Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Chapter 39: Borrowing chickens to lay eggs

Two days had passed since he led his army back to Guide City. Wufeng pondered for a long time, but he couldn't find a breakthrough. A pair of huge demon palms firmly strangled his neck, making him breathless.

The gloomy mood directly affected Wufeng's face. Su Minshun, the guardian of Guide City, had invited Wufeng twice to visit the salt well mining area in the north of Guide, the grape plantations in the south, and several famous wineries in the mainland. One of the pillar industries of finance and taxation in the entire Northwest County, but Wufeng evaded it because of physical discomfort, which disappointed Su Minshun and the businessmen.

Lying lazily on the big loose bed, Wufeng always felt that he couldn't lift his spirits all over his body. Could it be that he couldn't get up after suffering such a small setback? Obviously not, but why did I always feel depressed after the fall of Lulong? Isn't it just the loss of a Lu Long who didn't completely belong to him? Does it have such a big impact? Wufeng secretly asked himself, if there is no light in the east and light in the west, it is not possible for him to die because of this setback and stay obediently in the northwest for the rest of his life?

Lying silently on the bed, motionless, it seems that even the spirit is almost lost by lying down like this, and I can't drag it on like this anymore, I have to find out the reason, what is the restraint of Northwest and Beilu Song is also the main factor for jumping out of this land in the northwest?

Taiping religion? Kamanians? The countries of the Western Regions and the people of Luobei? None of these, what really held him back was that his own strength was too weak. It is not too small to calculate your own military strength. A Northwest Army Corps has nearly 120,000 people, and there are five independent divisions with nearly 120,000 people. Together with the garrison, it has exceeded 300,000. Human strength, such a huge strength, why do I always feel that it is not enough?

My own territory is really too far away. From Zhegu Pass in the east to Zijing Pass in the west, it may be two or three thousand miles away. It will take at least ten days for the horse team to walk from one end to the other. The 300,000 people in such a wide range are more than enough to maintain, and it seems too thin to expand outward, not to mention that there are people with different ideas around me, and even those so-called allies can hardly really trust themselves.

Army expansion? Just like that, Xiao Tang was already complaining, if he wanted to expand the army, it would really drive his capable subordinate crazy, but if he didn't expand the army, with his current strength, he would obviously be powerless to enter the Central Plains.

"Haven't gotten up yet? He doesn't have a woman to accompany him, why is he still lying on the bed?" A burst of shouting brought Wufeng back from his contemplation, and it was Su Minshun again, who must have come to ask himself to visit those breweries again. The workshop or the plantation, or just to see those salt wells, Wufeng would get a headache just thinking about it, I don't know where this kid got so much energy, he was determined not to give up until he reached his goal.

"Hey, go and wake Master Li to wake up. The gentry and folks in Guide have long admired Master Li's demeanor and prestige. Could it be that Master Li, who is a military envoy, can't satisfy their little wishes?" A strange voice sounded outside the door, Wufeng knew that his guards couldn't stop this guy, so he sat up reluctantly and dressed slowly.

"Are you awake?" Su Minshun stepped into Wufeng's bedroom and asked in feigned surprise, "I didn't disturb your sweet dreams, did I?"

"Hmph, don't pretend to be here, can't you let me relax for a while?" To Su Minshun and Mo Lun, Wufeng has always been very casual, and the two of them are also like this. There is no taboo for meat and vegetables.

"Well, I said let two whores from Huayuefang in our city accompany you. I heard that they are absolutely top-notch in bed. You are happy to leave, and you have to pretend to be serious. You can't rest right now. It’s blaming me again, it’s hard to be a real good person.” Su Minshun joked with a grin.

"I said, how did you, the leader of a city, become a pimp?" Wufeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"It's also a manifestation of ability to figure out what you want." Su Minshun replied with a playful smile.

"Okay, okay, stop talking so much nonsense, what are you doing here so early? What nonsense is there?" Wufeng was not polite, and asked directly, "If you let me visit those what For things like the Salt Well Manor Workshop, that’s fine, I don’t have the time to look at those things now.”

Su Minshun's face turned serious and said: "My lord, this statement is wrong. Minshun also knows that you are in a bad mood now, but as the leader of the Northwest and Northern Luzon, your duty is probably not just to focus on military issues, right? The military and government have never been separated, let alone you are the military governor? The rapid economic development of our Guide Prefecture not only provides a lot of funds to the county finance, but also maintains the operation of a divisional garrison. All these depend on what you said The support of those salt well manors and workshops. Could it be that you, as a military and political governor, set foot so stingyly, that you can’t give some encouragement and comfort to these gentry who have created huge wealth?"

Unexpectedly, a few casual words of my own would attract such righteous words from the other party. Then he nodded heavily and said: "Well, good boy, this mouth is very powerful, okay, let's not talk, I'll go, okay? But I have something to say first, I don't have much time, at most two days, I still have time I have to go to Partridge Pass, the current situation is uncertain, I really can’t take it lightly, but what you said is indeed reasonable, um, I accept it.”

Wufeng realized that he was wrong, and readily accepted the other party's suggestion.

In the next two days, accompanied by Su Minshun, Wufeng inspected the salt wells in the north non-stop, and then turned back to visit the famous wine brewing base in southern Guide. It was also the southern manor and workshop owners, as well as the wealthy wine merchants, which opened Wufeng's eyes and made him speechless. Being received by a lord who is like a legendary figure in the empire also made the merchants very excited, and everyone was happy.

The carriage was running slowly and on the way back to Fucheng, Wufeng quietly closed his eyes and rested his eyes, but Su Minshun next to him refused to be quiet and had nothing to say, "My lord, some of the merchants in Guide Mansion will enjoy it." Right? I don’t think the gentry in the imperial capital know as much about life as they do, hehe, they’re all filthy rich guys, so there’s probably too much money for them to spend?”

"Well, if they really want to be so rich, why don't they invest in something else? For example, expand the scale and increase production?" Wufeng replied casually without opening his eyes.

"My lord, you don't know. Whether it's salt or wine, you can't imagine how lucrative the middle is. Of course they also want to greatly increase production, but first, expanding the scale cannot be achieved overnight. Second, they have to Relying on the smoothness of business routes and the opening of new markets is not as simple as simply increasing production. Right now, the Taiping Sect controls the business routes going east. Although business travel is not prohibited, the transit tariffs have increased a lot. It’s not very stable, and the nomads on the Tengger Grassland don’t like wine very much, so the business road to the west seems to be smooth, if we blindly expand production, it may cause prices to fall, and profits will decrease instead.” Speaking of himself Su Minshun is familiar with the situation in the territory under his jurisdiction, "These guys are smart, otherwise it would be impossible to accumulate such a huge wealth."

"Well, that's how it is." Wufeng didn't think of this level either, only after hearing Su Minshun's words did he understand.

"However, my lord, I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work?" Su Minshun said with a mysterious look on his face.

"Oh? What's your idea?" Wufeng didn't pay much attention.

"Currently, the financial difficulties in Northwest China, it is unrealistic to expect a big growth in a short time. It is better to make good use of the ideas of these businessmen and get some funds from them." Su Minshun was vague, but it caused Wufeng Great interest.

"Oh? Is there any way?" Wufeng asked, staring at the other party's eyes, he knew that Su Minshun couldn't come up with any *methods, and using those methods in his own territory was tantamount to killing the chicken and picking the eggs.

"Lulong Mansion to the east of us is rich in iron mines, mining iron ore is also a profitable business. Many businessmen in our Guide Mansion have investment intentions in this regard. When the Lord took control of Lulong Mansion, A businessman from Fuzhong came to ask me if he could invest in mining in Lulong~IndoMTL.com~and I replied in the affirmative.” Su Minshun explained calmly.

"Are you kidding me? Knowing that Lu Long has fallen into the hands of the Taiping Sect, why are you still talking about this?" Wufeng lost his energy when he heard it, closed his eyes again, and rested his head on the soft cushion. Talk to each other again.

"Hey, my lord, listen to me." Su Minshun smiled confidently, "Although the Taiping Sect has controlled Lu Long now, my lord's literary and martial arts have shocked the emperor at home and abroad, and the Taiping Sect is no more than a group of monsters and clowns. I said, it will be a matter of time before Lulong recovers. The businessmen of Guide Mansion are full of confidence in your lord. If they can sell the iron ore mining rights in the south of Lulong in advance, hehe, I believe it is not only the businessmen of Guide Mansion. Are you interested?"

Speaking of the last sentence, Su Minshun showed a sly smile on his face.

Wufeng's tiger body was shocked, obviously a little emotional, and he said after a while: "Part of the iron ore mining rights in the south of Lulong has been transferred by the empire to the Miao family among the five major families of the empire. , I am worried whether it will..."

"In addition to the mines controlled by the Miao family, there are many mining areas in the south of Lulong that are suitable for mining. It's just that the Miao family has always wanted to obtain a larger mining area, and they have tried everything possible to prevent other people from entering. Even the Lulong local government is difficult to intervene. , only a few companies that entered before the Miao family obtained the mining rights are still struggling to maintain. Now that everything there has fallen into the hands of the Taiping Sect, then everything should be as it should be, not to mention, in my opinion, after Lulong regains, what is the empire? No one can tell what it is, the Miao family is only quite powerful in the empire, once the empire loses its influence, what should the Miao family do?" Su Minshun shook his head and analyzed.