I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

At this moment, the opponent's bottom line and weaknesses have been completely grasped by themselves, just like a beast fallen into a trap. Even if they still have the strength to struggle, their life and death are no longer in their own hands.

Having grasped the opponent's weak spot, Guo Jia naturally would not be polite to She Yuan and Huangfu Jianshou. As a counselor, he would only strive for the greatest benefit for Wang Jing, so he directly put forward the conditions: "There are only two ways left in front of you. One is a dead end, and the other is to cooperate with our army and seek a glimmer of hope."

"cooperate?"

She Yuan stared at Guo Jia. Even though he had thousands of strategies and a lot of courage, he was at an absolute disadvantage at the moment. The gap in information and intelligence made it impossible for him to counter the moves, and he could only deal with it passively.

Faced with Guo Jia's aggressiveness, even the shooting reinforcements gradually found it difficult to resist.

Guo Jia smiled coldly and immediately opened his mouth and asked for a sky-high price: "Perhaps General Chariot and Cavalry can consider the option of full surrender. I personally highly recommend it."

"impossible!"

Before Sheyuan could speak, Huangfu Jianshou jumped out and said, "This is absolutely impossible. Don't be so foolish!"

The word "surrender" deeply hurt the pride in Huangfu Jianshou's heart. In his eyes, his father Huangfu Song was a loyal minister of the Yanhan Dynasty, the mainstay of the Han Dynasty, and the pillar of the country!

Given Huangfu Song's identity, qualifications and status, after He Jin's death, the only two people in the world who could compare with him were Zhu Jun and Lu Zhi.

The three heroes are still alive, and their heroic names will live on forever. How could a dignified general surrender to a child?

In terms of official position, Wang Jing was just a general of the Wei Army.

Not to mention that Huangfu Song was too embarrassed to do so, even Huangfu Jianshou felt that he could not accept the conditions offered by Guo Jia. General Che Ji surrendered to General Wei?

How dignified!

She Yuan was helpless. He knew that his father-in-law would never accept this matter, so he looked at Guo Jia firmly and said, "Mr. Genius, there is no need to discuss this matter. I can clearly refuse it on behalf of my master."

Guo Jia showed a look of regret upon hearing this, and deliberately sighed: "Alas, this is actually the best choice. My master's hegemony is about to be established, and it is the time to use people. If you don't submit now, the treatment you will get in the future will be completely different. After all, how can adding icing on the cake compare to helping someone in need?"

"Hmph, there is no need to say more. Marquis Qi is ambitious, but it is too early to say who will win the world!"

Huangfu Jianshou glared at Guo Jia, feeling that his words were too harsh, as if his father had no other way out but to surrender.

What's more, even if they really wanted to persuade the enemy to surrender, it should be Wang Jing who came forward in person. What's the point of sending a military advisor?

Although the status of counselors seems to be very high among the princes, in fact, the status of counselors is very awkward for any force, because they often only offer suggestions and have no power and strength under their command. They will inevitably be despised and looked down upon by some powerful people. Even if they don't show this emotion on their faces, they will keep it in their hearts.

Huangfu Jianshou considered himself to be born into a noble family. His father, Huangfu Song, was now a powerful figure who commanded 40,000 elite troops and dominated a region.

In his eyes, Guo Jia was just a strategist. So what if he was famous all over the world?

What qualifications does he have to be on equal footing with me?

Even look down on yourself, disdain yourself, and don't take yourself seriously?
Especially when Guo Jia mentioned Huangfu Song, the disapproval in his eyes made Huangfu Jianshou, who had always regarded his father as an idol, deeply angry.

But Huangfu Jianshou didn't know that Guo Jia did this on purpose to stimulate his emotions and make him lose control.

As expected, as soon as Huangfu Jianshou lost his temper, Guo Jia took the opportunity to attack him, his tone becoming cold and piercing: "So, the General of Chariots and Cavalry is planning to establish himself as an independent ruler?"

Huangfu Jianshou was angry, and without thinking much, he replied stubbornly: "So what!?"

When She Yuan heard this, he thought it was not good, but it was too late to stop it.

That’s what I’ve been waiting for!

Guo Jia was very proud in his heart. He was still full of youthful vigor and didn't know how treacherous people were. Huangfu Jianshou was easily provoked and said the wrong thing.

But if you speak without thinking in politics, you will have to pay the price!

As a counselor, Sheyuan was quick-witted and realized that something was wrong. He tried to dissuade Huangfu Jianshou, saying, "Jianshou, don't talk nonsense. When did the lord ever say that he wanted to rebel against the Han and establish his own kingdom?"

When Huangfu Jianshou heard this, he knew that he had said the wrong thing. His father, Huangfu Song, had been loyal all his life and had performed his duties for the Han Dynasty. If he was misunderstood by the world because of what he said, it would be an irreparable mistake.

But the two of them just wanted to make up for their mistakes now, so how could Guo Jia let them do as they wished?
Guo Jia opened his folding fan, raised a teasing sneer on his lips, and said to Sheyuan: "Brother Wenxiong, what you said is wrong. Maybe the unintentional words are the true words? Besides, you are not the General of Chariots and Cavalry, so how do you know that the General of Chariots and Cavalry has no ambition to conquer the world and compete for the throne of the Central Plains?"

"Shut up! My father is a loyal minister of the imperial court and a pillar of the Han dynasty. He would never do such a thing that would be outrageous to both humans and gods!"

Huangfu Jianshou was shivering with anger. If he had not retained some rationality and knew that Luoyang was Wang Jing's territory and Guo Jia was Wang Jing's trusted adviser, he might have been unable to resist drawing his sword and killing someone.

However, Guo Jia did not take Huangfu Jianshou's threatening gaze seriously. There were secret guards secretly monitoring the Baixian Building. If there was any dangerous action, the opponent would be shot into a hornet's nest by the hidden guards and assassins with hidden weapons before they could even make a move.

So Guo Jia was not panicked at all. Instead, he was calm and composed. He looked at Huangfu Jianshou leisurely, letting him yell and curse. When he was tired of yelling, he slowly said, "Anger may be just to cover up his guilty conscience. If this news spreads, I wonder what people in the world will think? What will the soldiers under the General of Chariots and Cavalry think?"

This statement is tantamount to killing someone and destroying their heart!
The reason why Huangfu Song was able to gain a foothold in Chang'an was because of the word "loyalty". The label of loyal minister helped Huangfu Song to stabilize the situation, but it also became a shackle that bound his hands and feet, making it difficult for him to realize his ambitions. He could only make patches and survive within a fixed framework.

The Yanhan Dynasty stood firm in the world for four hundred years. Although the chaotic times have begun, there are still many loyal ministers and filial sons. There are also many subjects of the dynasty who are unwilling to endure war and do not want to change dynasties. After all, the vested interest class likes stability more than turmoil and change.

These people were the backbone of Huangfu Song's support in defending Chang'an City, and they were also the main force in resisting Luoyang's new policies.

There are prerequisites for the old forces in Chang'an to support Huangfu Song. The first is that Huangfu Song cannot rebel, cannot establish himself, and has no ambition to establish his own kingdom.

The second point, naturally, is that Huangfu Song cannot surrender to Wang Jing and allow the new policy to be promoted in the Guanzhong region.

Guo Jia was fully aware of these two points, so he seized upon Huangfu Jianshou's words. As long as he deliberately spread the news, he could damage Huangfu Song's personal image and target the first point to trigger a crisis of trust within Chang'an City.

His evil mind and ruthless schemes made Sheyuan feel frightened just by hearing them: "Genius, he really lives up to his reputation."

Sheyuan sighed, it turned out that there was only a wrong name, but no wrong nickname. No wonder Guo Jia's nickname contained the word "ghost", it was obvious that he didn't want to be a human being.

"Tell me your terms."

She Yuan knew that Guo Jia now had the absolute upper hand and there was no room for refusal on his side.

What's more, the situation in Chang'an City was indeed very bad. The noble families and powerful clans who supported Huangfu Song were also creating various problems themselves, causing Chang'an City to continue to fall into civil strife and decline.

If they are not dealt with, the crisis in Chang'an City will not be resolved.

But if we deal with them, the crisis in Chang'an City will break out immediately.

It is like a patient with a terminal illness. If he takes medicine, he will die immediately, but if he doesn't take medicine, he will not live for a few days. In order to stay alive, he can only introduce help from outside.

But looking around, he saw either Qiang barbarians or ambitious Western Liang warlords like Ma Teng and Han Sui. The only person Huangfu Song could choose to cooperate with was Wang Jing, who occupied Luoyang.

Although Wang Jing also had ambitions and caused many things, at least Wang Jing respected the Han Emperor and did not openly rebel and start a new regime. What's more, he managed Luoyang very well.

Therefore, Huangfu Song could reluctantly accept cooperation with Wang Jing.

The two sides had already reached this consensus, but they each served their own masters and had to fight for the interests and conditions. Guo Jia would not be polite to Sheyuan: "We can sell the grain, even at a price lower than the current market price."

"Is this true?"

Huangfu Jianshou couldn't believe his ears when he heard this. From the beginning till now, Guo Jia hadn't said a word of human language, and now he was suddenly a human, and he was still a little uncomfortable with it.

But he didn't know that Guo Jia gave him a sweet date before hitting him with a stick. Sure enough, after he ate the sweet date, the stick fell.

Guo Jia smiled and said, "In exchange for the conditions, the General of Chariots and Cavalry must allow our business organization to enter the Guanzhong area to invest and do business. No one, any organization or force can stop us."

Huangfu Jianshou agreed without thinking: "This is easy. I will talk to my father when I get back. It's just a matter of a few words."

But Sheyuan was not as easy to fool as Huangfu Jianshou. He frowned and asked Guo Jia: "Does not stopping it mean setting up checkpoints to collect taxes?"

He is also a man of wisdom and strategy, and it is indeed not easy to fool him.

Facing Sheyuan's question, Guo Jia smiled calmly: "Brother Wenxiong, please rest assured that we can discuss in advance how much money to pay and reach a mutually acceptable number, but other than that, we will not accept any more levies."

"This……"

Sheyuan opened his eyes wide. He didn’t expect that Guo Jia actually had this idea!

During the Han Dynasty, there was actually no fixed amount for commercial taxes. This was mainly because commercial operations were highly mobile and tax collection was difficult, unlike in-kind taxes such as land taxes.

The commodity economy was more developed in the Western Han Dynasty, while the natural economy was more developed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Overall, it was quite complicated.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. For the taxation situation at that time, we can refer to the Jinbu Law in the Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Slips. This is some laws in the second year of Empress Lü, which mentioned markets, rent collection, and pledge money.

The market at that time was in a dedicated area, which is what "The Book of Zhou: Kaogongji" called "the court in front and the market behind". The market was surrounded by a wall, with the residence of the officials in the middle. It was a combination of workshops and shops, and was aimed at "sitting merchants".

For traveling merchants, there were various checkpoints. There were many checkpoints at that time, such as Hangu Pass, and merchants had to pay to transport goods in and out of the checkpoints.

After Emperor Wu of Han promoted Confucianism as the only doctrine in the world, he began to wage large-scale foreign wars and marched north to conquer the Huns.

In the past, the imperial court was short of money, so it tried to use the merchants' methods and suppressed them with policies such as equal transportation and suanmin. Equal transportation was the government organizing large-scale material transportation, and suanmin was a property tax.

The late Western Han Dynasty advocated restoration of the past, especially Wang Mang's reforms, which made the economy a mess.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the farms owned by landlords and powerful people were able to be self-sufficient. Even if they did business, the development of commerce actually regressed.

Nowadays, with warlords in power, the business environment is even worse. When merchants go out to do business, they not only have to face risks such as robbers and bandits, but they are also exploited by various forces. It is even common for the materials they transport to be "forcibly confiscated" and they have no way to appeal.

Chang'an City is close to the Western Regions and is a must-pass place on the Silk Road. It is a large transit station leading to the Western Regions.

Therefore, Huangfu Song was able to collect money and support an army of 40,000. If food prices had not soared so much, he could even live a pretty comfortable life.

What does this rely on?
It all depends on commercial commission!

But if the tax amount is agreed upon, it cannot be increased by force, which means that the initiative of taxation is handed over to Wang Jing. Moreover, according to Sheyuan's knowledge, in the Guanzhong area, many aristocratic families in the counties and towns below rely on setting up checkpoints to make money.

Moreover, the merchants mainly came from Luoyang, which meant that the powerful and wealthy families in Chang'an City all collectively sucked the blood of the merchants and took what they wanted.

If we sign a trade agreement with Wang Jing, will we no longer be able to receive these benefits in the future?
When the public is against it, how will Huangfu Song deal with it?

It can be seen that Guo Jia had no good intentions. He still tried to promote part of the new policy to the Chang'an area and crack down on the powerful people in the Guanzhong area. At the same time, he was also making cards in the void, making Huangfu Song, who had always been a powerful force in the Guanzhong area, rely solely on the capital Luoyang, and eventually become a pawn in Wang Jing's hands.

Sheyuan is not stupid. He doesn’t understand modern economics, nor does he understand what commodity economy is, but he knows what human heart is!

The benefits that were once available to people are suddenly not allowed to be taken. It would be strange if the vested interests were not furious.

Therefore, Sheyuan had to bite the bullet and stand up: "Wait, I'm afraid we need to discuss this condition again."

However, Guo Jia had a cold face: "Other matters can be discussed, but this matter cannot be discussed. Constant and uniform tariff collection is our bottom line."

They could give in on anything, but Wang Jing had told Guo Jia in advance that this was the only thing they could not give in on.

In times of chaos, there are too many local thugs who want to take advantage of the situation to extort money. If they are not banned at the source, once they spread, they will seriously hinder the flow of goods between different regions.

Wang Jing is building Luoyang and Yanzhou into a huge production base and establishing a huge production system.

At that time, a steady stream of products will be manufactured and will need to be sold, so an unobstructed shipping channel is essential.

It’s like a person needs an aorta to transport blood and nutrients to maintain their health. Once the artery is blocked, it can be a fatal situation.

So everything can be given up, but this condition must be adhered to and implemented.

Wang Jing didn't want to wait for factories and workshops to be built and massive amounts of products to be manufactured, only to have them pile up in warehouses and not be sold.

That would be a disaster that would trigger an economic crisis and lead to the complete collapse of the production system.

In order to show his determination, Guo Jia even threatened Sheyuan: "In order to achieve this goal, we don't mind using force. By then, it will be too late to regret."

The tone was so firm that Sheyuan felt suffocated when he heard it, because he could see that Guo Jia was not joking and what he said was absolutely serious!
"OK then."

Sheyuan had no choice but to agree. After all, no matter how many troubles he had, they would be matters for the future. If he didn't agree, there would be no future.

The Qiang people and the Western Liang army were both eyeing Chang'an. If Huangfu Song encountered a powerful enemy like Qi Hou again, he would probably have to kill himself, which would be a more pleasant death.

Sheyuan didn't dare to bet whether Wang Jing would attack Guanzhong. After all, Wang Jing's army was stationed in Tongguan, and the strategic initiative was not on Chang'an's side.

Regarding the amount of tariffs to be collected, Sheyuan simply discussed with Guo Jia a 10% commission rate. After returning, Sheyuan would have to consult Huangfu Song before deciding the specific amount.

After discussing the tariff issue, Guo Jia proposed another condition: "In order to promote trade from Luoyang to Chang'an, we plan to fund the construction of another road. Don't worry, we can provide the money and food ourselves, and you don't need to pay for it."

Sheyuan was puzzled: "Road?"

He had never seen cement, and he didn't know that Wang Jing had already built a road between Yanzhou and Luoyang.

However, the road system was already well known to the world during the Xian Qin Dynasty. A convenient road system can often be used to transport troops and supplies. Therefore, it not only has commercial significance, but also tactical and even strategic significance. It is definitely not a trivial matter.

He wanted to reject it, but when he saw Guo Jia's aggressive look, he knew in his heart that this condition could not be refused.

"Okay, I agree."

Although it would be faster and more convenient for Luoyang to send troops to Chang'an after the road was repaired, She Yuan knew that Huangfu Song really had no intention of separatist regime and becoming a king. In fact, if Wang Jing had not been so reckless and stood against the aristocratic families and powerful clans, Huangfu Song might have come to join him long ago.

As long as Wang Jing still respects the Han Emperor, Huangfu Song will not rebel.

Therefore, building roads is not really unacceptable.

But if Huangfu Song was replaced by another prince, even a relative of the Han Dynasty like Liu Yan and Liu Biao, this road would probably not be built.

After all, these people really want to establish their own kingdom, so it would be strange if they could accept it. (End of this chapter)