The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 321

Angrily, Sun Luban broke into Yuewang Palace, angrily told Sun Shao what Xie Jing said, and yelled to lead the troops back to the Qing Dynasty, kill all the treacherous officials around Sun Quan, and let Sun Deng return to Jianye to continue to be the prince .Her voice was so loud that Sun Shao's ears were buzzing, and even the harem could hear it. Guan Feng put down her son and hurried over. She was meeting the pregnant Xiahou Hui head-on. With a wry smile, they shook their heads in unison.

Sun Shao frowned, beckoning Sun Luban not to get angry, and to sit down and talk.Sun Luban was furious. Although he sat down, he still waved his arms and shouted loudly.Sun Shao had no doubts at all. If he were in the Wu Palace now, Sun Luban would definitely kill those traitors she thought were on the spot.

"Dahu, you are also a general leading troops now, why are you so impulsive?" Guan Feng scolded with a downcast face as soon as he entered the palace gate.Sun Luban belonged to the lawless type. At home, she could only listen to Zhou Xun's words, but in the palace, only Sun Shao and Guan Feng's words were effective, and everyone else ignored them.Especially for Guan Feng, she has always been grateful for Guan Feng's help, and has great respect for this sister-in-law. Seeing that Guan Feng is unhappy, although she is anxious, she has no choice but to put down her temper.

"What's going on, to make Duhu so angry?" Guan Feng turned to Sun Shao, and said angrily, "Are you mad at Duhu again?"

Before Sun Shao could speak, Sun Luban rushed to say, "Sister-in-law, this is not about Brother Wang's business, it's something wrong with the country of Wu." She said something important, and then insisted that there were treacherous ministers around Sun Quan who separated their father and son. As a result, the prince Sun Deng worked as a supervisor in Yuzhang Porcelain Factory, and was framed for murdering Sun Li.

Xia Houhui smiled and said nothing when she heard the words, Guan Feng also shook her head with a wry smile, she was already slow enough for political schemes, but she also knew that this was not a matter of treacherous ministers, it was simply Sun Quan's own distrust of Sun Deng.It is simply impossible for Sun Shao to come forward to help Sun Deng solve this matter, and it is not reliable for Sun Luban to lead troops back to the Qing Dynasty.Sun Luban's current soldiers are from the State of Yue. Sun Shao has been trying his best to avoid war with the State of Wu. Can the soldiers of the State of Yue be allowed to fight against the State of Wu?What's more, it was Sun Luban who went.

"Dahu, this is your nonsense." Guan Feng lowered his face, and pushed Sun Luban reproachfully: "Even if there is a gap between Zigao and your father, it is still father and son, and your eldest brother is separated from them after all." , You asked him to help you fight against the country of Wu? Is this reasonable? Besides, if a fight really starts, others will definitely say that King Wu and his son are at odds, and they want their daughter to lead soldiers back to help. Isn't this a laughing stock? "

Sun Luban rolled his eyes and fell silent, but his face was still full of dissatisfaction.

"Okay, Eldest Princess, my family, I have something to say, maybe you have misunderstood." Xia Houhui persuaded gently: "It is not appropriate to say that King Wu asked the prince to supervise the Yuzhang Porcelain Factory. But it is not necessarily a bad thing. You also know that Yuzhang’s porcelain is the most important export of Wu State. Why is the price so high? On the one hand, of course, the quality of Yuzhang’s porcelain is high, and on the other hand, it is also because it is the only one. There is no semicolon, I don’t know how many people are eyeing Yuzhang Porcelain Factory. Your father can be more careful.”

"Then he can't suspect that Zigao killed Sun Li." Sun Luban said indignantly, "I know who Zigao is best. He lost his mother since he was a child, and he cares most about us brothers and sisters." How could she have the heart to harm Sun Li? On the contrary, it was that stinky woman who thought she was young and beautiful, fascinated her father, and wanted to let Sun Li take the crown prince. Unfortunately, her luck was not good. Well, Sun Li died when he was only 20 years old. God's will, how can he blame Zigao for the disaster?"

Xia Houhui smiled slightly. Sun Luban was a bit unreliable in her biased view of things. She had a problem with Sun Li's mother, Mrs. Wang, and she even had a bad impression of Sun Li. She actually gloated at Sun Li's death.She stepped forward, supported Sun Luban's shoulders, and said with a soft smile, "You, don't think so badly about your father. It is possible to listen to and trust me lightly, but it is impossible to really kill Zigao." .Even if Zi Gao is really suspected, at most he has taken the crown prince and demoted him to a commoner. How could he kill Zi Gao so seriously? Don't worry, send someone back to ask the specific situation first, and then make a decision .”

"Well, if that stinky woman is really playing tricks, you have to help me deal with her." Sun Luban held Xia Houhui's hand and said.

"Don't worry, if someone really wants to bully Zigao and your mother, your eldest brother will definitely not sit idly by." Xia Houhui patted Sun Luban's hand, pushed her and said, "Aren't there some secret soldiers in the fifth battalion?" ? Send a few back to Jianye to take a look, and write a letter to ask your mother yourself, and it won’t be too late to call after you clarify the situation.”

Sun Luban nodded repeatedly, clenched his fists, and strode away again.

Sun Shao smiled wryly: "Yuanrong, do you need to add fuel to the fire? Dahu is enough to cause trouble, why don't you push her again?"

Xia Houhui smiled, and said lightly: "You don't know about Dahu's temper? If you don't let her do it, the more she insists on doing it, it will save trouble if she finds out. The treacherous ones should be eliminated earlier. Otherwise, if there is a father-son fratricide, not only Wu's reputation will be damaged, but even our country of Yue will be implicated."

Sun Shao blinked, but didn't say anything.Based on his understanding of Xiahouhui, he did not believe that Xiahouhui was really just trying to appease Sun Luban. Maybe she was thinking of something, but it was hard to say it outright.However, since he didn't say it directly, there was no need for him to stop it.

"When the monsoon blows in May, I will go to Axum to discuss important matters with the Romans. After the New Year, I will go to Tianzhu to check the food preparation situation, and I will leave the matter of Funan to you two again." Sun Shao greeted The two sat down and arranged as usual: "The affairs of the court are discussed by the prime minister, doctor Yushi, and Da Nongling. You don't need to interfere too much. They have been in power for many years, and I still trust them. I am also very relieved that there is a silver screen in martial arts and beauty in literary affairs. It is just that this accident may take a long time, and the people from the Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Wei will rush to Funan in autumn and winter to receive On the one hand, you may have to be careful not to cause trouble."

Guan Feng nodded, and said worriedly: "Your Majesty, since the troops from Wei and Shu are about to arrive in autumn and winter, why not wait a year? Although it is said that your Majesty has [-] sailors this time, and [-] Wu Guobu pawns, but I always feel that there are still too few. Especially there are almost no cavalry, what if the Sassanids see our hypocrisy and become malicious?"

Xia Houhui also had the same concerns: "My lord, what the queen said is true. Although the navy is only infantry when it goes ashore, and those who attack the city don't worry about it, but without cavalry, they cannot fight against the Sasanians who mainly have cavalry. Confrontation. Ardashir is a tyrannical hero, he is negotiating with us on the one hand, but at the same time he keeps attacking the Romans, it seems that he will not die in the heart of Rome.

Sun Shao didn't answer them immediately, because during this period of time, in order to discuss the issue of sending troops, there were many ministers who held objections. Prime Minister Yu Fan had always disagreed with sending troops. It is enough to prolong the time of desperately fighting with the Sasanians. If the Yue Kingdom sends troops, the forces will be involved in the war, and the Yue Kingdom is not a good time to join the war.

Yu Fan is experienced, and his opinions represent many opinions. Even some relatively stable generals in the army, such as Lu Xun and Yue Hai, agree with his opinions. The country of Axum, which the Romans brought to their lips, could not bear to give up. If he occupied the country of Axum, then he would have stepped on a foot in Africa. Even if he is not in a hurry to develop it now, it will be a good foreshadowing for the future.

"I'll be careful. I'm not going to fight them this time." Sun Shao explained: "If it's just a talk, the Sassanians may not take us seriously. Only the warships sailed to the Persian Gulf. Let him see for himself. Only with our strength can he really sit down and negotiate."

Seeing that Sun Shao had made up his mind, Guan Feng and Xia Houhui had no choice but to stop persuading him.They also knew that Sun Shao was not an impulsive person. Since he was determined to lead troops to Axum thousands of miles away to meet the Romans, he naturally had his reasons and arrangements.

In February of the 15th year of the Republic of China, Sun Shao left Temu City and rushed to Ceylon Island.General Zhuge Zhi and Minister of Ji Zhang Wen came to welcome Ceylon, and Nimar, king of Sinhala, also came with his ministers. When he saw his daughter Yasutra and grandson Sunni, he smiled happily and held his grandson in his arms. Ni kissed the saliva on the face.

Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen took Sun Shao to inspect the warehouse.In recent years, Tianzhu has increased its financial resources because of its business with the Yue Kingdom, and its life is better. It no longer has to fight and plunder like before. Except for the sporadic attacks of Salbaha and Feroz in Zhuluo, everyone They seldom fought wars and devoted themselves to production. The output of grain and cotton increased significantly. This time, Sun Shao planned to balance the strength of Rome and Sasanian. A large amount of grain was not shipped from Funan, but purchased from Tianzhu.Grain, cotton and various other materials, this is an astonishingly large business. Sun Shao specially sent Zhang Wen to Tianzhu to take charge of this matter, hoping that he could lower the price more.Zhang Wen lived up to his mission. For the first time, he brought together more than a dozen small countries in Tianzhu, including Zhuluo, Zheluo and Pandiya, and invited bids one by one to examine their supply capabilities and prices. The Tianzhu people who came here killed each other so badly, the price dropped again and again, and finally started with almost [-]% of the original estimated price.

"Ceylon only has half of the grain, all of it is stored grain." Zhang Wen pointed to the tall granaries and said with three points of pride: "Considering the distance, it is most cost-effective to concentrate the granaries in Karachi, but I was worried that it was too close to Guishuang and the Sassanians, and the Tianzhu people were vulnerable. If they were robbed by them, it would not be worthwhile, so I only arranged half of them there. It is guarded there. As long as the king gives an order, the right general will escort the supplies to the west and meet the king in the Gulf of Aden. If this is just a negotiation and there is no need to start a war, the food should be enough. In case there is any discord , The war has been dragging on for a long time, I will arrange people to ship from here at any time, directly across the Arabian Sea, and send it to the Gulf of Aden. months."

Sun Shao nodded again and again. It can be said that Zhang Wen had prepared for all kinds of situations. No matter whether he went to fight or not this time, at least there would be no problems in the part he was in charge of.

"Huishu, you did a good job." Sun Shao praised.

"Hey..." Zhang Wen laughed, and said again: "Actually, there is something I didn't tell the king in the Shangshu."

"What's the matter?" Sun Shao smiled calmly.

"The minister could have lowered the price of the Tianzhu people a little more, and it could be reduced by about 2000%, but after weighing the matter, the minister still traded with them at the current price. It will probably cost an extra [-] million to [-] million yuan this time."

Sun Shao still didn't say a word, he already knew about it.This time, about 300 million shi of grain and various materials were prepared. The original prepared funds were about 20 billion yuan. In the end, Zhang Wen adopted the method of bidding, and the matter was completed with only 13 billion yuan. However, Sun Shao However, I got news from multiple sources, saying that the Tianzhu people lowered the prices of each other, and in the end it was very tragic, almost selling at a small profit-of course, because of the huge quantity, although it is a small profit, it is still profitable-but Zhang Wen did not choose The one with the lowest price chose a few countries with relatively higher prices but stronger strength, at the cost of spending more than 1 million yuan.

For the rich country of Yue, more than 1 million yuan is not a big number, and these materials are not given in vain after they arrive in Rome. They have to be exchanged for more benefits, but [-] million yuan is not enough for the country of Yue. It’s not a number—it’s enough to kill a hundred corrupt officials—if Zhang Wen is found to be corrupt because of this, then ten of his heads won’t be enough to chop him off.

"Why?" Sun Shao sized Zhang Wen up for a while, and then asked slowly when he saw that his face was calm and showed no signs of worry.

"I am worried that the war with Sassan will be protracted." Zhang Wen put away his smile at this time, showing some worry: "If there is an increase in troops at that time, the amount of various materials will be greatly increased. Taste some sweetness, and the follow-up acquisition will be smoother. I have already booked with them this year's harvest, and in two months, the first season of rice will enter the warehouse. The population of Tianzhu is nearly ten times that of Funan. From Tianzhu Although the price of buying grain is higher, the transportation distance is shorter, the time is shorter, and the overall cost is less. Generally speaking, it is still cost-effective. If they are pressed too hard this time, they will have no profit I’m afraid that if we talk about business in the future, we’ll add a lot of details.”

After Zhang Wen finished speaking, he looked at Sun Shao quietly. Zhuge listened straight away, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I can prove to Jixiang that he didn't get a profit from it. During the period when Jixiang presided over the acquisition in Tianzhu, all expenses were paid. There are accounts to check, and the gifts from those Tianzhu people are also recorded."

"Hey, it seems that the two of you are reconciled." Sun Shao laughed.

When Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen heard this, their faces changed immediately. They took a step back, raised their skirts and knelt down on the ground, and said in unison: "My lord, Mingjian!"

With his hands behind his back, Sun Shao looked down at the two of them, with a look of hesitation in his eyes.He is not disgusted with Zhang Wen's self-assessment. Doing business is not about killing everyone, but making people profitable. This is his consistent proposition for long-term cooperation. Generally speaking, Zhang Wen's approach is correct.It's just that Zhuge Zhi took the initiative to defend Zhang Wen, which is a bit wrong.Sun Shao has secret soldiers in Ceylon, so it is impossible to be ignorant of Zhang Wen's situation, and he is not someone who easily offends ministers. Even if Zhang Wen is guilty, he will not take Zhang Wen down now. At least he should be brought back to Funan, handed over to Tingwei Mansion to find out the truth of the matter, and then punish him according to his crime.Zhuge Zhi was so eager to explain to him, it means that their relationship is very good, so good that Zhuge Zhi can disregard his own safety.He sent Zhang Wen to Ceylon, on the one hand, for the sake of business, and on the other hand, it was for the purpose of checking and balancing Zhuge Zhi. What's the point if the two people you love are irreversible?
It's not that he doesn't believe in Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen, but from the perspective of governance, he can't tolerate such things happening. Maybe Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen are really innocent, but it's hard to guarantee that they won't If there is such a situation of civil and military collusion, his move to delegate power to ministers will become a self-defeating trick.

"Get up." Sun Shao waved his hand, and he had already made a decision in a moment, he had to separate these two people.Zhang Wen wanted to arrange the subsequent material matters, but he couldn't move for the time being, so he had to transfer Zhuge directly.

At this moment, Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen also came back to their senses. There were fine beads of sweat on their foreheads, and they lowered their heads with lingering fear, but they didn't dare to look at each other. In the short breath just now, they had already felt Danger.Sun Shao was usually very easy-going with ministers, but he was merciless when he actually punished people.When he was still in Qian Tangcheng, he took a large-scale crackdown on corruption. The first thing he did was to dismiss Lu Ji, the official censor who was not effective in supervision. Now the two of them have committed a taboo in the officialdom. Zhuge Zhi didn't help Zhang Wen, but pushed himself into the pit of fire.

Sun Shao didn't say anything, just comforted them a few words, and then continued to check with a normal face. After checking all the matters, he was very satisfied with Zhang Wen's work, and also agreed with his practice of giving profits to the Tianzhu people.After Zhang Wen withdrew, Sun Shao left Zhuge Zhi behind.

"Ji Gong, how many years have you been in Ceylon?"

Zhuge Zhi thought for a while: "Ten years."

"You have made remarkable achievements in the past ten years in Ceylon, and you have been promoted for a long time, but you are too low-key, and you are usually unwilling to repay your credit, so I don't even know when you discuss your credit. The next week, Zhou Xun returned to Temucheng to report on his work, and I felt wronged for you, and I only found out some things, and I really wronged you."

Zhuge listened straight, a warm current surged in his heart, he quickly thanked him and said: "This is all the duty of the minister, there is no grievance at all."

Sun Shao waved his hand and continued: "If you have meritorious deeds, you will be rewarded, and if you have demerits, you will be punished. This is the rule that I and the lords have set up at the beginning. If you have meritorious service, you should be rewarded. Ordinarily, you should be promoted to supervisor now. But you also know that , The island of Ceylon belongs to Sinhala, and Sinhala is our vassal state, not our state and county. I cannot set up a governor here. Of course, in fact, you, the general who protects Ceylon, are as important as the governor. More than that.”

"I dare not be a minister."

"It's right, it's right." Sun Shao laughed softly: "I bought so much grain in Tianzhu this time, I think you can see that it's not just to help the Romans. I can tell you clearly, I want to take Arabian Island. This island faces the sea on three sides. In addition to the garrison on land, I also need to add two governors, one governor of the Red Sea and one governor of Persia."

Zhuge Zhi was suddenly moved, not to mention whether he could be a superintendent, but to say that Sun Shao told him such things straightforwardly, that was the great trust in him--if Sun Shao didn't say anything, they could vaguely guess some of them. Clue, after all, the operation of purchasing so much grain is too big to be completely covered up, but people including Zhuge Zhi only guessed that Sun Shao was going to occupy Axum, but did not expect that he would occupy the Arabian Island. The navy will also be stationed in the Persian Gulf.

"I would like to fight with the king." Zhuge said loudly, lying on the ground.

"Let's go to the Red Sea." Sun Shao leaned over and patted Zhuge Zhi's shoulder lightly: "Get up, let me explain the general situation of the Red Sea to you first, and then you can ask Chen Hai for the details. I’ve been to the Red Sea a few times.” He smiled, and said again: “You have to be careful, that Zhuzi has been coveting the Red Sea Governor for a long time, and even urged him to sign the pirate, for the sake of the Red Sea Governor, he bid farewell to Chen Hai It's been more than two years."

Zhuge Zhi laughed, very happy: "I thank the king for his trust. I will definitely guard the coast of the Red Sea for thousands of miles. Without the order of the king, neither the Sasanians nor the Romans will be allowed to enter the sea."

"Must." Sun Shao and Zhuge Zhi looked at each other and smiled.

Sun Shao transferred Zhugezhi away, and then rearranged the generals stationed in Ceylon. Considering that Zhang Wen would stay in Ceylon for a period of time, he spent a lot of thought. Lu Mao, the leader, is now the most suitable general to protect Ceylon, but Lu Mao and Zhang Wen are both Wu surnames. Putting them together is easier than Zhuge Zhi and Zhang Wen.After thinking about it for a long time, he suddenly thought of He Jing.He Jing is a member of the He family in Yue County. He has been fighting with Lu Xun in Tianzhu these years. He is extravagant by nature and does not fit in with Lu Xun's modest and gentleman style. Jia is good at jungle warfare, and it is most appropriate to arrange him to the mountainous and forested Ceylon Island.

Sun Shao made up his mind and immediately arranged for someone to go to Panyue and transfer He Jing to the south to succeed Zhuge Zhi and protect him as General Ceylon.

(End of this chapter)