Starting from Dunhuang, Zhou Jun and his party passed through Guazhou, Suzhou, and Ganzhou, and finally arrived at Liangzhou City in mid-July.
Outside Liangzhou City, there was a large group of people waiting there early in the wind and sand, looking towards the official road.
Horse hoofs sounded in the road, and their neighing came on the wind.
Zhou Jun led a group of personal guards through the wind and sand, getting closer and closer to the gate of Liangzhou City.
A young child's voice rang first: "Coming, coming!"
When Zhou Jun heard this voice, he was startled for a moment, then kicked the horse in the belly and quickly moved forward.
Walking to the city gate, Zhou Jun saw many people, including craftsmen from the Liangzhou workshop, officials from the Wuwei Mansion, and stewards from the Jin family.
In Zhou Jun's opinion, the most eye-catching thing among them is the young girl in Golden Phoenix's arms.
The girl is carved in pink and jade, with a pair of big black eyes, smart and smart.
Zhou Jun got off his horse, walked to Golden Phoenix, and looked at the girl with a smile.
The girl was not afraid of life. She stared at Zhou Jun for a long time and finally asked in a low voice: "Aye?"
Zhou Jun laughed, hugged Chao Mu, and greeted everyone again.
The officials from the Liangzhou City Prefecture first stepped forward to greet Zhou Jun, and said that the governor of An Sishun An had temporarily received military duties and could not come.
An Sishun was busy with military affairs and had no time to come, but Zhou Jun could understand.
However, among the people who came to pick him up, there was no one from Anjia, which was a bit unusual. Zhou Jun thought about it carefully, and his face slowly turned cold.
Kong You on the side saw this and shook his head gently towards Zhou Jun.
When Zhou Jun saw this, he nodded calmly and just said to the officials that he understood.
The master craftsmen from the Liangzhou workshop and the managers from the Jin Family Trading Company came to see him one after another.
Zhou Jun returned to Jinzhai surrounded by a group of people.
He first ordered Sun Aying and other soldiers to take a ten-day leave for them to reunite with their relatives in Liangzhou. Then, under the guidance of Master Mao Shun, he visited the Liangzhou workshop and craftsmanship academy.
After finishing all this, Zhou Jun returned to the side hall and met with Kong You specifically.
We haven't seen each other for a year, and although Kong You's appearance has not changed, the sharpness of his whole person has gradually become more restrained.
Zhou Jun first asked Kong You about the tax tribute of 2 million guan on Daqi Trading Road. The latter raised his hand and said: "Master, Changxingfang set off from Liangzhou a few days ago to Chang'an. 2 million guan penny."
Quite a few.”
Zhou Jun nodded and asked about the current situation of Liangzhou City.
Kong You knew what Zhou Jun was thinking, so he lowered his voice and said: "The Northern Fan's power is weakening, and people's hearts are gradually dispersing."
Zhou Jun said: "Tell me carefully."
Kong You: "The imperial court has ordered Ge Shuhan to lead the troops of the northern vassal to attack Shibao City after the Xia Dynasty. Tubo had already received the news, and all the troops in the country were deployed. Anyone can guess how brutal the battle will be next.
arrive."
Zhou Jun: "It was meant to start a war, but actually it was to cut down the vassal state."
Kong You nodded and said: "That's right. The generals in the Northern Fan are performing in different ways now. Some people throw themselves into the battlefield regardless of life and death; others look forward and backward and look for other opportunities."
Zhou Jun: "Then An Sishun, the governor of Hexi Province, is one of the latter?"
Kong You: "An Sishun was originally a general of the Northern Fan, and he also had the ninth surname of Zhaowu. These two identities made him unpopular both in the court and in the Northern Fan. If he wanted to survive in this gap, he would naturally have to
You need to choose another stove.”
After Zhou Jun heard this, he could understand An Sishun's situation.
The imperial court was wary of his status as a general of the Northern Fan. People in the Northern Fan, such as Ge Shuhan, also hated him for being of the An clan. An Sishun was indeed in a bad situation. Kong You said: "An Sishun sent someone to bring gifts in advance.
Went to Chang'an."
Zhou Jun asked: "Who did you meet?"
Kong You: "Thanks to Bachuan Hua Qionglou's investigation, the person whom the Liangzhou envoy met secretly is the Right Prime Minister."
Zhou Jun frowned: "Li Linfu?"
Kong You: "According to the information obtained through inquiring, An Sishun and Li Linfu may have been secretly communicating for a long time."
Zhou Jun rubbed his forehead. It seemed that Hexi Anjia had been making good friends with him while secretly contacting Li Linfu, but he was making preparations for both.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jun was a little puzzled and asked Kong You: "Why has the Hexi An family changed its attitude towards me now?"
Kong You: "Master, have you forgotten? The tax tribute of two million guan from Daqi Trading Road has just been sent to Chang'an. Such a great achievement will definitely make the saint happy. If Li Linfu had learned about this from Anjia in advance, he would have naturally
I am afraid of my master’s family.”
Zhou Jun was dumbfounded: "Li Linfu, are you afraid of me?"
Kong You said sternly: "Before the master received the order to restart the Daqi trade route, no one in the court was optimistic about this matter. As a result, after one year, from scratch, the master earned two million yuan for the court.
In Li Linfu's eyes, his achievements are like a gleam on his back."
Kong You paused for a moment and whispered: "Some things, once they are done too well and exceed other people's expectations, will not only arouse admiration, but also arouse fear in others."
Some things, if done too well, will actually make others fearful...
Zhou Jun chewed on this sentence over and over, and after a long time, he came back to his senses: "To put it this way, it is not so much the change in the Hexi An family's attitude toward me, but rather the change in Li Linfu's opinion of me."
Kong You nodded: "Next, when the master returns to court, the saint will be rewarded. On the surface, Li Linfu praises him a lot, but secretly he may be wary of the master."
Zhou Jun thought about it for a while and realized that Li Linfu was gaining momentum right now. Being an enemy of him would do a lot of harm but no good.
So, he asked Kong You: "Is there any way to deal with it?"
Kong You: "Yes."
Zhou Jun: "What method?"
Kong You came close to Zhou Jun's ear and whispered a few words.
The more Zhou Jun listened, the more frightened he became, and he couldn't help but ask: "Is this method feasible?"
Kong You: "It's feasible. It can keep the master's family safe, and it can also keep Liangzhou safe."
Zhou Jun nodded lightly.
Kong You: "One more thing. The Du branch of the Tang Dynasty sent an official document to the prefectures years ago, asking the prefectures and county warehouses to fold all the accumulated rice and grain into silk and send it to Chang'an."
Zhou Jun was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "When grain is put into storage in the autumn, the price of rice and millet is low. At this time, the grain is sold into silk and the loss is huge. Why is this?"
Kong You: "In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty's internal government has spent a lot of money and its treasury has been dwindling. The sage asked Yang Zhao, a member of the Du branch, about the money and food in the inner treasury. In order to please the emperor, the latter had to pretend that the inner treasury was rich.
. And in order to cope with the emperor's inspection, he deliberately exchanged rice and grain for light goods when the price of grain was low, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and filling it into the internal treasury."
Zhou Jun just shook his head after hearing this: "When the price of grain is low, it is broken into silk. Although this gives the inner treasury some face, it actually damages the treasury's internal funds. Moreover, if in the next few years, within the territory of the Tang Dynasty,
When a disaster occurs and the grain stores in the state and county are sold out, where will the relief come from?”
Kong You shook his head: "Master, what I want to say is not about food."
Zhou Jun asked doubtfully: "Aren't you talking about food?"
Kong You: "As a new member of the Yang family, Yang Zhao also knows how to amass wealth and flattery. This time, he made great efforts to fill his internal treasury in order to win the Holy Family. Originally, everything should be going smoothly, but please think about it, if the big family
Two million coins from Qishang Road were transported to Chang'an, how should he deal with it?"
Zhou Jun was stunned in place, and finally understood the deep meaning of Kong You's words. He was confused in reading.
The two million dollars on Daqi Commercial Road might steal Yang Zhao's limelight and arouse the latter's resentment.
Zhou Jun couldn't help but sigh when he thought of this. From this point of view, the two million coins on Daqi Trading Road are like a hot potato. If they are not handled properly, they will offend the two forces in the court.
next chapter
This chapter has been completed!