Qiu Yizhi then said to He Jiugong and Zhao Fuyi, "Jiugong, uncle, I haven't seen you for a long time. You are still in good health. This chaotic war must have frightened you."
The two businessmen immediately replied: "It's okay, it's okay."
But Qiu Yizhi said to Zhao Fuyi again: "I haven't seen you for half a year. Uncle must have saved a lot of money, right? I wonder how much it is?"
Zhao Fuyi lived in Jinling City, acting as a broker between the big merchant Zhou Cijing and the big merchant Li Zhi for Qiu Yizhi, and collecting the monthly commission of 10,000 taels of silver from both sides. After several negotiations, Zhao Fuyi was very resolute in his heart, knowing that the money belonged to Qiu Yizhi, and his nephew was the foundation of his livelihood, so he dared not even touch this little money.
So he answered confidently: "Business has been bad in the past few months, but thanks to Mr. Zhou's care, the monthly income of 5,000 taels has not decreased a penny or delayed a day, and today I have accumulated more than 20,000 taels of silver. As for the old ship owner Li Zhi... Due to the chaos and war, even the compradors in Jinling City lost contact with their bosses, so I didn't receive any money from him..."
This is also human nature. Qiu Yizi waved her hand and said, "Got it." Then she said to He Jiugong who was standing beside her with a smile, "Jiugong, the Guangyang Chamber of Commerce headed by Mr. Zhou has silver notes that can be exchanged throughout the country. Can I use my cash to exchange for some silver notes, even small ones, so that I can reward my soldiers?"
Now is the time for war, even the silver notes issued by Guangyang Chamber of Commerce are far less effective than real gold and silver. In recent months, the amount of silver notes exchanged for cash in Jinling City has been increasing, and the silver deposits of Guangyang Chamber of Commerce in Jinling have been somewhat stretched. At this time, Qiu Yizi wanted to exchange it with real silver, which was enough to make He Jiugong overjoyed.
Therefore, all the wrinkles on his face were squeezed into a ball with a smile, and he said: "No problem, no problem. Since Master Qiu has asked, of course we will do whatever you ask..." After all, he is an old businessman, and although his attitude is polite, he did not reveal a single secret in his words.
But I heard Qiu Yizhi say: "At this moment, one tael of silver can at least be exchanged for one tael or three qian of silver notes. But considering that Mr. Zhou and Mr. He Jiu are old friends of mine, I will let it go. I just hope Mr. Zhou's business will prosper."
He Jiugong did not expect that Qiu Yizi, who was so young, actually understood the rules here. Although he did not raise the price of cash, he explained it clearly. He could not help but admire him in his heart.
But in the business world, one must remain calm. He Jiugong pretended not to hear Qiu Yizi's words and said with a smile on his face, "Okay, okay. I'll tell my servants to do it and send the banknotes here in a blink of an eye."
Qiu Yizi asked, "My mind is confused and I don't know where this place is?"
Liu Qing replied, "This is the Jiedushi's central army tent. All defense of Nanjing is mobilized from here."
"It's hard for you to give this place to me..." Qiu Yizi said a long string of words, and he was a little out of breath. He took a breath and continued, "I think it's still not very convenient here. I feel comfortable living in Mr. Lin's manor. I'd better move there."
After Qiu Yizi had said that, Liu Qing tried to persuade him to stay for a few minutes, and then sent someone to send Qiu Yizi, along with his close associates and two hundred exhausted guards, to Lin Shuhan's manor.
Qiu Yizi was originally in excellent health. He fainted partly because Yuchi Jiming blocked his carotid artery with a gentle move, and partly because he was separated from his confidante Wen Lingjiao, which made him anxious and lost his normal state.
After moving into Lin Shuhan's manor, with the care of "Mr. Bansong", a man with profound medical skills, and Yang Ying'er, he recovered within three days. However, he was still in a bad mood and did not want to worry about anything, so he simply lived as a retired man. Apart from talking with Lin Shuhan, Zhao Chengxiao and others every day, he lived a life of having everything provided for him.
Two or three days passed like this, and Qiu Yizi suddenly remembered that the city of Jinling where he was was still under siege by the army led by the Prince of Lingnan. Although he was not the military commander here, he was still the emperor's adopted son who held military power. He should not stay out of it both publicly and privately, and he had to ask Liu Qing a few questions.
So Qiu Yizi lazily sat up from the boat, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "Someone come, I need to change clothes."
Yang Ying'er, who was basking in the sun outside, heard this and quickly pushed the door open, saying with a smile, "My Lord, why are you in such a good mood today? Do you want to get up?"
Qiu Yizi nodded with a stern face and said, "I've been sleeping too much these days, so I'll get up and stretch my muscles."
Yang Ying'er was delighted to hear his full of energy, so she hurriedly took the cleanly washed and folded clothes to the bedside, and while changing Qiu Yizi's clothes, she chattered, "There is a man named Li Laoshuan in Shanyin County. He has been diligent all his life. He was a hired farmer when he was young, and by the time he was fifty, he had saved up two or three mu of land..."
"Oh? Really? I have also been a county magistrate in Shanyin County, so how come I didn't know there was such a person?" Qiu Yizi replied.
Yang Ying'er said, "Sir, please wait and listen to me. This old man Li is a blessed man. He is diligent and hardworking, and his son is also very hardworking. He passed the imperial examination in his thirties and became an official elsewhere. Since his son became an official, he also became rich, and the few acres of land that his father had worked hard to save for his entire life were no longer worth it..."
Qiu Yizi added, "Could it be that his son sold the land?"
Yang Ying'er shook her head, but her hands did not stop: "The land was sold, but it was not his son who sold it. It was that Li Laoshuan who thought that he was over 50 years old and would not live for many years, and his son could not rely on him, so he simply sold all the land and got a total of two or three hundred taels of silver. He took the money and stopped farming. He sold all the rice, pork, fresh vegetables and fruits that he usually didn't want to eat to eat... Then... What happened later, sir, guess?"
Qiu Yizi didn't think deeply and answered casually: "Maybe Li Laoshuan worked hard all his life, and at least he enjoyed a few years of happiness, and then he died?"
Yang Ying'er smiled and shook her head: "How many years? In less than half a month, Li Laoshuan died. The neighbors saw that he had not left the house for a few days, so they broke into his house and saw that he had died on the bed, with a half-eaten white flour and meat bun in his hand!"
When Qiu Yizhi heard this, he already knew what Yang Ying'er meant, and smiled, "You mean it's not good for people to do nothing, they have to find something to do, otherwise they will die of boredom."
"Your Excellency is wise, that's what you mean. Everyone says that Li Laoshuan is not destined to enjoy happiness and cannot live a good life. He also caused his son to come back to mourn, and his bright future was ruined." Yang Ying'er said.
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "You mean, I don't have the blessing to live an idle life?"
Yang Ying'er hurriedly changed her words: "No, no, that's not what I meant. Your Excellency is a noble for generations, who else but the Emperor can have such a blessing? What I meant is that with your talents, it's not a big deal for you to stay at home all day... I heard from Miss Wu and Miss Wen that Your Excellency..."
When Qiu Yizi suddenly heard Yang Ying'er mention Wen Lingjiao's name, he suddenly remembered that he didn't know where the beautiful woman in his heart was now. He felt dizzy again and his body swayed, and he almost fell on the bed again.
Yang Ying'er didn't have such a delicate mind. Seeing Qiu Yizhi's appearance, she quickly leaned over, picked him up, and asked with concern: "My lord, what's wrong with you? What happened?"
Qiu Yizhi was not seriously injured. He had already woken up when he heard Yang Ying'er yelling in his ear. He suddenly felt Yang Ying'er's plump and tall breasts pressing tightly against his chest. He also saw her slightly mature face with a different charm. He immediately became distracted and secretly compared him with Wen Lingjiao, Yiran and other women. He thought: "This Yang Ying'er is actually such a beauty..."
But he thought again, weren't Cai Min, Li Shenshi and other county officials also seduced by women and lost control, which led to their disgrace? If he was like this, wouldn't he be the same as them, and also fall into low status
So Qiu Yizhi quickly calmed down, pushed Yang Ying'er away slightly, and asked: "Ying'er, I told you before, among my personal soldiers, is there anyone you like? Tell me, and I will arrange a marriage for you."
After hearing this, Yang Ying'er's face turned red, and she stammered, "This... this... why did the adults ask such a question... there are good... and bad things..." She didn't even show her attitude at all.
Qiu Yizi said, "Wang Laowu, what do you think? Before he went to Beijing to deliver the letter, he said that he seemed to be interested in you, and he was afraid that he was not worthy of you..."
"Wang Laowu... He is quite honest..." Yang Ying'er replied with a red face.
Qiu Yizi heard the meaning behind these words, and continued, "This is the key point. Wang Laowu is also a farmer, much more honest than those bandits. Moreover, he went to the capital to report the news this time and made great contributions. He will be promoted soon. If you live with him, it won't be humiliated for you."
Yang Ying'er's face turned even redder, and she whispered, "My Lord, what are you talking about..."
Qiu Yizi was finding her shy appearance interesting when she suddenly heard a few very dull noises outside the window, not far away, not near, and seemed familiar and yet strange.
Yang Ying'er, who was standing by, was startled by the loud noise and screamed, "Oh my god! Why is there thunder in the clear sky?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "How could there be thunder in broad daylight, unless... unless..."
When he got to this point, he suddenly realized something and immediately jumped off the bed. While walking out the door, he told Yang Ying'er, "Go and tell Miss Wu and Qiao'er to get ready. The enemy is coming to attack the city!"
Qiu Yizhi ran out of the bedroom in two steps, only to see Zhao Chengxiao running up in a panic, saying, "My Lord... My Lord..."
Qiu Yizhi immediately interrupted him and said, "I know about the King of Lingnan's siege. I want to ask you, did he use explosives during the siege?"
Zhao Chengxiao was Qiu Yi's most trusted confidant. He had seen the method of using explosives to attack the city countless times and was familiar with the smoke, sound, and smell. He nodded immediately and said, "It should be correct. Several explosions just now blew open the Wuding Gate to the south. Fortunately, the city wall is still stable and has not collapsed. Liu Qing has personally led the troops to defend the city and asked me to come and inform the adults."
Qiu Yizhi listened to Zhao Chengxiao's report while his mind was spinning rapidly. After he finished speaking, he said, "I'm afraid this matter is not that simple..."