Liu Xiu's face changed slightly, his eyes turned twice, and he sighed softly. "Xian and brother, guess whatever you want, I can't say anything."

Jian Yong nodded and agreed immediately. "Okay, don't mention it, so as not to make things difficult for Deran. But speaking of it, Guan Yu's temper is really not very good, Deran should be careful. If there is anything I need to help, you can speak up, as long as you can help, you will be absolutely absolutely right."

Liu Xiu nodded and raised his glass. "Then I thank Xian and brother in advance."

The two of them chatted while drinking. Jian Yong did not ask any questions about the business, but only talked about the things that were rookies back then. Although Liu Xiu was a brother to Liu Bei, they had different families and had no similar personalities. Liu Bei was a rookie with Jian Yong and Zhang Fei. When he was wandering in Youji, Liu Xiu did not participate and knew very little about these things. He knew far less about Liu Bei than Jian Yong. At this moment, he was surprised to hear Jian Yong talk about the ridiculous things that happened back then.

Before he knew it, Jian Yong talked about Mao Qian.

The Mao family is a large family in Zhuo County with a large population and is located on all sides of Zhuo County. It is known as Simao in the east, west, south and north. Mao was Ximao, and he was known for his beauty when he was a child. Liu Bei once imitated Emperor Guangwu and said, "Work a wife, you should marry Ximao." It is said to be a joke among the wanderers. Now Liu Bei is called the King of Zhongshan and Mao is the queen, which is considered a long wish. Although Mao had already married before this.

Liu Xiu disagreed, curled his lips, raised his glass and drank it all, and then changed the topic, smelting iron.

Liu Xiu still couldn't let go of his worries and hoped that Jian Yong could provide him with some information. There were iron in Liaodong, and there were iron officials in Pingguo. After Taishi Ci controlled Liaodong, Pingguo's iron officials were included in unified management. Huang Chengyan arranged personnel to guide the production and supply local weapons, armored staff, horse harnesses, agricultural tools, etc. in Liaodong. Except for some particularly high-demand products, most of them were produced locally to reduce transportation costs.

Liu Xiuchu was in office and was not very clear about how to manage the iron officer. He hoped that Jian Yong could provide some suggestions. Jian Yong was not responsible for the iron officer and did not understand the technology of iron smelting and making tools, but he had a certain understanding of the management procedures, and this was not a secret.

Jian Yong laughed as soon as he heard this. "Deran, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I tell you that you can't learn it."

“Why?”

"The reason why everyone works hard by the iron officials is because they are paid and the salary is very high. The reason why they can pay such high salary is because their technology can create high-quality equipment, which can make enough profits. You don't have their skills and money now, you can't pay them. If you want them to work, how can you?"

Liu Xiu was stunned for a while and murmured, "This is a cycle of laying eggs and hatching chickens."

"That's right. You have no eggs and no chickens now, how can you learn?"

Liu Xiu smiled bitterly, speechless.

Jian Yong looked at him for a while and raised his glass to persuade him to drink. "Deran, why do I believe that the King of Wu will win? This is the reason. Youzhou is located in a remote area, with few lands and few people. Without the financial support of Jizhou and Qingzhou, it is difficult to maintain even survival. Where can I get the spare money to support craftsmen and innovate skills? Only a wealthy place like the Central Plains, with fertile land everywhere, can support more people. As long as it is used properly, there is enough spare time to support craftsmen and let them figure out their skills with peace of mind. Do you think the clothes and hats of Zhongyuan fell from the sky? They are all based on millions of hectares of fertile land. Is there any Youzhou? The cultivated land in Youzhou is not as large as a county in the Central Plains."

Liu Xiu stared at Jian Yong, his eyes flashed, he wanted to speak but stopped several times, and finally turned into a bitter smile on the corner of his mouth.

——

Yongnu City, Feng Ji sat on the city tower, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance.

Gu water was like a belt, winding across the west of the city. This year was colder than in previous years, and the frozen river water did not thaw until the end of March. When he arrived from Zhuo County, he witnessed the river water rolling down with his own eyes, and his feelings were still deep.

Occasionally, I heard from Liu Bei that Sun Ce had a statement about the Ice Age, saying that the weather would get colder and colder in the next period of time, and the north would be the most affected, so he chose to immigrate to Jiangnan for farming. At the beginning, Feng Ji disagreed with this and just regarded it as Sun Ce's excuse. He was from Jiangdong. Of course, he hoped that Jiangdong would have more population. People in the Central Plains wanted to relocate, so it was difficult for them to live in Jiangdong without any reason. Using the teachings of the Shinto and the old tricks of governing the Tao, Sun Ce said that he did not believe in destiny, but in fact he liked to bewitch people's hearts than anyone else.

But he was a little shaken now. He asked some old people, and many people also felt that the colder and colder years have been getting colder in the past few decades, and the extreme cold weather is more than before. The most obvious point is that there are more snow disasters on the grasslands, and the Hu people will go into the brigade and rob. They also came in the past, but now they come very hard. When winter comes, there are police almost every day.

Could it be that Sun Ce was not a false statement, but had some evidence? Feng Ji was not very clear. However, he knew that Sun Ce had obtained the secretary collected by the court, which contained records of disasters and disasters over the years. Maybe it was seen from those records, or what Cai Yong, who was responsible for sorting out those secretaries, said to him.

No matter where Sun Ce got this conclusion, if this conclusion is true, it is definitely not good news for Zhongshan Country. Youzhou is short of food. Once the weather gets colder and the grain is bad, the Hu people enter the barrier frequently, and if Sun Ce attacks, Youzhou will be unsustainable.

Time is endless.

Seeing Liu Xiu's carriage entering the city, Feng Ji sighed and retracted his thoughts. After a while, Liu Xiu came to the city, carried his clothes and walked quickly to Feng Ji, and bowed from a distance.

"I'm back."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"It's really hard to come from a thousand miles away."

Feng Ji waved his hand, without being polite with Liu Xiu, and signaled Liu Xiu to tell him what he had met with Jian Yong. Liu Xiu did not dare to be negligent and told him one by one what he said to Jian Yong. Except for a few parts involving Liu Bei's personal past, they were almost retelling the original words. He recalled on the road, and he didn't even stutter at this moment, and he was clearly organized.

Feng Ji was very satisfied. "It is really not easy for Jian Yong to have such insights. Deran, as the king of Zhongshan, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders. In the future, you should read more and think carefully and be the pillar of the country."

"Here."

"There are four or five months left to fall, and these few months are very important. You not only need to seize the time to sow and harvest, but also recruit people and repair the frontiers. Whether you can stop Taishici is very important to the offensive of the King after the autumn, and it can even be said to determine the survival of Zhongshan Kingdom."

"Hey, I will hold on to you when you meet someone, but..."

"Also, the ordnance must be held fast and must be delivered as scheduled."

Liu Xiu opened his mouth and swallowed half of his words back. Feng Ji looked at him with a stern look. "Is there any problem?"

Liu Xiu took a deep breath, then slowly vomited it out, shook his head, gritted his teeth and said, "No problem."

Feng Ji calmed down, walked to Liu Xiu, and patted his shoulder. "Deran, I know you are under great pressure, and the pressure of Zhongshan King is also very high. Look, Jian Yong also said that Youzhou alone cannot survive. Only by taking Jizhou, Bingzhou, and all under Hebei, Zhongshan Kingdom will have the opportunity to compete with Wu and Shu. Sun Ce thought deeply and had seen this a long time ago, so he arranged for Taishi Ci to take charge of Liaodong and restrain our army. If he could not stop him and seize food from the tiger's mouth, Zhongshan could only sit and wait for death. You are the brother and sister of the king. If you don't leave such a thing to you, who else can you give it to?"

Liu Xiu nodded vigorously. "Please rest assured to you, the king. Xiu will do his best."

Feng Ji raised his hand and quickly left, and went straight down the city. There was a carriage parked under the city. He got on the carriage and left outside the city gate. He opened the window and waved goodbye to Liu Xiu on the city wall. Liu Xiu bowed his hand, bowed, and watched Feng Ji leave until the shadow of the convoy disappeared on the official road in the distance. He stood up. Although he was heavy on his shoulders, he still felt very stressed, but he felt a little more fighting spirit in his heart.

The rise and fall of Zhongshan Kingdom fell on my shoulders. Can I inherit the will of my ancestors and revive the Liu family? Let me fight here.

Feng Ji did not look back, but he could guess Liu Xiu's mood at this moment and couldn't help but sigh. The talent of Youzhou was not as good as that of the Central Plains. Liu Bei had previously robbed soldiers in Zhuo County and had a bad reputation. Now he had to rely on the Hebei family to give up more benefits. Cui Jun was greedy and actually coveted his prime minister. It was tolerant to want to replace him, but who would not be able to bear it?

It is not enough to win Jizhou, it is best to win Qingzhou.

When Feng Ji thought of Qingzhou, he felt a little disappointed. Yuan Xi was defeated by Shen You and failed to take Qingzhou as he wished, which completely failed his plan. Now many scholars in Qingzhou have chosen Taishi Ci, and even the great scholar Guan Ning and Bing Yuan have gone to Liaodong and served as the sacrificial scholars in Liaodong and Liaoxi County respectively. Feng Ji has seen their articles in the newspapers he received in a few ways. Every time he sees these articles, he feels uncomfortable. It is fine if ordinary people support Sun Ce's new policy, but why do these scholars also surrender to Sun Ce? Sun Ce's attitude towards scholars is notoriously bad, and Xu Shao, who presided over Yuedan's comments, was forced to leave his hometown by him.

Or what did I miss? Feng Ji was suspicious. Zhongshan Kingdom was too far from the Central Plains, and Jizhou controlled by King Yuan Tan of Wei was separated from the middle. The transportation was inconvenient and the news lag was serious. What's more important is that Liu Bei had no formal intelligence system, and the information he received was fragmented and could not guarantee accuracy. After he chose Liu Bei, he had been committed to it, but his achievements were limited. Liu Bei was too poor and had no money to support so many professional and meticulous works, and he could not find suitable talents. Compared with the people of the Central Plains, the people of Youzhou were not suitable for meticulous works, and they were more suitable for fighting in the face of the battle.

It would be much better if Guo Tu could accept Liu Bei's invitation. Guo Tu has been in charge of intelligence for many years, is very familiar with this set, and has enough talents under his command. If he can support Liu Bei, the shortcomings in intelligence can be solved immediately, and Jizhou may also take it without a fight.

There is only one question now: Can Liu Bei be able to afford the price? Yuan Tan is about to fall, and Guo Tu has no other choice. As long as the price is right, he should not refuse Liu Bei's invitation.
Chapter completed!