***
Chongzhen's edict was nothing new, and he ordered Qin Mu to lead his troops north to suppress the bandits, recover Henan, and attack Shaanxi.
Qin Mu found it funny. Chongzhen really thinks highly of us. He wouldn't think that I have three heads and six arms and can turn beans into soldiers.
Qin Mu even suspected that Chongzhen would also issue twelve golden medals, one after another.
The current situation is that Jin Shenghuan suffered a crushing defeat at the gates of Yuezhou City, and Ma Yongzhen and Su Jin are taking advantage of the victory to advance towards Wuchang. If nothing unexpected happens, capturing Wuchang will not be a problem.
Meng Changgeng, who had just seized Jingzhou, learned that Xiangyang was besieged by Zuo Liangyu's army and the situation was precarious. He had to abandon Jingzhou and return to Xiangyang for support. Ling Zhan's 10,000 troops took advantage of the opportunity and easily seized Jingzhou.
The entire Jinghu region was a complex mess of forces, but overall, the situation was very favorable to the Qin army. However, if Qin Mu really marched north with all his strength, with Zuo Liangyu and Zheng Siwei, it would be a question whether he could capture Xiangyang.
Recovering Henan and attacking Shaanxi is a very slim chance. Others are not fools. It is impossible for them to surrender just because you make a move.
Qin Mu knew that his 100,000-man army was untrained, and the more territory they conquered, the less time they had to train their soldiers and consolidate their bases, and the faster they would die. Now, for him, it was already good enough to take Wuchang and Jingzhou by chance and barely close the northern gate of Huguang.
We can no longer be greedy, we must immediately stop the pace of expansion, speed up the training of soldiers, develop the livelihood of Huguang and Jiangxi at the same time, and make full preparations for war to deal with the fierce Qing cavalry.
Therefore, no matter how many imperial edicts Chongzhen issued to urge him, he could not shake the established strategic policy.
***
A pleasure boat slowly sailed from Xishuiguan into Nanjing city. Winter was coming and the sky was a little gloomy. On both sides of the Qinhuai River, the willows that used to be swaying in the mist were now only withered bare branches swaying in the cold wind, making this winter look a little desolate.
Bian Saisai sat alone in front of the window of the pleasure boat. There was a hint of sadness between her delicate eyebrows, which made her noble and melancholy temperament even more intense.
After seeing Li Xiangjun off, she went to Suzhou and lived in Huqiu for half a year. This time when she returned to Jinling, she found that although the banks of the Qinhuai River were still as prosperous, from the expressions of the people, it was not difficult to see that a depressing atmosphere shrouded the city.
Sun Dushi, the commander-in-chief who people had placed their highest hopes on, died in Tongguan, and the last of the Ming dynasty's family assets was lost. Even in the city of Jinling, where people were living a life of luxury and debauchery, people began to feel the chill coming from the northwest.
The pleasure boats were sailing upstream at a very slow speed. On the flower boats on the river, you could always see the talented people from the south of the Yangtze River, served by beauties, drinking and talking about the situation in the world, criticizing the mistakes of cabinet ministers, cursing the injustice of the rebels, lamenting their lack of opportunities, or composing poems to commemorate their achievements.
If she had heard these impassioned words before, Bian Saisai would have appreciated them sincerely, but for some reason, now she was too lazy to listen and even felt a little disgusted.
Even a prostitute like her could see it now. The precarious Ming Dynasty might not last much longer, and these people had been talking and talking on the Qinhuai River for decades. What did they come up with? What did they do
The Ming Dynasty is about to fall, but these people still only know how to show off their ability to talk in the red light district. Why don't we see a few people like Ban Dingyuan
At this moment, Kasaisai's mind was really filled with such thoughts, and even she was surprised. Why did she suddenly have such an opinion
"Sister Bian."
When the painting boat approached the dock of the ferry, a familiar voice was heard. Bian Saisai looked up and saw a petite person standing on the dock with a smile on her face. Her skirt embroidered with orchids and moonlight fluttered gently in the wind, making her light figure seem as if she was about to fly away. Her beautiful eyebrows and starry eyes were full of smiles.
"Sister Xiangjun?" Bian Saisai could hardly believe her eyes.
"Sister Bian, I heard that you were going back to Jinling, and I have been waiting for you for a long time." The smile on the bright and charming Li Xiangjun's face became even brighter, like a delicate flower blooming in winter.
Bian Saisai was pleasantly surprised. She quickly got off the boat, took Li Xiangjun's hand and asked, "Sister Xiangjun, aren't you in southern Jiangxi? Why are you back in Nanjing?" At this point, the surprise on Bian Saisai's face disappeared, and she asked worriedly, "Could it be that your Qin Lang is such an unfaithful man that he took my sister away..."
"What are you talking about, Sister Bian? Qin Lang is not that kind of person. He treats me and me very well, but he is busy with military affairs all day long and rarely has a moment of leisure. I am alone in Huichang and can't help him much. It just so happens that Mr. Xu of Rentong Commercial Bank wants to open a bank in the southeast and asked me to come to Jinling to help with the negotiations. I was thinking about Sister Bian in my heart, so after getting Qin Lang's approval, I returned to Jinling."
Li Xiangjun was smiling sweetly, her face full of happiness. She stood with Bian Saisai. One was petite and beautiful as a poem; the other was slender and gentle, with a melancholy and noble temperament. The two of them intertwined to form an extremely moving scenery, and people passing by the pier all looked back frequently.
Li Xiangjun's words made Bian Sai even more puzzled. Generally speaking, prostitutes like them, once they became good women, would stay at home and rarely go out. They were more self-disciplined than ordinary women in their behavior, so as to avoid being accused of not being frugal. It was rare for someone like Li Xiangjun to go back to Qinhuai, a place of controversy, to show up in public.
"Sister, although Rentong Company has done you a favor, it is inevitable that you will cause gossip if you come back to help them smooth things over. What if your Qin Lang is unhappy..."
"Don't think too much, sister. Qin Lang is a man who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. He wrote to me and said that since Mr. Xu saved my life, I must repay him. It was Qin Lang who asked me to come, otherwise I wouldn't dare to do anything wrong."
Bian Saisai still felt strange. With Qin Mu's current ability, he could have used other methods to repay Rentong Trading Company, but he asked Li Xiangjun to go back to Nanjing in person to help. This might not be that simple. However, when she saw that Li Xiangjun looked so happy that it didn't seem fake, she didn't ask any more questions.
"Sister, you are back just in time. The bank will open for business tomorrow. Mr. Xu is hosting a banquet for celebrities in the city at Meixianglou. There will be many people attending the banquet. Sister, please go and help entertain them. Sister, please don't refuse. I will definitely reward you handsomely in the future."
"What do you mean by generous reward? Since it's my sister's business, can I still refuse to go?"
Bian Saisai and her friends were originally doing this. At banquets for dignitaries, in addition to singing and dancing performances, they mainly used clever words to smooth interpersonal relationships and help the parties to get closer, reach consensus, and complete the exchange of interests in a good atmosphere. This is somewhat similar to a matchmaker helping a man and a woman to get together.
Meixianglou was completely booked by Xu Yingjie, which was probably an unprecedented event in Jinling City. It was not that the grand scale of booking Meixianglou was unprecedented, but that Xu Yingjie, an unknown and lowly businessman, was able to invite more than 20 dignitaries from Jinling City to the banquet at one time, including Han Zanzhou, the eunuch guarding Nanjing.
In a short while, the Meixiang Building was filled with celebrities and dignitaries. The arrival of Li Xiangjun and Bian Saisai added a lot of color to the banquet.
Li Xiangjun had already turned over a new leaf, so it was not appropriate for her to perform singing and dancing again, but she still came out to toast and answer the questions. The dignitaries who came did not dare to treat her as an ordinary prostitute, and showed her enough respect in their attitude.
It was precisely because Li Xiangjun took the initiative to arrange this matter that Han Zanzhou guessed that Qin Mu must be behind the bank established by Xu Yingjie, so he took the initiative to come to the banquet. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Xu Yingjie, a mere businessman, to invite such a great god as him.
More than 20 dignitaries came to the banquet. I'm afraid they had the same idea as Han Zanzhou. Sun Chuanting died in the battle, and the last few soldiers in Shaanxi were wiped out. This made these dignitaries more eager to find a new way out.
At this critical juncture, Xu Yingjie set up a bank and Li Xiangjun came to help. In their view, this was undoubtedly Qin Mu looking for a partner.
Xu Yingjie bowed to all the dignitaries and thanked them for attending the banquet. He then introduced the business of Huitong Bank in detail and said, "I just received news that the governor of southern Jiangxi, Qin Mu, has reported a great victory and has successfully recovered Wuchang and Jingzhou. The Jiangxi general Meng Ke has also led 20,000 elite troops to Jiujiang. As a result, the trade between Jiangxi, Huguang and Jiangnan will surely increase dramatically.
Our Huitong Bank is based on integrity. In order to facilitate your money transactions, we have established remittance businesses in major cities in Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Huguang. If the distinguished guests who come to the banquet today need anything, please take care of the small account. The small account will definitely provide you with the most complete, safest, highest quality and fastest service... ... ... ..”
Although Xu Yingjie's tone was respectful, it was definitely not as humble as that of an ordinary businessman;
His words were also very intriguing. He first announced the latest news about the Qin army's recapture of Wuchang and Jingzhou. The dignitaries present were all well-connected people, but they had not learned of this news before coming. However, Xu Yingjie, a businessman, learned about it first. Isn't this intriguing enough
He deliberately mentioned the latest news about Qin Mu, but never mentioned any relationship between Qin Mu and Huitong Bank. He also grasped the balance just right.
After Xu Yingjie finished speaking, Li Xiangjun and Bian Saisai immediately urged the dignitaries present to drink, and with witty remarks, they first turned the topic to poetry, songs, and love affairs. When the atmosphere was aroused, they cleverly explained the various benefits of depositing money in the bank amid laughter.
Han Zanzhou praised him from time to time, and expressed his intention to deposit his savings of many years into HSBC Bank.
Han Zan expressed his position on Monday, and the dignitaries present also expressed their support, at least in their attitudes. As for how much silver they will deposit into Huitong Bank at that time, that is another matter.
Of course, Xu Yingjie did not expect them to deposit all their belongings into the bank at once. This was impossible. What he wanted was a gesture from these powerful people present. No matter how much or how little they deposited, as long as they could make a gesture, for Xu Yingjie, his goal would be achieved.
.(To be continued..)
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