Han officials

Chapter 60: Pretending to serve the public good for personal gain
Wei Muhua is not a person who likes to joke, but he is serious about wanting to be a pirate!
Facing Wei Zhe's puzzled look, the thin Wei Muhua explained, "Recently, every time we go out to sea, there are more and more ships spying around us, even if they see the Wei flag."

Although the title of Lelang Taishou is great, it is not that useful at sea.

After all, most pirates are extremely daring. As long as they sink the ship and end it cleanly, no one will know what happened on the sea.

As for the pirates that Guan family raised, they were not their own people after all, so it was impossible for them to come out to escort every time.

Wei Muhua said calmly, "If we don't want to be robbed, we can only rob others. As long as the Wei family's fleet becomes the strongest pirate group, naturally no one will dare to covet it."

Wei Muhua was not planning to talk about using courtesy first and then force. He felt that this was too troublesome and it would be better to do it in one go.

Hearing this, Wei Zhe didn't know whether to praise him for being a man or say that he was irritable.

But Wei Zhe had anticipated this situation.

Even if the Wei family’s fleet was robbed by Guan Cheng’s pirates one day, Wei Zhe would not find it strange.

As I said, the sea is the best scavenger. It can destroy corpses and traces without people having to worry about it.

Even if it is not a pirate team formed by one's own hands, there is a possibility of backlash against the employer.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe simply said: "Yes, but you must act with caution and not go ashore to rob."

Wei Zhe just wanted a combat-capable navy, not really wanting to build a bandit army.

When he heard him say this, Wei Muhua immediately bowed and accepted the order.

After finishing this digression, Wei Zhe finally revealed the real purpose of his visit.

"Soon a large number of craftsmen from various counties will be arriving to serve. I intend to place them on Funajima Island. What do you think?"

It is said that the fifty gold coins given by Wei Zhe were not given for nothing. The eunuch who came to announce the decree did it after returning.

The official craftsmen in the Shaofu were unable to give it to him, but the local craftsmen didn't care at all.

It is strange that craftsmen had such a low status that they were considered one of the "Seven Categories" in the Western Han Dynasty.

The so-called seven categories refer to "officials with guilt", "fugitives", "son-in-law", "merchants", "old city residents", "parents with city residents", and "grandparents with city residents".

From this we can see that craftsmen were not "good family members" and were considered untouchables in the eyes of the government.

Craftsmen who did not belong to the government were required to perform corvee labor every year, which was called "jian geng".

Every year, the craftsmen among the iron officials and salt officials in each county included both official craftsmen and civilian craftsmen.

Those who were recruited this time were this type of civilian craftsmen, among whom the shipbuilders mainly came from the coastal counties of Yangzhou.

Wei Zhe didn't know the exact number of these people, but it was definitely more than what he could find in Lelang, a cold and bitter place.

In this case, how to accommodate them becomes a problem.

However, Wei Muhua was worthy of being an elder of the Wei family, and he quickly understood the hidden meaning of his words.

It was obvious that Mr. Ziran was not planning to return these craftsmen.

Thinking of this, Wei Muhua immediately shook his head and said, "Ship Island is too close. If you can float, you can get ashore in a moment. Why not put it on Niujiao Island?"

The Niu Island that Wei Muhua mentioned is actually a small island located northeast of Chuandong Island.

The reason why it is called Niujiao Island is that the island looks like a cow's horn when viewed from a high place, hence the name.

"Although the harbor on Niujiao Island is small, it is quite advantageous and is perfect for building tower ships." Wei Muhua explained, "Also, the island is far from the coast, making it convenient for isolating the inside and outside, and making equipment."

Wei Muhua didn't say what kind of equipment he made, but it was kept secret enough.

Hearing this, Wei Zhe thought about it and nodded slightly.

"That's it, then. Send a message home and have Uncle Wu come to Niujiao Island as soon as possible to take charge."

After all, Wei Zhe would definitely not feel at ease if he didn't involve his own family members in this kind of thing.

Alas, it all comes down to his lack of experience; otherwise, there wouldn't be a shortage of manpower! Take Wei Muhua, for example. Once he becomes Pirate King, Wei Zhe will have to find someone else to take charge.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe no longer had the heart to hang around Ship Island, and left after a while.

……

A moment later, Guan Xiu finally saw Wei Zhe again after a year.

When Guan Xiu saw Wei Zhe, who was wearing a Jinxian crown and a black robe and looked extremely majestic, he was very excited.

He knew that Guan Huaian had not misjudged him!

When Guan Xiu thought that Wei Zhe was now a prefect, he no longer felt uneasy.

Even if the plan fails, Wei Zhe's current status is enough to give him a bright future.

Looking at Guan Xiu's haggard face and red eyes, Wei Zhe was also filled with emotion.

He had never seen Fu Jiezi and Ban Dingyuan in ancient times, but Guan Xiu in front of him was no less capable than the ancients.

"Ah~Huaian, you've worked so hard!"

After Wei Zhe said this, Guan Xiu felt that all the suffering he had endured in the past was worth it.

He then said with a proud attitude, "It is my great honor to be able to accompany you in achieving this unprecedented feat. How can I say it is hard work?"

It has to be said that the past year has been a huge test for Guan Xiu.

Now he has lost all the decadence he had in the market, and has become a man of great character!

Seeing this, Wei Zhe immediately nodded with relief.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two finally got down to business.

"Yuezhi, directly under the Mahan King, is now vulnerable on all sides." Inside the tent, Guan Xiu pulled out a personally drawn map of the Three Han states and explained, "But tribes like Boji lack strength and don't know how to cooperate, so Yuezhi shows no signs of decline."

To be honest, King Mahan's control over the tribes under his command was not very strong. At best, he collected some tribute every year to declare his royal power, but it was not so easy to mobilize the tribes.

If not for this, he would not have been helpless against the State of Boji for so long.

But Wei Zhe frowned and shook his head when he heard this.

"No, it's not messy enough!"

After a moment's silence, Wei Zhe said with a cold look in his eyes, "Try to send the first batch of grain to Yuezhi to contaminate their grain. This will cause Yuezhi's harvest to plummet this autumn, and famine will surely break out. Then..."

Although Wei Zhe did not finish his words, Guan Xiu still understood his implication.

At that time, whether King Mahan chose to send troops everywhere to plunder the tribes because of famine, or the tribes saw that Yuezhi was weak and attacked it together, it would be a good thing for them.

Thinking of this, Guan Xiu's eyes were filled with excitement.

Now he finally understood how his ancestors used the art of judging the importance of things to govern the country!
Not only that, perhaps it was the awakening of his bloodline that gave Guan Xiu a sudden inspiration.

His face flushed with excitement as he said, "Lord, how about selling them some more food?"

Guan Xiu was not soft-hearted, but suddenly realized that this was an excellent business opportunity.

After all, if the harvest in the Three Kingdoms of Korea fails this year and famine is rampant, they will only need to hoard a small amount of food and exchange it for a large amount of supplies.

By that time, cattle, horses, women, furs, cloth, and even tribal warriors could all become commodities.

At that time, Wei Zhe would be able to exploit the Three Han States again without having to mobilize a single soldier.

War and famine will turn the Three Kingdoms of Korea into a completely chaotic place!
After hearing Guan Xiu's words, Wei Zhe was speechless for a moment.

I can only say that he is worthy of being the descendant of Guan Zhong. He is really born with the talent of "hoarding and obtaining rare goods"...
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Oh, by the way, there was an error in the last chapter regarding the rank of the Three Dukes. I've corrected it, but I don't know why the entire comment section is gone. Sorry! O(∩_∩)O Haha~
(End of this chapter)