At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

After Han Hao and Mi Zhu were taken down by me, the situation became even more serious. Some governors wished to lock themselves in the governor's mansion without going out of the door. They didn't even want any power and left it all to the central government and counties. Do it, why don't you do it? "

Guo Peng stared at Mao Jie: "You should know that if you do such a thing as the governor of a state, you can easily become the target of central officials. They will take you as a target and attack you fiercely. Fall, vow not to give up.

The governor is already the limit of the local officials. If you go further, there is no other place to go except to the central government. Therefore, the governors are cautious. Except for a few people, most people are absolutely unwilling to ruin their future for a short time. And you, don't you think so? "

What Guo Peng said was so naked that Mao Jie couldn't avoid it even if he wanted to.

But to be honest, why doesn't Mao Jie want to become a throw-away assassin who doesn't leave the door and doesn't make a second step?

The state of Wei is centralized, with a high intensity of centralization. Many powers belong to local officials, especially the governor of the state. On the surface, they belong to local officials, but no matter in which aspect, the central organization must show its sense of existence.

They invaded local power, and some powers that belonged to the local government in the previous dynasty were directly transferred to the central government.

Under such circumstances, the treatment and power of local officials are even worse than that of central officials.

On the surface, the central one thousand stone and the local one thousand stone have the same salary and the same treatment, but when it comes to the welfare of officials, the two are as completely different as the lake and the sea.

Many hidden benefits of central officials are beyond the reach of local officials. A small official of five or six hundred shi in the central government is far more comfortable than a county magistrate of [-] shi in the local area.

Local officials are restricted by central agencies, often do a lot of dirty work, the income is not high enough, and they still face the supervision and infringement of the central government at all times.

This naturally leads to the trend of local officials cutting their heads and wanting to enter Luoyang to become central officials. Local officials have a particularly strong yearning for the central government. As long as possible, they will definitely try their best to squeeze towards the central government.

Moreover, the number of central officials has indeed been continuously expanding in recent years. The central government needs a large number of manpower for the centralization and use of power. Therefore, it is a general trend to concentrate outstanding local talents to the central government.

Under this general trend, grassroots officials are more likely to enter the central government than senior officials.

Because the continuous expansion of the empire is mainly small officials who work at the grassroots level, rather than high-ranking officials.

There are always only so many high-ranking officials, one radish and one hole, and one missing can make up for one.

To make up for it depends on qualifications, political achievements, whether there are mistakes made, and whether there is someone in the center to help.

Mao Jie was from Chenliu County, Yanzhou, and was a member of the Qingyan Group, a powerful political group in the Wei Empire earlier. Today, the Qingyan Group has long since declined and is unsustainable.

Mao Jie belonged to the scholar-officials of the old era, and even realized that the [remnants of the old era] in the prosperous period of the imperial examination system were very at odds with those officials who relied on the imperial examinations to compete for posts.

There was a problem with the Ministry of War before, Dong Zhao fell from the horse, and Chen Gong came to power. Even if Guo Peng still misses the old man, he has already used up the last bit of political energy of the Qingyan Group.

By the time Mao Jie realized that he was in an embarrassing situation, it was too late.

The central government may not welcome another scholar official from the old era to appear in the central government.

The old emperor, who was also a scholar, has retired, and the new emperor is an emperor with new ideas educated by the school. He is completely out of the same frame as the scholars.

Mao Jie communicated with Chen Gong several times, and Chen Gong repeatedly mentioned his dissatisfaction in the court and the vague covetousness of his subordinates around him, which made Mao Jie very disturbed.

He felt more and more that with the continuous prosperity of the imperial examination system and the selection of more and more officials, he, a remnant of the old era, may face more and more difficulties in the future.

If he keeps a low profile like others, his official career will probably end at the position of governor of Yongzhou.

So after thinking about it, he felt that the only way to make a risky move was to let the new emperor see his determination to carry out economic reforms and his ability to boost the economy, so as to create conditions for himself to enter the central government as a minister——

He aimed at the Minister of Finance.

Wang Can was also born as a scholar in the old days. He became a favorite of Guo Peng by virtue of his proficiency in mathematics. He was once the chief assistant of the cabinet, and later became the minister of the Ministry of Finance.

There are also political achievements and problems. Generally speaking, his career is relatively mediocre, with no bright spots.

When Guo Peng was strong in handling government affairs, Guo Peng's ability was enough to turn Wang Can into a rubber stamp and answering voice, doing things according to his wishes.

At that time, Wang Can's ability was not needed.

But it's Guo Jin's turn. Whether Guo Jin still has the strong economic ability of Guo Peng is a question mark. Whether Guo Jin needs a strong economic assistant is hard to say.

Mao Jie was keenly aware of this, and felt that with his rich ability to handle local government affairs and logistics, coupled with his ability to engage in economics, he should be able to enter Guo Jin's field of vision.

This was his last desperate effort.

"The Supreme Emperor, my minister, I haven't thought about resigning from my old age and returning to my hometown, and spend my old age peacefully, my minister, I still want to enter Luoyang, at least, to take charge of a part of the government."

After thinking about it, Mao Jie felt that it was better to be honest and say what he wanted to say.

In front of Guo Peng, he didn't think he could hide anything.

Guo Peng pursed his lips and was silent for a while.

"Break the boundaries of the square and the city and loosen the ties of the merchants. You are not the first to do this. I remember the first one to do this. It was the governor of Dunhuang at that time, and now the guardian of Beiting, Zhuge Liang."

"Yes, it is him. When he was the governor of Dunhuang, I was the governor of Liangzhou. I was very surprised when I heard that he was doing such a thing in Dunhuang, so I went to find out."

Mao Jie admitted all this: "His thinking is very clear, saying that no matter how Liangzhou develops agriculture, it can't develop in the Central Plains. In order not to be hungry and to live a good life, it is necessary to develop commerce. More people engaging in business is the breaking point."

"Emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business is the basic national policy set by me personally. I don't think there is a need to change it in 20 or 100 years, not to mention 200 years or [-] years. You are blatantly doing it against my request. No wonder It will be criticized by so many people."

Guo Peng looked at Mao Jie with a sullen face: "You think we produce a lot of grain now, so much food is rich every year that it can fill the warehouse, and there are granaries everywhere, so you think we will never have to worry about famine again. ?

Xiaoxian, I might as well tell you that the situation is far less optimistic than you think. The accumulation of Yande’s 13 years of painstaking efforts, in case of a large-scale shortage or failure of harvest, is only enough to feed 8000 million people in the entire Wei Kingdom for two years. "

Mao Jie didn't know how to express his emotions for a while.

"Your Majesty, I think that these grains..."

"This is Wei's foundation, and it is our last reliance. Unless it is absolutely necessary, this batch of food must not be moved. Don't think that if there is no fear of famine now, there will be no future, and there will be again in the future!

You think I don't know the benefits of growing a business?But let me ask you, what do you want so much money for?Don't you still buy something?You have more and more money, but less and less food, so why do you need so much money?Money is used to buy things, what about things?They all grow out of the ground! "

Guo Peng's serious face made Mao Jie think that he had done something wrong and was about to be punished by Guo Peng, and his face turned pale with fright.

"Supreme Emperor, minister... minister..."

"Of course, I'm not saying that it must be wrong for you to do so."

Guo Peng waved his hand, panting and pulled Mao Jie back from hell to the ground.

"what?"

"Ah, what? I mean, it makes sense to open up the boundaries of towns and cities in some special places and allow large-scale private business."

Guo Peng picked up another piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing on it: "Zhuge Liang is right. No matter how much agriculture is developed in Liangzhou, it can't be developed in the Central Plains. There is a limit to the development of agriculture. There is also a limit to the number of people to support.

I don’t want to go any other way. Liangzhou has reached the limit of supporting 300 million people, and it is impossible to have more people. The same is true in the Western Regions. If you don’t use the special location to do some business, you can’t support people, and you don’t even have food. Be sure to eat well.

They are all citizens of Wei State, so why should the states and counties in the Central Plains have enough to eat, but the people in the Western Regions in Liangzhou will be hungry, don’t you think?They will definitely think this way, if this problem is not resolved, there will be civil uprisings in the Western Regions and Liangzhou in the future. "

When Guo Peng said this, Mao Jie felt that Guo Peng didn't mean to criticize him.

"So the Supreme Emperor thinks it makes sense for me to wait and do this in Liangzhou and Yongzhou?"

"Of course it makes sense, otherwise do you think you can continue to be the governor of Yongzhou?"

It was the same sentence, Mao Jie couldn't say a word.

"What I mean is that some places are not suitable for the development of agriculture, and other industries must be developed to feed people. You can't stick to the rules and stick to the barren soil and insist on digging food from the ground. You have to be flexible.

The Western Regions, Liangzhou, Mozhou, Pingzhou, these places are cold, and it will be even colder in the future. There is not much land and the climate is not good. The surplus products from other places were sold to the Western Regions, to Guishuang Kingdom and Anxi Kingdom.

In this way, Liangzhou and the Western Regions will be able to support people. However, I think that some restrictions must be made. Some places can focus on commerce, but in more places, the main grain-producing areas must focus on agriculture. , must not be shaken, otherwise there will be nothing to sell. "

Guo Peng stared at Mao Jie: "You can't be so hot-headed that everyone does business together. After doing business, you find that there is nothing to sell, and you starve to death. You must know that we don't have much left, not so much. Things can give you business, understand?"

"I understand! I understand!"

Mao Jie was happy: "What the Supreme Emperor means is that the place that is suitable for production must be produced, and the place that is not suitable for production can be used for business and business, and we can look at it separately and deal with it separately."

"Yep."

Guo Peng nodded: "Develop production according to local conditions. Some places can cultivate land, some places need mining, some places can only do business, and some places need to herd cattle. But that's it. How foolish it is to suppress business without knowing how to adapt to local conditions."

Guo Peng smiled disdainfully.

Mao Jie hastened to catch up with Feng Feng.

"The Supreme Emperor is wise!"

"There's no such thing as wisdom, it's just that the more you go, the more you see, and it's not easy to be swayed by others."

Guo Peng shook his head, drank another glass of wine, and said with a smile: "You are doing well. Yongzhou can do it in some areas, and Liangzhou and the Western Regions can do it. It is always another way to make money, because farming is really not enough. People."

After a pause, Guo Peng held the wine glass and looked at Mao Jie.

"Xiaoxian, there is one more thing, I want to tell you in advance, you have to be mentally prepared."

"Please speak, Your Majesty."

Mao Jie suddenly felt a little bad.

Guo Peng put down his glass.

"Our people in Lomo and Anxi have sent news back, saying that Lomo and Anxi are at war, and that Lomo has broken through the capital of Anxi, and Anxi is in a bad situation."

Chapter 1516 One thousand four hundred and fifty six Zhuge Liang is really Jane in the emperor's heart?

The rest of the kingdom was conquered by the kingdom of Lomo?

The news came quite suddenly, so Mao Jie didn't react for a while.

After a while, Mao Jie came to his senses.

"The Supreme Emperor means..."

"Loumo country has a great cause. It is said that the country is thousands of miles away, and it is a top-notch country. Therefore, the occurrence of such a war will not shake the trade between the Loumo country and us. What's more, the Loumo country is the winner. After the victory, it will only increase. Make great efforts to continue to trade with us.

But the country of Anxi is different. Compared with the country of Loumo, the country of Anxi is not big. Compared with me, it is only the size of the Western Regions. Fighting with Loumo is a small country and the people are weak. Looking at this situation, Parthia is still a bit dangerous. "

Guo Peng sighed: "The business routes I planned for our Wei country are mainly two, one is the land silk road, going through the two states of Yongliang and the Western Regions, arriving at Guishuang Kingdom and Anxi Kingdom, mainly doing their business, and the other is the silk road on land. One is the Maritime Silk Road, which is used to do business with the states along the eastern coast and the country of Loumo.

If the two roads go hand in hand, Yongliang, the Western Regions, and the states along the eastern coast will all benefit and enjoy a better life. However, once the Parthian Kingdom is in danger, half of the trade quota on the land silk road will disappear. "

Mao Jie swallowed her saliva, her face became panicked, and beads of sweat began to seep from her forehead.

"Now you know why I don't support you publicly, but only Wang Can to back you up? I have been worried from the beginning. Once we rely on business travelers from these foreign countries, their affairs will be in jeopardy." became our business.

When they broke out in war, we also have to suffer and suffer. They are destroyed, and the business trip is gone. Whose business are the restaurants and hotels here?Who do we trade our silk, lacquerware, and porcelain with?Half of the trade volume is gone. "

Guo Peng shook his head, and said: "Half of the trade quota, Xiaoxian, you have to be prepared to deal with it. Once such a thing happens, the business in Yongliang and Liangzhou will definitely become sluggish, and many merchants will have no business. When the time comes, people will panic, and you need to stand up and stabilize people's hearts."

Mao Jie wiped the sweat from his forehead, and kept nodding.

"Thank you for your advance notice, the Supreme Emperor. The old minister will do his best to stabilize people's hearts."

"What are you going to do?"

Guo Peng asked Mao Jie.

Mao Jie hesitated, not knowing what to do.

This was the first time he encountered this kind of thing, and he was not prepared at all, so he couldn't think of any good solution for a while.

"The Supreme Emperor, the old minister... the old minister is incompetent."

Mao Jie lowered his head helplessly.

"never mind."

Guo Peng sighed, and said: "The next thing you have to do is to temporarily stop the relaxation of commercial restrictions, and wait until the situation in Anxi is clear. Don't add more restaurants and hotels right now.

Otherwise, once the Anxi Kingdom is destroyed, there will be no merchants, and our merchants will not be able to survive. Many restaurants and hotels here will go bankrupt and close down. cannot.

You haven't forgotten that those people are still very dissatisfied with you, right?In the past, the business was flourishing, and the money was really earned and entered the national treasury. The Ministry of Finance used the money to do things for you, speaking for you, and helping you carry it. Once you have problems here, the Ministry of Finance is not your most sincere ally. "

Guo Peng told Mao Jie the worst situation, and told Mao Jie clearly that the Ministry of Finance would not help him tide over the difficulties, and the possibility of dumping the blame would be relatively high.

Wang Can is not a very moral person.

This point, Mr. Guo is the most clear.

Before Wang Can helped Mao Jie to speak, it was purely Guo Peng's intention, and he also saw the benefits of doing so, so he helped Mao Jie for the sake of the national treasury and his own political achievements.

In this kind of matter, the Ministry of Finance can share the blessings, but not the hardships. Once there is a problem, the treasury revenue will drop sharply, and they may have to pay to help. Wang Can is definitely not happy.

At that time, in order to get rid of the blame and avoid getting burned, he will definitely do such a thing.

Under the criticism of the courtiers, Wang Can felt worthy of Mao Jie if he didn't follow him, and he was expected to help Mao Jie in the same boat?

do not think too much about it.

Guo Peng shattered Mao Jie's unrealistic vision with practical actions.

Mao Jie was even more frightened and nodded repeatedly.

He can even imagine the scene of his betrayal and even going to jail.