It had already been two days when he led his army back to Guidefu City. Wufeng thought for a long time and could not find a breakthrough. Whether it was Lulong that had just fallen or Longdong Fucheng east of Partridge Pass, they were like a pair of huge The devil's hand tightly strangled his neck, making him unable to breathe.
The depressed mood directly affected Wu Feng's expression. Su Minshun, the guardian of Guide City, had twice invited Wu Feng to visit the salt well mining area in the north of Guide and the grape plantations in the south, as well as several well-known wineries in the mainland, which are also the main attractions in the entire northwest county. One of the pillar industries of fiscal and taxation, Wu Feng shied away due to physical discomfort, which greatly disappointed Su Minshun and the businessmen.
Lying lazily on the loose bed, Wu Feng always felt that his whole body could not lift his energy. Could it be that he could not get up after suffering such a small setback? Obviously not, but why do I always feel depressed since the fall of Lulong? Isn't it just the loss of a Lulong who was not completely his own? Does it have such a big impact? Wu Feng secretly asked himself, if the east is not bright and the west is bright, why should he just stop and stay in the northwest for the rest of his life because of this setback
Lying silently with his eyes closed, he lay motionless on his bed. It seemed that even his energy was almost gone from lying down like this. He couldn't drag it on like this any longer. He had to find out the reason. What on earth restrained the Northwest and Northern Luzon? Is this the main reason why I jumped out of this land in the northwest
Taiping Cult? Kaman people? The countries of the Western Regions and the Luobei people? None of these things. What really holds me back is that I am too weak. Calculating one's own military strength, it is not too small. There are nearly 120,000 people in a northwest army, and there are also five independent divisions, which are nearly 120,000 people. Including the security forces, it has exceeded 300,000 people. Human military strength, why do you always feel that such a huge military strength is not enough
My own territory is really too far. From Partridge Pass in the east to Zijin Pass in the west, it is probably two to three thousand miles. Even if you gallop on horseback, it will take several days and nights. If it is an ordinary caravan, at least It takes ten days to walk from one end to the other. In such a wide range, these 300,000 people are more than enough to defend themselves. If they want to expand outwards, they are too weak. Moreover, there are all people around them who have different intentions. Even those so-called allies cannot truly trust them.
Expansion of the army? In this way, Xiao Tang was already complaining. If he wanted to expand the army, he would really drive his capable subordinate crazy. However, if he did not expand the army, it would obviously be beyond his power to enter the Central Plains with his current strength.
"He's not up yet? There's no woman to accompany him, so why are he still in bed?" A burst of shouting brought Wu Feng back from his thoughts. It was Su Minshun again, and he must have come to ask him to visit those breweries or wine shops. Plantations, or going to see those salt wells, Wu Feng got a headache thinking about it. He didn't know where this kid got such good energy, and he looked like he would never give up until he achieved his goal.
"Ho ho, let's wake Mr. Li up. We, the gentry and fellow citizens who have returned to Germany, have long admired Mr. Li's grace and prestige. As a military governor, can't Mr. Li satisfy their little wishes?" A strange voice sounded. There was a sound outside the door, and Wu Feng knew that his guards could not stop this guy, so he had to sit up reluctantly and get dressed slowly.
"Sir, are you up?" Su Minshun stepped into Wu Feng's bedroom and asked pretending to be surprised, "I didn't disturb your sweet dream, did I?"
"Hmph, stop pretending here, can't you let me relax for a while?" Wu Feng has always been very casual with these two guys, Su Minshun and Mo Lun, and the two of them are also the same, and their words are also naughty. Su Bu Ji.
"Well, I told you to let two bitches from Huayuefang in our city accompany you. I heard that their sexual skills are absolutely top-notch. I'm sure you won't miss Shu, but you have to pretend to be serious. You can't rest well right now, and it's weird. Come on, it's really hard to be a good person." Su Minshun joked with a smile.
"I asked you, how come you, the head of a city, have become a pimp?" Wu Feng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Searching for ideas is also a manifestation of ability." Su Minshun replied with a playful smile.
"Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense. What are you doing here so early? What nonsense is going on?" Wu Feng was not polite and asked directly, "What if you let me visit those Salt Well Manor workshops again? I don’t have to worry about things like that, I don’t have much time to look at those things right now.”
Su Minshun's face straightened and he said: "Sir, this is wrong. Minshun also knows that you are in a bad mood now, but as the leader of Northwest and Northern Luzon, your responsibility is probably not just to focus on military issues, right? Military affairs have never been Separate the family, not to mention you are still the military and political envoy? The rapid economic development of our Guide Prefecture not only provides a large amount of funds to the county finance, but also maintains the operation of a division and garrison force. All of this depends on those salt wells you mentioned. The support of manors and workshops. Could it be that as a military and political envoy, you are so stingy about setting foot on the road, and you can't give some encouragement and comfort to these gentry who have created huge wealth? "
Unexpectedly, his casual words would lead to such righteous words from the other party. Wu Feng couldn't help but be choked. For a moment, he couldn't find the right words to respond to the other party. After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Wu Feng sighed heavily. He nodded and said: "Well, good boy, this mouth is very powerful, okay, okay, I won't say any more, I'll go, okay? But I have something to say first, I don't have much time, only two days at most, and I still have a partridge I need to go to Guan for a trip, the situation is uncertain right now, so I really can’t take it lightly, but what you said does make sense, um, I accept it.”
Wu Feng realized his mistake and readily accepted the other party's suggestion.
In the next two days, Wu Feng, accompanied by Su Minshun, non-stop inspected the salt wells in the north, and then turned back to visit the famous wine brewing base in the south of Guide, whether it was the luxury of the salt merchants in the north or the manor in the south. The wealth of the owners, workshop owners and wine merchants all made Wu Feng eye-opening and astounded. Being able to be received by a lord who was like a legend in the empire also made the merchants excited. It can be said that everyone was happy.
The carriage was running slowly on its way back to Fucheng. Wu Feng quietly closed his eyes and rested in peace. Su Minshun beside him refused to be quiet and asked for words, "Sir, are some of the businessmen in Guide Mansion able to enjoy themselves? I Looking at the gentry in the imperial capital, they may not understand life as well as they do, hehe, they are all extremely rich guys, and they probably have too much money to spend, right?"
"Well, if they are so rich, why don't they invest in doing other things? For example, expanding the scale and increasing production?" Wu Feng replied casually without opening his eyes.
"Sir, you don't know, whether it's salt or wine, you can't even imagine how huge the profits are. Of course, they also want to significantly increase production, but expanding the scale cannot be done overnight. Secondly, they have to rely on business ethics. Smooth operation and the opening of new markets are not as simple as simply increasing production. Currently, the Taiping Religion controls the trade routes to the east. Although business travel is not prohibited, transit tariffs have increased a lot, and the situation in the Liberian countries to the north has been unstable. , and the nomads on the Tengger Grassland don’t like wine very much, so the business route to the west seems to be relatively smooth at the moment. If we blindly expand production, prices may fall and profits will decrease.” Speaking of the wines in his jurisdiction, Su Minshun knew everything about the situation, "These guys are very smart, otherwise they would not be able to amass such a huge wealth."
"Well, that's it." Wu Feng didn't expect this level, and he only understood after hearing Su Minshun say this.
"But sir, I do have an idea, but I don't know if it will work?" Su Minshun said with a mysterious look on his face.
"Oh? What's your idea?" Wu Feng didn't pay much attention.
"The finances in Northwest China are currently in dire straits, and it is unrealistic to expect a big growth for a while. It is better to try to get some funds from these businessmen." Su Minshun's words were unclear, but it aroused Wu Feng's great interest. .
"Oh? Is there any way?" Wu Feng asked, staring closely into the opponent's eyes. He knew that Su Minshun would not be able to come up with any clever ways to rob someone. Using those methods in his own territory would be like killing the goose that lays the egg.
"The Lulong Prefecture to the east of us is rich in iron ore, and mining iron ore is also a very profitable thing. Many businessmen in Guide Prefecture have investment intentions in this area. When your Excellency took control of Lulong Prefecture, there was a Businessmen came to ask me whether they could invest in mining in Lulong, and I responded in the affirmative," Su Minshun explained calmly.
"Are you kidding me? You know that Lu Long has now fallen into the hands of the Taiping Cult, and why are you talking about this?" Wu Feng lost his energy after hearing this, closed his eyes again, leaned his head on the cushion and ignored him. .
"Hey, sir, please listen to what I have to say." Su Minshun smiled confidently, "Although the Taiping Sect has controlled Lu Long, your martial arts skills are known both inside and outside the empire. The Taiping Sect is nothing more than a group of monsters and clowns, and is not worthy of the law. Lu The recovery of the dragon will be a matter of time. The businessmen of Guide Prefecture are full of confidence in you. If the iron ore mining rights in southern Lulong can be transferred in advance, haha, I believe it will not only be the businessmen of Guide Prefecture who are interested. ?”
When he said the last sentence, Su Minshun showed a sly smile on his face.
Wu Feng's tiger body trembled, and he was obviously a little moved. After thinking about it, he said: "Part of the iron ore mining rights in southern Lulong has been transferred by the empire to the Miao family, one of the five major families in the empire. If it is transferred directly like this, I'm worried. Will-"
"In addition to the mines controlled by the Miao family, there are many mining areas suitable for mining in southern Lulong. However, the Miao family has always wanted to obtain a larger mining area and tried every means to prevent others from entering. Even the Lulong local government has found it difficult to get involved. Only a few A few companies that entered before the Miao family obtained the mining rights are still struggling to survive. Now that everything there has fallen into the hands of the Taiping Religion, everything should be as it should be. Besides, in my opinion, after Lulong recovers, what will this empire be like? It's unclear, the Miao family is only quite powerful in the empire, once the empire loses its influence, what will the Miao family do?" Su Minshun shook his head and analyzed.