Seeing Pei Qian busy, skillfully dealing with all kinds of meticulous chores, and sometimes picking up the newly completed arbor and discussing with the craftsmen, Pei Mao suddenly became a little worried.
While Pei Qian was free, Pei Mao suddenly asked.
"Wenxing, if the emperor appointed you as the Iron Official Chief, would you like?"
Pei Qian was slightly stunned, and the enthusiasm in his eyes gradually dissipated.
He was enthusiastic about building weapons, and wanted to help the emperor complete the rebellion, but not to be an Iron Official.
Being a close minister of the emperor, and in the future, the right way is to release the county and guard the country.
"Boy, too much is too much." Pei Maoyu gave a serious advice and turned around and left.
"Sir Xie." Pei Qian sent Pei Mao outside the door, watched Pei Mao get into the car, return to the workshop, and looked at the busy craftsmen and the hammers that were rising and falling, and suddenly became a little worried.
Pei Mao got into the car and walked forward along the official road.
The city of Anyi is far away.
Pei Mao suddenly felt upset and ordered people to stop the car, walk to the roadside, and look with his hands behind his back.
The shock brought to him by the Iron Official's trip was like an afterthought, which could not be calmed for a long time.
He always felt something was wrong, but he couldn't say something was wrong.
He could guess what Xun Yu had to ask him for something, but he hoped that he would come forward to contact the Hedong clan and contribute some food.
Of course he could come forward to contact him, but that was to let the emperor set his capital in Anyi, even if it was a temporary measure.
If the emperor had no such intention, the Hedong clan would naturally not have such intention, and it would be meaningless for him to come forward.
This is a very normal exchange of interests, but the iron official's journey made him realize that this is not a normal period and he cannot use the theory of the normal.
Especially the emperor.
Extraordinary things must be with extraordinary people.
Although the emperor is young, he is undoubtedly an extraordinary person.
Can it be possible to understand the emperor’s thoughts based on common sense?
This is a rare opportunity for Hedong and Pei. If he missed it because of a temporary mistake, he would regret it for his whole life.
But if you are impulsive, you may also make mistakes, and hasteness will not be achieved.
As the head of the family, he must be cautious.
"Pei Jun, that man... seems to be Xun Shizhong." The follower next to him suddenly said.
Pei Mao looked up and saw two people standing next to a stream, one of whom looked very much like Xun You.
Pei Mao thought for a while, picked up his clothes, walked across the weedy hillside, and came to Xun You.
Xun You's servant had seen Pei Mao for a long time, but he didn't react. He pressed the long knife around his waist and stood far away.
Xun You lifted the fishing rod in his hand, took off the fish that was twisting his body desperately, and put it into the bucket beside him.
"Lingjun is here to fish?"
Pei Mao smiled and shook his hand. "I'm not so patient. The Shizhong is so happy. He is so arrogant and can still take time to fish."
Xun You looked back at Pei Mao and smiled.
"Lingjun is joking. I am not happy, I am just greedy. I haven't eaten meat for many days and my mouth is light. I catch a few fish for soup and sacrifice to the gods of the five internal organs."
"Then you have to have such leisure time at the minister." Pei Mao walked to Xun You and looked down at the fish in the bucket. "Have you ever heard of Hedong white fish?"
"I heard from Wenxing that it was fat, tender and delicious. But after fishing for a long time, I didn't catch one. I was about to go to the Iron Officer to question him."
Pei Mao laughed. "Then you blame the wrong person. Hedong white fish will overwinter in deep water in winter, and they cannot be caught in tributary streams. If you are interested, I will come to find a boat.
I'll find a suitable place to fish, so that I can enjoy my meal."
Xun You raised the corners of his mouth gently. "Thank you, Lingjun, next time. Although these fish are not white fish, they are still fat and satisfying their cravings."
Pei Mao didn't insist, and nodded with a smile.
He heard Pei Qian say that Xun You is very cunning and rarely interacts with others.
He just tried it and had no idea of making friends.
After standing for a while, Xun You didn't speak, and Pei Mao took his leave with tactfulness.
Xun You was silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "Did Ling Jun come from the Iron Official?"
"Yes." Pei Mao stopped and looked at Xun You expectantly.
"You have talented people in literature and business, and you are more than enough to manage iron officials, so you can rest assured."
Pei Mao's eyebrows raised lightly.
He wanted to ask Xun You where he could see that he was worried, but when he said something, he swallowed it back.
"Thank you, Shizhong."
Xun You nodded and never looked back at Pei Mao again.
Back in the car, Pei Mao ordered to go back to Anyi.
When he quickly entered the city gate of Anyi, he called a servant and asked him to rush back to the Iron Officer, and passed the message to Pei Qian, asking him to do his best.
The attendant turned around and Pei Maocai breathed a sigh of relief. A big stone that lies in his heart finally fell to the ground.
After entering the city, he headed straight to the prefect's mansion.
Xun Yu was meeting guests. A young man in his twenties sat in the hall, with dusty faces and exhausted, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.
Seeing Pei Mao coming in, Xun Yu stood up to introduce.
"Zi Chu, this is Pei Jun, the Shangshu Ling. His name is Mao, his courtesy name is Juguang, and he is famous for his Wenxi clan in Hedong."
The young man stood up and bowed to salute. "Lingling Liu Ba, whose courtesy name is Zichu, has met Lingjun."
Pei Mao bowed and returned the greeting. The two of them made a few remarks, and Xun Yu invited Pei Mao to take their seats.
"Lingjun, I am talking about money and food with Zichu. You are here just in time, so I will discuss it together. Although Zichu is young, he is a hero in Jingzhou. Liu Mu has been invited to the temple many times but has not yet arrived in Hedong.
He served the emperor and was a loyal man. By the way, he had a meeting with Wenxing. This time he went to the court, he also had a contribution from Wenxing."
Pei Mao was very surprised.
First, there was Xun You, and now there was Liu Ba. Pei Qian was in Jingzhou for several years. Are you so intimate about your friendship?
"I heard that I met you first." Pei Mao smiled. "I'm going to tell you that the reason why I came late was that I had no choice but to dare not come to see you."
Xun Yu smiled knowingly, but didn't say it out loud.
"Zichu, Hedong household registration is limited and cannot afford to support the court. If you have any opinions, you might as well say it bluntly. Just ask me to give me some advice."
Liu Ba bowed again and said calmly: "I dare to ask Lingjun whether the people of Hedong are powerless or hesitant and dare not do their best."
Pei Mao looked at Liu Ba again and coughed twice.
"I left my hometown in the court and worked as a husband. I didn't have much interaction with the Hedong tribes. I really don't know what they think. But I guess they should be unable to do so. After all, Hedong has limited household registration, not much cultivated land, and population.
At most, there were less than 100,000 households.”
“How many households are there now?”
Pei Mao avoided answering. "You should ask Xun Fujun, he knows this better than me."
"Then I roughly estimate it, it is calculated in 50,000 households. When some arable land is abandoned, 50,000 households should have enough land to cultivate, and each household should have 30 mu of total. The yield per mu of three stones is three stones, and the tithing is collected
Tax, that's 450,000 shi."
Liu Ba smiled. "In other words, Hedong is not without food, it is just uneven suffering and joy."
Pei Mao frowned and looked at Xun Yu uneasy.
He had a feeling that Liu Ba was not a good person and was not a fool.