Looking at Mang Mao bowing to the ground on his seat, Wei Qi returned the greeting: "The general is kind and kind, how can Qi repay him! But I will obey the general's orders."
Mang Mao said: "The Prime Minister wants to talk about Duanzi. When will the Prime Minister see Duanzi?"
Wei Qi said: "A few days ago..."
Before he finished speaking, Mang Mao interrupted: "When?"
Wei Qi said: "Worldly affairs are complicated, how can one remember innocence."
Mang Mao said: "Before or after going to a certain country to lead troops?"
Wei Qi said: "Let me think about it... before the general goes into battle. Calculating from this, it will be about ten days?"
Mang Mao said: "At that time, why didn't your Majesty ask Duanzi to go out into battle and accomplish a great feat!"
Wei Qi said: "The king's thoughts are beyond the control of his ministers. Qi really doesn't know."
Mang Mao said: "It's a pity. Ru Duanzi went out with someone at that time, played a few games at will, and made some achievements, just like digging into the bag."
Wei Qi said: "It's just as the general said. If there is a joke under Xingyang City, the general must have a clever plan."
Mang Mao was angry in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He said calmly: "Xingyang's defeat is Cheng's fault. The Qin people attacked unprepared."
Wei Qi changed the subject himself and said: "On that day, Duanzi met the king, and the king immediately ordered Qi to find a mansion for Duanzi, and specifically said that he was not allowed to live in Guanyi. Qi couldn't find many mansions, so he had to clean up a quiet place to live and arrange some The servants, housekeepers, and women settled down. When the king had something to do, Qi immediately drove in the carriage. After the business was over, the carriage came out without sitting with him. Qi also didn't know what the king and Duanzi were talking about. When they were riding together, Duanzi said little. Qi didn't dare to ask. He didn't know what his virtues and abilities were."
Mang Mao pondered and said: "The Prime Minister has pushed me cleanly. But what can I say to the world? From the perspective of the Prime Minister, what is Duan Zi's Wen Tao and his military strategy?"
Wei Qi said: "Who are you from Qi? How can you know the literary and military strategies and dare to make a judgment?"
Mang Mao said: "What kind of art does Duan Zi learn? Can the prime minister know?"
Wei Qi said: "He has a few books with him, but he doesn't know what his art is."
Mang Mao said with a smile: "The Prime Minister asked me a question and I didn't know anything, but I asked someone to recommend me. The Prime Minister must be able to teach me."
Wei Qi said: "In my opinion, Duanzi won the king's heart as soon as he saw him, so he must be of extraordinary quality. Only a dull Qi can recognize such people, and no one but a general can identify their talents. If Duanzi is invited, the general will have a keen eye to see them. , isn’t it easy to see clearly at a glance what kind of talent he has and whether he is worthy of any position?”
Mang Mao said: "Since the prime minister has decided to do his best, I dare not disobey. Just follow what the prime minister said. Just ask the prime minister to send his confidants to invite you."
Wei Qi said: "How can Qi follow the general when he is summoned? The general can send his subordinates to summon them with a talisman. No one dares to fail to come."
Mang Mao said: "How dare you enter the secret house of the Prime Minister? You will have to get the order of the Prime Minister before you can do it. And the way to treat talents is to send a subordinate to summon them with discipline. I hope the Prime Minister will not stop working hard."
Wei Qi said: "The Qi family hasn't arrived yet, what can I do?"
Mang Mao shouted: "Where is Wei'er?"
Mang Wei came in in response.
Mang Mao said: "You take the official seal of the Prime Minister and ride to the Prime Minister's Mansion. You go with the people from the Prime Minister's Mansion. I invite you to come with me."
Mang did not agree, turned around and went out. When he was young, he brought a plate of pens, ink and wooden slips and placed them in front of Wei Qi's table. Wei Qi was forced to have no choice but to write on the ruler "Someone is going to invite Mr. Mang Wei to make jokes" and other words on the ruler slip, and handed it to Mang Wei. Mang didn't take it, just bowed and left.
Mang Mao said: "If the Duanzi matter is handled in this way, what does the Prime Minister think?"
Wei Qi was surprised and asked, "What does the general mean by this?"
Mang Mao said: "I have just put aside the matter of Duanzi for the time being. We will discuss the defense of Daliang City first. The Prime Minister is very unsatisfied. We must first decide on Duanzi before we can discuss the city's defense. Now that the matter of Duanzi has been settled, I would like the Prime Minister to help me with the defense of Daliang City."
Wei Qi hit his forehead with his hand and realized in shock: "It's my fault that Qi was careless and missed the general's major event! But according to the general's instructions, Qi did his best."
Mang Mao said: "Why are you here? Does the Prime Minister know how the soldiers and food in the city are?"
Wei Qi said: "Oh, this matter is not in the eyes of the general. The Wei army only has soldiers and a quota of 50,000 people. For these 50,000 people, I have worked hard to find acres of land everywhere. General, imagine that one person has one hundred acres. , just fifty thousand people will need five million acres. This matter is not over yet. Those who died in the battle, if they have no heirs, can still be taken back; those who have wives and heirs must be left to them and passed down from generation to generation. The military soldiers came from Wu Zi Since then, in the past hundred and fifty years, we have gone through so many wars and killed so many people! How many acres of land are left outside Daliang City to be divided!"
Mang Mao stopped him quickly and said, "I recently accepted the great favor of King Hong and allowed me to lead 20,000 soldiers into battle. So there are still 30,000 in the city?"
Wei Qi said: "No, no. Once the soldiers are recruited, they cannot be abolished except for faults. Wei has fought less in recent years, and the soldiers are old and tired, making it difficult to fight in battle, so there are more of them assigned to various post stations and sentry posts. The number is stored in the Wei Mansion in Daliang. The government only knows the outline, but does not know the details."
Mang Mao said: "Where is the food?"
Wei Qi said: "Don't worry about this. There are twenty-five in the king's warehouse, and ten thousand stones in the warehouse. Although it is not very full, it is enough for the food of the city. As for the food stored by the princes and officials, it is beyond Qi's knowledge. Da led his family to thousands of stones. There is always some. Oh, the general once said that the food reserves are limited, and we need to go to Chenliu to collect food. The troops are tight at the moment, and it is not easy to transport food. If the food is short, we can help each other."
Mang Mao said: "Thank you so much to the Prime Minister. Is there plenty of food in the Prime Minister's country?"
Wei Qi said: "I am not as good as a general, and I have a fiefdom. I have been a royal minister all my life, but I only live in the royal palace. My house is small and I can't build a big warehouse, so I keep it in the king's warehouse."
Mang Mao said: "So that's how it is, but I don't know it. I understand! Those who have food in the market don't know how much food they have!"
Wei Qi said: "These merchants come and go, in and out, there is no exact number."
Mang Mao said: "Once the city is closed, how much food can be collected?"
Wei Qi said: "As long as you have enough money, you can have as many as you want. They can transfer them from outside the city."
Mang Mao said: "Why? Can't Qin soldiers stop it?"
Wei Qi said: "Why should we ban something that can be done with money? If we really want to ban it, it's not just the soldiers who ban it. We can also use money to buy it off. It can't be banned, it can't be banned."
Mang Mao said: "That's it. No wonder Yan besieged the city of Qi and couldn't move for three years. That's it. If things are banned at the right time, and someone bans the market with troops, what will the Prime Minister think?"
Wei Qi said: "General, this proposal is inappropriate. If there is any shortage in the city, just look for merchants, why ban it? General thinks that the Qin people are not strict in siege of the city, so do they need to add more merchants? Adding troops to the city is like killing the goose that takes the egg, and it will not help the matter. !”
Mang Mao said: "Xiang Guo's teachings are correct, but Mao really doesn't know. If it weren't for Xiang Guo's guidance, Mao would be almost useless. In the future, Xiang Guo will need more guidance on municipal administration. Oh, Xiang Guo is well versed in municipal administration. Why don't you just let Xiang Guo take charge of municipal administration? If there is anything in the city, If there is a shortage, just stay in the Prime Minister's country and work in the city, and you will be content with yourself without bothering outsiders. I hope the Prime Minister will never give up."
Wei Qi said: "Since I have received the general's order, how can I resign? How dare I disobey the order? I can only ask the general to send someone to help."
Mang Mao said: "The prime minister is responsible for it. If anything can't be accomplished, how can I get the right person to help me? I'd rather work for the prime minister!" The two looked at each other and smiled, each having his own plan.
This confrontation between the generals and prime ministers of Wei State ended in peace.
