Chapter 324: The heart of a villain measures the heart of a gentleman
Chuanziba Ferry.
Niu Fu took over the information just sent by his subordinates, and then, as if stimulated by something, he raised his head and called for someone.
Not long after, two scribes dressed in Confucian shirts walked over quickly, one of them was still breathing a little and looked at Niu Fu in surprise.
Niu Fu glanced at the visitors, then placed the information on the table and motioned for them to take a look for themselves.
The two scribes looked at each other, their eyes fell on the paper, and then they also looked surprised.
"A yield of one hundred dan per mu, this, this... is simply a fantasy!"
"The military advisor thinks the information is wrong?"
Niu Fu looked at the middle-aged scribe who was speaking, and then motioned for the two of them to sit down and talk.
The middle-aged scribe bowed slightly, then knelt down on the futon opposite Niu Fu, picked up the information in his hand, and began to consider it.
Another scribe who was still panting also took his seat, but secretly glanced at Niu Fu with a guilty conscience.
Niu Fu was obviously looking at him. Seeing that he was uneasy, he shouted directly to his face: "Master Wu, you'd better give me an explanation as to why you didn't know anything about such important information even after you went to Anyi."
The chief clerk wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and replied: "The general doesn't know, this Wei family does have some strange means to grow fruits and vegetables in winter, but what kind of crops can produce a hundred stones per mu?
Is it possible? It must be Wei's way of stabilizing people's hearts, so we can't trust it easily."
Niu Fu's expression changed, and he thought it was possible. After all, the yield of one hundred dan per mu... was indeed a bit false.
However, the middle-aged scribe sitting nearby expressed a different opinion.
"Master Wu, you said that Wei's move was to appease the people. Let me ask you, if these crops are really so productive three months later, wouldn't we have missed the opportunity?"
"No, this is absolutely impossible."
This young scribe was somewhat clever. He suddenly raised the decibel level and said excitedly: "Yes, yes, this Wei family must be weakening our strength in disguise. There is no such thing as a crop yielding one hundred shi per mu."
of."
"Mr. Wei wants everyone to believe their lies and plant all these crops. When the autumn harvest comes, we will have no harvest, but he will have a surplus in storage. Yes, that must be the case. This Mister Wei is so deceitful.
.”
Niu Fu's expression changed, and he felt like he was surviving a disaster. However, he still looked at the middle-aged scribe, "Strategic Advisor, what do you think?"
The middle-aged scribe frowned and was in a dilemma.
After a long while, he sighed softly, cupped his hands and said: "This matter is of great importance. I personally think it is better to report it to the Prime Minister and let him make a personal decision. What does the general think?"
Niu Fu was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said: "This time lasts for more than ten days. If we miss the opportunity for spring plowing, then..."
The middle-aged scribe gave Niu Fu a vague look and reminded him softly: "It's better than falling into a trap easily. The general doesn't want to take this responsibility, right?"
Niu Fu's thick eyebrows were squeezed together, and finally he waved his hand helplessly.
···
Nanyang County.
Yuan's Mansion.
This house covers a very large area and is divided into three gardens. The east garden is where the Yuan family's main house is located.
As the legitimate son, Yuan Shu's status in the Yuan clan is much higher than that of Yuan Shao.
Although Yuan Shao is the eldest son, he is a commoner, so the elders of the clan don't really know how to treat him.
"Uncle Qi, I only need 200,000 acres of fertile farmland. Even if there is no harvest in the end, the loss is actually not that big. But if we can really have ten times, not even two or three times, these 200,000 acres of grain will be enough."
It’s enough to do a lot of things.”
Yuan Shao raised his hands to one of the clan elders and said.
The clan elder was responsible for the Yuan clan's land affairs, but unfortunately he was a supporter of Yuan Shu and did not like his concubine Yuan Shao.
Hearing that Yuan Shao suddenly asked for 200,000 acres of fertile land, Yuan Ai raised his pale eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Ben Chu, you don't have to waste your time. I will accompany you with 200,000 acres of fertile land."
You are not qualified enough to make a bet."
Yuan Shao looked a little embarrassed and looked at the old man beside him as if asking for help.
This old man is also the patriarch of the Yuan family. A large family like theirs will naturally have internal struggles. This man does not get along with the people in Yuan Shu's family. He supports his eldest son Yuan Shao.
"Lao Qi, what Benchu wants is just 200,000 acres of land. Could it be that my huge Yuan family can't even afford to pay for this loss? Besides, what if this kid Benchu made the right bet?"
When Yuan Ai heard this, he sneered and said: "I have been in charge of my family's property since I was twenty-six years old. It has been thirty years. In terms of my understanding of farming, I said I was second. None of you dare to claim to be first. Now you tell me
Old man, you can grow three times the harvest from wheat with an yield of only ten shi per mu, but forget it, there are actually crops with a yield of 100 shi per mu, do you think you are planting pears and peaches?"
Yuan Shao was furious and retorted loudly: "Uncle Qi doesn't know, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist in the world!"
Yuan Ai's face darkened, "How dare you talk to me like this?"
Yuan Shao: "I..."
The old man on the side hurriedly grabbed him. The aristocratic family values filial piety and brotherhood the most. No matter who is right or wrong, if Yuan Shao continues to argue with Yuan Ai, he will definitely be wrong in the end.
Yuan Shao knew he was being disrespectful, so he suppressed his resentment and stood up to apologize to Yuan Ai.
He still didn't want to give up, so he raised his head and said to several other clan elders: "Uncles, you have watched Shao'er grow up. What is my vision? You all know that these high-yielding crops can bring great benefits to my Yuan family.
You must have an idea of what it is, and I won’t go into details about it. I just hope that you can weigh the pros and cons and make careful decisions, and don’t judge a gentleman with a villain’s heart.”
After Yuan Shao finished speaking, he waved his sleeves and left with a gloomy expression.
Yuan Shu, who had been sitting at the top, had a smile on his lips. He never said a word from beginning to end, but it did not mean that he had not expressed his opinions. Yuan Ai's strong attitude was actually his instruction.
Yuan Shu always felt that the Wei family, or Wei Cheng, would not be so kind to help the powerful families like them. Any high-yielding crops must be a trap, with the purpose of weakening the strength of these families and then engulfing them one by one.
Outside the gate of Yuan Mansion.
Yuan Shao angrily mounted a magnificent Dawan horse.
"It's simply unreasonable. Just wait, there will come a time when you old men like you will regret it."
Yuan Shao signaled his men to follow him and rode directly towards the official road.
"The only solution for now is to convince that old guy Han Fu. It's best for this old guy to be obedient, otherwise don't blame me for being rude."
Yuan Shaonong frowned, looked at the young scribe aside, and said in a deep voice: "Youruo, your brother holds an important position in Anyi, no matter what, you have to help me get 200,000 acres of fine seeds this time, are you sure?
?”
The young scribe was none other than Xun Yu's brother Xun Chen. Hearing this, he bowed his hands and said, "Don't worry, my lord, Wen Ruo has not sent us the news a few days ago. As many fine seeds as we need, the Wei family will supply them at a fair price. However, I don't know, lord."
What kind of crop do you want?”
Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment, looked at the official road not far ahead, and said: "We need sweet potatoes and potatoes. These two are the most productive. If we can really achieve a yield of 100 shi per mu, after the autumn harvest... we will be able to rescue them easily."