When they were about to enter the city, Qin Mubai and others found a secluded forest to change out of their robes and armor and into plain clothes. Then they disguised themselves as businessmen as before, and then rode horses majestically into the city and returned to the inn.
Just as he was about to enter the room, he bumped into Chen Yan who was about to go out. When Chen Yan saw Qin Mubai, she was startled for a moment, and then smiled: "I didn't even recognize you when you turned like this. You have aged more than ten years in an instant!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai greeted her into the room with a smile, removed his disguised beard and hair accessories, and said to her, "I'm about to go to the Governor's Mansion, how about you go with me? Anyway, I'm going to the Governor's Mansion. You are also familiar with Li Ke."
Chen Yan thought for a while and nodded: "That's fine, I have nothing to do. I just want to go out for a walk."
"Then let's go! I was just about to talk to Li Ke about the water ghosts in Xihetao. You also know something about it. Maybe you can tell us something."
The group of people left the inn and headed to the governor's mansion.
When Li Ke took office as a new official, everything fell into place. He did not build a new palace, but simply tidied up the back house of the governor's house and used it as his residence. The yamen servants of the Governor's Mansion and the soldiers of the Prince's Mansion were all familiar with Qin Mubai, so they could go without any hindrance. The head catcher Zhou Laojiu was even more excited when he saw Qin Mubai. He greeted him step by step and led him to the residence of Li Ke in the back house.
When Li Ke heard that Qin Mubai was coming, he walked out laughing loudly and said with a smile from a distance: "Oh, rare visitor, rare visitor!"
"Just laugh at me!" Qin Mubai laughed.
"Who is saying hello to you? I am obviously saying hello to Chen Nuxia." Li Ke said with a smile, "Long time no see, Chen Nuxia, how is everything?"
"Not bad." Chen Yan replied with a smile, "It's just that I almost ended up as a decapitated ghost who died unjustly in this precious land of Xiangzhou."
"Oh, this has nothing to do with me. I hadn't taken office at that time! Now, I, a great upright official, am ready to be promoted to office. How can there be any more unjust cases? Besides, even if I am a stupid person, no one can be wronged. I dare not wrong Chen Nuxia, otherwise someone will definitely fight against me, haha!" Li Ke laughed narrowly.
"I really can't stand you, you brag nonsense when we meet." Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled, "I have something serious to talk to you about, how can I just stand on the steps and talk about it openly?"
"Oh, Xiao Wang is rude, rude! You two distinguished guests, please come in and talk! Come, make tea to welcome the guests!" Li Ke walked into the room swaggeringly.
Qin and Chen looked at each other, shook their heads, smiled, and followed in.
Li Ke still had the old habit of never going anywhere without tea, and he even brought the exquisite and expensive gold tea set from Chang'an to Xiangzhou, and even Meiji, who made tea, did the same.
The three of them sat and chatted comfortably, waiting for the tea. When the tea was ready, Li Ke dismissed the idlers and started to talk about the main topic.
"Tell me, what did you gain from today's military parade?" Li Ke said straight to the point.
Qin Mubai then said: "The people in the military government do not work hard, they are just showing off. The Shenyu spaceship is good but useless, and the Bailang water army is superficial. In short, the Xiangzhou military government does not intend to seriously suppress the thieves. They are doing all kinds of tricks to confuse the public.”
"As expected." Li Ke nodded, took an account book and threw it to Qin Mubai, and said, "Quan Wanji checked the accounts of Yin Cao, Liang Cao, Military Cao and Fa Cao and found these problems. Over the past few years, Xiangzhou has spent countless amounts of money on suppressing bandits, ranking first among all expenditures, far exceeding the amount of money spent on cultivating mulberry trees. In fact, Xiangzhou is very wealthy, and just those few docks can bring a huge amount of money. Financial resources. But most of this income is used to support soldiers, but the water ghosts in Xihecao are getting more and more fierce. I really doubt whether the money is used to support soldiers or thieves. "
Qin Mubai looked through the account books for a while, frowned and said: "The military government did not do anything, and the governor's office seemed to be in collusion with the military government. The whole Xiangzhou government tolerated and fostered traitors, no wonder the water ghosts in Xihe Cao couldn't suppress them. It's getting more and more lawless. Now I'm thinking about a question. The reason why His Majesty the Emperor sent you here and asked me to be your assistant is because he has heard about the Xihe Water Ghost. Otherwise, a little Xiang. State, why do you need to be here to take charge?”
"Sit in charge? I like this word. It makes me seem very capable." Li Ke said with a joking smile, "Let me tell you this, my father didn't send me here, I have scouted this place myself. . As early as when I was in Anzhou, I heard that Xiangzhou was extremely rich, but the governor of Xiangzhou was changing things very quickly. Why do people want to leave after only a few days of working? In the past few days, I have vaguely figured out the reason.”
"In addition to the water ghost's repeated bans, is there any other reason?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Of course there is." Li Ke said, "Another important reason is that the officials and gentry in Xiangzhou are very closely connected with each other, and outsiders cannot get in. The governor's office, the military government, and the local rich The squires formed their own faction, with their own leaders and common interests. In this way, no matter which governor or captain was transferred, they were isolated and excluded. On the surface, the governor and captain had the most power, but in fact they were the most powerful. They can only live alone. When an official reaches a place like this, who can survive for a long time?"
"It seems that His Highness has smelled something." Qin Mubai asked, "Have you figured out who is the 'local tyrant' in Xiangzhou?"
"Wei Xiaochen, Sima Wei of the governor's office, and Du Chengyuan, captain of the military office Guoyi." Li Ke said word by word, "Just these two people."
"Sure enough..." Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth and nodded.
"So, you feel it too?" Li Ke's eyes lit up and he asked.
"I don't know about the governor's office. Among the generals in the military office, Du Chengyuan is the only one who looks up. I made my first appearance today, and he gave me a warning. Fortunately, I have hundreds of cavalry following me, otherwise I would really have to do it. It's too shameful to show up." Qin Mubai sneered, "But don't worry, it will be easy to deal with him, but I don't know how powerful they are in Xiangzhou and how many people are involved."
"Take your time! We are new here, so we need to get a foothold first." Li Ke nodded and said, "Fortunately, I am a prince, I have my own people and a group of people. Otherwise, as a lonely person, there is really nothing that can be done against them."
At this time, Chen Yan smiled and said, "How about I go out for a walk and you two can have a good chat?"
"Oh? Haha! It seems that we were rude to the beauty!" Li Ke hurriedly raised his teacup, "We've finished talking! Come on, Xiao Wang offers you a bowl of tea as an apology."
"How dare you." Chen Yan returned the gift and smiled, "I feel that the two of you are closer than when you were in Jiangzhou. This time you are working together again, but the location has been changed from Jiangzhou to Xiangzhou. No. Knowing how much trouble you are planning to make this time?"
"Haha!" Li Ke pointed at Qin Mubai and laughed, "I don't have the courage! In fact, he instigated me to do everything and it has nothing to do with me!"
Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled: "Chen Yan, now you know what it means to betray a friend for glory? They say that it is good to meet an old friend in a foreign land, but meeting someone like His Highness is a bad luck."
"Hey, when you said you met an old friend in a foreign country, I remembered something." Li Ke stood up hurriedly, walked into his study, took out a letter and handed it to Qin Mubai, saying, "You have so many friends. , There is also an old friend visiting you in Xiangzhou. The military camp cannot be entered, so someone went to the governor's office and asked me to deliver a letter to you. "
"Who could it be?" Qin Mubai opened the letter curiously and saw that it was a letter from Wu Meiniang. At first, he was excited for a while, thinking that it was Wu Meiniang who had come to Xiangzhou. After reading the letter, he realized that she had not come, but just asked someone to send a letter. What he wrote in the letter was nothing more than expressing his feelings for lovesickness, and also mentioned asking him to find a shop in Xiangzhou. The letter said that the Qinxian Pavilion (formerly the No. 1 Liquor in the World) has been opened after renovation, and the business is not bad. Now that the turnover is over, it won't be long before I have enough money to open a branch in Xiangzhou.
The person who sent the message, Qin Mubai, actually knew him. He was the young master of the Zheng family, Zheng Anshun, who had collaborated with Wu Meiniang to open "The Best Wine in the World"!
"Zheng Anshun?!" Qin Mubai's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked Li Ke in surprise, "He came to Xiangzhou?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Li Ke said with some surprise, "You know him very well, why are you so excited?"
"No - where are they?" Qin Mubai asked.
"He did leave a note, saying that if you have a letter to take back to Chang'an, you can go find him." Li Ke took a piece of paper and handed it to Qin Mubai.
Qin Mubai took a look at it and touched his palm excitedly: "That's great! What a coincidence, God helps me, haha!"
Li Ke and Chen Yan looked at each other and asked, "Why are you so excited?"
"Let me show you off first, and you will know later." Qin Mubai laughed and clapped his hands a few times, called Baiqi, the guard beside him, handed them the paper, and asked them to find it in the city according to the address. Zheng Anshun, be sure to invite people to the palace to have a talk.
Li Ke raised the corner of his mouth and smiled: "This guy is up to something weird again. Whenever I see him looking so confident and mysterious, I know that there must be something good to watch!"
Chen Yan smiled and said, "You two know each other well."
"That goes without saying!" Li Ke raised his eyebrows, "Brothers! Those who know brothers are also brothers!"
"Haha! Then, brother prince, I will borrow your flowers to pay tribute to Buddha today." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "When we arrive in Xiangzhou, it can be regarded as a reunion in a different place. How can we not hold a banquet to celebrate?"
"No problem!" Li Ke touched his palm and said with a smile, "Looking at your expression, I know that you must ask Zheng Anshun to help you! Okay, I will sacrifice a whole banquet table to help you. Again. As I said, there are still beautiful women at the table today, and Xiao Wang is so happy!"
Chen Yan shook her head and said with a smile: "Your Highness, you are such a high-ranking and noble person, Chen Yan is just like a piece of grass in your eyes, how can you become a beauty?"
"Hey, you can't say that!" Li Ke said with a smile, "Nvxia Chen's style is unique and unparalleled! Even if Xiao Wang has read all over the flowers, he has never seen such a unique flower as Nuxia Chen... Qin Mubai, you are so lucky!"
"Uh!..." Qin Mubai pretended to be shocked, "Why is it all on my head again?"
"Pretend! This guy is the best at pretending!" Li Ke pointed at Qin Mubai and laughed and scolded, "I have heard of your glorious deeds of hero saving the beauty. The pitiful prison guard came to see me begging for mercy with no tears. His face was With your seal - you are so majestic, General Qin! Take the prisoner away from the prison of my governor's office and leave me a flesh-stamped IOU!"
"Haha!" Everyone laughed.
…
The three of them chatted over tea, making witty remarks and laughing happily. Time passed very quickly, and it was already dusk in a blink of an eye. The banquet arranged by Li Ke's people has been prepared, but the people sent to find Zheng Anshun have not returned yet.
Just when everyone was getting impatient, Zheng Anshun arrived!
Zheng Anshun, the eldest son of the Zheng family, the richest man in the Tang Dynasty, was twenty-five years old. He was very impressive and talented. It was rumored that he was proficient in rhythm and learned a lot. He was polite, modest and prudent. He was also a well-known romantic figure in Chang'an. I don't know if he has How many young women in Chang'an could not forget him in their boudoirs.
The Zheng family in Chang'an has completely changed the world's prejudice against businessmen.
Historically, officials have looked down upon businessmen and looked down upon them as they were ashamed to make friends. There are four levels of "officials, farmers, industry and commerce". The social status of businessmen is not as good as that of farmers and blacksmiths. No matter how rich they are, it is useless.
But the Zheng family in Chang'an is not like this. They are a different kind of businessmen.
As early as the beginning of Wude, the head of the Zheng family, Zheng Fengchi, had developed a friendship with Emperor Wude, Li Yuan. He had repeatedly provided money, food and property to Li Yuan, and was called a "good businessman of the Tang Dynasty" by Li Yuan. To this day, there is such a gold-lettered signboard written by Li Yuan hanging in the Zheng family's home. From then on, the Zheng family became the royal merchants of the Tang Dynasty. Most of the items such as "money, grain, salt, cloth, and iron" sold exclusively by the imperial court were represented by the Zheng family. In addition, if there was a war in the Tang Dynasty, military rations would often be transferred to the Zheng family for transportation and sale.
For more than twenty years, the Zheng family's status in Chang'an has been increasing day by day, and many of the people they associate with are princes and ministers. Although the Zheng family abides by the rules of businessmen, and none of their nephews took the scientific examination or joined the army, they still made many friends in the officialdom and military circles. The Zheng family's trade routes extended all over the Tang Dynasty to the barbarians, and the Zheng family's friends also spread all over the world. It is said that the Zheng family's caravan has a group of people who are proficient in all kinds of hustle and bustle in order to deal with foreign businessmen. The young master of the Zheng family, Zheng Anshun, is naturally talented and proficient in several kinds of barbaric languages. He always travels alone when traveling from north to south, and does not need anyone to translate.
Qin Mubai and Zheng Anshun only met a few times and did not have a deep friendship. Not long after she first met Wu Meiniang, Wu Meiniang deliberately used words to provoke Qin Mubai, saying that following Zheng Anshun was far better than following him. For this reason, Qin Mubai felt a little jealous in his heart.
Seeing Zheng Anshun alive today, Qin Mubai sighed to himself: I am right to be jealous! This guy is so handsome, and his demeanor is so elegant... He is wealthy, gentle, knowledgeable, and handsome. Such a man is simply a killer of women!
"My Excellency, Zheng Anshun, has met His Highness King Wu and General Qin." Zheng Anshun bowed his hands in greeting with a smile on his face, and his words and deeds made people feel like a spring breeze.
"Tsk tsk!" Li Ke smiled and shook his head, "Mu Bai, I feel like 'birds of a feather flock together' today."
"How do you say this?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Don't you think that among us three grown men, one is more handsome than the other?" Li Ke laughed and said, "Of course, you are a little bit worse."
Qin Mubai and Zheng Anshun laughed together. Chen Yan next to her couldn't help but shook her head and sighed: "I'd better go, I seem to be a little bit unbearable!"
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[I tried my best to update twice today, with more than 8,000 words... Please give me some red votes as encouragement, thank you all! ]