"Mr. Wu, according to your estimates, how much time will it take for the brothel to be completed or even opened?"
The foundation laying of the brothel has been completed, and from now on, the comprehensive construction stage will begin. WWw, QuanBen-XiaoShuo, COm Xiao Yueye knows the doorways and some mechanisms inside the brothel. These things cannot be understood by outsiders. So he stopped work for a day and called Wu Tian specifically to ask.
Wu Tian now not only admires Xiao Yueye, but also feels grateful. In any case, it was Xiao Yueye who saved his and Zhou Dashan's lives. Wu Tian is not a fool. When he was poisoned, five people lived in the same room. He heard a lot of things that he shouldn't have heard. If it were anyone else, he and Zhou Dashan would have been silenced long ago.
So from then on, he was really impressed by the charm of this young man, and he worked harder and harder when doing things.
What's more, the tip of the iceberg that he occasionally glimpsed during that time, the huge power behind Xiao Yueye, also frightened him. He absolutely believed that if he betrayed Xiao Yueye, he would have to go out and report to the Palace of Hell.
Wu Tian sorted out his thoughts and touched his long beard habitually: "Master Xiao, summer is coming soon. As you know, there is a lot of rain in summer. So I conservatively estimate that the completion will not be completed until at least early winter. ”
"So long?" Xiao Yueye raised an eyebrow. It was early summer now and it would not be completed until early winter. In other words, it would take at least half a year. And, is this still a conservative estimate
After thinking about it, Xiao Yueye suggested: "What if I use cowhide to build a large awning over the construction site?"
"It's useless in the early stage. When it comes to carving and painting the interior later, it should shorten a lot of time. Master Xiao, you also know that the complexity of this brothel is beyond the reach of ordinary buildings. Half a year is already a very fast time." ”
Xiao Yueye nodded helplessly: "I know, I'm impatient, hey! Anyway, try to speed up as much as possible, we don't have enough manpower, just say it. Also, the mechanism part must not be known to outsiders."
"I saved this. The mechanical parts and the 'petals' on the outer layer of the brothel have all been completed. Now all our hands will be devoted to the construction of the entire brothel. Master Xiao, you can fire all those craftsmen and so on." Wu Tian said with a smile.
"Have you all quit?" Xiao Yueye looked at him doubtfully: "Mr. Wu, in such a big brothel, many basic jobs must be done by these craftsmen!"
"Haha," Mr. Wu laughed proudly and kept stroking his beard: "Master Xiao, you underestimate my Qianji Sect too much, right? No one in my Qianji Sect is a freeloader. We The sect, including me, has nineteen disciples, but we have forty-seven servants and family members. I am not boasting, but any one of our servants is hundreds of times better than the so-called old carpenter master! Our Thousand Machine Sect has been passed down for hundreds of years and has passed down countless fine products from generation to generation. If we relied on the help of outside workers, I am afraid that the inheritance would have been discontinued long ago, so you don’t have to worry about the manpower problem.”
Xiao Yueye was dumbfounded. He actually didn't care much about this matter. When Wu Tian brought a large family to the Xiao Mansion, he only thought they were the family members of these disciples. Unexpectedly, all of them are talented!
Now that I think about it carefully, it seems that Yansha and the others have told me these things before, but I didn't take it to heart.
Now that they are sure, Xiao Yueye doesn't say anything more: "Okay, I'll leave everything to Mr. Wu. If you need anything, you can go directly to Yan'er. Oh, by the way, move around our brothel. They are all surrounded by black cloth and no one is allowed to visit. I will send people to guard them twelve hours a day.”
Wu Tian slapped his thigh: "I'm about to talk to you, Mr. Xiao! We have some agencies that need to dig holes in the ground to divert the water from Fengyue River. There are also some things that cannot be seen by outsiders. I plan to put them on that piece of land. Build a few sheds next to it and everyone will live in them until it is completed. Haha, if you do this, Master Xiao, it would be better. We will live directly in the sheds made of black cloth and focus on building the brothel. The young master has sent someone to bring us food and drink."
Well. . . . . . These people are indeed strong men! Xiao Yueye's face was sweaty. Just build a few sheds and live next to the construction unit. This is even more ruthless than those construction teams in previous lives! These people are worthy of being descendants of Qian Ji Sect. Their dedication to their ideals and hobbies alone is enough to make people admire them.
Xiao Yueye nodded: "Don't worry, Mr. Wu, food, drink, housing and transportation will be all taken care of by me."
"Okay! I'll go back and arrange the manpower. Now I'm going to build a few sheds and start work tonight!" Wu Tian said enthusiastically, and left without saying a word. Xiao Yueye could only smile bitterly.
He thought for a moment, then went out to make arrangements. Soon the land by Fengyue River was surrounded by black cloth. At the same time, some killers with evil looks on their faces and swords in their hands were closely guarding the outside, blocking all the other people.
After several people who did not believe in evil had their hands and feet broken and thrown aside, the onlookers finally realized the power. But this is not enough to extinguish their strong curiosity. Some rumors quickly spread from the public's mouth, and they were all kinds of things. The most outrageous thing was that something was being built inside that could destroy the entire Murong Dynasty. Xiao Yueye couldn't help but admire the people's imagination.
On the other hand, yesterday, when Xiao Yueye sent the drunken Murong Jingde back to the palace, Zhang Dehai also came back from Songchuan's mansion with an indifferent expression.
Early this morning, without Xiao Yueye knowing it, or perhaps he had expected it, something happened in the Jinluan Palace that would make all the ministers tremble with fear!
The cause of the incident was actually a very simple "little thing". The north is a place of severe cold. Nowadays, the Mongolian Yuan Kingdom always feels that it is ready to make a move, so the imperial court has been allocating large sums of money to station a hundred thousand troops in the northern border guarding areas. The bitter cold in the north and the terrain there created the bold temperament of the men in the army, so wine became an indispensable item. Although drinking is not encouraged in the army, every half a month or a month, the court will buy large amounts of strong liquor and give it to the army officers and soldiers. Especially in winter, the demand for wine is even greater.
And it all starts with wine. When Zhang Dehai was nearing the end of the court meeting, he made a discount, which probably meant that prices were rising, and the price of wine had also increased a lot. Moreover, northerners are accustomed to strong liquors. Most of the liquors they bought before were bought from Jiangnan, which always lacked spiciness. Following is the main text. Zhang Dehai said that there is now a winery in the north where "wine meets a bosom friend", and the wine produced is not only low-priced, but also tastes first-class. He claimed that he had sent someone to contact the restaurant and that the restaurant was willing to serve the imperial court and sell the wine to the imperial court at cost price.
This was originally a small matter. After the military pay was allocated, Zhang Dehai made the final decision himself. He got into such a trap, and the superficial purpose was just to talk to the emperor.
After hearing this, the courtiers didn't have any other ideas at first. At most, Zhang Dehai found another winery and received a large kickback.
They didn't have any reaction, but when Mo Zhi heard the four words "drinking with a bosom friend", you can imagine how much he felt in his heart!
So when the emperor seemed to casually ask, "What do you think, sirs?", he stood up and objected amidst the surprised eyes of others.
Murong Liuyun looked at Mo Yiqi in surprise: "Why does Mo Aiqing object?"
Unexpectedly, he was not impulsive. The moment he stood up, he had already thought of an explanation: "Back to the emperor, as far as I know, the imperial court has been buying wine from wineries in the south of the Yangtze River. All year round, the winery's The reputation and quality are guaranteed, and the price is also very low, which saves me a lot of money. This "wine meets a confidant" winery is unheard of, and I don't know the details of it. The amount of wine is not a small amount. If you rashly hand it over to a winery with unknown origins, the consequences will be disastrous if something goes wrong!"
Although they didn't know the reason, seeing that the old prime minister made it clear that he was opposed to it, people from one of the parties immediately came forward to support the proposal.
Murong Liuyun thought for a while and seemed to have listened to Mo Zhiqi's opinion: "What Mo Aiqing said is not unreasonable..."
"Your Majesty, I have something to say." At this time, to the surprise of all the courtiers, Song Chuan actually stood up.
He has always adhered to the golden mean and has never said a word about the struggle between Mo Zhiqi and Zhang Dehai. But this time, how could he take the initiative to stand up
What is surprising is yet to come. Song Chuan actually directly refuted Mo Zhiqi's opinion: "Returning to the emperor, I think that there is a difference between what Master Mo said. As far as I know, this 'wine meets bosom friend' winery is not something A small winery of unknown origin. This winery is located in Weituo Prefecture, Ling Province. It is the leader of the local wine industry and dominates the entire wine industry in Ling Province. Its winery is famous for its good reputation, high quality and low price. . But because of the short time, it has not been expanded to the whole country. At that time, the emperor could find out that in the past three years, 60% of the tax revenue of Ling Province came from this winery. He is a major taxpayer in our court, and his accounts are clear, which shows his sincerity towards the court."
After a pause, Song Chuan continued: "And this winery's wine is strong but not burning, which is very suitable for the cold northern regions. Their wine is also quite cheap. The cheapest wine is sold to Jiangnan Winery The price for the imperial court is nine cents. However, according to Wei Chen's investigation, in Ling Province, the price of "wine meets confidant" is only seven cents. If that’s the case, what about the better ones? According to Wei Chen’s estimate, we can save at least tens of thousands of taels of military salary every year by choosing this winery.”
Zhang Dehai smiled lightly and said nothing, but he raised his eyebrows and glanced at the livid face of Mo Zhiqi, and then lowered his eyebrows.
As for Song Chuan, after finishing speaking, he directly looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose.
The Jinluan Palace suddenly had a strange atmosphere, and it was eerily quiet.
The ministers present all felt their hearts beating wildly. They were wondering if they had just hallucinated and heard wrongly
Song Chuan actually sided with Zhang Dehai and joined forces to resist Mu Zhiqi
And all the old foxes present could tell that Song Chuan's move was not a spur-of-the-moment idea. He and Zhang Dehai had planned it and had discussed it long ago!
Not to mention the members of the unpredictable party were dumbfounded, even the members of Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan's respective parties were dumbfounded.
Could it be that the three-legged situation that has been stable for so many years is finally going to be broken
If this situation breaks down. . . . . . Everyone shuddered and felt cold in their hearts.
Some old Cheng even recalled the scene of General Xiao's bloodbath in the capital.
After being shocked, everyone turned their attention to Murong Liuyun. Everyone knows that the current three-legged situation is actually secretly controlled by the emperor. Would he like this situation to be broken? After all, even the emperor would be devastated by the turbulent consequences of breaking through.
Murong Liuyun was silent for a long time, and the sound of tapping on the dragon chair was particularly loud in the Jinluan Palace.
He seemed to have been thinking for a long time before finally speaking slowly: "Zhang Aiqing."
Zhang Dehai took a step forward: "I'm here."
"Is that winery trustworthy? Can it produce what is needed for a hundred thousand troops?"
There was a smile on Zhang Dehai's lips: "Back to the emperor, according to my contact with the owner of the winery, he is a very patriotic person. He promised that even if other businesses are put on hold, he will give priority to the court."
He is just talking nonsense, I'm afraid he doesn't even know who the boss of "Drinking with Confidants" is!
Murong Liuyun nodded: "If this is true, it would be a great blessing for our court to have such a person!"
Everyone's hearts were in their throats again. Could it be said that the emperor has already acquiesced to this matter? Do you also acquiesce in the situation that the tripod will collapse immediately
Unexpectedly, the hand caged in the sleeve made a crisp sound. If you look carefully, you can see that his head is lowered and the corners of his eyes are twitching.
"But..." Murong Liuyun stretched out his voice again, feeling that there was a twist in the situation, which made everyone excited: "What Mo Aiqing said is not unreasonable."
Unexpectedly, his eyelids were raised, and the expressions of other courtiers also changed. Song Chuan frowned slightly. It seems that the emperor is still unwilling to break the current three-legged situation!
Zhang Dehai was the only one who was calm and relaxed. Because he knew that the emperor would definitely be on his side in this matter.
Because he represents Xiao Yueye.
Murong Liuyun seemed a little embarrassed and muttered for a while, then he said, "Second Emperor."
"My son is here!" Murong Jingde strode out.
"Well, instead of me, you go to Weituozhou to inspect the winery where 'wine meets a bosom friend'. If the situation is true, on behalf of the court, sign a sales contract with it!"
Murong Jingde's face was filled with joy and he said loudly: "My son, I have received the order!"
"Okay," after handling this matter, Murong Liuyun waved his hands with a tired look on his face: "Is there anything else? If nothing else, retreat from the court!"
. . . . . .
This matter has come to an end for now. But none of the ministers who came out of the Jinluan Palace felt at ease. What happened today really frightened them.
A small winery, a small thing, but saw Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan, one of the three giants, joining forces. This news is enough to keep everyone awake tonight.
Although everyone is working on their own affairs, they are all very satisfied with the political framework that has been stable for more than ten years. Everyone hopes for big changes. Because once something like what they imagined happened, Chao Gang would be in chaos. There is only one consequence of the chaos, which is piles of corpses. Some people step on these corpses to rise to power, and more people become these corpses.
Some veterans who had witnessed with their own eyes the scene of General Xiao's bloodbath in the capital that year when the Queen passed away felt chills in their hearts. They are old and can no longer withstand such torture. They could only pin their hopes on the emperor's last ambiguous attitude.
Yes, Murong Liuyun seemed to agree with Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan's views, but in fact, his attitude did not mean anything. He also did not clearly state his current thoughts.
Unexpectedly, he walked home from the palace with a livid face. Judging from his expression, the courtiers who followed him did not dare to express their anger.
He sat on the chair with a gloomy face and said nothing. The few people standing in front of the desk had their heads lowered.
It's just that only they each know what the people with their heads lowered are thinking. At least, Su Jing is definitely not as nervous and worried as he appears on the surface.
Hum.
After a while, Mo Zhiqi finally said: "Li Song, what do you think?"
No one who can sit in the position of a minister is mediocre. Li Song was indeed confused when he was in Jinluan Palace. But this journey was enough for him to clear his mind.
"Master Prime Minister, I think this matter is not as serious as we thought."
Mo Zhiqi had already seen this, and he nodded: "Continue."
Li Song straightened his back: "Sir, let's not mention why Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan joined forces, let's just talk about the attitude of the Holy One. On the surface, the Holy One agreed to Zhang Dehai's suggestion and asked the second prince to investigate. It's just a matter of lighting lanterns in broad daylight, but there are a lot of articles about letting the second prince go to Wei Tuozhou. Sir, now is the time when the two princes are fighting fiercely. It seems that the second prince is favored, but the emperor is here. At this critical moment, it is impossible to send him to investigate such a small matter. The royal guard of honor has been going back and forth from the capital to Wei Tuozhou for a month. There are too many things that can be decided. So Xia Guan thought that the emperor actually did not want to see chaos in Chao Gang. His approach was a reconciliation strategy and also showed his attitude to us. , Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan have no reason not to know, so their so-called cooperation is worthy of discussion. "
As expected of an old fox who has been on the battlefield for so many years, he analyzed the matter in a few words and drew inferences from one instance to the next.
Mo Zhiqi nodded: "Well, you are right. Zhao Gang, what do you think?"
Zhao Gang, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, has a very calm temper. He was promoted by unpredictable hands. Although he is a little lacking in ability, he is absolutely loyal. That's why Mu Zhiqi dared to put Su Jing under his control with confidence.
Zhao Gang said in a deep voice: "I agree with Li Shang, what's so fishy about that 'wine with bosom friend' winery? Sir, why are you so firmly opposed to it?"
Meeting a close friend over wine? ! Unexpectedly, when he thought of this winery, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. Maybe Li Song and Zhao Gang didn't know clearly, but he could see it clearly from here!
Xiao Yueye has grown to such an extent now. He was using Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan's words to demonstrate to himself!
Unexpectedly, the child who was not taken seriously at that time grew up so fast! What is his charm? ! Even Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan were willing to temporarily join forces to show off to themselves!
Unexpectedly, he was not worried at all about Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan joining forces, because he knew that Murong Liuyun, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, absolutely did not want to see such a thing happen. However, what he was worried about was that these two people would be willing to join forces to deal with him for Xiao Yueye. What does this mean? It means Xiao Yueye is warning herself. If he fights with him, it will be equivalent to fighting with three families at the same time!
Unexpectedly, he came back from the palace with a gloomy look on his face. He was actually thinking about Xiao Yueye, that yellow-tongued kid who was so arrogant! But I had to accept his arrogance! This is what makes Mozhi the most angry!
He is a politician, not a young boy. He knew the stakes. If I want to deal with Xiao Yueye in the future, I'm afraid I really have to think twice before doing so.
Unexpectedly, he had a feeling that maybe Xiao Yueye was a far greater threat to him than Zhang Dehai and Song Chuan.
I have to say that the old fox's intuition is quite powerful.
He pondered for a while and looked at Su Jing: "Su Jing, please tell the two adults the details of 'Meeting a bosom friend while drinking'."
"...That's what happened. The real boss behind the scenes of this winery is actually Xiao Yueye. We asked the officials below to obstruct it, hoping to bring down the winery. Who knew, in just a few days, it would be over? Whatever happened, our plan must be stopped." Su Jing told the story calmly and calmly, showing no joy or disappointment.
Mo Hangyu clenched his fists tightly, with a sinister look on his face: "I didn't expect this kid's life to be so long-term! What a pity. It's just a little bit away from completely defeating this damn winery. What a pity, what a pity."
"I don't think it's a pity." The person who spoke was a young man, standing next to Li Song. He glanced at Mo Hangyu lightly, then bowed and nodded towards Mo Zhiqi.
Mo Zhiqi glanced at him and smiled softly: "Oh? What do Hua Yun think?"
Li Huayun glanced at Su Jing, and everyone could see the disdain in his heart: "Master Prime Minister, it seems to me that this plan is impossible to succeed. That 'wine meets bosom friend' is a major liquor company in Ling Province. Sixty percent of the province's tax revenue comes from it. In this way, this winery controls the economic lifeline of the entire Ling Province. How can the following officials be willing to destroy this winery? It is so important to Ling Province. What? They are not stupid. This winery collapsed and the economy of Ling Province collapsed. So I don’t understand Mr. Su, why didn’t you find such an obvious loophole? "
The provocation in his tone was very obvious. Li Song pulled his son and frowned. But Li Huayun pretended to be invisible.
Su Jing glanced at Li Huayun, his face expressionless, but in fact he was already laughing in his stomach. He knew that there was only one reason why Li Huayun was so embarrassed and despised him, Xiao Yueye.
When he was in Kuizhou, Yu Province, he had an emotional entanglement with Zhennan General Lihuo's daughter. Su Jing heard Xiao Yueye talk about it. Li Huayun regards Xiao Yueye as his benefactor. He has also worked very hard in the capital in the past three years. He jumped several levels in three years and now serves as a disciple of Zhongshu Province.
If it weren't for the amazing talents of Xiao Yueye, Su Jing and others that suppressed his brilliance, he would definitely be a shining rookie in the capital.
But this person is now deliberately looking for trouble to embarrass himself, apparently because he "betrayed" Xiao Yueye. However, those present did not know this past incident and thought that Li Huayun was jealous of his achievements.
"Master Li is right. My intelligence was wrong that day. This was the fault of my subordinate. Please forgive me, Prime Minister." Su Jing said calmly, showing no signs of nervousness.
Mo Hangyu had always disliked Su Jing, and he was obviously very happy to see someone "in the same camp" as him. He said coldly: "Master Su, I think you didn't make a mistake, but did it on purpose, right? Haha, who doesn't know about your relationship with Xiao Yueye? I have always suspected it..."
Before he could say anything, he suddenly saw a pair of cold eyes, the shining flames inside them, making him take half a step back.
Su Jing looked at him coldly, quickly regained his usual calmness, and said slowly: "Cousin Mo, we are all in the same boat now. I don't want to hear words like this again."
Mo Zhiqi glared at Mo Hangyu: "Hangyu, words have to go through the brain. Su Jing is already Xiu'er's husband. Don't mention such gossip in the future. If it weren't for Su Jing, we probably wouldn't be able to find Xiao Yueye. The relationship behind this winery! This matter is not Su Jing's fault. He said at the beginning that what he knew was that Xiao Yueye had just arrived in Wei Tuozhou and we were too impatient to do it without careful investigation. . Hey, I didn’t think well, I didn’t expect that this guy would be able to develop a small winery to this extent within three years!”
Su Jing bent down and said, "Prime Minister, in fact we did not fail."
"Oh? What do you say?"
"As Mr. Li Huayun said, 'Meeting a bosom friend' controls the economic lifeline of Ling Province, and we can't touch it at all. However, these days, judging from the news coming from below, Xiao Yueye has lost at least tens of thousands of taels. Moreover, the hearts of his people are bound to change. This is good news for us. We can't defeat him, but we can do something to increase the constraints on him. Good thing."
"Well, that makes sense. If it hurts the muscles and bones, just let them bleed every day." Mo Zhi's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.
Li Huayun snorted lowly and glanced over.
Su Jing smiled with the same corners of his mouth.
. . . . . .
The news from the court quickly reached Xiao Yueye’s ears. After he understood the whole story, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "These two old foxes are not generally shrewd!"
"Master, what do you say?" Rourou touched her belly from time to time.
"Sister Rourou, look." Xiao Yueye dipped some tea and drew two circles on the table: "Ling Province and Wu Province share a lot of territory. Ling Province is Song Chuan's hometown, but it's a pity that , he did not start the business early, so the manpower he deployed in the entire Ling Province was only 30% at most. As for Wu Province, it is Zhang Dehai's territory. You see, our winery controls the lifeblood of the entire Ling Province. , the annual tribute to those officials is a huge expense. I think Song Chuan has already bloomed, right? And in the past six months, we have slowly made money from opening up the market in Wu Province. It’s quite a lot, and Zhang Dehai also laughed. They didn’t know about the relationship between the winery and me before, but now that they know it, they still don’t think about how to make a profit? "
"Oh, I understand. Using our winery to control the lifeline of Ling Province, Song Chuan can slowly squeeze out unpredictable people and enhance his own strength. As for Zhang Dehai, he opened Wu Province to us, which is equivalent to selling Give us a favor. Then we should reciprocate the favor, right? Selling wine to the court, although the price of a bottle is a little low, but for an army of 100,000 people, small profits but quick turnover, this is quite a big income. ! The Northern Army is stationed in Wu Province, and Zhang Dehai's favor is not ordinary!" After thinking about it, Rourou understood the reason.
Xiao Yueye laughed softly and touched Rourou's belly: "It's not as big as you said. If he buys wine from us, he can save a lot of military pay, which is also good for him. But this favor, After all, we owe it. Sister Rourou, once our wine is sold to the imperial court, it will be very helpful for us to expand the southern market. "
"Yes, I understand. With the banner of being a wine supplier to the imperial military camp, it will be much smoother for us to open up the southern market. Master, I think we should first open a 'wine with a bosom friend' branch in the capital? After all, everyone now We all know the reputation of the winery, why not strike while the iron is hot! Many of our wines are ancient treasures. Instead of being shipped to the capital for other merchants to make money, why not make it ourselves!"
"Haha, the one who really knows me is Sister Rourou! I'm just about to send a letter to Meng Tian to ask him to make arrangements!"
"Well, oops!" Rourou suddenly shouted.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Yueye looked at her nervously.
Rourou smiled and touched her belly: "This child is kicking me again."
Xiao Yueye's face was full of her father's loving smile, and she put her ear on Rourou's belly: "It's true, I feel it. Haha!"
At this moment, Yin Caiju hurried in: "Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao, Yun Mengtian is here!"
"What?" Xiao Yueye shouted in surprise. (Quanben Novel Website www.QuanBen-XiaoShuo.com)