Chapter 135: Quite wealthy Xiahou Ba raised his eyebrows and asked, "Brother Shuda, please teach me how to 'rob'?" Xiahou Ba was originally a cavalry general. If Xiahou Ba was asked to lead a cavalry to charge into battle, he would not be afraid at all. But now that Xiahou Ba was suddenly asked to govern a state, he was a little confused for a while. The reason why the emperor asked Sima Fu to assist Xiahou Ba must have been for this reason. Sima Fu said, "It's not that I'm here to teach you. I also learned a lot about Liangzhou when I was in the Shangshutai in Luoyang. My brother has not yet set out to follow Your Majesty to the southern expedition, so I specifically asked my brother about this matter." Xiahou Ba asked, "Sima Sikong?" Sima Fu nodded: "That's right. But my brother thinks this title is too long. People in the Shangshutai usually just call him Sikong." Xiahou Ba treated Sima Fu with great courtesy. This was not only because they both came to office in Luoyang and Xiahou Ba respected scholars, but also because he had to give face to Sima Fu's brother Sima Yi. As the current Sikong and regent minister, this person has an extremely high status. Xiahou Ba then asked, "Brother Shuda, what does the Shangshutai think about this matter, and what does the Minister of Works say?" Sima Fu did not answer directly, but asked Xiahou Ba: "Zhong Quan, since you said that the local clans and Qiang leaders are rich, where did their money come from?"
Xiahou Ba thought for a moment and said, "The chief architect Guanqiu Xing once mentioned this to me in general, saying that the local big families and Qiang leaders became wealthy through farming and animal husbandry." Sima Fu said: "What Guanqiu Xing said is right, but not entirely right. The wealth of the great families and the nobles is certainly related to their business operations, but more importantly, it is related to trade." "During the Western Han Dynasty, the trade routes were open, and merchants from small countries in the Western Regions could come to Yumen Pass in Dunhuang County without any hindrance. If they wanted to come to Luoyang, they could only travel east after obtaining documents from Dunhuang County." "The general has been in contact with the Western Regions for several years. How many Hu merchants are there in Wuwei County? Are they increasing?" Xiahou Ba shook his head: "There are not many Hu merchants in Wuwei, and the goods from the Western Regions and various treasures obtained by the city are all resold by Dunhuang merchants, not sold by the Hu people themselves." "Brother Shuda, do you mean that a lot of the tax revenue from Dunhuang County is being withheld by the local big families?" Sima Fu said: "The previous period was chaotic for a long time, so how can it be said that a lot of taxes were intercepted? I am afraid that these taxes were divided up by the big families in the county. Moreover, there must be many cases of deceiving the foreign merchants in trade." Xiahou Ba nodded: "This kind of thing can indeed be done." Sima Fu continued, "Except for Dunhuang County, the other counties have different products, some raise livestock, some grow crops and store grain. And the various tribes of the Qiang people also trade with each other." "The tribes that are short of food will seek out tribes with more food to buy from, while tribes that cannot buy food or have no money to use will naturally use their troops to rob. In addition to food, livestock, woolen fabrics, salt... all these things need to be traded." Xiahou Ba asked, "Brother Shuda, do you mean that Liangzhou can intervene in the trade between the Qiang people?" Sima Fu nodded: "Of course! You are the governor of Liangzhou on behalf of the emperor, and you have troops at your disposal, so why can't you intervene?" "We are not robbing the land from the great tribes or the Qiang people. We are just setting up a market to regulate the trade in Liangzhou and collect some taxes from it. As long as it is fair, isn't it a good policy?" Xiahou Ba asked, "Is this the original intention of your Majesty in establishing the post of Duzhi Xiaowei?" Sima Fu smiled and said, "I have asked the Minister of Works, and that is exactly the case. All that is needed is to regulate prices and allow the local clans and Qiang people to trade under the supervision of the provincial government." Xiahou Ba nodded: "Establishing a market. I understand this. What about agriculture?" Sima Fu said slowly, "Trade is indeed easy to handle, but agriculture is a bit more troublesome. The Han and Qiang people have lived together in Liangzhou for a hundred years, and the big families in each county have basically divided up the best farmland in each county. If the land of the big families is seized suddenly, I am afraid that it will cause trouble in a hurry." "I have a way to alleviate some of the problems." Xiahou Ba asked, "Could it be that they want the prefecture to redeem the land?"
Sima Fu said, "To put it in a nice way, they are called powerful families or clan leaders. To put it in a bad way, they are just clan thieves. If the Qiang leaders are killed, it will definitely provoke the Qiang people to revolt. And if the Han powerful people do not obey the state government, then they can be killed. As long as the matter is dealt with afterwards, who dares to say anything?" Xiahou Ba smiled and said, "That's right. Let's first ask if we can defeat the imperial army." Sima Fu said, "That's right. It's a combination of firmness and flexibility. First, call together the great families from all over the country to discuss whether some land can be allocated to the people. The people can also repay a little with their harvest. If there are great families that disagree, we can destroy two or three families, and then there's no need to worry about this not being successful." Xiahou Ba smiled and said, "Brother Shuda's words have solved the problem that I have been thinking about for many days! The things I was worried about were nothing more than money and land. Now with Brother Shuda's two strategies, there will be no worries. I can also concentrate on winning over the Qiang people and developing the military." Sima Fu said: "You and I came from Luoyang one after the other, so this is the right way to divide the work." The two of them toasted each other, drinking the wine and listening to the music, and they were actually quite happy. As time passed slowly, the dance music played by the Hu woman changed one after another. However, when Sima Fu was about to get drunk, he asked Xiahou Ba next to him: "Zhongquan, where did the wine and wine in Guzang Tower come from? Did someone bribe you?" Xiahou Ba was almost drunk at this time, and pretended to be slightly angry and said, "Brother Shuda, how can you say that? Do I, Xiahou Zhongquan, also want to accept bribes? Do you know my last name?" Sima Fu looked at Xiahou Ba and said, "Who doesn't know that your surname is Xiahou?" Xiahou Ba then patted his chest and said, "My Xiahou family is quite wealthy! What does a few hu of grape wine mean to me?" "Okay, okay, I know you, Xiahou Fangbo, are rich now." Sima Fu raised his glass again: "Come on, Zhongquan, raise your glass!" Xiahou Ba and Sima Fu raised their glasses to each other again and drank them all in one gulp. The Governor of Liangzhou and the Commandant of the Ministry of Finance were drinking in Guzang Tower, so naturally no one dared to make noise or disturb them. When Xiahou Ba and Sima Fu were about to leave Guzang Tower late at night, several carriages had already stopped at the door of the restaurant. Sima Fu had just arrived in Liangzhou, and the post of Duzhi Xiaowei was a newly created official position, so he did not have his own residence for a while, so he could only live in Xiahou Ba's governor's residence. Although there were several carriages, they were all heading to the same destination. Sima Fu said at the door drunkenly, "Zhong Quan, you are the governor, you get in the car first." Xiahou Ba pressed down Sima Fu's arm and said, "Brother Shuda, you are older, you should get on the car first. We have had a great time drinking today, and we only care about age, not official position. You should get on the car first!" The two of them pushed and shoved each other for a while, and finally Sima Fu got on the carriage first. But just as Sima Fu got on the carriage, two veiled women dressed like the maids in Guzang Tower also got on the carriage. Sima Fu thought he was dazzled for a moment, but after looking a few more times he realized that they were two women. Sima Fu quickly lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked Xiahou Ba, "What does Zhong Quan mean by this? How can we do this?" Xiahou Ba laughed loudly: "What subordinates give to their superiors is called bribery, and what superiors give to their subordinates is a reward. Brother Zhongquan, you and I have different positions, so this is definitely not a bribe. Liangzhou is cold, and it is good to have someone to keep you company during the long night." Sima Fu still had to maintain his reputation as a scholar, so he instinctively refused: "How can this be possible? I just came to Liangzhou, and you gave me two maids. His Majesty will definitely blame me!" Xiahou Ba shook his head and said, "Why should I blame you? I bought these two maids, so I'll just give them to you. Don't forget, I, Xiahou Zhongquan, have quite a lot of money!" With Xiahou Ba's laughter, he also got on the carriage in front. The team did not hesitate at all, and immediately moved forward under the cavalry on both sides. It was dark in the carriage, and Sima Fu could only lift the curtain on the side of the carriage to borrow a little light from outside. At this time Sima Fu noticed that a beam of moonlight was hitting the maid's arm, illuminating her snow-white wrist. Sima Fu sneered, then closed his eyes and sat upright in the carriage, not thinking about anything else. …… Not to mention that Xiahou Ba and Sima Fu were planning to make a career in Liangzhou, at this time in Shouchun City, there was a man who was about to go to Liangzhou. The person he is talking about is Lu Xun, the former governor of Jingzhou and the current Protector of the Qiang, Lu Boyan.
Lu Xun was originally from Jiangdong, and the whole country had been in turmoil since he could remember. For a Yangzhou person from Wujun, the term Liangzhou seemed as far away as the horizon. The farthest Lu Xun had been was outside the city of Hefei, and he had never even been to the Heluo area in the Central Plains. How could he have any feelings for Liangzhou, which was far away in the northwest? The Five Classics don’t teach us anything about what happened in Liangzhou! The emperor's order was urgent, requiring Lu Xun to leave Shouchun within three days and go to Liangzhou to take up his post. Lu Xun's top priority was to first find out what the position of Protector of the Qiang was about, then find out where to go in Luoyang to receive the seal, and then find out where to take office. There was no way, Lu Xun really knew nothing about Liangzhou. This had nothing to do with intelligence or knowledge, it was simply because the country was in chaos and Liangzhou was too far away. If someone from Liangzhou were to go to Jiaozhou to govern the prefectures and counties, he would also be confused for a while. Although he had become an official 2,000-stone official of the Wei Dynasty, Lu Xun still didn't know anyone. After much thought, he could only look for Liu Ye and Liu Ziyang, who had met him once in the Emperor's Hall the day before. Today, Xin Pi and Chen Jiao took turns to serve the emperor, and Liu Ye was sitting in his duty room. When he heard the clerk report that the Qiang Guard Captain was coming to visit, Liu Ye frowned for a moment, but smiled in an instant. After looking at Huang Quan who was also smiling opposite him, Liu Ye stood up and walked towards the door, just as Lu Xun walked in from outside the yard. (End of this chapter)