After all, Han Sui was also a tycoon. From a white man to an army of 100,000, he survived the annexation by dozens of princes in Liangzhou. How could such a person do such a stupid thing?

Liu Zhang frowned slightly and said loudly: "Immediately send an order. Yang Ren, the governor of Shangyong, is temporarily acting as the governor of Hanzhong. You must guard the pass. I will arrive in Hanzhong soon. In addition, I will immediately convene all the civil and military officials to discuss matters."

"yes."

Liu Zhang took Hao Sheng and Hu Che'er, who were sweating profusely, to the hall. All the civil servants were talking a lot in the hall. They were all a little uneasy when they saw that Jing Yi had not recovered yet and encountered a powerful enemy.

Wei Yan glanced left and right, and when Liu Zhang sat on the throne, he went out to pay homage to Liu Zhang and said: "My lord, why do you care about the little Xiliang thief? Give me 40,000 soldiers and horses to control the Shangyong counties in Hanzhong, and I will defeat Ma Chao.

Capture Xiliang for my lord."

"It is to recover Xiliang." Xu Jing corrected: "Xiliang was originally our Han territory, but now it is occupied by rebels. My lord has taken it as his own responsibility to help the Han Dynasty, so he should recover it, not seize it."

"If you have the energy to chew words, it's better to draw your sword once on the battlefield." Wei Yan glanced sideways at Xu Jing and bowed to Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang smiled and said to everyone: "Do you know what I want you to do when I ask you to come here to discuss matters?"

"Huh?" All the civil and military officials looked at each other. They had just heard that Wu Ban was seriously injured and that Ma Chao had gathered the Qiang people and led an army of 80,000 to attack the city. Isn't it obvious what he was going to do?

Fazheng glanced at Liu Zhang's relaxed expression, realized something slightly, and asked, "Don't you, my lord, want to discuss the Xiliang soldiers' invasion of the border?"

"That's right." Liu Zhang said in a deep voice: "Compared with the Xiliang Army, we have a major issue that needs to be discussed that is more related to the future and destiny of Jingyi. I have decided." Liu Zhang stood up and said: "Reopen the Southwest Silk Road."

Liu Zhang was very vocal. In fact, Liu Zhang had been planning this decision for a long time. For several months, he had been weighing the pros and cons of opening the Silk Road, inspecting Yizhou's commercial vitality, and its financial, food and manpower base.

The former is the prerequisite for benefits from opening the Silk Road, and the latter is the guarantee for opening the Silk Road.

"what? What?"

All the ministers, including Fa Zheng, were shocked and started talking. Wang Lei's face flashed with righteousness, and he was about to step out, but was stopped by Huang Quan: "Don't you know what my lord's temper is like? What he decides is a matter of death."

Can it be changed? Just be patient and listen to the lord’s reasons first, and then give him advice before it’s too late.”

Wang Lei struggled for a moment and took back his steps. Today, he has been imprisoned several times. Although Liu Zhang released him every time after doing what he had done, from the very beginning when he decided to take the imperial examination in Jiangzhou, to

He massacred many clans, but he never changed a single thing Liu Zhang decided.

Fazheng came out of the queue and bowed calmly: "My lord, the opening of the Southwest Silk Road is very inconvenient. I believe my lord has already understood it. Why is my lord suddenly determined to open the Silk Road?"

"There is no reason. We have a small population, low taxes, and few talents. Without major reforms, we will never be Cao Cao's opponent in the future. We will die sooner or later. Why not give it a try?"

Liu Zhang said in a deep voice, looking at the civil and military officials who were whispering to each other, all with anxious faces. The opening of the Southwest Silk Road would consume a lot of money, food, and young men, and they would also face harassment from barbarians. Everyone knew this well.

.

Listening to the discussion of the civil servants, Liu Zhang walked down the steps. As soon as he stepped down the last step, the civil servants immediately stopped talking.

"Everyone, keep talking. I came down just to hear your opinions more clearly. I don't want you to talk."

Liu Zhang frowned. It seemed that his image in the hearts of these civil servants was not very good. Especially many civil servants who were transferred from local areas were still unclear about Liu Zhang's temper. They all thought that Liu Zhang was a man who acted arbitrarily and killed people.

This is not good.

Liu Zhang glanced at the civil servants and then turned to Wang Lei. Wang Lei looked around and saw that no one dared to speak. He was not afraid. The worst he could do was to go to jail again. He was not afraid of death. Why should he be afraid of this?

He immediately came out of the queue and bowed loudly: "My lord, what you said is inappropriate."

Gong Zhi, Dong He and other civil servants who were transferred from the local area all looked at Wang Lei, and Liu Zhang also looked at Wang Lei coldly.

Wang Lei's face did not change as he continued: "My lord said that our population is not as good as Cao Cao's, our taxation is not as good as Cao Cao's, our talents are not as good as Cao Cao's, and we cannot win without ingenious strategies. This is not wrong.

But there is more than just Cao Cao in the world. We have formed an alliance with Sun Quan. If Cao Cao goes south, Jiangdong will also be in crisis. Sun Quan will definitely not sit idly by. If Cao Cao attacks Jingxiang, Sun Quan will leave Hefei. If Cao Cao attacks Hefei, our army will leave.

Fancheng, use the south to fight against the north, even if Cao Cao is strong, we may not lose."

After Wang Lei finished speaking, he buried his head and waited for Liu Zhang to make an apology. All the civil servants looked at Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang smiled: "Well said." He pointed at Wang Lei and turned to other civil servants: "Did you see it? This is what a civil servant should be like. It's not like you. When I come down, all opinions will be ignored."

It shrunk into the large intestine."

"Hahaha." The generals laughed. Liu Zhang turned back coldly and glanced at them. Gao Pei and others immediately became solemn.

Liu Zhang loudly said to the civil officials: "Only by fighting with warriors and admonishing by civil servants can the world prosper. If you really have any opinions, speak them out boldly. Although I, Liu Zhang, may not necessarily listen, I am not a coward and will not offend you."

Liu Zhang paused for a moment, then suddenly pulled out the sword in Zhang Ren's hand and said to all the civil servants: "Today, I, Liu Zhang, swear an oath on this sword. From now on, whenever civil servants give advice, no matter what the remonstrance is, the remonstrance will not be punished."

Liu Zhang inserted the sword on the red pillar. It seemed that his sword skills were not in vain. He turned to Wang Fu and said: "Master Wang, send someone to write on this pillar the words "Admonishing officials not guilty".

All civil servants, not only those who are in the hall today, but also those who will enter this hall in the future, dare to speak out and give advice."

"Lord Shengming."

"Lord, Holy Ming." All the civil and military officials paid their respects.

"Okay, let's talk about it."

Liu Zhang stepped up the steps and looked back. The civil servants discussed for a while and finally let go. Gong Zhi stepped forward and said: "My lord, what Wang Lei said is not unreasonable. Moreover, now is the time when Xiliang troops are approaching the border. Even if

Discussing the opening of the Silk Road should wait until the Xiliang soldiers are defeated."

"Yeah yeah."

Dong He stepped forward and paid homage: "My lord, my subordinates believe that the most urgent task now is not to revitalize commerce, but to revitalize agriculture."

The civil and military officials immediately booed when they saw Dong He. Who doesn't know that Liu Zhang is now vigorously supporting business, which is a basic national policy, and he actually came out to oppose it. Isn't this too short-sighted?

Dong He looked calm and said in a deep voice: "Based on the population, if Cao Cao unified the north, he would be able to dispatch at least 500,000 troops, all of whom are northern warriors. We must fight with the same number. In other words, we need

During the period of rest and recuperation, he accumulated food and fodder for an army of 500,000 to fight.

Now our two prefectures, Jingyi and Jingyi, have just encountered a major chaos, and their grain output has just been sufficient. According to our strategy, we need to rest for four to five years, and now one year has passed.

My subordinates estimate that even if the money, food, materials and people are not used for other purposes, we will not be able to accumulate enough supplies in three or four years. What’s more, we still have the Qiang and Xiliang troops to cause nuisance. Therefore, my subordinates believe that even if the business is done now,

To develop both agriculture and agriculture, we should also focus on agriculture. It is absolutely not feasible to open the Silk Road."

The civil servants discussed for a while and came out one after another.

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

Liu Zhang smiled and nodded, and said loudly: "I am very happy to see that everyone can express what is in their heart. Well, I will answer you one by one."

"Wang Lei said that we have Jiangdong as our ally and are not afraid of Cao Cao. This is really a big mistake.

Who are Jiangdong Wenwu? They are experts at playing seesaw. Cao Cao is powerful, so they will definitely ally with us to fight against Cao Cao. If Cao Cao attacks Jingxiang, Sun Quan will definitely leave Hefei.

But, are we going to always be weaker than Cao Cao? Are we going to be like Jiangdong, huddled in Jingyi and Yizhou? I, Liu Zhang, am going to be an Anlehou Lord in this land until the end of my life? Let me tell you."

Liu Zhang looked at the civil and military officials coldly: "Today I will tell all the civil and military officials in Jing Yi one thing. You must always remember that Han and traitors are not at odds with each other, and the king's industry is not in peace. Even if I, Liu Zhang, spill my blood on the battlefield, and the national traitor Cao Cao does not die for a day,

As long as the country is not unified, I, the warrior of Jingyi, will never rest."

All civil and military personnel changed their colors in awe.

"So." Liu Zhang said in a deep voice: "We are not waiting for Cao Cao to attack us. We want to make the Northern Expedition, rescue the emperor, attack Yecheng, and kill Cao Cao. If we can achieve our goal, we will not be able to do it all the time.

If Cao Cao is strong and we are weak, we will surely become strong one day."

"And that day, will the people of Jiangdong still be allies with us? Will that piece of alliance paper still have any effect? ​​Therefore, we will face many enemies sooner or later. In this case, we have a small population and low taxes.

, we must come up with unique strategies to make up for our inherent shortcomings."

"My subordinates are stupid, but my master's words will wake him up like a dream." Wang Lei bowed deeply.

Liu Zhang continued: "Let's talk about Gong Zhi again. Gong Zhi said that the Xiliang army is pressing down on the border. We should not open the Silk Road at this time. Let me tell you, the Xiliang army is very aggressive. It's just taking advantage of the chaos in Hanzhong. As soon as I arrive,

Can Hanzhong and Xiliang cavalry still fly past Yangping Pass?

At this time, our internal affairs cannot be stopped. Let me tell you, in this Xiliang incident, first the leader of the Qingyi Qiang was killed, and then the Wu Ban was seriously injured. Someone must have instigated it, and it was probably Cao Cao.

Why are they instigating? Isn't it just to make us unable to rest assured in our internal affairs, so that we can wait until Cao Cao destroys Yuan Shao's forces in the north, and then destroys us? Can we be fooled by them?

This time Xiliang invades the border, you don't have to worry at all. We have natural barriers in Sichuan and Shu. I don't want to fight. Unless all the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong arrive, otherwise, don't even think about shaking Hanzhong, Ma Chao, and you, the clown."

"My subordinate is not good at military affairs and speaks nonsense. Please don't blame me, my lord." Gong Zhi bowed and returned to the queue.

"The last one is Dong He. I really didn't expect that there is such a great talent in this place. With Dong He's foresight, he is much better than those rebels who were executed. He should have entered the Mufu a long time ago. He was transferred from Jiangyang

When you entered Jiangzhou, I did not check you."

All the civil servants looked at Dong He with envy, but Dong He looked calm.

Liu Zhang said: "What Dong He said is right. We don't have enough food to fight the war, so why do we do business? Can copper coins be eaten? Can gold be eaten? If the people don't have enough to eat, who will buy your things? If you go to other places

If the state buys grain, isn’t it that someone else’s lifeline is in someone else’s hands?”

"However." Liu Zhang changed the topic: "I have said it before, risk your life and survive. Dong He also said it himself, even if we develop for four years and accumulate a little food and grass, how long can we fight with an army of 500,000?

We can't defeat Cao Cao if we continue to do so. How can we talk about the Northern Expedition?"

Dong He came out and paid homage: "What my lord means is that instead of being killed by Cao Cao in the end, why not take a gamble before the decisive battle and strive to gain the strength to compete with Cao Cao?"

Liu Zhang nodded.

"It's too risky."

"This is too risky." All the civil servants discussed it one after another.

"Wei Yan, do you think it's risky?" Liu Zhang asked Wei Yan.

Wei Yan came out of the queue and said with a strong voice: "Wealth comes from taking risks. There are as many risks as there are benefits. If you don't dare to take risks, it's better to go home and nurse your children."
To be continued...