Before Feng Yong could figure it out, Li Yi sighed again, "Liu Yan is the only remaining veteran minister. I didn't expect to end up in such a situation."
Logically speaking, as long as veterans like Liu Yan did not break any taboos or were defeated in a political struggle, the court would still have to maintain a minimum of respect for them.
This is something Li Yi doesn't understand. His brother doesn't seem to be targeting it deliberately, but he can restrain Liu Yan. It's really strange.
Feng Yong smiled slightly when he heard this, "It's all his own fault. If he fails to keep up with the trend of the times, he will eventually be eliminated by the times."
"Just like those aristocratic families in Shuzhong who want to raise food prices this year, they still look at the problem from the previous perspective and are unwilling to make changes, so they can only be treated as leeks."
Capital is greedy.
When Feng Yong opened his first workshop, he had already unleashed the monster of capital.
Although this monster was extremely weak and deformed compared to later generations, its impact was still huge for a man with only one state.
This was still the case when Feng Yong tightened the rope as much as possible.
Otherwise, maybe just posting tickets can give the big man another inflationary baptism after Liu Bei's hundreds of money incident.
But there are differences between cloth tickets and straight money, because they are supported by a certain foundation.
This foundation is the expansionary recovery and development of the Han economy.
Improvements in farming tools and farming methods, growth in grain, north-south exchanges of labor (ahem), new production materials (wool), new production relations (employees in the workshops have nothing and can only survive by selling their labor force), etc.
In Feng Yong's view, although the upstart interest groups still belong to the production relations of feudal society, they are not even the germ of capitalism.
But it is also somewhat different from the production relations of the old aristocratic families that completely tied farmers to the land.
Therefore, there must be a conflict between the two.
Those who hung themselves from rivers and city walls were just victims of the conflict, minor players, not worth mentioning.
Nowadays, this new type of production relationship is about to usher in explosive development again. Whether passive or active, the Shuzhong family must accept this production relationship when participating in the production of the workshop.
In the unification era when aristocratic families were in power, this kind of production relationship would be almost 100% sure to be strangled to death by the aristocratic families who had cultivated and studied their heirlooms.
But today's big man is different. The right time, place and people are all on Feng Yong's side.
More importantly, because the Han Dynasty was a small country and the people were small, the new production relations represented by Nanxiang had easily kidnapped the Han Dynasty.
While strangling it to death, it would not only severely injure the man's vitality, but would even cause huge turmoil.
Therefore, whoever dares to strangle it to death will be strangled to death by the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty first.
In fact, it was because Liu Yan could not keep up with this change and still held on to old ideas that he was dragged forward and looked embarrassed.
"But since the Prime Minister is willing to help Liu Yan, there must be some reason. This Liu Liang has suffered enough. Please tell the brothers in the meeting not to deliberately embarrass Liu Liang in the future."
While Feng Yong said this, he kept muttering in his heart, what exactly does the old demon Zhuge want to do?
As for Liu Liang, if Li Yi hadn't mentioned him, he would have forgotten about him.
"Brother, do you want to meet Liu Yan?"
Li Yi asked again.
"Why should I meet him? Is it worth meeting him for this nonsense?" Feng Yongdisdain said, "If I have this time, I might as well build another waterwheel to benefit the people."
"That's what my brother said."
While Li Yi agreed, he was secretly speechless.
With his current identity and status, his vision is indeed different from before.
This thought had just crossed his mind when he heard a sudden noise in the distance.
Feng Yong first carefully covered the bowl from which he drank water with a cloth, and then he stood up and looked cursingly, "These troublesome people!"
Li Yi was a little confused and stood up.
I saw two groups of people arguing about something in the distance, and many of them were waving farm tools in their hands.
"Brother, this is..."
"They are fighting for water." Feng Yong looked ugly. "Some people want to monopolize the water extracted from the Wei River."
As soon as he finished speaking, two groups of people began to push each other, and some even threatened each other with farm tools.
When Li Yi heard this, he couldn't help but frowned, "I'm afraid I have to find a village elder to mediate this matter as soon as possible."
"Hometown elder?" Feng Yong sneered, "I'm afraid all the people from my hometown are there."
The food in the fields is the lifeblood. In the past, there was no water in the canals, so everyone had to pick it by themselves. It was up to their own family to pick as much as they could.
But in times of drought, when water comes from the canals, it is inevitable to grab water.
Hometown elder? Don't you farm any more in your hometown?
I’m just afraid I’ll plant more than anyone else.
Just as the two groups were about to fight, they suddenly heard another rumble, and at some point, a group of cavalry rushed out from the other direction.
Li Yi's expression changed, "Barbarian! Brother, leave quickly!"
Feng Yong waved his hand, "There's no rush."
The barbarian cavalry rushed straight towards the two groups, shouting nonsense that no one could understand.
When the two groups of people who were about to grab water saw the barbarians rushing towards them, they were so frightened that they ran away.
But how can two legs outrun four?
Some of them ran too slowly and were whipped several times by the barbarians until their skin and flesh were torn apart, making them cry for their fathers and mothers.
After all those people fled in all directions, the barbarian roared and ran away again on horseback.
Li Yi stared blankly at what was happening in front of him, "This...this barbarian..."
"I asked them to do this." Feng Yong sat down again, with a look of helplessness on his face, "There is a severe drought in Longyou, and the problem of water grabbing is getting more and more serious."
"But Longyou is a newly settled place. The Han Dynasty hasn't had time to sort it out. Some of the wealthy families in this place are relying on their power, some are deliberately making things difficult for the Han Dynasty, and some are maliciously trying to steal all the water from their homes. go……"
"Anyway, there are various reasons. This water grabbing thing happens every day. If you don't care, if you really get angry, there will be casualties. You have to take care of it. The big man just took over Longyou. The place is dark, how can you take care of it? "
"So I recruited a group of barbarians. As long as I know where there are people grabbing water, I will send them directly there and disperse first."
Li Yi understood it as soon as he heard it. He couldn't laugh or cry at first, and then he was a little worried. "Longyou is newly settled. The big man needs a place to appease. My brother is acting like this. Isn't it true? What will happen if it causes dissatisfaction?"
"What's the excuse?" Feng Yong laughed, with a sly smile on his face. "They are unlucky. They encounter barbarians who are looting everywhere. What does it have to do with me?"
"They still dare to be dissatisfied? I am even more dissatisfied than them!" Feng Yong said, and cursed angrily, "They say there are three things that make new officials take office. Some people in Longyou also want to take advantage of the situation. If there is a drought, you can demonstrate to us."
Since ancient times, fights between villagers in this place have been a stubborn disease that is difficult to control.
Coupled with the severe drought, who wouldn’t want to put more water into their fields?
And I am afraid that many wealthy families are also testing the bottom line of the Han Dynasty, so there are many vicious incidents of water grabbing.
Anyway, the law doesn’t punish everyone!
According to their thinking, the big man had just taken over Longyou, wasn't it the time when they were needed the most?
They just took the opportunity to show off their muscles to the big man in order to gain a greater say in local governance in the future.
At the same time, during this drought, grab more water so that your family's food harvest will not fail.
Kill two birds with one stone.
It's just that information spreads too slowly in this era. They may have heard of the titles of the clever Feng Langjun and the ruthless Xiao Wenhe, but they don't know much about them.
So the Longyou aristocratic family tasted the sour and refreshing taste of the Shuzhong aristocratic family for the first time.
Feng Yong directly recruited a group of barbarians to serve as black gloves, specifically hiding in secret to carry out dirty tricks.
Once someone is found daring to grab water, they will hit him on the head with a whip without distinguishing between right and wrong.
It’s so exciting to run away after smoking!
Just like those local wealthy people thought, if you have the ability, arrest everyone.
Feng Tubiao also thought the same thing: If you have the ability, you two legs will chase four legs and catch them all?
Of course, it's not that no one complained in tears, but Governor Zhao said: The war in Longyou has just ended, and it is normal for barbarians to take the opportunity to cause trouble.
If you want to send out a large army to wipe out the barbarians, you must have food, right?
How about you all come out with some food?
What? You said someone deliberately instigated it? This countryman, don’t talk nonsense. Where is the evidence? If you make such nonsense without evidence, you will be held legally responsible! Are the rumors confusing the public?
After listening to Feng Yong's explanation of the causes and consequences, Li Yi almost spat out a mouthful of water. He laughed so hard that he could only give a thumbs up.
"Brother, your move is amazing!"
The barbarians take the opportunity to cause trouble and like to whip people who grab water with horse whips. What does it have to do with me? I didn’t instigate it!
"It's just a small trick, it can't be put on the table." Feng Yong didn't think there was anything worth boasting about, "Anyway, it's all this kind of bullshit..."
Li Yi's face twitched and he coughed, "Since brother thinks these things are not worth mentioning, I have something I want to ask my brother for."
"What's the matter?" Feng Yong looked at Li Yi strangely, "What else can't be said between you and me?"
Li Yi lowered his voice and asked, "Xinhou (Li Qiu) has moved to Hanzhong this time. Brother, don't you think it's a little too fast?"
When Feng Yong heard this, he looked at Li Yi thoughtfully, "What do you think is wrong with this?"
Li Yi looked around, and then said, "It would be nothing if Xinhou was transferred to a remote county to serve as a governor. But this is Hanzhong County, one of the most important counties in the Han Dynasty."
"It's not that I'm belittling Nobu Hou, but that Nobu Hou's qualifications are indeed too low."
Feng Yong nodded and sighed, "According to my opinion, Nanxiang's actions in the past six months should have stimulated the Prime Minister."
Not to mention others, even Feng Yong was a little confused by the series of personnel changes made by Old Demon Zhuge after he returned to Hanzhong.
Just take Li Yan's transfer as an example. Let Li Yan take charge of the affairs of the Prime Minister's Mansion as the Central Protector. I don't know whether it is giving Li Yan a last chance to change his ways, or whether he is going to kill him as a sap?
Also, the reason why Xu Ci was appointed as the Great Changqiu Cheng was that he was a man of learning. Yes, yes, he was indeed a man of learning, but his virtue...that's hard to describe.
What's more, he is not the only one who believes in learning, so why is he the only one who has been promoted?
I always feel like there's some shady deal going on here.
As for Li Qiu's transfer, Feng Yong can make a rough guess.
After all, Nanxiang's reputation in the first half of the year has been further deteriorated in the eyes of the Shuzhong family.
The most representative one is Li Mu. I heard that some people have publicly called her a snake-hearted person. She is a perfect match for the cruel and ruthless Feng Langjun!
Zhuge Laoyao transferred Li Qiu away to further strengthen his penetration into Nanxiang.
Because the county magistrate of Nanxiang is Luo Meng and the county captain is Jiang Bin, both of whom are from the prime minister's house.
Therefore, although Li Qiu was moved to Hanzhong and had a long history, although it seemed that his promotion was too high, there was actually some compensation in it.
Li Yi obviously thought of this, but he was a little unwilling to do so, "Brother, Nanxiang is our foundation."
Li Yi's worries were also the worries of the Xinghan Hui.
Prime Minister... Prime Minister can't steal everyone's foundation, right?
On weekdays, everyone looks to their elder brother for guidance, but isn't it because he can support everyone at critical moments? So Li Yi took advantage of this opportunity and ran to find his brother.
"You guys, you just think too much!" Feng Yong shook his head and said with a smile, "I just transferred Xinhou away. Isn't the post of county magistrate still ours? Don't worry, Nanxiang will not change easily."
It seems that after the Prime Minister's victory in the Northern Expedition, his power has reached the point where some people feel that everything is at stake.
Seeing the hesitation on Li Yi's face, Feng Yong had no choice but to further reveal the news, "Xiang Changshi has agreed to inscribe the Nanxiang Academy."
Xiang Lang was already sixty-two years old and was considered a highly respected person in the Han Dynasty. He worked tirelessly this time to follow the Northern Expedition and coordinate the funeral arrangements for the Northern Expedition.
His name is not on the personnel transfer list this time. According to Feng Yong's estimation, it is impossible to say that after returning, the emperor will personally pay homage to the minister and give him an honorary title.
After all, sixty-two years old is really old in this era.
If such a person can write an inscription for Nanxiang Academy, it represents the direction of the wind.
Of course, Xiang Lang would never admit whether someone took advantage of saving Ma Su as a reward.
When Li Yi heard this, his face lit up.
Before he could speak, Feng Yong continued to announce another important piece of news, "This year, the Qiang school captain will oversee all Qiang and Hu affairs. 30% of the collected wool will be handed over to the court, and the remaining 70% can be dealt with on your own."
Li Yi couldn't bear the news and stood up suddenly. With a bang, he couldn't hold the bowl firmly and fell directly to the ground.
"Seventy...seventy percent?" Li Yi's whole body was trembling, "Will it be the same every year in the future?"
"What a beautiful idea!" Feng Yong laughed and pointed at Li Yi, "Wenxuan, you've lost your composure!"
Only then did Li Yi realize that he had been splashed with water. He smiled sheepishly and wiped it casually. After sitting down again, he reached down and wanted to grab the bowl, but found that his hands were still shaking and he couldn't pick it up at all. .
So he simply stopped taking it, stretched his neck, looked straight at Feng Yong, and asked with some disbelief, "Is this... decided by the Prime Minister?"
Feng Yong nodded, "Everyone has worked hard this year, so the Prime Minister asked us to eat 20% more. Starting next year, we will share half with the court."
"Fifty percent is enough!" Li Yi got the exact answer and immediately said excitedly, "Everyone thinks that even if we divide it into 30%, it will be enough! How do you plan to set this price?"
"The wool that the Prime Minister asked the Colonel Protecting Qiang to distribute independently is used as military supplies, so I will distribute the shares according to everyone's merit and sell them to you at a uniform price."
"As for how you sell it and who you sell it to, I don't care. It's okay if you lose money, but the share that the Colonel Protecting Qiang deserves should not be less than a copper coin."
Feng Yong said half-jokingly.
"Prime Minister... Prime Minister really has nothing to say to my brother!"
When Li Yi heard this, his face began to turn red, which was a sign that he couldn't control his emotions.
"How can there be any loss in this kind of thing? If we really want to say it is a loss, then even if we make less money, it will be a loss!"
After speaking, he was mumbling to himself, making it difficult to hear what he was saying.
If the prime minister treats his brother like this, what else does Xinghanhui have to fear?
No wonder my brother is not anxious at all!
"Wenxuan, you have many connections. You will find a way to spread this news to those families in Sichuan who have workshop quotas. Also, the looms in this workshop, and how to train weavers, etc., it is estimated that by then We still have to help.”
help?
Li Yi looked at Feng Yong and was suddenly excited again, "Yes, help!"
This Northern Expedition is really making a lot of money, but I don’t know if the Xinghan Society can eat them all?
Li Yi was a little scared now. He felt that after the Northern Expedition, his brother's identity and status made him unable to adapt.
