Sheng Weiqiao was stunned when he heard this, and Dongzhi asked, "What do I mean by that?"
But soon he came to his senses, and his face darkened, "Don't be alarmist! His second uncle and third uncle are afraid of war, have never been on the battlefield, and cannot study well. They are not even children, and they have never done anything like this. Let alone becoming an official! As for his grandfather and father, did they return to their hometowns twenty or thirty years ago? What does it have to do with the ups and downs of the imperial court?!"
"No?" Sheng Suihe smiled and said gently, "I don't think it's strange that you are a good girl? Mr. Ao and Mr. Xu are just good. Our grandfather, can you leave the good rich man alone? He left behind his young wife, Bu Qin, and took the initiative to join the army to protect his family and country! Such sentiments, but after the death of General Zhou, he disbanded and returned to his fields, bringing with him the old Bundong who had the best relationship with him... Are those former members of General Zhou who were far less active than my grandfather when they joined the army, very much in the army at that time, even in northern Xinjiang?!"
Sheng Weiqiao frowned, but after thinking for a while, he shook his head: "That does not mean that the reason why my grandfather became an official is suspicious. It is precisely because my grandfather took the initiative to join the army with the desire to protect his family and the country. After seeing General Zhou's east field, he How can we not be disappointed? How can we not be hit? It’s normal for him to be disheartened and return home like this!"
"As for the two elders, Mr. Xu and Mr. Ao, it is easy to explain: the three elders know each other, have a deep friendship, and naturally have similar views. My grandfather is disheartened, shouldn't the two elders be disappointed and heartbroken? Are you giving up?"
Sheng Suihe nodded and said: "Then there is indeed cocoa!"
He narrowed his eyes and said in a strange tone, "So... where is the Shen family?"
"The Shen family?" Sheng Weiqiao was confused, and after thinking for a while he said, "Did I say the eldest aunt's family? What does the eldest aunt's family... have to do with that?"
Although the Shen family is known as a family of officials, in fact it has only produced officials with the county magistrate in the east. Even among the squires in Sangzi, they are not among the most powerful group.
In terms of power, it is far worse than the Sheng family.
So it is true that Sheng Weiqiao looked down on his eldest uncle, but the fact was that it was not true. How could he not see that the Shen family was qualified to participate in the temple dispute
Seeing her confused look with suspicious eyes, Sheng Suihe chuckled and said, "Good girl, but I didn't notice. Although the Shen family and the Sheng mansion are not in the same city, they are not far apart. Their family is also a businessman, and they don’t do much business in the local area. The Lord wants to do business, but it’s not business in the north!”
Sheng Wei Qiao Dong bit his lip consciously: The Shen family has business in the north, and of course she knows about it.
I remember that when Sheng Suihe entered the Sheng Mansion as a foreign concubine and Shen Jiuniang was fine, Sheng Lanxin brought her whole family back to Ning for the last time. They were talking in the Forbidden Snow Hall about her cousin Shen Silang. I gave her a porcelain hairpin of Hanlian.
At that time Sheng Weiqiao thanked her, and Shen Silang said that the porcelain hairpin was a small gift prepared in a hurry. He would go to the north in the next half year and bring her something interesting... Not long after, Shen Jiuniang and Sheng Weirao got into trouble together.
After that, Sheng Lanxin had a big quarrel with the Hong family. She took the 50,000 taels of silver notes given by Xuanyu Feng family and left the Sheng Mansion. She never had any contact with her parents' family again.
The Shen family no longer visited.
Of course, the fun that Shen Silang promised was nothing.
Sheng Weiqiao has always been reluctant to think about that incident, not because he was thinking about Shen Silang's promise, but because of how warm the scene was in the hall at first, and how sad it was to think of Shen Jiuniang, who was missing in the East without knowing her life or death until the Ming Dynasty. .
"... The Shen family does do business with Beifang, but so what?" Sheng Weiqiao calmed down and said coldly, "What on earth do I want to say?!"
"My dear girl, the Sheng family has flourished in my father's lap. My father has established properties in many places across the country." Sheng Suihe noticed the impatience in her tone, but still said slowly, "But do I know? The Sheng family The northernmost industry is in Chang'an! Farther north than Chang'an, the Sheng family doesn't even have a shop! On the contrary, the Shen family has a regular caravan that makes three or two trips to the north every year... "
He paused for a while before continuing, "Or to be more precise, Fu Bei Xinjiang!"
Sheng Weiqiao's expression changed and he narrowed his eyes: "So what? There are too many caravans running to Northern Xinjiang. Is it possible that each one of them is involved in some huge secret?!"
"As for the fact that my father purchased so many properties but stopped in Chang'an, it is easy to explain: Firstly, my grandfather has always been worried about General Zhou's east farm. As my grandfather's most doted son, my father will inevitably be affected, even if he is not If you are affected, would you be considerate of your grandfather and deliberately not do business with Northern Xinjiang, so as not to hurt your grandfather when you occasionally talk about it? Isn't it reasonable?!"
"Secondly, since the Shen family already has a caravan heading north, and the Sheng family does not lack such a trade route, is there anything wrong with deliberately preventing the Shen family from competing with them for the sake of my eldest aunt? ?"
Sheng Suihe smiled and said: "My dear girl, General Zhou's east field really makes my grandfather feel very worried about him, and he will never let it go until tomorrow. The question is... my grandfather is a strong man, is that why even Northern Xinjiang is afraid of mentioning it? People?"
He reminded leisurely, "Have I forgotten that my little grandfather often told me stories about Northern Xinjiang? Even in ordinary conversations, my grandfather often talked about Northern Xinjiang! In this case, Dad needs to avoid taboos because of his grandfather." The word "Northern Xinjiang"?!"
"As for saying you won't compete with the Shen family for profit, that would be even better!"
"My dear, I've never been a master, so I don't know whether someone has taken that trade route, and if other people join in, they will surely compete for profit!"
"Unless the forerunners are powerful enough to take all of Dong's share... that's something that the Shen family simply can't do with their little wealth!"
"On the contrary, if the Sheng family, who has a rich family background and connections in the northern Xinjiang army, also participates in that trade route, they may be able to support some of the Shen family..."
"After all, the Shen family's background determines that their gains on the Northern Xinjiang trade route cannot be compared with those of those big caravans; their right to speak on that trade route cannot be compared with those of those big caravans!"
Sheng Suihe shook his head, "So, dear girl, neither of the two points I said are true!"
"Even if those two points cannot be established, there is no evidence for my claim that there is something wrong with the Shen family's Northern Xinjiang caravan!" Sheng Weiqiao had an ominous premonition in his heart, but he refused to give in and insisted, "I don't agree at all. You're talking alarmist! Don't change the subject, just tell me what I plan to do for the Sheng family!"
Sheng Suihe smiled, looked up at the tent, and then said: "Good girl, although he knew that the Shen family had a Northern Xinjiang caravan before, he never paid attention to it."
He paused and suddenly said something that made Sheng Weiqiao suddenly change his expression, "Even after Cousin Shen and the fourth sister had an accident together, we received news on Tortoiseshell Island that the fourth sister was rescued by luck, but Cousin Shen happened to be rescued. It was bought by a merchant a few months ago, and there has been no news since then... He didn't think much about it."
"but… "
"A few months ago, during the confinement period, the head of Jingshu County came to see him privately. He revealed in his words that the teacher was in danger and had an unusual affair!"
"He suddenly thought... is there any connection between them?"
Sheng Weiqiao felt her heart jump to her throat. At that moment, she seemed to have thought of a lot, and her mind seemed to be empty and red. She pinched her palms hard and then managed to regain consciousness, choking and saying: "What... what connection?!"
"General Zhou has been guarding the border for ten years. He dreamed of fulfilling Emperor Mu Zong's wishes and wiping out Ruru. However, in the end, he failed. Not only was he sentenced to death, but his family members were also not found in a good place!"
"With his reputation, even if the old army did not advise Chang'an on his behalf, they must avenge him!"
Sheng Suihe narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "Well, if there are too many people and too powerful people who caused his tragic ending, they can start to take advantage of it!"
Looking at the girl in front of him who turned pale red, he nodded slowly, "Yes, the reason why the teacher ended up living in the sea was because he was persecuted by the Shu sisters in name, but in fact... He estimated that 100% of the time, the real thing was... The legs are from General Zhou’s old army!”
"The Huan family is not a local gangster in Bishui County. Judging from what he did in Bishui County before, their family's influence in the county has long been deeply rooted!"
"It's not even an exaggeration to say that water can't be poured in!"
"Twelve years ago, although the Shu sisters had a stable status, they came from a humble background. After entering the palace, they served the emperor all day long. Their father and brother at home were also lacking in talent and virtue and could not be entrusted with important tasks. Even if they wanted to send people to Bishui County to hunt down the teacher , how can you find human legs that are enough to quietly stalk the teacher in Bishui County?!"
"The whole country of Suiguan is in the east..."
"It was the most feasible and reasonable time to do that..."
"There is General Zhou's old department!"
"The most compelling evidence is that after the teacher disappeared, the emperor protected the Shu sisters and announced that the real culprits were pirates... In fact, the teacher was indeed targeted by pirates. No, he was born in a lowly position and has never been a pirate." How did the Shu sisters, who had left Chang'an, get involved with the pirates who were thousands of miles away and were fleeing the sea? "
"And before General Zhou went to the north to visit the town, did he personally preside over the suppression of pirates along the entire southeast coast?"
"Maybe the pirates haven't been wiped out yet. Because the late emperor was critically ill, General Zhou was summoned to the court!"
"Although the current emperor was very ambitious when he came to the throne, he immediately asked General Zhou to stop suppressing the bandits and go to the north to prepare for the great cause of 'leading an army to conquer the country and holding his rulers accountable for their crimes.' However, Zhou Da How could the general miss the point of annihilating the pirates? Even if he was in the north and transferred the elite troops originally deployed in the southeast to the northern border in order to comply with the emperor's wishes, he would definitely leave the east behind to prepare for his attack. Complete peace and tranquility!"
"General Zhou Nao didn't wait long enough to free his legs to kill the pirates, but something happened to him first."
"Then those legs from those who came from the East... don't they just belong to the teacher's legs?!"
Sheng Weiqiao was stunned for a long time, and then he whispered: "Do you want to kill General Zhou and refuse to pardon his family? Do you... do you want to be the emperor? If General Zhou's old subordinates seek revenge, why should they target Duke Huan?" !”
Sheng Suihe couldn't help laughing when he heard the words, and said: "Good girl, of course it's because when everyone copied the imperial decree to kill the Zhou family, they were not the emperor of the emperor, but the one who advised him to do so was not the teacher. !”
"What's the matter?!" Sheng Weiqiao was so shocked that she forgot to lower her voice, almost alerting the people outside. Fortunately, their attention was now focused on the cattails. The girl immediately woke up and quickly covered her lips, secretly reminding herself not to continue. Losing her composure, even so, she couldn't help but feel her heartbeat:
Because Mrs. Sheng was not praised by General Zhou, of course she always felt that General Zhou was a good person, a kind of tragic hero who was loyal to the country and loyal to the king, but because he met a stupid king, the whole family had no success.
And because of Huan Guanlan's reputation, and because although Mrs. Sheng and Sheng Lanci did not respect Huan Guanlan as much as they did General Zhou, they did not say anything bad about him. "But was killed by an adulterous concubine" will naturally gain the sympathy of passers-by, and Sheng Weiqiao is no exception.
In addition to the previous thought that Huan Guanlan had wronged Sheng Suihe when he was thinking about Sheng Suihe, and had some dissatisfaction with the emperor's teacher and student, Sheng Weiqiao also had a very good impression of Huan Guanlan.
A girl of her age has not experienced the rich atmosphere of the officialdom since she came to Chang'an not long ago. Naturally, she will have questions such as "loyal ministers will not harm loyal ministers" and "loyal ministers and loyal ministers must be allies or even good friends" and "those who harm loyal ministers" Definitely deny the idea of failing the emperor and treacherous ministers."
So when Sheng Suihe said that he wanted to kill all the people in General Zhou's family, but he actually refused Huan Guanlan, Sheng Weiqiao felt that he was not feeling well!
She was confused for a long time before asking, "Why?"