sovbooks Chapter 1407 Demonstration and Counter-demonstration, Probe and Counter-probe
Chapter 1407 Demonstration and Counter-demonstration, Probe and Counter-probe
Chapter 1407 Demonstration and Counter-demonstration, Probe and Counter-probe
"Why is Lord Lu looking at me like this?"
Noticing Lu Yu's strange gaze and complicated expression, Sima Feng couldn't help but ask.
Lu Yu, who had been standing there in a daze, finally came to his senses and quickly bowed and apologized:
"Mr. Feng is famous all over the world. I have heard of his fame for a long time and always regretted not being able to see him. Today I am fortunate enough to see him. I am shocked by his extraordinary appearance, so I am being rude."
Stunning appearance?
It sounds like a compliment, but it just doesn't sound right?
Feng Dasima thought about it and didn't think there was anything wrong.
"No problem, please take a seat, Mr. Lu."
"Thank you, Mr. Feng."
After Lu Yu sat down, Feng Da Sima ordered tea and then asked:
"Why is Lord Lu here this time?"
Lu Yu bowed slightly and replied:
"I was entrusted by the Grand Tutor Sima to go to the Han camp as an envoy."
Feng Da Sima smiled and said:
"Sima Zhongda is good at selecting people."
Lu Yu was the son of Lu Zhi, and Emperor Zhaolie once studied under Lu Zhi.
To be honest, there is nothing wrong with Emperor Zhaolie and Lu Yu calling each other brothers and sisters - it may have been the case in the past, but certainly not now.
"Well, I also have something to say to Lord Lu, but since Lord Lu was entrusted by Lord Sima, let's talk about public affairs first and then private matters. Lord Lu, please talk about what Lord Sima entrusted you with first."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu immediately sat up straight and said solemnly:
"Then I will speak frankly. If I have offended you, I hope you will forgive me, Mr. Feng."
"When two armies are at war, envoys are not killed. Lord Lu, just say that it's fine."
Lu Yu cupped his hands and said:
"Lord Feng's military prowess is known throughout the world, and even Grand Tutor Sima admires him deeply. Now Lord Feng is leading an army of fierce and powerful men, and intends to advance eastward to annex Hebei. All of Hebei is shocked."
"Taifu knows that he is not as talented as Feng Gong, but he is favored by the emperor of Wei and appointed as governor of Hebei. Therefore, even though he knows that he is like an egg against a rock, he is willing to hunt with Feng Gong in Jingxing."
"If you win, then the Grand Tutor will hand over Hebei. If the Grand Tutor wins by chance, and Lord Feng has been mobilizing his troops for more than half a year, why not withdraw the troops and think of a better strategy, so as to avoid wasting manpower and money?"
After hearing these words, Feng Da Sima thought for a moment and understood, with a strange smile on his face:
"Lord Sima is personally at Weize Pass, is he trying to fight me?"
"Mr. Feng, please judge for sure."
Feng Da Sima chuckled and slowly leaned back on the table. His eyes fell on Lu Yu with a meaningful look. After a while, he suddenly said:
"Is it because Sima Gong's army is running low on food and fodder that they are so anxious to fight me?"
Lu Yu shook his head and replied calmly:
"Mr. Feng is worrying too much. Before Grand Tutor Sima came, he had already collected three months' worth of food for the army in Boling alone. How can there be a shortage of food and grass?"
"Bo Ling..." Sima Feng raised his head and thought for a moment, "Oh, yes, the Cui family of Bo Ling is a prominent family in Hebei. It's not surprising that they can provide Sima Gong with three months of food."
Then he looked at Lu Yu and said with a click of the tongue:
"It seems that Lord Sima is deeply trusted by the noble families in Hebei. The Cui family of Boling alone can provide so much food. The Cui family of Qinghe and the Cui family of Boling have always been of the same blood. I think there must be some, too?"
"Add to that the Li family of Zhaojun and the Lu family of Fanyang where Lord Lu is from. Each family will send three months' worth of food to Lord Sima. With this calculation, Lord Sima will have at least more than a year's worth of food."
Lu Yuwei sat still, his expression calm, and he didn't even blink.
Sima Feng could not see any change on Lu Yu's face, but he was not disappointed. He just smiled and said:
"It seems that Lord Sima sent Lord Lu to challenge me, but in fact he is just demonstrating."
"Mr. Feng, you are exaggerating. It is just that Grand Tutor Sima feels that the prolonged war has caused the soldiers to suffer and the people to suffer, so he wants to decide the outcome as soon as possible to avoid disaster for the people."
"So, Lord Sima is indeed considerate of the people." Feng Da Sima smiled, "But now Lord Sima is leading the army to stay in the pass, and I am leading the army to stay in the valleys."
"I am not in a hurry as an attacker, so why should Sima Gong be in a hurry as he is guarding such a great pass?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu couldn't help but frown and said:
"Yu once heard that Feng opened a school and taught all students, and even made a great ambition: to establish a mind for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity."
"There are now hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both armies facing each other. Every death or injury is like the loss of a father or a son in a family."
"Not to mention that parents and children are in the rear and have to bear the burden of corvée and taxes. Is this what Mr. Feng meant by 'living for the people'?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Da Sima laughed and asked:
"Before answering this question, I would like to ask Mr. Lu a question: Mr. Lu, do you know how many people there were in the world before the war broke out in the Later Han Dynasty?"
Lu Yu frowned, thought for a moment, and said uncertainly:
"I remember it was over 60 million?"
"To be precise, the government's household register recorded more than 65 million people at its peak. By the seventh year of Emperor Ling's reign, there were 55 million people. That was the year the Yellow Turbans began their rebellion, and it has been more than a dozen years since then."
Then, Feng Da Sima asked again:
"When the country is divided into three parts, Lord Lu, do you know the total number of people registered by the government?"
"How many?"
"According to my estimation, it will not exceed eight million at most!"
Lu Yu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:
"How does Mr. Feng know?"
It's not that he doesn't believe the data. After all, over the past few decades of war, "bones are exposed in the wild" and "nine out of ten houses are empty" are not empty words.
What he suspected was how Mr. Feng got this data.
After all, during the Three Kingdoms period, household registration and population growth were confidential. How could Mr. Feng know the data of Wei and Wu?
Feng Da Sima chuckled:
"How difficult is that? At that time, the Han Dynasty calculated the population of Shu, which was less than one million, and the number of soldiers was around 120,000."
"The ratio of soldiers to population is less than ten to one. The other two countries are probably about the same. Even if it is ten to one, the population of Wu will not exceed two million at most."
"And you, you should have around five million. If the three of us add up, what else can it be but eight million?"
The population cannot be known directly, but it is not difficult to estimate roughly how many troops each of the three kingdoms had.
Some later generations used the ratio of population to soldiers to criticize Zhuge Liang for being warmongering. I don't know whether they didn't calculate the ratio of soldiers to civilians in Wei and Wu, or they deliberately avoided the issue.
In fact, when the war was tense, the ratio of military to civilians in the three countries was not much different, basically between nine and ten.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Only then did he remember that this rough general in front of him was not only good at poetry and prose, but was also a master of mathematics.
It even created an unprecedented field of mathematics.
Sima Feng didn't care what Lu Yu was thinking. He supported the table with both hands and said slowly:
"Mr. Lu, from 55 million to 8 million, not to mention how many people the noble families like yours have hidden, but how many people have died in the decades of war, can you calculate it?"
Lu Yu's face changed drastically and he didn't dare to answer.
Feng Da Sima did not intend to let him go. He stood up, walked around the table, and approached step by step:
"Lord Lu keeps saying that he came for the people, but do you know how many cities Cao Cao, the so-called Emperor Wu of the pseudo-Wei, who you are loyal to, has massacred? How many people died under his butcher knife?"
Lu Yu was shocked and did not dare to look directly into the eyes of Sima Feng.
Grand Marshal Feng sneered, "When Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty crossed the Han River to Dangyang, more than 100,000 people from Jingzhou, including the elderly and children, followed him. This can be said to be benevolence and righteousness, and the people followed."
"The Ji Han was founded on benevolence and righteousness, and practiced the kingly way. Wherever it went, the people were well fed. Now, there are thieves who slaughtered cities and usurped the throne of the Han Dynasty, and they say they are living for the people in front of the Han army. I have never seen such a shameless person!"
"I have led my troops here today to crush the rebels, restore the Han Dynasty, spread benevolence and justice throughout the world, and bring peace to the world!"
Lu Yu felt that all the blood in his body rushed to his face, and his skin became swollen and purple.
I just wish I had never met Mr. Feng.
I'm so stupid, really, I'm so stupid...
Knowing that this person is known for his sweet talk, he still dared to argue with him...
If Lu Yu had not remembered the trust placed in him by Grand Tutor Sima, which left him with a bit of rationality, he would have probably covered his face with shame and fled away.
He took a deep breath again, and without any shame, he asked:
"Since Lord Feng prides himself on his benevolence and righteousness, and the current Grand Tutor is willing to end the war as soon as possible, why is Lord Feng unwilling to accept Lord Sima's invitation to fight?"
Feng Da Sima laughed again, looked at the other party with contempt, and did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he pointed to the east and asked:
"Mr. Lu, do you know what the current grain price is in Yecheng?"
Of course Lu Yu knew, but he didn't want to say it, but he had to say it, hesitating for a moment: "Three thousand coins per stone."
Feng Dasima looked at the other party with a little surprise. He thought the other party would deliberately avoid it, but he didn't expect that he was actually honest.
"Yecheng is the largest city in Hebei, right? With the supply from all the counties in Hebei, the price of grain can reach 3,000 coins per stone. It is conceivable that the price of grain in various places is probably only higher."
In fact, this is just the lowest price.
When it is high, it can reach five thousand coins.
Feng Da Sima sighed, "The suffering of the people is so severe that it is hard to describe it in words."
"As far as I know, the price of grain in some places in Hebei is even close to 10,000 yuan."
Lu Yu remained silent and did not dare to respond.
Sima Feng turned around, pointed to the west, and asked:
"Then Lord Lu, do you know how much grain costs in Jinyang behind me?"
Lu Yu shook his head: "I don't know."
"Three hundred and fifty coins."
Lu Yu suddenly widened his eyes, couldn't help but raise his voice, and blurted out:
"impossible!"
Feng Da Sima said calmly:
"Nothing is impossible. Just walk east from here and you will reach Taiyuan. If Lord Lu doesn't believe me, just go and take a look. It will only take about ten days. It won't take much time."
Lu Yu stared at Feng Da Sima, as if trying to see something unusual on his face.
But Feng Dasima looked calm, as if he was just talking about an ordinary thing.
Lu Yu had to give up and at the same time considered the authenticity of this matter in his mind.
He knew that the Han State was the strongest in the world, but after using the whole country's strength to attack Hebei for more than half a year, the price of grain was so cheap in the rear area of only a few dozen miles. In his opinion, this was simply incredible.
What he didn't know was that Taiyuan County was the food supply base for Pingcheng's industrial base, and the Xinghan Society had put a lot of effort into increasing Taiyuan's grain production over the years.
Coupled with the deliberate suppression by the Han United Reserve Bureau, it was naturally impossible to raise the grain price in Taiyuan.
"Does Lord Lu know the current grain prices in Hedong?"
"I don't know."
"Four hundred coins."
The aristocratic families in Hedong were violently plowed, and the implementation of the New Deal greatly increased the number of self-cultivating farmers and greatly increased grain production.
Maintaining the grain price at around 400 coins will not hurt farmers, but will also increase the enthusiasm of self-cultivating farmers.
"Does Lord Lu know the price of grain in Chang'an?"
"I don't know."
"Five hundred coins."
As the best place and the heart of the Han Empire, it is understandable that the price of grain is higher because of the frequent business trips, the gathering of wealthy families and the powerful.
"Mr. Lu, do you know where the price of grain in the Han Dynasty is the lowest?"
"Please let me know, Mr. Feng."
"In Shu and Liangzhou, each costs three hundred coins."
Needless to say, Shu is a place of great importance.
Liangzhou at that time was different from later generations. It was a rich land with abundant water and grass and developed animal husbandry.
The main rivers in Liangzhou, such as Ruoshui, often flood in spring and summer, and one can take a boat directly to Juyan Lake.
When a certain Feng was in charge of Liangzhou, he issued an order that no trees should be cut down around the Juyan Lake, no farmland should be created around the lake, and he even erected a monument as a warning.
It is not because of environmental protection, but because Juyan County is the main grain-producing area in Liangzhou, and needs Juyan Lake as a natural reservoir to store water and prevent floods.
The counterintuitive fact is that the grain prices in Liangzhou were lower than those in the interior of the Han Dynasty throughout the entire Later Han Dynasty as long as there was no war.
"Then Lord Lu, do you know where the grain price is the highest in the areas controlled by the Han Dynasty?"
"I don't know."
"Luoyang, one thousand coins."
Luoyang is connected to Guanzhong only by the ancient Xiaohan Road. It is not impossible to use the river, but it will consume too much manpower and material resources.
During the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, the construction of a plank road for trackers on both sides of the river from Tongguan to Hanguguan never stopped.
But... after repeated repairs and pauses, there is still no way to transport grain on a large scale.
Unless you are a prodigal son, you will be indifferent to the loss of nine out of ten ships sinking.
In addition, Luoyang had just been recovered and was located on the front line, so the price of grain was naturally the highest.
But even so, it is still several times lower than Yecheng.
After talking about the grain price, Feng Da Sima smiled at Lu Yu:
"Mr. Lu, if the grain price in Chang'an rises to 1,000 coins, how much will the grain price in Yecheng rise to? 10,000 coins? 30,000 coins? 100,000 coins?"
For food, a necessity for people's livelihood, once the price increase exceeds a certain threshold, it will no longer continue to rise linearly, but will rise at the level of a power function.
Because there is no demand for it.
The worst thing is that no matter how high the price you offer, you still can’t buy it.
"Now the people of Yecheng have to spend three to five thousand coins to buy a stone of grain. Lord Lu is not worried about the suffering of the people of Yecheng, but is worried about the suffering of the people of the Han Dynasty who can buy the same grain with only three to five hundred coins?"
Feng Dasima launched a soul attack:
"This is exactly the same as the army that massacred a city questioning the righteous army."
Lu Yu could no longer control himself. His legs went limp and he slumped back into his seat.
Feng Dasima ignored the other party. It was a hot day and he felt a little thirsty after talking so much. He gestured to his left and right, and soon, they brought a bowl of cold ice cheese.
After so many years of improvement, the goat milk and cow milk used to make ice cream no longer have the fishy smell they did in the beginning.
The sugar added is no longer maltose, but honey.
I scooped a big spoonful and put it in my mouth. It was smooth and refreshing, and it was really a good thing to cool down in summer.
"Give one to Lord Lu as well."
After finishing half a bowl in one breath, Feng Dasima finally spoke again:
"As soon as Lord Sima led his troops to Weize Pass, he sent Lord Lu to come. Whether it was to test, to demonstrate, or to invite a fight, it clearly shows his intentions."
As he spoke, Grand Sima Feng smiled meaningfully, "If I remember correctly, Lord Sima is almost 70 years old, right? Or has he already reached that age?"
"Now he has to lead the army in person and fight Yong in front of the battlefield. He is really an old horse waiting for his turn. I just wonder if Sima Gong, at his advanced age, can still endure the hardships of military service?"
Lu Yu had no intention of eating the ice cream, but just the smell of its sweet aroma made him unable to resist.
Hearing what Feng Da Sima said, he thought that the other party was praising him in public but criticizing him secretly, so he quickly swallowed the ice cream in his mouth and said solemnly:
"Mr. Feng knows that an old horse is still in the stable, so how could he not know that old age is the key to strength? Although the Grand Tutor is old, he has been in charge of the military and political affairs of Hebei over the years, and he has taken care of everything, no matter how big or small, and everyone respects him."
Feng Dasima raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and his smile became a little strange:
"Oh? Really? Sima Gong is such an old man and is in charge of the military and political affairs of Hebei. He has to take care of every detail without missing anything. Doesn't that mean he has to stay up late every day and have no time to relax?"
"Taifu has devoted himself to the great Wei, and has no complaints even if he has to work day and night."
Feng Da Sima laughed, nodded, and sighed slightly:
"Actually, regardless of the positions of both parties, the only person who catches my eye today is Sima Gong."
"Even though he and I serve different masters, I still deeply admire his tenacity. Isn't it a great pleasure in life to be able to compete with a person like Sima Gong in my lifetime?"
Lu Yu was greatly surprised to hear Grand Marshal Feng's words of appreciation for another hero. He had not expected that Lord Feng had such an opinion of the Grand Tutor.
Thinking about it again, it seems reasonable.
This person revealed the deep meaning of the Grand Tutor's sending him here in one sentence, and even put enormous pressure on him in return.
Mr. Feng and the Grand Tutor are indeed natural rivals.
It is beyond the reach of a foolish mortal like me.
Thinking of this, Lu Yu couldn't help but sigh:
"If the Grand Tutor heard what Mr. Feng said, he might feel like he has found a close friend."
Feng Da Sima couldn't help laughing out loud, and he looked very happy. He raised his bowl to drink wine and said:
"But Sima Gong is old and has to get up early and sleep late, so he should take care of his health, so as to avoid being accused of taking advantage of his youth and winning unfairly."
"I wonder if Sima Gong has a good appetite? How much can he eat in a day?"
Lu Yu didn't even think about it and answered directly:
"The Master is old, and naturally not as good as the young and strong. He also works hard, and can only produce a few liters a day."
Feng Dasima smiled and nodded, then waved again and had someone bring up a wooden box.
"The heat is unbearable and my appetite has been poor. Here is a box of ice cream that I usually eat. Lord Lu, please pass it to Lord Sima on my behalf to help him adjust his appetite so that he can eat more."
"Thank you, Mr. Feng."
Sima Feng had a melancholy look in his eyes and a broad smile on his face.
Sima Yi has too much to do and eats little. He is nearly 70 years old, but he has to get up early and go to bed late. How can he last long?