you think what I did was wrong? "

When Guo Peng said this, Guo Chengzhi was stunned.

It cannot be said that Sima Yi is wrong to use unscrupulous means, and Guo Peng is right to use unscrupulous means, right?

How can a person be so double-standard?

Guo Chengzhi is still young and not shameless enough.

"Father, this..."

"If you look at a person doing things by hook or by crook, you should look at his purpose, not the means."

Guo Peng looked away and sighed slightly: "I use all means to deal with the princes from all walks of life. The most fundamental purpose is to let this chaotic world pass as soon as possible, so that more people can survive. It’s better than the chaos of war and chaos.”

"Then Sima Yi..."

"Sima Yi does whatever it takes. It seems to be to help the Annan Protectorate to get through the crisis faster, so that those who can't repay the loan from the court have a way out, so as not to commit suicide. But the fundamental purpose, Cheng Zhi, Sima Yi's term as the Protectorate will end this year. It's over at the end of the year."

Guo Peng reminded Guo Chengzhi.

"He...does it to do a good thing before the end of his term of office, so that everyone in the Protectorate will remember his goodness? Is it his merit?"

"Then he can seek a better position, state governor, or a senior central official."

Guo Peng nodded.

"Father, didn't you say that it is normal for officials to seek promotion? Sima Yi used the money from Anxi people to solve the crisis and save many people. Is this wrong?"

Guo Chengzhi was a little puzzled.

"Yes, he did nothing wrong in this matter. He is doing what he should do. Compared with some mediocre officials who huddle their heads in the ground, he is much more daring."

Guo Peng smiled: "If you want to talk about the consequences, I don't see any consequences. Foreign businessmen can't refuse our goods. Even if they all know about Sima Yi's extortion of Anxi businessmen, they should still come. The business should be done." still do.

The Annan Governor's Mansion and the entire Wei State may not necessarily pay any price for this. In business, it is normal to cheat. The crux of the problem is not the matter itself, but Sima Yi's handling methods and way of thinking. He is an official, not a businessman. He solves problems for the sake of solving problems. "

"Solving problems for the sake of solving problems?"

Guo Chengzhi was a little confused.

Guo Peng nodded.

"When he encounters a problem, he will solve the problem. Besides, he won't do too much. And no matter what method he uses, as long as the current problem can be solved, no matter whether there are hidden dangers or not, it will be fine. , as long as he is not responsible.

Take water control as an example. Everyone knows that blocking is worse than dredging. People with long-term insight will choose to dredge to make a piece of land safe for a long time, while people like Sima Yi will choose to block the gap simply and neatly. It's over and it's over.

As for whether the gap he blocked will be washed away by a bigger flood in the future, he doesn't care, as long as he can block the water and prevent the flood from raging, and then he can leave the place safely, what happens in the future is not his Things, even if the consequences are caused by him. "

Guo Chengzhi understood what Guo Peng meant.

"Cheng Zhi understands the meaning of the eldest father."

"Understood?"

"Understood, this person can do things, he is an official, but he can't be used to great effect. He can't be allowed to lead the national policy. He only pursues immediate results and doesn't pay attention to the long-term. Let him lead the national policy, which will lead to bad things."

"Yep."

Guo Peng said with a smile: "Actually, he is not the only one like this. In the whole world, I don't know how many officials like him are concerned about the short-term, not the long-term, and solve problems for the sake of solving problems. There are too many such officials." , more than one Sima Yi?"

"Then what should we do?"

"What should I do? Cheng Zhi, if the eldest father knew what to do, he wouldn't have given up the throne to your father so early."

Guo Peng stretched out his hand and rubbed Guo Chengzhi's head: "If you find one, you don't have to reuse him, but what if too many people are like this? I can only say that if you find a person who dares to do something and has a long-term vision, It's just too difficult."

"Isn't that Zhuge Liang? So is Uncle Zixiu."

Guo Chengzhi smiled and said, "You can reuse them, that's fine."

"What about when they're dead?"

"This... find someone else."

"Hahahahahaha!"

Guo Peng looked up to the sky and laughed out loud. After laughing, he felt infinitely melancholy.

Selecting talents and appointing talents is an eternal problem. There are thousands of ways to select talents in the world, but none of them can steadily select a politician with a long-term vision.

If there is such a way, how can there be so many ups and downs in the world?

Where can there be the saying that meat eaters contempt for long-distance planning?

People, the higher the status, the more things you have, the more reluctant to lose even a little bit of your own, the less you dare to stand out and innovate, for fear of losing a little bit, even a little bit of petty profit.

Because I have owned it, I know the beauty and know that I can't lose it, so everything I do is to let myself have it-after I die, who cares about the flood?

When such people fill the ruling class, chaos should arise.

The most desperate thing is not that there are many such people, but that everyone can become such a person.

Not everyone is willing to be Zhuge Liang, but everyone is willing to be Sima Yi.

With this emotion, Guo Peng arrived at Ningmi City and met Sima Yi.

Sima Yi didn't know that Guo Peng came to Ningmi City. When Guo Peng came to see him, he was discussing with Ren Yong how to use the remaining part of the money extorted from Anxi merchant.

Sima Yi intends to help Ren Yong.

After using the money extracted from the Parthians to lead the entire Annan Protectorate through the crisis, Sima Yi still had a sum of money left in his hand, which was not small, but quite a lot.

It seems that they took too much from the Parthians.

Of course, it's impossible to return the money. Why should I return the money I robbed with my own ability? It would be very shameless to return it to them.

He discussed with Ren Yong, and decided to use the money to write off some bad debts and bad debts accumulated by the Ministry of Finance over the past year, so as to reduce Ren Yong's burden a little.

The bad debts of the Ministry of Finance are not all left to private lenders, or the bad debts left to private lenders are only a small part of it.

The rest are due to some operational errors, corruption, or purchased items that have to be discarded for some reason during the one-year administrative operation.